The Smile of the Wolf

The Smile of the Wolf

THE ASSOCIATION WENT QUIET.

I had grown used to it—people tended to be afraid of me, and I saw that as a benefit. Of course, others were seething with anger or an indignant attitude, but they kept firmly in their seats like the rest. It was the best possible arrangement; any time I had to spend putting such idiots in their place was time spent in their presence.

"I've completed the mission," I said gruffly, tossing a bag on top of the guild counter.

"I-I see," the female receptionist stammered, immediately grabbing the bag and looking through its contents. She was new—Fermille, I think her name was.

"Y-Yes, it checks out, Mister Inferno. Your payment is three hundred thirty five gold and twenty silver."

"Keep the silver," I grunted, accepting the hand of gold.

"O-Oh—…" The receptionist gulped and nodded, placing the bag behind the counter.

"Right, I almost forgot."

"E-Eep!" She yelled, startled. I groaned—if she was going to do this at every opportunity, then I was wasting time.

"Are there any reports or missions about a Forsaken sighting?"

"U-Um, yes, one, actually—... "

I grinned, a feral expression more fit for a wolf than a human.

"Perfect."

I stood straighter, walking over to the request board.

"Y-You're welcome—…"

I looked over the rows of fliers. There were several requests to destroy void creatures of varying sizes, usually asking for at least C-Class Adventurers. Most likely, the resurgence of the Void was being perpetuated by the Forsaken in power near the Eastern dominance of Kagreth. The one stand-out was asking  for A-Class assistance, although strangely the location was straight north of Slecrotor, specifically the bridge of land that Xeloqes conquered nearly a thousand years ago. It was the only foothold that Xeloqes had on the continent of Kagreth, but it was really all they needed, granting them prime port access. A Forsaken sighting here would be rather strange, but that's precisely what the posting said, specifically:

Looking for A-Class Adventurers! Forsaken sighting, void disturbance! City of Azrule near the Xeqloes settlement in Kagreth! Reward to be decided at acceptance.

It should be noted that this posting was naturally located in the regional mission board, a board specifically for high-ranking requests involving long travel distances. After all, it would be worthless for a D-Class request to be posted on such a board when the locals could simply quash the problem.

The Adventurer ranks went like so:

<F-Class>, considered the lowest rank. E-Class jobs revolved around minute service, such as delivering messages and finding lost animals. Essentially, a glorified postal service for those wanting to earn some extra cash.

<E-Class>, a rank with at least some level of respect. Being granted the rank of E-Class meant that you at least had potential as an adventurer, and were merely lacking experience and skill. Jobs generally consisted of easy "kill quests", such as animal population control.

<D-Class>, a rank given to those who have progressed through the food chain and considered the defining rank for being considered a "real adventurer". D-Ranks were usually tasked in taking down lesser-known criminals and bounties, as well as low-to-medium grade monsters.

<C-Class>, the mercenaries, dungeon-delvers, and quest-boys. Everything associated with the term "adventurer" usually came from this rank's jobs.

<B-Class>, the upper pantheon of adventurers. B-Class missions were far more reputable, as well as being staggeringly more difficult. Big-shot criminals were the only bounties you'd find here, and groups of B-Class Adventurers could be called to take out mythical monsters like Behemoths.

<A-Class>, the pinnacle rank for most adventurers, often considered the best of the best. A rank not given likely, adventurers of this caliber could expect fights against wyverns, bounties of the highest tier, and requests that spelled high mortality rates for ranks below A.

<Aether>. A subclass of A more than it was its own rank, despite the fact that Aethers were considered stronger A-Class Adventurers. To become an Aether, you had to first reach the prestigious rank of A-Class, and then take on the Aether Exams in Adamantis, the City of the Arisen. If one succeeded, they would be admitted into the Aether Order, and take jobs directly from the Arisen themselves.

<S-Class>. S-Class Adventurers were legends. Heroes that had their stories recorded in mythos, and beings who could contest divine beings like Patrons in one-on-one combat. It's said that fewer than fifty S-Class Adventurers could ever exist at once, and that was generally the case. An adventurer being promoted to S-Class was a rare thing, and any news of a candidate spread quickly from one continent to the others.

Of course, not all missions revolved around physical labor and fighting. There were postings of equal importance for mental labor, such as engineering, tutoring, and other fields in the realm of the mind. These ranks were weighted a bit differently than the normal adventurer ranks, but I never quite familiarized myself with them.

I pulled down the A-Class posting and approached the front desk, pushing it roughly against the front desk.

Syonis, I will grant you a death fitting of a creature such as yourself. You will suffer in eternal pain for years before I discard of your corpse.

Prepare yourself.