My Fantasy Adventure is more engaging than Expected

Youth is nothing but a lie, a trap wrapped like a gift that only brings pain.

It is the greatest form of deception, a curse wrapped like a present, opening it would reveal its hideous nature. And unfortunately, I accepted this gift with open arms. Those who have lived through this stage of their life claim of its wonderful state, they say it's a time when anything is possible but believing that you could do the impossible is nothing short of a lie. Carrying such a mentality would only result in you getting hurt or being ostracized by your peers. And yet there are those people ignore the pain they've experienced, telling only the grandeur of being so young, and they are nothing but fools who you should never trust. Do not succumb to their tales, acknowledge them only as exaggerated legends made to appear intriguing to its listeners.

If ever they do talk about the shortcomings of their childhood, they would instead perceive it in a positive light, even the most life-changing mistakes are thought only as the spices of youth. Fooling people into thinking that Youth is nothing but childish bliss and enjoyment, but they forget the multiple times they've tripped and scraped their knees then cried about it, they overlook the times when their expectations are met with dissatisfaction or when their hopes of fitting in are pummeled to the ground, figuratively and literally.

Then, there are those people who think of pain as a way to change, that it drives us to be better people and it gives us the chance to never commit the same mistake again. But what about them who were not given the chance to change? Instead, they are repeatedly punished for their naivety, these people don't change because of pain becoming only numb to it. They talk of it as a tool to grow up and mature. And I say that those people who talk of pain as if it were a blessing are either idiots or masochists.

If being hurt is good because it is a big part of youth, then would it not be strange to consider that those people who beaten to a pulp by their bullies are experiencing the pinnacle of what youth has to offer? But of course, they wouldn't acknowledge it.

Instead, trust yourself alone, because you can never truly hurt you. View change as being weak and subordinate to the unjust world. Never deceive yourself into thinking that you can live like a royalty forever. Only care about yourself and no one else, you never know if they even cared about you.

People lie to others about their life, to appear important.

The weak are always beaten by the strong, give power to the weak and see them do the same.

Trust no one but yourself, people are cruel and selfish by nature, no one is an exemption. Even me.

Even a Respected Adventurer is Corrupt.

The guild leader, Shizuka Hiratsuka was reading an essay she forced me to make. Every time she pronounces even a syllable of my work, her face scrunches up and the vein on her forehead becomes even more visible. Closely listening to her, I could say that my writing style is amateurish at best. Despite studying from a decent school, I just mixed a number of fancy words to make it seem like I did my best to write it. But it came off with me not knowing what to write.

Of course- she wouldn't call me here if that was the reason. I know because everyone was told to write this, and I at least know that there are several people who have a far worst writing style than mine. In fact, I'm sure many of them don't even how to read or write.

After Hiratsuka had finished reading, she massaged her forehead and took a deep sigh. Her purple eyes gazed at me as if waiting for a reaction. A reaction I didn't give.

"Hikigaya, you do know the purpose of this paper, right?"

"...Well, all you told us was to write an essay about 'Our youth and how it's shaped us'."

"Yes, and the main purpose of this was to discern the mental state of adventurers. Then why did you give me this garbage of a paper?! Are you a psychopath? A cultist? Or are you just an idiot?!"

Like thunder, her voice boomed throughout the office…I'm pretty sure some guild receptionists heard that. She sighed once more and fixed her long black hair rather seductively. To be honest, being called by a woman to 'talk' in an office alone together seems rather suggestive. And Hiratsuka is fairly beautiful, had a decent job, is well respected and the such. If it weren't for her constant scowl many suitors would be lining up at her doorstep.

"Pay attention!" my work was rolled up and struck me on the head. Hey! I actually worked on that! Took me a few minutes.

Glaring at her only to see Hiratsuka looking at me intensely, I didn't really like prolonged eye contact, but something told that if I looked away, she'll smack me again.

"Your eyes, they're comparable to an undead. Maybe even to a lich."

"I take pride on being smart compared to my fellow brethren." Ha! Take that woman!

"If you were really an undead, I would've made a subjugation quest long ago. Going back to topic, what is your reason for writing something this…absurd?" If looks could kill, I would've died like five times already. Her glare is like a dragon after someone tried to steal from them. And like fighting a dragon, I felt an overwhelming fear for my life. In other words, she's absolutely terrifying!

"U-Uh-You-Well…You told us to create an essay about our youth. And well I told it just the way I reflected on my childhood. You can't criticize me for that!"

My stuttering became more apparent because I wasn't used to talking with someone face-to-face. But talking to someone as powerful as her made me even more nervous.

"If I were to send this to the capital, you would've, by no doubt be ripped off your adventurer status and be executed because of this…death threat." Death threat you say…Why the hell would they kill me for writing that?!

"Because they would think you're a terrorist…or worse a lunatic cultist." Did I say that aloud? Also, a cultist? How the hell would they mistake me for a crazy person?

"Oy brat you worry less of how they would mistake you as one and more of your essay."

Brat huh? "Of course, from someone your age, you would see me as a chil-!"

The atmosphere in her office began to tense, an aura of bloodlust appeared in front of me and a feeling of complete terror coursed through my body. My 'Fight or Flight Response' was activated and it was screaming bloody murder for me to run as far as possible.

"I-I'm-V-Very sorry for everything I've rudely said to you! I'll rewrite it I promise! Please just don't kill me!" What's worse than angering a woman, angering a woman capable of killing an entire army alone! Hiratsuka was a retired adventurer and it wouldn't surprise me if she told me to kiss her feet while apologizing for my existence.

The dense atmosphere of the room began to soften, as I let out a breath of relief. To think a guild leader is capable of such power…I'll have to choose my words wisely next time. Her presence returned to her normal state, but I was still on guard.

"Just so we're clear I'm not going to kill you…but." Well, that's reassuring. Goodbye cruel world! Thanks for absolutely nothing! To be honest, I thought she was going to say, 'I was not angry' and then force me to tell them whatever they want.

"Are you in any party?"

"Used to, but they were annoying as hell." Always bragging about their kills 'Oh look I killed an Orc' despite me being the one to weaken or when they split the reward so unfairly that I just get a few copper coins. Every Riajuu should be eaten by goblins for all I care.

"Do you have any friends then?"

"I-I pride of myself for living a neutral state, not wanting anyone to involve themselves with me!" I am above that of having false relationships with others because of appearance sake because-.

"Because no one would even notice you." Why do I continue to say these things aloud?! The corners of Hiratsuka's mouth turned upward as she was able to guess what I was about to say. Well, what put you in a good mood?

"And just as I thought…You don't have any friends."

"I don't really see the benefit of having someone who could backstab you for their own benefits!" I tried to retort, why would I trust someone other than myself?

She hummed as if knowing what I was thinking. "Then are you courting someone?" Really? I'm pretty sure that guild leaders or receptionists aren't allowed to delve into adventurer's personal life. Then again, they told us to write an essay about our childhood, so I guess there are exceptions.

"Well not yet…but how about you Hiratsuka? Are you in a relationship?" If she was going to ask me something personal, then I'll return the question!

Pain quickly enveloped my abdomen as I see Hiratsuka's fist drilled into it. A loud thump was heard as my body lost its balance. It took me a few moments before I could get up. Hiratsuka was comfortably sitting on her chair as she looked at me angrily. Sighing once more, she looked at me calmly this time.

"Okay, this is what we'll do. You're going to rewrite your report. And just so we're clear…I was holding back."

"…Yes" Fearing for my life, I couldn't help but comply.

At first, I thought it was the end of that, but I was entirely wrong. To think Hiratsuka would propose something so absurd. I was caught unprepared.

"But because of your insensitive remarks have hurt my feelings" Oy woman those crocodile tears won't convince anyone. "And as a guild leader, it is my responsibility to discipline such heartless behavior for the betterment of the kingdom! Do you know how rude it is to ask for a woman's age or relationships?"

Oy stop acting hurt! Just because I asked you about your personal life doesn't mean you can punish me for it! Aren't you supposed to be the adult in this situation? Act your age woman and stop with your petty sense of duty for the kingdom, both of us know that it's going backward because of some petty argument with another nation!

"Hiratsuka, I don't see a reason for you to punish me. All I did was ask you a question and your response was to punch someone younger? Aren't you supposed to be the adult in this situation?"

"And as an adult, I must see to it that young adventurers, such as yourself become role models for even younger kids. And every wrongdoing must be punished else they slowly corrupt your very being." Tsk, she changed the topic altogether.

I cross my arms and begin to retort "You said that you must punish me that I would be guided towards the right path, but as I far as I see it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me." No matter what people say, my very state of being a lone wolf is both beneficial to me and others. I carry out my quests with ease while they busy themselves with insincere relations.

Air escaped Hiratsuka as she exhaled even deeper. "You really are a handful…Just follow me."

The sound of paper being assembled and the documents that were once scattered throughout her desk was then fixed. Of course, I am rather cautious of whatever she is up to, so I just stood there because I was given no explanation whatsoever to what's going to happen next. And knowing this enthusiastic guild leader, I should prepare for the worst.

The 'Dragon's Nest' is a rather famous guild hall for both rookie adventurers and veterans alike, the town of which it is located is stuck between the Capital and the provinces. Giving its services to both city-dwellers and countrymen, though those from the province are more likely to request for adventurer's aid because of the near constant threat of monster invasions and the such.

Being an adventurer like myself, we are asked to help those in need and in exchange we are given rewards for fulfilling such requests. Each quest gives different amounts of reward and is divided into ranks, to lessen the deaths of arrogant rookies who think they could kill a wyvern. Heck, even Goblin Nest Subjugations are for D rank and above only!

The sound of our footsteps echoed throughout the empty halls. On the ground floor is where the guild receptionists and the quest board are located, adventurers either flock around the quest board or flirt with the receptionists...those guys should go explode. So, the second floor was rather barren, this hall is for the guild leader's office and the archives, though there are also several rooms for conference and meetings.

The click of the doorknob's mechanism as it turned stopped my train of thought, as Hiratsuka opened the door of the conference room. The room was more orderly than the last time I saw it, the chairs and table that were used to house several officials or other attendees are stacked atop each other. Though there was a single chair at the center of the entire room, and there sat a girl. She just sat there, if the war were to escalate to its climax, she alone would stay immovable.

The girl wore a variety of magical clothing suited only for mages, though her clothes were those of what a very well-off adventurer would wear, she still wore it with more elegance. But the most distinct part about the girl was her ears, they were long and pointed which I easily deduced that she was an Elf…A High-Elf at that. Why would an Elf be here in the first place? Those guys think too highly of themselves to even go to the Capital let alone a guild hall.

Noticing our presence, she stared at us for a moment.

"Kachou Hiratsuka, it is quite rude of you to make me wait, have not heard the saying 'Time is Gold?'"

"Sorry about that Yukinoshita, a certain something needed to be fixed as soon as possible before it becomes a bigger mess than it already is."

"Then you should have done it as soon as possible than to waste my time here." I've always thought that Elves, in general, were arrogant, but this girl just takes it to a whole new level. I then felt the girl's cold gaze fall on me. "And what is that commoner doing here?"

So, she's of noble birth. She's probably here to make a quest like 'Pick the weeds from my gorgeous garden' or 'Carry my luggage for the rest of the day' or something lowly so they have an excuse to treat us like dirt. Source M-… My father's sister's daughter's cousin.

In fact, I'm even more sure that her rewards going to be her stepping on me, or she'll say something like 'being allowed near my presence is a reward in upon itself.' ...Elves really are the worst.

"This young lad right here wants to form a party with you." Hiratsuka signaled me to say something.

"Uhhh I'm Hikigaya Hachiman, a Rank B adventurer and-. Wait, what do you mean by 'form a party'?"

So, she's actually an adventurer? This noble High Elf is an adventurer? How the hell is she an adventurer?! Shouldn't she be drinking horrible tea or attending parties or something? Unless her household became bankrupt and she was forced to work!

"Hikigaya, as punishment for your unruly behavior you are forced to create a party with her. And I'm having none of your retorts. Reflect on what you did and dignifiedly accept the consequences of your actions!" She commanded. By forcing me to form a group with someone I don't know? There has to be another reason for this.

"Yukinoshita as you can see, this deplorable sap here is a poor example of an adventurer and I personally request you to change his ways for the better of the kingdom."

"I refuse. His lecherous eyes alone remind of a goblin's, and like one he may take advantage of me while we were on a quest together." The girl covered her non-existence chest. I thought Elves were to very symbol of eternal beauty but overall, she feels lacki- OKAY! Time to stop. But in all seriousness-.

"-As if I'll take advantage of some pitiful woman like you." The room's temperature quickly turned frigid and breathing suddenly became harder to do, looking towards Yukinoshita I only saw the manifestation of an ice demon. Never have I seen a beast with such hostility. I readied my dagger without breaking stance.

"Yukinoshita that's enough!" Hiratsuka's imposing command startled the Elf girl, her aura alone disrupted the spell Yukinoshita was casting. The cold temperature began to go back to normal as the High Elf canceled her spell. Hiratsuka deeply sighed and Yukinoshita continued to drill holes into me with her eyes.

"Despite his vile tongue and dead eyes." Hiratsuka bumps her fist on my head. "He doesn't have the guts to do that. He would never do anything that would endanger his status as an adventurer. Think of him as a lowly scoundrel or a devious rascal." What's with that dysphemism.

"Oy! Why is that an insult, I'm just someone who logically thinks before doing anything."

"I see…A lowly scoundrel…devious rascal." Oy don't ignore me like that. Tch! This elf's even harder to deal with than the guild leader who can't act her age.

"Oy! How do you call a Rank B adventurer a scoundrel?! You do realize that people look up to us, right?!"

"And that is why I requested Yukinoshita to fix your rotten behavior before it infects the rest of humanity." I'm not some disease. In fact, if I influence someone, first of all, it's not my fault and second, at least I was able to show them the cruelty of the world.

Yukinoshita straightened her posture as if showing off her grace. "If it's a personal request from the guild leader then it is my duty to fulfil it. I'll make that thing be an exceptional part of the kingdom."

"Okay, then I'll leave him with you, be sure to keep an eye on her okay." And with that Hiratsuka left the room, her footsteps were heard so I was sure she left me alone with this Elf. Wait, what did Hiratsuka mean by 'keep an eye on her'?

Thumbing her raven hair behind her ear and fixing the wrinkles of her robe, Yukinoshita approached the door but then she just stood there. "What are you waiting for? We can't afford to lose any more time." Without any explanation, I won't be able to know what I got myself into.

"Yukinoshita, you're an adventurer?" Just to be sure.

"My~ How wonderful it is that you remember, I thought your brain has already died just like your eyes."

"Then what is your rank?" I haven't seen her before, even when we're called during emergency situations, so I doubt that she's really a veteran adventurer. Though she may have been transferred here from somewhere else.

"You Humans really are a curious race, I am of an F rank Adventurer, the 'F' I suppose means 'famed' or 'flawless'." That's the lowest rank! I'm dealing with a literal newbie! This is worse than I thought! Tch, so that's why Hiratsuka wanted me to create a party with her, she's going to die if she went on a quest alone.

"Hikigaya-kun we have already wasted enough time. Let us head to the quest board before we run out of quests." Yukinoshita quickly left and I had no choice but to follow her.

The ground floor of the guild hall has always been lively, adventurers chatting with each other, or flirting with the receptionists, while bragging of their quests, others simply looked at the quest board and picked out a mission. Adventurers of all types are here, from rangers to fighters, mages and so on. This crowd is as intoxicating as the drinks they serve because of the number of normies there are, so I normally arrive before anyone else, get a quest and not arrive until its midnight when there are fewer people. Though thanks to Hiratsuka, almost everyone was here.

Thankfully my Stealth mode activated as soon as I stepped into this normie gathering. Though unfortunately, the sight of a High Elf is enough for everyone's head to turn towards our direction.

"Is that a High-Elf? Never seen her from 'round here"

"Ohh~! She's a pretty one ain't she?"

"Ya think we could convince her to join our party? It'll be fun to have her around."

As soon as a beautiful woman walks near them, men would always lose all logic and think they have a chance by flexing or bragging about their achievements. Men really are simple-minded creatures, just breathe the same air as them and they'll suddenly think you're into them.

"Hikigaya-kun it appears that you lack the spatial awareness fit for an adventurer, the quest board is this way."

I couldn't find any will to retort and just followed her towards the quest board. I don't know if she's unaware of what the other adventurer was saying or she's just ignoring them. Skimming the board, I found none of my usual jobs anywhere. Thanks to Hiratsuka and this newbie adventurer, most of the high paying yet easy missions have been taken, these two are literally costing me money!

"Hikigaya-kun, how about this one." Yukinoshita pointed towards a poster, with a picture of a fucking dragon on it! "It pays us a large amount and I'm sure we'll be able to accomplish it by the end of the day."

Accomplish?! We'll be minced meat by the end of the day! No matter how magically proficient you are, taking down a dragon requires at least one S Rank adventurer! Elves really are arrogant! They think they're capable of something even though they really can't. Also, if you were to replace the dragon picture with one of Hiratsuka's, I'm sure no one's going to notice a thing.

"Absolutely not! First, we're not even capable of scratching a dragon's scale let alone injuring one and second, you do realize that we're not even qualified to take on this quest!"

This Yukinoshita is very stubborn. "Then how about this." I pointed towards a poster with a picture of a rat on it. "This may not seem much but if we are able to kill enough ra-"

"I refuse, being near such creatures is repulsive enough but to fight several outweighs the price altogether."

I do agree with her, rats are rather repulsive, especially since we'll be fighting them in the sewers, I heard from Hatch that he and his team were annihilated by the mischief of rats. Rats are also capable of growing up to two meters long, they're also capable of penetrating through iron armor so they're a lot dangerous than one would think. Also, they smell so, you wouldn't catch me fighting one of those things.

If we continued to argue about which quest to choose then we'll be here all day! Speaking of day, there's a mission that told us to 'be married to them for the rest of the day'. If there was no indication of who requested this then I'll conclude that this was posted by Hiratsuka…Someone should really marry her.

It seems like there's no other choice. "How about this one." I pointed towards a poster of a rabbit, it told us to hunt down Perpetual Hares that liked to eat the crops of a local farm. "This one doesn't require us to kill all the rabbits, every head rewards us with 10 copper coins so I'll say it's a steal."

Any experienced adventurer would avoid low-Rank quests like these because of its pay BUT little do they know that small jobs like these require less work and there are times where they actually pay better than higher Ranked quests. And since this is an F Rank quest most adventurers didn't even give it a second glance!

"'Hunt down a few rabbits that's been ravaging our farm.' A farmer is requesting our aid to help protect his livelihood and it does seem like an easy task, then we must take this one."

Surprisingly, she's rather enthusiastic with this one. Like I care, so long as we get paid, I'll accept it. I wonder if they'll give us the rabbits as a bonus, I heard those things were delicious! In fact, maybe I'll write the next essay about What I ate for dinner or How yummy rabbit stew is! Or something equally annoying. I ripped the poster and proceeded to the counter, Yukinoshita followed suit.

"Good morning Hikigaya!" The guild receptionist bowed and dawned her ever-present smile. For others, her smile is that of an angel that greets you every time you meet them but for someone like me, that smile is one of the biggest and most polished masks I've ever seen…and I see her every day. That mask was to act polite and kind towards even the unruliest adventurers and behind that mask is her true self, a rotten girl who only wishes to marry a noble or someone who rides a majestic white horse and is loaded with money, like the wish of every other girl. If men are pigs who always think lustfully of the opposite sex, then women are snakes who manipulate others to get what they want or at least try to. And that is why don't trust anyone.

I presented the poster to her. The smell of ink dispelled the alcohol in the air, the ink is not something pleasant to the nose but at least it's a new smell. Also, another reason why I don't come here late, because a lot of adventurer's drink from dawn until dusk! Do you guys have anything else better to do than drinking? Like you know, quests?!

"Ahh~ I didn't know you created another party?!" So, she noticed Yukinoshita standing beside me. How observant. Though I was surprised she didn't ask of Yukinoshita's Elf bloodline.

"And here you go~!" The receptionist gave us our travel pass. "Good luck with your quest! Also, Hachiman be considerate okay!" The guild girl shouted as she gave me a wink. Oy! What do you mean 'considerate'?

We moved past the sea of adventurers and went outside. The rays of the sun quickly blindly me until my eyes slowly adjusted to the bright outside. Looking over at Yukinoshita, she looks as elegant as before. And despite just starting my day, I couldn't help but feel tired already…This is going to be a long day.

AN: This is my very first story I've ever published on the internet. To be honest, I'm rather surprised at the lack of fantasy stories Oregairu has. I mean it's impossible that I'm the only one who imagined Hachiman as a Rogue or something, but anyways hope you enjoyed this story and feel free to tell if I made some mistakes in my grammar and tell me what you think of this story and how I could improve my writing or this story.

A Basscus could only imagine.