Two days later.
On the 18.1.313 (CR).
Osric and William just finished their daily training session.
"Hey Osric, when will we take a new mission?" William asked.
After putting away his practice sword, Osric answered.
"The initial plan was to train another 2-3 days, but I think it's okay to start working again tomorrow."
"We have both gotten used enough to our new equipment and what we need now is more actual combat experience with it."
William grinned.
"Finally."
When they walked back inside the guild from the empty training ground, along with the warmth inside the building, they were approached by a small group of men.
"You're Osric right?"
A confident looking guy in his thirties asked.
He looked strong and experienced, but that was all.
Yet Osric could feel it.
'This guy is stronger than me.'
"Yes I am. Why?"
The man smiled.
"I'm Elliot. I am a D-Rank adventurer with a party of five E-Ranks."
Although Elliot was a D-Rank, that didn't mean that his party would automatically be D-Rank as well.
A party needed at least three D-Rank members to be classified as a D-Rank party.
That's why there were only two such parties despite there being more D-Rank adventurers.
'That explains why I feel such strength from him.'
'From what I heard, most D-Ranks in Ashbrook are apprentice knights.'
Osric wasn't intimidated though.
"Okay. Why did you approach me?"
One of Elliot's subordinates got angry.
"What a rude brat!"
Elliot waved his hand.
His subordinate closed his mouth.
"Sorry about him."
Osric just nodded.
"I heard good things about you and William."
"I lead one of the strongest E-Rank parties. Why don't you guys join us?"
"My party is skilled and competent. You won't have to watch your back the whole time anymore."
Osric ignored the stretched out hand and answered.
"No thanks."
"I have already started building my own party with William here and I don't plan to make any changes."
Osric just walked passed them without waiting for a response, and William followed quietly while sweating.
Meanwhile Elliot had a chilling expression on his face. Barely able to contain his anger from the humiliation.
'How dare you reject me!'
Osric and William were already out of the building.
William finally spoke.
"Phew. What the hell was that?"
"That guy gave off a bad vibe. Why did you ignore him so coldly?"
Osric answered.
"I just spoke the truth."
"There was nothing more to say. And even if I didn't have a party, I wouldn't have joined him."
"You're right about that bad vibe."
William nodded in exhaustion.
Osric walked home after the agreed on when to meet tomorrow to plan their next mission.
'That's probably one of the few D-Ranks that Franklin doesn't trust.'
'I wonder what the top D-Rank party is like. I've only seen a couple of them in passing. They're the ones that Franklin trusts most.'
Osric was already excited to take on a new mission again tomorrow.
—
The next morning, Osric arrived at the guild shortly after sunrise.
The building was quieter than usual at this hour. Only a few adventurers were inside, some eating breakfast while others slowly studied the mission board.
William arrived a few minutes later.
"Morning," he said while stretching his arms.
Osric nodded.
"Morning."
William walked over to the mission board.
"So what are we doing today?"
Osric stepped beside him and pointed at one of the notices.
"Feral Dogs."
William leaned closer and read the paper.
"Five or six suspected inside the forest. Last seen near a logging path."
He looked back at Osric.
"That sounds easy."
Osric shook his head slightly.
"Individually they are weak. Around F-Rank."
"But as a pack they become dangerous. That's why it's listed as an E-Rank mission."
William shrugged.
"Still sounds manageable."
"It is," Osric said calmly.
"The reward is sixty copper."
William raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
Osric nodded.
"Feral Dogs are common. The reward reflects that."
"But it's still worth doing."
He pointed to the location written at the bottom of the mission notice.
"It's also close to town."
William grinned.
"Alright then. Let's do it."
Osric took the mission notice and handed it to the receptionist before they left the guild.
A short while later, the two of them were walking through the eastern gate of Ashbrook.
The air was cold again.
Snow from the previous days had begun to melt in some places while freezing again in others.
William pulled their cart along the forest path while Osric walked beside him.
The wooden wheels creaked softly over the uneven ground.
Inside the cart lay a folded leather tarp, several lengths of rope, and the tools they had bought for handling monster corpses.
William glanced ahead into the forest.
"Five or six Feral Dogs shouldn't be too bad."
Osric nodded.
"Individually they're weak."
"But packs make things dangerous."
William smirked.
"Good thing there's two of us."
The forest grew quieter as they continued deeper between the trees.
Snow covered patches of the ground beneath the branches while other areas had already turned back into dark soil.
After a while, Osric slowed his pace.
"Stop."
William lowered the cart handles carefully so the wheels wouldn't make unnecessary noise.
"What is it?"
Osric pointed at the ground.
Tracks.
Several of them.
Fresh.
William crouched beside them.
"Feral Dogs."
Osric nodded.
The tracks moved between the trees before disappearing into thicker brush.
William stood up and gripped the handle of his axe.
"Looks like we found them."
Osric placed his hand on the grip of his sword.
"Or they found us."
The forest had grown completely still.
No birds.
No wind.
Just the faint creaking of branches above.
Then somewhere ahead in the trees—
A low growl broke the silence.
And another answered it from the side.