Bab 9: Chapter 9 - The first steps
Landing on Esteria was the first step for Sora, she prepared herself for many things during her non-stop training and she was more than confident that she could go through with her decision.
Within the first week since her arrival, she already managed to gain some attention for taking on difficult tasks for newcomers. Rather than hunt down some forest rats, she's already hunting down packs of wolves, some bears and even undead that lurks in the nearby ruins. She was a star rookie to the more experienced adventurers and an idol for those who were novices.
This popularity came with perks of course, one such was the fact she was given special commissions by the guild receptionists. Being an adventurer was one of the highest paying jobs in Esteria and with their lodgings being in an inn, Sora became the breadwinner between her and Rio.
Of course, the boy also worked but earned nowhere near as Sora. He would become an adventurer as well, but unfortunately, since his staff was still being made, he had no choice but to work within the city.
Early in the morning the two would already be awake and preparing for the day. This was because they quickly learned that adventurers would wake up early to grab the best jobs.
It was almost no different than their lives back on Earth really.
"You sure managed to adapt to the adventurer life," Rio commented from their bedroom since Sora was in the bathroom changing.
"You think so? I think I've still got a lot to learn though," the girl replied.
"I meant how you manage to wake up at the break of dawn, but sure whatever you're thinking as well."
"I used to wake up early anyway, this isn't any different from that." Stepping out of the bathroom with a new outfit, Sora finished the last part of her ensemble by tying her hair into a ponytail. "I'm more surprised you're managing to wake up early."
"I have an alarm clock called Tokino Sora," the boy joked.
Eyeing the girl's clothes, which were gifted to her by the farm lady, Rio scanned her entire attire. Which was reminiscent of her outfit in Hololive.
A blue vest with a shirt underneath; a matching blue skirt with two tailcoats and some stockings. Unlike her actual Hololive outfit though, her new clothes didn't expose her midriff, obviously for protection purposes and additionally; she was given a pair of gloves with some of its fingers missing and instead of blue shoes, she wore some brown boots.
Looking at her, Rio couldn't help but smile at seeing her look like her vtuber model.
"That look never ceases to amaze me," the boy fawned.
Sora giggled at how interested Rio was in her clothes, though she would've preferred if he paid more attention to her. Letting him gaze at her, the girl continued her preparations but a thought crossed her mind, causing her to turn back to Rio.
"Are you still not gonna change?" she asked.
Glancing over at the wrapped package place on a desk, Rio sighed before telling Sora he wouldn't be changing. For him, who was stuck inside the city most of the time, changing into new, great-looking clothes would be a waste, so he decided to hold off on it.
Rio didn't particularly like being stuck in the city, but he couldn't just wander out of it without some risk of encountering something dangerous, and unfortunately, he had no means of fighting. He had magic, but it wasn't like he could just cast them on the ground and hope his pillars would hit something other than him. Weapons weren't just scattered around either, so the element enchantments he did back in the temple were a no go either.
Sora tried to buy him a weapon, but he had no experience in using any. Buying a dagger would be useful if he knew how to fight with it; a staff would be nice, though human mages were rare so nobody had them in stock.
With no weapon and no experience in fighting Rio has been working in a nearby antique shop selling different knickknacks to people, boring but it paid.
After Sora finished her prep, the two friends left the inn and made their way to the adventurer guild.
Walking along the streets of Esteria was a different experience from their walks back in Riverbank. In Esteria there were so many sights to behold: from the many stalls selling food or accessories, to the array of colourful buildings that are all lined up.
In Riverbank the two could feel time fleeting before them and they didn't care; in Esteria every moment counted and if they didn't pay attention, they might have missed something important.
It was no Japan; no tall skyscrapers; not massive billboards and definitely no cars, yet it felt like they were back home taking a stroll downtown.
Taking the chance Sora snaked her arms around Rio's, grinning from ear to ear.
"What are you doing?" Rio asked, suspicious by her sudden action.
"Nothing, just clinging to you." Sora tightened her hold, inching her body closer to Rio's.
As the feeling of Sora's skin brushed up against his, plus among other things, Rio's cheeks reddened causing him to react by trying to push Sora away. This went as well as trying to pry dry gum off hair.
"Why are you so clingy all of a sudden?!" The boy was pressing his palm against the girl's cheek and pushing with all his might, but she proved quite the boa constrictor.
"What's wrong? We did all the time back on Earth!" Sora snapped back.
"Then me pushing you is also the norm isn't it?"
The two would go on bickering throughout their walk, and those who witnessed them couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. At face value, it didn't look nice: a guy pushing a girl away while she clung on for dear life, not a pretty picture. But no one did anything because Sora didn't look like she was in danger. The air around them wasn't hostile, instead, it felt warm, so no one really stepped in.
Not that anyone needed to anyways since after about 5 minutes Rio gave up and just let Sora do what she wanted.
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Inside the adventurer's guild, all the adventurers were locked on to Sora, who was at the jobs board searching for her next pay.
"These jobs aren't very good for one person. I wonder if I should ask at the desk?" Sora thought.
"Would you like some assistance?" a voice chimed.
Turning her head, Sora now came face to face with Annie, one of the guild receptionists.
"Oh miss Annie. I was just contemplating about asking you for help," Sora confessed. "I was wondering if you had any more jobs for a single person."
Annie pondered for a moment, putting a finger to her chin as she recalled all the jobs that had yet to be posted. But she then gasped when she remembered why she approached Sora in the first place.
Taking the new adventurer to her desk and placing a job flier in front of her, Annie requested for Sora to take on the job.
On the flier was a request for a scouting mission: a camp of mercenary goblins have placed themselves near Esteria. This caught the eyes of the knights, which hired the adventurer's guild to investigate for them.
"A job with a group huh?" Sora scanned the requirements of the job and saw it didn't require much, but the reward seemed worth it. "Well I guess it won't hurt."
"Really?!" Annie beamed. "Oh please do, I'll add extra for you as well because I requested for your cooperation."
"You really don't have to-"
"No I will do it, as a guild receptionist I must reward my adventurers accordingly," Annie affirmed. "Now then let's get this done under your name and you're free to go."
Annie was an odd receptionist, she always slipped in extra for Sora whenever she could and seemed to constantly hide certain jobs from other adventurers to give to Sora instead. The former idol was pretty sure this wasn't allowed, but she's been treated so well by the receptionist that she couldn't bring herself to tell on her.
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When she got to the meeting point she noticed the large group of adventurers. They weren't high ranked but the majority were definitely higher than her.
She stayed at the back of the group, watching as they chattered amongst themselves. She didn't really know anyone from the guild other than Annie, since she did all of her jobs on her own.
"Everyone sure is lively about this job." She took another look at the flier and eyed the payment. "Well they can't be blamed I suppose, it is rather high paying."
With her attention all on the job, Sora didn't notice that a cloaked figure had been eyeing her since her arrival from a short distance away.
"Is it really her?"
Deep into the forest, the group lurked within the shrubbery, tip-toeing as they made their way to the ruins where the goblin camp was to be found.
Sora was very careful not to make any sudden noise, scanning her surroundings, making sure she wouldn't step on anything that could cause an echo in the dense woodland. It wasn't anything like the one in Riverbank where she could wander inside the forest and be practically safe, but the ones near Esteria had danger lurking within every corner.
When they reached the ruins, many gasped at the sight of the heavily armed goblin camp.
It was almost like they were preparing for war: racks of spears, swords and bows were scattered throughout the camp; armour made from hide and metal was on full display, some even already worn by the goblins.
"What is all this?" a young adventurer whispered.
"Shouldn't we tell the knights?" a frightened archer whimpered.
"I-I agree we should tell the knights," a bulky warrior cried.
With the group split between confident and doubtful, Sora herself wondered if the job could even be finished at the rate they were going.
Sighing in disappointment the girl proceeded to watch her targets on her own but was suddenly frozen in place when she heard a low growl emanate behind her.
She dared not to turn her head, but curiosity got the better of her and the girl proceeded to mechanically change directions.
Despite knowing what she will see, the girl still regretted it as her eyes locked onto two golden orbs with slab-shaped pupils.
The goblin grinned before shouting their locationg, alerting everyone in the camp to the group's presence.
Quickly acting the cloaked figure slashed the goblin's eyes before proceeding to grab Sora's hand and drag her away from the camp.
Running through the shrubbery Sora and the cloaked figure could hear the sound of metal clashing and the cries of both adventurers and goblins. Though that wasn't the only thing that caught their attention.
Moving quickly behind them were a group of goblins, waving their weapons around while screaming, "Grab them!"
"Damn," the figure cursed. She tried to pick up her speed but was then pulled back when Sora ripped her hand out of her grip. "What are you-?"
Taking an arrow off her quiver, Sora then filled it with her magic before she released it towards the group of goblins. The arrow bursts into a flash of light before her charging bull emerged and proceeded to stampede through the little green humanoids.
The cloaked figure stood there in awe at what she just witnessed but she quickly focused when she saw Sora making her way back to the goblin camp.
"Where are you going?!" the figure questioned.
"I'm going back to help out, I'm not abandoning them." Sora sprinted down the path back to the camp, hoping that everyone was still alive.
Sighing the cloaked girl followed the archer back. "Glad to see you haven't changed."
It was an all-out brawl back at the camp, as goblins and adventurers struck at each other with no mercy.
With their numbers, the goblins managed to keep the adventurers on their toes, but the creatures could still not get a clean hit with the sheer strength of some of the fighters. Even when there was an opening the humanoids were getting flung around and sliced up by the adventurers.
Taking her bow, Sora joined the battle by sending an arrow straight at a group of goblins. Once again her shot exploded in a ball of light but this time flock of birds came out and proceeded to cut their master's opponents with their wings.
With her birds occupying a small group, Sora turned her attention to other adventurers and shot down any goblins trying to sneakily attack her companions. But, because she was busy looking out for others, Sora forgot about her own back.
A goblin made its way behind Sora with the help of some bushes for cover. It eyed her up first, then lept out of its hiding spot with a sword in the ready to stab her.
Sora had no time to react, her back was exposed and the goblin was too close to take a shot. She thought of dodging but that would have still left her open for an attack.
Luckily, someone was looking out for her. Like lighting, the cloaked figure zipped past the goblin and with their dagger, sliced open its throat.
The goblin fell forward and a small puddle of blood oozed out of its corpse.
Sora turned to her saviour and gave her a bright smile. "Thank you!"
"It was nothing, Sora."
Upon hearing her name Sora's eyed widened, however, before she could question the figure heavy stomps then echoed throughout the camp, halting everyone from fighting.
From behind some rubble, a large towering goblin came out holding a spiked club. It eyed the battlefield, but it didn't move an inch.
One adventurer thought it was smart for him to charge at the large goblin, but quickly learnt that attacking a monster twice the size of a human being would only lead to disaster. As the goblin only had to swing its club once to knock the man unconscious.
With a heavy hitter now by their side, the goblins began to giggle as they slowly approached the adventurers. In response the adventurers began to back away, trembling in the presence of the giant goblin.
From the back, Sora and the figure watched anxiously. They didn't want to make any false moves while they were at a disadvantage.
"Stopping that big one is top priority, but I doub't I'd be able to get a deep cut onto that thing." The cloaked figure turned to Sora. "Do you think you can summon that bull from earlier?"
"Huh? Yeah, why?" Sora responded.
"Just shoot when I give the signal." The figure charged towards the group, slashing any goblin that tried to stop them.
Seeing the approaching figure and quickly knowing it's an enemy, the goblin took its bat and slammed down to the ground.
Thinking it had got the figure underneath its weapon, a ghost of a grin appeared on the large goblin's face. But when it lifted its club off the ground, it was surprised to see that the only thing it had caught was the figure's cloak.
"Up here!"
Above the goblin, suspended in the air was a young woman. She had short black hair with a pink underside; she wore a black sleeveless jacket with a pink cropped vest that exposed her midriff; her bottom half was composed of pink shorts and her dagger sheaths that rested on the backside of her hips.
As she travelled through the air the girl looked like a dancing ballerina, so elegant and composed.
Everyone had their eyes on her, enamoured by her beauty. But from afar, with wide eyes and a hanging mouth, Sora was in a different type of trance.
In that instance, she could feel tears form in the corners of her eyes and her voice was trapped within her throat. She just wanted to drop everything and run up to the flying girl; but her body wouldn't listen, her legs felt like they were chained to the ground. However, she did manage to find her voice and the only thing that came out was a name.
"AZKi."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Monochrome_Library
Monochrome_Library Hey look at that AZKi! I bet none of you expected that, anywho these next couple of chapters are going to be a bit of a drag, they're mainly there to clean up everything, so this entire sequence in Esteria is just like that one town in a game you enter and pass within 30 minutes or maybe an hour if you look around and grind. Probably why it's the last few chapters.
I mean you all have to sit through it, but hey soon your suffering will be over. Since I also plan to update tomorrow and get the rest out asap. So I'll be putting a reminder to myself to do that.
Anywho that's all for now, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all tomorrow.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone