Vol 2 Prologue

The Adventurer’s Guild was loud.

Tankards clattered against tables, chairs screeched across the floor, and adventurers bickered over rewards, bragged about their kills, or grumbled about paperwork as if it were a foe more fearsome than any monster they ever faced.

Lina, one of the guild’s receptionists, wore a practiced smile while quietly considering quitting for more than enough time already that week.

“Next please.”

A large man stepped forward.

“Oi, why is the reward lower than before?!”

“Because you submitted half the monster,” Lina replied with the dead eyes of someone spiritually exhausted. “The other half is way too smashed.”

“That shouldn’t affect the value!”

“It affected the amount of monster corpse left.”

“……”

He walked away, muttering under his breath. Lina let out a quiet sigh and pushed her glasses back into place. Just another ordinary day.Then the guild doors opened.

Creak.

The noise inside the guild dimmed slightly.

Lina looked up automatically.

Two figures entered beneath the afternoon light.

The first was a man clad in gleaming silver armor, mostly hidden beneath a dark traveling cloak. Even with most of it concealed, the armor looked costly. His face was completely obscured by a helmet.

Beside him walked a young woman, her long black hair flowing over her shoulders. She wore a cloak as well, but unlike the armored man, carried no visible weapon.

Very pretty, no, Beautiful to be exact.

Even Lina, another woman, had to admit it right away.   The girl’s face stayed calm, almost blank, her crimson eyes quietly taking in the guild without a hint of nerves. 

Lina maintained her professional smile.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild. Are you here to submit a request?”

The armored man stopped before the counter.

“No.”

His voice was young.

“We are here to register.”

Ah, newcomers. That would explain the atmosphere a bit. Around the guild hall, several adventurers cast curious glances their way. A young duo—one clad in heavy armor, the other a striking girl with the look of a mage.

“Understood,” Lina replied. “Do you already have experience in combat?”

“Yes.”

Lina resisted the urge to already start sigh.

Why were the newbies ones always socially difficult?

“Then I’ll need your names and place of origin.”

“Eoghan Rise.”

He placed a gloved hand lightly against his chest.

“You may call me Eo.”

Then he slightly turned his head toward the girl beside him.

“My partner.”

The black-haired girl spoke immediately.

“Selena Blanks.”

Lina nodded while writing.

“Place of origin?”

“The western region,” Eo answered.

Western region?

Lina blinked internally.

That might have explained the armor style, at least a little. The western territories were vast and chaotic, home to enough wandering mercenaries and petty lords that unusual travelers weren’t uncommon. Still, something about it felt off.

Her eyes flickered toward the silver armor again.

Even mid-ranked adventurers struggled to afford armor of that quality.

And his spear—well, not even a full spear. Just a peculiar partisan head fixed to a shortened shaft, strapped across his back.

An odd weapon choice.

“We wish to register as a team,” Eo continued.

“A team name?”

A brief pause.

“Entropy.”

The guild hall became strangely quiet for half a second.

Lina’s pen stopped.

Several nearby adventurers looked over.

One man immediately snorted alcohol through his nose.

“AHAHAHAHA—”

His companion punched him before he could continue.

Lina maintained professionalism through years of suffering.

“…Entropy?” she repeated carefully.

“Yes.”

“As in lack of order or predictability?”

“Yes.”

The receptionist glanced at the fully armored man standing next to a stunning, expressionless girl. She shifted her gaze to the team registration form, then back to the unusual pair.

“Understood.”

She did not understand at all.

“Very well. As new adventurers, you will begin at Rank F.”

She slid two small black cards onto the counter.

“To advance ranks, you must complete guild requests, maintain reputation, and pass evaluations depending on difficulty.”

Eo nodded once.

Under the helmet, he relaxed slightly.

“Oi.”

A towering adventurer strode over from nearby.  

Scar on his cheek, axe slung across his back, muscles big enough to qualify as siege weapons.   He glanced between the armored youth and the raven-haired beauty, then flashed a grin.  

“You really planning to adventure with just the two of you?”

Beside him, Selena quietly looked toward Eo.

Even without seeing her face clearly beneath the cloak, he could practically hear her thoughts.

“We are sufficient,” Eo answered calmly.

The adventurer laughed loudly.

“Hah! Kid, the western region must be softer than I thought.”

Silence.

Lina already felt a headache coming.

Please, no. Not another guild fight. The repairs were costly. The large adventurer leaned slightly closer.

“Listen here. Adventuring isn’t some a game.”

Lina saw it immediately. The armored man eyes narrowed a bit.

“Selena.”

“Yes.”

“Would It be a trouble if I were to punch him right now?”

“Yes.”

The adventurer frowned.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Yes,” the beautiful girl answered.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Eo replied immediately.

Lina pressed fingers against her forehead.

The armored young man exhaled softly before speaking again.

“We are aware of the risks.”

“But we still intend to become adventurers.”

The young man standing there didn’t feel like some random rookie. There was confidence in the way he stood. It was as if someone who is used to something like this. The large adventurer clicked his tongue before stepping away.

“Hmph. Fine. Just don’t die during your first goblin request.”

“We’ll try our best,” Eo replied politely.

The man snorted before heading back to his table. A brief silence hung in the air, then the familiar chatter of the guild filled the room once more.

Lina let out a quiet sigh of relief. Disaster averted—just barely. She passed them their guild cards.

“Your registration is complete.”

“You may begin accepting F-rank quests immediately,” she explained.

“Guild rules forbid killing, stealing from, or sabotaging fellow adventurers. Committing payment fraud will lead to blacklisting, and high-ranked quests require prior evaluation approval unless given special permission by the guild master.

Eo accepted the cards carefully.

“Thank you very much.”

As the duo turned to leave the counter, Lina suddenly noticed something strange.

There was no sound. The man in full plate armor moved with astonishing quiet, each step barely a whisper. Beside him, the black-haired girl glided forward. Following him like a faithful servant.

She had the terrifying feeling that the strange duo called Entropy were going to become very famous someday.