477

Chloe, with a simple wooden short bow slung around her shoulder and a small quiver for arrows upon her hip, barged through the wooden doors in an attire that was simply garnered out of brown cow leather, typical of adventurers and hunters.

The guild's receptionist, Melissa Vasquez who was a baron's fourth daughter, within her spare time and youth was working at the guild within her family's territory.

The young blonde receptionist caught sight of her friend, Chloe, but wasn't able to shrug away her duties as she followed protocol by tending to the queue that had already formed.

"Oi! Little brat, I thought we told you to stop playing adventurer?! You got a death wish hah!?"

Chloe's eyes landed upon the unruly group of men who had established themselves at the top of the pecking-order. With their over bulging muscles, strapped tight with belts and leather harnesses that saw no purpose but to squeeze and inflate their muscles with more blood, perhaps they were indeed the strongest within the guild.

One of the men, prodded away from the table by the leader quickly approached the girl, his eyes scrutinizing and staring at her long pointy ears in discrimination as he spat upon the ground, a mixture of rancid spit and ale.

Unable to ignore them any further, Chloe shifted her body posture entirely towards the man who towered over her, whilst her weapon remained upon her shoulder, her right hand now tightly clutched onto a single arrow; intent on utilizing the piece as if it were a small dagger.

"Back off cunt! Or you'll be going home tonight with your overgrown hairy balls!"

Hearing the loud and clear threat, the man's ego and masculinity refused to back down, not when all the barmaids, receptionists and other feisty young and hot female-adventurers were watching in excitement. Having solidified his intent, he let out a quick chuckle before cutting it short and throwing a back-hand to slap the little-brat across the face. A sudden and sly attack without integrity.

Chloe, who was used to being targeted dipped, dodging the strike that flew overhead before she thrust her arrow precisely through the man's armpit, evading the plate armour the man wore and tearing just enough blood to cause bleeding but nothing lifechanging.

A second arrow was slammed into the man's ankle before the girl rolled across the floorboards and back towards the exit, quick to observing her new conditions; particularly, the man's party members and their response to their team-mate who was now screaming and squirming like a worm.

Whilst fighting a single oversized ogre who was incredibly slow and predictable was achievable, with five others leaving their ale and table behind to fight her, Chloe's fight or flight instincts lit up as she swiftly turned to run. Only, to find another adventurer's broad chest before her face, smacking entirely into the toughened steel and falling backwards upon her ass.

"Stop her! She's a bloody thief!"

Hearing such accusations, the new arrival launched himself forward and planted his steel-boots atop the girl's back, stomping her back into the floorboard as well as her messy black hair. And although he had stopped the thief from moving, from further observing the expressions of the bystanders who were eager to watch the show unfold. The man who was dressed in a full set of armour that hid away his face drew two swords and pointed them forwards, and at the men who quickly paused in their tracks.

"Good one lad, you caught the little wench, now hand her over and we'll treat you to a couple of ales as a reward, what say you?"

Melissa, unable to follow protocols and unspoken rules that ensured the staff maintained neutrality in the events of adventurer conflict and arguments, as they simply weren't the militia or security that had official power like the nobles had. Barged through the bystanders and almost tackled the man off her friend, which was the plan until the pointy end of his sword was posed towards her face.

Yelping in surprise, she quickly tapped upon the badge on her uniform that identified her as a staff member.

"I-I was watching from the beginning, the girl you're standing on is innocent. She's simply the victim of the usual hashing and bullying."

Seeing the burly men back away and return to their drinks whilst teasing and bullying their injured comrage who was busy applying ointment and herbs onto his small wounds, and the rest of the adventurers who resumed their own lives. The man took his heavy boot off Chloe's back, knelt besides her and offered a hand.

"I apologise, I only desired to do the right thing. Here, if you need it?" The man pulled out a small vial of red liquid, evidently it was a HP potion, something expensive and rarely used by adventurers of low-ability. Seeing the young women scrutinize the vial and then his helmet that hid his face as she ignored his kind gesture, the man tried to introduce himself, feeling entirely guilty of applying force upon an innocent.

"My name is Arthur. What's yours?"

"Just Arthur? Only nobles can afford potions like those, what are you doing playing adventurer?" Chloe screw-faced the men at the table, who simply ignored her as she brushed the dirt off her back.

"It's just Arthur, I am no noble, and I by chance lucked upon this potion... That is all." Seeing as she refused to take it, whilst clearly appearing unharmed, Arthur deposited the vial back into his hip-pouch. Within the short time frame of the flap being open, a myriad of colours quickly reflected and glimmered upon the light. Catching the interest of many who just so happened to catch a glimpse.

And whilst they were adventurers, not thieves or murders, many of them were highly tempted in scratching the itch for the quick dip in wealth.

..

Chloe ignored the man and simply approached her friend who was quickly apologising for not intervening earlier. However, the two were entirely aware of the rules that were in place, mostly to protect and prioritize staff over adventurers as they were non-combatants and unable to defend themselves, so Chloe simply shrugged it off as another day of pointless-pecking before asking Melissa for the next monster-slaying quest available.