Alex and Julliet sprinted up the hill to Earlshire; the village had a modest wall around it, though the prospect of it defending the inhabitants from Glen Crows was laughable.

Not that it was designed versus an animal that was previously recorded to only target sheep, cows and pigs.

When they reached the wall, it was with utmost relief because an old man was sitting on it. looking as unbothered and as bored as ever. The old man cast it down upon them and gave the two a frown.

"I swear upon Mercy that if she gets pregnant I will spool your guts and eat them." The old man mumbled angrily, his mustache dampened most of his voice.

Alex blinked, then blinked again before erupting into laughter. Julliet also chuckled and swiftly climbed up the wall to stand next to the old man.

"Don't worry Mister Rogan, he was a gentleman and didn't touch a single hair." She reassured the man with a pat on the back. Her smile from before, worried and anxious, returned to its usual sunny girl exuberance.

"Let us not dawdle, we need to report this to the chieftess before someone gets seriously hurt." Alex stepped through the gate and motioned for Julliet to follow him.

They traveled the few houses around, most occupied by the craftsmen that maintained the tools of the farmers. The chieftess house, the biggest around, was the centerpiece of the village.

A knock and the chieftess opened the door. Her eyes held a bit of surprise at seeing him. Perhaps she thought he would take more time with crows.

"Well well, I didn't think you would finish it all in a day." She exclaimed in happiness, but it slowly crumbled at Alex's and Julliet's expressions. "Oh dear, come in."

They sat on a rug and the hostess went to prepare tea. She came back and Alex gladly accepted the tea, although he would have preferred a full meal for the pit in his stomach.

"Do tell, has something gone awry while hunting?" The matriarch asked, her hands around the tea cup yet not drinking a single sip.

Alex was intending to speak when Julliet stopped him and gestured for him to let her speak.

"Alex and his guys were just finishing off a small flock of Glen Crows, the usual stuff that I could do in my sleep, when the whole fu-freaking nest came towards us, king included!" The reins on her voice loosened at the end, emotions of confusion and anger seeping in.

"Any teammate of yours got hurt Alex?" The chieftess asked worriedly.

"No, I know for a fact they are still alive." Alex stated firmly and Julliet sent him a sceptical look.

"You didn't kill the flock too close to the nest right?" Julliet shook her head. "That is worrying."

The chieftess went into a deep thought, her fingers rhythmically on the tea cup. Alex drank his tea like he would think nobles drank their wines, tasting every sip as if it was a treasure.

It was to him, faint memories of his mother's own tea were similar to this. And he cherished moments when they were replicated.

"When I was a young lass, I had my fair share of adventuring." The matron chimed in suddenly. "Although I was no awakened, not like Julliet's grandmother, I was good enough with a spear to match any bronze anyday."

Alex gazed at the wall, finally understanding why there was a spear of all things hanging there.

"I know, very rarely, that monsters can be born with an abnormality. A quirk setting them apart from their base origins." The chieftesses tone was saturated with nostalgia. "An extra limb, a bigger horn, a larger heart and the rarest of them all, better intelligence."

"So you think this monster we met was abnormal?" Alex asked, his eyes curious for whatever knowledge this old lady had in store.

"Perhaps, but there is something off. I can feel it in the roots of my hairs." She said while wearing an uneasy grimace. "Anyway, I will be in need of your help Alexander to deliver a request to the Vanquisher's guild."

"I will be glad to do this, I and my team have, after all, failed our task." He bowed his head.

"Nonsense, if you had thinned out the flock, the king would have been without any meat shield, rendering him harmless ." She reassured him and quickly scribbled down on a note, then stamped it. "You passed this to one of the guilds clerks and they should up the mission to a silver rank. They should pay you."

"Thank you for your hospitality and I pray Mercy grants you safety from Skorn's minions." Alex bowed to the matron and came out of the house with Julliet in tow.

"So, I guess that's it." She said. "What are you going to do now."

"I will go back to the ambush site, see if my teammates dropped any gear." He then looked towards where the city was located. "Then I will go back home."

"Well, it was nice…meeting you, Alexander." The girl surprised him by giving him a hug, and he was too stupefied to return it before she released him. "I hope to meet you again."

"....you too." He waved at the girl as she left.

Huh, is this how people made friends?

Shaking the useless thoughts from his head, Alex walked towards where the ambush site was. To his glee, there was no flock in the sky or in the nest.

The ambush site was a bird bath, with crow corpses littering the whole ground. Shredded clothes told him a rather somber story for the demise of his clones. Death by a thousand cuts, even the swords had nicks and dulled edges.

He gave the clones who had sacrificed themselves for him a prayer. And began his long trek home. The job today would have probably been the worst trip he had if he hadn't met such interesting characters, especially Julliet.

He just hoped that Mercy would give him an actual quest that would be simple and would earn him more money.

And where the fuck did that flock go anyway?

Up above, in the aether of the gods, a miniscule part of the Dungeon split off from the main mass. It sped up, bypassing Mercy's Crystal Guardians and swiftly entering the atmosphere.

Its landing spot?

A city.