10. Search Commission: The High Mountains
High mountains. Late spring winds blew as if jealous of the fresh flowers blooming vibrantly. Fierce gusts raced along the ridgeline. On that very ridgeline, a man sprinted down the mountainside like a madman.
Gasp, gasp—his breaths came in ragged heaves that sounded like he might collapse any second. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold, brutal wind. His clothes were soaked through, darkened with perspiration, yet the man pressed on relentlessly.
“Hah, haaah—.”
The man was a Silver Badge adventurer from the Adventurer's Guild, one of the promising talents who'd climbed to that rank in just a few short years. But now, he looked utterly wretched. Even as a mid-tier Silver Badge adventurer, his armor was torn and ragged in ugly patches. His weapon was gone—who knew where—and all that remained was an empty sheath at his side. His relatively intact cloth tunic was drenched in sweat and caked in dirt from who-knows-how-many rolls on the ground.
And stabbed into his back were two arrows, crudely carved like something a child might hack out with a knife.
He muttered desperately as he ran. “Gotta... tell someone....”
Tell them what? What had happened to leave him like this, forcing him to flee for his life?
He'd reached a path on the mountain now, one used by herbalists gathering herbs or woodcutters felling trees. If I can just cross this, the city isn't far, he thought, pushing his legs even harder.
I can make it. Just a bit farther...!
“Just a little more... just a little more...!”
Hope flickered across the man's face in that moment.
Shrieeeek—! Something sliced through the roaring wind. It hurtled toward the man's back at blinding speed.
It was a spear. Long and massive. Yet like the arrows in his back, it looked roughly hewn, primitive—as if someone had just sharpened a stick with a stone and bound it with vines. But it flew with impossible sharpness and ferocity.
Squelch—!
The spear pierced the struggling man's back and embedded itself deep.
“Gaaahk—!”
His face twisted in agony, despair flooding his eyes. Cough—blood-flecked spittle dribbled from his lips. Blood erupted from his chest alongside the spearhead, soaking the ground.
In disbelief, the man alternated stares between the path ahead and the spear impaling his chest. Then, with eyes full of resentment, he whispered, “Just... a little farther... and I'd have made it......”
With that, he crumpled to his knees—thud—and went still, his body cooling rapidly.
Someone approached the fallen man.
“Gruk.... Gotcha at last. Won't get chewed out by the boss now.”
The figure that emerged had deep green skin like forest bark, a solidly muscled frame, and massive tusks protruding from either side of its mouth. A monster.
The creature gripped the shaft of its thrown spear and nudged the cooling corpse with its foot. Schlup—the spear pulled free. It scanned the surroundings, confirmed no one was around, then grabbed the dead man's hair and dragged the body back up into the mountains.
As if nothing had happened.
Twang. A bolt fired from the crossbow whistled like a snapped rubber band, streaking toward the target on the wall. It slammed dead center.
In that short time, he'd already loosed thirty bolts at the target. Every single one clustered in the bullseye.
“Phew, nailed it again.”
I rubbed my eyes, which were starting to ache from the focus, and stood.
Clap, clap.
Applause rang out. Glancing over, I saw Bella—don't know when she'd come down—walking toward me, clapping.
“Ooh, ya see? You're shootin' like a pro now.”
“What the hell, when'd you get here?”
“When'd ya think? 'Bout when you fired your third bolt. But damn, you're hittin' 'em all. Got a talent for this, huh? Why the fuck you been swingin' a sword all this time?”
It'd been a week since I bought the crossbow on day one and started practicing. Now, out of a hundred shots, I was averaging over ninety hits. Back in the military, I'd earned top marksman a few times and snagged leave for it... Turns out that experience transferred surprisingly well to crossbows. Who'd have thought PRI training would pay off in another world? Life's weird.
I shrugged it off casually at Bella. She smirked.
“This is my big bro talkin'.”
“Big bro my ass. So, how long you wanna keep practicin'?”
“Why?”
“Eh, no biggie...”
Bella rummaged in her bosom and pulled out a sheet of paper.
“A commission sheet? What's that for?”
“Well... I went to the guild with Cheong-ah for some pocket change after forever, y'know? But that bitch Cheong-ah sneakily took a solo quest with just Dina.”
“And?”
“So I'm floatin' solo again, lookin' for somethin' easy, and Karen hands me this emergency quest. Kinda boring alone, though.”
She scratched her cheek lightly.
“Anyway, wanna come? Doesn't look too tough.”
“What's the job?”
“See for yourself. Here.”
Bella unfolded the commission sheet and handed it over. I scanned it slowly, piecing together the words I recognized. Maybe 'cause I'd been studying letters non-stop while practicing the crossbow, but I could read way more now.
Emergency Commission
Multiple adventurer parties gone missing consecutively in the Northern Mountains.
Investigate traces and report back. No full search required.
Reward: 5 gold coins
Client: Leventen Guild Branch
“Northern Mountains... consecutive missing adventurer parties? This is to find 'em?”
“Yeah. Somethin' about parties goin' up for quests and vanishin' lately.”
“So, like, rescue 'em or whatever?”
“Nah, just check for traces. Gotta figure out what happened first before divin' in.”
A Platinum adventurer for a simple trace hunt...? I felt a twinge of doubt at Bella's words.
Bella's rank at the guild was Platinum. Platinum adventurers were top-tier elites even the guild hesitated to boss around. Folks who commanded tens of gold just for showing up. Cheong-ah was weirdly frequent with guild visits, but still.
Finding traces of missing adventurers in the mountains? That was chump work for Silver or Bronze Badges—no need for Bella. Sure, those ranks were gods to me, but trivial to her.
Handing that to a Platinum? Baffled me.
“Why'd they give you that?”
“Huh? Why not?”
“C'mon. You're Platinum... For traces of missing adventurers? Parties vanishing on quests ain't rare. Shouldn't they send lower-ranks?”
“Oh, that? Turns out it's justified. Among the missin', there were quite a few Silvers, even a Gold Badge.”
“...Silvers and a Gold?”
I asked dubiously, and Bella nodded.
“Yeah. Started with a Silver Badge party goin' up for a quest and vanishin'.”
“Then?”
“Guild figured maybe somethin' dangerous, so they sent a Gold Badge-included party to search. And, well...”
“They vanished too?”
“Bingo. So they were debatin' sendin' another party when I asked if they had work. Handed me this. Just traces, no deep search.”
“Hmm...”
I pondered. A Silver party gone, then the Golds sent after 'em. Me and Bella solo? Traces only, but risky? Better wait for Cheong-ah and Dina?
Bella prodded as I thought. “So, you in or what? If not, I'll go solo. Lone woman climbin' the mountains all sad and lonely—sounds dramatic as fuck.”
“Don't talk like that. Just thinkin' maybe wait for Cheong-ah and Dina.”
“Pfft, it's just a quick trace hunt. Why wait? You and me, in and out. If it's dicey, we bail. I'll split the reward halfsies. C'mon, you're short on cash livin' off Cheong-ah's allowance, right?”
“How much pay?”
Grinning, Bella spread her hand wide. Five fingers.
“Five gold. Two gold and five silvers each if we take it.”
What...?
“For a trace hunt? Five gold?”
“Hah, emergency callin' in a Platinum? That's standard. In or out? Rare chance. You pass, I snag all five. Fine by me.”
“Hmm...”
Eh, whatever. Probably fine. Just traces, right?
I nodded at Bella. “Alright, let's go.”
“Sweet. Get ready. I'll wait downstairs.”