"Wow, my reward of 25 Kai, I didn't expect to make money so easily," Blaze said.
Soon after, Rico arrived and greeted Blaze.
"Hey... Hey... Blaze!" Rico shouted from a distance.
"Is that Rico? Or not?" Blaze wondered to himself.
As Rico got closer, Blaze realized it was indeed Rico, and he greeted him back.
"Hey... Hey... Rico... I'm here!" Blaze waved his hand.
"Hey, buddy, I heard you just completed your first mission. Congratulations!" Rico said with a big smile at Blaze.
"Oh... Thank you!" Blaze replied.
"So, what are you going to do with that money?" Rico asked Blaze.
"I'm going to save it. The cost of living here is higher than back in my home country, the Fire Nation Ra," Blaze said.
"Really?" Rico replied, surprised. "You think the cost of living here is expensive?"
"Yes, it's true. I used to rent a room for 1 million Ryu back home, and I could live comfortably, but here everything is more expensive. Should I move to another country to find a better place?" Blaze said.
"Is the Fire Nation's currency really that weak compared to our Kai?" Rico asked.
"Yes, it's true. 1 Kai equals 10 Ryu. Our country's currency has been decreasing every year," Blaze replied.
"That's why I want to stabilize my country's economy and make it prosperous one day," Blaze continued.
"How do you plan to do that?" Rico asked.
Blaze answered, "If I become the king of the Fire Nation, I will ask children with high IQs to come to the plant country Dementer to learn how they managed to make their country so advanced and rich."
"Oh... I see... Our country became what it is today because our ancestors spent a lot of time increasing knowledge, upgrading fields of science and technology, unlike the ancestors of other countries, who mostly spent their time in wars for territorial expansion," Rico said.
"Your ancestors were impressive. How did they manage to focus on knowledge and technology, while in the year 2,000,000 Wiheas ago, according to recorded history, the ancestors of various elemental countries were at war with each other to expand their territories? How did your ancestors avoid that?" Blaze asked.
Rico answered, "Our ancestors didn't want to fight or expand their territories. They chose to remain neutral and made agreements with warring countries to not interfere with Dementer's land. That's why we didn't join the territorial wars."
"I see," Blaze said.
Suddenly, Rico accidentally bumped into a man wearing a black fur cloak, his face hidden under the cloak.
"Ouch... Ouch... Ouch... Ah, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, please forgive me," Rico said, apologizing to the man he had accidentally bumped into, as he hadn't been paying attention while talking to Blaze.
"It's okay," the man said, and he walked away.
"Are you alright?" Blaze asked Rico.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rico replied.
"Ugh... You should be more careful, look around you... You're such a mess," Blaze said, laughing a little.
Seeing Blaze laugh, Rico couldn't help but laugh too. They laughed together until they were both exhausted from laughing.
After they calmed down, they decided to go for drinks at one of their favorite bars.
Soon after, they entered the bar and ordered two glasses of beer.
Not long after, a woman entered the bar, and Blaze instantly fell in love at first sight with her—she was Petra Ackerman.
"Excuse me," Petra said as she opened the bar door.
"Welcome," the bartender greeted Petra.
"What would you like to order, Miss Petra?" the bartender asked.
"I'm not in the mood for beer, I'll have a soda," Petra said.
"Alright, your soda will be right up," the bartender responded.
Noticing Blaze and Rico, Petra greeted them.
"Hey Rico, hey Blaze," Petra said as she approached.
"Oh... Hey Petra, long time no see," Rico replied.
"Oh, hey Petra. Where did you come from?" Blaze asked.
"I just came from checking the mission board in the Guild. I saw a mission to kill a dragon with fire elemental powers that's attacking a village in the eastern part of Dementer," Petra explained.
"Really? So, what are you going to do?" Rico asked.
"I want to take that mission, but the Guild officer said it's only for groups of at least three adventurers, so I can't do it alone. That's why I'm sad," Petra said.
"You really want that mission, huh? Why?" Blaze asked.
"Because the reward for that mission is 300 Kai. That's why I really want it," Petra explained.
"If only I had a group of three, my team and I could take that mission," Petra added.
"Hey Petra, can't you see we're here together and not doing any mission? What if we make a group of three—me, Blaze, and you?" Rico suggested.
"You're right, but as long as you two are okay with it, I'm fine with being in a group with you," Petra said.
"I'm okay with being in your group," Rico said with a smile.
"You're in too, right, Blaze?" Rico asked Blaze.
"Yeah, I'm in..." Blaze replied.
"Alright then, let's take the mission after we finish drinking here," Petra said.
"Here's your soda, miss," the bartender said, handing Petra her drink.
"Oh... Thank you," Petra said with a smile.
The bartender smiled back.
After finishing their drinks, they headed straight to the Guild to grab the mission before anyone else could.
Upon arriving at the Guild, they immediately went to the mission board.
"Here it is, this is the mission," Petra said, pointing to it.
"Alright, take it and submit it to the Guild officer," Blaze said.
Petra took the mission and handed it over to the Guild officer.
"We'd like to take this mission," Petra said.
"Okay, may I know who the members of your group are? This mission requires a group of adventurers, not an individual," the officer said.
"I know, we're in a group," Petra replied. "I'm with my friends over there—Rico, the Earth Element, Blaze, the Fire Element, and me, Petra, the Wind Element."
"Alright, the mission is accepted. But first, could you please write your group's name on this form to confirm that your group is the one taking this mission?" the officer said.
Without hesitation, Rico took the mission form and wrote their names, naming their group "BLARIPET."
"Done," Rico said after finishing.
"Let me see," Petra said.
"BLARIPET? What does that mean?" Petra asked Rico.
"BLARIPET is short for Blaze, Rico, and Petra," Rico explained.
"I don't really care about the name, as long as we get this mission done," Blaze said.
Petra agreed with Blaze, and the three of them set off to complete their mission to slay the dragon.
They quickly headed toward the dragon's location.