“Really?” The girl’s eyes lit up like fireworks the moment Rain gave his nod.“Yeah,” he muttered, voice flat. “Doesn’t seem like I’ve got much of a choice.”He turned toward the elder’s counter without waiting for a response.“What’s your name?” she called, trailing after him.“I’m Scarlett,” she added quickly, before he could say anything.Rain paused mid-step and turned, gaze dragging over her like he was scanning a puzzle he didn’t ask to solve. “Rain,” he said simply.He didn’t like talkers. Didn’t trust people who filled silence just because they couldn’t stand it. And if he had any better options, he wouldn’t have picked her but she was the only one who asked, and that said something.They reached the counter where an elder sat hunched, all beard and wrinkles and a face that looked carved from old stone. The man barely looked up.“I’d like to accept this mission,” Rain said, placing the scroll on the table.The elder’s voice was gravel. “You got a teammate?”Rain nodded toward

(The Next Day)Rain stood before the Village Elder, donned in his black robe. Mai stood beside him seemingly excited like they were here on a vacation."My apologies, we were not able to welcome you properly the day before," The old man apologized, bowing low to Rain and Mia."That's fine, there was no need for that," Rain shook his head,"Let's move straight to what's happening." Rain suggested, sounding rather impatient.He was here to get stronger, not accept some apologies from some mortals, so he didn't care about it."Alright then," The old man nodded and then turned around and walked towards the field where the villagers were working."This is the field where we farm and it's the farm that sustains us," The old man began slowly, stopping right before the field.The Villagers working on the field stopped the moment they saw the old man, greeted him and Rain, then resumed back to their work."Right after this field is a forest," The old man continued, his voice slowly turning ser