“You're an adventurer, aren't you? I have a commission I'd like your help with.”
“A commission?”
Rosie raised an eyebrow, her tone neither hot nor cold.
Truth be told, she loathed human traffickers.
No matter the world, scum who profited off selling people deserved only contempt.
She didn't hold much love for nobles either; hanging most of them from lampposts would only pollute the streetlights.
Still, taking on a local lord head-on just for that? Better pass.
Even the lowest-ranking baron had a few full-fledged knights at his side.
Rosie was poor, but she wasn't eager to die for coin.
“Don't be so quick to refuse.”
Reading the hint of refusal in her expression, the elf slipped slender, pale fingers beneath her dark robe and drew out a ring.
It was a gemstone ring, its face polished smooth and gleaming with a warm, dark red luster in the faint light of the snowy night.
“This is an enchanted ring.”
The elf held the ring out on her palm, presenting it to Rosie.
“It enhances the wearer's strength.”
Rosie's gaze locked onto the ring.
A magical item.
While dining at the inn, she had heard travelers boast that a simple amulet could easily fetch tens or hundreds of gold coins, while high-grade magical items were things minor nobles couldn't afford even if they bankrupted their families.
If this truly was a ring of strength, its value was far from modest.
“Well? Will you consider it?”
The elf knew the weight of this offer; it was enough to tempt most adventurers.
And Rosie was indeed tempted.
However, she didn't agree immediately. Raising her gaze, she sized up the elf once more. “What do you need me to do?”
“It's very simple.”
Closing her hand over the ring, the elf said unhurriedly, “Help me find where the kidnapped people are being kept.”
Just as Rosie was about to speak, a translucent panel popped up before her eyes.
【Optional Adventure Quest: Where Did They Go?】
【Objective: Discover the whereabouts of the kidnapped women.】
【Reward: Trait — Light Armor Proficiency or Heavy Armor Proficiency】
Her eyes fixed on the final line.
Armor proficiency?
Whether light or heavy, armor mastery was a solid boost to combat capability.
She wasn't willing to throw her life away for coin alone, but with a Trait reward added to the mix, that changed everything.
The look Rosie gave the elf grew noticeably warmer.
Well then—when you see injustice on the road, it's time to step up and take action!
“I accept your commission,” she said crisp and clear, “but I require payment upfront.”
The elf looked down at her, a faint glimmer passing through her eyes before she quickly regained her composure.
Without a word of protest, she held out the Ring of Strength to Rosie.
“Very well. But remember: never break a promise made to an elf, or the consequences will be dire.”
“Don't worry. Once I take a job, I see it through.”
Rosie reached out and took the ring.
Slipping off her left glove, she slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly, as if custom-tailored for her.
A warm stream flowed from the ring through her finger to her wrist, spreading up her arm before washing across her entire body.
She clenched her fist, feeling her strength surge once more.
With a silent thought, her status panel flashed into view.
【Strength: 14 +1】
It really boosted it!
Rosie calmly pulled her glove back on, flexing her fingers to ensure her movement wasn't restricted. “Alright. Where do we start?”
The elf's eyes fell upon Rosie's ring-wearing hand, a flicker of surprise surfacing in her gaze. “You attuned to the ring so quickly?”
“Does it require attunement?” Rosie paused, blinking. “Doesn't it just work when you put it on?”
The elf remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly, her tone turning serious:
“All magical items require adaptation. We call it attunement. When ordinary people handle a magical item for the first time, their mind and body need time to accept the influx of extra power. That process usually takes about a week.”
Rosie shrugged without missing a beat. “I see. I must be the Chosen One, then.”
The elf knit her brows slightly, her exquisite face shifting from surprise to subtle annoyance.
She clearly didn't buy the “Chosen One” nonsense, but she refrained from pressing further. Shifting her gaze away, she turned and stepped forward.
“Let's go,” the elf said, her voice regaining its previous calm.
“Before the men you killed raise the baron's alarm, we'll infiltrate the castle.”
Rosie pulled a face internally.
What do you mean, "the men I killed"? Didn't you kill one too?
Still, she kept her mouth shut and picked up her pace to follow the elf.
Alysia led the way, her steps light and silent.
Weaving through the shadows, they bypassed the town's main thoroughfare and soon left the low-slung residential district of Frostmoon Town far behind.
After walking for roughly ten minutes, the ground began to slope upward. Atop a snow-covered incline, the harsh outline of a castle emerged.
“By the way, what's your name?” Rosie asked in a low voice.
“Alysia,” the elf replied.
Just a given name—no family name, no clan.
Rosie didn't mind and introduced herself. “I'm Rosie. Here's to a good partnership.”
Alysia gave a faint nod without responding.
She crouched in the shadow of an old oak tree, fixing her eyes on the castle at the crest of the hill.
“We're here.”
Rosie crouched down beside her, taking in the structure ahead from the cover of the tree's shadow.
The castle wasn't large, but though small, it had everything in place.
The walls stood twelve to thirteen meters high, where a few patrolling guards could be seen making rounds with torches.
The castle had only a single main entrance at the front, illuminated by two torches mounted on iron frames beside the gate.
Rosie's gaze swept along the perimeter walls before pulling back. She whispered to Alysia,
“The walls are too high. Got any ideas?”
“Follow me. I have a way.”
Without further explanation, Alysia slunk out from the tree shadow and circled toward the flank of the castle, keeping to the darkness at the base of the slope.
Rosie stayed low behind her, eventually arriving beneath an obscure tower on the castle's flank.
This tower was a section lower than the main building and tucked away in a remote spot, creating a blind spot in the guards' torchlight.
Alysia squatted down and pulled out a pea-sized seed from inside her dark robe.
Pressing the seed into the soil at the base of the tower's wall, she covered the spot with her palm. Her lips parted slightly, chanting a spell with long, drawn-out syllables.
The sound was soft and low, like the rustling of night wind filtering through autumn leaves.
A moment later, the soil loosened.
A tender green vine burst from the ground, climbing up the stone wall at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It stopped at the edge of a narrow window at the top of the tower, tightly wrapping itself around the stone sill and swaying gently in the wind and snow.
Alysia released her hold and tested the vine's firmness before turning to Rosie. “I'll go up first to check the situation. Wait here for my signal.”
With that, she grabbed the vine and scaled it with extraordinary agility, reaching halfway up the tower in the blink of an eye.
A few seconds later, she flipped herself through the narrow window and vanished into the tower's shadowy interior.
Rosie stood in the shadow below, gazing up at the window where the elf had disappeared, waiting quietly.
After about a minute, a slender hand poked out of the window and beckoned to her.
Rosie secured her shield to her back, gripped the vine with both hands, and began her climb.
The weight of her brigandine armor, shield, and backpack was far from light, but her current Strength stat was more than enough to handle her body weight plus her gear.
Moving upward hand over foot, she reached the base of the window, hooked her hands onto the sill, pushed herself up with a powerful surge, and tumbled inside.
The interior of the tower was a cramped, circular room with a thin layer of dust covering the floor—clearly a place rarely visited.
Alysia stood by the door leading to the lower level, listening intently.
A guard lay in the corner. It was impossible to tell whether he was unconscious or dead.
There was no blood and no trace of a struggle; it was so clean and neat that it looked as though he had simply drifted off to sleep.
To silently eliminate a guard in such a short window of time...
Rosie felt she needed to revise her evaluation of this elf's strength upward by a solid margin.
With skills like that, she could probably pull off plenty of jobs solo without needing to hire anyone.
So why hire her?
“Follow me.”
Alysia's low whisper snapped Rosie back to reality.
Unlatching the wooden door, the elf crouched low and led the way down the tower's spiral staircase.
Rosie pushed her stray thoughts aside and stayed crouched right behind her.
Crossing the connecting walkway between the tower and the main keep, they slipped through a narrow interior door into the castle's main building.
The corridors inside the keep were wider than they appeared from the outside. Torches mounted along the walls every few paces flickered softly in the draft, painting the stone walls in alternating shades of dark and orange-red light.
Alysia led from the front, pausing before every corner to listen for a moment, moving past quickly only after confirming there was no danger ahead.
Rosie couldn't help asking softly, “Is this your house?”
“I was here just last night,” the elf replied in an equally low tone.
Understanding dawned on Rosie. The elf had clearly realized she couldn't handle it alone and picked her to take the fall if things went sideways.
After passing through a stone archway connecting the main hall, the staircase ahead widened, and the torches on the walls grew denser.
“The staircase to the upper level is just ahead.”
Alysia paused in the shadows of the corner, turning her head to give Rosie a faint glance, her voice barely a whisper.
“Now it's your turn to act.”
Rate on N.U.
