Like always, I woke up before Luci. However, while I would usually go ahead and get ready before heading down to breakfast, but Luci probably wouldn't let go yet. I told her she could sleep with me st night since I didn't want to just break her heart like that and leave it, but I didn't think she would just tch her arms around me and fall asleep like that, so now I can't move. To be honest though, I couldn't say I disliked it at all.

  Luckily she wasn't asleep for much longer.

  "Mira... Good morning?"

  "Mornin'. You took your time."

  "Obviously. You should've expected as much."

  "Right. And sorry about st night by the way... I probably hurt you..."

  "Mira... No. You were completely right. I'm fine with your answer, it just means I'll have to work harder to turn the 'maybe' into a yes."

  "You do that then. We still have to meet the Guildmaster today, so can you maybe let go now?"

  "Just a little longer?"

  "Luci... We don't have much of a choice."

  "Fine."

  With clear reluctance, she finally let go of me and we got out of bed. After quickly putting on our gear and eating breakfast, we left to the Guild to meet up with Rick. He was already there when we arrived.

  "There you two are! Let's get this over with so we can get back to questing already!."

  "You seem energetic."

  "I second that."

  "Why the hell shouldn't I be? I'm getting gold and get at least D rank! Me, a dwarven Thief!

  "Well, I guess that's good. Why did you choose to be a Thief anyway?"

  "Well for one, I didn't wanna just follow the stereotypes like everyone else. Look beside you, Luci's literally an elf with a bow, simply following a set path like nearly every other elf you see in the Guild. No offense. Now me, I didn't want people too see me as 'just another dwarf with an axe'. Besides, since I'm small I can sneak around easier and that does help with being a Thief."

  "I never thought of that. Anyway, we should go ahead and go in now, I don't know exactly when they want us but it's probably best to be earlier than te."

  We went inside and approached the counter to talk to the receptionist that told me about the meeting before.

  "Cws of the Orange Fox, I take it you're all here to meet with the Guildmaster?"

  "Yes, that's right."

  "Follow me then."

  Without any pause, she stepped out from behind the counter and led us through a door at the back. After a short climb up some stairs, she brought us to the first door we saw.

  "One moment."

  She entered, and moments ter she came back out.

  "The Guildmaster is ready to recieve you now."

  The room was simple with only a few chairs surrounding a round table of stone, but it didn't need to look fancy, the human man seated at the other end gave off enough of an effect alone. This man, the Guildmaster, gave off an intimidating aura just standing in the room with him, but at the same time there was also a feeling of unmatched security. Aside from the impression I felt, he looked like most high ranked adventurers: Tall, muscur, and covered in scars. To top it all off, he was bald and had a thick mustache that twirled at the ends. We sat down in the open seats and he began to speak with a loud, booming voice.

  "So! You're the E rank party that cleared a B rank byrinth!"

  "Yes. I'm Mira, leader of the party Cws of the Orange Fox."

  "No need for you to introduce yourselves! I've done my research! You don't know me, but I'm Alexander, Guildmaster of the Stub Mountain Branch!" He leaned forward in his seat, and his expression was now much more serious. "Now, to discuss your compensation. Normally, on the very rare chance something like this happens where a quest is given and ends up being a higher rank than it should be, the party which took the quest would normally retreat, and the Guild will compensate with the quest's offered reward along with small amounts of extra coins and points. You, however, not only took on a quest for a byrinth that was mistakenly posted as being too low, but it was multiple ranks off, and you still cleared it! Tell me, what do you think you will be receiving?"

  "Um, I'm not sure. The receptionist here said to expect we'll be leaving here at least one rank higher with some gold coins, so maybe 10 gold?"

  "Are you asking me or are you telling me? Hah! Either way, you're off by a lot. You cleared a B rank byrinth, and you left without a scratch! Obviously, you should at least be that level yourselves, so you'll all be raised to B rank from now on. As for gold, 30 coins. For each of you."

  "Tha-"

  "Don't thank me yet! As it is, you're a B rank party now, and you clearly have the skills and talent to go even further. This Guild branch has no parties in the area that are higher ranked, but we do have several other parties the on equal footing. As a result, I'm going to give you the same offer I gave the other B rankers, it's an urgent quest, and the reward is a guaranteed rank-up along with a gold reward that will be decided by the branch offering the quest. Details are confidential, so I can't tell you much unless you accept, but there is a situation that recently arised in the northern region of the Beastfolk Territories that needs capable adventurers to resolve. Their branch of the Guild requested mine to offer this quest to all parties ranked B or higher. Again, I can't say anymore until you accept."

  "Hm..." I looked to my companions, and each of them nodded when I made eye contact. "Alright then. We have no reason not to take it."

  "Good. Linda?"

  "On it, sir." The receptionist who had been standing at the door, left the room when the Guildmaster called her name, which I guess is Linda.

  "Now, while she files the paperwork to let the Territories' know you've accepted, I'll fill you in on what we know so far. A new type of A rank monster has appeared recently in the Territories that we here in the Guild have dubbed 'Shadows'. These creatures share simirities with undead, such as a weakness to Light spells. That weakness, along with their pitch-bck humanoid bodies, is why we call them Shadows. You've probably been wondering why they're A rank, and that's not because of individual strength, but because they appear in extremely rge groups. On their own, they might be D rank in strength, but these groups can wind up being hundreds in number. The quest you've just accepted is to eliminate what we believe to be the cause of the mass spawnings: A giant Shadow surrounded by a near army that we call 'Shadow Goliath'. Of course, since you've accepted the quest, I'm raising your previous reward of 30 gold coins each to 50. The enemy is still widely unknown, so prepare as best you can and employ caution. Speak with Linda tomorrow for details on your departure. Dismissed."

  With a wave of his hand, the Guildmaster concluded the one-sided meeting and the three of us left the meeting room to head back downstairs and collect our rewards before leaving the Guild hall. I guess even more preparations are in order now.