Commander Gideon stood in front of the four heroes, holding a scroll.
"Twelve days of basic training is complete," he said. "Time for some field experience."
He unrolled the parchment. "F-Rank Quest: Moonpetal Flower Gathering."
Kenji perked up immediately. "Our first real quest!"
Gideon continued reading. "Location: Whispering Woods, two hours from the capital. Objective: collect twenty Moonpetal Flowers. Rank F, lowest threat level. Expected monsters: minimal."
"Herb gathering," Aria said. "Resource collection quest."
Marcus nodded.
Hiroshi said nothing. He recognized this quest structure. Tutorial fetch quest before real combat. Standard RPG progression.
"This is safe-level work," Gideon said. "But stay alert. Whispering Woods occasionally has wandering monsters."
Gideon looked at Hiroshi. "Tanaka, you haven't leveled yet?"
"Training dummies don't give XP apparently."
Gideon's expression didn't change. "Try not to die."
"I'll do my best."
"Your best will need to improve."
They collected their equipment. Basic packs, rope, water skins, empty collection bags. Hiroshi noticed his pack had an extra healing potion. They expected him to need it.
The others had leveled from sparring. Kenji was Level 3. Marcus was Level 3. Even Aria hit Level 2 from magic practice.
Hiroshi was still Level 1.
After twelve days.
The walk to Whispering Woods took two hours. Kenji led naturally.
"I'll take point," he said. "Aria, watch our flanks. Marcus, rear guard." He paused. "Hiroshi, just... stay in the middle."
"When we find the flowers," Kenji continued, "we split up to gather faster."
"We should stay within sight of each other," Marcus added. "Safety in numbers."
"Good point. Pairs then? Marcus and I, you two?"
He meant Aria and Hiroshi. The smart one with the weak one.
"Hiroshi," Kenji said, trying to include him. "You've played these games. How do fetch quests usually go?"
Everyone looked at him.
"Uh... gather items, usually interrupted by monster encounter to teach basic combat."
Aria nodded.
"Then we should prepare for combat," Marcus said.
"On it." Kenji glanced back. "Hiroshi, if monsters show up, stay behind us."
"Got it."
They entered the woods. Sunlight filtered through the canopy. It was peaceful.
They found the Moonpetal grove quickly. The flowers glowed faint blue in the shade. Pretty, if you ignored the inevitable tutorial combat encounter.
The pairs split as planned. Kenji and Marcus went left. Aria and Hiroshi went right.
Fifteen minutes later, something rustled in the bushes nearby.
"Did you hear that?" Aria asked.
Here we go.
A blob emerged from the underbrush. Gelatinous, translucent, about the size of a large dog. A glowing core pulsed in its center.
"Forest Slime," Aria said calmly. "Level 3."
She raised her hand. "[Ice Shard]."
A frozen spike materialized and shot through the slime's core. The creature shuddered and dissolved into a puddle.
It took three seconds from start to finish.
A blue notification appeared in Hiroshi's vision.
[Forest Slime defeated! +15 XP (Party share)]
The XP split four ways. About four points each.
Hiroshi was still Level 1. He needed a hundred XP to hit Level 2.
"That was easy," Aria said.
From the other section, Kenji's voice rang out. "We got slimes over here too!"
"Three more slimes!" Marcus called. "Engaging!"
More sounds of success.
"Let's rejoin them," Aria said.
They started moving. Another slime blocked their path.
"Another one," Aria said. "I'll—"
The slime split into two slimes.
"Interesting. It can divide."
She cast [Ice Shard] at one. The slime died instantly.
The second slime lunged at Hiroshi.
"Uh—"
The slime moved faster than Hiroshi expected. He drew his sword, and swung wildly.
The slime hit his legs. Acid burned through his pants.
[HP: 95/100]
Hiroshi scrambled back.
"Are you alright?!" Aria shouted.
He swung again. The sword bounced off the slime's surface. The gelatinous texture absorbed the impact.
The slime prepared another lunge.
Hiroshi stabbed desperately. The sword sank into the creature.
He pulled it out. The slime was still alive. He'd missed the core.
Stabbed again.
The slime wrapped around his leg. More acid.
[HP: 87/100]
Hiroshi stabbed repeatedly. Panic made his movements wild.
Twenty seconds had passed.
"Aim for the core!" Aria called. "The glowing part!"
"I'm trying! It's moving!"
"It's a slime. It barely moves!"
"It's moving enough!"
He kept stabbing. The slime dodged somehow. Or he was just that bad.
"Stop swinging randomly!"
"I am stabbing!"
Thirty seconds in, he finally hit the core. The slime shuddered.
He kept stabbing. Didn't realize it was dead.
The slime dissolved.
Hiroshi kept stabbing the empty space.
"It's dead," Aria said flatly.
He stopped. Looked at the puddle.
[Forest Slime defeated! +12 XP]
[You have gained 7 XP! Progress to Level 2: 7/100]
Total combat time: forty seconds.
Aria had taken three.
Hiroshi stared at his sword. Covered in slime residue. His hands were shaking. He looked at the puddle where the slime had been.
"I killed it," he said. "I actually killed it."
Then he vomited.
Aria stepped back. "First kill reaction."
Hiroshi wiped his mouth with his sleeve, hands on his knees, the acid burn on his leg still stinging. "That was horrible."
"You won. Horrible or not."
Forty seconds to kill one slime. It's depressing.
They collected the remaining flowers in silence. Twenty total. The walk back was quiet.
Kenji was excited. "First quest complete! We're real adventurers now!"
"The gods blessed our efforts," Marcus said. "We served well."
"Good work indeed," Aria added.
Hiroshi stayed silent. His boot was damaged from the acid. His arms ached from frantic stabbing. He could still taste bile in his mouth.
The Adventurer's Guild was a stone building with a quest board out front. Adventurers came and went. Some looked seasoned. Others looked fresh.
Inside, the receptionist counted their flowers. "Twenty Moonpetal Flowers, confirmed. Quest complete!"
She handed over five gold coins.
"So, one and a quarter gold each?" Kenji said.
Everyone nodded. Equal split.
The gold was distributed.
"Equal distribution despite unequal contribution," Aria said quietly.
"Aria!" Kenji hissed.
"Just stating fact. I killed six slimes, Marcus killed five, Kenji killed four. Hiroshi killed one and required forty seconds."
Awkward silence.
"We're a party," Marcus said firmly. "Parties share equally."
"I understand the convention. I'm just noting the reality."
She's right. I contributed one kill out of sixteen and get one-fourth of the reward.
"It's fine!" Hiroshi said, forcing cheerfulness. "Fair split!"
He pretended not to hear the implications. Pretended the math didn't sting.
"First quest done!" Kenji said, trying to smooth things over. "Let's celebrate!"
"A meal together would be good," Marcus said.
Aria agreed.
"Sounds good," Hiroshi said.
They left the guild, heading to a nearby tavern. The sun was setting. The streets were busy with evening traffic.
Hiroshi trailed behind. He touched the gold coins in his pouch. Opened his Status Window.
Level: 1
XP: 7/100
Divine Blessing: None
First Quest:Complete
He closed the window. Seven XP. Ninety-thre more to go. At this rate, he'd need to kill seven more slimes alone. Assuming he didn't die first.
The others walked ahead. Celebrating their first successful quest.
Hiroshi followed. His pride was somewhere back in the woods with the slime puddle.