Marco gazes up from the ground at the blue sky dotted with fluffy blue clouds and tries to ignore the taste of Cursed Wolf brain, he unfortunately had his mouth open when he launched that last [Salt Bolt] and gray matter ended up in his mouth.

  “That was brutal, I don’t know why this job was so difficult even before the Alpha showed up.” Marco thinks, shoving himself to his feet and trying to scrape off as much viscera as he can.

  Congratulation on completing your Tin Ranked Adventurer Job.

  Rewards not available due to Affinity Disparity between Adventurer Marco and completed job.

  Bonus Reward: For Slaying the Cursed Alpha Wolf, You Receive:

  Mana Replenishment

  Marco feels a coolness wash through his center, scrubbing away all of the aches and pains from using so much of his Mana so quickly. He summons a bit of [Salt] to see if there is any lingering soreness, thankfully there isn’t, the System having refilling his Mana and repaired his worn channels.

  He stands on shaky legs, covered in bruises from glancing blows and being kicked through a dozen feet of wheat and barley. Staring at the monstrous creature, he decides to take what is left of the head back to the Guildhall to see why there was an extra creature in the area.

  Marco takes a deep breath, calming himself and focusing on manipulating his bolt spell, flattening the projectile into a thin sheet, like the blade of a guillotine. It takes a few minutes and numerous attempts but soon the blade shoots from Marco’s hand and severs the monster’s head.

  He pokes it as lightly as he can, storing it into his [Inventory] and turning back in the direction of Woodholme, deciding to take it slow and wander home rather than expend more Mana and hurt his battered body more.

  Limping and resting through the fields of barley, Marco loves the feeling of the swaying golden grain, walking with his hands spread to feel the plants. He slowly makes his way back to The Wind Gate, taking much longer on the trek back almost fifty minutes.

  He enters the city, “I made it back, thank goodness. That was way closer than it should have been.” Walking past the barracks filled with guards and the smithies still belching smoke into Inscriptions, Marco limps as fast as he can toward the Guildhall.

  He is fairly angry, not knowing why he was ambushed on a Job, something that he didn’t know was possible. Pushing his way gently through the crowd that perpetually hangs around the Guildhall, reaching the giant wooden doors and pushing them open Marco storms to the line and impatiently waits.

  Marco knows it isn’t the clerk's fault but he is upset that his life was so close to ending with the giant wolf. He makes his way through the line, reaching the desk and immediately making his System screen visible to the clerk.

  “There was an unaccounted for monster in the area. I don’t know if this is common but it was much stronger than the other Cursed Wolves.” Marco says, almost pulling the Alpha Wolf head from his [Inventory].

  “You had a System relayed Job that was incorrect?” The middle aged man says, suddenly extremely nervous. Brown hair and gray eyes that are steadily widening, “Oh Sun, it was System relayed. I will have to get someone higher than me to deal with this.”

  *Ping* Joseph, Clerk

  Joseph stands up and runs toward the stairs set in the backwall. He stumbles as he moves as fast as he can disappearing up the stairs quickly.

  “Marco? Are you okay? You’re covered in blood and other fluids.” A familiar voice says from behind Marco. He turns and sees Ben moving toward him, “Are you injured or is that monster viscera?”

  “All monster blood but I’ve got some nasty bruises that I am recovering slowly from.” Marco replies, “I got ambushed by an Alpha Cursed Wolf while fighting regular Cursed Wolves.”

  “System relayed or regular posting?” Ben asks, freezing mid step before continuing his approach.

  “System gave it to me from the Tin board.” Marco says.

  “Oh Sun. That isn’t good, the System doesn’t mess up often but when it does people usually die. How many normal wolves on top of the big one?” Ben asks, hand glowing with [Light], Marco sighs in relief as his bruises fade quickly.

  He whips up a small cloud of [Salt] that quickly turns red and gray as the blood and viscera are absorbed by the mineral. He dismisses his element back in Mana, feeling better now that he is cleaner.

  He takes a deep breath and nearly chokes at a familiar Mana pressure explodes throughout the building.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  *Ping* Samirah Lon, Tempestarii

  A familiar gnome appears in a gale, moving so quickly that the winds scream and whip around the common room. “MARCO PLEASE REPORT TO MY OFFICE.” The incredibly powerful Mage disappears in a snap of [Air].

  Marco slightly stunned to be called out so loudly in the common room that he takes a moment to start moving, needing a small nudge from Ben to take his first step toward the stairs. He weaves through the crowd, most of the other Adventurers staring at him as he walks past, happy to be healed and not limping.

  He enters the office decorated in dark wood and moving storm painting. “Marco reporting to your office Guildmistress.” He says with a little fake salute hand at his temple.

  “Not the time to be messing around Marco, System mistakes are usually deadly.” Samirah says, “You were sent on a Tin job to hunt twenty-five Cursed Wolves in the Farmlands, correct?”

  “Yes Guildmistress, but an Alpha Wolf ambushed me right after I killed the last Cursed Wolf.” Marco explains.

  “Sun! Alpha Wolves usually span from Bronze to Gold. Surprised and freshly out of combat you did well to not only survive but slay the creature.” Samirah praises, “I am unfortunately unable to award you completion for a Bronze job with the System.”

  Marco flinches as he gets a System notifcation.

  *Ping* Error Rectified

  Congratulations on completing your Bronze Ranked Adventurer Job.

  “I think the System just fixed that issue. I just got a notification about completing my first Bronze rank job.” Marco says. Samirah has a slowly growing smile on her face.

  “Excellent, that is the best we can hope for when something like this happens. This makes it easier for you to complete your required one job per previous rank that I asked of you.” Samirah says, “Also Marco, why are you doing jobs solo? System jobs are designed for four-man teams.”

  “Oh. I wasn’t aware of that. I thought because I was being offered the jobs that they were tailored to me.” Marco says, blushing in embarrassment.

  Samirah’s palm meets his forehead in a superpowered facepalm, the smacking sound echoing lightly around the room. “Interesting that the facepalm is universal.” Marco chuckles to himself.

  “Young man, please gather a team and do your best not to hurt yourself.” Says the Guildmistress, “You are dismissed Marco, good luck with future jobs and I hope to see you at dinner soon.”

  Marco bows to the Guildmistress and exits the dark wood office and makes his way back to the common room. He sees Ben where he left him several moments ago mingling with others, he heads toward the elf.

  “Ben, I’m sorry for interrupting but do you have a moment to chat?” Marco asks, approaching the small group of people. He recognizes Shen Lockheart from a couple days ago, the one that protected the girl in the fight. “Oh, hello Shen, I was hoping to find you as well. Do you have a moment?”

  They both agree and they leave the common room together, exiting on to the street and heading toward one of the great smelling food stalls. Marco sees that it’s a taco stand, he resists doing a happy jig in the street, wanting to make a good impression on Shen.

  Shen is handsome up close, the last time Marco had only seen him from across the room with his forearms smoking. Dark brown skin like tree bark, dark black hair and dark green eyes along with the elf’s pointed ears all coming together like a fine sculpture.

  “Hopefully I can get these two to be team members, a tank and a healer? Those are the hardest roles to fill, just need one more damage-dealer and we will be set.” Marco thinks to himself, ordering himself some sweet and spicy pork tacos with grilled pineapple and topped with cilantro and chopped onion, “I am so happy they have an approximation of al pastor here.”

  “Please order whatever you’d like, my treat for interrupting your conversation.” Marco offers and steps to the side. The pair of elves ordering tacos filled with seasoned jackfruit and grilled vegetables.

  They eat in each other's company and once they are finished, they settle in for a serious talk.

  “So, it turns out I should be doing these Adventurer Jobs with a party of four.” Marco says sheepishly.

  “You’ve been doing jobs solo? Marco that is incredibly dangerous.” Ben scolds, a look of understanding coming over his face, “Is that why you were so bruised today? What rank job did you do today?”

  “Tin,” Marco smiles at the look of surprise and confusion passing over Ben’s face. "And Bronze.” Shen’s jaw drops.

  “You were the cause of the commotion earlier? I heard there was a System error.” Shen blurts out, looking embarrassed at his outburst and tries to compose himself. “I am sorry, I am Shen of House Lockheart.”

  “I am Marco Vito, currently staying at House Ivory.” He introduces himself, “I am impressed with your character, I saw you protect that girl in the Guildhall the other day.”

  “I just strive to do what is best, I am a [Earth] Warrior and fit best into a Tank combat role. I presume that is what this conversation is about?” Shen says, “I do not currently belong to a permanent party and would be interested to hear more about you.”

  “Ah, you presume correctly. I am a [Salt] Mage and would fit best in the main damage-dealer role I believe. I have little true combat experience but I took down a Bronze Alpha Wolf alone less than two hours ago.”

  “A solo Bronze kill? That is truly impressive and it was after slaying a bunch of Tin mobs right?” Shen says, dark green eyes widening.

  “Yeah, twenty-five Cursed Wolves and then the big boy.” Marco says, fidgeting slightly, not great at accepting compliments.

  “And both of you know that I am a [Light] Healer, best for a support role. I have some minor damage spells but I have mainly focused on healing spells and a touch of crowd control.” Ben says, a swirl of light dancing between his fingers.

  “Show off,” Marco thinks to himself, imagining himself fumbling a cube of [Salt] through his fingers.

  “If both of you are interested in forming a temporary party, I still have the afternoon free and we could take on a Silver job to see if we work together well? We would need a fourth, no?” Marco asks, excited by the prospect of combat with others.

  “We could do a Silver with three of us without too much trouble, we have at least one of each role.” Shen says, “Silver is one rank below both Ben and I so we shouldn’t have any issue.”

  Marco knocks on the wooden surface of a table nearby, getting odd looks from others around him.

  “I am available for the rest of the day and would be happy to do a Silver job with both of you.” Ben says, halting his fidgeting.

  “I am also free for the afternoon,” Shen says, beginning to walk toward the Guildhall once again. “Let’s go pick out a job!”

  Marco and Ben follow their new Tank into the Guildhall, smiles on their faces.