Primrose arrived at a clearing in a cavern. She had seen Atlas wander into it and had gone deep inside, looking for him. It had almost seemed like hours of walking before she arrived at the clearing where the waterfall and forest lay. She was worried about the elf, thinking that someone in that state couldn't possibly have gone that far.
Nemesis had reassured her that he was fine, though, so she chose to grip onto that small ray of hope.
Once in the clearing, Primrose spotted the elf in the water, grabbing at his eye. He seemed unharmed. It was as if his wounds had healed…somehow, yet he still was in pain. Primrose ran over to her partner, small splashes of water sprinkled her clothes after every step. She crouched down next to him.
"Atlas, are you okay?!"
She looked around the area to spot any enemies and saw that on the ground, slumped over, lay the body of some sort of being.
"Atlas…did you kill him?"
The young elf said nothing.
"Atlas!"
Primrose lifted the elf's head and looked at his now heterochromatic eyes. One was crying tears while the other one was crying blood.
"What-"
Atlas wrapped his arms around Primrose; blood stained what remained of her ripped battle suit and tears wetted her skin.
"I-I killed him! But I had to! Arghhh!"
Sobs echoed throughout the chamber.
Primrose and Atlas emerged from the cave. It was a nice change of pace for Atlas to have his arm around Primrose, who was helping him walk.
"Where to now?" Atlas said weakly.
"I think we should head towards the nearest town."
"In my state, I don't know if that'll be possible…"
"Don't worry, we'll fly there."
Atlas' eyes widened.
"Not again!" he cried.
Primrose picked up the elf and crouched down. She leaped into the air and fired a wind spell behind her. Atlas screamed as the duo flew through the air and towards the nearest town. Primrose was grateful that for once, Atlas had to lean on her.
A day had passed and Atlas had healed, for the most part. The duo had arrived at a secluded town just under the mountains of Hurk. Legend had spread that a pair of adventurers had killed all of the undead that wandered the mountain. Of course, a town that doesn't receive many visitors automatically assumed it was the iconic duo as they made their way through the town. Turns out that the townsfolk were partially right.
Thanks to that, whenever the pair headed to the nearest inn, the townsfolk, ever so grateful, would turn down any wads of cash to pay for food or the stay. This was a good thing because Primrose's money had been running low.
Ever since Primrose found Atlas in the cave, she felt like a darkness followed him. He was still his awkward self, but it felt like part of him had been crushed. Was it his happiness? His smile had turned from genuine to one to please or one full of sadness.
Whenever Primrose asked him how he was feeling, he would say fine and not elaborate. The pair desperately needed new clothes, so they headed to the nearest shop for some new ones. Again, everything was offered to them for free, so Atlas got a dark new robe while Primrose acquired another cloak and this time, reinforced stretched suit. The shop keeper had told her that he did have something special for her as he disappeared into the back.
When he came out, he held the reinforced suit. It was white and black, made out of a tough Rek skin, and "much stronger than the previous one, more flexible and harder to rip" according to the shopkeeper.
After bowing multiple times and giving multiple "thank yous" the duo walked down the street, ending their first day back.
"We need to have a meeting, Atlas. You can't keep sleeping all day!"
"..."
"Atlas!"
Atlas lay on his bed, facing the window, while Primrose stood behind him, trying to get his attention. She gave a huff of annoyance and approached the elf.
"Damn it! Wake up!" she said as she kicked him.
Atlas turned towards her, unfazed.
"What?"
"Meeting…now!"
"Fine, but we do it here," he said quietly.
Primrose sat down on his bed and sighed.
"Okay, so we're out of money, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, we need a way to make money. We're not going to be able to live a sustainable life like this. More importantly, we won't be able to make it out of the country in this condition."
Atlas sat up and scratched his head.
"What do you suggest, then?"
"I say we become adventurers."
"How do you propose we do that?"
"Well, I'm glad you asked! The robe you have comes with a hood, right? And my cloak does as well! Well, what I didn't tell you is that these things came from a dungeon! These hoods scramble your face and set it to something you're not! How about it, do we try?"
"It's against the rules," Atlas muttered.
"Don't be ridiculous! It's the only way, unless you have another idea…"
"I don't…"
The town was called Rurko and the layout was simple. Since it was on the outskirts of the Hurk mountains, many of the trees that blocked the sun were only in their beginning stages of development. The fresh summer breeze and the light from the distant sun was a good change from what the pair had been used to for the past couple of days.
There was one main road leading into the town that headed towards the next city. It was mostly bumpy and dusty. As you walked past the many shops and inns, you'd see waves of dust occasionally fly through the air as carriages passed nearby.
With their hoods on, Atlas and Primrose headed towards the Adventurer's Guild. The Adventurer's Guild was composed of heroes with exceptional abilities, for the most part, that acted as mercenaries. Most of them worked against magical beasts or bandits, but some, typically of lower classes, worked to collect different types of valuables.
Having said that, to register, Atlas and Primrose would have to complete, or attempt to complete, one mission of every rank. The ranks of missions consisted of E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS+. These ranks applied to adventurer levels as well. The highest level, or rank, being SS+ and lowest being E.
The adventurer's guild was first established in the first century by the monarchy of each division after coming to an agreement. The issue with that and the reason that Primrose and Atlas had to wear hoods was that the townsfolk might not know who they were, but the adventurer's guild would, since the probability of servants of royalty working there was extremely high.
As mentioned before, Atlas and Primrose, in order to register, would have to attempt to complete one of every ranked mission in order to gauge how strong they were and what level would best suit their abilities. It was an archaic system and had taken many lives, but people were smarter to protest against royalty knowing the consequences. They thought it was safe to assume that the royalty knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for them, they were just too lazy to change the gauging system.
Atlas and Primrose opened the door to the headquarters, a quartz white building with an ancient clock at the head that served as a magical barrier that prohibited mana and weapons from being used. How ironic that the royalty banned dark magic yet they still used it.
Tables were aligned around the room where many different humans, some elves and dwarves, sat around drinking ale and talking loudly. Women in short skirts walked briskly around carrying trays. Some looked uncomfortable as drunk men flirted with them.
"Tsk," Primrose muttered, angered by the scene.
Atlas put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't pick a fight. Not here."
Primrose removed his hand and walked up to the counter. A young human woman with white hair and a long robe stood in front of them.
"What can I help you with today?" she asked with a friendly smile on her face.
"I would like to register us to the adventurer's guild," Primrose barked.
"Very well! Are you aware of how the system works in order to gauge your rank?"
Primrose nodded and a card was given to her.
"You can do any mission in any order. See those letters on the card? Cross them out with mana as you complete them. We understand that there aren't many missions around here of the higher ranks, so you don't need to attempt A ranked missions and above if you do not wish to. If you're lucky enough to find one, go ahead. If you're not, you'll have to earn your way to the top! Now, just before you go. What is your name and party name?"
Primrose called Atlas over and asked him what they should call their party. Atlas shrugged and Primrose sighed.
"We are the Mana party. My name is Rose Cawhill and this is…"
Atlas looked up at the woman.
"The name is Winston. Winston Mage."