Extra's Descent

Inside a run–down tavern.

It was in the middle of the outskirts. There, Brandon and Amelia could see a young boy–a little over 14 years-old, sitting on one of the tables.

"Should be him."

As soon as the process to accept the request finished, the receptionist gave them a phone number.

When they called it, they were told to come to the tavern.

They neared him and sat down in front of the boy.

"...!"

The boy flinched, seemingly startled. But as his gaze lingered on Amelia, he seemed to have composed himself.

Shortly after, he spoke.

"....Thank you so much for accepting my req–uest."

His voice cracked.

Probably undergoing puberty.

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much."

The boy lowered his head.

"No worries."

Brandon set him at ease, waving his hand down.

"We're just doing our job."

And flashed him a warm smile.

The boy's eyes glistened.

"Ah, right. I haven't introduced myself yet."

The boy cleared his throat.

"Keum. My name is Carl. Just Carl."

"Nice to meet you, Carl. I'm Cid."

Brandon turned his head at Amelia, and Amelia introduced herself.

"And I'm Amelia."

She flashed him a warm smile.

Carl seemed bashful at the sight of Amelia.

It couldn't be helped. Amelia's [CHA] stat was SS. It was even higher than his.

A bonafide beauty.

But as he composed himself, it was then when he started to recount his story.

Carl and his little sister were actually in Vale City, the capital, when it happened.

The reason for this was because they were sent by the village head to trade their crops.

Of course, they had adults to escort them and deal with the trade.

They were only tasked to spectate and learn the craft of trading.

It was then when the calamity happened.

As the two siblings were about to head to the trade, the world shook intensely.

Carl paused and lowered his head with a conflicted expression.

Brandon was able to fill in the details by that point.

The look on Carl's face told him everything he needed to know.

That the traders that escorted them, and most probably the customers, died from the earthquake's aftershocks.

That was it.

"And what's the important thing you needed to get back in your village?"

He needed to confirm.

However, as soon as he said that, the boy's eyes darted around suspiciously.

"..."

Eventually, Carl raised his head and looked at Brandon seriously.

The look on his face…

It was not the look of a child a few minutes ago, but as if his resolve was hardened.

Finally, Carl revealed the matters in his requests.

"Closure."

"...."

"...."

Brandon and Amelia turned to look at each other.

"I know I'm asking for too much. Most rankers turned away at this point after realizing how useless this request is. I wouldn't blame the two of you if you want to reject me. The rewards aren't much anyway. But I can't do anything about that, it's all the money I could use without damaging our finances."

He murmured and bowed his head.

"But still, thank you for listening to—"

"Who said we were leaving?"

It was Amelia who spoke.

The boy raised his head slightly.

"Hm?"

"You need an escort right? Since you can't leave the domain."

"....Yes, that's basically what this quest is about. I'm sorry if it's misleading."

"Then we accept."

"Eh?"

"....?"

Brandon and Amelia tilted their heads. In fact, the three of them did.

"Are you sure? This has happened before. As soon as me and my sister finished preparing, the rankers never showed up by the gate. Please don't give us false hope."

Brandon spoke.

"Does this lady over here seem like the type to do that?"

And pointed at Amelia.

"Uh—Ah."

Carl stammered. He looked flustered as well.

Most probably smitten by Amelia at first sight.

"Okay, thank you so much."

The boy bowed his head once again.

"Me and my sister need to prepare. So can we set the departure date for tomorrow?"

"Sure, just give us a call."

"Okay."

The boy got up and left shortly after.

And so, Brandon and Amelia started to assess the situation.

Carl.

The village boy was without a doubt, well spoken. He knew his manners, and when to push and pull to avoid being obnoxious.

For what reason, they'd find out later.

Although he seemed to be wary of them, that should be understandable.

The boy and his sister were all alone in this new city. No family, no friends.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that they didn't have the most pleasant time in this place.

Especially by the fact that they most probably lived in the slums.

"Are you sure you still want to join me?"

"Yes."

Brandon asked and Amelia confirmed.

"I needed a little break. And this could be good experience as both a mage, and an Imperial Army officer."

She smiled.

"Plus, you're going to teach me all about the system, right?"

This was the best quest they could've gotten in the F rank category.

Most of the quests were scouting jobs, or finding a lost cat in the human domain.

This was the only quest that involved, leaving the human domain.

And it was understandable why most rankers turned away.

The rewards were low, and high ranking rankers would most likely take high ranking requests.

Plus, there seemed to be no purpose for this request.

But for Brandon and Amelia, it was perfect.

Cars weren't allowed outside the human domain. For transport, they would have to hire a wagon, or go on foot.

Wherever this village was, by the fact that most rankers turned away, it should be quite far.

That meant, Brandon and Amelia could use the opportunity to experience the new world outside.

That, and an opportunity to test the new system.

For however they could raise their stats, Brandon now had an idea.

If it went experience wise, then maybe if he did the action, then a stat would raise.

It was then when the familiar system interface popped up.

—[Sub–Act]—

[Escort Carl to his village.]

[Rewards:]

[Sovereign of Creation: EXP — +10%]

[Wraith's Descent: –2%]

————

How peculiar.

It seemed like the request had something to do with pushing back the Wraith's descent.

For whatever reason, Brandon didn't know.

But truly, this was the best request they could ever pick up.

That and, it had an increase in the Sovereign of Creation skill's progression.

So this was how he was going to progress it now?

Surely, he could also progress with killing monsters, right?

But the rewards aside, was there really some kind of importance in escorting Carl?

But it seemed like it wouldn't be as easy as it sounds since the system put some kind of importance to it.

As he turned his gaze to look at Amelia, it seemed like she didn't receive a quest.

Her gaze lingered outside, and he could definitely tell that she sneaked a quick glance at him, and returned her gaze back outside.

"It's getting kind of cold…"

Amelia rubbed her shoulders.

Now that he thought about it, it was.

He followed her line of sight.

The sky seemed to turn a pale white color. And the temperature was definitely rising gradually.

According to Belle, the seasons have been quite unstable. Around this time, it should've been quite hot.

But he could surmise that it was about to snow.

"We should go prepare too."

Amelia nodded at his words, and the two left the establishment.

Looks like his promise with Belle and his mother was bound to be broken in just the first month.

After all, he could tell.

This request…

It was going to be…

A long journey.