With each of them having a goal laid out before them, Trevor set off on his own, carrying the dungeon posting and heading over to the reception area to ask around about a healer. Siarra was going to help Niss find a fifth member for their party, but she had other plans in mind she wanted to learn her new spells and also visit her father.
"Don't worry about it, Siarra. Take your time. There are tons of adventurers here looking to group up. I'm sure it won't be a problem finding someone." Niss patted her on the head before walking off towards the stairs.
'Seems crazy she wouldn't find an excuse to spend time with me. Well whatever I need to get a drink anyways.'
...
There was a large area for adventurers to gather on the second floor. Like a tavern it had a bar serving food and ale, tables, and even a small group playing music. Overall, it gave off a warm and inviting glow. This, of course, was set up this way by the guild to make it easier for adventurers to party up together.
When entering the room, Niss met a very nice woman from the guild staff who asked him if he was looking for a group or looking to fill a spot in his group, as well as what he was looking for. She briefly explained the ribbons as she was tying them around Niss's bicep. Even if Niss had heard this before, the woman was used to giving the same speech all the time, so she did it anyway.
"So, as always, a black ribbon shows you are already in a party looking for more, a white ribbon shows you are alone and looking to party up, a green ribbon shows you as a healer, a blue ribbon signifying front line, and red ribbons for all types of damage focused mages." She smiled at Niss as she finished tying off the black and red ribbons on his arm. "May your aura shine brightly!"
Niss went up to the bar, ordering a blueberry honey mead, his favorite. While he was waiting for his drink, he spotted Trevor, who had cornered a nervous-looking boy with white and green ribbons.
'Well, it seems Trevor has that handled already. I'll just have to find someone to protect our backline since there's no way I'm not going to be up front now after we learned our lesson the hard way.'
Niss was pondering the best arrangement for their group when a young lady brushed past him and came up to the bar.
"Yo! Ivan! I'll take the usual." She said.
"Well, that makes it easy. I'm already grabbing one!" The bartender walked over with two tankards and placed one in front of Niss and the other in front of the girl. "Looks like you're not the only one who enjoys this stuff. This lass here got the same thing." Ivan, the bartender, seemed pleased as he chuckled and went off to tend to others.
Niss looked at the girl again, clearly an ice mage, with a thin metal rod topped with a blue crystal for her magic staff. She wore lightweight robes in blue and silver, with stark white hair and ice blue eyes, her fair skin complementing her chiseled facial structure. Niss noticed her ribbons, white and red. He took a moment to try and gauge her aura, but her head snapped towards him.
"You know, you could at least ask. It's a bit weird if you're trying to size me up from two feet away, don't you think?" Her ice cold glare bore into him with intensity.
"Yeah, of course, my bad." Niss gathered his thoughts as he looked at her. "My name's Niss. My group and I are looking for one more, and you fit the bill. I should have just asked. What rank are you?"
She seemed to not really care about before. "Lady Lysandra Frost, a D-rank ice mage, daughter of Duke Erik Frost. Depending on what dungeon you plan on clearing, I might join you." She was beaming with confidence and met Niss's gaze again. "Can you handle me?"
'Duke Erik Frost is an S-Rank that governs over all of North Landia. His power is just below that of the King. What the heck is his daughter doing as an adventurer?'
'She's certainly strong enough. Having another D-rank besides Trevor will help since I don't expect this dungeon to go as easily as we imagine either.'
"Niss!" Trevor made his way over and slapped his hand on Niss's back, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I got our healer. Is this fine young lady our fifth?"
"That's Lady Lysandra to you, and yes, I plan to join. Which dungeon are you clearing?"
"We're taking on Chillcrypt Catacombs," Trevor said, looking at her with a sly grin.
"Oh! I'm definitely in. Nobody ever wants to clear that one, so it tends to drop good artifacts when someone finally does." Lysandra's eyes glinted with excitement as she mentioned artifacts.
'I wonder if she has some weird fetish for artifacts....Either way, it looks like we've got our new group.'
Niss looked at Lysandra and the shy boy who was hiding behind Trevor. "It's settled then. We will meet in front of the guild hall tomorrow just after dawn and make our way over." Niss felt even more excited now that his second dungeon clear was firmly cemented.
.....
Siarra found peace in her room at The Frosty Griffon Inn. She sat with her legs crossed on the bed, her father wasn't here, it was her uncle managing the inn tonight. So instead she immersed in herself in her studies, Siarra had already learned a new spell "Ignite." This support magic could be infused into a weapon, setting it ablaze with her flames and enhancing its damage. It was particularly potent for Niss and Trevor, both skilled at channeling their aura into their weapons for devastating attacks.
As she sat, a content smile played on her lips. In the calm atmosphere, Siarra practiced channeling ambient mana into her aura, pushing her limits and inching closer to breaking through to D-rank. After a while, she delved into her second spellbook, focusing intently until exhaustion overtook her, and she curled up in the warm embrace of the bed.
....
Niss was also settling down for the night in his room across from Siarra's. He sat on the floor, legs crossed, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, drawing all the elemental mana and ambient mana he could feel around him purifying it and condensing it in his aura. He felt some resistance as he reached his limit, he knew it was dangerous to continue but he was determined to gain the strength he needed. He wanted to break through into a D-rank, and he knew he was already very close. Despite the pain that spread throughout his body, down to his bones, and the throbbing headache that made him feel like his head was about to explode, he pulled in more and more mana.
Ethereal swirls of magic swam in the air in the room, colliding with Niss's aura, most of them being rejected as they attempted to fuse with him.
Pop! Zzzt!
Niss's aura burst out, overflowing, but only momentarily before snapping back like a rubber band stretched too far. This time, the mana swirled in and out of his aura freely. Drenched in sweat, feeling the extreme pain subside, Niss smiled widely and let out several small laughs.
'Yes!'
'I broke through!'
'Finally!'
A familiar yet unfamiliar woman's voiced echoed in his mind.
'yay...finally....good for you. Can you hurry up and get stronger already?'