By the time Jae-hyun wandered into the Ironspire Adventurers' Guild, the sun was already beginning to sink behind the fortress towers. The fiery glow of dusk bled through the windows, painting the guild hall in streaks of orange and gold.
He stretched, suppressing a yawn. "Evening work, huh? Guess we're going nocturnal now."
The guild was still busy — adventurers clanking in armor, merchants bargaining, a bard playing something vaguely off-key near the bar. Jae-hyun spotted his party near the quest board, looking as lively as ever.
Aria was there too, graceful as always, scanning parchment after parchment. Kael and Renn, meanwhile, looked like they were debating the physics of how many pints a man could drink before death.
"Evening," Jae-hyun greeted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Please tell me we're not chasing more oversized rodents tonight."
Renn snorted. "Relax, man. We're past rats. We're D-rank now. Bigger rats."
"Right, real progress."
Before he could say more, Aria turned to face them, her silver hair glinting under the lamplight. "Actually, I can't take a quest tonight," she said. "The guildmaster requested I deliver a report to the Ironspire Council."
Kael gasped dramatically. "You're ditching us? Tragic betrayal!"
Aria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just… don't get into trouble while I'm gone."
Renn clutched his chest. "We'd never."
Jae-hyun frowned. "That's literally what people say right before they do something stupid."
The moment Aria walked out, the room fell quiet for about five seconds before Renn leaned over the table, grinning. "Sooooo…"
Jae-hyun groaned. "Here we go."
Kael smirked. "We could always… take a different kind of quest."
Jae-hyun raised an eyebrow. "What, like helping old ladies cross the street?"
Renn leaned in conspiratorially. "There's this tavern. In the Red Lantern District."
Jae-hyun blinked. "That sounds like a trap."
Kael clapped him on the back. "Relax, man. Great food, better ale, and maybe a little fun."
He squinted. "You mean fun, or fun?"
They both grinned like devils.
Jae-hyun sighed, already regretting this timeline. "Aria's going to murder us."
"Then we better make it worth it," Renn said cheerfully.
A few hours later, the three of them stumbled into the Scarlet Barrel Tavern, deep in Ironspire's infamous Red Lantern District.
The place was chaos — laughter, music, shouting, and clinking mugs. The air was thick with perfume, smoke, and the faint smell of spilled ale. Lanterns bathed everything in a warm crimson glow, and the sound of off-key singing echoed through the rafters.
Jae-hyun eyed the crowd warily. "So this is what adventurers do on their days off. Real heroes."
Renn grinned. "We risk our lives for the kingdom! We deserve to risk our livers too!"
Kael already had a mug in hand. "To survival and stupidity!"
Jae-hyun sighed. "I'll drink to half of that."
Hours passed. The ale flowed freely, and their inhibitions evaporated just as quickly. Kael tried (and failed) to flirt with a waitress. Renn told increasingly exaggerated stories about his "great victories." Jae-hyun mostly watched, occasionally chuckling into his drink.
"This is sad," he muttered as Renn slumped forward. "Three young adventurers, drunk, broke, and rejected. The legends they'll tell will be truly inspiring."
Kael hiccuped. "You're just jealous none of the girls are talking to you either."
"Oh, trust me, I'm thrilled," Jae-hyun replied dryly.
That was when a nearby mug shattered. A splash of ale hit Kael's boot.
He blinked down. "...Did someone just spill on me?"
At the next table sat five burly mercenaries, already half-drunk and twice as loud. One of them sneered. "Got a problem, pretty boy?"
Kael grinned in that specific way that promised disaster. "Not unless you want one."
"Kael—" Jae-hyun started, but the first punch was already thrown.
Kael ducked, the mercenary's fist whooshing past his head — and smashing straight into Renn's shoulder.
"OW! What the hell, Kael?!"
"I didn't do that!"
"You ducked!"
Before Jae-hyun could even think, Renn retaliated with his mug — which shattered against the mercenary's face. The man roared, lunging forward, and suddenly the entire tavern erupted.
Tables overturned. Chairs flew. Someone swung a broom like a halberd. A bard kept playing in the corner, because apparently music was mandatory.
Jae-hyun ducked under a flying bottle, only for it to explode against a wall behind him. He turned just in time to block a sloppy punch from a stranger, twist his arm, and shove him straight into another.
Kael, half-drunk and laughing, was swinging wildly — connecting with more furniture than people. Renn tried to use a stool as a shield, yelling, "We're adventurers! Not gladiators!"
"You threw the first mug!" Jae-hyun shouted.
"Semantics!"
The chaos lasted minutes but felt like an hour. Eventually, someone yelled "GUARDS!" and the crowd scattered. Jae-hyun tried to drag his teammates out, but a bottle clipped his temple — stars exploded in his vision.
Everything went dark.
When he came to, the stars above him spun. The cobblestones beneath him were cold, wet, and smelled faintly of regret.
He groaned, pushing himself upright. "Okay. Never. Again."
Kael was snoring beside a barrel. Renn lay face-down in what might've been soup.
Jae-hyun rubbed his aching jaw. "Some heroes we turned out to be."
Something small hit his leg — hard.
"OW! What the—"
He looked down just in time to see a little kid, maybe six years old, glaring up at him. The boy kicked him again. "That's for sleeping in my alley, drunk dummy!"
Then he ran off, cackling.
Jae-hyun stared after him, stunned. "…Did I just get mugged by a kindergartner?"
He groaned, leaning back against the wall, staring up at Ironspire's glowing skyline.
"Fantastic. Beaten by drunks, assaulted by toddlers. Living the dream."
A pause.
"…Aria's gonna kill us."