Aureil crossed her arms, her tone cool and decisive. "No need. Once we take down the boss-tier monster, it'll drop rewards and I don't plan on sharing them with any other team."
Fiona gave a slight nod, her expression unreadable but her agreement clear. "True. Boss-tier monsters always drop valuable rewards. Every piece is worth fighting over."
Aaron glanced between them, unsure whether he should speak. His eyes held a flicker of confusion, shoulders slightly tense, like he was still piecing the stakes together.
Fiona broke the pause. "Then which one are we going after?"
She listed the choices aloud: "Gale Wolf, Four-Armed App, or Mud Golem?"
Aureil's gaze flicked to Aaron. He looked completely lost, but there was something disarmingly sincere in his cluelessness as if he trusted them to guide him through. For a moment, that soft vulnerability tugged at her. She sighed inwardly, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
"We'll take the easiest one," she said. "The Mud Golem."
"Playing it safe?"
"No," Aureil replied flatly. "Playing it smart."
Then she looked at Aaron and briefly described the appearance and characteristics of Mud Golem making his expression becoming a little serious.
Boss Tier Monster: Mud Golem "The Earthen Sentinel"
A massive creature formed from compacted mud, ancient stone, and fungal growths. Standing ten feet tall, its shifting body oozes and reshapes with every movement, concealing a glowing core at its center. It may lack speed, but what it has is terrifying resilience.
Sludge Slag: slows enemies down by gumming up armor and limbs.
Quagmire Pulse: transforms the terrain into sticky mire, disrupting movement and spacing.
Terramorph Skin: hardens in response to repeated physical attacks.
Fire and lightning are its only natural counters, and even those take time to wear it down. Many underestimate it until they find themselves knee-deep in mud, staring into the glowing regret of fallen adventurers whispered to be trapped inside its core.
Fiona cleared her throat softly, her voice betraying a hint of hesitation. "Miss Aureil... I have a request."
Both Aureil and Aaron turned to her, curious.
She straightened, clasping her hands. "Could you take me with you on the advancement quest? I've been stuck at level ten for weeks now."
Before either could respond, she added quickly, "I won't be a burden I'm a fire mage, and I've a secondary prefoession an alchemist. I can brew support potions, offensive mixtures, and even recovery tonics. I want to contribute."
Auriel blinked, momentarily stunned by Fiona's unexpected request.
Before she could respond, Aaron leaned forward with a puzzled expression. "Secondary occupation? Wait what's that? I thought you could only awaken one profession?"
Auriel and Fiona exchanged a look, then simultaneously brought a hand to their foreheads in mild exasperation.
The silence that followed was thick and awkward, stretching just a bit too long… until Auriel sighed and broke it.
Auriel turned to Fiona, her expression unreadable. "Miss Fiona, I'll need to check with my teammates first."
Aaron gave an easy nod. "No problem from my side."
Auriel shifted her gaze. "Aaron, could you go and bring David in?"
"Sure," he replied, slipping his hands into his pockets as he strolled toward the guild doors.
Aaron spotted David by the carriage, crouched beside one of the wheels, checking the harness on the horses.
Noticing him, David straightened and called out, "Hey, why're you alone? Where's the miss?"
Aaron approached, hands tucked into his pockets. "Right about that. We're taking on the advancement quest next. You know Fiona, the receptionist?"
David nodded slowly. "Yeah, I've got a vague impression. Why?"
"She wants to come with us," Aaron said. "Apparently she's stuck at level ten and needs to move up."
David raised an eyebrow. "She does? Isn't she… staff?"
"She is," Aaron confirmed, "but she's also a fire mage. Plus, she's got a secondary job as an alchemist says she can help with potions and support."
David paused for a moment, then shrugged. "If she can pull her weight, I don't see a problem. Just as long as she's not there to watch us fight."
Aaron chuckled. "Nah. She seems a lot sharper than she lets on."
He gestured back toward the guild. "Come on, Auriel's waiting for your answer."
Auriel looked up as the two stepped through the doorway. "Took you long enough."
Aaron gave a lazy shrug. "Had to fill him in."
David stepped forward. "I'm fine with it. If Fiona can contribute, I don't mind."
Fiona looked slightly surprised but gave a polite nod. "Thank you. I'll prove my worth."
Auriel studied her carefully for a beat, then motioned toward the training room. "Then show me."
Fiona blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You want in on an advancement quest? Fine," Auriel said, folding her arms. "Let's see a glimpse of that fire magic."
Fiona smirked. "Sounds fair."
Aaron leaned toward David and muttered, "This should be interesting."
Fiona turned to Auriel, eyes sharp with curiosity. "So, how do you want to test?"
Auriel met her gaze evenly. "You're a fire mage. I'm ice. Let's test the damage done inside the training room."
Fiona nodded, a flicker of heat dancing in her eyes. "Fair enough. The training room's upstairs. Follow me."
Without another word, she pivoted toward the staircase. Auriel followed with quiet confidence, Aaron and David trailing behind with a mix of anticipation and caution.
The training room stretched wide and rectangular, its high ceilings supported by rune-inscribed pillars that softly glowed with containment magic. The walls were reinforced with tempered alloy plates etched with elemental sigils built to withstand even the wildest outbursts.
To the left, a set of mana channels curved across the floor like glowing veins, faintly pulsing in blue and red used for measuring flow alignment during spellcasting drills.
On the right, a luminous panel in the corner displayed elemental feedback scores currently blinking in standby mode.
At the far end of the room stood a row of reinforced training dummies, each mounted on arcane pedestals. Their surfaces were layered with enchanted alloys and mana-sensitive fabric, designed to record and visualize the force, precision, and elemental nature of every strike.