Ch.1:Being kicked out is a Cannon Event
--<3rd PoV>--
Owen Kingdom, Lushthorn City — Adventurer's Guild
Inside the bustling Adventurer's Guild, the air was thick with chatter, clinking mugs, and the sound of boots against worn wooden floors. Everything moved as usual—calm, routine, and predictable. Just another ordinary day for most.
But not for one particular person.
"Ray... this is as far as we can go. We can't keep having you in our party," said a middle-aged man with weary eyes and brown hair that looked more tired than he did. His voice was steady but laced with discomfort.
His face remained mostly indifferent, yet there was a trace of hesitation, as though the words he was about to speak were bitter on his tongue.
"You're fired."
"Ha?" The boy called Ray, barely older than a teen and cloaked in a deep red hood, raised his head with a frown. His eyes narrowed, his voice sharp with disbelief.
"Dare to say that again, you damn zombie."
Hearing the insult, the man's expression twitched. He was ready to respond, perhaps with the clarity of a long-overdue explanation—but he was interrupted.
"I'LL SAY IT! I'll say it again, and again, and again—you bastard!" shouted a furious voice, followed by the thunderous stomp of boots against the guild floor.
A green-haired woman in her early twenties stormed forward, fists clenched, her emerald eyes ablaze.
"You're fired! You're fired! YOU ARE FIRED!"
Her shrill declaration echoed through the guild hall, and then she stopped, panting slightly from the outburst.
"We don't want a narcissistic bastard like you in our group! Someone who has no skill, no respect, and not even the basic decency to treat others properly!" she spat out. "JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"
She had said it all in a single breath, her voice cracking from the force.
But the boy, the one she screamed at, didn't flinch.
With an almost theatrical slowness, he removed his hands from his ears, as if her voice had caused him genuine pain. His expression was bored, disdainful.
"Done?" he asked, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips. "Now that you're done barking, sit your ass down like a good bitch, will ya?"
"Grrrr!!"
The woman ground her teeth, fury surging through her body. She lunged forward, ready to bite his head off—but her party members caught her just in time, holding her back.
They knew that if they didn't stop her, things would spiral out of control fast. And today, of all days, was not the time for that.
With the tension hanging thick in the air, Ray turned lazily toward the brown-haired man—the one he'd called Zombie. His posture oozed arrogance, his tone slick and casual, like a street thug picking a fight.
"So? Speak up. I want to hear the real reason. And don't you dare say it's because I call you 'filthy commoners?' Then that's petty, cause that's what you are."
Alex—the leader of the group—grimaced. Even he, usually composed, found it difficult to tolerate Ray's venomous mouth. But he spoke, his voice turning cold.
"Do you really not get it? Do you honestly not know why everyone wants you to be gone? After all you've done? You don't fight, you don't dismantle, you don't carry quest items—you do nothing! Not even when your teammates are in danger!"
Ray didn't look fazed in the slightest.
"What did I do, exactly? Didn't you all recruit me just for my skill? That's what I provide. That's what I get paid for. I've got no obligation to do anything more."
"And we've got no obligation to keep you around either!" the green-haired woman snapped, having momentarily broken free from her friends' grip.
"Your skill might've saved our asses once or twice, but if the price is putting up with you, then screw it—we'd rather have a mage we can count on. One that doesn't come with this much baggage." She turned to Alex, her voice grave.
"Alex, I'm done. If I stay here another second, I might really kill him. And if you still refuse to kick him out, then consider me out instead."
With that, she turned sharply on her heel, stomping away, the click of her boots echoing behind her.
Sigh...
'This is getting really troublesome,' Alex thought, pressing his fingers against his temples as though trying to push the stress away.
Meanwhile, their loud argument had drawn a sizable crowd. Veterans and fresh-faced rookies alike gathered, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"What kind of show is going on here?"
"A party member getting fired—classic drama!"
"Hey... doesn't that kid look familiar?"
"Wait a sec... Isn't that the crazy mage from last year!?"
"Let me see—noble-looking clothes, red alchemist hood, long platinum hair, about fourteen or fifteen... Yep, that's him!"
"Didn't they say he went nuts trying to create dual cores and failed? How's he even walking?"
"Tch. That's just surface-level. Rumor is, his mana circuits are fried. Completely broken. He's not gonna be a knight or mage—ever."
"Didn't expect such high and mighty figure to fall so low as to start working with such low level adventurers."
"Somehow this is pretty satisfying."
"Serves him right. Arrogant prick."
"Wasn't he a fallen noble?"
"So what? If you act like a noble, be ready to get treated like one!"
"Damn right!" x8
Hearing the chatter grow louder, Alex's heart sank. A cold realization struck him.
'Crap. We're still inside the guild!'
Everything that happened—every word, every scream—had been witnessed. And it wouldn't stop here. Rumors would spread like wildfire. And the one whose reputation would take the biggest hit...
"Ray, listen, I didn't mean to cause such a scene—"
Alex tried to explain himself as if afraid of who is behind him, but Ray cut him off.
"Alright. I get it. You don't want me. Frankly, I don't want to work with you either, I have got what i wanted by experiencing adventuring." Ray said, voice calm and even.
But then, a dangerous glint flickered in his eyes.
"Still... peasants like you think you can fire me? I'll leave on my own terms. Know your place, you trash!"
With that, he turned and strode away, his red cloak trailing behind like a shadow.
Watching Ray's back disappears through the crowd, Alex muttered under his breath, "Whatever. Good thing he didn't ask for payment for breaking the contract. If he didn't bring it up, maybe he's forgotten. Either way... I need to get out of this town before he remembers."
Saying that he quickly ran off from the side door of the adventurer's guild as stealthily as he could.
…
As Ray passed through the gateway of the Adventurer's Guild, his sharp eyes immediately caught sight of a familiar bunch—the same loafers who had been gossiping inside.
A group of scruffy, unemployed men loitering just outside, their greasy hair unkempt, gear rusting from neglect, and expressions twisted with self-importance as their judging eyes locked onto him.
Their silence was louder than any insult.
Ray's lips curled into a bitter grin.
How predictable.
A flicker of anger rose in his chest—an old, simmering wrath he hadn't fed in a while. Part of him longed to burn them all down, reduce their smug little circle to ash. But those days were gone. The mage he once was no longer existed.
He could only scoff, stepping forward like he owned the street.
"Hmph," he sneered, eyes gleaming beneath his hood. "Small-time maggots with nothing but their mouths still functioning. Got no coin, no contracts, no class—just hot air and delusions of relevance."
He looked them over with the same disdain one might show to a rotting carcass. "Piss off. The stench of mediocrity is suffocating."
The words hit like a slap, stunning the group into brief silence.
Then came the curses.
"You little—!"
"That damned brat!"
"You think you can talk to us like that?!"
Many such followed but sadly he was long gone, not at all interested in someone he thinks inferior.
One of the younger adventurers—his temper clearly sharper than his brain—grabbed for the hilt of his sword, face red with fury. "I'll kill that arrogant bastard! Who the hell is he calling small-time maggot!? What the hell does that even mean?!"
Before his blade could clear the sheath, a rough hand landed on his shoulder.
A senior adventurer—scarred, seasoned, and far less stupid—pulled him back. "Don't be a fool."
"Senior, let go! He insulted all of us!"
"Do you not see the robe draped over his shoulder? That crimson trim? That's the Mage Tower's insignia."
"So what?! He's not even a 3rd-circle mage anymore! He's just a cripple with a fancy coat!"
"Tch. You really are an idiot." The older man sighed, shaking his head. "He's not some fallen noble you can chase off with threats. That robe's a mark of recognition—he may not be a mage anymore, but he's still an Mage formally honored by both the Commerce Guild and the Mage Tower, with real influence not in name only."
"So what? It all come downs to personal strength, and I know he is weak!"
Another voice joined them—calm and cutting. A mage-looking adventurer, leaning against a post, crossed his arms and looked toward the rookie with amusement.
"Heh, you really don't know who to pick a fight with, do you? Let me enlighten your poor, empty skull."
He pushed himself off the wall and took a step forward.
"Ray Virelios isn't just some 'genius turned waste.' He's a true scholar. With multiple potions and magic tools designs being his contribution to the Magic Tower. He has developed blueprints for multiple such basic to even advanced magic tools. He holds multiple patents in multiple major merchant organizations. And guess what?"
He paused, letting the tension build.
"He may not be powerful or full of potential, he still has his brain and talent going on for him. They still believe that he will keep making valuable contribution to their magic research even in the future. You might not know but Mage Tower keeps track of all the things he does, though it is mainly for surveillance, but it has also become part of his strength."
Soon another one followed.
"Harm him, you will be hunted continent-wide. By people far more dangerous than any of us D or C rank adventurers could face."
A heavy silence followed.
The rookie, who had just moments ago been itching for a fight, now stood frozen, face pale as snow. His hand slowly slipped away from the hilt.
"Holy shit..." he whispered. "I-I didn't know..."
"You're welcome. Afterall, no one knows this shit, you got to have connections to know. " the senior muttered. "Next time, keep your ears open and your mouth shut."
Reluctantly, the group stepped back, their hostility evaporating into an awkward quiet.
But in the middle of all that awkward quiet, a touch of gratitude remained.
But they weren't the only people who were grateful.
Not far from the entrance, a figure stood in the shade of an archway—silent, still, unseen.
A long black cloak draped around her like silk ink, fluttering faintly in the wind. Only half her face was visible beneath the lowered hood—ivory skin kissed by faint golden light, and soft red lips that curved into a delicate, unreadable smile.
From the shadows, a single eye glowed—deep crimson, like a dying ember in a dark forest.
Her beauty was the kind that wasn't shown but suggested. Elusive. The kind that lingered in memory, impossible to grasp yet difficult to forget.
She said nothing.
But her eyes—those haunting, knowing eyes—followed him.
And she smiled again, barely.
"As expected, … I finally found you, Ray Virelios."
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To Be Continued:
[Word Count: 1950]