36 Let's take a quest

With that being said, she guides me outside the room and points me the quests boards. They're beside the bar as she said with it ranking on the top of the boards. Luckily for me, it wasn't as crowded as before since I already wasted more than half an hour before. I walk over to the boards and scanning the quests posted on the boards. Surprisingly, it is pretty tidy. It is organized by type of quest and rewards amount. Talking about the rewards, every quest got different amounts of rewards according to their type. The rewards are gold or material and the guild points which used to raise your rank and buy something vague in the guild. Like a special currency for adventurer guild.

So it was easy to find the quests you wanted to take. Besides an official quest, there is a wanted board. It is full of criminals wanted a poster.

Anyway, an adventurer could only take three quests at once and the quests must be one rank higher or lower than their rank. Basically, a rank-E like me could only take rank F-D quest. Generally, there are three types of quests which are gathering, subjugating, and escorting.

Except for that, there also an urgent quest and designed quest. While an urgent quest usually for a high ranking adventurer, the designed quest wasn't like that. Designed quest as its name, it is a quest to a selected individual based on the client request. Usually, it was because the client knew the adventurer or they need a specific skill from the adventurer. That is why the adventurer needs to tell their specialty like scouting, exorcism etcetera.

Today, I planned to take subjugation quests. It is the fastest way to raise my level and rank at the same time. Why is that so? Because subjugation quests give a higher amount of guild points and it easier than gathering herbs or other material. Also, it doesn't take too much time like escorting the clients. Why did I say it easier than gathering? Because I can't find normal herbs with my detection magic! While those rare herbs weren't posted on F to D rank quest.

With that in mind, I look at every subjugation quest between rank-F to rank-D. There is Goblins Control, The Pest, and Slime on Plains quest, posted on the rank-F board. A pretty common quest I guess, the Goblins Control is goblins subjugation quest posted by the capital garrison. If this is a game, it could be called a newbie repeated quest, since there never an end of goblins near the capital. Also, since it could be repeated it gives a lower amount of points than those other rank-F subjugation quests. It only gives you 6 points, while the other is around 10 to 12 points. What more, I am already rank-E, which means I only earn half of the point.

Generally speaking, if you're a rank higher than your quest you earn half of the rewards point and the other way around if you are lower in rank than your quest. Simply put, it wasn't worth the efforts. It's the guild system to encourage adventurers to takes quests on their rank while giving incentive to those skilled adventurers that could take a higher rank quest.

Besides that, you could also hunt wild monsters and earn 70% of their points based on the guild evaluation. I shift my gaze to the other boards and scan the quests with my eyes. In the end, only those on rank-D board caught my eyes. I take away 3 quests from the board and standing in line once again. My reasoning was simple, it is nearby from the capital and it gives a considerable amount of points. From G to F you need only need 10 points, then from F to E you'll need 150 points. And to raise my guild rank, I need to earn 2250 guild points. Yep, it raises by 15 times every rank. Seems tough, but when I saw the amount of points one could earn from the rank-C quest, I change my mind.

One rank-C quest gives you around 4000 to 10000 points, so I can manage it, I think. Right now, I should think about my quests. I took Wild Ripper is Spotted, Black Snake Subjugation, and Hob-Goblin in a Goblins Village. All of it located in a place I have gone to in the past, and it gives plenty amount of point between 300 to 430. With these quests, I could raise my rank after I take another round of rank-D quest. I wait for a while since it wasn't as crowded as before, it finally my turn to submit the quests that I plan to take. This time, it wasn't Miss Fina that serves me on the counter. It is another receptionist with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is in her late 20s by her face, with a normal stature by this world standard which around 160s cm, and western face that kinda pretty. I think all the guild staff got above average in appearance. It is one of those marketing tricks, isn't it?

"Good morning, my name is Gina, how may I help you today, Missy?"

She greets me politely as I reach the front.

"Ah, good morning. I want to take these quests."

I gave her the quests in my hand.

"May I see your guild card, please?"

"Sure."

I follow the procedure to take quests calmly. Although, she seems surprised when she took my card.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, there isn't. But I never thought your level was this low. Are you sure you want to take these three? There will be a penalty in case you're failed, cancel or breach the time limit of the quest. There also the fact that all these quests are dangerous, in the worst case of scenario you could die."

Surprisingly, she wasn't bewildered because of my real identity. Maybe, the only one that knew my real identity are those higher-ups of the guild and Miss Fina. I nod my head at her.

"Nnn, I am sure. Please, process the procedure to take these quests."

"I understand. Please wait for a moment."

She took my guild card and the quests before she uses some sort of magic item. The card shines slightly before she stamps the quests. Then she puts them on the counter once again.

"The quests detail have been recorded on your card. Please be sure of the time limit of every quest you took, as the nearest times limit is Black Snake Subjugation which is three days and 8 hours from now. Also, when you're done with your quest, make sure the client put their stamp on the quest note and bring it back to the guild."

"Yes, thank you for your reminders. I'll be on my way now."

"It was my pleasure to be able to help. Do be careful on your quest and have a good trip, Miss Nies."

She bows down as I leave the counter. Until the end, she doesn't seem to know about my real identity. I return to my hotel at once and inform Ilya that I will be away for a couple of days. She notes my words and told me to be careful on my journey. Then I go back to my room before teleporting away to Hearth Mountain. It's one of the locations of my quests. From the description of the quest, it comes from the village on the north side of the mountain. It called as Tim village, I already at the north side of the mountain, near the main road to Gladis city, as my teleportation was there. Well, Gladis city is a day walk from here while the capital is around a half day away. That's why they post the quest in the capital since it's the nearest city. That being said, Tim village is one of the most favorite stops on the journey from Gladis to the capital. Of course, I know where is Tim village exact location, but it too conspicuous to suddenly appear there.

With that in mind, I walk along the main road for half an hour until I met a junction. The left road will bring you to the capital, while the right is to Tim village. It wasn't that far anymore to reach the village from the junction. After a couple of minutes, I could see the village gate already. It is a pretty good village if you consider its location, it got a 3-meter gate with wooden fences surrounding the village. When I come close, I could see two figures by the gate. They seem to be the village guards but they're pretty lax. One was young, while the other seems to be in his middle-aged. Even after they saw me, they don't seem to be vigilant at all. Ummm, is this alright?

"Hello there, Missy. Are you a traveler?"

The young guard even greets me kindly as he smiling and come near me without any wariness or whatsoever. As someone that learn and raise as a future lord, this really makes me worry for their wellbeing. If they are working in Dageraad territory, I will report them to the chief garrison for sure. This kind of lax attitude won't do at all as the gate guards. Still, this place isn't the Dageraad Mangrove, I could only sigh and shake my head at them.

"No, I am an adventurer that took a quest from this village. I come here for the Black Snake Subjugation quest. Here is my guild card."

"Ahh!! So you're the great and mighty adventurer! What took you so long to come here?!"

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man was the one that replies to my introduction, full of distrust and sarcasm. It makes me frown upon hearing his words, while the young guard looks down in shame. I didn't expect to be greeted like a savior or something like that, but his attitude annoys me. Even though I wasn't the same as the past Zein, his emotion, memories, and teaching regarding being a Marquis son etched to me. This kind of guard wasn't good at all, he will bring trouble for his village in the future with his attitudes being like these. He should have known that the adventurer comes here to help them, he should at least be respectful even though he despised adventurer.

I understand now, why no one takes this quest until it almost reaches the time limit. Usually, a rank-D quest will be posted for 10 days, it usually was done by the third day or fourth. But this quest has been posted for a week, and it's not like Black Snake was that hard to deal with a party. I guess, they already know about this guard, that's why no one took this quest for a week.

Feeling the awkward atmosphere, the young guard interferences at once.

"We've been waiting for you, please follow me. I'll guide you to our chief house."

He gestures me to follow him inside the gate, as he opens it. The middle-aged guard seems dissatisfied with him as he sees us leaving the gate. The village condition was pretty good for this world standard. Although the sanitary was questionable, overall it is good for living. The path was higher than the field and it paved with stone. So for a village, it is in great condition. It wasn't muddy at all. I could see the villagers doing their works in peace, while the children playing around in fields. They are looking at me curiously, as I passed them. Some even swinging their wooden swords in the air. I also see a couple of well in my way to the chief house. Not too long since he guides me, we arrive at the chief house. He knocks on the door before entering the house. It wasn't locked at all. The chief house itself wasn't that different from the villager's house. The only difference was its size, it is around three times larger than the rest. When we come inside I found out the reason for its size. It's because the first room was big enough to take in 50 people. It seems to be a meeting room for the village. There also a fireplace in the middle of the room. Then the guard brings me to the next room, it is a dining room with a long table and many chairs. He then stopped by a door in the dining room. After knocking the door a voice comes from inside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me. I brought along an adventure that took our quest."

"That's a good new! Come in, come in. I didn't lock the door."

His speaking tone change at once from a calm voice to cheerfully. The guard opens the door and gestured me to come inside. It's a study room, with a couple of bookshelves, a sofa, and a work desk at the end of the room. It wasn't that big, but I think it took a fifth of the house size. From the start, the first room which seems like a hall already took half of the house. Behind the desk, there is a middle-aged man with a familiar face. He looks like the older version of the young guard that guide me. He got brown hair and brown eyes, his beard was long until it reaches his chest. He seems surprised as he looks at me as he puts aside his works

"What a wonderful lady. Being so young but already reached rank-D as an adventurer. My name is Burton."

I frown upon hearing his words.

"Pardon me?"

"You're a rank-D, aren't you?

He looks bewildered as he asks me a question.

"No, I am not. I am a rank-E adventurer."

"Rank-E?! Then why are you here?"

He frowns as he brushes his beard. I could tell he seriously confused about what is going on.

"Is there something wrong with me being a rank-E?"

"Yes, there is something wrong with it. I am quite sure that I was requesting for rank-D or higher."

"That indeed the case. The quest was for a ranked as D, but a rank-E adventurer as myself could take a rank-D quest. Since it is a rank-D quest, any rank-E to rank-C adventurers can take it."

He slams his desk as he gets agitated when he heard my answer.

"What the meaning of this?! I made it clear to put it as a rank-C quest! Miss, could let me look the quest form?"

I frowned as I heard him, but I comply with his request and give him the quest form. He frowns further as he trembling when he read the quest. He shifts his gaze to the young guard at once.

"Call your uncle! That bastard!!"

He slams his desk again as he gave out an order to the young guard.

"Ye-yes father!"

He runs out at once leaving me alone with the chief. Seems like it was the chief brother or the young man uncle that posted the quest on the guild. I could tell by the looks of the chief that he is really furious about this. He took a deep breath and move to my side, gesturing me to sit down by the sofa. I comply and sit down calmly.

"I am sorry, miss. It seems like there is a misunderstanding on my brother side. This quest should be a rank-C quest, not D."

He bows down as he apologizes to me sincerely. I sigh internally and shook my head.

"It's fine. But could you fill me in? Since it a black snake subjugation quest, you didn't need a rank-C adventurer."

The black snake is of snake species, by the picture I see in the quest description, it looks like a big anaconda. Even the way he took down its prey was the same as an anaconda. The chief doesn't look surprised when I ask him the question, he did seem to be embarrassed as he scratches his head.

"Umu, it wasn't a secret, anyone in the village knew the reason we put a request. Around 3 weeks ago, a villager suddenly disappeared. The last time we heard from him was he going to the field a night before. At first, we thought that he just went to the mountain to harvested some herb. Since he used to do so, no one worried about him. But then, even after 2 days past by, we never saw him again. So by the next day, we made a search party and trail the mountain path. By the evening we found his corpse..."

He stops on his words before shaking his head.

"No, more precisely we found his left hand, around an hour from our village."

I rubbed my chin and frown as I heard him.

"Then, why did you conclude it was a black snake?"

"I never said that it was a black snake nor our village hunter. It was 3 days later, that someone found a black snake old skin. It was fresh as it just shedding its skin. But the location was on the opposite of the leftover hand, we found. Then by the next day, we found his right leg further in the mountain."

Damn, it must be done by a different monster. I could tell by his explanation that it wasn't a black snake at all. Since a black snake will eat its prey a whole. While this one definitely playing with its prey. That's why he was furious when he reads the quest.

"I understand now, so the real quest was to investigate the real culprit?"

"Yes. It should be an investigation quest with a rank-D adventurer as the minimum requirements."

"Then, I'll be—"

Then without any notice or whatsoever, two figures come in the room. It's him, the middle-aged guard. Hahaha, this shit was the one that put the request, eh? That was why this thing happened. Without I could finish my sentence the chief already strides to them and slapped the man. Taken by surprise he couldn't respond and get slapped. He staggered a bit before he pulls the chief collars at once.

"What the meaning of this you fucking wimp?!"

"You imbecile! You still don't understand what you've done?!"

"Huh? Isn't the great adventurer here already?!"

The young guard tries to holding his uncle at once when his uncle plans to punch the chief. He snorted at his futile attempt and hit him on the chin with his elbow. The young man that took a hit on his chin, lost his balance at once and falls on his butt. He then spat by his uncle, before the middle-aged guard shift back his gaze on the chief. All of this happens in a couple of seconds. I watched their drama as I keep silent, by the kingdom law, the chief was wrong to slap him first. Which make him legitimate to hit him back.

"You ungrateful imbecile! I should've banished you from the village years ago!"

"A wimp like you wanted to banish me? Keep your sleep talking, in dream wimp!"

He hit the chief as he said that.

Now, what should I do? As an adventurer, I shouldn't get involved in my client conflicts. What more, the quest that I took wasn't as its description. A black snake was pretty common in the Hegh Swamp north from here. It wasn't rare for it to reach this mountain, but by the chief story it a completely different monster that killed one of the villagers. This is a different matter altogether since they put a wrong type of quest and description of the quest.

One of the reasons the chief was really angry is about that. Because in the future their credibility would be questioned by the guild. It will be harder and more expensive for them to put a request in the future.

Second, the related adventurer, which is me, will meet with difficulty because of the miss information. In the worst case of scenario, it meant death.

And last, but not least. The rewards. As the client mad a request, the guild will take 20 percents of the quest rewards while the adventurer takes 80 percent. The money and materials aside, the most important thing is the guild point. Based on the quest details, the guild will evaluate the fee and rewards with the client. The 20 percent that the guild takes change as the guild points. Which mean if I did this quest which should be equal as rank-C quest, I was on the losing side.

There is a way to keep their credibility by canceling the quest, but they will lose 10 percent of the deposited money. They could also reported it and upgrade the quest by paying another 10 percent of the total rewards. Or they could just post a new quest in case of emergency, but this way, they need to deposits the rewards once again. Although, from the outlook of this village and the furious chief, it seems like they don't have the monetary power to do so. In conclusion, as an adventurer, I shouldn't get involved in this and report it to the guild.

While on the other side, as a noble son and future advisor of my sister, I should stop their useless fight and give them a piece of advice. It doesn't seem they will listen to my advice tho. I might be able to appeal to them if I used my background as a noble. But this village wasn't located in Dageraad territory, there is no reason for me to do so. I keep watching their dogfight as they starting to roll on the floor. It getting one sided tho, with the chief on the losing side.

Ugh.. Maybe I should stop them since this getting dangerous. With that in mind, I release mana pressure on the middle-aged guard. He goes flat on the floor at once. Confused, the middle-aged guard looks at me with his gaze, while the chief looks at me blankly.

"Isn't it enough?"

He tries to open his mouth, but nothing came out from him. Now then, let's discuss the quest.