Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

When we left the Adventurers’ Guild, the sky had already darkened.

“Thank you so much,” I sincerely thanked Vivianne. She didn't need to come with us here. Not only did she bring us to Norvale, she even accompanied us to register and take the combat test. Back in Elara Woodlands, she had only promised to bring us to Norvale, yet she went beyond to help us so much more.

“Don’t mention it. Now that you’re my little angel sister, it’s only natural that I, as the big sister, take good care of you,” Vivianne didn't seem bothered at all, speaking matter-of-factly.

“Besides, you two angels don’t have a place to stay tonight, so you might as well come back and lodge at my place,” she added.

Nicola and I exchanged glances, feeling that she was being far too hospitable. But she was right that we had just arrived in this city and would be homeless if we didn't go with her.

“Alright, to be honest, we do have an ulterior motive,” Vivianne sighed, seeing our hesitance.

“After all, it's rare to encounter angels. Becoming good friends with you two, especially Nicola given how powerful she is, would benefit us greatly in the future. As for Brennan and the others, having two beautiful angels by their side has made them so happy they've lost their minds.” she consoled.

Although we knew those were just comforting words, it would have been impolite to dwell on it further after she had said all that.

"So where are we meeting up with Adrian and the others?" I estimated they should have completed their quest by now.

"Let's head to the rental house first," Vivianne suggested after thinking for a bit.

"They'll probably go back there after finishing up too," she explained.

She then led Nicola and me down a small alley to the right of the Adventurers' Guild. After winding through various alleys and making many turns, we eventually emerged back onto the main street, stopping in front of a weapon shop.

"Here we are," she said, leading us up a staircase behind the shop. "We rented the two rooms upstairs from the shop owner downstairs."

I saw two doors on either side of the narrow hallway upstairs. She opened the one on the right and let us in.

"This is my room," she declared.

"It's so spacious!" I exclaimed, surprised by the size inside.

The room was at least 20 square meters, with a bathroom. The furnishings were simple but tidy. There was a large bed by the window with a few plush toys on it. The whole place exuded a young girl's charm.

"Of course. It's a pity I'm often out with Adrian and the others on missions. I rarely get to come back and stay, even though I do like it here," Vivianne seemed pleased with her room too, lamenting that she couldn't fully enjoy it.

"That's why I asked you to come. It'll be nice to have company for a few days before you find your own place, since you currently lack money. Consider it a favor to me as angels are honored guests. I've always wanted to try sleeping on the floor too," she rambled.

"We couldn't possibly let you sleep on the floor," I quickly rejected the idea. Dealing with someone so kind could be exasperating.

Seeing Vivianne and I endlessly debating who should take the floor, Nicola shouted in exasperation, "Enough!"

"You two take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor. End of discussion!" she declared in a tone that brooked no disagreement.

Vivianne and I were both stunned speechless by this rare assertiveness of hers. I suppose she has matured after coming to this new world.

I shrugged. I didn't mind Nicola taking the floor, but it didn't seem right for both Vivianne and I to share the bed.

Just then, we heard footsteps outside. Vivianne perked up instantly and exclaimed, "They're back!" before rushing out to greet them.

...

"You really convinced them to come back?" Brennan's familiar voice sounded from the hallway.

"Amazing! I thought we wouldn't get to see the angels again after this. Nice work!" he praised.

"Shh, keep your voice down. They're still inside. I barely managed to persuade them to stay," Vivianne shushed.

"But they probably heard everything just now with how loud you were," Adrian's voice replied.

"This is all your fault. Don't come crying to me if they run off and you go hungry!" Vivianne scolded.

She then ran back into the room, followed by the two guys.

Nicola and I exchanged glances, having overheard them. We were no longer certain if everything had been staged by the three of them.

Seeing our expressions, the trio realized they had given themselves away and looked panicked.

"Let me explain..." Vivianne began.

"No need," I interjected. "Since you're so adamant about having us stay, we'll spend one night here. We did already promise you after all," I conceded.

Nicola voiced no objections either. "It doesn't really matter if it was intentional or not. Just know that we're truly grateful to you all. Without you, we'd probably still be wandering the forest."

"So you'll stay?" Vivianne's face lit up excitedly. It seemed all she cared about was us agreeing to stay, regardless of everything said prior.

"Of course," I nodded. Brennan and Adrian behind her immediately broke into delighted smiles too.

Yet Vivianne still had a hesitant look, as if there was more she wanted to say.

"Actually..." she began.

"Actually what?" I asked, perplexed.

"It'd be even better if you could stay for a few more days!" Brennan interjected impatiently. Vivianne's head bobbed in eager agreement.

I rubbed my temples in exasperation. I truly didn't understand these people. Were all the people in this world so friendly? The first three we met just had to be jesters.

Having just completed a quest and earned rewards, we decided to celebrate tonight by eating at the finest restaurant nearby. Selene did not join us, having returned to the church after the quest.

At a high-end eatery called Maple Story, Adrian ordered the most expensive set meal for each of us. Our table was soon piled high with all kinds of dishes and plates. I was stuffed to the point of bursting, having to give up on dessert before it even arrived.

To be honest, the food here didn't taste as amazing as the meal we had in that small town. But the portions were huge, and I saw almost everyone at the table was full even before all the courses arrived.

"It's a pity Selene isn't here. Something feels missing without her," I remarked.

Despite Selene and I not always getting along, we had gone through a lot together these days. There was a certain bond between us.

"It can't be helped. She's back at the strict church now. With the quest completed, there was no reason for her to come out again," Adrian explained, having accompanied Selene to the church earlier.

"How's Irene doing?" I asked about the dark elf girl who had been clinging to me. Although she was now a light elf.

"Not sure," Adrian shook his head. "After reaching the church, she left with some of their personnel. Selene said she had to go meet the other light elves first."

I see. That seemed like a decent outcome for her, so I felt reassured.

"Can you share how much your quest rewards were?" I probed, having been very curious about their earnings from this job.

"15,000 silvers total," Adrian freely divulged after a quick mental calculation.

"That's not a huge sum, since it was just an investigative quest. We only had to go to the site and retrieve some information. Also, because it was privately commissioned by the city defenses and church rather than going through the Adventurers' Guild, there were no processing fees deducted," he elaborated.

"I see," Vivianne chimed in. "These kinds of private requests are usually highly sought after. We only managed to snag this one due to Adrian's connections from his military days."

That reminded me she had mentioned Adrian often taking on mercenary work for the army.

"Speaking of which, how much are the Guild's processing fees usually?" Nicola suddenly asked. She had caught on to something important.

"Around 10-30%, depending on quest rank and difficulty," came the reply.

So it really wasn't insignificant. If this job had gone through the Guild, they would have earned several thousand silvers less.

"It can't be helped. The Guild has the most abundant resources, while opportunities like this are scarce and rarely come by. We got lucky this time purely by chance," Adrian conceded with a sigh.

The Guild's steep fees were unavoidable it seemed.