As Clive walked out of the adventurer's hall with his newly earned badge, Ruby at his side, he was practically bursting with excitement. This was the moment he had dreamed of for years.

  “I can’t wait to show this off to my old mercenary friends!” he boasted. “And I gotta tell my master, Bjarni!”

  Ruby chuckled at his enthusiasm as they made their way toward the gathering hall. There, they searched for a suitable first quest, eventually pulling a quest sheet from the board:

  Defeat 20 goblins – 3,000 gold – 15,000 experience points.

  Without hesitation, they signed their names, and the clerk activated their adventurer badges. But before heading out, they fueled up with a hearty meal at the adventurer hall—Clive insisting they needed "proper energy" for their first adventure.

  As they journeyed toward the goblin hideout, they encountered various monsters along the way, using the time to sharpen their skills and learn more about each other.

  “So, if you're a magic user, where’s your staff or wand?” Ruby asked curiously.

  “I’m not a wizard,” Clive corrected. “I’m a pyromancer, subclass brawler.”

  Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Then what’s with all the rings on your fingers?”

  Clive smirked, holding up his hands. “Each one’s enchanted. Speed, strength, vitality, spell casting, vision, counter magic, mana pool, luck—you name it.”

  Ruby's eyes widened. “That’s insane! How’d you get all these?”

  “Hunting monsters,” Clive said with a shrug. “I just have a knack for finding good loot. And since I don’t need weapons, I focus on enchantment jewelry and armor.”

  Ruby shook her head in disbelief. “You mean to tell me you’ve been collecting all this without ever officially becoming an adventurer until now?”

  Clive grinned. “Guess so.”

  As they neared the goblin hideout, Clive activated his vision enhancement, scanning the area. “These goblins aren’t normal. They’re heavily armed.”

  Ruby frowned. “Are you sure? The quest listed them as tier-one goblins.”

  “One of them has a rare sword,” Clive pointed out.

  Ruby shrugged. “Still, we can take ‘em.”

  Without further hesitation, they launched their ambush. Ruby’s agility made her a blur, taking down goblins with precise, rogue-like efficiency, while Clive relied on close-quarters fire magic, striking with flaming fists. One by one, the goblins fell.

  When the last one was defeated, Ruby pulled out the quest sheet—but something was off.

  “It’s not marked as complete,” she muttered.

  Clive peered over her shoulder. “What does that mean?”

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  “Normally, the word ‘Completed’ would appear once all objectives are met. Unless…”

  Before she could finish, a thunderous roar echoed from within the cave. New words shimmered into existence on the quest sheet:

  Timed Event: Bring back the head of the Armored Goblin King, Scar.

  Ruby gasped. “Oh my gosh! A timed event!”

  Clive blinked. “A what?”

  “Timed events happen when a boss-tier enemy appears. They're rare, but the rewards are incredible.”

  Clive cracked his knuckles, flames flickering around his fists. “Then what are we waiting for?”

  From the darkness of the cave, a towering goblin emerged, clad in thick armor and wielding a jagged bone dagger. Ruby’s eyes widened.

  “It’s wielding Bone Snapper! We have to take it down!”

  Without missing a beat, she hurled smoke bombs, blinding the goblin king. Clive took to the air, launching small fire projectiles while Ruby dashed in, severing the goblin’s wrist to disarm him. The goblin roared in pain—just as Clive plummeted from the sky, casting Shatter Burst. His body transformed into multiple flaming projectiles before converging into a massive fireball, crashing down onto the goblin king.

  When the flames died down, only ashes remained.

  Ruby checked the quest sheet again, and this time, the word Completed glowed at the bottom. She then hurried to the fallen weapon, relief washing over her when the Bone Snapper dagger hadn’t vanished along with its owner.

  “Yes! A new dagger!” she cheered.

  Clive chuckled. “Let’s check the cave. There might be more loot.”

  Later that day, they returned to town to turn in the quest and collect their gold. As they walked, Ruby eyed Clive thoughtfully.

  “Hey, are you from Yohansville?”

  Clive shook his head. “No, I grew up in Kindlewood. Orphaned.”

  Ruby tilted her head. “Then what brings you here?”

  Clive shrugged. “Just a merc, traveling for gold. No grand backstory.”

  That evening, they celebrated Clive’s first successful quest with a feast at a nearby tavern.

  As they ate, Clive leaned in. “So, who’s Eugene Sparks?”

  Ruby nearly choked on her drink. “She’s the captain of the Silver Wyvern Guild. An elf from Redwood Town, heir to the throne there.”

  Clive nodded, intrigued.

  Ruby smirked. “Don’t even think about it. She’s way out of your league.”

  Clive’s face turned red. “I wasn’t—”

  “She doesn’t have time for men,” Ruby teased. “Besides, she’s probably too strong for you.”

  Clive scoffed. “No one is stronger than me!”

  Ruby burst into laughter. “Please. The strongest adventurers are Orvell and his queen, Beatrice.”

  Clive furrowed his brow. “Who?”

  Ruby gawked at him. “You don’t know the great heroes? They saved Grassmark and Iron Hall like, three times.”

  Clive scratched his head. “Nope. Never heard of them.”

  Ruby sighed but let it go. Instead, her eyes wandered to the rune markings on Clive’s arms.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask—what’s with the markings?”

  Clive flexed his fingers. “My flames used to go out of control when I was younger. My master placed these runes to limit my firepower.”

  “You had a master?” Ruby asked.

  “Yeah. Haven’t seen him in years, though. We had a falling out.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Bjarni.”

  At the mention of the name, Ruby’s face paled.

  “Oh.”

  Clive raised an eyebrow. “You know him? Dwarf, fists of iron, break stuff for fun?”

  Ruby quickly changed the subject. “Let’s visit Iron Hall. It'll be a three-day ride, so get some sleep.”

  Clive noticed the sudden shift in her tone. It was like she’d seen a ghost.

  Still, he didn’t question it. Instead, he went to his room, heart still racing with excitement. His first quest as an adventurer was a success, and tomorrow, he would meet the strongest adventurer in the land.