Ultimate Spin System: Ero Spin?-Chapter 101 - Promise

Just as Lucas was about to fumble his way through another excuse, a loud voice suddenly cut through the guild hall.

"Oi! It’s him! Thei ice storm guy!"

Lucas blinked, momentarily saved by the interruption. A small girl with wild, fiery red hair and a mischievous grin rushed toward him. She wore a short, battle-worn adventurer’s tunic, and a large satchel bounced against her hip as she ran.

Lucas squinted at her, confused. Who the hell is this?

The girl stopped right in front of him, her crimson eyes sparkling with excitement. "You’re the guy! The one who did the crazy attack! And the even weirder magic defense!" she practically shouted, drawing the attention of several adventurers nearby.

Lucas frowned. "Wait... what?"

Lena raised an eyebrow at the sudden commotion, while Sarah sighed, already rubbing her temples.

The red-haired girl grinned wider. "I saw you! Back when you fought that Lava Slime! It was so weird but so cool! And now everyone knows about it!"

Lucas’s confusion deepened. "Wait, wait, what do you mean everyone knows?"

Klee—though Lucas still had no idea what her name was—puffed out her chest proudly. "I told them, obviously!"

Lucas nearly choked on his own spit. "Oh, so you who spread the news."

Sarah snorted. "Oh yeah. Word spread fast. Apparently, some wild adventurer fought a Lava Slime using the ’Ultimate Icy stick storm’ technique."

Lucas’s soul left his body. His face twisted in horror. "They call it that?!"

Lena barely suppressed a laugh. "That’s the name they went with?"

Klee nodded enthusiastically. "Well, I mean, I didn’t know what to call it, but that’s what the guys at the tavern started calling it, so I just went with it! It sounds cool, right?"

Lucas groaned, covering his face with one hand. "No. No, it doesn’t."

Klee tilted her head. "But it was cool! I’ve never seen anyone fight like that! You just using weirg sigil in your hand, and then that big slime went—" She threw her hands up in a mock explosion. "Boom! You totally wrecked it!"

Lucas exhaled sharply, already feeling a migraine coming on. So that’s why people have been looking at me weird...

Lena smirked. "Well, Lucas, congratulations. You’re famous."

Lucas shot her a glare. "This is not the kind of fame I wanted."

Klee, still beaming, leaned forward eagerly. "So! How does it work? What’s the secret behind your magic? Is it some kind of lost technique? A hidden martial art? A forbidden magic?"

Lucas hesitated, his mind scrambling for an answer. How the hell am I supposed to explain that it was just a random move from the spin ATK.

"Uhh... it’s complicated," he said quickly. "You wouldn’t understand."

Klee gasped, her eyes widening. "Whoa! So it is a secret technique! That’s so cool!" She clapped her hands together. "Please teach me!"

Lucas immediately shook his head. "Nope."

Klee pouted. "Aw, come on! Just a little bit? Pleeeease?"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

Sarah finally stepped in, her voice laced with amusement. "Alright, alright, leave the poor guy alone, Klee. He’s here for a commission."

Klee huffed but backed off slightly, though her eyes still gleamed with curiosity.

Lucas, desperate to change the subject, turned to Sarah. "Yeah, let’s just get to that. What do you have for me?"

Sarah glanced at the quest board before pulling out a parchment. "There’s a goblin extermination request from a nearby village. Apparently, they’ve been causing trouble in the mountains."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Goblins? That’s it?"

Sarah smirked. "Considering you already took down a Lava Slime, this should be easy for you."

Lucas hesitated. That’s exactly what worries me.

Still, a job was a job.

"Fine," he sighed. "I’ll take it."

Lena suddenly interrupted, her expression firm.

"No." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Lucas frowned. "What?"

Lena crossed her arms. "Not that one. Give us a different mission. Something farther away."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Farther away?" She leaned on the counter, curiosity flickering in her eyes. "Why?"

Lena didn’t even hesitate. "Because that mission is too simple. Lucas needs something that actually challenges him, right?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "I do?"

"Yes, you do," Lena said quickly, not meeting his gaze.

Inside her mind, she muttered to herself. I need to get him away from that MILF. He can’t keep doing... whatever that was with her.

Sarah chuckled, clearly entertained. "Oh, I see how it is."

Lena stiffened. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Sarah just grinned. "Nothing, nothing~"

Lucas sighed. "So, what other missions do you have?"

Sarah hummed thoughtfully before pulling out another parchment. "There’s a commission from the academy. They need alchemical stones from the Verdant Hollow Forest."

Lucas blinked. "Never heard of it."

Sarah nodded. "Not surprising. It’s pretty deep in the wilderness. Lots of rare materials grow there, but..." She hesitated. "It’s not exactly safe. Lots of monsters. The last group that went barely made it back, and—"

"We’ll take it," Lena cut in before Sarah could finish.

Lucas stared at her. "Wait, what?"

Sarah tilted her head. "Are you sure? I was just about to say that it’s dangerous—"

"Doesn’t matter. Lucas can handle it," Lena said, not even letting her finish.

Sarah smirked, looking between Lena and Lucas. "Well, aren’t you confident in him?"

Lena huffed. "It’s not that. I just think he should be improving himself, not wasting time on small fry goblins."

Lucas sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fine, fine. We’ll take it."

Sarah handed over the quest details, her smirk never fading. "Good luck, you two."

Lucas groaned. "Why do I feel like I’m being dragged into something stupid again?"

Lena ignored him, already turning toward the exit. "Come on, we’re leaving."

Lucas sighed again, reluctantly following.

Behind them, Sarah chuckled under her breath. "This is going to be interesting."

Just as Lucas and Lena were about to step out of the guild, Sarah called after them.

"Wait, wait! You almost forgot something."

Lucas turned, watching as Sarah jogged up to them with a rolled-up parchment in her hand. She waved it in the air with a knowing smirk.

"Here. This is a special map sponsored by the Academy for adventurers taking their commissions," she said, handing it over to Lucas.

Lucas raised an eyebrow and unrolled it. His expression immediately changed.

The map wasn’t just a simple piece of parchment with scribbled lines and vague landmarks. It was detailed—absurdly detailed. Roads, rivers, elevation changes, and even small markers for known gathering spots of alchemical materials were clearly drawn. But the part that really caught Lucas’s eye was the small arrow at the center, pointing in the direction he was facing.

"Hold on... does this thing track our position?" he asked, turning slightly. The arrow moved.

Sarah grinned. "Yep. Pretty handy, huh? The Academy put some real effort into this. It even highlights key materials found in certain regions. Of course, it’s not perfect—monsters and hidden dangers aren’t marked, so don’t expect it to hold your hand."

Lucas’s eyes sparkled. "This... this is amazing."

In his mind, it felt just like one of those open-world RPG maps—the kind loaded with collectible items, secret paths, and rare event markers. He half-expected a gacha pull button somewhere in the corner, ready to disappoint him with worthless loot.

Lena, on the other hand, wasn’t as impressed. She crossed her arms. "So it’s just a fancy map?"

Sarah shrugged. "Call it what you want, but it makes your job easier. Normally, only advanced adventurers get something like this, but the Academy decided to provide them to anyone taking their commissions... probably so they don’t have to send search parties for missing adventurers every week."

Lucas ignored her teasing, still mesmerized by the map. "Man, if only this thing had waypoints or fast travel... this is the kind of map I’d love to have in real life."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Lucas, this is real life."

Lucas coughed. "Right. That’s what I meant."

Sarah laughed. "Well, good luck. Try not to get too lost in the immersion, okay?"

Lucas rolled up the map carefully, tucking it into his belt. "Alright, let’s go."

Lena gave Sarah a lingering glance before huffing and turning away. "Let’s just get this over with."

Sarah watched them leave with an amused expression, hands on her hips. "They’re in for a fun trip."

Sarah watched Lucas and Lena disappear into the distance, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She leaned against the guild’s wooden frame, arms crossed, and let out a soft chuckle.

"I wonder if they’ll make it back in one piece... or if that Lustbloom will get to them first."

Her lips curled into an amused smirk. The Verdant Hollow Forest was dangerous, sure—filled with monsters, unpredictable terrain, and all sorts of nasty surprises. But none of that compared to one of its most infamous hazards: the Lustbloom.

A rare but particularly troublesome alchemical flower, the Lustbloom released an intoxicating pollen that heightened... certain urges. It was a well-known problem among adventurers, though most of them learned to avoid it after a few unfortunate encounters.

Sarah chuckled again. "Lena’s gonna have her hands full with that one."

She wasn’t particularly worried about their safety—Lucas was strong, and Lena was sharp. But imagining their reactions when they inevitably stumbled into the flower’s range? Now that was something she wished she could see firsthand.

Shaking her head in amusement, she turned back toward the guild, whistling to herself. "Well, good luck, you two. You’re gonna need it."

Several hours had passed since they left the city. The bustling streets and crowded buildings had long faded into the background, replaced by the vast stretch of wilderness. Towering trees loomed over them as they followed the winding dirt path deeper into the forest. The occasional rustling in the underbrush hinted at the presence of wildlife, but so far, nothing had approached them.

Lucas let out a sigh, adjusting the map in his hands as he glanced around at their surroundings.

"Lena, this is way too far," he finally said. "Are you sure we shouldn’t have taken a different commission?"

Lena, walking ahead, didn’t even glance back. "Nope. This one is perfect."

Lucas frowned. "Perfect? Lena, we’re so deep in the wilderness that even goblins would call this excessive. At this rate, we’re going to be camping in the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly."

Lucas blinked. "Wait, what?"

Lena kept walking, her pace steady, eyes fixed forward.

Lucas sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You’re acting weird. If you just wanted a change of scenery, we could’ve picked something a little closer."

Lena didn’t respond immediately. Instead, her fingers clenched slightly at her sides as she thought to herself, ’At least we’ll be spending the night far away from that busty woman he was with last night...’

Her expression remained neutral, but in her mind, irritation simmered. ’I can’t let him keep doing... that kind of thing with her.’

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the atmosphere grew heavier. The towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight, casting eerie shadows along the forest floor. Lucas kept an eye on the map, noting the terrain while also making sure they weren’t walking straight into danger.

But something felt... off.

Lena had been acting weird since they left the city, but now? It was getting worse.

At first, it was just small things—walking slightly ahead without saying much, glancing around as if she was expecting something to jump out at them, muttering under her breath just loud enough for him to hear but not enough for him to understand.

"Lena, you good?" Lucas finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lena didn’t stop walking. "Mm."

Lucas sighed. "That’s not an answer."

Lena tilted her head slightly, but her expression remained unreadable. "I’m just making sure things go the way they should."

Lucas frowned. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Lena kept walking, her fingers lightly trailing along the bark of a nearby tree. "You don’t need to understand."

"Okay, see, that? That’s creepy. What the hell are you talking about?"

Lena finally stopped, turning slightly to face him. Her golden eyes held an odd gleam, her lips curling into a small, knowing smirk. "I’m just keeping a promise."