Chapter 2: The Sword Maiden
Raising his hand, Cyrus created a purple orb of energy the size of his fist. Creating an energy orb is the simplest spell taught to beginners. Something this weak should leave the ogre intact. Once it left Cyrus' hand, he noticed the magic was far too dense and became darker as it travelled closer to the target.
The magic collided against the ogre, mimicking the sound of an explosion as the creature's body contorted before being vaporized into a mist, dyeing the flora behind it red.
Realizing his weakest spell was too destructive, Cyrus had to find another option. His eyes drifted to a sword one of the brothers dropped. He didn't have any skills with a sword, and his enhancing magic was inferior to his offensive magic.
As Cyrus considered the sword, the other ogre snapped back to reality. Realizing what happened to its companion, the monster turned to flee from the threat.
With no other options, Cyrus cast a multi teleportation spell. Teleporting himself to the sword and then to the ogre. Needing to halt its movements, Cyrus enhanced the blade's sharpness and slashed through the ogre's ribs like butter. The creature fell to its knees, clenching its chest in agony.
Cyrus stabbed upward, piercing its brain from under the jaw. The ogre's body would sink further onto the sword, pushing its dead weight onto it. Cyrus had to slash through the deceased creature's face to free the blade as the ogre crashed lifelessly to the ground.
As Cyrus went to slice off the ogre's ear, he realized he didn't have a bag for the ear or a sheath for the sword. So with a regretful sigh, he carried both in his hands.
Walking past the dark cave, Cyrus noticed a light flickering in the back. With his curiosity piqued, he headed into the cave. Once his eyes adjusted, the darkness would have little effect, thanks to his demonic eyes granting him night vision. The downside to his eyes was temporary blindness when exposed to light. Before venturing further, he left the ear behind so he wouldn't have to carry it.
Halfway inside the cave, Cyrus noticed a few slain ogres, one of which had a fistful of red hair. Further inside, he found a torch on the ground near some ogres and a girl with red hair. She had emerald eyes with a few freckles under the corners, wearing a white tunic with stains from dirt and blood. She wore it was underneath a small chest plate and had leather gauntlets to protect her hands. On her belt were two long swords, one still in its sheath and the other covered in blood.
The girl thought fighting in the cave would be advantageous since the ogres couldn't use the trees as weapons. However, she cornered herself and had no means to escape.
One of the ogres lunged forward, attempting to grab the girl. Instead of backing up, she charged forward and activated the skill blitz to increase her speed for a few seconds. Leaving after images of red light, she narrowly avoided the ogre and activated another skill called smite. The sword started glowing yellow as the blade stabbed into the creature's stomach. The force of impact rippled inside the monster, sending shockwaves through its body.
The ogre's corpse tipped back as the girl tried yanking the sword from its gut, but the blade slipped from her hands as her gauntlets were slick with blood. Pulling out the spare sword, it fell to the ground as her head felt dizzy. Using multiple skills to defeat the ogres took its toll on her body.
Witnessing the girl's combat skills, Cyrus knew the girl had connections to the church. Just as demonic energy emitted an eerie purple light, skills and magic taught by the church created a yellow light. Being a demon, he didn't have a reason to save the girl except for ruining the pride of someone from the demon-hating church.
Sneaking up on the three remaining ogres, Cyrus cleaved one in half as its corpse crashed to the ground. The others turned to face the assailant, but having already closed in, he sliced the legs off another ogre, decapitating the creature as it fell. The last ogre grabbed a rock they used to squish tough food and attempted to crush him.
Restraining himself as best he could, Cyrus shot a tiny flame from his finger, melting the rock through the bottom and making it glow bright red. The heat forced the ogre to drop it as the creature's hands suffered from second-degree burns. Before Cyrus could deal a decisive blow, a glowing yellow sword shot out from its guts. The girl had regained her senses and used the smite skill again, causing ripples and shockwaves to be sent through the monster's body, killing it.
"That one still counts as mine," Cyrus declared.
"Give me a moment," She brushed off Cyrus, prioritizing the sword lodged in the ogre's gut. Standing on top of the deceased monster and removing her gauntlets to get a better grip, she yanked it out of the monster's flesh. Now with her swords back in their sheaths, she approached Cyrus. "Now then, I'm Angela, sword maiden of the church. What's your name, demon-kin?"
"Cyrus, your not what I expected someone of the church to be like," he pointed out.
"I don't blame you for thinking that way, as most of our books describe your kind as terrible monsters," Angela joked.
"Was there something that changed your view of my kind?" Cyrus asked.
"Sorta, but let's get down to business," Angela would hold up a silver tag with her name written on it. "I was doing a quest to clear the ogres from this cave, and since you saved me, I don't mind sharing some of my reward with you."
"Alright, oh, I better collect the ogre's ears." Cutting off an ear from the ogres and going back for the one by the entrance, Cyrus now possessed four different ears but became unsure how to carry them all.
"You don't possess a shrink bag?" Angela asked.
"I don't," Cyrus never heard of a shrink bag. He could guess its function based on the name but was unaware of magic items that improved someone's daily life. His experience with magic items came from the weapons and armour used against him.
"Alright, I'll carry them for you," Angela offered, taking out her bag and putting Cyrus' ogre ears into it. The ears shrank into the brown sack as she attached it to the back of her belt. "Alright, let's head back to town."
Travelling back through the forest, Angela would feel uneasy, constantly looking around. "Why aren't any vicious animals approaching us? I had to fight through a few creatures to reach that cave."
"Maybe the ogre blood we're covered in is acting as a repellant," Cyrus lied, knowing his presence was the cause, just like when he first entered the forest.
Angela would sniff a bloodstain and wrinkle her nose, "I'm taking a bath when I get back."
Upon exiting the forest, the evening sun was blinding, as Cyrus had to shield his eyes with his arm and took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. Once he could see again, he lowered his arm and continued with Angela through the wooden gate and into town.
"I didn't know the light was so blinding to demon-kin," Angela stated.
"It's not too different from humans, but we have natural night vision, so the switch is more painful for us," Cyrus explained.
Travelling upon the stone road, they walked up to the guild entrance. "It's still so big, the second-biggest building next to the church," Angela marvelled. Cyrus never paid any attention to it before, just seeing it as another building.
The guild building was two stories tall and as wide as several houses. Big enough that everyone in town could fit if they crammed together. It was built from wood and reinforced by magic, with two banners hanging near the entrance. It was a golden shield with four wings on a blue background.
Walking inside, the guild master would wave at them, "figured I would see you back here, kid."
"Could I have the ogre's ears?" Cyrus turned and asked Angela. She nodded and pulled out the four ears from her sack, seeing them increase in size moments after being removed.
"Oh," The guild master would take out a monocle and look over the ears.
"What's the monocle for?" Cyrus asked.
"It does an autopsy of the monsters, making sure none of the body parts are of the same creature and to verify you're the one who killed it. Can't have people thinking they can scam the guild," The guild master put a small bag on the counter handed out a small bronze tag with Cyrus' name on it. "Figured you'd be back, so I had this made in advance."
"Hey, that's a ripoff. You know ogres are worth far more than that little amount," Angela complained.
"Part of guild policy, your rank retains an upper limit of what you can earn per kill. It's to prevent unnecessary situations in our reports. Do you realize how many questions would come up with headquarters if a beginner walked in with a dragon head? They'd be doing a damn review of every member, and no one wants a headache like that," the guild master pointed out.
"What kind of influence does the guild headquarters have?" Cyrus asked.
"Most of the guild's money comes from them, each building has a set amount, and we send updates on the adventures progress. Once they review the report, our funds get replenished," the guild master explained.
Cyrus nodded his head as Angela walked up to the counter, "Well, it's my turn," She grinned and laid out four ogre ears, two wolf ears, and a goblin eye that probably belonged to a scout. "I also completed the silver quest," She proudly pronounced.
The guild master gave her a dirty look and shook his head, "you get nothing."
"What!" Angela slammed her gauntlets on the table and glared at the guild master, "what do you mean nothing. I worked hard for this!"
"I can tell you, but will you listen this time?" The guild master asked, tapping his finger on the wolf's ear.
"I listened to you before," Angela protested.
"No, you ignored me before," The guild master corrected.
"Umm, could you explain what you're talking about?" Cyrus asked.
"Hmm, alright, I'll need to explain this to you anyway now that you're a bronze rank. For quests silver and above, the assigned difficulty is for a party with at least one member with the respective rank. In her case, a party with at least one silver member." The guild master replied.
"I said I could complete it alone!" Angela insisted, refusing to back down.
"And you failed, for a member of the church to walk through the same door as a demon-kin is all I needed," The guild master pointed out. "Here's what I'll do, I'll register him in your party for this mission, and you two will split the reward."
Angela thought about this for a moment before something dawned on her, "that's why you upgraded him to bronze before talking to me. You planned this."
"Beginners can't join a party, as they need to prove they're not going to be dead weight," The guild master reaffirmed Angela's suspicions.
"I'm not against this, but for someone who doesn't want headaches, you're asking for one from the church if you put a demon-kin and a member of the church in the same party," Angela warned.
"Oh well, can't be helped," The guild master stated and started to look over the creatures Angela brought.
"Yes, it can. I'll give him half, so you don't need to put us in a party," Angela suggested.
The guild master ignored her suggestion and wrote down in his report that the party members, Cyrus and Angela, completed a silver-ranked quest.
"Ugh, don't blame me for what happens," Angela warned as she rubbed her temples, already feeling a headache coming on.
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