Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Shit!! why is it faster than I thought?!”
A man in a red adventurer’s outfit sprinted for his life, cloak snapping wildly in the wind.
From far away, he looked like some heroic adventurer—dressed in red like living flame. A deep crimson leather coat hung off his shoulders, the hem torn to ragged edges, but stitched back together with gold thread until it became a “necessary fashion statement.” Over it, he wore light metal armor lacquered red—light enough to run like hell in. Dark leather pants fit snugly to his legs. Black high boots with three straps… except he’d only buckled one. The other two just dangled and slapped against the sides as he ran. And on top of it all, a vivid scarlet shoulder cape that fluttered like an anime protagonist’s—despite getting snagged on branches every few steps.
At a glance, you might mistake him for an elegant swordsman…
But up close, you’d see a guy panting like a dying dog, face drained pale—more like someone being chased down by debt collectors than destiny.
Behind him, a direwolf over ten feet tall tore through the woods, crashing between trees as if they were nothing but skewers. Trunks toppled with brutal cracks and thunderous booms in its wake, the forest collapsing under the sheer force of its pursuit.
He didn’t stop running until he burst into a narrow stretch of path—and there, dead center, stood a small boy.
A black hood hid most of his face. Its shadow fell at an angle, cutting across a pair of sharp, unwavering eyes.
He wore a matte-black leather hooded cloak fitted just right, with a thin layer of hardened leather armor hidden beneath it. Dark navy, tight-fitting pants were secured with small weighted ties to keep them from flapping. Hidden sheaths circled his waist and ran along the inside of his sleeves. Dark brown leather shoes were reinforced with sound-dampening pads—built for silence.
“Take care of it… Earp!!”
The man in red vaulted clean over the boy’s head like an Olympic hurdler, abandoning the entire problem behind him with a grin that was way too bright for someone about to die.
Earp drew a short blade. It caught the light with a cold flash as he sprang up and spun in midair.
“May God forgive both you and me.”
A low, chilled voice—just that single line.
Then the knife swept in and carved across the direwolf’s left jaw.
What happened next took less than a heartbeat. The direwolf’s terrifying speed collided with the blade’s razor edge—and the massive beast was cleaved cleanly in two, top and bottom, as if it were nothing. It dropped dead without ever realizing what it had even run into.
Then, from the shadow of a tree, another man stepped out.
A bow rested across his shoulder. He wore a dark green long-sleeved cotton outfit that moved lightly with every step, agile and fluid like a hunter. The deep green blended into the forest perfectly. Over it was a short sleeveless cloak, slit at the sides for easy shooting. Dark gray stretch pants for mobility. Low leather boots that covered the ankles—light, quiet.
A quiver hung on his back… and tucked into the same quiver, a small metal hip flask was secretly stashed away.
Overall, he looked smooth and professional—an elite archer straight out of legend.
Except one hand was clutching a liquor bottle as he staggered in.
The cool atmosphere evaporated instantly.
“Nice work, Earp! With this, Valda won’t have any complaints for sure.”
Sight lifted his bottle in place of applause.
Earp calmly wiped the blood from his blade.
“Yes. I tried not to let the direwolf suffer… and I split it so Valda can use the hide and fur to make equipment. The meat and organs are still intact—good for supplies.”
“Dude… you say horrifying stuff with a straight face,”
Ace muttered, still bent over and panting. He let out a heavy sigh—like the only one who’d almost died from running, just to get dunked on by a comedy café routine.
In the end, the three of them worked together, hoisting the direwolf’s enormous carcass, and started heading back…
At the edge of the forest, beside a stream, sunlight glittered across the water’s surface like scattered coins.
A young woman stood there with her hands on her hips.
Blue denim shorts that made her long legs impossible to ignore. A white short-sleeved shirt fluttering in the breeze. Tall brown leather boots reaching up to her knees.
On her face was a bright, cheerful smile…
…one that made the three men in front of her feel a chill crawl straight down their spines.
Ace, Sight, and Earp were already kneeling neatly in a row.
“And what, exactly, is this supposed to mean?”
Her sweet voice rang out.
“Coming back with your clothes in tatters, dirt all over you… and most importantly—what is that kind of bloodstain?”
She tilted her head, smile still intact.
“Go on. Explain.”
“Uh… well… we had to haul the direwolf back,”
Ace blurted out immediately, his voice trembling like a sinner in a confession booth.
“So, y’know… things got a little messy…”
“Right! Exactly!”
Sight jumped in fast, desperately trying to drag Earp onto their side. “That direwolf was huge—no way one person could carry it alone. Right, Earp?”
Valda kept smiling.
“And the apron I gave you… you didn’t use it?”
she asked pleasantly.
“That thing can block all kinds of dirt, you know.”
“Oh… uh… about that,”
Ace continued, doubling down with everything he had.
“The direwolf was… really huge. And it hit so hard it tore the apron. We had to focus on surviving first…”
“Yeah! It was insanely strong!”
Sight nodded hard, like his neck was powered by fear.
“And fast too!”
Earp, meanwhile, raised a piece of cloth with a completely neutral face.
“But… you used the apron as bait for the direwolf, didn’t you?”
he said calmly.
“And it wasn’t torn. Here. I picked it up because you left it in the forest.”
Ace snapped his head around.
“You little psycho! We’re all gonna die because of you!!”
“But lying is bad,”
Earp replied, voice innocent and clear—like a priest delivering a sermon.
“If we did something wrong, we should accept the consequences.”
“Yeah, but the consequences this time might be a death sentence,”
Sight muttered under his breath—
quietly enough to try to whisper, loudly enough that everyone heard every single word.
Valda’s smile only widened. Wider. Wider.
“So what you’re saying is…”
she said, sweetness still dripping from every syllable,
“you took the cloth I made to wrap animal carcasses so you wouldn’t get your clothes dirty used it as bait… and then forgot it in the forest.”
Her eyes gleamed beneath that sunny grin.
“And then you carried the whole thing back while getting yourselves filthy…”
“…Right?”
she asked softly.
“Y-Yes…”
Ace and Sight answered at the same time, voices so small they barely existed.
“Very good~”
Valda chirped.
In the blink of an eye, she produced an enormous blacksmith’s hammer—one meant for forging blades. The bright smile still hadn’t left her face.
WHAMMMMMMMM!!
Hello. My name is Jager… Jager Ace Espada.
But honestly, nobody really calls me that. Everyone prefers the short version.
Ace.
Yeah. I’m an S-Rank swordsman of the Kingdom of Vanir a rich, thriving land of forests, endless produce, and bustling trade ports that never sleep.
And somehow whether it’s good luck or the worst luck imaginable I ended up as the leader of an adventurer party made up of nothing but the absolute top-tier monsters of this world.
I’m not trying to brag, but let’s be real:
My party might be the only group on the entire planet where every single member is S-Rank.
And here’s the rest of the roster:
Sight — a Ranger, a drunk archer with Dex 9999… who occasionally pulls out a liquor bottle instead of an arrow.
Romeo Francis Alfonso, a.k.a. Rome — a Crusader, a handsome pretty-boy who refuses to let even a single scratch touch his armor.
Mary Rose Bernadette, a.k.a. Mary — an Archpriest with ridiculous holy power… but if she sees a ghost, she screams so hard she can’t cast.
Lilius Ursula, a.k.a. Lilly — an otaku mage who holds two adventurer cards Warlock and Sorcerer. She’s overflowing with mana, obsessed with spells she learned from manga, and yes—no, they don’t work.
Valda — a Grand Alchemical Smith, the blacksmith-and-alchemist big sister who turns us into something not much different from raw iron being smashed under a giant hammer…
(Yes. She’s the one who just tried to kill me a minute ago.)
Earp Schmidt Ripper, a.k.a. Earp — an Assassin with a saint’s heart. He’s the heir of an assassin family… who doesn’t want to kill anyone at all. He’s insanely devout, borderline religious fanatic levels—
…and yet he can slice a giant direwolf clean in half without blinking.
So yeah. That’s us.
A god-tier party where every member represents the absolute peak of their class.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
But—listen.
If you think we spend all our time taking high-level quests, fighting dragons, or clashing with titanic demons…
You’ve got it completely wrong.
Because the truth is…
Most of the time, we hold dead-serious meetings before choosing which quest to accept…
BANG!
The sound detonated through the guild hall.
Rome slammed his fist into the table so hard the drinks jumped—liquid splashing over the rims in glittering arcs.
“No. Absolutely not. Who the hell would want to take a quest like this?! You want us to go exterminate lizards in a swamp?! Are you insane, Ace?!”
His voice rose into a sharp, offended pitch.
“Do you have any idea how much my cloak costs per piece? If that thing gets stained, what then? The pay isn’t worth it not even close!”
Ace lifted his water glass and took a calm sip like the world wasn’t on fire.
“But couldn’t we just have Valda wash it with her skill?”
Rome whipped around instantly, eyes blazing.
“Something that’s been dirty is still something that’s been dirty! Even if it looks clean again, I’ll remember exactly where it got stained!”
Ace let out a tired sigh.
“Fine… then how about exploring that newly discovered dungeon? Valda, you’d probably like it. There’ll be tons of ore stones to collect.”
Valda gave him a dry, slightly pained smile.
“Mm. I don’t really have a problem with that… but…”
Her gaze slid toward Mary—who was currently face-down on the table, both hands clutching her head like she was physically holding her sanity in place.
“No, no, no, no, noooo…”
Mary muttered rapidly, words spilling out like a broken chant.
“Secret dungeon. Curses. Spirits. Death. Ghosts and monsters… no, no, no, no NO!!”
Her frantic murmuring grew louder and louder until people around the guild started turning their heads to look.
Ace hurriedly changed the subject.
“Alright, fine then how about we wipe out a goblin village? Easy job, good money. No ghosts, and we don’t have to worry about getting dirty!”
Earp raised a hand, voice perfectly flat.
“Um… isn’t genocide like that a bit… cruel?”
he said, genuinely puzzled.
“I think we shouldn’t take this quest. For the love of God, please.”
The party members nodded like this was totally normal.
…but to the other parties sitting nearby, what they saw was a reaper disguised as a child—speaking in an icy, chilling tone. And what they heard—what their brains automatically translated it into—was:
“I really want to slaughter every goblin in that village. Heehee…”
The air around the table went dead silent.
And yes…
Sight wasn’t there. Because that idiot was currently off at another table, enthusiastically drinking with a bunch of other adventurers.
Ace let out a heavy sigh.
“Then that leaves only one quest…”
He paused like it physically hurt to say the next part.
“Delivering a letter to the gate guard’s older brother… a Rank G job. Like… bottom of the barrel.”
Rome raised his hand instantly.
“I’m in.”
“This one!”
Mary chimed in at once, eyes shimmering with tears—like she’d just survived a nightmare.
Valda grinned wide.
“Works for me. No problem.”
Earp brought his small hands together in prayer.
“Helping people like this is a good deed,”
he said sincerely.
Ace turned to the last person.
“And you, Lily? What do you think?”
Lily—who had been reading manga the whole time—lifted one finger as if making a solemn proclamation.
“Heh heh… if you are all in agreement, then I, too, have no objections…”
she said in a deep, dramatic voice.
“To serve the god Hermes is no small honor…”
Then she narrowed her eyes and pointed ominously, like she was addressing a battlefield.
“But beware. If my Eye of Chaos awakens… even you may not survive!!”
Ace immediately pinched the bridge of his nose.
“There is no such thing as an Eye of Chaos.’”
“It’s real!”
Lily snapped, loud enough to make the neighboring table flinch.
“The manga said it’s real, okay?! Wandering swordsman!”
Ace exhaled a long, defeated breath.
“Fine… we’re delivering the letter to Mr. Edward. I’ll go confirm with the guild first. Then we split up and get ready.”
And so, the legendary S-Rank party—after an extremely intense (???) meeting to decide between high-level quests and… delivering mail…
…chose the mail.
Valda stepped into a massive equipment shop.
The scent hit her immediately—fresh leather and polished steel, sharp and clean, like something newly forged and proud of it. This place wasn’t just for adventurers. Soldiers came through. Hunters. Even ordinary people who liked hiking trails and camping in the mountains.
The moment she pushed open the door, a familiar scene greeted her—
“I said a small pack would be enough! Why the hell are you giving me one that’s huge?! I’m only Rank G, alright?! What am I supposed to carry—my entire damn house?!”
A rookie adventurer was yelling at the top of his lungs, loud enough to rattle the racks.
The shop owner—a big, broad man with a thick beard—snapped back without missing a beat.
“And so what?! The forest edge is still the forest edge! The herbs you’re collecting have to be left at the base of a tree for three days so the roots can draw the toxins out first. What do you think you’re going to stroll back into the city and sleep in a bed every night?!”
“That’s not what I’m saying!”
the rookie fired back.
“I can camp out just fine! But it’s only three days why the hell would I haul a giant pack for that?! And renting a room in town costs a fortune already!”
“Three days is three days,”
the owner said flatly—
then slammed the counter.
BANG!
“But if you go out there carrying as little as an ant, you won’t even make it to the next morning. Water! Food! Bedding! You think your pathetic little mana pool can hold up a barrier all night? Or that you’ll spring awake and fight off a beast the second it attacks?! With a Rank G body like yours, jungle fever will eat you alive.”
“T-The forest edge is just… the forest edge!”
the young adventurer barked, voice cracking as he tried to keep arguing.
“It’s an easy job that’s why the guild sent a Rank G like me!”
The shop owner lifted his chin, unimpressed.
“That way of thinking is exactly how kids die from carelessness. You know how many adventurers drop every year?”
His tone was harsh, like hammered iron.
“Not because they’re too weak. Because they treat the forest like a playground and forget it’s trying to kill them.”
He jabbed a finger at the oversized pack.
“Take it. Pack everything you need for three days. Otherwise you’ll end up stuck in the woods as fertilizer feeding the roots and becoming part of the forest.”
The rookie clenched his jaw.
In the end, he whipped his head away and stormed out of the shop empty-handed, buying not a single thing—while the shop owner’s furious shouting chased after him.
“Go on then go die! And don’t you dare come back expecting me to arrange your damn funeral!!”
Valda, watching from the side, let out a soft laugh.
“This place…”
she murmured, amused.
“Still as chaotic as ever.”
The grumbling still echoed through the shop. The owner finally turned—
…and froze when he saw a woman standing there with a smile.
“Oh wow… I was wondering who it was. Turns out it’s Valda.”
The big, bearded shop owner greeted her immediately, his expression flipping from fierce to warmly delighted in a heartbeat.
This was Eirik—the owner of the most famous equipment shop in town. Sharp-tongued, but absurdly kind at heart—especially when it came to stubborn, hard-headed rookies.
Valda chuckled.
“You talk a big game, but tonight you’re definitely going to sneak out and check on that kid, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am!”
Eirik waved a hand, irritated—yet his voice turned deadly serious.
“If I just let him go, he’ll die for nothing.”
He leaned forward slightly, the air around him tightening.
“That forest edge behind the city… it’s crawling with monster insects. They’re not the worst things out there, but for rookies? They’ll chew you up. Even the city guards come here to stock up on bug repellent from the apothecary. Only idiots think the forest isn’t dangerous.”
Valda nodded, laughing quietly.
“Exactly. I don’t know what goes through their heads…”
She sighed, almost fondly.
“Even I’m S-Rank, and I still end up packing gear for everyone in my party. They can technically raise their own barriers and manage just fine, but…”
She shrugged.
“Better not to be careless.”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
Eirik slammed the counter again.
BANG!
“Why don’t rookies ever get it?!”
Then he turned back to Valda, grin returning.
“Anyway what brings you here today? Need a new hammer so you can smash your friends’ heads again? Hah!”
Valda shook her head and handed him a sheet of paper.
“Here. This is the list. Mostly basic supplies… and I’ll need some mana recovery potions too.”
Eirik took it, scanned it quickly, then nodded.
“Alright. Easy. Give me a sec I’ll put together the full set.”
He grabbed a large basket and headed into the back of the shop. Immediately, the sound of items clinking and knocking together rang out—
clank, clatter, rattle.
Valda stood there quietly, looking around the shop with a small smile.
This atmosphere, for her…
…felt like a second home.
The next morning, all seven of them gathered at the city gate.
“Wait hold on. You guys are actually taking my job?!”
The gate guard’s voice cracked with pure disbelief.
A tall young man in standard-issue soldier armor stood there, staring like his brain had blue-screened. This was Edward—the client of that supposedly ultra-safe Rank G quest.
And right now, he was trying to understand why an S-Rank party was lined up neatly in front of him like they were about to declare war.
Ace flashed a mischievous grin.
“Haha, we talked it out and came to an agreement.”
He leaned forward a little, eyes sparkling with trouble.
“But wow I only just found out… Edward, you’ve got a sweetheart?”
“Uh… I…”
Edward stammered.
“It’s… it’s not like that…”
His face turned red instantly.
“L-Let it go already! Stop teasing me!”
Sight—still mildly hungover—let out an awkward chuckle.
“Ooooh, a gate guard romance… kinda sweet,”
he said, then took another swig like this was a tavern, not city security.
“That’s enough!”
Edward barked.
He hurriedly shoved the letter into Ace’s hands.
“Here. Just deliver it to Elina, that’s all. And don’t you dare sneak a look inside!!”
Mary stared down at the envelope, eyes shining like a kid in a candy shop.
“Ooh… love~ I’m very okay with this quest!”
“Heh heh… if this is a love letter, then even the secret desires of the soul cannot resist…”
Lily said gravely, as if reciting holy scripture.
“Ahhh… I can already feel the power of fate stirring…”
Ace exhaled.
“It’s literally just a piece of paper.”
Earp stood with his hands clasped.
“But love is a kind of holy power too,”
he said earnestly.
Valda lifted her hammer and thunked it lightly against Ace’s shoulder.
“Just deliver it already so we can go back and I can finally wash your filthy clothes.”
When the seven of them arrived at the farmer’s house Edward had described…
…they found everything eerily silent.
Ace tried knocking.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
No answer.
Rome frowned hard.
“Well… this is bad…”
“But the place really is empty,”
Sight mumbled, yawning wide—then casually pulled a liquor bottle out from where it was hidden in his quiver and took a drink.
Ace pinched the bridge of his nose.
“This is a mail-delivery quest, for God’s sake.”
Valda stood with her hands on her hips, scanning the area.
“No one in the garden either…”
she said, voice sharpening.
“The tools are still out like they were just using them. But both the owner and the workers are gone.”
Lily lifted a hand and struck a dramatic spell-casting pose.
“Heh heh… this is the scent of the Interdimensional Abyss of Oblivion!”
she declared solemnly.
“Or perhaps… she was sucked into a dimensional rift!”
“Stop cringing all over the place!!”
Ace whipped around and yelled.
The front door—still shut just a second ago—suddenly creaked open from the inside.
Creeeak…
“Everyone. Come look at this.”
Earp’s cool, even voice drifted out.
Ace’s jaw dropped.
“What the ?! When the hell did you get in there?!”
Rome added, staring in disbelief.
“When did this kid even disappear…?”
Earp stepped out and held up several torn scraps of cloth.
“From the condition of these,”
he said calmly,
“I believe someone came in and abducted her. And it looks like it was planned. Inside the house, everything is still neatly in place nothing has been tossed around. The food on the table is still warm…”
His eyes remained steady.
“That means it happened not long ago.”
Valda took the cloth, flipped it over in her hands, and frowned immediately.
“Yeah… only one group uses cloth like this.”
Her voice tightened.
“Goblins.”
She looked up, decisive.
“Then what you said is right. Elina was taken… and they can’t have gotten far. Move now!”
Sight, who’d been leaning against the wall quietly drinking, let out a long whistle.
Fweeeew.
At once, a hawk dove down and landed neatly on his forearm.
“Perfect. This one’s going to help us.”
He handed the scraps to the bird and gave a short command.
“Track the owner of this.”
The hawk spread its wings—
FWUMP!
—and shot into the sky toward the forest.
All seven of them immediately broke into a run, chasing the direction the hawk led.
A Rank G quest that should’ve been the easiest job in the world…
…turned into a kidnapping case in the blink of an eye.
Thanks for reading! This is my new story, and I’m switching things up with an adventurer-fantasy this time. If you’ve got any thoughts liked it or not please drop a comment or a review. It really helps a lot!
Also, INΣRMA Case Zer? - Arc II is coming soon under the arc title RΣGNUM P?ST MOЯTI?. It’s going to be brutal, satisfying, and it’ll drag everyone onto a path there’s no turning back from.
Please enjoy~~~