Pig's Song was louder than usual tonight.
Mugs clashing, drunken singing, chairs scraping, dice rolling, arguments erupting and dying within seconds — a beautiful mess of life.
Valen pushed open the tavern doors, Daphne, Lyra, and Elliot behind him.
They found a corner table where the lantern light was soft and warm, just enough to feel safe.
Bonding
After their mugs were filled, the tension eased.
Lyra stretched and pointed her thumb toward a group of mercenaries arm-wrestling.
Lyra:
"Look at that. Two grown men wrestling over who gets the last sausage. Humanity is doomed."
Elliot nearly choked on his drink.
Elliot:
"At least they're stronger than me… I tried carrying a full cauldron once… burned my foot… and the cauldron… and the tent…"
Lyra burst out laughing.
Valen — who rarely laughed — couldn't help it. A small chuckle escaped him.
Daphne noticed.
Quietly, just loud enough for him to hear:
Daphne:
"It suits you. Laughing, I mean."
Valen blinked, surprised.
Something warm settled in his chest — something he hasn't felt since before the plague took his mother.
He didn't respond.
But Daphne didn't mind; she just smiled into her mug.
Elliot's small disaster
Trying to impress, Elliot summoned a tiny fireball above his palm.
Elliot:
"Look! I can make it smaller now. Completely harmless!"
The fireball flickered…
wobbled…
then suddenly jolted sideways — directly onto the wooden table.
Lyra:
"Elliot—!"
Valen smothered the flame with a single slap.
Elliot shrunk into his seat.
Elliot:
"...I'll practice more…"
Valen laughed again — this time genuinely.
Then the tavern door slammed open.
Pig's Song, normally loud, remained loud — but around their table, heads turned.
A group of five entered, armor polished, weapons gleaming.
C-rank adventurers.
Confident. Arrogant. Experienced enough to be dangerous.
The leader spotted Daphne immediately.
A tall man with short brown hair, sharp jawline, and eyes full of ego.
Jason.
He swaggered straight to their table.
Jason's interruption
Jason:
"Well, well… Daphne? Drinking here with them?"
Daphne's smile vanished.
Daphne:
"Jason, leave. I'm not in your team, and I don't want to be."
Jason:
"Oh, come on. You're wasting your talent. A pretty little hunter like you hanging with a bunch of rookies?"
He leaned closer, smirking.
Jason:
"Join our group. We actually do real quests."
Lyra rolled her eyes so hard the tavern chandelier might've felt it.
Lyra:
"She said no, genius."
Jason ignored her.
Instead, he put a hand on Daphne's shoulder — possessive, disrespectful.
Daphne stiffened, eyes wide.
Valen intervenes — quietly, brutally, elegantly
Valen didn't make a scene.
He simply reached out, grabbed Jason's wrist, and twisted — not hard, not fast, just with absolute control.
Jason yelped and pulled back instinctively.
Valen released him.
Jason's pride shattered instantly.
Anger flared across his face, and in one impulsive, foolish motion, he reached for Valen's sword on the table.
The moment his fingers touched the hilt—
shing
A clean line of blood opened across his palm.
Not deep.
Not fatal.
But the blood… didn't stop flowing.
Jason gasped, stumbling backward.
Jason:
"Wh-what—?!"
Valen's voice came low, calm.
Valen:
"You shouldn't touch what you don't understand."
Jason stared at the blood running down his wrist, terrified.
The air chilled around their table.
Valen lifted his fingers slightly — ending the Blood Blade's lingering effect.
Jason's bleeding slowed immediately.
He looked between Daphne and Valen — shock, humiliation, and fear wrestling on his face.
Then he did the only thing he could:
He turned and left, fast, without another word.
His party followed in tense silence.
Aftermath — quiet warmth
Pig's Song slowly returned to noise.
Daphne let out a shaky breath.
Daphne:
"...thank you."
Valen:
"Don't thank me. He shouldn't have touched you."
Daphne's eyes softened.
Lyra offered a satisfied smirk.
Elliot whispered:
Elliot:
"C-rank… defeated by our captain's glare… scary."
Valen didn't respond.
But Daphne saw it —
the small smile he was trying to hide.
A Year of Steel and Blood
The morning sun rose over Trade Town, spilling soft gold across the rooftops.
At the Adventurer's Guild entrance stood Valen, Daphne, Lyra, and Elliot — ready for another day.
But Daphne suddenly clapped her hands.
Daphne:
"Listen! If we want real quests — far ones, dangerous ones — we need higher ranks.
And the fastest way is… we all take different D-rank errands."
Lyra:
"…You want us to clean barns separately?"
Daphne:
"Yes! Clean barns, fix fences, deliver letters, hunt small beasts — whatever pops up on the D-board.
More quests completed = faster rank-up. Simple math."
Valen gave a nod.
Valen:
"She's right. Slow or not, progress is progress. Let's do it."
Elliot raised a fist.
"Then let's rank up together!"
And with that — their quiet grind began.
✦ Time Skip — One Year Later
D-Rank → C-Rank → B-Rank
They climbed the ranks exactly as Daphne planned.
At first, it was boring work:
carrying goods, tracking lost goats, escorting merchants, removing small monsters…
But every tiny mission built something inside them.
A year passed — fast, heavy, and filled with growth.
Valen — Age 16, Blade of the Future
Valen's Blood Blade evolved dramatically.
He trained dawn to dusk, pushing his limits without destroying himself.
Where once the aura around his sword was blackish-crimson…
Now it glowed silver with hints of black, swirling with calm power.
A blade that reflected not sorrow, but control.
His swings were sharper.
His steps silent.
His killing intent refined.
And most importantly—
He learned to use far less blood.
Efficiency. Mastery. Evolution.
Lyra joked that fighting Valen was like fighting a phantom.
Elliot called him "a silver death god."
Daphne just smiled quietly whenever he trained — impressed, and maybe something more.
Daphne — Hunter → Hunter/Assassin
Throughout the year, she adapted fast.
At first, she relied only on her bow.
But after surviving a close-range wolf attack early in the year, she pushed herself harder.
She learned stealth footwork.
Learned the art of silent breath.
Learned dagger-work from passing assassins — sometimes legally, sometimes… questionably legally.
Now Daphne fought like the wind:
Bow for long range
Twin daggers for close range
Her agility and precision were off the charts — incomparable to what they used to be.
Stealth so clean she once stole Lyra's lunch mid-spar
Daphne was no longer "a cute rookie trying her best."
She was a hunter born of the shadows.
Lyra — Spear Knight
Lyra improved just as fiercely.
Her spear technique doubled in strength and speed.
She learned rotations, sweeps, momentum-based thrusts.
But the biggest improvement?
She now carried a short sword at her hip — for close combat.
Few ever saw her use it, but those who did wished they hadn't.
She remained loud, sarcastic, chaotic —
but in battle, she was terrifyingly dependable.
Elliot — Young Mage → Arcane Support
Elliot's growth was the most dramatic.
Once a clumsy boy who could barely control a fireball…
Now he casts:
Fireball (small & large)
Mana barrier
Healing spark (minor healing magic)
Wind step (temporary speed buff)
Binding flame (crowd control)
Second-tier Ignite Burst
His mana pool nearly tripled.
He could now fight for hours instead of minutes.
He was still clumsy in taverns though —
and still burned tables sometimes.
Their Bonds — Stronger than Steel
During the year, whenever they returned from quests, they sparred together.
In the forests.
Behind the Inn.
In fields outside town.
These spars shaped them into a true unit.
But no matter how much they grew…
No one could beat Valen.
Lyra tried.
Daphne tried.
Elliot tried (and cried).
Even all three together tried.
Valen remained undefeated.
But he never gloated.
He fought seriously, with respect, grateful to have people he could trust.
( If you're enjoying Valen's journey, please add it to your Library — it helps a lot! )