Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

“Haah…”

The common area of the guild was where the job board was, and so John was forced to be there as well. He and Prota had received their licences, and as Elfin had told him, he was a solid F rank adventurer. Prota had done better, starting at E rank, which is what John had intended for, but now that he was looking at the quest board...

“Really? Collect twenty mushrooms? Pick apples? Deliver letter? These are like delivery boy tasks, not quests…”

John frowned. It reminded him of certain video games he used to play.

“Three copper… one silver… seriously?”

A hundred copper was one silver. A hundred silver was one gold. The jobs weren’t really paying a lot. For reference, the cost for a night at the inn was one silver alone. He wasn’t really worried about the money, but still, it wasn’t a lot for the amount of work he and Prota could put in.

“Maybe I should’ve gone for a higher rank…”

He looked down at Prota, who was also looking at the board with interest.

“John,” she said, tugging at his sleeve. “Let’s do that one.”

John looked up to see the quest she was pointing at.

Goblin subjugation. Prota didn’t actually know anything about goblins, but it was the first subjugation quest that she’d seen. In order to grow stronger, she couldn’t idle around and pick apples. She needed something that would help her grow. Unluckily, there was a small issue.

“Prota. That’s a C rank quest. It also needs a party of four.”

“But… John can…”

“Well, yeah, I could kill, like, five of them,” he shrugged. “You can probably kill them too. The main issue is the numbers… well, that’s beside the point, though. Our rank isn’t high enough.”

“...rank?”

John looked at Prota. “See the letter on your card, Prota? That’s an E. Do you see the letter on the job?”

“...C?”

“Yes. That is higher than E,” John explained patiently. “That means we can’t do it.”

Prota was completely confused. What did letters have to do with this? If they were strong enough, shouldn’t they be able to simply go and do the quest?

“Such a shame,” John heard from behind.

“Who’s- ah, you. What do you want?” John said, disgusted.

“What do I want? I’m simply looking to help out a poor, F rank adventurer,” Drace Wynton smirked. “I’m here to offer my services.”

“Wow. Man, what an honour.” John said in a flat voice. His face was emotionless, but in a completely different way. “Even if I was a great guy, I doubt I’d be half as amazing as you, so why are you dealing with a lowly commoner like me?”

“Hmph. I see you’ve reformed. Commoners like you should know their place,” Draco nodded. He clearly hadn’t detected the sarcasm in John’s voice.

“Listen, pleb. How about this? I’ll give you the honour of serving under me. In return, you give me… say, 70% of everything you make.”

“...? But that’s severely under my pay grade.”

“Oh? Pray tell then, what is your pay grade?”

“Well, for starters, you’d have to pay me extra to work under someone like you. Say… double whatever the reward is?”

“What did you say, you little-” Draco started, but then the swordsman behind him bent down and whispered something. An irritated look appeared on Draco’s face, but he didn’t do anything more than that.

“Hmph. Fine. You’ll regret going against me.”

“How about you shove a-” John started, but then thought about his age difference. Why was a kid treating him like this? He looked down at his hands. Did he appear younger than he really was?

“Oh, what was that?” Draco smirked, assuming John had gotten scared. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you. Know your place, idiot.”

He purposefully pushed John as he walked past, taking down a C rank quest from the bulletin board.

“Man, it would be so easy to kill him, just like that…”

Prota looked at John with a blank expression, but she was horrified inside. It wasn’t just because of the words he’d said; it was because it was entirely possible for him to do so. And from what Prota had seen, he might just very well do it.

When John worked at the bar, despite being emotionless, he had a very short temper whenever something inconvenienced him. He never waited to find out who his opponent was. He’d just walk up to them, beat them up, then toss them out the bar. Of course, it wasn’t like he did it to just anyone, but still, to be so reckless…

However, John had no intention of doing something like that here.

He looked down to see Prota’s eyes glaring at Draco as if she was trying to kill him with sheer willpower. As soon as her shock had disappeared, it’d been replaced by searing anger towards the one who’d dared to act in such a way.

“Hey, hey,” John said, patting Prota’s head. “Ignore him. We just have to avoid him as much as possible. I don’t like him either, but what’re we gonna do about it?”

Prota’s shaking calmed down, but there was still fire in her eyes. “...bully.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

John looked back up at the board. “Well… I guess we’ll have to raise our ranks at some point. Um. Mushrooms or apples?”

~~~

“Sir. Three more disappeared.”

Albert sighed. “Understood. Who?”

“Two girls and a boy.”

Albert’s calm face twisted into a frown. “Children? Again?”

“That is correct, sir.”

The head of the adventurer’s guild clenched his fist. “It’s impossible! We’ve searched for six months! Six! And turned up with nothing?”

“Well, there is that connection with the slave market-”

“That’s horseshit!” Albert roared. “That should be illegal anyways! They’re getting way too many slaves to even-”

Albert froze. “Too many slaves… disappearances… Hey, those slaves. There was something special about them, wasn’t there?”

“Sir, you know just as well as I do. The slave market is completely safe. It consists entirely of criminals who performed minor crimes. It is a safe form of rehabilitation, and a pacifying spell is cast upon them to make them more controllable. The capital has even checked it multiple times. As you remember, this is an experimental process that will be implemented everywhere if it works.”

“...what kind of slaves are being sold?”

“All kinds, sir. Elves, dwarves, humans…”

“Children?”

“Correct. Although those transactions are a little more… discreet.”

Albert nodded, gritting his teeth. “You’re dismissed.”

The messenger bowed and left the room.

Albert frowned. “How did I not see this earlier? No, no, it still doesn’t make sense. What is it all for? Is it just a money making scheme? Is it something more?”

He turned to the corner, where Bren emerged from the shadows. “Bren. Is the room safe?”

Bren nodded.

“Then is there any update on the reinforcements we requested?”

“Yes, sir. The elven community responded. They sent quite a skilled warrior.”

“Is he here?”

“Actually, yes, sir,” Bren said with a small smile. “Remember that one adventurer we were talking about? He’s outside the door right now.”

The door to the office opened without a sound, and the masked boy in question walked in. Not a sound could be heard from his footsteps as he pulled up a chair and sat down.

Albert couldn’t help but stare. Their backup was a child?

“You’re the back up? How old are you, kid?”

“Eleven, sir.”

“...I was hoping this was a case of elven aging. You’re saying you’re actually a child?”

“My age is irrelevant, sir.”

Fate’s gold eyes shone through his mask, giving off a cold, deadly light.

“I need to confirm. You are Albert Alimbert, head of the adventurer’s guild?”

“Well, yeah. Who else would I be?”

“I need to confirm your identity before I can continue. You’re not the only one who needs to be cautious.”

“Hmph. Fine.”

Albert pulled out a stamp and infused his magic power into it, then pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

“Is this enough?”

Fate took a close look at the symbol and nodded.

“Very well.”

Unleashing all of his mana, four sorts of elements appeared in the air. Fire, water, earth, wind… all being controlled with ridiculous precision as well.

“...I’m starting to see why they sent you,” Albert smiled. “Not bad, kid.”

~~~

John’s plan had led to a whole month of nothing. John and Prota took low level quests, eventually both ranking up to D rank. Prota was getting more comfortable with her magic, playing around with her newly found wind element as well. Her core had levelled up from D class to C, which wasn’t a massive improvement, but it was a start. It wasn’t close to the likes of Fate or Draco, though.

Speaking of Draco, John kept running into the boy at the guild’s building. He didn’t know why, but the noble’s son kept flaunting his status and wealth in front of John, which was really annoying him to no end. Had he angered the Wynton family somehow? He couldn’t remember, although it was very possible considering how he’d treated some of his customers.

Regardless, it was an annoyance John was getting tired of putting up with. The only satisfaction he had was seeing Draco’s interactions with Fate.

Fate wasn’t any less helpless in front of the title of “noble,” but unlike John, Fate had the power to back himself up. Occasionally, Draco would be put in his place, and it was immensely satisfying, if only for a brief moment. It was just the standard formula for a fantasy novel, though. The arrogant, bratty noble needed to be put in his place.

“Haah,” John sighed as he saw Draco enter the building once more. “Nothing about you is fun. Nobody talks like you. It’s so stupid. Wealth this, money that, status this, positions that, just shut the fuck up. When are we gonna get a noble that actually does something useful?”

John waited for Draco to approach him, but it never happened. Instead, he went over to a group, where there was a bit of discussion before they all nodded and hurriedly went out the door.

“...?” John frowned. What was going on? He got up and walked over to the desk.

“Hey. What’s going on with that group there?”

“Oh, the one that just left? They found an uncleared dungeon recently. After making a party of B rank adventurers, they went to clear it.”

“Uncleared dungeon? Huh?”

“Oh, do you not know what that is? Let me explain, then,” Katheryn nodded.

Dungeons and uncleared dungeons were two different things. Dungeons were simply caves with high level monsters. They were valuable for beast parts, which could be sold or used for equipment, as the majority of the beasts found in one were mana beasts, creatures capable of using mana. It wasn’t uncommon to find rare ores and materials in dungeons as well. This was all due to the main part of an uncleared dungeon: the dungeon core.

A dungeon core was what made a dungeon a dungeon. Simply put, a dungeon core was a mineral with a highly concentrated amount of mana. Mana sensitive beasts would be attracted and would grow and mutate in the mana rich environment. Even after it was removed, mana still lingered around the area, allowing for further use of the dungeon.

Dungeon cores could be used to augment one’s own core or could be sold for high sums of money, but the reward was met with the risk one took when entering an uncleared dungeon. Simply put, they were essentially treasure troves.

Because of this, uncleared dungeons were scouted and monitored by the adventurer’s guild to prevent outbreaks. If the mana built up for too long, the amount of beasts inside would explode and create a swarm of dangerous monsters that could create large amounts of damage.

“So… what are the requirements to enter?”

“Well, you need a party of at least four,” Catherine explained. “You must all be B rank or higher, and the expedition must be approved by the guildmaster himself. If you do not return within a week, we will try to send in a rescue squad, but there are no guarantees.”

“Mm… thanks,” John nodded, then went back to Prota, who was munching on some kind of candy.

He rested his chin in his hands, thinking. B rank. B rank. He needed to get to B rank. The faster he could enter an uncleared dungeon, the faster she could improve…

“Wait a minute,” John said, snapping out of his thoughts. He got back up and walked over to the board, looking at the quests.

The goblin subjugation quest was still there. It recommended a party of four, but…

“That’s it,” John grinned. A shortcut. This had to work, right? [Protagonists] did it all the time. Surely the logic of a [Story] wouldn’t backfire here, right?

“Hey, Katheryn,” John said, running back to the desk. “Who’s the big cheese here?”

“The what?”

“The boss.”

“That would be Albert Alimbert. Why?”

“Where is he?”

“...likely in his office. Why do you ask?”

“Would his office be in the room with the word “boss” written on the front?”

“Yes, but- wait, how do you know where that room is?”

“I mean, it says “boss” in large words on the front. That can’t be normal, right?”

John sprinted up the stairs, scanned the doors, and then followed the path he’d written down in his system. Katheryn was chasing after him with Prota right behind her, but none of them were quite fast enough to stop him from kicking the door open.

“Hey, boss man!” John called out.

“Katheryn?” Albert frowned, seeing his secretary out of breath. “Who is this?”

“I’m sorry, sir, I tried to stop him, but-”

“Hey.” John walked up and slammed his hands on the desk. “Let’s make a deal.”

“...a deal? Listen, kid, I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m kind of busy, and you’re being kind of an idiot right now.”

“I need to be a B rank adventurer.”

“...the fuck? Why would I… who even are you?”

“John. Now, are you gonna hear me out or not?”

“Wait a minute. You’re that coreless punk!” Albert laughed, then cut himself off short. “Get the fuck out of my office.”

“Yeah? Make me.”

“Katheryn. Leave.”

The receptionist nodded and hurriedly ran out.

Albert scoffed. A coreless F rank adventurer would be easy to scare off. His battle aura was enough to make C rank adventurers piss their pants. He didn’t show any lenience as he let it all out, ready to stop it as soon as things got dangerous, but…

“...aura? I thought you were gonna like, pick me up and throw me out. Literally. What’s this supposed to do? Make my head feel a little stuffy?”

Albert stopped. He wasn’t affected? At all? He frowned and increased the pressure.

“I mean, it’s a great aura, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like the old lady’s was any worse than this. Well, for this point in the [Story]... well, assuming it’s early on, it’s pretty good. You must’ve been someone important, huh?”

Albert was baffled. No one had ever been as unaffected as John currently was.

However, their battle was interrupted as Prota stumbled in, out of breath.

“J-John! What’s-” she started, then froze as the aura hit her. She began to shake, unable to move as fear took control of her body. It wasn’t nearly as harsh as the demon king’s, but such an aura would definitely make someone as inexperienced as Prota freeze up.

“Haah… damn it,” John sighed, picking Prota up and putting her outside the room. As soon as she was out of range, she loosened up, panting as her body shook. “Stay here, ok?”

He returned to the office, closing the door behind him. Pulling up a chair, he sat down, clearly quite relaxed.

“Who the hell are you?” Albert stared. He took the giant battle axe that’d been hanging on the wall behind him into his hands. “Are you some kind of spy?”

“Why would I be a spy? A spy for who?” John frowned.

“...never mind.” Albert sighed and rubbed his face. “Kids these days, thinking they can do whatever the hell they want… what the fuck do you want?”

“I told you already. Make me a B rank adventurer.”

It was as if he’d planned this all out, which annoyed Albert even further, but something about the boy in front of him made him hesitate, just a little.

“Now, I understand that it’s unreasonable for you to straight up make me B rank. So let’s make a deal.”

Albert frowned. A deal?

“You know that goblin subjugation quest?”

“Yeah, it’s been up there for a while. What of it?”

“It’s recommended for four people, right?”

Albert nodded and frowned. What was John getting at?

“I’ll clear it. Me and my sister, no one else. Bump us up to C rank if we complete it. I’ll think of something else after that.”

Albert paused, then roared with laughter.

“Just you and your sister? Kid, that’s twenty goblins right there. Actually, I think it’s thirty now. We should really update the paper. I think the new requirements are at least two B class and two C class. You and your sister are… what, D rank? You’re going on a suicide mission.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to lose, right?”

“...you sure you’re all there? Did you hit your head as a kid or something?”

“Does that matter?”

“Hah. You’re batshit insane. Fine, you pull it off, and I’ll make it happen.”

John grinned. This was easier than he’d thought.

“Deal.”

They shook hands, and Albert was surprised. The boy’s grip was firm, confidant, but more than that, he gave the impression of a fellow warrior.

As John left the room, Albert called out to his right hand man. Bren couldn’t be seen, but he was always available when his boss needed him.

“Hey, Bren,” he grinned. “I think we’ve got more than one interesting kid on our hands.”

Bren smiled as well. “I’d agree with that, sir. I’ll let the others know.”

~~~

The room was dark, lit up only by rows of tanks filled with liquids and bodies. A single set of footsteps echoed across the clean white tiled floor, moving with haste.

Soon, a man reached a door and hesitantly knocked.

“Come in.”

The doors slid open, revealing a small room. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a singular desk sat in the middle, messy with papers and books. Sitting at the desk was a man with shaggy black hair and a thin, frail body. Dark circles lined his eyes as if he hadn’t slept for days, a stained lab coat draping over his shoulders.

Normally, this kind of person wouldn’t be a threat, but the man who’d entered was trembling as if scared to even open his mouth.

“What is it? Speak, idiot. Did you come here just to see me?”

“N-no, Doctor. They… they received the backup. Our spy contacted us recently, saying that it is possibly a powerful foe.”

“Oh? Entertain me. Who is this new toy they obtained?”

“H-his name is Fate, sir. A quadra elemental mage with an A rank core and exceptional fighting skills.”

“That’s it? The guild has plenty of fools like that.”

“Our spy… said that he is someone worth keeping an eye out for.”

“Ugh, fine. I’m surrounded by idiots… what’s this greenhorn’s name?”

“It’s Fate, sir.”

Upon hearing the name, Doctor grinned. “Fate… how curious.”

~~~

“...those are goblins?”

John and Prota were sitting on a hill, observing what they would soon be battling. In a clearing was a group of thirty goblins. Each goblin was the size of a child, and they all had clubs or stones in their hands. It was primitive, sure, but to fight thirty people at once was a tall task.

“Hey, Prota. You’re gonna do this alone, ok?” John said.

Prota just stared at him.

“What? It’s good practice. Trust me, one of the bandits you faced earlier is like five of those guys. Probably.”

Prota continued staring. That didn’t help. She wanted to protect John, yes. She needed to get stronger, yes. But she wasn’t delusional either.

“...fine. Fifty resets. That’s how long I’ll give you before I help, ok?”

Prota nodded. That was right. She wasn’t going to die. She thought about it for a little. She wanted to become stronger, right? And from what she knew, John wasn’t one to tell her to do something she couldn’t do. He’d actually been concerned for her.

A bit more thinking, and she opened her eyes, a new light in them. This was a great opportunity, wasn’t it? She’d finish it. The task given to her.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the goblins but found no mana cores to absorb. It was disappointing, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She quickly leapt from tree to tree until she was close, then put her hands together and muttered, forming a swirling ball of fire. Then, holding the ball in one hand, she opened her other hand and formed a swirling ball of wind.

“Oh? Hey, that’s the thing Fate used.”

John knew what was going on. Fate had fed oxygen to the fireball, resulting in a more powerful explosion. There was something about that that tickled John’s brain, but he’d focus on that later. Even if Prota didn’t understand the fundamentals, it didn’t change the fact that the result was powerful.

A massive explosion knocked out three of the goblins, immediately beginning the battle in Prota’s favour. She quickly switched up her magic, using icicles to pierce the goblins’ heads, but they were nimble. Two died, but the others started running, avoiding her attacks.

The ones with stones started pelting her, and while some of them landed, her pain tolerance was enough to pull her through. However, as she started to run again, her leg gave out.

“Kh-!” she gasped, trying to use the wind to her advantage.

Unfortunately, with no time to prepare, she couldn’t use two kinds of magic at the same time. Eventually, another stone caught her in the leg, and she fell. Just because she couldn’t feel the pain didn’t mean that her body wasn’t injured.

“Oh. Damn. Unlucky,” John sighed, raising his pistol. He didn’t want to watch her get beat to death. A single crack rang out through the air, and Prota died.

“Well, I might as well see how long I last.”

It wasn’t very long. John was able to shoot a few goblins down, but they quickly learned that all they had to do was overwhelm John with numbers. They reached him in no time, and he shrugged. He was starting to see why the big man had told him this was a suicide mission. These things weren’t incredibly strong, but they were smart as hell.

“Well. One down. Forty nine more to go.”

One more crack rang out.