"Hm... I hope this isn't something too troublesome..."

I muttered as we returned to town via a carriage.

"Hm? What's up, Leader? You look a bit down."

Beside me wearing leather clothing was a young man with light green hair and black eyes. He had two daggers on his waist and he seemed like a rascal.

He was Chako.

Our team's rogue.

"It's just that the Guildmaster spoke to me sometime earlier before we took on the quest to collect these Venom Snake Glands... He had a task he'd like us to do after we finish our job..."

I replied as I was thinking of what we're up against this time around.

"You should lighten up a bit, Jules. You're too stiff and rigid. You should let off some steam once in a while."

"As he should be, Adrian. A leader is responsible for the lives of the men under his command. I find nothing wrong with his conduct. But I do find something wrong with you."

The other two men beside us replied.

One was wearing leather clothing with a different design that emphasizes lighter clothing while the other man wore iron armor.

These two were Adrian and Julian.

Adrian was a gunner and skilled in dealing with various machines.

The other one was the knight in our party.

A party is what you call a group of adventurers who take on tasks from other people.

We're a small party consisting of four members.

We're called the Blue Feather.

Ah, that's putting the cart before the horse...

Adventurers are those skilled with either blades or magic and do battle against monsters and travel to distant lands.

Although it's a respectable trade, it's also very dangerous.

You must be prepared to die at any time.

"Ahahaha... You should lighten up as well, Julian. You two used to be nobles and all but there's no longer a need for that, is there? This isn't a knight's order."

Adrian gave an off-handed reply.

"Hmph. That carelessness will one day take your life, Adrian."

Julian snorted.

" Calm down... He's right after all. Still, we're still alive and doing well, aren't we?"

I tried to calm him down.

"Even if we are no longer nobles known to the crown, we should still act as such. Our blood is the proof of our nobility, Lloyd."

He spoke in a chiding manner to me.

"Sigh... You..."

I spoke in a tired voice.

"Just give up, boss. You know how this guy is. I'm satisfied enough that he fights well and all. I mean, he used to from a family of nobles. No offense to you of course."

Chako said as he laughed.

"I guess so..."

I replied.

Julian and I are former nobles. Our parents were guilty of various crimes that had them imprisoned while we were kicked off the streets.

I detested them for many reasons... As the third son, they didn't treat me well... Rather, they held me in contempt. But my siblings were another story.

They treated me kindly... I considered them my family.

My sister helped me study magic and sent me to where I could study magic while my brother treated me warmly and always stood up for me.

Their deaths were a grave blow for me...

My sister died of illness while my brother died in a war.

I won't go in detail but... My parents were partly responsible for the reason they died...

Julian didn't have such problems but his parents... no, father was a cowardly and greedy man. In the midst of a fierce battle, he betrayed the country but was eventually killed.

As for how he died, Julian's brother opposed him and sacrificed his life to ensure that his life of crime ends along with his ambitions.

Due to a complex number of reasons, we could no longer call ourselves nobles but we managed to retain our lives along with our belongings. That's enough...

It would be interesting to continue telling the story of our past but that is a story for a later date...

Furthermore, what's buried in the past, should stay buried.

I shift my focus and return to the topic at hand.

"If the Guildmaster is going to issue us a task, it would no doubt very difficult. We may even lose our lives..."

I spoke to my comrades.

The rest wore grave and serious expressions.

"You all know the Guildmaster's character... And you know that when he assigns a particular task to a team or individual personally, then it has a serious meaning to it... This is our chance and opportunity... But it would be the most dangerous task we've ever set out for... One that might lead us to death..."

The rest nodded.

The Guildmaster was an amiable but stern man. He was someone with a good eye for talent and character. A man of integrity.

One of his duties is to test certain groups or individuals if they're worthy of being promoted to A-Rank or S-Rank.

Ah yes, adventurers and parties are given a rank or rating to determine what quests they could take or monsters they could take on.

Lower ranked adventurers aren't allowed to take on those higher than them usually.

This is a safety measure to ensure that young adventurers don't rush off to their own deaths.

Individuals are ranked according to their role, abilities, personality and achievements.

Of course, the main emphasis here is combat ability.

Most A-Rank missions require elite adventurers to complete.

Elite adventurers are very famous.

They lack neither intelligence nor strength.

Thus, they each have trump cards of their own making them formidable foes.

They're elites whose mettle were tested through countless battles.

But adventurer party grades are quite different.

Given the right circumstances, you can easily take on quests to fight creatures higher than your level.

Party Grades are more emphasized by coordination, intelligence, balance and combined ability than individual strength.

A party of C-Ranked adventurers could take on a B-Rank monster with great difficulty.

On that notice, all four of us are B-Ranked adventurers.

Our rank is also A.

We've already passed a test once given to us by the Guildmaster.

That task was...quite dangerous.

But it was a great opportunity at the same time.

The Guildmaster is a fair person.

He would only give a dangerous mission to those he believed had the ability to succeed.

Now then, after some more light banter, we finally arrived.

The city was bustling with activity.

There were plenty of people going in and out.

Adventurers heading out to slay monsters and those returning with their blades stained with blood and dirt on their armor...

Merchants peddling their business...

And many others...

I can see a few shady looking folks too.

I don't bother with them though.

They're usually more trouble than they're worth.

"Let's get going."

I spoke to my team.

We joined the crowd and made our way to the Guild.

But before that, I went and checked my belongings as well as recount the spells I know.

You possess a wooden mage's staff, mage's robe's, Venom Snake Glands(Q), B-Ranked Adventurer's License.

Magic Spells include -

Fireball - Hurls a ball of fire

Firewall - Raises a wall of flame

Ice Ball - Hurls a ball of ice

Ice Wall - Raises a frozen wall

Water Ball - Hurls a ball of water

Earth Bullet - Fires a bullet of solid earth

Earth Wall - Raised a wall of earth

WInd Blades - Summons razor sharp winds that cleave any foe

Magic Barrier - Erects a barrier made of mana capable of protecting the caster

Mana Arrows - Fires arrows of pure mana

Minor Heal - Heals minor wounds

Paralyze - Paralyzes enemies rendering them incapable of movement through an electric shock

Lightning - Unleashes a lightning bold towards a foe

Greater Lightning - Unleashes an extremely powerful bolt of lightning

Light Ball - Lights up an area

Blind - Deprives someone of their sight

Darkness - Unleashes a dark fog that hinders sight

Scrying - Allows a person to see an area or location within a distance of 10 Kilometers

Proceed to 002