Chapter 19 — Urgent Quest and Rank Up
Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains of the Silver Moon Inn, painting warm gold across the wooden floor. The quiet town of Stonehaven had only just begun to stir, the distant sounds of merchants and carts drifting in from the street below.
Kaito opened his eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling.
For a moment, he simply breathed.
Another peaceful morning.
Another day as an adventurer.
He pushed himself up from the bed and stretched his arms overhead until his shoulders cracked. Two weeks ago, waking up in a real bed had still felt like a luxury. Now it was slowly becoming normal.
A dangerous thought.
Comfort could dull a blade.
He quickly washed up and headed downstairs where the smell of curry already filled the inn.
Serena and Renna were already sitting at the table.
“Good morning, Kaito-kun!” Serena smiled brightly.
“Morning,” Renna added, raising a hand while chewing a piece of bread.
Ririna placed three plates down in front of them. “Curry and bread, fresh this morning.”
The three of them pressed their hands together.
“Thanks for the meal!”
Warm curry, fresh bread, and peaceful conversation. It felt almost too normal for adventurers who had fought lightning bears and rock birds just days before.
Renna leaned back in her chair. “After breakfast, guild?”
Kaito nodded. “Yeah. We need to take more quests while we’re still in Stonehaven.”
Serena smiled. “Crimson Blades’ first official work day.”
The three clinked their cups together.
The Adventurers Guild was already lively when they arrived. The large hall buzzed with voices, armor clinking, and the rustle of parchment as adventurers scanned the quest board.
Kaito stepped forward and crossed his arms.
“Let’s see what we can take today.”
Serena leaned close beside him, reading the requests pinned to the board.
Renna stretched her shoulders. “Something challenging would be nice.”
Suddenly—
The front doors slammed open.
A man burst inside, panting and covered in dirt and blood.
“HELP—! PLEASE—!”
The entire guild hall fell silent.
The man stumbled toward the reception desk where Ellie and Sofia stood in shock.
“T-there were giants… giant orcs…! They attacked a merchant carriage in the forest… everyone… everyone was killed…”
A cold chill spread through the hall.
Sofia’s expression hardened immediately. She stepped forward and raised her voice.
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“Urgent extermination request! Giant Orc threat confirmed on the forest road!”
Whispers spread through the guild.
“Giant Orcs…?”
“That’s not normal…”
“That’s a high-rank monster…”
Kaito stepped forward without hesitation.
“Can we take the quest?”
Sofia hesitated. “The reward hasn’t been decided yet—”
Renna stepped beside him, eyes blazing.
“We’re not talking about money right now. People died. We’re going.”
Sofia stared at them for a moment… then nodded firmly.
“Understood. Please be careful.”
Serena clenched her staff. “We’re heading out now.”
The three turned and sprinted out of the guild at full speed.
Wind roared past their ears as they ran along the forest road.
Half an hour of nonstop sprinting.
No slowing.
No hesitation.
Finally—
The smell of blood reached them first.
Kaito raised a hand and they stopped instantly.
Ahead, in a clearing beside the road, lay the wreckage of a merchant carriage. Broken wheels. Torn cloth. A dead horse lying on its side.
And towering above it—
Two massive figures.
Giant Orcs.
At least 2.5 meters tall. Muscles like boulders. Each held enormous weapons stained with fresh blood.
They were eating the horse.
Serena whispered, “They’re… bigger than the lightning bear.”
Kaito’s grip tightened on his spear.
“We must be careful. I’ll use my full—”
CRUNCH.
A twig snapped behind the orcs.
From the trees, three more giants stepped into the clearing.
Five.
Renna whispered in disbelief, “There mustn’t be five at the same time…”
Kaito inhaled slowly.
“We have no choice.”
His voice became calm and sharp.
“I’ll throw my spear. Serena— use wind magic to accelerate it. We take one down instantly.”
Serena nodded. “I’m ready.”
Kaito pulled the spear from his back.
His muscles tensed.
He threw it with everything he had.
“NOW!”
“Wind Cannon!”
A massive blast of compressed wind struck the spear mid-flight—
The weapon exploded forward like a missile.
BOOM.
It pierced straight through an orc’s face and explore.
The giant collapsed instantly.
Four left.
The remaining orcs roared and charged.
Renna rushed forward without fear.
Kaito slammed his hands to the ground.
“Earth Spike!”
Stone spikes erupted from the ground and pierced the legs of two charging orcs.
They stumbled.
“Wind Cutter!” Serena shouted.
Blades of wind slashed across their bodies, opening deep wounds.
Renna flashed between them like lightning.
Her sword gleamed.
Two clean arcs.
Two heads fell.
Three down.
Kaito shouted, “Fall back!”
Serena raised her staff high.
“Glacial Fall!”
A gigantic chunk of ice formed high above the battlefield—
Then crashed down like a meteor.
The impact shattered the ground.
One orc’s head was crushed completely.
Two left.
The remaining giants roared and charged directly at Serena.
“Kaito!”
“Serena, out!”
She vanished backward with Sky Dash.
Kaito’s hand ignited with blazing fire.
“Crimson Lance!”
A colossal sharp long flaming spear formed in his grasp.
Beside him, Renna’s sword erupted in flames.
“Crimson Slash!”
A massive crimson aura appear on her sword and her eyes and hair glow.
“NOW!”
Kaito hurled the spear with godlike strength.
It tore through the air and pierced an orc’s neck clean through.
At the same moment, Renna swung.
A flaming arc sliced the final giant in half.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
Smoke rose from the scorched earth.
Then—
The three of them burst into laughter.
“We really did that!”
They high-fived.
Five giant orcs defeated.
After storing the bodies in the item box, Kaito began preparing lunch.
The smell of grilled boar skewers soon filled the clearing.
They sat together, exhausted but smiling.
Serena sighed happily. “Food tastes better after a hard fight.”
Renna laughed. “Everything tastes better after surviving.”
Kaito smiled quietly. “Let’s head back once we finish.”
When they returned to the guild an hour later, Sofia rushed forward.
“What happened?!”
Kaito answered calmly. “We defeated them. Five giant orcs.”
The entire hall went silent.
“Five?!”
Garrick’s voice echoed from upstairs.
“Come to my office.”
After explaining everything and handing over the orcs bodies, they returned to the reception desk.
Ellie handed back their guild cards.
“Kaito and Serena — promoted to C Rank.”
“Renna — promoted to B Rank.”
Serena gasped. “Already?!”
Sofia stepped forward and placed a pouch on the counter.
“Reward: five gold coins.”
Serena nearly dropped the pouch. “That’s a lot of money!”
“Take it,” Sofia smiled. “You earned it. And now… you may accept A-Rank quests.”
The three stared at each other in disbelief.
They were climbing fast.
Very fast.
That night, they returned to the Silver Moon Inn and enjoyed dinner together, laughing and reliving the battle.
Exhaustion finally pulled them toward bed.
Tomorrow would be another day.
Sun light returned once more.
They went downstairs for breakfast—
But Ririna approached them with a serious expression.
“A message from the guild.”
She handed them a sealed letter.
“Please come to the Adventurers Guild after breakfast. Urgent request. Guild Master Garrick Thomas”
The three looked at each other.
Kaito folded the letter slowly.
“What is it this time…?”
