CHAPTER 9: QUICK TROLL, SILAS’S LAG, NIGHT ACTIONWe entered the guild in Oakhaven. Inside, it reeked of wet dog, old iron, and cheap booze – a cssic. Bands of amateurs sat at the tables, bragging about who killed a bigger rat in the sewers. Listening to that gibberish was exceptionally pathetic, so I ignored them and approached the counter with Shnee.

  The receptionist was buried under a pile of paperwork. She looked like someone who needed either coffee or a vacation. "Hey," I greeted her with a casual smile. "I’d like to register my partner for the guild and my team". She looked at Shnee, who simply nodded.

  "Em, no problem, but you have to wait a moment until I finish these documents," she pointed to a stack of papers that seemed to have been growing since the dawn of time. I had no intention of wasting time watching her flip pages. I took out a silver coin and slid it across the counter. "Couldn't we make it... a bit faster?" I winked. Silver and a smile worked instantly. "We could," she replied with a sudden surge of energy, hiding the coin and pulling out Shnee’s forms from under the counter.

  Suddenly, the weaves of peace shattered. Behind my back, I heard heavy footsteps and the raspy voice of some hulking adventurer who apparently decided Shnee was an easy target to harass. I turned around slowly. The guy was about two meters tall, but I saw zero technique in him. I decided it would be better for him if I wasn't the one teaching him humility. I looked at Shnee. My eyes said one thing: Authorized. Give him pain.

  Shnee didn't wait. As soon as the giant reached out his paw, she seized his wrist. She did it so fluidly that the guy didn't even have time to blink. A moment ter, the dry crack of a breaking bone cut through the tavern's noise. The brute colpsed onto the floor with a howl, clutching his broken arm. I barely held back a ugh, looking at his shocked face. I gave Shnee a discreet thumbs up. Good job.

  Seconds ter, the receptionist—now exceptionally fast—pushed the documents toward Shnee. A minute and it was over. We approached the quest board. I looked for something to test how Shnee handles rge mass. "Rock Troll," I muttered, tearing off the sheet. "Blocking the road. Sounds like sensible training for you". I returned to the counter to announce the choice. "We’re taking this. We’ll be back in 3-4 hours," I threw out confidently. The receptionist's face was priceless. She looked at us as if we were suicidal, but she just stamped the paper.

  We left the guild, leaving behind the groans of the broken man and a stunned silence. We had four hours, but my goal was to close this in an hour and a half to have time for other matters.

  "Shnee, slide," I commanded shortly. She began to operate the ice aura around her feet. She created a millimeter-thick, perfectly smooth yer of ice under her boots, gliding over the path with the grace of a speed skater but with a velocity that left any horse behind. I, meanwhile, activated sapphire lightning. Electricity surged around my legs, lifting me half a meter off the ground. We sped through the forest like two projectiles.

  In thirty minutes, we reached the gorge. It stank like hell—a mix of rancid fat and rotting meat. I had no intention of running over these stones and searching for it blindly. I activated Shin-gan. The world lost its colors, and I saw the energy foundations of the area. At the bottom of the gorge, behind a rocky bend, a massive, red point pulsed. Our target from the contract.

  Locating and reaching the target took us another four minutes. "There it is," I pointed the way. "Shnee, listen carefully. Sis will pay us extra only for an undamaged carcass. Don't cut the skin, don't chop the limbs. You are to get close, provoke it to roar, and when it opens its maw, drive the bde through the pate, straight into the brain. Understood?".

  Shnee nodded, drawing her silver bde. A blue, frosty mist immediately began to pulse around the bde. The silver conducted her aura perfectly, making the sword cut with surgical precision. I stopped at the edge of a rocky ledge, and Shnee moved out. The troll was gigantic—four meters of living rock and muscle. As soon as it sensed her presence, it roared until the echo shook the gorge. It swung a tree trunk, but Shnee used her "sliding" technique even on the uneven stones. She streaked between its legs, leaving only frost behind.

  According to the pn, she waited for the moment. When the beast leaned over to roar again, Shnee bounced off its chest. The silver bde with the ice aura fshed only once. It entered smoothly under the upper jaw. The sword's frosty energy froze the bodily fluids in the troll’s brain in a split second, turning them into ice. The beast froze. Its eyes rolled back, and the massive body colpsed to the ground with a dull thud.

  One minute of fighting and it was over. Exactly 35 minutes had passed since leaving the guild. Shnee nded softly, sheathing her sword as the ice mist slowly settled. "Clear?" she asked, looking at me. "Perfect. Sis will be thrilled with this carcass".

  We moved away from the carrion to avoid standing in the stench. Shnee was breathing slightly—though the action sted a minute, the intensity with which she operated her ice aura and the precision cut burned a lot of her energy. She stood there, silver sword in hand, waiting for my verdict.

  I approached her closely, straight into her space. "Badass job, my dear," I said shortly. Those words worked better than any magic. Shnee smiled with pure satisfaction, and her gaze softened. I gently took her chin, forcing her to look me straight in the eyes, and kissed her. It was short but intense. In the first second, I felt her surprise, but then the weaves let go—she returned the kiss, pulling me closer, as if she wanted to burn the rest of the adrenaline left in her.

  After several seconds, we moved away from each other. There was no point in dragging this out now—the forest is no pce for the finale. I took out the spatial pouch and, with a swift movement, sucked in the troll's carcass. The foundations of the profit were secured. "We're heading back," I said, giving her a sign.

  We walked toward Oakhaven. We didn't rush. The sun was slowly going lower, and I felt that this day was just beginning to bring real benefits. We returned to Oakhaven after two hours of a peaceful walk. First, we headed to the guild to complete the formalities. As soon as we crossed the threshold, that same raspy voice from before caught up with us. Some drunk adventurer guffawed through the whole hall: "Oh look! It's the ones from registration! They came back fast, did they run away from the troll? Ahahaha!".

  I didn't even grace him with a look. It would be a waste of essence. I approached the counter and instead of talking, I pulled out the spatial pouch. I opened it just enough for the receptionist to see the fwless, massive rock troll carcass. A deathly silence fell over the guild. The seekers' jaws almost hit the dirty floor, and that loud drunkard suddenly forgot how to breathe.

  "Quest completed. The carcass is in pristine condition," I threw out coldly to the receptionist. "Given the difficulty level and the cleanliness of the job, I expect an immediate status update. Raise our rank to A". The girl, pale as a wall, just kept nodding. "O-of course... it's unprecedented, but the evidence is clear. One moment..." After a minute, the formalities were ready. We left as Rank A adventurers, leaving behind a crowd of shocked onlookers.

  Five minutes ter, we were already in Sis's hideout. I knew the way by heart, so we didn't waste time. Sis greeted us with a wide smile—he knew that seeing me meant profit. "Dave! What are you bringing me this time?" he rubbed his hands. I moved away from his desk to avoid damage and released the pouch lock. The carcass of the four-meter giant nded in the middle of the warehouse with a dull thud.

  Sis caught a massive g. He stood for a minute, analyzing the structure of the troll's body. "Ee... Dave... how did you kill it without damaging the skin?" he finally stammered. "It wasn't me. Shnee handled it," I pointed my head at her. Shnee smiled slightly and blushed a bit, hearing my praise in front of a witness. "How much is it worth?" I got straight to the point.

  "Fuck, a lot Dave. A lot," Sis approached the "patient" and began an in-depth inspection. Every centimeter of the rock skin was untouched. "About 500 gold pieces, by my guess. Maybe even more if I sell it well". "Deal. Doing business with you is a pure pleasure, Sis," I threw out with a smile. Sis just shook his head, still in disbelief at what he saw. He counted the gold, and I felt the weight of the pouch. The financial foundations for this week were secured.

  Dusk reigned in the room, lit only by a dying candle. Shnee sat on the edge of the bed, looking at me with a determination I hadn't seen in her even during the fight with the troll. "Dave..." she began quietly, but her voice didn't tremble. "Today, in that gorge... when you said I did a badass job... I felt as if everything clicked into pce. I want to belong to your world. Entirely".

  I y down next to her, feeling the heat radiating from her. Slowly I raised my hand and pced it on her cheek, gently but firmly grasping it. I pulled her closer and started with an exploratory kiss—light lip contact that checked her reaction. In the first second Shnee held her breath, but then her weaves let go. She responded possessively, pressing her lips to mine with a force that said more than any words.

  We began to kiss seriously. It was no longer just a gesture; it was a battle for every breath. Our tongues intertwined in a slow, deep dance that sted long minutes. I felt the adrenaline from the fight mixing in her with pure desire. Every movement of her lips was full of devotion. I slid my hands over her back, pulling her so close that I felt her heart beating right against mine.

  When we finally separated our lips, we were both breathing heavily. Shnee began to undress with determination, and I did not remain indebted. When she threw off the st yer of clothing, my attention was completely captured by her breasts. They were perfect—firm, shapely, with a structure that I, as the Creator, could only admire.

  I began to adore them with full focus. My hands slowly and surely explored their weight and the velvety smoothness of the skin, and my mouth and tongue dedicated every second to them, exploring the sensitive skin and reacting to her every quiver. Shnee arched her back, digging her nails into the sheets and moaning softly as my face was between them. Every movement of mine was purposeful; every second of this adoration built a tension that almost tore the weaves of the air in the room.

  "Dave... please..." she rasped, unable to bear the rising excitement any longer. I joined our lips in another, this time violent kiss, feeling her full readiness. Without unnecessary words, in the rhythm of heartbeats and heavy breathing, we began our first time. It wasn't just physics—it was the final sealing of her loyalty to the Creator. That night Shnee stopped being just a creature and became an inseparable part of me.