Everyone huddled together on the couch as they watched Lyn pace around the living room. On the coffee table laid the latest copy of the Quester's Tribune. The front page was empty, except for a sentence plastered all over the page in large, blackletter font: "Quester's Association Official Ranks—Out Today!"

Every year, the QA looks through every commission done by registered guilds, independent teams, and solo questers, and ranks them using a few criteria: the amount and difficulty of commissions completed, the individual skill levels of the members, as well as any recommendations or reviews that were received throughout the year. Dawn Avengers always came out on top, while Disciples of Destiny and Blue Cross of Clerics clinched the second and third ranks, their order switching every other year or so. Meanwhile, everyone else highly contended for the other spots.

A gentle ting rang from the newspaper—the announcement on the front page disappeared, making way for multiple long lists of names. Before anyone could react, Lyn snatched up the paper and scanned through the page.

She gasped. Her lips tugged upwards as she peered at the rest of the team. "No. Fucking. Way."

"What is it?" Millie urged, holding onto Cydney's arm like a koala. "What rank did we get?"

"Guess."

"Top hundred overall?" Raph suggested cautiously.

Lyn winked. "Higher."

Irene threw a finished can of soda towards Lyn. "Just tell us already, damn it!"

Lyn dodged with a tilt of her head. "Second place for best newcomers of the year, third place for independent teams. As for overall ranking..."

She paused for a dramatic effect, and, before Irene could throw another item at her, exclaimed, "Twenty-nine!"

There was a long moment of silence before the room erupted into cheers. Millie pulled the unsuspecting Cydney in for a tight embrace as she squealed in joy, while Irene grabbed Raph by the shoulders and shook him back and forth.

"How... How are we so high up?" Raph asked, his face pale from being swung around too harshly.

"Yeah, we only worked for a year!" Millie said.

Lyn beamed, immense pride filled her heart. "The rankings reset every year, so they consider everyone equally on a yearly basis, and I have to say, we did really good this year. We did a lot of high-level commissions, a couple of high-profile ones, especially our joint commission with the QA. And I also know that Blue Cross put in some really good reviews about Raph from that time."

"Yeah, they've been trying to scout me ever since that quest," Raph muttered. "I'm really not that good, they're overestimating me..."

"Hey, Raph, you know what that's called? Imposter Syndrome," Lyn chided. "Get rid of it! You're really good, and you saved my life from the Witches."

Raph managed a small smile but still shook his head. "It really wasn't what it seems like, the poison wasn't as much as they made it out to be—"

A loud fluttering sound interrupted the man—a huge wave of letters appeared from thin air and fell onto the dining table like a pouring rain of messages.

A smirk tugged at Lyn's lips. "There it is."

"Commission requests?" Millie asked.

"No, interviews. Do you guys want to do it? I did it when I first got into Dawn Avengers. It's pretty fun. They take your photos, ask you questions, and then you get a lot of publicity which will help the team."

"Not me, please," Raph answered immediately. "I don't want even more people scouting me."

"Ooh, me! Me! I want to!" Millie chirped. "A photoshoot sounds fun."

"Of course." Lyn winked. Perching herself on top of the coffee table, she faced her best friend on the end of the couch. "You up for it, Irene?"

Irene gave a nonchalant shrug. "Yeah, why not?"

"What about you, Cinna?" Lyn spun around to the other end of the couch. "Do you want to do it? You'd definitely be on the front page too since you're a fighter. People love fighters."

"F- Frontpage?" Cydney stammered. "I'll- I'll pass, please... I also don't want the newspaper to publish about me at all, is that okay?"

"At all?" A pang of disappointment slapped Lyn in the face. She had already been imagining Cydney on the front page and thinking about how she was going to frame the newspaper to show off to the world. But with Cydney shaking her head so insistently, she had no choice but to dash that idea off her mind.

She sighed and forced a smile. "Of course it's okay, Cinna, you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"You don't want any media coverage, Cyd?" Irene raised an eyebrow. "In that case, I'm guessing you won't want to take part in duels either, then?"

Cydney blinked. "Duels?"

"Yeah, sometimes the fighters of top guilds and teams will have a friendly match for sport," Lyn explained. "Lots of people will watch and place bets. There will be reporters, commentators, analysts—it's a whole thing. Some fighters become really famous from these duels."

Shaking her head, Cydney insisted, "No, definitely not."

Irene snorted and leaned back on the couch. "Damn. I'd love to see you kick Emily's butt."

"S... Sorry..."

Despite her desire to show Cydney's jaw-dropping abilities off to the world, Lyn quickly reassured the flustered Cydney, "No, no, it's okay. It's all just for fun, so don't feel bad."

She turned towards the rest of the team. "Anyway, great job, team. I really appreciate all your hard work over the past year. Let's celebrate tonight."

"Should we go out to a bar?" Irene chimed in.

"Yes! Oh, wait—" Lyn lifted her eyebrows and widened her grin. "You know what? Let's throw a party instead. What do you think, Irene?"

Irene grinned back. "Oh hell yeah."

🔥⚫🔥⚫🔥

Seven years ago...

Irene bent over with laughter. She was sitting at her usual hangout bench with her friends; their bags were thrown all over the ground while their schoolwork was spread messily across the table. As she calmed down, an elbow nudged at her.

"Hey, look." Abby tilted her head towards the end of the field. "Isn't that the lightning girl?"

Irene glanced towards the direction Abby was gesturing towards, and her eyebrows furrowed.

Across the field from them, a group of white girls gathered. Among them was a girl with braided auburn hair, glossy, leather jacket, and a smile so smug that it itched Irene to strike a fist out.

Lyn Bronte.

"What is your number one competitor doing here?" Kendra asked, her voice dripping in amusement.

Irene snorted. "Who the hell knows?"

"Maybe she's looking for a duel?" Sean said.

"Oh yeah?" Abby grinned. "So, she's finally coming to settle the debate of who's the best elemental mage in school?"

"Argh, I hope not," Irene muttered.

"Why not? Afraid you'd lose?"

"Shut the hell up, Abby."

"Oh my God, she's coming over," Kendra whispered.

As if jolted by lightning, everyone turned around and focused on their homework—everyone, except for Irene, whose eyes remained glued onto the approaching redhead.

Irene had never spoken to Lyn, but she had heard too much about her, way too much: her grades, her skills, her talents... It was as if everyone in school made it their life goal to ensure that Irene knew every single detail about this girl and her impressive résumé. After all, Lyn was the only other aspiring elemental mage in the school, and she was also trying for all the same quester programs that Irene was applying to.

Not only that, Lyn was a special elemental magic user; her lightning magic was the talk of the whole damn city. Quester programs were already difficult to get into as it is, and Irene just had to be competing with a fucking lightning mage.

Worst of all, this girl in question had stopped right in front of her, her lips curled in her usual playful—and aggravating—demeanor.

"Irene Ashley, right? Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, nodding her head away from the table.

Irene had to stifle a groan. The way Lyn talked had such an annoying air of self-assurance and confidence that irked her even more. Reluctantly, she stood up and walked to the side with her.

"What do you want, cheerleader?"

Lyn raised her eyebrows. "A beautiful girl like you thinks I'm a cheerleader? I'm honored."

Irene was not expecting that reply. "Did you just call me— Never mind, what do you want? Shoot."

Unfazed by Irene's snappy attitude, Lyn continued with an amicable smile, "So, there's gonna be a quester training league next week during spring break. Some questers from Eternal Energy will be there, and there might even be someone from Disciples too. It'll be a great learning experience, and I'm going."

A training league with actual questers? Irene's eyes twitched in annoyance. Why hadn't she heard of it?

"So what?" she spat. "Are you here to rub it in?"

Lyn snorted. "No, silly, I'm here to invite you. I found out that Ms. Sylvester didn't invite you, but I really think you should go." She handed Irene a small card. "I managed to get you a pass. You should come, we're leaving next Monday morning."

Irene stared at the pass, and then at Lyn. "You're inviting me? Why?"

"Uh, because you're really good? I don't want you to be missing out on something like this."

"You... do know we're competing for the same quester program spots, right?"

"Competing? Why would you think that?" Lyn laughed, before giving Irene a quick wink. "If we're both good, we'll both get in. I'm sure Harvard has room for both of us."

"Harvard?" Irene couldn't help but let out a laugh as well. "You're aiming for Harvard?"

"Of course." Lyn's smile widened. "I'm gonna go to Harvard, and then join Dawn Avengers."

Irene was at a complete loss for words. She had always thought of herself as an ambitious person, but she would still never dream of getting into Dawn Avengers. Dawn! Avengers!

She glanced behind at her friends, who were eyeing them ardently.

"Can Sean come as well?" she asked, pointing at the boy. "He's trying to be a fighter."

Lyn seemed unconvinced. "Sure, I'll try to ask Ms. Sylvester for another pass, I guess. What, is he your boyfriend or something?"

"Yeah, you can say that."

"Hm." Lyn pressed her tongue against her cheeks as her eyes scanned Irene up and down. "You can do a lot better, you know."

This time, Irene fully understood what Lyn was doing. Her expression darkened. "Flirt with me again, and I'll knock your front teeth out."

Lyn stepped backward in alarm, raising her hands up. "Okay, sorry, sorry, won't do it again. Anyway, I'll see you next week, alright?"

She gave her one last wink before running back to her friends. As the group left the field, Irene slumped back on the bench.

"What did she want from you?" Kendra probed.

"Nothing much," Irene said, her eyes lingering on Lyn's departing figure. "She's pretty cool, actually."

Lyn Bronte. She had always felt on edge about this girl that she had never even talked to. But maybe, maybe they can be friends.

🔥⚫🔥⚫🔥

Present...

Irene leaned back on the couch as she gulped on her can of beer. She almost spilled the liquor all over her body when Lyn jumped onto the space next to her.

"Jesus Christ, watch it, Lyn!"

"Hey dude," Lyn said with a drawl. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were droopy, and she definitely did not register any of Irene's complaints.

Irene snorted. "God, look at you. Done with your little beer pong game?"

"Yeah, absolutely crushed Ivan and Manda." Lyn giggled as she rolled her head back. "Crazy huh? Top twenty-nine in the world."

"It is. And it's been a crazy year too. You made us work so fucking much."

"Did I?"

"Yeah, you totally did, you crazy workaholic."

"Well, it paid off, didn't it?" Lyn chuckled. "And isn't this nice, though? A year ago, we were sitting right here, drinking the same beer, talking about how much we wanted to leave the guild. And now we're here, top twenty-nine in the world. Look how far we've come."

"Yeah, it's been both the hardest and best decision I've ever made in my life."

"Worth it."

"You damn right it is."

They bumped their fists, and Irene took another sip from her can.

"You know, I've always thought so highly of Dawn Avengers," Irene mused. "Number one guild in the world, with the most powerful questers gathered in one place. But it turns out that they're just like a glorified boarding school. So many damn rules, and so damn hierarchical..."

"I still can't get over the fact that they actually suspended you for a month," Lyn teased.

"Oh, don't get me started on that. So what if I was using a training room that was apparently 'reserved for senior questers'?" Irene grumbled, putting air quotes around the phrase with her fingers. "Like, why is that even such a big deal? Nobody was using it!"

"And they have an obvious bias towards fighters too," Lyn added bitterly. "Not that I have anything against fighters, but... for three years, I've constantly petitioned to be a team leader for commissions... but they never gave it to me."

She paused before adding, "They gave Em the opportunity like just one year in."

"That's stupid." Irene gave Lyn a soft punch on the shoulder. "You're a great team leader, you know that?"

Lyn beamed. "And you're a great elemental mage."

"Oh, well, you're just okay, I guess. You're very weak in caves."

"Very funny. Haha." Lyn snatched the beer can from Irene's hand and took a huge gulp.

"Hey, stop! You're drunk enough!"

They wrestled each other for a bit until Irene managed to snatch her beer back. Chortling in laughter, they slumped back down on the couch.

"I'm glad this all worked out, you know?" Lyn said. "We're pretty lucky; it wouldn't have worked with just the two of us."

"Yeah." Irene nodded. "It was really lucky that I happened to be home and found out that Millie wanted to leave her guild too. And then she somehow managed to pull in Raph, which was a miracle. And then you somehow managed to snag Cydney, which was another miracle. You know, I honestly think she's the true reason we made it this far."

Lyn let out a long, affectionate sigh. "Cinna really is great, isn't she? Where is she, anyway?"

Sitting up, she looked around desperately, like a lost puppy looking for its owner.

Irene rolled her eyes. "Argh, stop that. I can't stand it when you're like this."

Lyn ignored her as she continued her frantic search. "I was sure she came to the party, did she leave early?"

"She doesn't like parties and she doesn't drink alcohol, so of course she left early, dumbass."

"Ah, but I want to talk to her... I miss her..."

"You literally just saw her this afternoon."

"I still miss her..."

Lyn stood up and rotated about the spot clumsily. Then, her eyes lit up. "There she is!"

Irene looked out the window as well. Indeed, Cydney was sitting on a bench outside the apartment.

Then, she watched in both amusement and exasperation as Lyn staggered out the house like a crazy drunkard, tripping over tables and empty glass bottles multiple times on the way.

"What a dumbass," she muttered, before leaving to get another drink.