I wanted to enter the city.

  That was the first thought that came to my mind when I stood in front of the huge walls. And the first one I had to reject immediately.

  Seven years.

  That's all I had.

  No child of this age could simply walk through the gates of a big city without a guardian. Even in this world. And certainly not an elven child.

  The biggest problem was the ears.

  Pointed, long, revealing everything with one glance. I already knew that some people did not tolerate elves. Others pretended to be indifferent. Few were friendly. But taking risks without any collateral was just plain stupid.

  Only one thing helped me.

  I was tall for my age.

  And I had a voice... too ripe.

  It sounded more like the voice of an eleven-year-old girl than a seven-year-old. If you covered your ears and hair, and maybe even your eyes... I could go unnoticed.

  But where to get something like that?

  I walked around the city, looking for anything. Then I noticed the village.

  A small one, hugging the walls like the shadow of a larger organism. She was not rich. It was not well-groomed. It looked more like a place where those who did not find a place in the city itself go.

  But it was there that I could find what I needed.

  I entered carefully.

  The atmosphere was heavy. Low, wooden houses, narrow streets. People looked suspiciously, but no one stopped me. The children ran barefoot, the older ones sat against the walls, observing the world without much interest.

  I kept walking until I saw the store.

  Small, old, with a faded sign. It was twilight inside, and an old man was standing behind the counter. His back was hunched over, his hands trembled slightly, but his eyes... His eyes were alert.

  "Are you looking for something specific?" He asked before I could speak.

  I hesitated only for a moment.

  "Something... to cover my ears," I said quietly.

  He was not surprised. Not even fear. He looked at me intently, as if judging the importance of my words.

  "An elf," he said calmly. "Hardly anyone says it so directly.

  I expected a refusal. Or hostility. Instead, the old man sighed and reached under the counter.

  "I have something," he said. "But this is not an ordinary object.

  He placed a small earring in front of me.

  It was simple. Metal. Inconspicuous. And yet I felt magic from him.

  "This artifact can change the color of eyes, hair... and the shape of the ears," he explained. "Used by spies. Smugglers. People who don't want to be recognized.

  I looked at him carefully.

  "But," he added, "he is not perfect. Experienced mages and some magic users can sense that you are hiding something.

  My heart beat faster.

  "I don't have any money," I said bluntly.

  The old man smiled crookedly.

  "I guessed," he answered. "But there is one possibility.

  He leaned forward, and his voice became quieter.

  "One... and only one.

  The old man looked at me in silence for a moment, then nodded.

  "It just so happens," he said slowly, "that I have an artifact. Except that... I don't know exactly how it works. And I'm not a magician myself.

  He reached under the counter once more and pulled out a small object. It looked like an ordinary, noble ring. Silver, simple, without stones. Nothing that would catch the eye.

  "Put it on," he added. "If he reacts, we will know that it is more than just a decoration.

  I didn't ask.

  I slid the ring on my finger.

  At the same moment, the metal flashed with a soft light. I felt the warmth spread through my hand, then all over my body. Surprised, I looked at my shoulders.

  The scratches I had gained while running through the forest began to close slowly. The skin was growing in front of my eyes, the pain was disappearing as if it had never existed.

  The old man dropped his cane.

  "This... it's impossible..." he whispered, then... He cried.

  Tears ran down his face as he looked at me, then at the ring.

  "As of today, I'm rich..." he said in a trembling voice. "Rich...

  I took off the ring and put it on the counter.

  "It's not for me," I said calmly.

  The old man put it in his pocket with trembling hands. Then, without saying a word, he placed an artifact in front of me — an earring — and... left the store.

  He left the door open.

  I was left alone.

  I looked at the object lying on the counter for a moment. My heart was beating faster. Finally, I reached for it and pinned it to my ear.

  The artifact activated immediately. I felt a slight tingling sensation, as if something was trying to connect with my mana. I didn't know how it worked. There were no instructions. There was no voice. Only silence.

  I sat down.

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  I waited.

  I tried to focus on my own body, on what I wanted to change. It took a long time before anything happened. But in the end... I felt it.

  Control.

  I focused on my ears. On the hair. In the image of herself.

  The ears shortened, becoming human. Her hair turned brown. When I looked into the reflection of the old mirror, I almost didn't recognize myself.

  We succeeded.

  I smiled for the first time in a long time.

  There was only one thing left — a headgear. Fortunately, the clothes I got from Lysera were perfect for this. I put on my hood and left the store.

  People no longer looked at me with contempt.

  Now they were watching with curiosity.

  They were surprised that such a young child could walk alone.

  And I... I walked towards the gates of the big city.

  It took a long time before I finally reached the very walls of the city. My heart was beating faster with every step. I was afraid that there would be a control at the gate, that they would tell me to take off my hood, that someone would notice something unnatural.

  But the guards... they just stood.

  They were talking to each other, yawning, one of them leaning against the halberd. I walked past them calmly, trying not to speed up. No one stopped me.

  I crossed the gate.

  It was the first time in my life that I saw such a huge city. Stone streets stretched in every direction, tall buildings almost obscured the sky, and there were more people than I had ever seen. Wagons, merchants, children, beggars, guards, brawls and laughter — all at once.

  I felt a strange sting of excitement.

  I started to think about one question:

  is it possible to become an adventurer at such a young age?

  If anyone were to take me seriously, it would only be where strength, talent, or magic mattered—not age.

  I walked into a shop full of armor and swords. The metallic smell hit me right away. Blades, helmets and shields hung on the walls, and heavy armor stood on the stands.

  I knew that in such a place I had the best chance of getting information.

  Behind the counter stood a short man. Wide in bars, with a thick beard and a stern look. I looked at him in silence for a moment, until suddenly it dawned on me.

  Dwarf... I said in my mind.

  I came closer.

  "Good morning," I said calmly. "Do you know where I can find the adventurers' guild?"

  He looked at me from under bushy eyebrows. For a moment, he looked at me, as if trying to judge if I was joking.

  "Center," he grumbled briefly.

  Not a word more.

  He was not talkative.

  I nodded, turned around, and walked out of the store. The streets absorbed me again. Now I had only one thing to do — find the city center.

  And with it... A new chapter of my life.

  It took me a long time to get to the guild. When I finally found myself in the city center, I slowed down and started looking around. The buildings here were bigger, more massive, and the streets were cleaner. That's when I saw it.

  A huge banner with the symbol of the adventurers' guild hung on the front of the mighty building. There was no doubt — this had to be the place.

  I went inside.

  The interior was... surprisingly empty. I expected crowds, loud conversations, laughter and arguments. Instead, there was silence, broken only by the sound of footsteps. The bulletin board was only a quarter full—a few orders, most of them low-ranking.

  There were maybe a dozen or so people in the whole room. Some were sitting at tables, others were leaning against the walls. Everyone looked tired.

  I walked over to the counter.

  The receptionist didn't even look up from the documents.

  "To register?" He asked in an indifferent tone.

  "Yes," I answered. "How did you know?"

  He looked up and looked at me carefully.

  "Because I know every adventurer in this town," he replied calmly.

  But before we went any further, I decided to ask about something that didn't bother me.

  "Why are there so few adventurers here?"

  His face stiffened. He was silent for a moment, then sighed.

  "First of all, it's a dangerous job. Especially recently. A lot of monsters appeared in the area. One by one... incident, many people took time off. Or it hasn't come back.

  I swallowed.

  "Second," he continued, "if you're an adventurer from F to C, you're making pennies." You risk your life and you get almost nothing. Real money only starts with Rank B.

  He looked at me more carefully, as if he was only now really judging me.

  "And there... You don't come to it by chance.

  The room suddenly seemed even quieter to me.

  Still... I didn't go back.

  "I want to register," I said firmly.

  The receptionist looked at me more carefully, then reached for the form.

  "All right. What type of seeker are you? A enchanter, a swordfish, a healer or a shield bearer?

  "A charmer," I replied without hesitation.

  "A kind of magic?"

  I hesitated for a split second. The magic of destruction was completely gone—no human could use it, and I was now just a "human girl."

  "The magic of water," I said calmly.

  The receptionist nodded.

  "Good. Let's go to the training room. You will show me your skills.

  I decided not to use the full power. I looked about twelve years old, but I was actually seven. Too much force would only arouse suspicion.

  When we entered the room, I saw a solid training disc set in the middle.

  "Shoot her," he ordered.

  Without further thought, I focused the mana. I created Aqua, immediately froze it, turned it into a narrow ice skewer, and added acceleration. I decided that this should be enough at least for the C rank.

  When he signaled, I released the spell.

  The ice projectile struck the shield with a loud crack, plunging deep and spreading ice cracks all over the surface.

  The receptionist was silent for a moment. Then he took out a notebook and wrote something in it.

  "Wait here," he said at last, and left.

  A few minutes passed. I stood still, pretending to be calm, even though I was tense inside.

  Finally, he returned. This time he was not alone.

  He was accompanied by a man with a stern look and a clear aura of someone who had not been here by chance.

  "I'm the guild master," he introduced himself briefly. "Congratulations. You passed the exam.

  I looked at him in surprise.

  "From now on, you're a B-rank adventurer.

  I froze.

  Rank B...?

  I was genuinely impressed. I didn't expect that this would be enough. And at the same time, for the first time, something else came to me.

  If such a small part of my power gave me a B-rank...

  … So how different was I from normal people?

  The guild master had nothing more to say after the test. He just nodded and walked away as if what I had just done was something completely ordinary.

  I walked over to the bulletin board.

  There were few tasks. Those of the F-C rank looked calm: collecting healing ingredients, killing a few goblins, finding minerals, or getting deer skins. Simple operation, low risk... and little money.

  There were only two B-rank orders.

  The first concerned killing a bear prowling in a nearby forest. Reward: 12 silver coins.

  The second was about investigating mysterious disappearances in a former mine, located near the mountains. Reward: 30 silver coins.

  I hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment.

  I chose the second one.

  I knew it could be much riskier, but the reward was too big to ignore. After confirming the order, I set off almost immediately.

  The road to the mountains, under which the mine was located, was supposed to take three days.

  I didn't have any real equipment, except for a welcome gift from the guild that I received just before leaving. Inside was a sleeping bag and a small backpack — the perfect size for me.

  The first day passed peacefully. Nothing special happened.

  On the second day, I came across a small group of goblins. I killed them surprisingly quickly. At first, I wanted to use the magic of destruction... And indeed, the first two goblins died almost instantly.

  Then I was hit by a severe headache.

  I remembered Lyseria's words—it was one of the symptoms of the depletion of most mana. I forced myself not to reach for destruction. I got rid of the rest of the goblins with water magic.

  The pain did not subside for most of the night.

  On the third day , I was already close to the mountains. As I walked, I kept thinking about the magic of destruction. About its power. About the price you have to pay for it.

  In the end, I set a clear boundary for myself.

  I will use the magic of destruction only in exceptional situations.

  When I got to the mine itself, I immediately noticed something disturbing.

  Next to it was an abandoned camp. When I took on the assignment, the receptionist mentioned that before the disappearance incident, it was a popular place to mine rare minerals. There was no one here now. No votes. No movement.

  Only silence.

  I didn't know how to start my journey through the mine, especially since it was almost completely dark inside. I looked around the camp and noticed a few abandoned torches. I quickly set fire to one of them with flint and entered the cave.

  At first, everything seemed... normal.

  I walked on and on, peering into the side tunnels, looking for any traces of the missing people. For a long time I found nothing. Finally, I reached the very end of the mine. It really took me a lot of time.

  When I started to go back, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.

  One more branch.

  I hesitated only for a moment, then went inside.

  And then I saw it.

  Piles of dead bodies.

  Some of the victims have already decomposed to such an extent that only bones remain. Others were still rotting, and the smell hit me so hard that I had to cover my mouth.

  At that moment, I understood one thing.

  This place was not an ordinary mine.

  And this task... was something much worse than I expected.