Liam opened his eyes, his vision slowly adjusting to the dim lighting of the boss-room instead of the darkness of unconsciousness. There was a lingering headache, but no sign of the harsh fight beyond that, from what he could immediately tell as he tried to move slowly. He’d done it; he had basically single-handedly defeated a boss that people usually only took on with a proper party. He’d only relied on a healer.
There she was, kneeling right by his side. His guardian angel. Just the mere sight of her sitting by him was enough to make the headache feel like a distant memory. He tried to sit up.
“Liam, you are finally awake. I was so worried.”
Her arms wrapped around his frame, halfway through sitting up. The warmth of the embrace was a comfort he wouldn’t trade for the world right now. Her sweet scent slowly invaded his nostrils.
She still smells so good even after a boss fight. There’s still nothing out of place on her.
The fact that there was not a single mark of the boss fight on her should’ve been a warning sign. It wasn’t. To him, it was just her being her perfect self. In his mind, she was untouched because he’d done his job and ensured the boss didn’t get to her.
Right, the boss!
He immediately searched for the dead body. His gaze rapidly landed on the corpse, the monument to his victory. He should’ve tried to get up and get the core out. However, he didn’t want to get out of her comforting hug; he was perfectly content to just exist here like this for a little while longer, at least.
A few more moments passed with pure bliss before she pulled away. The absence of her touch felt like a void to him, nothingness where the warmth used to be. He didn’t let the disappointment show on his face as he got up. His steps were steady as he approached the body. There was a core to harvest after all. His shortsword cut open the chest where he knew it’d be.
It feels much easier to cut when it’s dead. The skin, the muscles, and the bones feel more fragile.
He made quick work of the butchering and got the core out. It’d been easier than he thought it would be, considering how much shallower his cuts during the fight had felt. An unmoving target was probably easier to carve out, he figured.
The core was in his hands. He triumphantly lifted it so that Melissa could see it as well; he was beaming with pride.
“We should get going; we would not want to run into adventurers who might want to take that for themselves.”
The expression on her face was evidence that she was happy with his achievement; that much was clear to him from her smile. The fact that she shared his careful outlook only a couple of days after meeting just cemented their synergy for him. He nodded in agreement. The source of this chapter is novelping . com.
The two quickly made it out of the dungeon, once again into the forest. As usual, the journey back home was quite uneventful beyond the lingering looks Liam gave her. Soon enough, the walls of the city were well in sight. They’d managed to make it back before nightfall.
Liam had only one goal in mind: return to the guild and submit the core. This would most likely earn him a promotion to E-rank. He’d be among the fastest rank climbers in recent memory. The idea alone was intoxicating, and the fact that nobody could claim he’d been carried only made it better. He only had one other party member, and she was just an E-rank healer. No matter how one looked at it, there was absolutely no way she could’ve carried him.
He pushed open the guild doors with an urgency that would’ve made more sense if there were an emergency. He ignored the looks of the other adventurers who’d been alerted by the entrance and made his way straight towards the desk. At this moment, he was so lost in his goal that he wasn’t even checking if Melissa was with him. She was, and his lack of care about it didn’t exactly escape her. She accompanied him towards the receptionist, a single perfectly groomed eyebrow arched upwards.
Liam practically slammed the core onto the table, startling the young woman behind the desk.
“Hobgoblin boss core from floor three.”
There was no hiding the excitement in his voice.
“I believe I am due a promotion for getting it.”
The woman looked at the core and then Liam. She’d seen excited, impatient adventurers before, so this wasn’t exactly out of the norm for her, even if she’d been working here for a few months now.
“Adventurer card, please.”
Her tone was a cold contrast to his excitement, utterly detached and professional. He slid his card toward her. Watching her eyes widen was a satisfaction he’d likely savour mentally for a while.
“You registered only a day ago… How?”
Her tone was no longer the professional, distant one she’d learnt to use. It betrayed genuine bewilderment. Something that some of the nearby adventurers caught very easily. The following question was the same one they all shared mentally after hearing that someone had managed to kill a boss so soon after initial recruitment.
“Who carried you?”
Liam’s smile dropped. He looked at the receptionist and then at Melissa.
“There was no carrying; I am an E-rank healer myself. While my rank is slightly higher than his, you cannot expect a healer with such a minor rank difference to carry anyone.”
Melissa stepped in, presenting her own card. To Liam, it felt like she was deliberately stepping between him and the judging looks of others. Whether that was her intention or not, he’d have no way of knowing for sure. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping(.)com.
The woman at the desk took the card and looked at it for a few long moments. It was an odd one. It contrasted with the rapid progression of the black-haired man accompanying the healer; she had been a member for several months, according to the issue date. To the receptionist, that could only mean one thing: Liam must be a prodigy who bloomed late; normal people didn’t kill bosses with just a mediocre healer by their side. Her entire attitude shifted; if she could secure him as her exclusive contractor now, the commissions she’d earn down the line would be astronomical. She gave him a warm smile and dropped her voice an octave.
“I see. Please accept my apologies, sir. I’ll happily process the core and your card. Would you mind coming back tomorrow to receive your new card? The backroom staff who work on the cards aren’t around right now due to the hour. Here is your payment, though.”
She didn’t have to get the core checked; she might’ve been new here, but she’d been trained to know the cores one could find on higher floors. This was undoubtedly the boss core from floor three. She put down a coin pouch. Finally she set aside his card with a note so the backroom staff would know to process it even if she wasn't going to be in the morning.
Liam eagerly took the payment, his smile returning at the prospect of a promotion, along with the rather decent payment being back on the table. He nodded affirmatively.
“Perhaps you’d like to discuss being my exclusive contractor when you are back tomorrow? That way, instead of relying on the job board and standard rate of selling cores, you’d be benefiting from priority notice and better rates.”
Her tone was something Liam hadn’t really heard from many women talking to him. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t really heard a flirtatious tone from almost anyone apart from Melissa. Most women he’d met were during his academy days and absolutely wouldn’t look at him twice due to his perceived weakness back then. The change was something he welcomed, though in his mind it was clear whose attention he truly craved; he still liked the feeling.
Melissa tilted her head to the side.
“Liam, I believe it is time we left. We did get our payment, and I still have to make sure you are thoroughly healed back home.”
Back home? Is she taking me to her place again?
That was more than enough to snap Liam’s attention away from the woman behind the desk entirely. She was already walking away.
“Yes! We should leave!”
He didn’t even try to hide the tremble in his voice; he couldn’t have, even if he tried. The memory of her healing magic coursing through his body was too fresh, too potent. He quickly pocketed the pouch and started to follow along. He was soon by her side, not caring about the other adventurers or the receptionist he left behind. There was only her. The two left the building. Some noise was coming from behind the doors that shut behind them, but it wasn’t worth noticing.
The receptionist watched as the healer led Liam towards the door. She was disappointed that she’d failed to secure the deal at this moment, but there was still time. He’d be back tomorrow, and she’d capture him then. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes to plan the ensnarement. At least she tried to. The last thing she felt was her heart exploding before her body ceased to function. She didn’t even get to hear the noise her lifeless body’s collapse stirred among the adventurers.