The guild master's office was just like how Nikola remembered it. A cluttered desk, a cage with a wooden songbird to the side.
A wooden chair behind the desk.
That was the thing Nikola had never been able to understand. Why didn't the guild master get himself a more comfortable seat?
But before he could ask his question, the guild master took out two heavy tomes.
"Now, I know that they are a bit of a dry read, but runes can open the path of strength for you," Arnold gave him the books.
Tony the Phoenix chirped at him.
"But listen, don't throw yourself in them with too much gusto. Thirty minutes per day is better than to read for five hours in a single day, and then to not open the books until the end of the month."
Nikola nodded. He could feel the magic coming off the books. He smiled.
"And one more thing," Arnold said, as he took out a gorgeous redwood box. "Your bow and arrows are ready!"
The guild master took off the lid.
Nikola's eyes widened.
He could recognize some of the symbols from his history books back home. The string looked so as if it would be able to be stretched even by someone who was weak. There was a glowing light around the hilt of the bow.
"This is… this is…" Nikola had no words for it. He reached out; the guild master gave him the bow.
"Of course, you should save the original arrows for high-level monsters. But I think that you can use normal arrows most of the time."
Nikola nodded. He ran his thumb over the engravings. The bow didn't feel like a dead piece of wood.
There was something alive about it.
"If you have any questions about how to use the bow, then go to Lily. She has an enchanted whip. She can help you."
Nikola nodded.
"And Niki?" The guild master took out a coin purse. It was not too small, not too big, either.
"The townspeople want to thank you for making their land fertile. There is a village about 10 kilometers from here. They also suffer from bad harvests. How about you take your family, together with the Stone Rhinos, and go and help them?"
Nikola nodded. He had not spoken with the Stone Rhinos all that much. The only one of them who had stayed for longer with their party was Nate, the healer.
"I will do my best," Nikola said.
Arnold clapped him on the back.
****
The inn was abuzz with activity. Nikola was packing Timmy and Vera's baby stuff, while Rocky was holding his favorite potted plant.
"Rocky, why do you want to take the plant with you?" Nikola asked as he tried to stuff some more nappies in the bottomless bag.
He really should do inventory of the bag, but there was always something else to do.
The golem, who now had a translation rune on, began to babble. The rune activated.
"So, it won't be alone! What if we are gone for a month?"
Nikola sighed.
Sometimes he was reminded that Rocky had the intelligence of a toddler.
But seeing as this mission was more of an outing than a mission, Nikola decided that some battles were just not worth fighting.
"Fine, you can take the plant. Bring it here, and I will place it in the bag."
Rocky shook his head.
"Only you are missing in that bag. Silvia will wilt in there," the golem told him.
Nikola chuckled.
Rocky had a point.
Tony the Phoenix flew from his perch over the crib to Nikola's shoulders. There was a bag with seeds in his beak.
"What? I already packed you five sacks!" Nikola protested. Tony looked at him with big, wide, eyes.
"Fine," the brunette threw in the towel one more time.
The bag with the seeds went into the bottomless bag. Nikola had no idea how he was going to get everything out. But he still dumped his two rune smithing books inside.
"You know, there is such a thing as inventory rearrangement," the system told him, as he tried to shove some toilet paper inside as well.
"And how do I get to that?" Nikola asked as he began to use his entire strength to dump the paper in the bag. "This shouldn't be this full! When one says bottomless bag, then the bag has to be a black hole!"
"And it is," the system told him. "You just dump things inside without sorting! There is a small green circle on the side of the bag. Tap on it!"
Nikola did so. The toilet paper was sucked in the bag.
"Neat!" The brunette said.
"If you want to see what you have in the bag, just tap on the small orange circle with the I on it. Just like in a video game!"
Nikola did so.
Only to see that his comb was in there. Together with the gear he had worn on the Stone Rhinos mission.
"I should leave this to be washed," he said as he took the uniform out. "Oh! So that's where my toothpaste was!"
"Yes, your messiness is a treasure trove," the system commented. "But enough about that. Be quicker! The Stone Rhinos will be coming soon!"
Nikola nodded, taking the jackets that were laid on the bed and then stuffing them in the bag.
He looked around. There wasn't anything else that he could dump in the bag.
"Next time, why don't you take the entire inn?" The system asked with a dry tone.
"Sorry. It is just… I have no idea when I will be back," Nikola said as he took the babies from the crib and placed them in the stroller.
Tony landed on his shoulder. Rocky hugged his plant and then looked at the door.
The doorbell rang just seconds later.
Nikola rushed out to greet the Stone Rhinos, only to see that there were just two of them there. One was Nate, the healer, and the other, if Nikola remembered correctly, was Rene, the tank.
"Jon, Arabella, and Marek are still in the hospital," Nate told him as he offered his hand. "But we can get you to the village and back safely!"
Nikola nodded.
Already thinking about loading a teleportation pendant. Just in case.