The interviewer looked Arthur’s resume up and down one more time, or at least, she pretended to do so. He straightened in his seat, not that it would help; he already knew where this was going.

  The interview glanced at Arthur from under her spectacles. “Mr. Reed. You’ve got a good future ahead of you. Decent enough grades. A near-honor student for sure…”

  He let the half-compliments hang in the air and waited for the inevitable.

  “…but I’m afraid your credentials don’t match the qualifications we’re looking for. We only hire from the very cream of the crop. The cherry on top of the cream, in fact. And usually only those with some magical capabilities, too.”

  “We’ve been thoroughly trained in dealing with all manner of magical threats and creatures.” Arthur leaned forward to point at one of the bullet points on his CV. “Says it right here.”

  He shuffled uncomfortably in his armor. He wasn’t supposed to fight anyone in these job interviews, as far as he knew, but it couldn’t hurt to dress the part.

  “Experience in the classroom, you mean,” she said. “Now if you had some years of in the field, but alas...”

  She put the CV face down on her desk and pushed it back to him. She began rifling through the stack of other applicants’ resumes.

  It was clear Arthur’s time here was done. Done for her, at least; he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

  “Actually, our classes over at U of B could be pretty hands-on at times,” he said. “Talks from retired adventurers. Field trips to the, uh, museum.”

  She settled on one of the resumes from the stack and ran over it.

  “There was that one time I helped a girl’s cat down a tree, so there’s that,” Arthur said.

  “I’m afraid that doesn’t count as experience, Mr. Reed.”

  “So, you’re telling me you need experience to get experience?” he asked.

  “We’ve all got to start somewhere.”

  “But, but... you’re an adventuring guild. Getting ‘experience’ in this industry could mean dying.”

  “And that is a risk we’re willing to take.”

  “I’m sorry, a risk you’re—?”

  Arthur cut himself short. He took a deep breath, trying not to make it too obvious. It was quiet for a while. The only noise was the sound of combat in the distance. Professionals on the training grounds, no doubt. Not a peep from the hallway just outside, though.

  Mrs. Lind glanced up from her readings as though surprised Arthur was still there. “If I may say, Mr. Reed, it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure there are plenty of job opportunities out there for a strong, intelligent young man such as yourself. Just not in the adventuring industry.”

  “I know that. It’s just… I was looking forward to working for your company.” He decided not to mention that this was the fifth guild he had applied to.

  “Would you be a dear and call in the next applicant on your way out.”

  Guess that’s that.

  Arthur stood then started toward the door. Halfway there, he stopped and turned back. “Might I say, that is a beautiful necklace you have there,” he said with all the charm he could muster. “Oh, and I love what you’ve done with the hair; the pencil is a nice touch.”

  “It’s a dwarf woman. Red hair. You can’t miss her.”

  “Okay. Thank you for your time and consideration.”

  Arthur shut the door shut behind him with a soft click. He scanned the dozen other applicants, none of whom gave him a glance, until his eyes landed on a tuft of red hair on the far end of the waiting bench. He made his way down the hallway, carefully stepping around an orc ranger’s mastiff companion.

  “Hi, you’re up next,” Arthur said to the dwarf.

  Without a word, she nodded in Arthur’s general direction, then headed for the office, battle-ax in tow.

  “Good luck in there,” he said, though she didn’t seem to hear him.

  “Why, if it isn’t Arthur Gilbert Reed in the flesh, thought I smelled something in here,” a familiar voice boomed from behind him.

  Arthur tried to spin around as slowly as he could to delay the inevitable. When he finally came face to face with a tall man with a shaggy brown beard, he forced his facial muscles into something he hoped resembled a smile.

  “Are you sure you are not just smelling yourself, Garth?” said the woman in wizard’s robes standing next to him. She was holding a tall wooden staff, and a grey owl was perched on her shoulder. “Or perhaps it’s one of these creatures they allow in here for whatever reason.” The owl side-eyed the ranger’s mastiff for a heartbeat.

  “Melissa, Garth, a good afternoon to you too,” Arthur said, “funny seeing you two here.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Funny to see two adventurers in an adventurer’s guild?” Melissa said.

  “You know what I mean,” Arthur said. “Like how when you’re used to seeing your classmates in a school setting and then you see them in the wild in a different context. It’s weird is all.”

  An awkward silence followed.

  “Anyhoo, what’re you doing here then?” Asked Garth as if he didn’t already know. “How’s life after academy been treating you? Still working at the ‘ol tavern? Got a girl now? I bet you do, you dog.”

  “Life’s been good, yes, all good on the whole life front,” said Arthur. “I’m here to apply for a position, as a matter of fact. I’m sure you two have been through this whole thing before. Yup, I think I did pretty good in there. We could be coworkers soon.”

  “Actually, I got offered the job right after graduation,” said Melissa.

  Of course she did.

  “Alright, way to go, buddy!” Garth said. He tried to slap Arthur on the ass but hit him in the small of the back instead. “Hey, maybe they’ll even assign us to the same party.”

  Arthur cringed at the idea, hopefully not visibly.

  “Yep, I like my chances,” he said. He made a show of glancing out the window to check where the sun was in the sky. “Oh, would you look at the time? Can’t talk for long, got somewhere else to be.”

  “So you are still working at that dump,” Melissa said.

  “Yeah, some people need to work for a living even before working for a living. We can’t all rely on daddy’s money to get us through uni or mommy’s connections to get us a job.” Arthur spun and started speed walking to the exit before they could respond.

  “Ah, don’t mind him, he’s just jealous,” Garth said loud enough for him to hear.

  Arthur burst through the guild’s front doors, and a cool autumn wind whipped his face, the sun beaming down on him from its zenith.

  Three more months, he reminded himself. He had promised that he would go job hunting for half a year after graduation before he decided to panic. Just in time for winter, too. He had hoped that he’d be living in a magic-heated unit by then, although that was a bit of a stretch even if he had landed that job.

  He rounded a bend and was met with a picturesque view of the harbor. Even from here, you could see the big and little ships leaving the docks and sailing for the horizon. Most of the questing guilds were located in the innermost circle of the city, which was situated on a higher elevation so that the people here could literally look down on those on the outer circles.

  Arthur squinted but still couldn’t pick out the outline of The Drunken Drake amongst the shanties and outhouses.

  In truth, he had several hours to kill before his shift at the tavern. But with nothing else to do, he began the long trek home.

  ~~

  Arthur left Upper Circle, squeezed through the crowded markets of Mid City, and meandered along the choking alleyways of Lowtown until he stopped in front of a tall, weather-beaten excuse of a building. A painting of a drake holding a frothy mug hung over the door. It was a dragon, technically, not a drake, but the second ‘D’ was faded so the words on the sign read ‘The Drunken rake’ so it was all the same.

  Home sweet home.

  He stepped through the door, and the tavern’s signature stench of stale ale and dried vomit greeted him, the din of dozens of conversations ringing in his ears. What he didn’t expect was the stout form of a middle-aged woman standing in front of him.

  “Arthur, there you are,” said Tilda, the tavern’s proprietor. “Been looking everywhere for you.”

  “I told you last night I had an interview today.”

  “Interview? Don’t tell me your noggin’s still filled with delusions of grandeur. Goin’ on epic quests to save the world. Pfft!”

  Arthur didn’t have the energy to engage in this same back-and-forth again, so he said nothing. That a realization struck him.

  “What’re you looking for me for?” he asked. “Night shift doesn’t start for hours.”

  “You, boy, have a visitor, and you’ve been making her wait.”

  A visitor?

  He peered over Tilda’s shoulder into the tavern. His eyes searched the crowd for anyone he might know. Through the cacophony, he picked out one notable sound: a set of heavy footsteps barreling down the staircase. He already knew who it was before he saw her, so when she reached the bottom, a grin was already plastered on his face.

  “Arthur!” Sveta screamed.

  Half the tavern jumped in their seats.

  Arthur laughed. “It’s good to see you too, Sveta.”

  ~~

  “—had a maw wide enough to swallow a mammoth whole with a hundred razor blade teeth. I backed up and honed in on the space between its cold, alien eyes. With a mad dash, I launched myself at the beast, ax raised…”

  Sveta took a long, hard sip of ale.

  The audience collectively held its breath.

  She wiped the froth off her upper lip and slammed the mug down. “I crashed into the creature’s monstrous head and sliced its face clean in half. The tentacles writhed, releasing the sailors in their grip. Then the crew pulled me back on board, and the squid sunk back into the depths of hell.”

  The small crowd that had gathered gave her a round of applause.

  “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all day.” Sveta stood and took a bow.

  The tavern patrons dispersed and went back to their business, leaving Sveta and Arthur alone at the bar.

  “I take it the new job’s going well,” Arthur said.

  She leaned in and smiled. “I may have embellished a bit.”

  Arthur laughed. “Never change, Sveta, never change.”

  “So what’s going on with you? Still looking to join a guild?”

  “That’s the plan.” He stared at the bottom of his empty mug and sighed. “I’m gonna need another drink.”

  Sveta slapped his back. “They don’t know what they’re missing. Give it some time, you’ll get in eventually.”

  “Thanks, but I’m not so sure anymore. I know they’d hire you in an instant, though.”

  Sveta spat the ale through her nostrils. “Ha! Like you’d ever see me working for those prancing pricks.”

  “I thought so,” Arthur said. “But I gotta say, I couldn’t imagine you as a security guard for a merchant company.”

  “Head of security,” she corrected. “Besides, the pay is good. Not that I have time to spend it.”

  “You’re leaving again?”

  “Tomorrow morning. For about a month.”

  “Tough luck.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s life for you.” She stared off at the sea out the window.

  Arthur sat in silence with her for a few seconds.

  And then Sveta said all of a sudden, “Now, Fareed as a professor, that you could imagine.”

  They laughed together just like the old times.

  “You should see him in one of his lectures,” Arthur said. “He’s a natural.”

  “I wish, but I have preparations to make tonight. Say hi to him for me if you see him, will you?”

  “Sure thing. Though I don’t think he has much free time these days either.”

  Sveta nodded. Then her expression softened, the smile disappearing as soon as it had appeared. “And what about Adamu? How’s he?” she asked.

  “Ah, well, he seemed to be doing okay the last time I saw him. About as okay as you’d expect.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I think the farming life suits him,” Arthur said. “Having a routine to follow every day seems to help. That and the calming peace of pastoral life, I suppose.”

  “Good, that’s good.”

  Adamu was never really the same after Mei passed. But it was like his idol once told him, ‘Things will get better with time.’ Arthur just wished he was there so he could say those words back to Adamu.

  Several more moments passed without either of them saying anything. They didn’t need to.

  Then, out of the silence, Sveta raised her mug. “Here’s to the good old days.”

  “Cheers.” Arthur raised his own mug and clinked it with hers.

  His troubles suddenly felt small and silly. Mei wasn’t just an adventurer, she was a hero. There was a difference. After all this time of chasing after guilds and contracts, he had forgotten which of the two he wanted to be.