Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Here is your reward for completing this quest. Please count it carefully."

The staff at the Adventurer's Guild counted out the exact amount of silvers and placed them in my hands.

"Oh thank you!"

I quickly grabbed the coins and shoved them into my pocket. It's common sense to not flash your money around.

But that's not the only reason I'm being so careful. In the past half month since the war broke out, security in the city has become much more lax. The number of adventurers has also greatly decreased.

This has led to several chain reactions.

First, many quests are going unfulfilled, forcing the guild to lower the difficulty and deposit requirements. This allows me to take on some high-paying quests I normally couldn't get. Well, that part is good at least.

Second is the public security issue. All kinds of violent crime in the city have suddenly spiked, with frequent reports of robberies and thefts.

And most troublesome, it's not just the commoners being targeted, but many adventurers as well! This is a huge problem, meaning the criminals are very powerful, likely fellow adventurers themselves. That's why I'm being so careful.

Even as an angel, I'm still just a small fry at level 3. I can't afford to tangle with the big shots!

Speaking of which, I wish Nicola was here with me. With her strength, I wouldn't need to worry so much.

But lately, she's been immersed in the Magic Card arcade almost every day. She still goes out on the occasional quest to change things up, but I rarely see her. The only thing I can count on is her coming home on time for dinner.

"Did you hear? There seems to be some female pervert causing trouble lately!"

As I exited the payment office, I happened to brush past two female adventurers who looked to be turning in quests as well. Both were good looking, and one was whispering something to the other.

"I heard she's quite pretty, just going around hitting on girls everywhere..."

Hmm?

Why does that sound so familiar? I immediately thought of Nicola.

Could it be her? Did her old habits flare up again? Wasn't she just buying two angel assistants the other day? How could she lose control of her urges so quickly?

But that doesn't make sense either. She's transformed now, would she still have those kinds of thoughts? I certainly haven't noticed anything myself.

Oh well, whatever. As long as she doesn't cause any real trouble. She's a girl now too, it's not like she has the equipment to do anything anyway!

I checked the time after exiting. It was already quite late, so I hurried back home.

When I got back, Nicola still wasn't home.

How strange...what's going on today? I'm starting to feel something is off. Could she have lost track of time at the arcade?

If things were normal, the scene I'd see upon opening the door at dinner time would be like this:

Two angel assistants - one six-winged, one eight-winged - sitting on either side. One would be nestled intimately on Nicola's shoulder, a suggestive smile on her face.

And our young master Nicola would be half-lying in bed, an assistant under each arm, taking turns nibbling on them. The sheer clingy-ness was enough to make one nauseous.

And she'd often ask me to join in the "fun" too, claiming it was pleasurable. But no way was I that shameless! I righteously refused each time.

Yeah right!

Fine, I admit I gave into temptation a couple times.

But it didn't feel that great - more awkward than anything.

The cards themselves have no consciousness or mobility. Aside from the sensation, hugging them was like hugging a stuffed animal.

To make them "interact" I'd have to consciously issue commands myself. That's no different from playing alone - left hand shakes right hand. I might as well hug my own wings for warmth!

After trying Nicola's silly fantasy game a couple times, I completely lost interest. Yet she could indulge endlessly! I really don't get what she sees in it.

...

I brought the prepared food to the table, but Nicola still hadn't returned. I couldn't wait anymore and started eating alone. Yet the more I ate, the more I felt something was off.

She would never miss dinner time. And since we only need one meal per day, she really cherishes it.

Could something have happened?

Thinking this, I couldn't even finish my food. I had to go out and search for clues.

The arcade was naturally the first place I checked. I closed the door and go straightly for the "Somerfield's Entertainment Lounge".

"Ah, Miss, back for another round? Care to play a game?"

The owner greeted me gentlemanly as always, not even changing his tone. I suspect he might be a transformed Magic Card himself!

"No, I'm looking for someone. The person who was here with me last time?"

I explained my purpose while trying to peer past him into the establishment.

"Ah yes, that young miss left quite early this afternoon."

"Is that so?"

I asked again suspiciously. Nicola left that early? Not like her at all!

I couldn't just take his word. I had to go inside and search for myself. Indeed, there was no sign of her.

At first I wondered if Nicola had lost all her points and offended one of the house rules, getting detained secretly. But considering her strength, that seemed unlikely.

If she wasn't at the arcade, that meant there really was big trouble. Nicola must be in some kind of incident.

I had to check other places.

The next possibility was if she took on a quest but got unexpectedly delayed, unable to make it home yet.

That was quite likely, but hard to confirm without knowing her quest details.

So I headed to the Adventurer's Guild first to see if I could learn anything.

When I arrived at the guild hall 10 minutes later, they were already closing up with barely anyone left. The spacious hall only had a few staff tidying things, and quest assignments had stopped since early evening.

"Excuse me, can you check if one of my companions is still out on a quest?"

I tried asking tentatively at a counter that was still occupied.

"Is this person your friend?"

The staff didn't answer directly but sounded hopeful.

"Yes, her name is Nicola. We even share an apartment."

I quickly took out my card, hoping to prove our relationship from our history of taking quests together.

"Miss, we get situations like yours very often. Please don't worry."

The staff assumed a highly professional demeanor, taking my card and looking something up.

"If you wish to query another member's quest status, there will be a 100 point deduction from your balance. Do you consent?"

What, a deduction?? And 100 points too!

This wasn't like the deposit from taking quests that gets refunded on completion. This deduction was permanent!

Points were hard-earned. Even low-level quests only gave a few points or a few dozen at most. After all this time, I had barely saved up over 200 points. This would wipe out almost half in one go!

I spun around anxiously. It would be such a waste if Nicola was perfectly fine.

But what if she really was in trouble on a quest?

She was the only close friend I had left in this world. If something happened because I was too stingy over some points to check on her, I would regret it forever!

"I consent to the deduction!"

To hell with it! I could always earn more points, but I couldn't bring someone back from the dead!

I immediately nodded in agreement. The staff worked for a bit then updated me.

"According to our records, your friend completed a low rank Streetlamp Repair quest at noon today, and has not taken any other quests since."

So she wasn't on a quest either?

I was completely lost now. Just what was going on? She had no pending quests, so why wasn't she home yet?

I took back my card, now short 100 points, still in shock. I ran back home again but there was still not a soul inside. My half-eaten dinner remained untouched on the table.

What should I do now? I couldn't just give up, but I was truly out of ideas. We hadn't been in this city long. There couldn't be that many places Nicola would go.

If it were still daytime, I might risk exposing my angel identity to search from the sky. But it was almost midnight now - I wouldn't be able to see clearly anyway. All I could do was wander the streets aimlessly looking for clues.

By the time I looped back around to the Adventurer Guild square, their front doors were already shut for the night.