Chapter 2: Companion Raid Boss
I awoke to the sound of snow crunching beneath someone's boots.
Warmth pressed against my back. That didn't make sense. I was supposed to be… dead.
If I were dead, why could I feel the cold wind on my face? Why could I feel heat?
I forced my eyes open.
Snowflakes drifted down onto an unfamiliar back — broad, steady, wrapped in a dark cloak. A small flame sprite hovered by his shoulder, its gentle glow keeping the cold at bay.
The healer.
He was carrying me.
His cape was wrapped around my body, shielding me from the wind as if I were something fragile.
"Ah, you're awake. Thank goodness."
His voice was calm, almost relieved, as he kept walking through the snow.
"Wh-what are you doing?" My voice cracked. I hated how weak it sounded.
"Taking you back to the guild tavern to collect our bounty," he said with a small, proud smile, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
I tried to move to slip off his back, to run, to do something, but nothing responded. My limbs felt heavy, pinned by an invisible weight.
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention."
He lifted a small talisman between two fingers, its surface glowing faintly.
"Until I give the word, you'll stay inside the bubble. Nobody can harm you… and you can't harm anyone either."
I lowered my head, shame burning hotter than the flame sprite warming us.
So, this was it.
Prison.
Judgment.
Punishment for every life I'd taken.
Fitting, I suppose.
I accepted my fate.
Sooner or later, this was where I was going to end up.
I tilted my head back, watching the cloudy sky blur as snowflakes drifted down and melted on my cheeks.
When was the last time I'd seen snow?
A voice cut through the quiet.
"Hey, hurry it up, man. You're so slow."
I lifted my head.
The other two were waiting ahead — one with arms crossed, the other waving impatiently.
"Come on, Noobie," the longsword wielder called out. "You're the one who said the reward's better if we capture her instead of killing her."
Noobie finally caught up, panting.
"Why do I have to carry her?" he complained. "I'm already slow as is!"
The other two exchanged a look.
Then, perfectly synchronized, they pointed at him.
"You suggested capturing her instead of killing. So, YOU carry her."
Wait… he spared me?
This fool… spared me?
Why?
Out of pity?
Out of arrogance?
Out of stupidity?
Didn't he kill me with that mist — that haze — whatever that spell was?
I remembered the cold, the fear, the way my body gave out.
I remembered the darkness swallowing me whole.
That felt like dying.
So why was I here?
Why was I warm?
Why was I breathing?
Why did he save me?
I wasn't sure what was happening… until I saw it.
The same mist — the same haze — drifting around his waist, shaped like a sheathed blade.
My breath caught. I forced my arm to move, to point at it, even though my body felt like stone.
Noobie jolted.
"H-hey, stop squirming! You're gonna make me slip—"
Then he followed my gaze.
His shoulders relaxed.
"Oh. That?"
He laughed softly. "Don't worry about it. It's just a cosmetic. I'm too cheap to buy premium stuff, but I like this one. Matches the sword's name."
He adjusted his grip, lifting me a little higher on his back, careful not to jostle me too much.
"Sorry," he added, almost sheepish. "This snow's brutal. Blizzard's not letting up anytime soon."
Wait…
A horrible realization slammed into me.
These idiots fought me when the leaves were falling.
When the forest was orange.
When it was fall.
And now… it was snowing.
Snowing.
My eyes widened.
"OH MY GOD."
I twisted as much as the bubble allowed.
"YOU'RE TELLING ME I'VE BEEN STUCK ON THIS TORTOISE'S BACK FOR AN ENTIRE SEASON?!"
Noobie flinched.
"H-hey—"
"HOW SLOW ARE YOU!?"
Noobie nearly tripped as he tightened his grip on me.
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING, MISS 'I FEEL SO BAD ABOUT MY OWN LIFE'!"
His voice cracked like he was on the verge of tears.
"I'M TRYING MY BEST HERE!"
I stared at him in disbelief.
"OH MY GOD."
"I WAS DEFEATED BY A TURTLE AND HIS TWO UNDERLINGS!"
The longsword wielder choked on his own laughter.
The rogue nodded solemnly like I'd just spoken a universal truth.
Noobie let out a wounded gasp.
"I AM NOT A TURTLE!"
Both of his teammates:
"You absolutely are."
As we reached the gates, the worst came to fruition. Or so I thought.
The guards halted the 4 of us and searched them, excluding me, but let me ask viewers and audiences for a real minute. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND CARRIES 3 MONTHS WORTH OF SUPPLIES IN THEIR INVENTORY?!
The two teammates passed inspection with flying colors.
Then came the apocalypse.
Mister "I'M PREPARED FOR ANYTHING" stepped forward… and the guards' expressions slowly died inside.
They pulled out:
Monster parts, ropes, frying pans, food, expired event tickets, mining pickaxes, ores mined by said pickaxes, herbs, cups, vases, and—oh god—swords from my lair.
I buried my face in my hands.
I lost to this.
And then, as if the gods themselves wanted to mock me, Noobie pulled out one last item.
A Redeem Ticket.
Not a normal one.
A Redeem Ticket the size of a car.
Expired.
From Open Beta.
I wanted to evaporate.
I wanted the snow to bury me.
I wanted the blizzard to take me away.
But no.
I was stuck.
Forced to watch as the guards, somehow satisfied, waved us through.
Noobie's teammates grabbed their belongings and walked ahead.
But I…
I had to sit there.
Trapped in a bubble.
Watching Noobie slowly — painfully slowly — pick up three hundred and sixty-nine items off the inspection table.
By the time he finished, a line had formed behind us, stretching halfway to the horizon.
I lost to this.
Thankfully, once Noobie finished picking up his three hundred and sixty-nine disaster items, we finally reached the Guild Tavern.
The place was chaos.
Arm-wrestling matches slammed tables.
A bar fight broke out in the corner.
Three different men were trying — and failing — to flirt with the guild receptionist while her coworker glared daggers at them.
Noobie's teammates were already seated at the table closest to the reception desk, waiting for him to turn in their "reward."
Me.
After a brief conversation with the receptionist — and a lot of counting on her part — the trio huddled together to discuss what they were going to do with their earnings.
I closed my eyes.
It wasn't the worst-case scenario.
At least I wasn't being sold to a slave trader.
This was… tolerable.
After a heated debate, the three finally agreed.
Noobie had the right to decide my fate.
He was the one who tanked, healed, and kept the others alive.
He was the one who suppressed my attacks.
He was the one who carried me for an entire season.
So, the choice was his.
So, picture this.
A kid who finally decides what toy they want.
The exact one.
The one they've been thinking about for weeks.
That's the energy Noobie had as he marched up to the receptionist's desk.
The guild receptionist finished her calculations with a professional smile.
"Alright. Factoring in the posting date, combat duration, hazard fees, and additional dues… the total comes to three hundred and fifty gold coins each. For you and your teammates."
Noobie turned to look at his party.
Both teammates shook their heads and waved him on — the universal sign for "Go ahead, man. It's your call."
He nodded, then faced the receptionist with the confidence of someone who had absolutely no idea how insane he sounded.
"Yes, thank you. But I don't want the coin."
The receptionist blinked.
The tavern quieted.
Noobie continued, cheerful as ever.
"I was told I could turn her into a summoning companion."
Silence.
Utter, absolute silence.
Every mug in the tavern stopped mid-air.
Every adventurer froze.
And I…
I realized this idiot was serious.
The guild maid and receptionist both froze, eyes wide.
"W-why would you prefer… turning her into a summoning companion?"
Noobie closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a calm, steady resolve I hadn't seen before.
"Because I believe," he began, "that if I turn her into a summoning and show her the world — show her mercy — she might become someone different."
The tavern quieted even more.
"Someone who can contribute to society. Someone who can protect the defenseless. Maybe even uphold guild laws. Maybe even bring a little hope back into this world."
He spoke with quiet pride, not arrogance — the kind that comes from conviction, not ego.
Then he set his sheathed sword on the wooden floor, tip touching the boards, like a knight making a vow.
The entire tavern watched him.
And for the first time…
I realized he wasn't joking.
He meant every word.
The tavern erupted into laughter and chatter again.
Someone even shouted:
"Hey, Noobie! I'll give you five hundred silver for the girl!"
Noobie immediately waved them off, flustered.
"No! She's not for sale!"
He disabled the bubble talisman with a tap, and the barrier around me dissolved like mist.
He leaned in and whispered, almost casually:
"Keep to yourself. You're part of Team Omega now."
I would've nodded… but why would I obey him?
Why would I obey any of them?
"Ey! Noobie! Come on, we've got a quest!"
His teammate yelled from across the tavern.
Noobie hurried over to look at the request paper — only for the rogue to jab a thumb in my direction.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?"
Noobie froze.
Then, mortified, he sprinted back, grabbed my wrist, and tugged me along like a lost child he'd left behind at the market.
The quest?
Shoveling snow for the local village.
Payment: 20 gold per house.
A raid boss.
A healer.
Two idiots.
And a shovel.
This was my life now. Shoveling…