“Why did this shitty geezer summon me today of all days? This is one of my few days off!”

I spat on the floor next to Tony, who was walking right beside me.

“Now now Jack,” tony said hoping to calm me down “you know that you are one of the Strongest around here. So, the guild leader probably had a good reason to call you”.

The fact that this scrawny guy was right pissed me even more off. It must have been another shitty monster hunt that none other than me could handle. I hoped that it was at least fun.

“It still pisses me off though. Why can’t he just call for one of these oh-so-great silver knights? Those guys are apparently stronger than me, so they shouldn't have a problem with killing one or two rank-A monsters, right?”

“Do you really think that the emperor would send one of the nation's strongest just to kill one monster?” tony argued. “The prestigious silver knights are responsible for the safety of our great emperor, and you know that.”

“Bah! the emperor could do without one for a day or two, right?” I grunted.

“He has five of them, and sending one of them here shouldn’t make a big difference regarding his safety”. 

I put one arm around Tony's shoulder and pulled him closer.

“And I know that you want to see the girls in the bar as much as I do, Tony”.

His face got bright red, and he pushed me away.

“I-I .... You know that I have better things to do!” He said, pushing up his classes in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

I let out a big laugh and let go of him.

“Bahahaha! Ya should see your face, Tony! You’re in your mid-thirties and never even spoke to a woman other than your mom. Bahahaha!” I tried to hold most of my laughter, but it was impossible.

“Well, ya are more of a book guy and no fighter.” I continued and pointed with my finger at him. “And with this side parting of yours, I doubt that any girl would talk to ya bahaha.”

Tony punched against my shoulder.

“Stop laughing. You know that I have my hands full with paperwork because someone keeps wracking private property while hunting monsters! And with the other paperwork from the guild, I rarely even find time to get your lazy ass to the guild leader!” he pouted.

I finally managed to stop laughing. “Sorry. But things like this can easily happen when ya fight an orc or a troll. Ya know how brainless these things are.”

Tony let out a big sigh. “It’s always the same with you. Just forget it, we are here.”

We stopped in front of the Guild, a small building with a big old wooden door at the edge of the forest. Opening the door made a screeching sound which got us the attention of all the adventurers currently inside. 

“I hate this place. To many weaklings and no real challenge. Why are we even needed here?” I ignored the adventures, but my gaze fell onto the wooden boards hanging on the wall behind the wooden pillars. 

"Tch, only D and C rank quests. Worthless."

“Stop crying Jack. It was an Order from him, so we had no choice. And please don’t pick any fights again.”

“Bah, I wouldn’t even want to fight them! Look at these arrogant fucks. They think they are important because this country values adventurers. But all of them are weak. Not a single A or even B-rank. Just a bunch of losers still stuck in C-rank.”

Some of them seemed to have noticed my remarks and tried to pick a fight with me. But a short leak of my bloodlust was enough to intimidate them.

“Ya see? A bunch of cowards.”

Tony just shook his head. “There you go again. I think you are the most arrogant of them all. But whatever. Just don’t leak your bloodlust again or this poor woman is going to collapse.”

The woman behind the counter was shaking in fear as we approached her. Standing in front of her, I slammed my hand on the counter which startled her even more.

“Jo let us through.“ I said with slight annoyance in my tone.

Tony just looked at me and shook his head.

“I’m very sorry for his rude behavior. I’m Tony Stern and this is Jack Lantern. We are here to talk to the guild leader”   

She just nervously nodded and opened the door behind her. I pushed her to the side after she had fully opened the door which made her fall to the ground, but I couldn’t care less. Everyone here was no more worth than dirt. I would have been glad if I could just ditch this place and return to the capital. But I had to at least clear one more quest until then. Upon entering the room behind the door, I was greeted by a cloud of dust. I pinched my nose and waved the dust away from my face until I saw the room's interior and was not surprised. This room was still a total mess. Books were lying in every corner. The walls were lined with bookshelves and even more, books piling up in front of them. I never liked this room. Too much space wasted with books, too dusty, dark, and no booze in sight. At the End of the room was a desk with a small old man sitting behind it looking through more books. The Old man was illuminated by some candles which were the only source of light in this room. The big window behind him was completely covered by curtains. I tried to not fall over any of the books laying on the ground which was easier than I thought. But Tony, being as clumsy as he is, stumbled over a pile of books the second he entered the room.

“Argh!”

I heard a loud crash and when I looked back, I found him buried beneath a pile of old books.

“Dammit!” I heard tony cursing while he tried to free himself. After that, he tried walking towards me again, more slowly and carefully. It looked like he was making progress at first, but then he kept on tripping and falling until he reached the desk, covered in dust and books. I didn't even try to contain my laughter anymore and laughed at him as he brushed off the dust from his shirt. He glanced angrily at me and just silently sat down. I took the chair next to him. The old Guild leader didn’t even notice the entire commotion which was of no surprise to me. He had bad hearing and was always too fixated on his readings. I waited a little bit for the old man to notice us but after roughly ten minutes I had enough and kicked against the desk to get his attention.  This immediately startled him, and he looked up from his book, finally noticing us.

“Ah, Sir Lantern. I’m grateful that you found the time to come here. And thank you sir Stern for bringing him to me.”

“Just spit it out, old man. What do ya want?”  While I waited for the old man to answer, I took out a small bottle filled with booze from the inside of my jacket and took a sip. 

The old man nodded and pulled out a note which was stuck between some pages of the book he was reading before and handed it over to me. Taking one last sip of the booze, I put back the small bottle, took the note and began reading it out loud.

“A-Rank quest.

Target: horned Thunder Bear.

Last Sighted: Forest between capital and Renz Harbor.

Payment: 50 gold coins.

We of the merchant guild ask for your help. A horned thunder bear has occupied the forest between Renz Harbor and the capital, blocking our most important trading route and killing and scaring away the local wildlife. We ask of you to eliminate this beast so that our traders can travel safely between the capital and the harbor again. The payment will be handed out after the presentation of the bear's head.

Best Regards,                                                                                                                                                                                      

the Merchants Guild of Renz Harbor.”  

A smile suddenly crept up my face