“Ah, we got super lucky this time.” A bearded man held up a piece of paper, showing it off to his two companions: a male elf and a female human. “It’s a D-ranked mission with a chance of a B-ranked reward depending on the circumstances.”

The trio were sitting in the corner of a tavern, drinking from mugs with a dish of fried duck on their table. The elf frowned. “Doesn’t that mean there’s a chance at B-ranked danger?”

“Read the description,” the bearded man said and slid the paper over. “It’s a simple mission. Obtain a cup of the newly discovered fairy spring. What are the chances the fairy queen who made it will be there? Like zero?”

“That’s what makes this fishy,” the elf said and furrowed his brow. “Think about it. Even a child can obtain a cup of fairy poison, but there’s a chance at B-ranked danger? Doesn’t that mean a few D-ranked parties set out and failed?”

The woman snatched the paper out of the elf’s hands. “Don’t think too much about it,” she said. “We have a solid tank”—she pointed at the bearded man—“an awesome healer”—she pointed at the elf—“and myself, Shadow Nelly, the greatest scout that will ever have walked these lands.”

“Yes, yes,” the elf said. “Maybe in the future you will be the greatest, but for now, you’re still a D-ranked novice.”

Nelly patted the elf’s shoulder and shoved a drumstick into his mouth. “You’re thinking too much. What did I just say?” she asked and pointed at the commission paper with her greasy fingers. “Look at the location of the spring. The Newbie Jungle. The most dangerous things there are the crocodiles in the river.”

“Unless there are adventurer hunters there,” the elf said and sighed as he placed the drumstick back onto his plate. “What if we go there only to be enslaved and sold off to the dwarves?”

“See. This is why you think too much,” Nelly said and rolled her eyes. “Lightning can strike you if you leave your house, but you left it anyways. Sure, a group of adventurer hunters can be there, but isn’t that a danger that comes with every commission? How did you ever leave your colony of elves and join a human civilization if you’re such a worrywart?”

The elf sighed. “I guess you’re right,” he said and stared at his food. Nelly patted his back twice before drinking from her cup. “I still have a bad feeling about this though.”

“It’s a shame we can’t pay lodging fees with bad feelings,” the bearded man said. “Let’s set off after we finish this meal. I’ve already booked us a wagon on the way here.”

***

“If we keep following this river, do you think we’ll reach the Juggernaut?” Vur asked. He was wading inside a river alongside Tafel, who was on land, with two bags slung over his shoulders. Behind him, there was a trail of unconscious crocodiles lying on their backs, floating down with the current.

“Maybe,” Tafel said. She was playing with her armor, activating its barrier over different parts of her body. Her brow furrowed. “Why? Don’t tell me you want to eat the dwarves. According to the fishmen, they’re like mini-humans. That’s not right.”

“Mm. Well, they ran away to this place to escape from Grimmy, right? That’s like Grimmy’s prey escaping from him,” Vur said and picked up a squirming fish with his armored toes. He brought it closer to his face and sniffed it before wrinkling his nose and tossing it back into the river. “As Grimmy’s nephew, I have to conquer them for him. Dragons’ code of honor.”

Tafel’s expression darkened. “There’s something wrong with that code.”

“It can’t be wrong—Grimmy made it,” Vur said and shook his head. Around them, there were trees with thick leaves that blotted out the sun, leaving a layer of dark-green foliage over the ground. Ferns sprouted nearby, and the buzzing of insects droned on and on.

“You know … Grimmy isn’t exactly the epitome of justice,” Tafel said and batted away a mosquito from her face with her barrier. She could put on the helmet that was flat against her back like a hood, but she thought it made her look silly, so she didn’t. “Don’t tell him I said that though. He’s even scarier than your mom at times.”

Vur tilted his head. Was that really the case? Grimmy was always laughing or joking around. Then again, Vur didn’t think Sera was scary either. “But it has to be right because everyone agrees with it. If it was wrong, Mom or Dad would’ve said something—well, Mom would. Dad wouldn’t do anything that disagreed with Mom.”

Tafel exhaled and shook her head. “Let’s forget about your family for now,” she said. “We’re on an adventure. We should enjoy it.”

“Isn’t this like wandering through my backyard though?” Vur asked. No monsters—disregarding the crocodiles—had approached them despite the fact Vur had two huge bags of food on his back. Tafel wasn’t sure whether that was a benefit or detriment of traveling together with Vur.

“I knew we should’ve asked the fishmen for directions,” Tafel said and bit her lower lip. Why did she listen to Vur when he insisted on following his nose?

“Why?”

“So we could know where we’re going instead of wandering around aimlessly?” Tafel asked back. After traveling with an experienced team of SSS-ranked adventurers, partying with Vur was frustrating at times. It was even more frustrating that his logic was sound no matter how absurd she thought it was.

“I thought adventuring was about the journey, not the end result,” Vur said, echoing back Tafel’s words from earlier that morning. “Besides, I’m not wandering around aimlessly. I’m following the river. Where there’s water, there’s civilization.”

“That’s different!”

“How?”

Tafel sighed and hung her head. “You know what, never mind,” she said and resumed practicing with her tail. It was useful for cutting through the plants blocking her way.

After a while of walking in silence, Vur stopped moving and turned his head to the side.

“What is it?” Tafel asked, following his gaze. She couldn’t see beyond the trees and undergrowth.

Vur’s brow furrowed. “Let’s go that way,” he said and pointed past her. He touched his chest. “I feel something from Stella’s birthflower.”

Tafel nodded. At last, a journey with a set destination. She just wished she had her sword. They had requested weapons from the fishmen, but the leviathan’s teeth were hollow and unfit for creating anything other than arrows and spears—weapons neither she nor Vur were comfortable with using. What weapon was Vur comfortable with anyway? Blue mages should be using sabers, but he used a dagger like a rogue instead; to be fair, he fought more like a druid who morphed into different beasts—the dagger wasn’t necessary. In the future, she’d definitely get him a proper saber. Now that she thought about it, were there even any adventurers’ guilds in this new land?