"Despite it all, they've done their job. The scolding will come later." ~Shallies Mythernal

As expected, Shallies found a crowd gathering in front of the Adventurer's Guild Hall. Grace, Ren, and Tayin had returned. She slipped by the gathering people and found the three, with Rio waiting for her to arrive. But it wasn't either of the adventurers, nor the Quest Handler, that took the people's interest. It was the Containers behind them.

"Miss Shallies," Rio began, proudly gesturing to the three. "I believe these adventurers have fulfilled your quest requirements with flying colors, but I will leave it to your proper judgement."

Shallies kept quiet. She eyed the three who were obviously nervous. Behind her, the crowd were whispering to each other. Some who already knew who she was talked to those who didn't. It was a mixture of neutral to nice things, with nothing exactly negative, apart from some skeptical claims. But the general information shared was that she had moved into Catelyn's house, and that she had a fairy companion. Apple had stayed behind to look after said house.

Next, Shallies looked at the Containers. There was only one thing among all the gathered materials that was the point of interest for everyone. The six-horned noldzwjak. She had provided them that huge Container, just in case, but she hadn't expected them to actually use it.

The three were quiet, an unexpected behavior for triumphantly returning adventurers. These kids should be celebrating now. And of course, Shallies knew why.

She quietly walked up to Rio and spoke in a whisper. "Can you clear the crowd, please?"

The Handler smiled and nodded. That left Shallies with the three. They sat on a bench in front of all the Containers. Grace couldn't look her in the eyes. Tayin and Ren sat on either side of the half-orc, hands on their knees.

If Shallies hadn't known any better, this group looked like they had just lost a tournament or something of the sort.

She held out a hand, presenting it to Grace.

The half-orc flinched. She refused to move.

"Take it out, Grace," Shallies said, keeping her tone as neutral as she could. "The sooner we're done, the faster you can move on."

"Can we just give you ours instead?" Ren said. He pulled out a small box that contained the cradle egg. A Lesser Miracle surrounded the shell, protecting it from harm.

Amabelle's work, Shallies guessed. They must've paid quite the sum for it.

"She was the first to ask for an apprenticeship," Tayin followed up, pulling out her own cradle egg. "Plus we defeated this noldzwjak! Surely, that's enough proof that she's good enough to be your student, right? She did amazing!"

"I know what happened," Shallies said, shooting the halfling's hopes down. "We'll talk about the noldzwjak back at the tavern. Grace, bring out your cradle egg."

The half-orc took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hands closed on a tight fist above her lap. Shallies gave her time.

"Sorry…" Grace whispered, before giving a helpless sigh. She opened her pack and retrieved Valor'el's Protection Orb. It was currently active. She gave it to Shallies without opening it.

The Godkiller took the orb and placed it on the table opposite them. "Turn it off," she said.

After another sigh, Grace did as told.

Inside, as expected, was the cracked cradle egg. But unlike the three adventurers, Shallies immediately recognized the sign. She was right to not pass on her judgment right away.

"Look here," she called out to the group.

Immediately, Grace perked up. She stood up and reached for the egg, but Shallies stopped her.

"Just look," said the Godkiller.

The cradle egg, nestled gently upon a cloth Grace had provided for it, sat there for a while. Unlike most eggs, this one was spherical in shape, with a dark color. The crack on it was like a thunderbolt in the night sky, disrupting the image of the usual silhouette of the creature within.

Then it shook. Then the shell popped, and a scaled foot of a bird came out.

Grace gave a yelp. Ren and Tayin looked at each other in surprise. And Shallies made a sigh of relief.

"You can help it out now," she said to Grace. "Careful."

The half-orc did as told, peeling away at the shell. She immediately realized that the bird within was upside-down. As she propped the egg over, the entire shell cracked and revealed the chick within.

Small sparks of flame burst out from the little fellow's feathers, as it cried out with incessant chirps.

Grace hopped backwards in surprise as the phoenix chick followed her. It circled around her feet, unafraid of any potential dangers like a random foot stepping on it. As far as it was concerned, it had to be next to mom.

And that mom was Grace.

The half-orc quickly calmed down and knelt, offering a hand to the phoenix chick. It hopped on, sat, and chirped like an alarm clock.

"Feed it your mana," Shallies instructed as she took a seat to admire the two. Ren and Tayin joined her.

Grace laughed and cried. She placed a finger over the chick's head and ran her mana through, slowly. It formed like a drop of water before falling from her fingernail.

The phoenix chick opened its beak, gulped it down, and celebrated, and then quickly asked for more. Grace happily provided.

"I'm taking yours away," Shallies said to Ren and Tayin. "A cradle egg that doesn't hatch means it's not time for you to have one, yet."

They happily complied.

"Shallies," Grace began. "This means I passed, right?"

"Yeah," she replied. "But you have to take care of it now."

Before the half-orc and her team could celebrate, Shallies held out a hand.

"I still have to scold the three of you, so don't go celebrating yet."

"Lady Shallies," Rio called out. "I've dispersed the crowd. But before we formally officiate the completion of your quest, I would like to introduce you to the Guild Master of Cinterbrim Town Adventurer's Guild."

The Quest Handler gestured to her side, towards a tall, old man.

A human in his fifties, still sporting full, black hair. His plate armor hid most of his body, but his arms alone showed how ripped he was despite his age. His clean-shaven face had a neutral expression that defaulted akin to a perpetual frown. Not because he was angry, Shallies knew, but because he had simply ended up that way. On his back was a greatsword that, in terms of size, defied all manner of precaution or standard.

"Miss Shallies, this is Guildmaster Robert," Rio introduced. "I believe you were looking for him last time you were here."

"Guildmaster Robert, at your service," he said with a voice that had suffered from too much smoking and drinking. He held out a hand. "So you're the young lass who moved in Catelyn's house, huh? Hope you're liking the neighborhood so far?"

"Shallies," she said as she took it for a handshake. "Yes, this place is quite nice."

As comical as it might sound, the Godkiller could only admit how thin her arm looked compared to Robert's. She would need to stack her arm three or four times just to match his.

As they made the handshake, Shallies felt the subtle touch of a Scan coming from the Guildmaster. She smiled. It was a good effort, but not good enough for her to miss.

At least there's someone who's trying…

And while she already knew who Robert was, the same couldn't be said with regards to her. Not exactly, at least.

Shallies chose to let Robert complete his Scan. She even gave him some pieces of information to help him realize who she really was. He froze. As courtesy to his status, the Godkiller chose to let go of their handshake first. In fairness to him, he wasn't one to show his internal panic.

"Well, it looks like you folks are busy here," he began, faking an exhausted sigh. "I'll let you finish here while I freshen up. Just came back from my own quest, you see. You can come up later in my office, Miss Shallies, when you're done here. Then we can talk about business."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Shallies kept her smile. "Sure thing, Guildmaster Robert."

Robert turned away almost too quickly. He caught himself and calmly made his way towards his office upstairs.

"Well… That was fun," Shallies commented, before turning to Grace and the rest. They were dumbstruck. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"You're the first person to avoid getting an earful from the Guildmaster," Rio explained. "Usually he'll start shouting praises or complaints at the earliest chance, depending on his mood."

"Oh." Shallies shrugged at that. "Guess, I'm lucky."

"I might need to check up on him later."

"Yeah. But first, let's settle this quest completion."

"Certainly. There's a bit of a technicality you have to clarify, however." Rio pointed at the Containers that held monster carcasses, rather than actual ingredients. "The prices on these are a little varied."

"I'm sure we can come up with something." Shallies smiled.

The group spent the entire rest of the morning settling the total price for all of eight ingredients and three monster carcasses. Shallies was lenient and didn't catch Grace and her party's decision to return with a whole carcasses on a technicality. She wanted all of those anyway.

"Alright, that should settle it," Rio proclaimed. "Congratulations, you three. The System will provide you with appropriate experience points after I jot these down."

"Thank you," Grace said.

"Thanks," Ren and Tayin said.

"You three," Shallies began as soon as Rio left. "I'll hear a full report later. First, we need to talk to Robert."

Like a synchronized puppet, all three of them tilted their heads curiously. Even Grace's phoenix chick, sitting nicely on her hands, turned and fell on its side.

"Robert, it's me," Shallies said as she knocked on the door. The three young adventurers filed in behind her. They had a question on their faces, wondering why she was being so casual with the Guildmaster she had just met.

"Come in, Lady Shallies," said Robert from the other side of the door. It caused Ren and Tayin's frowns to curl even more, while Grace widened her eyes as she realized what was happening.

"You know, you shouldn't act like you know who I am, until you're one-hundred percent sure no one else is listening, right?" Shallies opened the door and revealed to the old man the other people with her.

It took Robert one look. He didn't even flinch. The smug on his face telegraphed how he already understood the context.

"Please, take a seat, everyone," he said. "I'll let you do all the explanations, Lady Shallies."

"Fine."

Robert's office was as standard as it could get. Four corners with walls and floors made out of fine wood. Paintings and other little decorations gave the room some color. On one side, he had two bookshelves: one was full, the other still had some space to fill. On the other side was a wine cabinet. There were a couple of bottles inside, with one still completely sealed. Just one wine glass, though.

On the opposite end from the door was Robert's office table. It was still clean, given that he had only just arrived. His System Console was already attached to it, probably consolidating updates from the Adventurer's Guild Hall Database. The chair behind the table was surprisingly simple, only a little larger compared to the seats in the hall itself. And behind that chair was a large window.

In the middle of the room was a coffee table surrounded by three sofas. Shallies took the one in the middle, looking across Robert's table. Ren and Tayin took the one on her left, and Grace sat alone on the right.

Rio arrived to serve coffee. She was quick about it, understanding that the silence in the room meant that they were waiting for her to leave. In fairness to her, she didn't pry.

"Where to start…" Shallies wondered.

"I can wait my turn, Lady Shallies," Robert said.

"Okay, I get the seraphim calling you Lady Shallies," Tayin started. "But why is this old man calling you the same?"

"Tayin, that's rude. I'm old, sure, but I can still beat you in a fight."

"Just you wait!" the halfling proclaimed. "After Shallies trains us, we'll surely be stronger than you!"

"Oh, I sure hope so. Otherwise, you would be disrespecting our boss."

"Our boss?" This time, Ren and Tayin asked the question. Grace even had a surprised look on her face.

"Well," Robert started, making a gesture to help explain his point. "This is the first time I've seen Lady Shallies, but she was kind enough to let my Scan through and subtly show me her real identity."

All of them turned to Shallies.

"Ren, Tayin," she began, "I need you two to promise me first, that you won't tell anyone else about what you'll hear in this room."

"What about Grace?" Ren asked.

"She already gave me her oath."

"If we don't agree, then we won't be your students?" Tayin asked this time.

"It would be extremely difficult," Shallies replied. "But I'll still teach you. Though, you won't get the same treatment as I would give to Grace."

The way the two always asked each other's confirmation with a single look showed how much they trusted one another. Even their Class choices synergized well. Shallies could see them growing as an inseparable duo.

"We promise," they said at the same time.

That was all Shallies needed. It didn't really matter if her identity became known throughout the entire town. It wasn't that important anyway. What mattered was the verbal commitment they had given her. Words were powerful. They made bonds beyond what a simple contract would provide.

"Alright." Shallies gave a nod to Robert.

The Guildmaster pressed something on his System Console. Immediately, all his windows darkened. A small seal activated from the door, locking it and making the entire room soundproof. Then he nodded back to Shallies.

"Ren, Tayin, allow me to reintroduce myself." She looked at both of them with a serious expression. "I am Godkiller Bernadette, of the Eternal Myth. And while it's not exactly written, I'm also the founder of the Adventurer's Guild."

It took the two a few seconds to process her words. Tayin was frowning while Ren's jaw was dropping. Grace had a giggling smile on her face, and Robert had a smug look.

"So that's how I looked like some decades ago," he said.

"Wait!" Tayin started, jerking and twisting like a puppet suddenly brought to life. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"

"Wait, you're joking, right?" Ren asked. Though he could formulate a comprehensible sentence unlike the halfling, he couldn't direct the question to anyone.

"It's true!" Grace proclaimed, catching the two's attention. "She's Godkiller Bernadette!"

"Wait… How?" Tayin asked this time, still stuttering. "I mean… I don't know. I'm so shocked!"

"I can tell you all about it later, Tayin," Shallies said. "What's important now is, do you still want to be my student?"

The two paused their frantic twists and turns and looked at each other again. "It's not just a simple mentorship now, is it?" Ren asked, realizing the implications of the reveal.

"That's right," Shallies began. "If you agree to become my students, you'll be involved in responsibilities far greater than just completing quests. I might put you in situations where the two of you will need to separate paths. Whether permanently or not, I'm not sure."

The third time Ren and Tayin looked at each other took a lot longer than the first two. "Can we talk about it first?"

Shallies expected it. She stood up. Robert did as well. Grace saw it and followed.

"You two can talk here. Unfortunately, this offer can't wait, and I won't let you discuss it with anyone else. Not even Gar."

She began to walk towards the exit when Ren stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "We accept."

Shallies didn't return right away. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure," Tayin answered.

This time, Shallies returned to her seat. Robert and Grace returned to theirs as well.

"What changed your minds?" she asked.

"If you want to take people like us, then we shouldn't squander the opportunity," Ren explained.

"If we become strong enough, we can find ways to catch up with one another even if we're separated," Tayin followed up. "It's not like after we graduate from your mentorship, you're going to separate us, right?"

"No, not right away," Shallies clarified. "Depending on which path you take, Tayin, you can become a Time Lady. This will pull you in so many directions, you'll literally have to slow down time consistently to keep up. On the other hand, Ren, if you're still planning to become a purist, you'll be taken to a completely opposite set of opportunities. It's not rare for those roles to combine, but it won't be all the time. It'll all depend on the future."

"We're fine with that," Ren said, nodding.

"If a Divine War occurs, you two will be required to join."

That made them hesitate. They looked at each other again and found courage.

They're a pair… Whatever anyone said, Shallies had plastered this conclusion into her mind. Whether they were together romantically, or as blood-siblings, it didn't matter.

"We'll do our best," Ren said.

"We'll train hard," Tayin followed up.

Shallies nodded. "Alright. We'll do the formal integration to the Mentor System when we get back to the tavern." She turned to the Guildmaster. "Now we should talk about the Gaiamaxims."

Robert frowned at that. Even the younger adventurers did. The Gaiamaxims were famous, after all.

"What about them?" the Guildmaster asked.

"They issued a lot of quests regarding closed Inter-Plane Rifts," Shallies began. "They're looking for locations all over Ysvil. You should be able to check which ones are confirmed."

While Robert looked up the number on his System Console, Ren raised his hand.

"We spotted a closed Inter-Plane Rift in the Great Wilds," he said.

"There should be a quest available here, too," Shallies said. "Submit a report later. That's an easy reward."

The young Shield Knight just nodded dumbfoundedly.

"Sixty-seven closed Rifts," Robert reported. "Sixty-eight if we include the one we have here."

Shallies crossed her leg and rested her head over her hand. "That's too few… There might be more."

"What's this all about?" Robert asked.

"Does it have something to do with the Fello-guy?" Grace added.

"Could be," Shallies replied, not particularly trying to clarify Ren and Tayin's silent question. "The Gaiamaxims Guild is tracking a storm out in the Bluepearl Sea. Thrush'ven Alir. They found it currently waiting on a closed Inter-Plane Rift. Call it a Godkiller hunch, but I think it will show up here."

"Should we plan an evacuation?" Robert asked. The three young adventurers were immediately tense.

"Not really, no," Shallies replied, crossing her arms this time and leaning back on the sofa. "The Gaiamaxims, though they're an annoying bunch, will respond in time. This is the entire purpose of their guild in the first place.

"I'm telling you all this because of one goal I have for this group." This time, Shallies lifted a finger, emphasizing her point. "I want Ren, Tayin, and Grace to join the sub-raid group. And I need you, Robert, to make that happen without revealing who I am."

"What's a sub-raid?" Grace asked, not skipping a beat.

"It's part of a raid, that's not actually the main raid," Shallies explained.

"When Thrush'ven Alir fully expands, it spawns a lot of monsters," she continued. "The surest way to stop the storm is by killing those monsters. And because you three are not Hero Classes yet, you can only help by joining the sub-raid. You'll help ensure the safety of Cinterbrim Town, while gaining levels at the same time."

"Doesn't sound so difficult," Robert said. "What's our timeline?"

Shallies took a sip of her coffee first, before giving a reply. Now that they had gone through the important things, she wanted a little bit of a breather. The others took a sip from theirs as well.

"According to them, the Rift with Thrush'ven Alir will open in a month. The storm's already taken root, denying any air current from pushing it anywhere else. That's how they were able to define the storm's identity.

"I'll have someone from my end to make sure that the Rift in the Great Wilds matches that timeline, then we'll be able to conclude if it's really coming here or not. Don't hesitate to let the Gaiamaxims confirm on their end. If they want to send someone to investigate the Rift, just let them."

"Roger that."

"In the meantime, I'll be training you three."

Shallies finished her coffee and started heading out of the office. Her students followed her, but she turned back to Robert.

"It's nice seeing you, Robert. I'll let Apple know you've returned. You can visit my tavern anytime you like."

"Likewise, Lady Shallies. I'll bring Apple some of her favorite tea when I find the time."

As soon as they left the room, she addressed her students.

"Rest today," she began. "Come to the tavern tomorrow before the sun rises. Don't be late." She turned to Grace and the phoenix chick now sleeping on her chest.

When did it get there?

"Grace," Shallies started, ignoring her own question. "The chick is now yours. Take care of it and always bring it with you. Make sure to come up with a name for it before tomorrow."

"Wait!" Grace lifted an arm almost too dramatically. "I don't know how to take care of it!"

Shallies just shrugged and left.

"Shallies!"

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