In the heart of the city of Pinewood, in the adventurers' district, Andrea, Naiome, Derek, and Kalic were walking through the bazaar. Out on the massive streets of the city, there were tents and stalls littered all over the place, decorated with colorful fabrics and displays from all over the world. A clamor filled the streets as hawkers advertised their wares, customers haggled over prices, and passersby conversed with one another in shouts to be heard over the noise. The air was heavy with the scent of spices, grilled foods, and the sweat of the dense crowd, but none of it could suppress the pervasive smell of the forest city.

Most of the stalls and stores were temporary and only up for a short time. These were run by adventurers trying to sell treasures and other valuables they'd found while out on contracts. They would also sometimes buy or barter items from other adventurers, but most only stuck to selling in an attempt to get a better price than they'd been offered by a more permanent establishment.

Some of the larger and more well-stocked and established shops were either permanent or long-term affairs. These stores sold various types of equipment made by crafters and artificers for adventurers. There were, of course, other such stores throughout the city, but having a shop so close to all the societies and guilds—the places most frequented by adventurers—was a good way to rake in the cash.

It was from one of these larger establishments the team had just left. The store sold high-quality necessities of the adventuring life: things like self-cleaning underclothes, boots that made it easier to traverse the forest terrain, travel bags for longer trips, and most other supplies an adventurer might need on the job.

The group had just bought something they'd been eyeing for a long time but had never had the coin to actually acquire. The item was a bag of holding, a bag with spatial enchantments and runes. The bag itself looked like an ordinary drawstring pouch—one that couldn't hold anything larger than an apple—but depending on the bag's quality, it could hold an entire orchard inside. Suffice to say, it was an item that any decent adventurer would want.

The team had pooled their resources together in order to get a medium-sized bag, and it had cost them a pretty penny. The purchase wasn't without consideration, though, as it was able to hold all of their possessions without even filling half the bag. Before, they'd been restricted on what they could bring out to the field, taking only what they could carry without impacting their combat effectiveness. With the bag of holding, they would be able to stock up on things they might need, like potions or materials for rituals.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be stocking up on anything anytime soon. The bag of holding had wiped them out completely, and even then, they had barely been able to afford it. The kinds of contracts they were completing just weren't bringing in enough coin to afford such a thing.

The team wasn't bad, but they were solidly average, meaning they weren't getting the "big-ticket" contracts. Even if they had been one of the best teams, they were still outsiders—new to the city—and wouldn't be able to swoop in and take the best contracts. Then there was the fact that middle tier copper adventurers weren't exactly hard to find, so the pay wasn't the greatest. They were practically getting paid minimum wage as unskilled workers. Granted, even the most average of adventurers was better off than most common folk, as long as they weren't pushing for greatness they could have a decent life.

The only reason they had been able to afford the bag of holding was because they started splitting the team up to take on more contracts. The initial idea was to break the team up for training, to get the group used to fighting in awkward pairs outside their usual battle plan. It was in case something were to happen to one or multiple members during a fight, but also to bring out the most of everyone's abilities and fighting skills.

It didn't take long for them to realize that if they split up into different groups, they could tackle more contracts and earn more money. It was a downside to having a team—splitting the money multiple ways—but it also meant having more people to watch your back. They decided it would be good to mix things up, doing some contracts as a team while doing others solo or in pairs, for training and monetary purposes.

It was thanks to this that they'd been able to buy the bag of holding—the bag that Naiome kept pulling her bow in and out of, giggling to herself like a child as comically large things came out of the small pouch.

The team of four wove their way through the thick crowd, making their way toward the adventurer guilds main campus.

"Now that we've spent all our money, we're really going to have to focus on completing contracts if we want to cover all our finances," Kalic yelled to the group over the drone of the bazaar.

"You say that like you weren't the one who suggested we buy one," Andrea shouted.

"It's good to be properly prepared, and the bag of holding will help us stay prepared," the scalekin said defensively.

"I'm happy with the purchase," Derek chimed in. "It will allow me to have more ritual books and materials on hand."

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing to buy," Andrea said, knowing all her stuff was going straight in. "We needed one pretty bad, but Kal is talking like he didn't even want it."

"I think it'll help us complete more contracts, not having to stop by our lodgings as often," Naiome added, still playing with the bag. "We'll get our money back fast."

The four continued through the streets for a few more minutes, and the crowds began to thin as they left the bazaar behind. They traversed through the wide roads toward the adventurers guild, ready to get back to work.

"Who's going to be the one to carry the bag?" Kalic asked once they were away from all the noise. "I don't think we ever talked about it."

The other three shared glances before looking at him incredulously. "Really?" Naiome asked.

"What?"

"You seriously don't know who's going to hold the bag?" Andrea raised a brow skeptically.

"Well, no, that's why I asked."

Derek shook his head. "Kal, none of us have actually talked about it, and yet the three of us already knew who was going to take the bag."

Kalic frowned. "Who?"

"You, you dunce," Andrea said, rolling her eyes.

"Why me?"

Once again, the three shared a glance, before Naiome spoke. "Kal, you're a giant, muscular scalekin who wears thick plate armor as if it were normal clothing while using a massive tower shield and greatsword in combat."

"You're a walking bank, Kal," Andrea said. "Nothing is going to happen to the bag so long as it's in your possession."

The scalekin frowned, still unsure, but nodded anyway. "Alright, if you guys say so."

"We do," Derek said, patting the scale-kins armored back. "Who would try to rob us when you're the one holding all our valuables?"

They walked through the streets, taking shortcuts through parks and plazas as they made their way toward the contracts hall. As they approached the building made of shaped stone and living trees, they noticed a crowd gathered around the front entrance.

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Andrea was about to ask what the commotion was when someone exited the building. Her question was answered then and there as everyone focused on the woman who stepped out. She was an extremely striking elf woman with warm golden-beige skin, silky black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and sharp, elegant features. She looked young, maybe nineteen or twenty. She wore simple leather armor and had an extremely dangerous-looking spear strapped to her back. The elf walked straight and proud, not wavering or even noticing all the gazes on her.

"Who is that?" Andrea asked, watching the woman.

"If I'm not mistaken," Kalic started, "that's Akira Anuk. She's from one of the more powerful and influential aristocratic families in the city, since her family owns almost half of the lumber mills in the area. She only recently signed up with the adventure guild but shows a lot of promise, hence all the interest. And from what I hear, everyone wants to be on one of their teams."

"She's a plains elf," Naiome squinted, watching the other elf as she sauntered off. "What's a family of plains elves doing in the forest?"

"From my understanding, the Anuk family moved here a couple of generations ago and worked at a lumber mill. Eventually, they acquired the mill and, through excellent business practice, built up to what they are now."

The other three shot him inquisitive glances. "You seem to know a lot about that woman and her family, Kal," Derek said.

The scalekin coughed, looking abashed. "It's not like that. I just spent some time collecting information on the local powers and politics. Which I advise you two to do as well," he said, giving Derek and Naiome looks. "Anyway, Miss Anuk was a fairly common topic, since she's only now making public and social appearances after coming of age and joining the guild."

"It's got nothing to do with us," Naiome shrugged. "Not like we're ever going to interact with someone that important anyway, we're from minor families far from here."

Andrea glanced at her before turning to Derek with a grin. "She is quite pretty though, right Derek?"

This earned her a scathing glance from Naiome and a confused look from Derek.

"Huh?" he asked, blindsided by the question. "Uhm, I guess? All elves are pretty though, so that's not much of a question."

"Do you think Naiome is pretty then?"

"That's enough," Kalic cut in before Derek could answer and Naiome strangle Andrea. "Let's just head in and grab some contracts. How do you guys think we should split up?"

"I think you and I should take our own contracts," Andrea said, not entirely done with her teasing, "leaving Derek and Naiome to take one together."

The elf and scalekin both gave her two very different looks and got ready to shoot her down, but Derek nodded and spoke first, "I think it's a good idea. We need more experience taking down beasts without large damage-dealers like you two. It might even help us gain abilities to do more damage down the line."

"Fantastic," Andrea beamed, starting to walk toward the main doors now that the crowd had begun to disperse. "Let's go get our contracts then!"

As she walked, she could feel Naiome trying to burn a hole in the back of her head with a glare.

***

Lukas spent the greater part of twenty hours grinding away at his alchemy, learning which methods of concocting led to the best results. There were a decent number of setbacks, which was to be expected at this point. There were no outright failed crafts, thankfully—he was already covered in so much garbage and didn't need any more added on. The only creations that saw the least improvements were some of the ones where he tried new things to find the right path forward. This left him with a veritable horde of poisons and potions, adding to his stockpile by a quarter.

The improvements were slow at first, with him getting back into the swing of things after taking the last few days "off," as it were. Once he got warmed up, though, he made progress. It wasn't meteoric, but it was noticeable. Each resource potion provided a little bit more than the last. As for his poisons, the improvements were harder to gauge, their descriptions not giving much away.

If he had to guess, he'd say that all his concoctions saw a ten-percent improvement. It didn't seem like much, but considering he'd been at it for less than a day and had been working on five different creations, he was happy. He also found that swapping between what he was making helped keep his mind fresh and gave him insights into how to improve.

Around the twenty-four-hour mark, Lukas was back in top shape, but since it was the evening he saw no need to go out and look for fights. Instead, he decided he'd keep making potions and poisons for a few more hours before meditating and getting some sleep.

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon and the last light of day began to disappear, Lukas had a visitor.

Lukas was making one of the last batches of the day before moving on to meditation. He was working on his necrotic poison, trying to improve its effectiveness after seeing how easily the Fireborn Drake had cleansed it. He was so focused on trying to better his efficiency that he didn't notice when a certain someone appeared on the large tree branch with him.

"Ooh, that's a good concoction," Sera said, looking into the cauldron in his lap.

Startled, Lukas jumped, and the cauldron went flying out of his hands. He scrambled to catch it, but it slipped through his fingers and fell to the forest floor over a dozen meters below. He could only watch despondently as the cauldron hit the ground with a 'CLANG', its contents spilling all over, killing nearby bushes and flowers.

Both Lukas and Sera stared down at the mess before the goddess looked back at him with a completely straight face, "Why'd you drop it? That's just a waste of good poison."

Lukas closed his eyes and pursed his lips, taking in a deep breath. "Every. Fucking. Time." he growled inwardly.

Lukas knew he startled easily. It was something his sister had taken advantage of often when they were younger. He wasn't sure why—he'd never been a frightful or scared person—but he was easy to surprise. It really didn't help that the goddess could appear out of thin air.

Only when he could trust himself not to stab the goddess did he open his eyes and turn toward her. "I hate you."

She smirked and shook her head. "You shouldn't go around saying such things—you might give a girl the wrong idea."

Lukas could only let out a heavy sigh. "What are you even doing here? I thought I was finally rid of you when I left that cave."

"Rid of me!?" she exclaimed in mock hurt. "You should be honored to be in my presence! People love and adore me! I'm a beacon of fun and joy!"

"Riiiight," Lukas said sarcastically.

He was pissed at the goddess for ruining what probably would've been one of his best poisons yet, especially since she deliberately appeared to startle him like she always did. One might think she'd get tired of it and move on to something else, but no. And while he was annoyed at the goddess, he was still glad to see her.

Lukas had thought he wouldn't see her again for a long time—only doing so if he went back to her cave, and that was if he could even find it again. The idea had been disheartening; he didn't like the thought of potentially never seeing her again. She was the first person he'd met in this new world, and he thought of her as something like a friend, or whatever you called someone infinitely more powerful than you but still somehow friendly.

It was strange. Lukas had never been one to feel lonely or seek social interaction. He had never gone out of his way to start a conversation or make friends, but ever since he'd "awoken," things had been different. He hadn't noticed it initially when he was walking through the forest alone, but after his first few conversations with Sera, he realized that he liked having someone to talk to.

He didn't relish the idea of wandering through the forest alone for who knew how long, and he was glad Sera would still be around. He was still pissed about the ruined poison, though.

"I'll ask again," Lukas said, leaving the cauldron down on the forest floor for the moment. "What are you doing here? We're pretty far from your cave."

Sera just shrugged with a sly grin. "Oh, you know. You looked like you were consumed in alchemy and I was bored. As for how I'm here, it's thanks to that blessing I gave you."

"How does that allow you to be here?"

"Blessings above a certain point create a bond or link between the blessed and the god," she explained. "I gave you the highest-level blessing, so that comes with its benefits, such as me being able to appear like this, so that you get to talk with me."

"I 'get' to?" Lukas asked with raised brows.

"Yes, 'get.' We've already established that I'm great. Anyway, I'm usually holed up in my cave, so this blessing will allow me to watch over you and see what the world has become. The only downside is that I'm only able to interact with you like this—other people can't hear or see me when I'm with you. Which is unfortunate; I'd really love to go out on the town with you," she grinned devilishly.

Lukas scoffed. "As if that'd be good for me in any way. I can only imagine the nightmares you'd create."

"You don't need to sound so upset! I'll still be able to mess with you in other ways."

"So you're finally coming out and admitting you'll be messing with me?"

"Oh, of course. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been out of my cave, and even now only a small part of my actual being is here—this is as much as the blessing can handle—but let me tell you, all my attention is here. I'm looking forward to all the fun we're going to have in the future!" she said with a childlike gleam in her eyes.

"Yay…" Lukas grimaced.

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