148 The Grind
I spent a week grinding out gathering quests before I managed to complete thirty of them. I thought it might have taken longer, but I was able to speed things up with the assistance of Fina and |Analyze|.
"There. Thirty gathering quests." [Solace]
I slammed down the last quest in front of Burnes. He glanced down at the quest sheet.
"So it seems." [Burnes]
He sat with a relaxed expression behind the receptionist desk.
"So? How do I rank up?" [Solace]
Burnes raised a hand and gestured for something.
"Give me your necklace." [Burnes]
I took off the copper plated necklace and handed it to him.
"You're not going to need this anymore." [Burnes]
He reached under the desk and pulled out another copper necklace, rimmed with a little bit of silver. Unlike my last necklace, it had the letter "F" carved into it.
"Congrats. You've ranked up. I expect great things from you." [Burnes]
So he said in a monotone voice.
"Wow, very encouraging." [Solace]
"Heh." [Burnes]
Burnes then tossed me the necklace.
"You've got two more ranks before catching up with little Fina over there." [Burnes]
My eyes met Fina's for a moment.
"What rank are you again?" [Solace]
"D." [Fina]
I had to play that one alphabetical song in my head to check my progress.
("Yep, two to go.") [Solace]
"What are the requirements to rank up this time?" [Solace]
"Er… Lemme think." [Burnes]
He started counting on his fingers.
"One, you need to do two extermination quests." [Burnes]
"Like?" [Solace]
"Slaying a few slimes I'd say." [Burnes]
"Okay. Is that all?" [Solace]
"Next is… You have to finish forty gathering quests." [Burnes]
"Forty?!" [Solace]
Burnes smirked.
"Gathering herbs is an important job. Seems you're very suitable for it." [Burnes]
"Smug bastard." [Solace]
Fina placed a hand on her head and sighed in disappointment.
"Mr. Burnes, please don't tease Alt so much." [Fina]
"Keep out of this Fina. This is between men." [Burnes]
Burnes stood up and took off a few quests for me.
"Pick your poison." [Burnes]
I snatched a slime extermination quest off the table a bit aggressively. I don't usually act like this, but Burnes really gets under my skin.
"Forty gathering and two exterminations, right?" [Solace]
"Forty gathering and two exterminations." [Burnes]
He confirmed for me..
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
So I spent another week doing that. The slimes were easy. They were low level, a bit acidic, and had a clear weak spot. They were literal balls of jello with a core that shattered whenever I grabbed it. The slimy sensation was a little gross, and the acidic smell was hard to wash off. It was unfortunate that they gave little to no |Experience|.
"There. Forty gathering and two exterminations." [Solace]
Just like before, I slammed the last quest on top of Burnes' desk.
"That was quick." [Burnes]
"A week isn't that fast." [Solace]
"It's relative." [Burnes]
He then put out his hand.
"You know what I want." [Burnes]
I handed him my necklace and exchanged it for another copper one with the letter "E" carved into it. Although it had more silver than the last one, it was still barely noticeable.
"Congrats. You've ranked up. I expect great things for you." [Burnes]
It was that same line he used, still with a monotone voice.
"Are you trying to be an npc?" [Solace]
"...What's that?" [Burnes]
He seemed genuinely confused.
"Ah, it's nothing." [Solace]
Burnes gave me a look of suspicion before tossing me my new necklace.
"So what's the next requirement?" [Solace]
"Twenty exterminations and twenty gatherings." [Burnes]
It wasn't as bad as before. Personally, I preferred the exterminations since it was faster. Mostly because it was less boring.
"I'll be back." [Solace]
"Mhm." [Burnes]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It took another week again. I was wrong to think it would be faster this time since I had to do twenty exterminations. Matter of fact, it became hard to find more slimes. Perhaps I over hunted them? Either that or they moved to a different ecosystem. Either way, I completed the quests.
"Boom. Done." [Solace]
Slamming down the last quest, I gave Burnes a smug look. I even took off my necklace beforehand and placed it down on the desk.
"...I honestly didn't think you'd rank up so fast." [Burnes]
Burnes took my necklace and switched it out for a copper one with the letter "D" carved into it.
"Congrats. You've ranked up. I expect great things from you." [Burnes]
Surprisingly, he didn't say that with a monotone voice.
"You can now do joint quests with Fina." [Burnes]
"Joint quests?" [Solace]
"It basically means to write us down as a party." [Fina]
"Something similar. You can ask Fina for the finer details later." [Burnes]
I raised a brow.
"Isn't that supposed to be your job?" [Solace]
"And? I don't get paid enough to deal with brats like you." [Burnes]
"...Some adult you are." [Solace]
As Burnes opened his mouth to retort, Fina stepped in.
"Can you recommend some D rank quests?" [Fina]
Burnes flashed his finest smile.
"Of course!" [Burnes]
His treatment to Fina compared to me were lightyears apart.
"Really?" [Solace]
Burnes shrugged.
"I prefer looking out for a pretty girl over a stupid guy." [Burnes]
