Arthur stood outside the large double doors of the adventurer guild, with a piece of parchment depicting the image of a wolf.
"Hunt down Dire wolves in the Eastern Forest, 2 silvers per kill..." He muttered.
'Okay...' Arthur sighed "This shouldn't be too hard. According to the receptionist since they did specify a number, I can just take down one wolf and the rewards are mine."
He looked at the short sword in his hand, "I should thank the receptionist for this later."
• • •
"You want to hunt down a Dire wolf alone!" Lisa exclaimed as Arthur brought his quest back to the receptionist's table
"Yes" Arthur replied sternly
"I know they're low-level monsters, but still... and how will you hunt down a Dire wolf without any kind weapon?" She asked, the worry in her voice intensifying with each sentence.
"I- uh..." Arthur pondered on the question.
'To be honest, I didn't really consider it' he thought.
"If you insist, then take this." She said while handing Arthur an old short sword she grabbed from a pile of weapons stashed away.
"This is?" Arthur asked while still unsure of what he should ask.
"There's a system in place for people like you Arthur." She stated. "If you don't have a weapon, we can just lend you one from our stash, but you'll have to pay for it. Also!... if you break it you'll pay double."sl she warned.
"In that case, can you add the payment to my tab" Arthur asked with a calm expression as if he had nothing to hide "I'm flat broke right now."
"Oh... I see" Lisa replied, giggling slightly. "Sure, but promise me you'll come back alive Arthur. I've been in this business long enough to know that death is a common occurrence." She spoke with seriousness and worry in her tone.
'She has a good heart ' Arthur thought.
"I'll return back alive" Arthur replied sternly with his gaze fixed on Lisa.
"O-kay..." She surrendered while praying for good luck on his quest as Arthur just walked away.
• • •
"Glad that ended on a good note." Arthur muttered. "Couldn't bring myself to promise her anything"
"That being said,..." he added while cleaning the blade in his hand. "...I don't intend to die today."
•••
The sound of crickets and filled their ears as a group of three walked through a dense forest, each one holding crude weapons with little to no armor on them implying they were but low rank adventurers.
"Hey Austin don't you find this odd?" The girl in the party asked the boy in front while notching an arrow in her bow.
"Yeah, now that you mentioned it, you're right. We've been walking for a while but there've been no sign of a Dire wolf" The boy replied.
"You guys worry too much!" The third boy replied nonchalantly, while playing with a dagger on his fingers. "I just reached level 10 the other day remember? These level 5 dire wolves are no match for me hahaha" he teased.
"Hmph," the girl pouted on hearing their leader's advice. "Fine whatever."
"You guys..." The first boy at the vanguard of the group called out. "... We've got company!" He warned as a dire wolf finally came into view.
"This'll be easy- wait what?!"
"V-velkist.." the girl stuttered while calling out to the group leader as two more wolves popped out from the bushes.
The trio had been in the adventurer business for a while and they knew where to hunt as low-levelled adventurers to avoid encountering wolf packs.
"B-boss" Austin called out to his leader again with a horrified expression plastered over his face. "It's– it's a..." His voice cut off at the end from fear.
On turning to check his party member, his eyes widened in horror as well. "Why?" He asked angrily.
What stood before them wasn't an ordinary dire wolf. It's thick black fur and increased size screamed fear into the hearts of these adventurers.
"What's an Ash wolf doing here Dammit!!"
•••
Meanwhile, in the same forest, just a few meters away from their location, a depressed Arthur aimlessly strolled around the forest.
"Didn't the receptionist mention that they weren't hard to find?" Arthur whispered as his frustration reached it's limit. "But I've been walking for over two hours and all I've seen are trees and other adventurers" he sighed.
Then out of nowhere, a scream pierced his ears.
"A girl?" He muttered, and without wasting anymore time, he dashed for the source as fast as he could.
'I know I shouldn't rush into danger like this, but...' he bit his lip while increasing his speed.
"I'm never gonna let anyone die on my watch!" He said while dodging the trees and shrubs and increasing his speed.
•••
It looked like the end for the trio as the pack closed in on them. They managed to cut down one of the Dire wolves but we're left with 2 remaining plus the Ash wolf leader who looked to be enjoying the show while laying down on the ground like a king.
"We... *Huff*... You two should run, I'll hold them off" said Velkist the leader.
"But..."
"No buts Siris. I'll make an opening, just go!" Ordered Velkist. "...Austin"
With slight hesitation, Austin reached out to Siris who had fallen to the ground a while back.
As they were about to execute their escape plan, a Dire wolf shot out at Velkist from the side with enough speed and knocked him down with a headbutt.
"Crap!" He cursed coughing up blood.
"Ru-" Before he could order his teammates again, the wolf had already leapt towards them with its mouth wide open and ready for a feast.
"No!"
And then he saw it, or rather he barely saw anything as the moving figure was simply too fast. In a quick blur, all Velkist could see was a bright red streak of light following it's eyes, and in the next moment, a streak of blood shot out from the wolf's neck as the figure landed on his feet, the temporary shade in their location making his ruby irises glow brilliantly under his short snow white hair.
"I was getting bored?" he finally spoke up "Thanks for the warm up."