- Before -


    *Fumph-*


    Aki plunged into the fluffy bed and laid motionless. She had rented a room in an well-established inn recommended by the Traffic Lights. The room was small but perfect for one person, with sufficient basic amenities. The window at the side of her bed had a view of the night sky filled with thousands of glittering stars.


    Light snoring can be heard as Kit Kat has made herself comfortable on the side desk, in an expensive fluffy white pet bed that Red Hair had bought for him.


    While shopping for that little bed, many more envious stares from women had been directed at Aki. However, whenever Aki saw how Adam and Flynn looked at each other, it made her wonder.


    There were little moments of shared looks of understanding, little moments of brushed contact of their hands and the little pink bubble that they gave out when talking to each other that created their own little world.


    There was even one memorable moment when Adam was helping Flynn try on a hand accessory and held Flynn''s hand for a little too long.


    Rory was well, being Rory and was just secretly rubbing Kit Kat who had given him the privilege to carry him in his arms. Although all three adore the fluff, Rory was truly his one true fan. Who would be willing to fork out a thousand silver coins, which is hundreds on earth, just for a bed for a monster.


    Aki buried herself in the covers, popping her head back out. Her long black hair had turned messy from all the nuzzling and spread out on the white sheets. Aki stared at the brightly lit skies as she slowly fell asleep. You can never see such a view at home. As mesmerizing the view was, cloudy black skies still felt more comforting.


    "You can get all the job requests at that board darling. Or you can log into the Adventurer guild site on your bracelet now that you are registered. But note that they are all ranked. You''ll be starting off at rank F and after completing a quest, you will be automatically promoted to rank D. Afterwards, promotion depends on the type of jobs completed, efficiency and your skills."


    A flamboyant guy at the receptionist explained enthusiastically to Aki. His hair was not green, red or blond, but dyed in rainbow colors. He''s a unicorn, Aki nodded to herself as she declared that internally. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Rory stood by Aki as he cuddled Kit Kat. This scene was starting to seem a little déjà vu, except now the one that is stealing glances and blushing at the receptionist is Rory.


    "And dear, be careful to read the fine details. Some job requests would require compensation if you failed or quit halfway through the job. So, make sure you are well-equipped and research properly before taking up the job. Now if you have any questions dear, you can search it up on our forum or just come visit this gorgeous Jeffrey whenever you want."


    Aki nodded at Jeff for short, still admiring his rainbow hair. She wondered if she could dye her hair like that too.


    "And Rory Love," Jeff battered his eyelashes. "Be sure to guide her well. Love is after all an experienced adventurer." Jeff placed a finger on Rory''s well-built chest and gilded it downwards.


    The said finger ended up patting Kit Kat on the head who called out comfortably. Rory burst flames, face reddening like a tomato and stuttered out a yes, which earned him a giggle back from Jeff in return.


    Deciding to give the Red Hair who turned even redder a little time, Aki walked to the request board.


    Those that were marked as F ranked were generally common job requests like picking up herbs, cleaning and finding lost cats.


    Spotting a piece of paper that was hidden beneath the newer ones on top, Aki pulled it out from the stack. It was a herb gathering request. Picking up some plants should be an easy task after all, maybe that was why it was so unpopular, Aki thought.


    But if others could hear Aki now, they would fall to their knees in agony.


    To pick Herbs, firstly one would need to learn to differentiate a myriad of herbs, where a slight mistake will mean a wasted trip. Not many would have the patience to differentiate whether the plant is a cure or a poison from its swirls that turn clockwise or swirls that turn anti-clockwise. Or a plant that is indigo blue or midnight blue which decides whether it is a A grade or an F grade.


    Many of the rare species of plants are also always at the most unexpected places. One would need to venture to the deepest of seas, the darkest of caves or the highest of mountains. Not to mention all the monsters that you will encounter while on the hunt.


    Unbeknownst to this, Aki spotted a note at the bottom of the paper to visit the Hunting guild, as it was a job request from there.


    Guilds that are less popular usually post their job requests in more popular guilds. Besides the Hunting guild, Aki surveyed casually, there was the Artesian guild, Smithing guild, Book guild and… an Assassination guild. Aki’s hand clenched.


    Holding the crumpled paper, Aki bid Rory farewell, who was still redder than ever and receiving flirty gestures from Jeff, abandoned the fluff to Rory, and turned away so fast as if she was running away from something.


    But never did she know this one casual choice of hers will set her path to become one of the greatest Hunters ever.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~


    - After -


    "Piya!" Kit Kat disappeared into the woods.


    As Aki made her way towards the fluff, a gust of wind blew.


    Turning to look behind her, Aki was graced with a view 30,000 ft above sea level, a height that was comparable to Mount Everest back in her original world.


    With distant mountains covered with floating clouds and a temperature that was chilling to the bones, Mount Aconcagua was one of the most perilous mountains to climb with the highest death rate. As many ventured up this mountain and never came back, it was dubbed as the Goodbye Mountain.


    "Well, at least it was an easy stroll up here to get this herb."