10 Shocked

Archer and Talila were discussing life as they walked. ''So, Archer, what affinities do you have?''

He answered with some hesitation, which didn't escape Talila's eyes. ''Emm, I can use Space and Lightning magic so far, but I can learn more. Oh, I can learn support spells such as Cleanse.''

Shock crossed the older girl's face before swiftly dissipating. "So you possess dual affinities. That's rare. Not many are blessed by a Goddess. They only bestow their gifts upon truly exceptional individuals."

Talila cast a sidelong glance at him, a smile on her lips. "She must value you greatly, Archer. Whatever she has planned for you is sure to be something special."

Continuing their walk along the stone road, she inquired, "Did you complete your wild dog quest?"

Archer nodded in response, but his thoughts drifted toward the intentions of the goddess, and he wondered what they had planned for him.

Whoever it was must have been the one who brought him here from Earth. But he shook his head before asking the elf a question. ''So Talila, where do you come from?''

She looked at him with a strange look before answering. ''I come from a land far south of here.''

''Oh, what is it like there?'' Archer asked.

''Dark, damp, and a battleground if you live there.'' He got a quick response. After that, Talila stopped speaking, and Archer watched her speed up.

Her long silver ponytail was swinging side to side, and he noticed her ears twitching, which meant she was annoyed.

A couple of hours later, they arrived at Vassia City, and that's when they started heading toward the adventurer's guild.

While walking, the twin knights asked Archer about the black sword he used when they saw him fighting.

''So what was that sword you held, Archer?'' Feyra asked him.

Radyn spoke up before Archer could answer. ''I think it was an element sword. It must be a spell, sister.''

They started thinking about it as they heard him answer them.''Yes, it is. It's one of the spells I learned before becoming an adventurer.''

When the two heard his answer, they nodded and returned to thinking. The group soon reached the guild. Entering the building, they approached the counter.

The receptionist at the counter looked up at them. She was a high elf with blonde hair tied into a neat bun and blue eyes.

Observing the distinct features, Archer noted that her ears were longer than Ella's and Talila's.

Pondering the differences, he mused, 'Her ears are shorter than Talila's and the high elf's. Perhaps she's a half-elf?'

Archer reminded himself to send her a letter in a few days. He shook his head as he heard the elf speak to Talila. ''Welcome back, Sparrows. How was the goblin hunt?''

She was about to speak until Darius interrupted. ''It was easy, a few more goblins than we expected, but it was all fine in the end.''

When Archer heard this, he thought to himself. 'Sparrows, is that their adventuring group name?'

Talila spoke over Darius before he could continue to ramble on. ''It turned out well, with the little guy's help over there.''

She pointed at Archer, who was standing there watching everything unfold. The elf cocked her eyebrows as she recognized Archer. ''Are you the boy Sarah dealt with yesterday?''

''Yes, why?'' He answered the woman.

''How did you come to help the Sparrows? Would you mind telling me?'' She asked.

He wondered whether to tell her what had happened. He noticed Talila nodding at him, so he shared his story.

"Well, while I was on a quest, I heard shouting. So I rushed towards the sound and saw them fighting goblins. They were losing because of a goblin shamd, so I jumped in to help. After helping, I started speaking with the lovely Talila, and we decided to meet up once we finished our quests."

When he finished speaking, the Sparrows and the receptionist looked at him strangely, causing him to ask. ''What, It's the truth, is it not?''

The receptionist grinned as she turned to Talila, giggling. ''Girl, it seems like you have yourself an admirer.''

The silver-haired elf scowled before speaking. ''Shut up, Vaella, stop joking around!''

She turned on Archer, who she caught looking at her ears. 'Why is he staring at my ears?'

''Stop looking at me, you little shit. We've spoken about this.''

Archer looked offended at her words before puffing out his chest with a smile. ''What?! You're telling me I can't admire a beautiful woman?''

Talila's cheeks became red, and Vaella started laughing. The rest ignored it, noticing Talila wasn't getting angry at the boy.

She turned on Archer and introduced herself while smiling.

''Hello, Talila's future husband, my name is Vaella, her oldest friend, but you can call me big sister.''

Archer smiled at her words and was about to reply when two fists shot out, hitting both of them on their heads.

Bop!~ Bop!~

''''OUCH!''''

Talila bopped both idiots on the head for their stupid jokes. ''Stop joking, idiots. We both need to register the completion of our quests.''

Rubbing her head, Vaella went to look for the records of the quests the Sparrows and Archer took.

After five minutes, she looked at Archer. ''Did the farmer pay you the eighty copper?''

He nodded before taking out a corpse to show her when the wild dog's corpse appeared in front of her.

She was shocked to the core as he put it back. ''W-w-what did you just do?!''

Archer looked at the woman before answering. ''It's a storage spell learned. It's useful for hunting.''

Vaella nods slowly before asking for his card and the quest form before stamping it with something.

''Congratulations, you've completed your first quest, Archer. Oh, by the way, I don't know if Sarah told you, but if the issuer of the quest pays out anything under one gold, the guild takes a little bit when they post it.''

He nodded before asking. ''How can I sell the bodies I've collected so far?''

Smiling as she replied. ''I will call the butchers, and they will collect the bodies from here. Show me what you've got.''

''Are you sure? There's a lot.'' He inquired.

She gets a doubtful look. ''How many?''

''Forty.''

Once they heard the number, the group was shocked. That's when Vaella walked to a set of stairs and told them to follow her.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a single wooden door before entering. The room was spacious, and two sofas were set up in one corner. Everyone except Archer and Vaella sat down. ''Take out whatever you have got so far.''

He removed nineteen wild dog bodies, eighteen goblin bodies, two forest wolf bodies, and the dinosaur-looking beast from his item box. Everyone in the room was shocked, but Talila spoke up in a curious voice. ''How did you do all this?''

He looked at her as he replied.''I was hunting and collecting the bodies.''

They all looked at him with suspicion. She then asked him with a shocked look on her face. ''Why are their chests opened up?''

Archer looked away and whistled as they all stared at the bodies. No one spoke for a couple of seconds before Feyra spoke. ''Everyone is entitled to their secrets. Leave the boy alone.''

They all nodded before Vaella examined the bodies. She left the room, and after five minutes, she returned with three men who had stopped walking when they saw the pile of beasts.

''This will take the rest of today to deal with.'' One of the men spoke as they approached the pile.

The two men stored them in the rings they wore. Once they left, Vaella approached Archer and gave him an estimate. ''That is about eight gold coins worth of materials. Can you collect it tomorrow morning?''

Archer nodded his head before sitting down with the others. Vaella approached them and sat opposite them before handing them a bag of coins. ''Sparrows, this is for the goblin hunt, and the rest is for the other two quests you completed before.''

Talila took the pouch, opened it, and shared it with the group before storing hers in a ring on the middle finger of her right hand. She stood up and spoke. ''Well, that concludes business. We're leaving to find an inn.''

They were about to go when Vaella stopped them. ''Wait, the guild master has a special job for you guys.''

She stopped walking and turned to the high elf, who explained. ''There's an urgent shipment leaving for the Demonian Kingdom in the morning; he wants the Sparrows to be its escorts there and back.''

That's when they all looked excited. Novius spoke up. ''Who commissioned the quest?''

''The Iron-shadow trading company,'' Vaella answered.

They all eagerly accepted the job. Following five minutes of discussion, the group departed from the guild, setting out to locate an inn to rest for the night.