“Do you have everything?” Sireal asked his wife as she pulled on her boots and threw a jacket over her shoulders.

  “I think so. But both jobs are close to the house. I won’t be going that far until afternoon so I can always come back for whatever I’ve forgotten,” she said and stuck her head back into the kitchen. “How long are you going to keep doing that?”

  His breath came in ragged, heaving gasps as he answered. “There’s more to an Awakened’s strength than just skill levels and power ranks, Fij,” he said and got back onto his feet. “Physical exercise like this is a great way to supplement a training regimen. Since I’m late to the game, I have to put in everything I have if I want to catch up to those who have been combat focused from the first moments of their Awakening.”

  Fij sighed. “I know, Sireal, I know. It’s just… you are so great at what you do now, and living as a warrior is just so dangerous. I‘m afraid that something is going to happen to you.”

  Sireal took his wife by the shoulders and pulled her into an embrace with a warm smile. “What in the world did I do to deserve you, huh?”

  She snorted into his chest. “Mapped my father’s property if I remember correctly. And you couldn’t keep your eyes off me the whole time.”

  “Damn right I couldn’t. You could always turn down the sweetness a bit if it’s so tough to handle my constant fawning.”

  “I’m afraid this sweetness is permanently stuck on max,” she chuckled and kissed him.

  “You won’t hear me complaining.”

  She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “But I’m serious, Si. I really don’t like this. You’ve been a cartographer for fifteen years! You’re one of the most respected experts in your field! The wealthiest and most important people in the city come to you for help with their lands. Do you really want to jeopardize that by charging into battle like a barbarian?”

  Anyone would have been able to tell how afraid she was and, frankly, why wouldn’t she be? It wasn’t like Sireal didn’t understand her. As a matter of fact, he would have felt exactly the same way if their places had been switched.

  Here they were, twelve years into a lovely marriage, both living stable and safe lives, and then, like the fool he was, he woke up one day with a desire burning hotly in his stomach. The desire to explore and experience. The desire to get in touch with a more primal side of his usually quiet, sedentary self.

  And he just couldn’t deny it.

  “I’m sorry, I just… I just think I need to do this to get back into my own head, you know? It’s instinct. I think it might be one of those mid-life crisis things.”

  “You’re about a decade too young to start having those, husband…” she deadpanned.

  He laughed sheepishly. “Ah, is that so? Then I guess it’s just instinct after all. I swear, I just need to experience something more than this life I’ve lead thus far. Then I’m sure I’ll go back to my normal, boring self.” Even just saying the words felt like an admission of his own sense of inferiority.

  Whenever he looked at all of those all-powerful men and women going off into heroic battle, he couldn’t help but feel small and insignificant.

  Fij’s face fell. “You’re think our life is boring?”

  Immediately, he was struck by the chilling realization of what his words had sounded like to her. “No, no! Heavens, no! More than ever, what we have together is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am boring. I’m timid and weak and I can never seem to stand up for myself, or even you. Did you know that some guy snatched the last cut of meat—that really good one I’d promised to bring home from the butcher—right out of my hands? What do you think I did about it?”

  With an expression of sympathy, Fij just shrugged.

  “Nothing! That’s what I did, Fij! I did nothing at all. I just looked away and let him. What kind of man does that? How am I supposed to protect you like that?”

  She arched an eyebrow. “I can protect myself just fine, Si.”

  He threw his hands up. “I know you can, of course. It’s not about that. It’s the principle of it, you know. When I heard about that huge mission to literally prevent the reawakening of a damned Worldbreaker I just couldn’t get the image of those great warriors out of my head!”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  She tilted her head from side to side. “And they failed.”

  “I know that but again, it’s the principle of it! They’re out there fighting for the good of the entire Unified Mass, and I’m here at home where I’m not even able to go the market to buy a piece of damned prime cut. I want to be like Eik Magnasen! Have you heard of him?”

  “Everyone’s heard of Eik Magnasen, but honey, he’s an S-ranker. And I’m sure he’s had support from the beginning. You’ve heard about those pills he can make,” she said.

  “No, that’s the thing! It hasn’t even been five years since he Awoke, and he’s from a fresh world to boot! From the moment he Awoke, he’s basically had the worst possible chance of survival… And yet he survives. No, he thrives! He has saved his entire civilization from extinction single-handedly.”

  “I think you might be painting him on slightly too large a canvas here, Si.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the strongest Awakened in modern history.”

  “And you want to follow his example?” she asked skeptically. “Is that it?”

  Biting his lower lip, he shot her a sheepish glance. “Well, I… I mean, only for a little bit.”

  Having had enough, she sighed and threw her jacket over her shoulders again. “Just… Please don’t get yourself killed until I come home tonight at least.”

  “I won’t,” he promised her with a laugh. “I’m just going to look around to see what my options are.”

  With not a single rain cloud in sight, Sireal practically skipped down the street. Leaving the house knowing he was headed somewhere that wasn’t the office felt so damn invigorating. All of a sudden, he felt ten years younger.

  It had taken him a few days, but now, finally, he was prepared, at least mentally, to throw himself into something new with his whole heart.

  He wasn’t quite so na?ve as to stupidly run off to accept some random job to kill a devious monster or explore a perilous, far-away world all by his lonesome. No, he would need a team.

  Although Eik Magnasen had outgrown the strength of his original teammates a long time ago, Sireal knew that even he had started humbly from the bottom like any common man. This heroic man known as the Azure King must have seen great value in establishing his foundations like that before moving on to greater ventures.

  Then how could Sireal possibly do it any other way?

  But where the hell was someone like him supposed to begin his adventure? Where would he find these teammates? Loathe as he might be to admit it, he had been satisfied to sit on his behind until recently and had never given any serious thought to how one might get their start as an adventurer.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a hub of some sort in the northern trade district in this part of town. Would beginner teams conduct recruitment there as well?

  Well, it was worth a try, if nothing else.

  Course set, he stopped by one of the local cafés to get a drink. Food was better bought at one of the street stalls once he made it to the market. Considering the time of day, it was no wonder that it was as crowded as it was when he made it there but he still hated the feeling of being pressed against all of these sweaty bodies. It was simply awful. Luckily, one of his favorite restaurants with a lunch offer was close by.

  But by the time he got there, he could barely get through the entrance for the throng taking up the space immediately in front of the door. The air was humming with their hushed conversations. Goodness. Did people have no respect for an open business?

  “Excuse m— Excuse me, I’d like to get by if you wouldn’t mind,” he said as briskly as he could while trying to push his way through. Someone stepped aside and between a few heads, Sireal caught a glimpse of a poster hanging on the outer wall of the restaurant. Newly hatched daring man as he was, he dismissed the idea of lunch in favor of this mystery as he pushed toward the poster.

  His jaw hit the cobblestones the moment he laid eyes on the text. Incapable of believing what he was reading, his eyes ran over the text several times. In the bottom left corner was a crude drawing of a man with a toothy grin holding a sword aloft.

  Eik’s Great Group of Guys? is looking for new members RIGHT NOW!

  That’s right! We want YOU! (If you’re strong)

  As Eik Magnasen, S-ranker and certified tough guy, says: Man, woman, or even a cat, if you have what it takes, you'll get what he bakes.

  Do you feel like you’ve been waiting you WHOLE LIFE to finally find that Great Group of Guys? to run wild with? Well, this is the sign that you’ve found us!

  We do what we want to do, and what we want to do is awesome!

  Cracking skulls for our day job? — CHECK

  Friendly atmosphere with plenty of nicknames? — CHECK

  Baking lessons on Saturdays (or equal rest day)? — CHECK as well as every other Tuesday

  Payment, you ask? Well, that is also GREAT!

  If you’re reading this, we’re still recruiting so get your ass over to the house Dayarunar estate! Yes, you! What are you waiting for? This piece of paper ain’t going to kick you in the buttocks…

  —EGG(G)—

  “This is just ridiculous,” a woman with a long bow strapped to her back scoffed and rolled her eyes as she pushed her way through the people gathered around the single poster. “Anyone who believes this kind of crap must have something wrong with their head,” she snickered over her shoulder to her two teammates. “It’s obviously some dumb prank by a bunch of adolescent boys with nothing be—”

  She was interrupted as a man in robes nearly fell on his ass bumping into her shoulder in his attempt to force his way past her. “Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  All she got was a mumbled apology as he ran toward the Dayarunar estate without even a cursory glance at her.

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