**Chapter 124 – The First Time and the Forest**
The group crossed the teleportation gate in sequence. The blue light faded behind them, and on the other side appeared the guild's northern branch: a smaller, more rustic building, with reinforced wooden walls and the constant smell of forest coming in through the windows.
While the local employee checked the authorization, Astrid looked sideways at Harley and asked without beating around the bush:
— You two already caused trouble at the capital guild, right?
Harley raised an eyebrow, amused.
— Why?
— From the way Nara and Tessa treat you — Astrid answered. — It doesn't just look like "frequent customer." It looks like there's history.
Rina crossed her arms, interested.
— Now that you mention it… really. They treat you almost like you're part of the house.
Marina also approached.
— And that look of "there come these two again" wasn't just friendliness. There was history in the middle.
Even Elowen, who normally only observed, looked at the two with clear curiosity.
— What happened the first time?
Kuroe said nothing, but she was clearly paying attention.
Joker let out a breath through his nose, almost smiling.
— Do you really want to hear this now?
— We do — Astrid and Rina answered at the same time.
— Tell it properly — Marina asked. — Without summarizing too much.
Harley laughed low and shrugged.
— Fine then. It was right at the beginning…
---
**Flashback — The First Time at the Guild**
Back then, the two of them were still getting used to the capital. It was the first time they entered the Adventurers' Guild. The hall was noisy, full of people of various species, and the smell of metal, paper and cheap drink hung in the air.
They went straight to the counter.
Nara, still not knowing the two of them, looked at them with a professional and slightly worried expression.
— First time?
— It is — Harley answered, smiling. — We want to register.
— Right. Standard initial rank, registration fee, basic rules… — Nara was already pulling the forms. — You're both very young. I recommend starting with simple missions until—
She didn't finish.
On the other side of the hall, a group of higher-rank adventurers was causing trouble. There were four of them. They spoke loudly, pushed people and clearly thought they owned the place. The tallest of them, a man in heavy armor with a scar on his chin, stopped near the counter and slammed his hand on the wood with force.
— Opa. The newbies are getting in the way of the line.
Nara swallowed hard.
— Sir, they were just registering—
— I didn't ask — he cut her off. — Get out of the way, kids.
The man took a step forward and pushed Joker's shoulder with the chest of his armor, trying to force space.
Joker barely moved.
— We were talking — he said calmly.
— And now you're not anymore — the man answered, laughing. — Learn to respect those who are above you.
The other three laughed along. One of them, thinner and faster, already had his hand near the hilt of his weapon. Another spat on the floor.
Harley tilted her head, still smiling.
— Above?
The armored man opened his mouth to answer, but he didn't get to finish the sentence.
Joker moved first.
It wasn't a wide strike. It was a short, precise step, and the elbow went straight into the opening of the armor, just below the rib. The sound was dry. The man folded forward with a grunt of pain, the air leaving his lungs all at once. Before he could recover, Joker had already grabbed the collar of the armor and pulled his head down, hitting the knee into his face with clean force. The man fell sitting, dazed, blood running from his nose.
The thin one tried to react, drawing his weapon.
Harley was already in front of him.
She deflected the first strike with an open hand, almost lazily, and laughed.
— Slow down.
The second attack came faster. Harley entered his space, slammed her shoulder into the man's chest and, in the same movement, spun her body and landed a side kick to the side of the knee. The sound of the impact was ugly. The adventurer fell sideways, holding his leg, unable to get up immediately.
The third tried to attack Joker from behind.
It didn't work.
Joker turned his torso just enough, grabbed the man's arm in the middle of the movement and used the man's own momentum against him. The adventurer's body was thrown against the counter hard enough to make the forms fly. Before he could recover, Joker had already landed a short strike at the base of the neck, sending him to the floor.
The fourth, the last one, hesitated.
Harley looked at him and smiled in a not at all friendly way.
— Your turn.
He tried to retreat.
There was no time.
Harley closed the distance in a second, deflected the desperate punch he tried to throw and answered with a short sequence: a blow to the stomach, another to the chin, and a final push that sent him onto a table. The table overturned. The man stayed on the floor, out of breath, without trying to get up again.
The entire hall was in silence.
Joker shook his hand once, as if dusting it off, and turned back to Nara as if nothing had happened.
— So — he said, in the same tone as before. — About the registration…
Nara blinked several times, looking at the bodies on the floor and then at the two youths in front of her.
— …Yes. Of course. The registration.
Harley rested her elbow on the counter, still smiling.
— You can continue from where you left off.
Tessa, who had observed everything up close, let out a low little laugh and murmured:
— I think these two are going to be trouble.
---
**End of Flashback**
Back in the present, the entire group was looking at the two of them.
— …You simply took apart four high-rank adventurers in the middle of the guild… on the first day… before even finishing the registration — Astrid summarized.
— They started it — Harley answered, without any regret.
— And after that — Joker completed — no one else bothered us.
Rina whistled low.
— Now it makes sense why they treat you so well.
— It does — Marina agreed. — I would also think twice before messing with you two.
Elowen stayed silent for a moment, just processing what she had heard. Kuroe, beside her, looked more confirmed than surprised.
The employee from the northern branch returned the authorization and pointed the direction.
— Gray Deer Forest. About twenty minutes on foot by the eastern path. Be careful with the pack. There's a real report of abnormal leadership.
— We heard — Harley answered.
They left the branch and followed the trail.
The Gray Deer Forest was dense, with tall trees and the ground covered by dry leaves. The air had a light metallic smell, almost imperceptible — a sign of corruption.
— So — Astrid said, rolling her shoulders. — How do we do this?
— Simple — Joker answered. — Find the pack. Eliminate. Confirm the leadership. Return.
— And if the abnormal leadership is really a problem? — Sylvara asked.
Harley smiled.
— Then we have more fun.
The group spread out into a natural formation. Astrid and Rina farther ahead. Marina and Sylvara on the sides. Lirien and Elowen a little farther back, observing. Kuroe walked in silence, paying attention to everything. Joker and Harley stayed in the center, as if they were in no hurry.
It didn't take long.
The first howl came from the left. Then another, farther ahead. In a few seconds, the pack appeared among the trees: large wolves, opaque eyes and fur stained by a dark energy. There were more than fifteen.
— Abnormal leadership — Lirien murmured. — That one in the back.
In the middle of the pack, a larger wolf stood out. The body was more robust, and the corruption around it was visibly denser.
— Found it — Harley said, already taking a step forward.
— Don't hold back too much — Joker completed, voice calm. — But also don't wreck the entire forest.
Astrid laughed.
— Understood.
The first wolf advanced.
And the hunt began.
**End of Chapter 124**