“Do you want to take on a combat mission?”

  Syra’s question caught Rayne off guard, and he had to consider it before responding. They were nearly a week and a half into their partnership formed at the end of initiation, but they had yet to take on a combat mission. Between herb gathering, finding lost items, scouting areas where monsters had recently moved in, and one mission to find a lady’s lost cat, there had been more than enough non-combat related missions to take without risking their lives in a fight.

  It was not that Rayne was particularly averse to combat, but if there was no need to risk one’s life, then why do so? Besides, he was weak, and he knew it. After a full week of training under Syra’s tutelage, he had discovered just how little he actually knew with regards to combat, and while it had lit a fire under him to work hard and perform better, it had only been a week. He was still weak, and that meant that combat missions were risky. A fact he knew better than ever after finding Leon the other day.

  Although he had done his best not to show it, the condition the fallen noble had been left in had chilled him. Leon was by far the strongest of everyone present at the initiation, including Syra. For him to have been rendered into such a state by goblins, a monster that barely edged out banivs in the unranked monster hierarchy, well…

  To put it bluntly, it scared him. Leon would make mincemeat out of him if they fought, and that Leon had been all but turned into minced meat himself by a handful of unranked monsters... So for Syra to propose a combat mission, so soon after their run in with Leon, it surprised him.

  His shock must have shown on his face, for Syra gave him a sympathetic look. “If you want to be an adventurer, you’ll have to take on combat missions eventually. Once you hit bronze, you can be selected for lottery missions, and then you’ve got no choice but to go if chosen.”

  Rayne tilted his head. “Lottery missions?”

  “Missions that are so important to the guild or area as a whole that they’re mandatory,” Syra explained. “When monsters threaten the safety of a region, adventurers move out in force to suppress them. Since these expeditions are dangerous, the guild selects members through a lottery system. I think they’re actually called subjugation expeditions, but I could be wrong. But adventurers are chosen through a drawing of names, and so to us, they’re known as lotto missions.”

  “Enter the lotto and win a chance to die, gotcha.” Rayne grimaced at the thought. “Are the rewards good at least?”

  Syra took on a complicated expression. “Yes, but like I said, they’re dangerous. My mother once told me that while they pay well, these subjugation missions are lottery based because lots of adventurers die every time. And the pay isn’t so high that people are willing to risk their lives for it.”

  This was the first time Rayne had heard her mention a mother, but it made sense. Syra was clearly both well-informed on adventuring and a well-trained fighter in her own right. For her to have a family member who was an experienced adventurer explained everything.

  “You have a mother?”

  “Everyone has a mother, Rayne.”

  Resisting the urge to facepalm, Rayne reworded his sentence. “What I meant is, your mother’s an adventurer?”

  “She was,” Syra said bluntly, her tone making it clear that she was not willing to discuss this any further.

  Respecting her wishes, Rayne returned his thoughts to the topic at hand. Much as he hated to admit it, having grown comfortable taking on non-combat missions, Syra’s logic made sense. Training was one thing, but there was no teacher like practical experience, and the sooner he started getting some of that, the better. There was only one thing he had to do first, though…

  “Alright, but before we do, I want to get a new weapon.”

  Syra nodded, folding her arms as she did. “That makes sense. Your sword skills are coming along, but you’ve got a long way to go. It’s enough for unranked monsters, though. Just out of curiosity, what were you thinking?”

  “A bow,” Rayne said without hesitation. “Something that lets me keep a good distance from the monsters. Obviously, I’d still keep a sword for close quarters stuff, but I feel that having a ranged option would be a big help.”

  “And it might just keep you safe to keep earning money for that sister of yours, eh?” Syra needled him, though she wore a smile on her face. Ceasing her teasing, she appeared contemplative. “A bow, eh? Why not a crossbow? They’re easier to use, and more powerful than a bow in the hands of an untrained user, which I’d imagine you are,” she noted, staring pointedly at his uncalloused fingers.

  “Guilty,” Rayne admitted. “Apart from the monthly militia training sessions, I haven’t actually shot a bow all that much. But I do have some experience, paltry as that may be.”

  Syra rolled her eyes. “Four hours a weekend a couple times a year is hardly what I would call experience, but I guess you’d know the basics at least.”

  “Pretty much. And I did consider a crossbow,” Rayne informed her, “but I decided against it for two reasons. The first,” he said, holding up one finger, “is that crossbows are more expensive than bows. A lot more expensive. Even a proper warbow is only half the price of a crossbow, and bolts are pricier than arrows as well.”

  Syra nodded. “And the second?”

  “Skill. If I plan to be an adventurer, then naturally, I should aim for the weapon with a higher ceiling. A crossbow can do great damage in the hands of those with less skill, but a proper archer can get off an entire quiver at blazing speed. I can’t imagine crossbows would do me much good past the silver-tier, so the sooner I learn the bow, the better.”

  Clapping him on the back, Syra grinned. “All good reasons. Alright, you’ve convinced me, not that you needed my permission in the first place. But just know, if I find an arrow in my back, I’ll be a tiny bit mad.”

  With an awkward smile, Rayne looked at her, suddenly envisioning the very real possibility of that happening. “I’ll do my best to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

  Ignoring his discomfort, Syra looked around. “So we’re off to the bowyer, then? Or no, wait. The guild should have beginner gear available for cheap.”

  Vaguely remembering the disinterested receptionist having said something of the sort, Rayne nodded. Together, the two headed for the guild basement where the armory and guild shop resided.

  The basement was a single spacious room that acted as a one-stop shop for all things adventuring related. Shelves held potions, ropes, healing herbs, ammunition, armor, and more, each with an associated price tag. Nothing was locked down, the logic likely being that anyone foolish enough to steal from the very basement of the adventurer’s guild was strong enough to render such precautions pointless.

  Admiring a set of drake leather boots, Rayne forced himself to look forward as they headed past the shelves to the armoury at the far end of the room.

  A literal hole in the wall, the armoury itself was off limits to adventurers. Instead, there was a window, the hole, that acted as the sales counter for adventurers to get what they needed from the large store of weaponry. Past the counter, the armory proper could be seen. Racks of weapons hung against the wall, containing swords, maces, polearms, axes, and more. Armor lay in cases, each labeled with the size and material.

  When Rayne had been here last, it had been a woman on duty. Today it was an extremely bored looking man with a blue goatee, leaning back in his chair with a book in his hands. Upon seeing their approach, he immediately put the book down and straightened up with a grateful look at the two adventurers.

  Must not be a very good book, Rayne thought.

  “Welcome to the armory! I’m Toreg. What can I do for you today?”

  Glancing at Syra, Rayne cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a bow.”

  Toreg nodded understandingly. “To buy or rent? If you’re here for initiation, then you can rent one set of armor and one sword, mace, or axe for a month free of charge. Otherwise, you’ve gotta pay. One twentieth of the purchase price per week, with full price paid in the case of your death.”

  Rayne furrowed his brow. “What’s the cost of a bow?”

  Staring at Rayne, Toreg quirked his lips. “That depends on the bow. Seeing as I don’t recognize you, I’d imagine you’re part of last week’s batch. And you don’t seem to have much strength. F-rank, perhaps?” When Rayne did not respond, he chuckled. “In that case, you’re not gonna be able to draw the bigger bows. You’ll want a shortbow, recurve ideally but a self bow is cheaper. Oak or maple construction given your budget. That’ll let ya be useful until your strength gets closer to D-rank, and then you can start looking at bigger options.”

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  Casting a glance at Syra, who offered him a slight shrug in response as if to say, ‘sounds right to me,’ Rayne nodded. “And how much would that cost?”

  Toreg stroked his goatee. “Fifteen silver is the going rate. But the guild will buy it back for ten when you’re ready, so it’s really just a five silver investment. Otherwise, you can rent it for just under a silver a week. But you’ll likely be using it until you hit bronze rank, and even beyond if it takes you a while to increase your stats.”

  The thought of paying fifteen silver for a weapon galled him, but Rayne forced himself to nod. “That sounds… fair. I don’t suppose you could be talked down to twelve silver, though? The guild still makes a profit, and I keep a few more coins to spend in this here shop.”

  A mirthful laugh escaped Toreg’s lips. “I’m afraid not! But I’ll tell you what. It’s been ages since someone last tried to haggle, so I’ll knock two silvers off the purchase price. But!” He held up a finger. “You’ve got to spend it on my arrows.”

  Rayne blinked. “Your arrows?”

  “Oh, aye.” Toreg nodded. “My brother’s a fletcher. Finest arrows in the city. I provide him with materials from my adventures, and he uses them to craft beautiful projectiles that anyone would be proud to call their own.”

  “Does the guild know you’re running this little side-hustle?” Syra asked from the side, her tone interested.

  Toreg glanced at her. “Probably. It’s one of the perks of working down here. Pretty much anyone you find at this counter has something adventuring related to sell. So long as we ensure that the guild doesn’t take a loss, they’re fine looking the other way if we make deals to hawk our wares.” Turning back to Rayne, he grinned. “So, what’s it going to be? Fifteen silver for the bow? Or thirteen and a shiny new brace of arrows to go with it?”

  Seizing his hand, Rayne shook it firmly. “It’s a deal.”

  Already lamenting the loss of his silvers, Rayne poured out the money he had saved from adventuring for the past week onto the counter. Sweeping them up, Toreg counted them slowly, then deposited them into a till beneath the countertop. Then he disappeared into the armory, rummaging around for a while before returning with a bow in hand.

  Made from wood, the bow was only about three and a half feet long. The limbs were carved from a single length of maple, and they curved gently away from the middle where the wood grew thicker and a stretch of twine had been wrapped around to create a handle of sorts. A silvery string completed the look, and Rayne received it carefully, mindful that this had cost him four days worth of clerk work as he held the bow in his hands.

  “Your bow, sir,” Toreg said with a slight bow. Grabbing a piece of paper from a notepad to his left, he jotted down a few words and handed it over as well. “Just down the road, you’ll see the sign for Reg’s Archery Wares. Give that to my brother and he’ll sell you some arrows for cheap.”

  With a grateful nod, Rayne departed with Syra in tow, the bow still clutched in his hands. Buying the bow had erased all the progress he had made in saving for Issa’s tuition, but it was an investment in himself. The better an adventurer he became, the more money he could make, and the faster it would accumulate in his coin purse. If fifteen silver could keep him safe on combat missions and earn him more money as a result, then it was a small price to pay.

  At least that’s the hope.

  “Alright, you’ve got your bow,” Syra said conversationally as they headed back upstairs. “Now, what job should we take?”

  Staring at the job board, Rayne considered it. There were numerous combat-related jobs available for the enterprising unranked adventurer to take. Several he could cross out immediately, either due to location or difficulty. In the end, his eyes settled on a particular posting, and he grabbed it from the board after a short deliberation.

  “What do you think of this one?”

  Crowding in beside him, Syra bobbed her head in agreement. “Looks good to me. We’ll need a party, though. Eight goblins? That’s going to require at least five people.”

  “So three others.” Glancing around the room, Rayne quirked his lips.

  The place was not packed like it got in the evenings, but it was relatively full, and there had to be at least thirty or forty adventurers milling around in here. Surely, it would not take much time to gather three of them for a juicy commission like this. He told Syra as much, and she simply shrugged in response.

  “As long as they’re capable, I’m fine with anyone. How d’ya wanna do this?”

  Rayne considered it. They could sign up for the guild party matcher, but Syra had already let him know that the time it took to assemble a party in such a manner could be anywhere from ten minutes to several hours. In the end, it was better to approach people directly, and he did just that, aiming for a nearby table occupied by a woman he recognized from the initiation.

  She was not wearing her chainmail right now, but the dark-haired lady with the pixie cut seemed to recognize him as he approached, and she turned, leaving her coffee to steam in its mug as he arrived.

  “Well if it ain’t the catgirl and the planner,” she joked. “How’ve you two been? I’ve seen you around a few times since the initiation, but only in passing.”

  “Good, good,” Rayne replied as he and Syra each took a seat. “Done a few odd jobs here and there, just getting a feeling for it all. We’re planning on taking this one today.”

  Placing the mission contract on the table, he allowed the woman to take it. Her eyes scanned it slowly, reading each word as if it were an entire paragraph before setting it down.

  “And you want me to join you, I take it?”

  “That’s the idea.”

  With one elbow on the table, she tapped her cheek a few times, then nodded. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. Name’s Liliana, but you can call me Lili. This,” she said, gesturing with the mission still in hand, “looks like a good job. You mind if I grab some buddies?”

  Exchanging glances, Rayne and Syra shook their heads. “Not at all.”

  “Great. I’ll be right back.” Rising from the table, Lili headed for the other side of the room as Syra eyed Rayne from the side.

  The moment Lili was out of earshot, she opened her mouth. “You aimed for this, didn’t you?”

  Rayne smiled innocently. “Why, Syra. Whatever do you mean?”

  “Recruiting her. You knew that if you got her onboard, she would bring friends.”

  Inclining his head slightly in recognition of her deduction, Rayne tapped the table top. “Perhaps. I simply recognized that she has come back everyday with her armor covered in blood and gore, always accompanied by others, and hoped that she might be able to help us solve our current numbers problem. Whatever my motives, it worked, didn’t it?”

  “So long as we can trust them,” Syra responded coolly.

  Before Rayne could challenge that dark statement, Lili returned with two men in tow. One tall and one wide. Together, the three of them sat down, with Lili in the middle, flanked by her two companions.

  “This is Bob, and that’s Benji,” she said by way of introduction, pointing first to the tall one and then the wide one.

  Introductions were made, and then Lili leaned forward. “Before we do anything, what are the cuts?” She gazed at him intensely, a frown on her tough features. “‘Cause I’ve been hearing about some whack loot distributions recently. I like you well enough, but you try and stiff me?” She made a slicing motion in the air. “We’re out.”

  “Fifteen percent each, and then the remaining portion can go to whoever did the most,” Rayne responded immediately. “Decided by a group vote at the end.”

  Lili seemed to consider this for a moment, and the other two watched her, clearly ready to go along with whatever decision she made. “Yeah, that seems fair,” she responded at last. “When do we leave?”

  Before Rayne could respond with ‘Right away,’ he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he found himself staring up at the fallen noble, now looking much healthier than he had the day previous.

  “Can I help you?” Rayne asked politely, wondering what exactly the man needed with him.

  “I have the coin promised,” he said quietly, eyes glancing around the room to make sure no one was watching them. When he seemed content at the guild’s general disinterest, he handed a small bag over.

  “Oh.” Rayne blinked.

  The purse in his hand felt heavy, and his experience as a clerk told him that there had to be at least twenty coins in here, and likely silver given their size and weight. Apparently, the former noble did not consider the weight of his life to be small.

  “Thanks.” Unsure of what else to say, he cast around for words, eventually ending up on, “What are you planning to do now?”

  Leon’s eyes scoured over the table, evidently seeing the mission. Internally, Rayne cringed, and hoped the noble did not think he was being invited. Luckily, the noble shook his head after a quick moment of consideration.

  “I will be doing solo jobs for the time being. I cannot rely on commoners for this sort of thing.”

  Immediately, Rayne’s eyes narrowed, and he noticed the rest of the table do similarly. Was this guy really talking shit right now? Even after they had quite literally saved his life? Them, a pair of commoners?

  Oblivious to the irritation he caused, Leon gave a short bow. “In any case, I must express my gratitude once again. Without your assistance, I—” He seemed to struggle with the words for a moment. “I thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Rayne replied through gritted teeth. Beside him, Syra nodded.

  With one last small bow, Leon departed, leaving the party to watch after him with a mix of bemusement and annoyance.

  “What a prick,” Liliana said, succinctly summarizing everyone’s thoughts. “I presume from what was said that you helped him out?”

  “We did,” Rayne acknowledged.

  Shaking her head, Syra chimed in. “More like saved his ass.” Looking to the purse held in Rayne’s hand, she nodded contently. “ Least he knows how to show his thanks.”

  With a grin, Rayne opened it, confirming his suspicions. The coin pouch was stuffed with silver. About thirty coins in total, at least from a rough glance. Reaching inside, he pulled out fifteen of them, his practiced fingers deftly stacking them on the table in front of Syra who immediately pulled out a purse of her own and swept them inside.

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Rayne replied. “Gotta keep things fair between party members after all.” As he said this, he watched Liliana, who looked on approvingly, as did her two friends.

  Smiling to himself, Rayne put the purse into his clothes for safekeeping. He could have divvied up the prize later and not revealed exactly how much Leon had paid, but doing so in front of Lili and her pals had its advantages. A reputation for fairness in dealings could take someone a long way, and given how gregarious the chainmail wearing fighter seemed, he was sure it would not take long for such a tale to spread.

  Once more pointing to the door, Rayne looked around with a hopeful expression. “Now then, unless there’s someone else waiting to hand us some free coin, let’s get going.”

  With an exaggerated glance to ensure no such benefactors were waiting, he heaved a sigh, which earned him a giggle from Syra and a snort from Lili. Together, the five of them rose from the table and set out, ready to take on the goblin encampment.