HSP Ch: 01 - How It Started

The sun was setting on the village of Kibblestadt, yet the liveliness in the air had not settled. Chickens, dogs, and children polluted the streets with noise, while drunks toiled and strolled about. The guards dutifully patrolled for monsters and wandering bandits. They would all be resting within the next few hours, but one daring group of folk would be up and about.

Adventurers. Through strife, struggle, and grit, they would come and go to keep the lands stable and the roads safe. Rennia was one such aspiring lass, but the timing of the quest irked her. She only agreed to it, because it was a personal request.

Rennia tapped her foot on the ground. She was waiting at the end of the town crossroads. Her friend and companion had still not arrived, perpetually late as ever. Lyanna was always at the right place at the wrong time, or the wrong place at the right time. And when Rennia was with her, it often spiralled into being at the wrong place at the wrong goddamn time.

She let out a disappointed breath.

Then she sat on the dirt road, waiting. She felt unsure of herself, insecure about where she was heading. It was one thing to have your life predetermined by the Living System, but it was another thing when the Living System refused to give you one or told you to choose one. Both of her sisters had gone off to the capital--the eldest to serve in the royal guard, the youngest to become an aspiring sage.

Only she, the middle child, was stuck in the middle of bum fuck nowhere. She didn't know if she had a proper future. Without a class, there was no way she was going to get C-rank quests, which meant scraping for scraps just to make a living.

[Hayseed Jack Lvl 10] Jack of all trades, master of fuck all. Thanks to the intrinsic knowledge that came with the class, she knew a little bit of everything. How to make a tent, a fire spell, an advanced parry skill. But it remained a newbie's class and she didn't know if she'll advance at all.

It was times like these that she wished her father was around, not that she would ever know what he looked like. He came in once every year when she wasa child and her memory was hazy. He died when she was young.

Footsteps rustled behind her, and broke her out of her mental stupor. A girl came running, leaned forward, hands on her knees, out of breath, rasping for air.

"S-sorry, I'm late," Lyanna said with a giggle. "My folks held me up. I may have also overslept."

Rennia deadpanned. "Lya, it's early evening. Did you sleep all afternoon? That's not very fair to me, now, is it?"

Lyanna held her arms together, then pouted. "Sorry, I'll make it up to you later."

Rennia pondered. Lyanna's conception of payback or debt was beyond fucked. It would be better if she dictated the terms and not the other way around. "5%. I want 5% of your cut. No questions asked, or I'm going to bed myself."

Lyanna's face twisted and contorted, then finally settled on narrowed eyes and puckered lips. "Alright, fine... but I want a very long makeout session."

Rennia hissed. "Lya! Quiet down. Not in the village. Are you stupid? We spoke about this. What if people see us? We'd both be fucked, and I want Edric to fuck me, so you'll just have to curb your horny."

Edric was the lead adventurer among their peer group. He was also the one Rennia had a crush on. He was the epitome of what a man should be--strong, lean, kind, and caring. He also didn't have a fragile masculine ego like most of the knobbers of Kibblestadt did. She wanted him, and she would have him--in good time.

Lyanna looked saddened, but nodded. She looked around nervously, then moved toward Rennia.

Rennia stood up from the ground, her fingers adjusting the strap of the bag on her back. She motioned to Lyanna to start moving. "Well... Let's get going then. What's the quest exactly again?"

"Ummm... we're supposed to retrieve at least 20 golden apples. It's for the festival. I stuck as many good quests over this one in the guild, but nobody noticed. Then I took it for us when all the senior adventurers left. A hundred gold should be good pay, right. Could last two months, right?"

"A hundred gold!" Rennia's face lit up. "That means I get 55! Ooh, I'll be able to head to the magic fair with that amount of money."

Lyanna crossed her arms. "As I said, and you get my 5%."

Rennia shook her head. She was bisexual, which meant she had male peers at least to 'experiment' with since she was younger. Lyanna didn't have that luxury; she was a lesbian, full-on, and this town wasn't exactly the liberal kind you'd find among taverns, guilds, and large cities. A lady she knew had been exiled exactly for threatening to destroy the town's population. Rennia thought it was backwards, but she never gave it much thought.

As for Lyanna's 'whims,' Rennia let her do whatever she wanted, as she did find her sexually attractive. However, she lacked the kind of intimacy Rennia sought in a partner. She was clingy, too clingy. Clingy as in, she'll suck on your nipple for hours, clingy.

"Alright, alright. Not here. My mom will kick my ass if she sees us making out."

Lyanna beamed up and started briskly walking, her little magic wand clasped to her side. Rennia followed suit. Making eye contact with her 'friend' who kept winking at her.

"Ooh, I almost forgot," Lyanna pulled out a bottle of mystery juice and handed it over to her 'girlfriend.'

"What's this?"

"Glimmerbrew. We just finished the filtration from the spritegrapes. I thought you might want a bottle." Rennia took it reluctantly. She wasn't a drinker but any distilled fruit drink tasted great. There wasn't much to drink in the town, even simple fruit juices were held up by import taxes. And the government wanted their money.

"Thanks, it's low alcohol content, right?"

"Yep," Lyanna smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not sneaking you moonshine again. That was an accident."

It had been a disaster. Lyanna had taken the wrong liquor from her father's distillery. She shared it among her peers, and they were all drunk for at least a day or two. They slept in the town's cell as a reward for their rampage.

"I bet." Rennia gave the bleach-haired blonde a look of doubt. "Shall we get going then?"

"You bet it. Golden apples. Golden apples. Gol-den apple-s~"

Rennia eased her tension. It would be a quick job--enter the old abandoned orchard, find out where the fresh set of golden apples were, slay any ill-meaning monsters, and head home, steal a few for swindling later. (it was the property of the previous village elder, quests in the sector often came with heavy decrees.) Then, come home, take a long nap, and maybe go stalk Edric.

As they left the town gates, the watchmen at the walls gave them weary looks and made an offhanded remark about how women should be inside their houses, not tallying in the woods. A middle finger shut him up, but Rennia didn't seek escalation. She dropped the matter.

A mile away, and Lyanna's libido kicked into gear.

Slap.

Her hand touched her butt.

Slap.

Slap.

This is how it would go some days.

Slap.

"Lyanna!"

Lyanna turned away, blushing. "At least wait until after we get the goddamn apples. The city watch is still behind. Do you want to be exiled?"

Lyanna twiddled with her thumbs. She spoke in whispers, lips puffed up. "But I'm horny, and I bet you'd look cute drenched in apple juice."

"What?"

"Uhh... I mean let's go get those apples." Lyanna started skipping forward, her hand steady on her wand. Rennia watched her from behind. Her pants were slacking, and equipped to her overly curvy butt, a thong stuck out. Rennia couldn't help but stare. Lyanna made her do too much sometimes.

No matter. Focus. No sex. Focus on the quest. Golden apples, abandoned orchard. Orchard is dangerous, monsters roaming. Scissor Lyanna afterward. Right? When they left the circumference of the city, they were greeted by the afternoon light filtering behind and through the trees. The path forward was laid out in cobblestone, the fields next to it in violet, pink, and purple flowers--wild and carrying a floral scent that eased her.

Adventuring was not as bad as people made it out to be. You could see the world, and you changed along with it. She didn't know if she was ready to leave everyone behind--her mother, Edric, Lyanna, and the others. If it meant gaining a proper class, she gladly would. For now, it was swashbuckling, sex, and adventure.

She smiled as she stared into the sunset