Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

That dinner took a long time. By the time we got back to our lodging carrying the leftover food, it was already quite late into the night.

"Better sleep early, since we travelled a whole day already," Vivianne reminded the two guys staying opposite us. Nicola and I had already yawned many times.

At this moment, with the room door closed, only us three girls were left in the room. My mind was a bit groggy just now but instantly became more awake. This was the most important moment.

"Are you sure you want to sleep on the floor?" I secretly pulled Nicola aside to confirm this with her. Since when did this greedy person start rejecting meat served up to her mouth?

I was suspicious. Maybe she planned to harass us at night and get two for one.

Seeming to guess what I was thinking from my expression, Nicola frowned unhappily.

"What do you take me for? Am I that shameless?" I was kindly offering to let you take the bed!"

"Oh sorry about that!"

I rolled my eyes. To be honest, I always felt she was quite shameless, especially regarding male-female relationships.

"From your reaction, does that mean I should take the bed? After all, can't let our host sleep on the floor. Doesn't sound too bad," she suddenly grinned sinisterly, seemingly not bothered to switch plans.

"Wait, I didn't mean that!"

I understood. This was the best arrangement. It would be even more dangerous if she took the bed.

However, I turned and said to Vivianne who had just finished washing up and was lying in bed:

"Why don't I take the floor too? I think there's enough space here, nice and spacious..."

"First time seeing you so troubled," Nicola murmured as she walked away and lay down on the prepared bedding on the floor.

"Huh, didn't we agree already?" Vivianne looked blank and slightly aggrieved.

"Do you dislike sleeping with me?"

"No no, I was worried I would disturb you." I could only think of this excuse for now.

"It's okay, I don't mind at all." Vivianne was very forthright, even patting the empty side of the bed to indicate I should get on quickly.

But I did mind! This was my first time sharing a bed with a real girl. Nicola the fake didn't count.

"Haha, alright then!"

I forced out a laugh. No other way for now. I could only thicken my skin and slowly get onto the bed.

Right after I lay down, the room lights were switched off. Vivianne's hands promptly hugged me fully and she snuggled against me a few times too.

"Wah, Feliciana feels so soft!"

Brother Brennan, I'm sorry!

I used all my strength to barely struggle free from her grip.

"Vivianne, gentler...too tight...hurts..."

So girls are this passionate in bed too. I felt I really couldn't take it.

Hearing me, she did relax her hold a little. I was expecting some storm to follow, but nothing else happened even after waiting for a long time.

That was it? I was confused again.

Maybe I overthought things, or Vivianne was just too tired. I felt the steady breaths on my chest. She seemed to have fallen asleep already.

If I had known it would be so simple, I wouldn't have agonized over it so much. Nicola was right to mock me after all.

I revealed a wry smile. Not daring to move in case I woke her, I stayed in that awkward posture and gradually fell asleep too...

When morning sunlight shone into the room, I opened my eyes to find Nicola missing from her spot on the floor.

Sometime in the night, Vivianne had also shifted her body and let go of her arms holding me, now curled up on the other side still fast asleep.

After a big stretch getting off the bed, I didn't see any trace of the others in the room.

So they were outside.

Opening the door, I peeked out. Sure enough, I saw Nicola doing stretches at the bottom of the stairs in the corridor.

She actually did morning exercises?

It completely shattered my long-held impression of her indulging in wine and sex all day, draining her body empty.

"Morning! You're awake too?" Hearing the room door, she turned and greeted me.

Come to think of it, she's always up earlier than me. Maybe it's related to her angelic constitution.

Leaving the door ajar, I came out and nodded, not one to lose. I followed her moves.

"How was your sleep?" Nicola stretched her neck and asked.

"Alright." I stretched my neck too.

"Just being hugged the whole night, my body feels a bit stiff." I waved my arms.

"Then we better hurry rent a place." Nicola waved her arms too.

"It's still early. The early bird gets the worm they say." I kicked my legs.

"The Adventurers' Guild should still have some mid-tier quests left..." Nicola kicked her legs too.

"Let's go!" We looked at each other and smiled.

"Vivianne, Nicola and I are going to the Guild to get quests! (๑•̀ᄇ•́)و✧"

Deciding on the spot, I left a note on the bedside table and closed the door. Nicola and I rushed out together.

At 7 am In the Guild hall, a long queue stretched to the other side of the plaza outside the entrance.

"Don't tell me we're late even coming so early..." My spirits dropped seeing the line.

We had rushed all the way, taking a longer route earlier because we got lost. But it still turned out like this. Nicola also seemed disappointed.

"Many were probably queueing overnight." She looked at the queue and voiced a possibility.

That made sense. The sun had just risen not long ago and the Guild doors weren't open yet. To have such a long line, some people must have started waiting late into the night.

"Let's hope not everyone is going for the mid-tier quests."

I nodded.

Soon, the Guild doors opened for business.

The queue started moving slowly forward, splitting into several lanes as a few counters began operating. But even so, we still had to wait over half an hour.

"Are you two taking a quest together?" The staff behind the counter asked, looking at the two guild cards I handed over.

"That's right!"

There were still a few mid-tier quests left. I silently cheered at our luck and chose a 4-star delivery quest with the skill requirement of Level 3 and above. The reward was quite substantial too, at several thousand silvers.

"I'm sorry, but your cards seem to be newly registered right? Without points, you currently can't take quests needing point collateral."

The staff's words made Nicola and I gawk.

"What do you mean? Point collateral?" Nicola leaned over looking confused too.

"It's like this, miss." The staff flashed us a professional smile and started explaining. "For all our quests, some require point collateral before they can be taken. The quest you've requested needs 1000 points, but both your cards have 0 points, so you can't take it."

Oh no, her words made me notice the points column on the identity card I had overlooked until now. No wonder some quests on the noticeboard had a string of numbers after them that I didn't understand. So that was the point collateral needed.

That meant there were no mid-tier quests left without points collateral. The remaining few started from a few hundred at least. We currently didn't qualify at all.

I sighed. Being an adventurer wasn't so easy after all.

"Then let's take this lower tier quest instead."

Since we came all the way, Nicola didn't want to make a wasted trip either. She chose a letter delivery that had been on the board since yesterday and was still not taken. It didn't need any points either.

I sensed it might be a trap, but Nicola was firm. She would try even if it was a trap.

I chose another low-tier quest - a Level 2 beast-clearing quest.

The rewards for both our quests were still substantial, at several hundred each, considered high for low-tier quests.

After we confirmed, the staff passed us quest cards detailing the information, contacts, addresses, point penalties and point rewards for successful completion.