James descended the stairs after unpacking what little he owned, drawn by the sharp tone of Olivia's voice from the hall below. He stopped at the corner, just out of sight.
At the front counter stood a man in a worn but well-tailored vest, his smile far too smooth to be friendly. His eyes were sharp, calculating—like a hawk watching a rabbit decide whether to run. A single bronze coin spun between his fingers, catching the light with each flick.
"I'll keep it simple, Guildmaster Verga," the man said, his voice oily and casual. "You've got one month to pay the rest. In full. Otherwise, Mr. Velasquez will see to it personally that this lovely little building of yours is—how should I put it—blasted to dust."
Olivia stood straight, arms crossed. "Tell your boss he'll get his payment. Now leave before I decide to test how far I can throw you with Divine Hammer."
The collector chuckled, tipping an imaginary hat. "One month," he repeated, then strolled out, the door shutting behind him with a deceptively polite click.
James stepped into the hall, frowning. "Debt trouble?"
Olivia didn't meet his eyes. "Setting up a guild isn't free. And… let's just say not all funding comes from respectable sources."
"How much?"
"Too much for us to just snap our fingers and find it," she said. "But enough for me to know we're going to need steady income—fast. Which means even the small jobs matter."
She walked to the quest board, still painfully empty. "Until clients start coming in, we take what we can. And right now…" She plucked a rolled parchment from the desk and handed it to him.
James unrolled it.
Target: Common Field Slimes
Payment: 2 silver coins per core
Location: Sludge Meadow, east of town
"Slimes," he said flatly.
"Slimes," Olivia confirmed. "Easy kills, no real danger for you, and their cores sell well enough to keep us fed for the week."
James sighed. "So, no epic quests, no treasure maps, just… bouncing blobs?"
She gave him a thin smile. "Every legend starts somewhere, Scholar. Go pack. I'll walk you to the meadow."
An hour later, the two of them were outside the town gates, the road stretching toward the sunlit fields beyond. James adjusted the strap of his satchel, mentally running through his spell list.
Slimes might be easy prey, but with debt collectors threatening to reduce the guild to rubble, each one they hunted now felt far more important.
The survival of the Silver Phantom Guild had just begun—and it started with slimes.