On their way back, Cassy kept on staring at the card she was holding, as if unable to believe what just happened.
"To think we'd cross paths with the Dragon's Roar...!" She whispered with excitement. "Did you see the woman in white? That's their healer, Priscilla! She's my idol!"
"Really?" Aster replied.
Since he covered his face with his hood shortly after, he wasn't able to see anyone else but the large lizardman before him. 'No, from the party's name, he's not a lizard, but a dragonkin!' He realized a little too late.
"But what's a Clan anyway?"
"You don't know?!" Cassy roared before suddenly recalling Aster's situation. "Ah, right, you... Then, let me tell you what it is!"
Adventurer Clans are something like an extension of usual parties, or more accurately, like a secondary guild. With the Adventurer's Guild setting up parties and quests, clans arrange members fitting for such quests and send them. This benefits both the guild and the clan, increasing the chances of success and decreasing the risk of death.
"Quests..." Aster whispered in a low voice. "Are those accessible to normal parties too, like ours?"
"Ah, that's... only quests that were filtered out by several clans reach normal parties, so they're usually too difficult or have low rewards unbefitting their risks."
"In the first place, there are no quests that can be accepted by newbies like you two," Kali added with a scoff.
"I see..."
Aster, learning about clans, now had two choices. One is to join an existing clan, like the Dragon's Roar. Or two: "Creating my own clan!"
"Humph!" Kali harrumphed. "Only two kinds of guys make a clan of their own. Those who have high leadership and charisma, and idiots like you."
"..."
"Hey, K, isn't that a bit too harsh? It's fine to have a dream at least!"
"Dream? With how unrealistic it is, it'd stay a dream, for sure. You'd need a good leader, a competent advisor, a great team, and financial stability as a party. Other than the last item, this weakling missed all of those."
Aster shrugged his shoulders, accepting Kali's words at face value. "Well, that's talking about right now. Who knows what the future holds, right?"
"That's 110 pieces of Slime Core. Amazing! You doubled yesterday's record easily!" She excitedly declared.
"Since the pharmacy is offering a premium for the cores you got, you'll get a 10% increase in their buying price. 5,500 Tels each, totaling 605 thousand Tels!"
"Oh! Price increase, nice!" Cassy cheered.
After dividing their earnings, each of them gained roughly 202 thousand Tels each, which was credited to their cards immediately. Adding to their earnings yesterday, it was already a small fortune!
After finishing the handoff, the three walked out of the guild with heightened moods. "This is a great day! Who's going to lunch together?!" Cassy asked, raising her hand first.
Kali scoffed, turning her head away while walking onward. "I'm not interested." She said.
As she left, only Aster and Cassy were left. "What about you, Star? Wanna grab lunch together?" She asked with a little lonely look on her face.
Although Aster felt guilty, he shook his head. "Sorry, Cassy. I have something to attend to today, so I'll pass. Tomorrow, for sure!"
Sadness crossed her face for a moment before turning to a wide smile. "Oh, it can't be helped. Then I'd go to an eat-all-you-can challenge and test my limit! Wish me luck~!"
"Haha, good luck! Don't break your stomach, alright?"
"No worries! I can eat anything without having a stomach ache!"
Cassy acted cheerfully until she vanished around a corner, running at a moderate speed. As she disappeared, Aster let out a long sigh before changing his expression to a serious one.
"You need something from me?"
He asked while turning back, facing someone who had been watching him since earlier. As he did, a man in a black suit undid his camouflage and slowly materialized. He looked the same as the guys who guided Aster to the mayor's office the day before, which didn't surprise him.
"Mr. Aster Mistral, I've been sent to keep watch over you." He announced it in a flat, rough, and deep voice. "The madam invites you to lunch." He explained.
Aster heaved a deep breath, realizing that it was time.
"Alright. I'm ready. Lead the way."