“It was adorable,” Ivy said, resting her head against Chelsea's chest. “My little sister is the Valkyr of Havoc,” she imitating Dewey's deep voice.
Chelsea groaned and covered her face.
“I am never going to live that down.”
“You really aren't.”
“The worst part wasn't even that.” Chelsea sighed.
Ivy looked up curiously.
“That was the first time I'd ever seen Dewey naked or… Any guy… really.”
For a second Ivy simply stared at her.
Then she burst out laughing.
“Oh. So that's why you reacted like that.”
“It's not funny.”
Chelsea pulled a pillow over her face.
“Poor Fiona,” Ivy managed between laughs.
Chelsea immediately pulled the pillow down.
“I was thinking the exact same thing!”
That only made Ivy laugh harder.
Chelsea couldn't help smiling as well. She leaned over and kissed the top of Ivy's head before reluctantly looking toward the window.
“We really need to get up.” Chelsea lifted one knee toward her chest and immediately regretted it.
“Oh gods. My legs feel like they're made of jell-o.”
Ivy tilted her head. “What's jell-o?”
Chelsea considered the question. “It's a food from my world. Kind of sweet. Kind of wiggly. I wasn’t really a fan. I really wanted to like it but nope..”
Ivy smiled and settled more comfortably against her.
“I keep forgetting you're from somewhere else.”
Chelsea hummed. “Sometimes I do too.”
“What was it like?”
Chelsea thought about it for a moment. “We didn't have magic classes or levels. Definitely didn’t have status screens. Everyone had these little devices in their pockets that could let us connect with anyone we wanted to and learn whatever we want to in minutes.”
Ivy frowned.
“I genuinely don't understand how that would work.” Ivy raised an eyebrow.
“Everyone was educated from a young age. The math I’m teaching you now would probably be taught to children back home.”
“That… makes me feel dumb.” Ivy complained quietly.
Chelsea smiled and ran her fingers through Ivy's hair.
“You’re not dumb. I’d never be with someone who was dumb. What were you doing at six?”
Ivy thought for a moment.
“Helping gather food. Learning basic survival skills. Staying out of trouble.”
Chelsea laughed. “Two very different childhoods.”
“Is that bad?”
Chelsea looked down at her. “Absolutely not!” Her answer came immediately.
Finally Chelsea added, “It just means that if we ever get stranded in the wilderness, you're in charge.”
“You'd die in a week.”
“I'd die in an afternoon! Oh, these wolves look friendly! Hi, I’m Chelsea.”
Ivy nodded. “That sounds more accurate.”
“We still have to get up.”
“But we're comfortable.”
Ivy tightened her arms around Chelsea slightly.
Chelsea opened her mouth to protest.
The truth was, she wasn't in any hurry either. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
“Five more minutes,” Chelsea said.
“Five more minutes.” Ivy repeated.
Ivy let out a massive yawn.
“I can't keep going.”
Before Chelsea could respond, the elf lowered her head onto the guild table and closed her eyes.
“You've been awake for like an hour,” Chelsea pointed out.
“Mhm.”
“You’re not listening are you?”
“Mhm.”
Chelsea looked over to Adriane.
“Did she fall asleep?”
“Probably. She said you two were up pretty late last night.”
Chelsea sighed while feeling her face heat up. It was just some light making out. Nothing scandelous. She returned her attention to the woman standing beside the sorting table.
“Are you comfortable with rats? It looks like an easy job, but it does involve rats.”
The young warrior straightened immediately.
“Yes, Miss Wixx.”
She hesitated. “And congratulations on your class.”
Chelsea smiled. “Aww, thank you so much. You’re too kind.” She handed over the job posting.
The woman accepted it like she'd just been handed a bar of gold. Probably the attract skill or something. That or it really was due to the class change.
Chelsea was still adjusting to the attention.
The entire guild had spent the morning talking about her class evolution. She'd tried keeping it quiet for all of twenty minutes before somebody in line loudly asked if the rumors were true.
After that, it was standard guild knowledge.
The woman thanked her again and headed off with her new assignment.
Chelsea reached for the next stack of papers.
The next person in line wasn't there for a job. He was the third one of ‘those people’ that morning. An older man approached the table carrying a folded cloth in both hands. Resting atop it was a war axe sized almost perfectly for Chelsea.
The old man stopped before her and bowed his head. “Honor for the Twelve.” The phrase was becoming increasingly familiar.
The first time someone had said it that morning, Chelsea had panicked and looked at Adriane for help.
By the third time, she almost felt natural saying it back. “Honor for Salvation.”
Dewey had spent an alarming amount of time trying to teach her Valkyr traditions the night before. Fiona had added small additions to help. While sitting next to her. Entirely too close. And while they were still in the bath.
Chelsea still wasn't convinced that the two were messing with her with some of the things they told her to say.
The old man carefully set the axe on the table. “You honor this old man. Please accept this tribute for the Valkyr.”
Chelsea's eyes drifted over the weapon. It was beautiful. The steel showed signs of age but had been lovingly maintained. The wooden haft had been polished smooth by years of use.
She reached out and gently touched it.
“Does she have a name?” The old man's eyes immediately watered.
“Vi.” His voice cracked. “After my late wife, Violet.”
Even Adriane stopped sorting.
Chelsea slowly stood and placed a hand on the man's arm.
“Tell you what.” He looked down at her.
“You've honored me with this weapon.” She smiled gently.
“Let's both remember her.”
The old man frowned in confusion.
Chelsea glanced over her shoulder.
“Adriane, can you help me?”
Adriane already knew what she was thinking.
The S-ranker stepped forward and took hold of the haft.
Chelsea covered one hand over the wood for ideal hand placement.
With a sharp crack, Adriane snapped off the lower portion.
The break was surprisingly clean.
The old man's eyes widened. “But... she was meant for you.”
“And she will be.”
Chelsea accepted the broken handle from Adriane.
At this point she was mostly improvising. “Part of being the Valkyr of Havoc is making use of what's available.”
That sounded appropriately Valkyr-ish in Chelsea’s mind. “Sometimes all that's left on a battlefield is a broken weapon.” The wood shifted in her hand andt the handle fragment expanded. Metal formed and the shape stretched outward.
A moment later Chelsea was holding a gleaming war axe decorated with intricate tribal engravings. It carried the same overall design as the original while looking undeniably transformed.
The old man stared.
Chelsea gestured to the remaining portion of the original axe.
“Please.”
Her voice softened.
“Honor Vi and honor me by displaying her where people can see her.”
The old man's hands trembled as he picked it back up with the cloth underneath.
For several seconds he simply stared at the weapon. Then he nodded far faster than was necessary. “Yes.” His voice cracked again. “I will.”
Chelsea smiled. “Good.”
She pointed toward the stack of jobs. “Care for a job while you're here?”
The old man laughed. The sound carried more emotion than humor.
“Oh no, Miss. I'm retired.”
“Then I wish you all the best.”
Chelsea gave him another smile. “Honor for the Twelve.”
The old man returned the greeting and left the guildhall carrying the wrapped remains of Vi with the care and reverence one might use for a newborn child.
Chelsea watched him disappear through the doors.
Then she sat back down.
A few moments later Adriane spoke from behind her. “You're actually really good at this.”
Chelsea glanced up. “At what?” She wanted to ask, ‘being a fraud?’
Adriane nodded toward the doors.
“At people.”
Chelsea looked at the door he had exited one last time. Then she smiled and returned to sorting.
“I had good teachers,” Chelsea replied. “Two very big, very naked teachers.”
The next adventurer stepped forward before anyone could comment.
Chelsea nudged the sleeping elf, “Hey, Ivy, can you inform Willow we're leaving for Adriane's job as soon as the line is done?”
Ivy sat upright. A sheet of paper that had been stuck to the side of her face peeled away, leaving a black P stamped on her cheek.
“Yeah,” she sighed. Chelsea watched her walk toward the stairs.
“I'm not telling her. Sleeping on the job comes with consequences.”
Adriane let out a breath of laughter and returned to sounding out another job posting.
The rest of the morning passed slower than usual. Half the guild wanted to congratulate Chelsea. The other half wanted to ask questions about Valkyr. By the time the line finally ended, Chelsea felt like she'd spent more time talking about her class than assigning jobs.
After a quick stop at the washroom to change, the three headed toward the teleporter.
“Hey,” Chelsea said as Ivy finished adjusting her robes. “Let me swap your title real quick.”
Without question, Ivy leaned closer.
Chelsea looked through the available options.
One title in particular would have been perfect for what she had planned. She absolutely did not select it though. It was one of the off-limit titles and did not belong anywhere near her precious Ivy.
Instead, she settled on something more practical.
“There.”
“What did you pick?” Ivy asked, before yawning again.
“The Springtime Smile. Needed your charisma up for something.”
“Mhm.”
A short while later, the three stood before the teleporter.
“It's about a nine-hour hike from the arrival point,” Adriane explained while handing them each a card.
Chelsea immediately frowned. “Nine hours?”
“Unless...” Adriane raised an eyebrow.
Chelsea groaned. “You're really bringing me because I'm faster transportation?”
“No,” Adriane replied instantly. Then she smiled. “Maybe a little.”
“Adriane.”
“Come on, Chels. It's an S-class quest.” The excitement in her voice was impossible to miss.
Chelsea stopped and watched Adriane. This was the most animated she'd seen her since discovering a way to reduce the family's debt.
“Fine,” Chelsea relented. “I'll be your flying taxi. Or whatever it’s called.”
Adriane stepped through the teleporter before the argument could continue.
Chelsea groaned and turned back to Ivy. “Are you ready?”
Ivy nodded.
Chelsea turned back to the teleporter and took a deep breath. She hesitated for a few seconds before finally stepping up.
The moment she emerged on the other side, she stopped.
“Oh.”
The smell hit first. Blood. A lot of blood.
The clearing around the teleporter looked like a battlefield. Bodies were scattered everywhere. There were bones, organs and torn flesh all over the place.
Chelsea recognized enough monster corpses to know exactly what had happened.
“Good thing I came through first,” Adriane said with a nervous laugh. “There was a razorfist nest next to the teleporter.”
A moment later Ivy stepped through.
The elf took one look around and immediately doubled over and vomited.
Chelsea held her stray hair back as she rubbed her elf’s back.
“What happened here?” Ivy finally asked.
“Razorfists?” Chelsea replied as a question.
Ivy's face had gone pale.
“Razorfists did this?”
“No.”
Chelsea pointed toward the remains.
“These… were… the razorfists. Adriane killed them before we came through.”
Ivy slowly looked around again.
There were dozens. Maybe more.Some of the larger corpses were nearly torn apart.
“Razorfists are an A-rank monster.” Ivy mumbled. “Just one takes a team.”
The realization hit her at the same moment it hit Chelsea.
This was just what Adriane encountered on the way to her jobs. The S-ranker was already walking ahead.
“Come along,” she called back.
Chelsea's smile slowly faded. Beside her, Ivy looked genuinely nervous.
And for the first time since arriving in Junstruce, Chelsea realized something. If this was a job for someone like Adriane and these were the sorts of creatures along the way...
Then whatever waited ahead was going to be far worse than a nest of razorfists.