God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Marcus summoned the trio of near-death experiences at the guild for their first-ever guild mission. Guild missions were important since the ID card that they get marks what rank he guild decides they are, not the Circle of Pillars, so if someone was A-rank, but never completed a guild mission, they would still be considered F-rank and given that salary, instead of what an actually A-rank would make.

Guild missions were generally simple at the start, so from F-rank to C-rank, almost, the missions wouldn't necessarily be about testing your prowess; they would mainly be about helping out the community in any way possible. But if you are C-rank, maybe helping out the community may require, in certain situations, some violence, like stopping robbers, or armed people, and stuff along those lines.

The trio was excited for their first guild mission, which was an F-rank mission involving pets, but not in the traditional way. Marcus Michvisously smirked, which didn't sit right with the trio. They all looked at each other, nervously, with tears almost dripping out.

"You will be carrying your first F-rank mission today," he spoke, breaking the whispering between the trio. Then he said: "And it's a very interesting and funny mission, I would say. So, you may or may not enjoy it. Depends on you, really."

"Why would we go for an F-rank mission, two of us are already E-rank, and Elesch can probably easily get to E-rank?" Nova said, confused, his voice low.

"Since, on your guild ID, you're still registered as F-rank Adventurers, you will only be allowed to take F-rank missions. Unfortunately, that's how the system works. I didn't create it, so don't blame it."

The trio nodded as Marcus took them to his office. They took the elevator, then went to the twentieth floor, inside Marcus's office. They took a seat as Marcus pulled out their file for their first F-rank mission.

They looked excited, since they hadn't done a guild mission yet, and also because this meant that they didn't need to get into a near-death situation again, even though Nova wanted the opposite. He realized that being a fragile E-rank was going nowhere, so he needed to at least be strong enough to defend himself against A-rank threats before starting any more fights.

"Ok," Marcus started, his gaze at the paper, occasionally coming up to see the trio, like a spokesperson. "Your F-rank mission is to deliver a sealed package to a local merchant. About five miles from here." He said with a smile, as if unsettling the challenge of the mission. "But the twist is, the package is fragile and also attracts animals due to its smell. So, you have to keep it safe."

"That's easy," Nova said, waving his hand, a bright smile appearing on his face, dismissing the challenge with his hand. "I thought it was going to be harder."

"Ok, if you find it easy, then okay. But be warned, if for any reason that package is to even fracture slightly, neither the guild nor the merchant is going to be responsible for the cost of the content inside the package."

The trio left the guild shortly after, the small sealed package tucked carefully into a bag that was on Elesch's shoulder. She carried it like it was glass, a tight grip, but not too tight that it fell, but balanced so it wouldn't disturb her every step.

The sun was high overhead, the heat feeling like it was honing in on the trio. It was exceptionally hot today, about ninety degrees. September was going on, and usually the temperature would start to drop, but this year it remained consistent.

As the trio walked, the city came to life, with food trucks settling and opening, and the malls and other shops opening. It was a weekend, so children were out with their families, or friends hanging out, or even parents wanting to get away from their kids.

It felt like a normal day for the trio, which didn't feel good at all. And the fact that Marcus smirked mischievously before giving them the package was a sign that things were about to take a complete 180-degree turn for the worse. But in a good way.

"Five miles," Nova muttered, stretching his arms lazily. "We could be there in about an hour or so. Sucks that we can't run and can only walk, but I guess life is unfair sometimes."

"Assuming nothing goes wrong," Elesch said, her voice sharp. She gave him a look. "Marcus doesn't smirk for nothing. From what I know of him, he likes banter. Which means that given us this mission is like banter for him. He gave us this mission because something's bound to happen."

Adam snorted, hands shoved in his pockets as he walked alongside them. "Bound to happen? Oh, when he mentioned those stray animals being attracted by the smell of whatever is inside?"

Elesch nodded.

Then Nova added, menacingly: "Do you guys want to open the package and see what's inside?"

Both Adam and Elesch looked at each other before nodding him with a dry "no." Nova's face contorted from bliss to sadness as he moved ahead, and away from them, as they just laughed, looking at each other.

They hadn't even cleared the market district where the first complication appeared, and they had forgotten about the package already. As they entered the market, a stray dog's nose twitched as it followed behind them. Nova glanced back at it and chuckled.

"Aw, look at him. He is so cute. Maybe we should open the package to inspect what's inside, and do some research on why animals are attracted to whatever the hell is inside." Nova murmured, his voice gentle and soft, mischievous, but serious.

The two ignored him, leaving him behind. Even the dog left him. He felt more gloomy, resting his head down, as a cartoonish expression appeared.

The dog barked once, then started trailing them more insistently. Before long, a second joined in, yipping playfully, tails wagging as if expecting food.