Don't drop your guard in the farmlands, please! part 3

On second thought, I do care about what other people think.

Instead of wearing the whole thing I just kept a leather strip with a small hard leather circle to cover my heart and I got rid of the bulky studded armor I used before. The coat was really helpful in many aspects, but it also was a hindrance so I got rid of it too, I'll look for something to replace it later but by the time being I'll follow the example of the instructors.

To think my idea was to find a way to wear proper armor, and instead I ended up getting rid of the little armor I used to wear.

Sera and I are currently on the guild's courtyard waiting for Mister Lorenzo who's going to present us the new members of our rookie party. We're both excited to go on a quest to try out our new equipment.

I won't be bringing my fur coat, but in case we need to spend the night out I took a cloth tent with me and replaced the rucksack with a leather backpack. I can carry a bit more than before without sacrificing mobility.

After all this changes I guess we look just like the other adventurers, it can't be helped since I based most of my decisions precisely on what they wear.

Lorenzo came to us with a group of four following him closely.

"Good morning everyone, this is mister Ryu and miss Sera, they passed the test recently and you'll have the chance to get to know them better once we set off. We're short on time so I'll keep things simple, today we're going to hunt rats, we'll go to the farmlands close by and you'll be able to hunt as many rats as you can, however you can. Your score will be based on how many tails you bring, but if I find out you get in the way of others in purpose I'll be confiscating all of them. By the way, if you manage to get 15 tails you'll be able to take quests on your own, if you don't you fail and you'll have to take quests with me for a month"

"Mister instructor, I- I think this quest is below me, I would never take such a menial task so I'll be sitting this one out"

A girl who looks my age lifted her hand and declared.

"Fine, if you don't want to come then don't bother coming back tomorrow or the day after, you're simply not suited to be an adventurer. The rest please follow me. It's a short trip to the farmlands because they're just outside the city, but once in there you'll have to cover great distances to find them, you have five minutes to get ready"

The girl blushed up to her ears, and apologized profusely until Lorenzo finally gave in and let her join us. The others made comments saying how ruthless Lorenzo was, but I think his reasoning is justifiable. If she, being a rookie, thinks a quest is below her, who is going to be taking on such quests? does it mean the people asking for help will be ignored?

Rats may be weak, but there must be a reason why someone posts a reward for them.

Since Sera and I were ready even for a trip outside the city, we just passed the time chatting and discussing our strategy. We'll be hunting together and sharing the tails we get, this will allow us to cover more distance and decrease the chance of rats escaping.

The trip was short indeed, as soon as we headed through the west gate there was a wheat field and a mill. I can't tell the distance but there's a wide variety of crops in the neighboring sites and further beyond the crops I could see an orchard.

Just a couple minutes later after arriving Lorenzo found a spot beneath a tree and after telling us to start hunting he just lied to rest.

Everyone started running as soon as he gave the go, but Sera and me started walking trying to find animal tracks. Unfortunately for us, the others made a mess moving from side to side, if there was any track it's obviously lost.

A red headed boy walked into the crops and even destroyed some plants walking on top of them, but Lorenzo paid no mind to it and simply rested with his arms behind his head. Seeing this, the others too went into the wheat fields looking for rats.

I guess everything is allowed but it doesn't mean we can disrupt the work of other people. Only thinking on the effort it took them to sow the crops is enough to keep me from trampling them over, but Sera must be thinking on the time she spent starving back at Ironwoods and how wasteful it is.

After an hour of looking thoroughly we weren't able to find a single rat. From what I've learned, quests like this are permanent. This means whenever someone brings a rat tail it'll be received by the adventurer's guild.

Rats are harmful creatures and they cause way more damage than the rookies hunting them, that must be why Lorenzo is not punishing anyone.

"Hey Sera, how much time left do you think we have?"

"I can't be sure mister Ryu, are you thinking on giving up?"

"That's not it, but walking randomly through the fields is not working. We should take a break and try to find out a better way"

Sera nodded and followed me to a comfortable spot beneath a tree. She took a blanket from her backpack and I took the food and drinks from mine. It's nothing fancy, just some sandwiches I made beforehand. Of course we also have travel rations on us, but there's no point on eating long lasting food so close to the city.

The peaceful scene in front of us and the gentle breeze made us feel at ease, despite the urgency of the quest in front of us.

Having a picnic with a beautiful girl near the wheat fields on a sunny day, It took me a while to notice the looks of the other rookies. I could even heard some nasty remarks calling us lazy bumps, useless plummets, dead weight and the likes.

It's not like we need to become adventurers to earn a living, but it feels bad being called that.

It seems they are putting they all in learning how to fight and becoming stronger. But I have my reasons to become an adventurer too, this is the easiest way to find a way to solve my curse.

There may be a way to get rid of the curse with money but our current objective is to become adventurers and earn the right to go to the oracle. I think getting a class is worth the effort, so we really need to get a passing grade.

Lorenzo has refused to tell us how exactly is he going to decide who passes and who fails, but he won't be able to fail us easily if we only get passing grades.

In short, we really need to hunt some rats right now.

"Mister Ryu, please don't blame yourself for not finding any rats, they are mostly active at night so this may be pointless"

Sera said, perhaps thinking I was blaming myself, when in fact I was just setting my current goals straight.

"How do you know that?"

"I used to hunt rats at the widows barracks, most women in there were scared of them so they used to pay us for getting rid of them"

"I see... I thought maybe you were scared of them too"

"If I'm being honest, it was a bit difficult at first, but it got easier in time. Hunting rats is different from hunting a deer, boars or wolves, they are small and don't really leave footprints."

"How do you track them then?"

"By their droppings, if you find their feces it means they eat in there"

"Sera! that's it!"

"What is it?"

"It's just something that's been bothering me. Lorenzo said we're currently in a trial period, usually just completing the quest should be enough to get a passing grade"

"Yes, he said that bringing 15 tails or more would be a passing grade"

"uhm, yes... but, finding rats in the fields in broad daylight, isn't that too difficult? why did he bring us specifically to this point at this hour? it's impossible for a single person to hunt 15 rats in this conditions, but maybe this whole exercise is to get us to work together!"

"Either that, or we need to head to the granary. I'm sure we would be able to find way more rats than we need over there"

"Please spare me from thinking about that. I've only seen rats once before, It was back at Ironwoods, I screamed when I saw it nibbling on the sack of flour and Rina came to the rescue with a broom"

"Really? I can somehow imagine miss Rina rolling up her sleeves and shouting at the rat while chasing it with a broom. What about Mochi? I thought you kept it to keep rats at bay"

"Mochi? no way, he's so lazy the only thing he's good for is taking naps and eating, and then taking more naps"

"I even thought it could be a good idea to bring him over to help us seek for rats"

"In that case I think the amarok would be a better choice"

Sera looked at me dumbfounded.

"I don't think so, please take no offense but I doubt it's an amarok, it looks really stupid"

Just as I was about to ask her what she meant by that a loud cheer was heard in the middle of the wheat field.

"I got one! I finally got one!"

The red headed boy walked towards Lorenzo, who couldn't be bothered by his excitement and remained with his eyes closed.

"Look! mister Lorenzo, I got one"

"If you want someone to praise you go to your dad kid, just complete the quest before dawn so I can go home early today"

The rest of the group gathered at Lorenzo's tree to look at the rat the redheaded guy caught. Now I notice we all are about the same age, which is kind of nice.

>small rat (healthy)

it looks weak, the only thing it does is twirl around after being caught by its tail.

"Hey guys, I'd like to have a word with everyone if you don't mind."