(Pov - Daniel.)
Twenty minutes later, I arrive at the guild, and my teammates spot me and approach.
"That was amazing; that unicorn was really fast!" Alex said, thrilled.
"Here," Sara said.
She hands me a bag of money.
Wow. It feels good to be rewarded for a job well done. What will I do with my share of the money…? Oh, right, save it for the orphanage and the village "Cristina," in honor of my grandma.
"It's 7,000 gold coins. That's your share."
Huh?
7 + 7 + 7 = 21.
7 + 7 + 6 = 20.
Who got the 6,000?
"7,000? Who got 6,000?"
"Alex, because she helped the least."
I admit Sara and I were the ones who weakened it, and I killed it, but Alex stopped the dog from escaping.
"Without Alex's barrier, the dog man would've escaped. Besides, I don't need that much money."
I offer my coins to Alex.
"I'll take the 6,000 coins. I'm going to donate the money anyway, so it doesn't matter."
"Really?! Thanks!" Alex said, smiling.
We swap bags.
"By the way, we have a lot of adventurers who want to join us," Sara said.
Oh, all these adventurers are here for us? I thought this atmosphere was normal for this time of day at the guild.
I see a ton of adventurers surrounding us… Too many… Ugh, I'm already regretting this.
"What a hassle," I said under my breath.
"Time to interview," Sara said, smiling.
Sara and I split the adventurers.
I'm interviewing a very tall and fat man.
I'm not good at this, but I'll improvise.
"So, are you good with magic?"
A basic but necessary question. I don't need people who only rely on physical strength.
"Good? Fufu."
He shows me his card.
"I'm level 20, and I got there in just two years. As you can see, I'm a great adventurer."
There are levels? Like in video games? And it took him two years to reach level 20? Wow. If he's bragging about it, it must be hard to level up.
"We have levels?" I said, confused, hoping someone would clarify.
Alex, who's next to me, brags about her level.
"I'm level 5 in just one month!"
… One month? Oh, she's really a newbie. I'd kick her off the team, but that'd be too cruel. I need to be patient with her.
I pull out my card… It has weird symbols, but I don't understand anything.
"Level?"
I can't make sense of my card… Ugh, I'm trying, but these symbols are gibberish to me.
"Alex, what level am I?"
"You're level… 32?!"
Hearing that, everyone turns their eyes on me and starts murmuring.
I leveled up that much in so little time? Awesome! Though I don't know how I did it.
"Wow, wow. And I'm new," I said, smiling.
I wonder if leveling up this fast is good or bad. Time will give me the answers I need.
"And what level is Sandro?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I heard he's currently level 192," Alex said.
192, huh…? 192?!
Wow, that's way higher than I imagined! He'd be a great teammate; it's a shame he has that disgusting personality. I don't want him near me.
192… I think completing missions levels us up, depending on the mission's danger.
I defeated a demon, so that's why I leveled up so fast. And Sandro's young. Considering all those levels, I can't help but admire that adventurous side of Sandro. But I can't fully admire him because of his gross personality.
Ugh, what a shame.
•
•
We spent three hours interviewing. Some were good, but I didn't like their attitudes; some were bad, but I liked their attitudes. But honestly, no one stood out. They all only had one type of magic, and it was the most common kind. Was it a miracle we found Alex? Maybe God guided her to me. Either way, I'm glad to have her on my side. After so many interviews, I realized how valuable someone with three types of magic is. I won't doubt your worth again, Alex.
"Nothing… I think we only got Alex," Sara said.
Yeah, I agree. A few more interviews, and I'll give up… Huh? I know that girl in the back.
I point at her with my finger.
"Come here, please, miss."
The wingless fairy sits at my table.
"Finally, it's my turn!"
I really didn't expect to see her here. I thought fairies only lived with royalty and didn't need to be adventurers.
… They don't need to be… Hmm… Suspicious.
"Are you part of the guild? Since when?"
"I just registered."
Oh, yeah, as I suspected. She's after me, probably to keep an eye on me and figure out my intentions, to see if I'm evil or good.
I'm not worried; after all, I'm a good person, not harmful to this world. On the contrary, my existence is vital for this world's survival.
She hands me her card, and Alex translates.
"Liz Grey. 13 years old. Magic types: fairy and wind. Two types of magic, but the rarest ones."
Wind magic is rare? I'll look into that later.
But she's 13; she's too young… Ugh, if I refuse, I might get in trouble with the older fairy. I'll have to accept her reluctantly.
"A fairy would be useful… Wait, but why do you want to join? To keep an eye on me?"
"Yes and no. On one hand, my sister told me to watch you, but on the other, I've always wanted to be an adventurer, so that's why I want to join you."
Wow, wow. I like that she's an honest girl. Honesty in a person says a lot about their upbringing and character.
"What do you think, Sara?"
"I don't know; they'll be watching you."
I look into Liz's eyes; she seems really excited. I can't say no to a little girl who genuinely wants to be an adventurer. This job is dangerous, but I'm sure she's powerful; after all, she's a fairy.
"Wow, wow. Alright, you're an honest person, and I like that. Welcome."
"Thanks!" she said, thrilled, with a big smile on her face.
Plus, she could teach me new spells. She'll keep an eye on me, but at least I'll get something in return.
I extend my right hand and smile.
"I hope we'll be good friends. The main rule is: 'No falling in love with any team member.' I'd rather avoid the team falling apart because of a romantic fight."
And I also don't want them falling for me… Huh?
Liz looks at me, blushing… Shit, I smiled!
"You're really cute."
I blush and look away. I-I need to stop smiling.
"T-thanks."
This is a "problem" I've had since I was a kid. I'm somewhat handsome, and it's caused me some issues. In middle school, all the girls would come up to me and ask me to smile because, according to them, my smile makes me twice as handsome. That's caused me a lot of trouble with jealous guys, so they'd always beat me up. I never fought back because I didn't want to cause problems for my grandma.
Ugh… I wish I looked more normal.
•
•
Ugh…
…
…
Ugh…
…
…
Arghhh! I give up!
Two more hours pass, and no one interesting shows up. I've wasted too much time; I can't take it anymore!
"I give up!" I said, a bit annoyed.
I stand up from the table and take down our sign.
"With four, we're enough! Thank you all for participating!"
Sorry for sounding rude, but I'm a bit desperate from the stress.
The other adventurers leave, and I sigh, disappointed.
Ugh… The power level of humans in this world is so disappointing.
"Daniel, now we need a headquarters, a place where we can meet," Alex said.
A team base? Sounds pretty cool, but it sounds expensive.
Besides, we already have a place.
"At Sara's house, obviously."
She already has her own house; I don't think we need to buy a base.
"My house? My house is small; it'd be uncomfortable for all of us to be together."
Yes, yes, I got the hint, Sara.
Hmm… I think we do need a base, but I only think that because Alex suggested it. I guess that's normal in this world.
"Is there a house for sale around here?"
"Looking for a house?" a man said.
An adventurer approaches me.
"There's a big house for sale nearby; it might interest you."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
We leave the guild and look for the house.
I hope it's not too expensive; I don't have that much money right now. If it's pricey, I think we'll have to take on another rank A mission.
After all, rank A missions are easy for us… Ugh, this world keeps disappointing me.
"I found it!"
Alex shouts, and we gather with her. Wow, wow. Nice house.
"They're selling it for 15,000 gold coins."
I see the house is huge. It's three stories. Are they really selling a house like this so cheap? Does it have ghosts or something?
"I'm surprised they're selling a house this size for so little."
"Why do you say that? That price is a scam!" Sara said.
"A scam?"
But I think it's really cheap. Why does she say it's expensive?
"It's a lot of money; it's not worth it."
"15,000 is a lot? In two days, I earned 56,000 gold coins; I think we can afford 15,000."
Are you telling me I earned enough money to buy three houses like this in just two days?! Arghhh! The power levels in this world keep disappointing me!
"Hmm… Now that you mention it, usually, the reward for exploring a rank A cave was 500 to 1,000 gold coins. Why did they offer so much this time?"
"I don't know…"
Wait… The dog man was probably really powerful, and now that I think about it, he wasn't injured when he turned back into a man.
That dog man had the ability to regenerate… Hmm… I see…
I remember the adventurers here are very weak, and exploring a cave for a big reward is very tempting. Surely low-rank adventurers tried to explore it, risking their lives.
And that dog man was probably planning something in that cave with their bodies… I see…
"Crafty dog."
"What's up?"
"It's obvious; the dog man posted that request, which is why it was anonymous. And when adventurers entered, he ate them. The dog man had a ton of money, so I'm sure he didn't do it for food; there must be another reason."
Maybe he was making sacrifices or trying to weaken the human race by killing as many adventurers as possible.
"Now that you mention it, you're right, but no adventurer was able to defeat him?"
"Maybe weak adventurers took the mission because they thought it was easy. I saw a lot of adventurers today, and they don't seem very strong. Isn't it forbidden to take missions above a certain rank?"
"It's allowed, but if they fail, they have to pay a huge fine."
"Yeah, that makes sense. The adventurers who tried the mission were too weak."
"Or the dog man was really powerful," Alex said.
"But we defeated him easily. It doesn't make sense," Sara said.
"No, the dog man was powerful. Now that I remember, he regenerated when he turned back into a man. I'm sure he was powerful. My sword was able to cut a demon in half; I think thanks to my sword, we were able to defeat him."
"Could be."
"Let's move on to the house. Let's each put in 5,000 to buy it."
"She's not contributing anything?!" Alex said, angrily pointing her index finger at Liz.
Well, she has a point. She's part of the team; she should contribute something too.
I approach Liz.
"Do you have money?"
"My sister only gave me money to register."
"Alright. Don't worry."
I'll charge her sister later.
•
•
We talked to the owner and bought the house.
The paperwork was simple, so they handed us the keys in less than an hour.
The house is empty and looks very old, but with a good cleaning and some furniture, it'll look much better.
"It's really empty; we need to buy furniture… Well, I finally have some free time. I'll keep studying."
I pull out my phone. I need to memorize the spells; I can't waste any more time.
"What are you doing?" Sara asked.
"I'm going to check the other spells. I need to memorize them."
I can't always rely on my sword; I need to learn to fight in different ways to not be so predictable.
I open the spell app.
Alright, I already used the unicorn one. What's the other summoning spell?
It sounds like a spirit.
"Summoning spells: 'Divine horse, come to me' and 'Spiris Resurrection'… Resurrection? Do I bring a spirit to help me fight or something?"
Liz gets surprised and looks at my phone with curiosity. Ugh, again.
"What's that?"
"It's my phone; I'll explain later."
I tap the spell and read it.
"Wow, wow… 'Spiris Resurrection': Allows you to bring someone back to life. You just need to think of the person you want to resurrect and say the spell. People can only be revived once; if they die again, they can't be resurrected."
A spell that brings the dead back to life?
"Bring back to life?!" Alex said, shocked.
"I've heard of that spell; the Royal family could use it, but a long time ago, they stopped being able to. That's all I know; my sister knows more about the Royal family's spells than I do," Liz said.
"Your sister?"
I stare at the spell with a serious expression… Bring back to life… Bring the dead back to life.
Such an… incredible… and fantastic spell.
"Do I need the dead person's body to resurrect them?"
"I guess so. I don't know."
Right now, I can't stop thinking about bringing my grandma back to life, but can I resurrect her without her body? Could I resurrect her in this world? I lose nothing by trying.
Besides, if it works, I'll see her again. I'm not getting my hopes up too much because if I fail, I'll end up disappointed and depressed. Daniel, a spell this incredible must have its limits. Your grandma is from another world, and you don't have her body. Don't get your hopes up.
But I wish with all my heart that it really works. I want to see her again… I want my grandma by my side again.
Whether it works or not, it doesn't matter because at least I'll have tried. But please, God, let it work. I beg you.
If my grandma is with me, I'll be much more productive. I need her. Please, grant my request.
I extend my right hand, think of my grandma, and say the words loudly.
"Spiris Resurrection!"
I-it's working. The ground is glowing brightly!
"It's working?!" Liz shouted, shocked.
A white circle appears on the ground in front of us, and a young girl in a white dress appears out of nowhere. The girl has long black hair and beautiful brown eyes. She's a very beautiful girl… One of the most beautiful I've ever seen… But she's not my grandma.
Ugh, I should've known. It was too good to be true.
The spell probably failed because I tried to bring someone from another world back to life, and I ended up resurrecting a random person from this world.
Damn it… Ugh, no, calm down, Daniel; you knew this could happen.
"Huh? Where am I?" she said, confused.
It's not my grandma, for obvious reasons… I guess I made a mistake.
"Did I say the wrong words?" I said, hoping I actually messed that up.
"No, you said it correctly," Sara said.
Ugh… I really failed.
"I was thinking of my grandma, but obviously, she's not my grandma."
"Your grandma?" the girl said, looking at me.
Yeah, my grandma. Thank her; because of her, I brought you back to life… Huh? W-wait… Those eyes… I-I remember those eyes.
I look at her; the girl looks a bit like my grandma in the face… She really looks like my grandma! It's a younger version of my grandma! I'm not seeing things; her face looks like my grandma's if she were younger!
T-the same eyes and nose… S-she looks like my grandma.
"Although she looks a bit like her!" I said, shocked and confused by the scene.
"She looks like your grandma?" Sara said.
"Y-yeah, s-she l-l-l-looks… She looks a lot like my grandma if she were young!"
The girl stares at me and approaches. N-no… T-this feeling I get when I see her… T-the same thing I felt when I saw my grandma… Something I haven't felt since she died.
Since my grandma died, I've only felt loneliness and sadness, but now that I see this girl, I feel… love… Happiness… C-could it be possible…?
"Dani? Is that really you?" she said, with tears in her eyes.
…
…
…
What?!
"Are you my grandma?!" I shouted, shocked and super nervous.
Is this young girl my elderly grandma?!