The bell rang 3 times as I opened my eyes. The sound of children screaming echo through my ears. I look around, confused at the situation I am in. A woman reached out and grabbed me as she ran out the building, wood creaking behind us as she ran with me in her arms. Her panicked face, tears streaming down her eyes. Her breath hastened and she gasped for air after running down the stars. Kicking the door opened, she ordered the screaming and crying children to run out towards a particular direction. The outside world was dark.

The buildings around me were made of see-through materials. They were tall, taller than anything I have ever laid my eyes upon. Large wagon-like things littered the black road, burning and rusty. I looked toward the sky, only to be met with the sight that can only be described as abject dread. The clouds blocked out the sun, its dim glow growing dimmer by the second. The wind howled a haunting tune, picking up speed, preparing the world for impending doom. As I looked, large flying birds soared through the air, screeching as they flew by with blinding speed.

Looking up at the woman's face, her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. She could only cover her mouth with her hand as tears streamed down her face. Touching her face, I snapped her back to reality, as she ran behind the children, while constantly telling them to "keep running". 

Screams echoed through the large village. Looking over her shoulder, I can see dead corpses on the ground. They looked like warriors, wearing some black armor around them. Red overtook the dark clouds, almost as if the world itself was bleeding. A low bellow came from beyond the cloud as countless creatures descended past the bloody cloud. Debris fell from where they appeared, and rained down, causing destruction and chaos wherever it landed. 

The creatures had shiny red eyes, like torches in a deep moonless night. Their skin was white, a shade so clean and pure that it can only be colored by the gods. Their wings were large and mighty, and their screams were deafening. Their speed was even quicker than the birds, and one by one, the big birds caught fire and plummeted down to the ground. 

The lady clutched my head, covering it with her hand. She eventually slowed down and put me down into a hole with the other children. She recited some weird spell in a tongue I did not recognize, as the ground beneath us glowed a bright yellow hue. As she spoke, a spear burst through her chest, as she coughed up blood and kneeled on the ground, pushing through the pain, she finished the incantation, and collapsed from her injury.

Behind her stood the creature. Up close, the creature had a wolf 's head and legs, attached to a human-like body. Behind them floated a large golden ring, giving them an ominous shadow front he front. Their teeth pointy and stained with blood and the claws on their feet curved like scythe. In their human-like hands they held a long spear.

The creature turned to the kids, and massacred them in a haste, leaving no time for anyone to run. It turned its head at me, and lunged forward, as I jerk myself awake.

My bed is now a soaking puddle. Sweat runs down my forehead and my back. Looking through the window, the village seemed too bright for what I just dreamt about. 

"Sebas! The food is ready!". Lily called out from the kitchen. "Better get up or I'll eat it all!"

Taking a moment to steady my breathing, I screamed back "I'll be out in a moment".

Standing up from my bed, I wipe myself down. Seeing my reflection in the window, I took a moment to study my face. Wondering what that dream was about. Putting on my shirt and dawning my mighty sandal, I walked out of the room. The smell of Lily's heavenly cooking blessed my nose. I can't help but put aside my sense of unease, and in its place, be filled with pure glutiny. 

"What magic are you cooking up today?" I asked.

"Gomb stew, your favorite!" She excitedly answered. "It's been a while since I have enough money to buy gomb meat, so I thought to make the best use of it."

"Well, I'll make sure to try my best to make more money then." I jokingly said.

Lily turned around violently and ran to me, hugging me tightly.

"It's alright, Sebas. I just want to make you happy. As long as you come back home, I don't need much money at all." She hurriedly said.

"That's not what I meant." I retorted. But at last, I won't ruin a good moment for her. 

I hugged her back and pet her head. To think she had grown so much already. Lily was an orphan I rescued from a village during one of my missions. It was just meant to be a simple "cleaning" mission, no one could have expected to find a little girl in that dead village. She was just a crying child I happened to hear after I finished cleaning up the place. A child hiding under a house that has collapsed. The village was attacked more than 2 weeks ago. To think a child could survive for that time is insane. More likely than not, she likely had to eat human flesh to survive that amount of time before my rescue. Thankfully she got better and moved in with limited trauma.

Lily let go of me and prepared a bowl of the stew. "Eat up. There is plenty to go around, so don't be afraid to eat your fill. You have a busy day today." She said, humming as she poured the food into the bowl. 

"Thank you Lily." I said, patting her head. 

"Hey! Step treating me like a child! Mind you, I am now 17 years old!" She pouts, acting angry.

"Ok, but grown up or not, I'm still going to pet your head if you don't mind." I joked. 

"Fineeee… but I'm no child ok?" Her voice was quiet, almost pleading.

"Yeah yeah, u get it, Madam Lily." I said, jokingly.

Some smiled, and placed down the bowls on the table. We ate in silence. Horse hooves trotting outside the house in a rhythm. People screaming, both from anger and from trying to get attention to sell their goods. This setting only made my dream ever the more unsettling. I can only guess as to what that was all about.

"Lily, what do you think about nightmares?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She said, looking confused why I brought it up.

"Well, I'm just curious on what you think a nightmare could mean."

"I'm not sure what to say to that. I don't often get nightmares." She took a moment to think before continuing speaking. "But I guess you would get nightmare if you think about bad things a bit too much. You know, 'think and your mind will make a dream about it' sort of thing." She gestured a dream with her arms.

Taking a moment to think about it, I realize she was too innocent to know about these subjects. She is a child after all.

"Did that help?" She asked

"Yes Lily. Thanks" I smiled as I pet her once more.

She bopped her head down while smiling, clearly liking the head pats. Seeing her happy, I decided to just put the nightmare aside. It's just a dream after all. Whatever.

"Well Lily, I must get going for today. You be a good girl now, ok?" I said as I put on my sword and light armor. 

"I will! Come back soon ok? I will miss you!" She frowned, swaying side to side.

I pet her head once more and break a smile before speaking. "If you're bored, feel free to go into town. Really, it might be good for you to socialize with someone other than just me." 

"But I don't want to. It's dangerous outside, and strangers are bad. So I will just wait at home for you to return." Her voice showing she is firm in her decision.

I laughed a bit. "Alright Lily. You stay safe at home alright? I'll be back soon." 

I walked out the door as Lily followed me. She waved bye to me, as I closed the door behind me. Lily peaking through the window as I leave, waving bye to me until she can no longer see me. 

First thing's first, time to head to the town guild. Gotta get myself the promotion as soon as possible. God, they are taking so long to just make some paper for my title. Is it so hard to just say I got promoted? Man, they need better work ethics. But I digress. 

Looking up from my train of thought, the town looked small. The sky was normal, blue as the eye could see. The cloud white with some silver lining. Rain is coming. I should finish my mission quickly. Wouldn't want Lily to be overly worried about me. 

A voice broke out from the corner. "Someone stop him!" A woman screamed out. A man ran around the corner and pushed through the crowd, clutching to a bag. Extending out my leg, the man tripped and fell to the ground. I walked over to the bag and picked it up, dusting it off as the woman slowly made her way to the scene. She was old, struggling to run. 

"Oh, thank you young man." She said, "That was all I had left from my son's visit this week. I don't know what I would do if I lost all that money."

"It's quite alright ma'am. No need to thank me, truly. All in a day's work." I smiled, handing over the bag of silver and copper coins. 

She pet my hand. "You're a good man. You remind me of-" she kept going on and on about her husband, then her son, then her financial situation. I let her speak, but eventually, I tried to find an excuse to leave. "- and it was finally enough for the food for this week. Can you believe that?" 

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. But ugh, I will need to hand this guy to the authorities at the guild." I said.

"Oh, yes. You get that devil into a cell for eternity my boy. It's what he deserves for robbing an old poor woman like me." She said, wacking him over the head with her bag of coins.

"Will do ma'am. Have a good day! And stay safe as well!" I said, hurriedly trying to leave the crowd.

"God she talks a lot huh?" Said the man. "Bet you wanted to run away from her rambling."

"Not really. I just have a busy day and I can't be held up. If not, I would have let her talk." She reminded me of my past caretaker. She would be just as old as the women if she was still alive. I do miss her dearly. But regardless, that's the past. I walked toward the town guild with the man. Tossing him on his knees, I spoke to the guards.

"Put this man in jail for a bit. He stole from granny Su." 

"Really? Why her? She's so nice." A guard said.

"A scum" another guard added.

They manhandled him downstairs into the jailhouse. Rosaria, the receptionist, bowed her head to me as I made my way over. She flipped through the cabinet for a bit and took out an envelope. 

"Good morning Sebas. I believe you have come for the promotion pass?" She said softly.

"Why yes I am. I'm assuming this is it?" I said, pointing at the envelope. 

She nodded. "I do apologize for the wait. I will now read off the perks for your promotion to platinum rank." I nodded as I opened the envelope to see the content. "Platinum rank: an initial reward of 5 gold pieces." She put the five gold coins on the table, as I swiftly picketed it. "You can now take on A rank missions and lower, monthly payment increase to 10 gold pieces. Mission tax decreases to 5 percent. Available mission maximum cap increase to 5. Unlock 'Platinum' area in the equipment shop. Access to Arcane Rune in Guild Blacksmith. That will be all the changes with the promotion. Are there any questions?" 

"No, I'm all set." I said. "Since I'm here, is there any A rank missions available?"

She nodded. "Yes. We currently have 15 remaining for you to pick from. Would you like to see them?" 

"Yes" I answered.

She took out her mission scroll and turned it over so I can see the content.

"No, nevermind. You know me best, do you have any recommendations?" I asked.

She chuckled a bit before regaining her composure. "Yes, I might just have one that you would like. There is a 'cleaning' mission available. Overview: a camp of goblins and a lesser wyrm have been fighting among themselves for a bit. Reported enemy count: 25-30 goblins, unknown amount of gonlin archers, 1 lesser fire wyrm, 2 lesser ice wyrm. Rewards: 8 gold pieces. This mission is rather difficult with the elemental wyrm, so I recommend you get better equipments to handle wyrms. The guild blacksmith should have some equipment for you. She is expecting you."

"Well, excuse me then, Rosey, but I'll get myself to the blacksmith. Have a good day!" I said. "Oh, and that quest has been accepted by me. Mark it down for me won't ya, Rosey?"

"Done." She said, putting away her scroll.

Walking toward the blacksmith, a faint clanking sound can be heard from across the door. Pushing the door open, the sound became louder. 

*CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!* "Close the door behind you, boy!" The woman shouted as she put her hammer down on the table beside her. Closing the door behind me, the room glowed brighter. Looking up, I saw floating swords with ruins glowing on their blades. "Ya like the place? Don't get too amazed, they're just light ruins to make the weapon look cool for those newbies. I mainly use them for light when I have visitors." She eyed me up and down. "So you're the new platinum rank Rosey warned me about?" The woman approached me quickly, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her body glistened with sweat. Even with the burns on her body and scars, she looks extremely beautiful and powerful. She was tall, almost 7 feet tall, but she looked like she could be considered for the title of the most beautiful women in the world. Her work uniform leaves little to the imagination.

"Hey, lover boy. My eyes are up here." She said

I straighten myself up right away. "Sorry ma'am."

She laughed. "Oh don't be so panicked. I'm glad I can still catch someone's eye. Good to know I'm still pretty. Lighten up! Besides, You're not too bad looking yourself." She leaned down to take a good look at me, revealing her "assets". I closed my eyes to avoid further embarrassing myself. When I opened my eyes, her hand was in front of me, reaching out for a good handshake. I shook her hand and she began to speak again.

"You can just call me Emerald. And yes, emerald is my favorite precious gem.  But anyways, who might you be?" She asked.

"Sebas ma'am" I said.

"No need to call me ma'am by the way. Just Emerald or Em is fine. So you're here for some equipment upgrades?" 

I nodded my head. 

"Fantastic. You can pick from the weapons in that rack over there. They're weapons used by older adventurers who have been promoted to Demigod ranks already, so you can be sure they're reliable. If you want, I can make a customized one for you, but that will cost you greatly. Those weapons in the rack on the other hand, all will only cost you 5 gold. With your promotion, Rosey should have given you that sum." 

I handed her the 5 gold pieces, and took a look at the rack of weapons. All the weapons had a glow to them. All but one have been infused with gems of some sort. A sword grabbed my eyes. It has some words engraved in them. 

"You attracted to that one?" Em asked.

I nodded. "Something just calls me to it I guess".

"Well you have a good eye then. That one was used by the 3rd Divine rank. His name was Nark. He was considered to be one of the most powerful Divine rank, only rivaled by the 1st. This was the weapon he left when he ascended to the Demigod rank. No one knows that the thing he engraved into the sword means, but it was said that it meant 'bridge'." She leaned down to take a closer look at it. "Also, it weirdly rejects all runes. They just either break or get repelled when I try to infuse it. Weird if you ask me."

I reached for the sword to feel the blade. It was sturdy and extremely sharp.

"Don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad thing. After all, it was used by the 2nd strongest Divine rank. Must be special somehow." She continued.

"I'll take it."

"A fine choice then. But now, some armor that fits for A-rank missions." She took me over to her work bench. "While I can't give you any armor, I can enchant YOUR armor to make it so you can survive those A-rank monsters." 

She grabbed one of the numerous gems in her work basket. She then put the gem over my armor, and took her hammer in her hand. She then gives a light tap on the gem, shattering it. Instead of falling to the ground, the pieces glowed and got absorbed into my piece of armor. 

"There you have it. Grade 3 elemental resistance on your armor. That should allow you to survive some high temperatures and low temperatures, also gives you some toxin protections." She took a pause before continuing. "Though I wouldn't push your luck. They are only grade 3, so still be careful."

"What about my head? I don't like wearing a helmet. They restrict my vision too much." I asked.

"Don't worry kid, the way these elemental protection works is different. It doesn't work in the physical touch sense. It works if you yourself is in contact with the item itself. You can have protection 3 boots, but as long as you are wearing it, that property applies to your whole physical body. Doesn't quite apply to physical damage though. So if your armor has physical resistance, a spear to your face will still kill you. Only temperature resistance applies to your whole body. Just one of the special property for that sort of protection."

"That's sort of loaded don't you think?"

"Well, why don't you ask the gods above to change how this works. Honestly kid, what do you want me to do?"

"Fair point. But thanks Em. I'll repay you someday!" I said excitedly.

"No need. Just take me to dinner sometimes and I'll consider us even." She said flirtingly. 

Embarrassed, I nod my head and head out the door. "When are you free this week?" I said, red in the face.

"Tomorrow. At noon." She replied

I chuckled a bit. "Alright, noted. See you around Em!" 

"See ya!" She said as I closed the door. I put my sword into my leather strap and head out the door.

"See ya soon Rosey!" I said before heading out.

She bowed. "Good hunting, Sebas"