The first floor of the Adventurer’s Guild was always bustling with people, but today there were even more adventurers than usual.

Fourteen adventurers waiting for someone each had different expressions as they awaited the last two. From someone who looked a bit angry to another who was smiling, the variety was striking.

Finally, the guild door opened, and Skylar and Selina made their appearance.

…And a single question mark appeared over their heads.

The reason was simple. For some reason, both of them looked a little strange.

The child-like wizard looked ordinary, but the bard next to him was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.

The sight of an alluring adult woman being dragged along by a kid… was a little, no, extremely odd.

“We’re late.”

“We’re right on time, you know.”

“Don’t wizards have a saying about arriving ten minutes early?”

“Unfortunately, due to the variables of magic experiments, things often go awry or yield different results.”

“But all the other wizards arrived ten minutes early!”

Skylar glanced at the adventurer who was picking a fight with him.

There were three wizards wearing similar robes.

He lazily scanned them.

‘Nervous wizard is Cheatrenitas, the other two are at best Albedo.’

The wizard ranks are divided into four tiers.

Based on the ability to use mana, Skylar’s rank is Rubedo – Level 4.

Aside from the apprentice Nigredo – Level 1, his actual ranks as a wizard are Albedo – Level 2 and Cheatrenitas – Level 3.

In other words, those two aren’t as skilled as Skylar.

‘But, I’m just a scroll-using body.’

Realistically, Skylar’s actual power, as someone with no heartbeat, could be considered similar to theirs or even lower.

He could cast some magic if it came to it, risking his life, but he wasn’t foolish enough to gamble his life for such a trivial request.

“I just needed to check something.”

Selina next to him smoothly started making excuses.

For some reason, she was surprisingly calm when talking despite being fearful.

As she glanced at the map, thinking up strategies and discussing how to handle things, she was babbling excuses without realizing how much time had passed.

“…Then fine. I wouldn’t want to stir up conflict.”

“Thank you.”

Responding, Selina placed her hand on Skylar’s head and forcibly bent his neck down.

Skylar wasn’t particularly pleased, but he went along with her action for the moment.

After all, he didn’t want to bend his pride or be polite for people he wouldn’t meet again after this request… but she seemed like someone who wanted to get along with everyone, so he thought he could concede this much for the party.

And thus, they finally set out.

The wagon wheels turned, the road became increasingly rugged, and at last, the surroundings thickened with trees.

An adventurer finally planted his leather boots on the unfamiliar ground.

A large-scale subjugation request.

Rank: Gold.

It was the beginning.

*

The Witch of the West.

One of the defensive witches capable of moving corpses and turning them into minions with bondage magic.

However, excluding that bondage magic, she was already a wizard of Rubedo rank, reached almost to the extreme.

‘—So they say.’

Yet, simply dealing with moving corpses was surprisingly well-paid for this request.

Yeah. Suspiciously so.

“Skylar.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t this a bit odd?”

“…It’s silent, there’s no presence, and I’m starting to wonder if the location is entirely wrong.”

“Yeah.”

The core of this request, where they were supposed to subjugate large numbers of moving corpses, revolved entirely around the location of the horde.

Once the location was confirmed, it would be effortless to take down the moving corpses.

The ‘undead’ that move at a slow pace, almost losing all athleticism, could simply be rendered powerless by approaching and beheading them.

However, when the location is unknown… their sheer numbers become a source of terror.

An ominous monster that could emerge unexpectedly creates psychological pressure, regardless of combat ability.

Moreover, if they don’t show themselves, that becomes a separate problem.

Without taking the heads of the corpses as proof of subjugation, they wouldn’t receive their reward.

For the sake of making money, figuring out the position of these corpses was extremely important and currently held the highest priority.

“I think the location is wrong.”

“Right. It seems like the information is definitely inaccurate.”

“…What do we do in this situation?”

“Is this your first time in such a situation?”

“Yes. I recently transitioned to a bard.”

“You’ll likely have many opportunities to participate in large-scale requests if you’re a bard. It’s good to know. Let me explain it just once.”

“…Sure.”

“In cases where the request location itself is incorrect, you revisit the guild and request that the information be corrected. After waiting a few days, the request is either canceled or corrected with new information and issued again. That’s it.”

“That sounds simple.”

“It’s simple to say, but the process isn’t easy. It’s quite the hassle, to be honest.”

Initially, he had been sharp-tongued, but since joining the request, he had continually kept a friendly tone.

Perhaps he wasn’t really sharp-natured; he was just cautious around others and sensitive about time, just an ordinary person.

After chatting a bit, mundane conversation developed, creating a warm atmosphere that contrasted starkly with the forest.

People who wasted time due to the request being wrong comfortably conversed while looking forward to what would come next.

This wasn’t a connection destined to end with just one meeting; it had transformed into a connection that might bring them together again. They probably figured it would be better to get somewhat closer later on.

‘…My legs hurt.’

How much longer had they walked?

Given the thorough search without any signs, it was clear that the location stated on the request was indeed wrong.

I wanted to head back soon. I was tired.

If I coughed right now, would it come out mixed with blood? I needed to resolve this minus stat quickly.

My head was also aching, feeling throbby.

My joints creaked, my stamina was hitting rock bottom, and my mental strength was precarious thanks to the events of the morning.

I wanted to blame all of it on Skylar, but honestly, the biggest fault was mine for creating such a character in the first place.

No choice.

‘…Yeah, it’s all my fault.’

Letting out a deep sigh, I continued walking forward until the declaration of request cancellation was finally announced.

“Everyone, disperse.”

“…I thought I was going to die.”

“It would be good to work on your stamina a bit. Should I share some potions?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Right. So you mean you don’t want to owe anyone.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“See you next time.”

Starting with the adventurer with a pleasant demeanor, the group slowly began to return to where the wagon had been.

Compared to their initial departure, their speed was clearly slower. Everyone seemed notably drained.

‘Adventurers who can walk all day without tiring like Nisha aren’t common after all.’

After all, Nisha was a priestess as well as a platinum adventurer.

There was no point in comparison.

If that was the average stamina of adventurers, I would have probably gotten left behind and abandoned in the forest by now, unable to keep up.

*

How long had they walked?

They seemed to have almost reached the point marked on the map. Familiar scenery they had seen along the way was appearing more often.

After losing stamina, there was no leisure to look around, and it was natural they couldn’t remember anything.

“Huh….”

“It’s disappointing that the first large-scale request turned out to be a bust.”

“Skylar, what do you plan to do?”

“If the request isn’t quickly corrected… I suppose just heading on to the next city wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Yeah. This is the guild’s responsibility, after all.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

And then, for some reason, everyone stopped walking.

Skylar’s head bumped into my chest height.

I alone was looking around anxiously, my head filled with question marks.

“The ground feels different.”

The kind man who had been leading us knelt down and touched the earth with his fingers.

The soil scattered like powder in the wind.

…It was odd.

Even to me, who had no prior knowledge, it was clearly strange.

The soil in the forest was usually damp, but now it was cracked like a drought-ridden field, unnaturally covered with leaves and branches on top.

As if someone had disguised it.

“Everyone, back—”

His words didn’t continue.

Thud.

Crack.

Thud.

Suddenly, his height shrank.

Considering that normally, one measures height from the top of the head, his height was roughly around 30cm now.

“Ugh….”

Nausea surged up.

I could taste blood in my throat.

I looked ahead through my blurry vision.

There stood a woman, resembling me closely, commanding the corpses, watching us carefully.