Chapter 09: Aptitude and Weapon

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"With all of the above, the explanation concludes. In case there is anything you do not understand, please contact me."

"Understood."

The Adventurer Card sounded great. From what Katheryne told me, adventurers loved them because they were so useful. While they weren't as amazing as the storage rings in the novels, they did their job well. They even automatically stored the Mora found in chests after opening them.

They also served to absorb the experience of defeated monsters. Or the one you gained by checking chests, solving puzzles or completing quests. Then, when you gather enough experience, automatically go up in Adventure Rank.

While it's different from how these things work in the game, I'm sure it was necessary without a system.

I scratched my chin thoughtfully. What Katheryne had said about how group rewards worked didn't make much sense in the end.

"Miss Katheryne, let me verify a few details. You said the bigger the group, the bigger the bounty, right? But if so, they could easily abuse the system. How come the guild didn't go bankrupt?"

I mean, if with 50 adventurers, we did a 500,000 Mora quest and they paid us proportionally, wouldn't we get like 25 million Mora? That would bankrupt the guild in no time.

"I see Mr. Touya is a little slow." Katheryne put a hand to her mouth to hold in her laughter. Under her gaze that seemed like looking at a fool, I felt uneasy, "What I meant is that the rewards only increase up to four people in the group, including you. So even if you take 10 adventurers, the maximum payout only multiplies up to the four adventurers. So the system is sustainable."

"So that's all I need to know, isn't it?" I asked, rubbing my cheek guiltily. I really should pay more attention.

"Of course. But don't forget the basic guild rules. If you have any other questions or forget anything, feel free to consult with the ever-reliable Katheryne."

I returned the gesture. I started thinking about the rule she was referring to. Like the Adventurer's Guilds in the anime, the system worked as follows:

The Guild collects all the information about quests and jobs they receive from various sources. They then rank the tasks according to their difficulty and present them to registered adventurers in form of quests and adventures.

Because tasks are divided into ranks by their degree of difficulty, a person belonging to a low rank cannot receive a task of a higher rank. However, if half the number of their peers reach that higher rank, even if the person is of a lower rank, they can then take the task.

If complete the task, then will receive compensation. If you have two people in your group including yourself, then the earnings will be doubled, with this effect being effective for up to four members. If an adventurer or a group fails the task, they have to pay for the failure.

Additionally, if a single task was not taken for two years, the registration would be revoked. And the information that mattered most to me: if you hunted anywhere other than the specific designated area for a subjugation task, that mission would become invalid.

Several things were explained, but those were the most important points.

As for this Adventurer Card, if anyone other than the original owner touched it for ten seconds, the mechanism would change the card to black and block all functions. This was done to prevent counterfeiting. Also, if I were to lose the card, Katheryne said I must inform the guild immediately to issue a new one for a substantial amount of Mora.

"The assignments are posted on that board. After you review and accept any assignment, please apply here with me."

Katheryne pointed to the bulletin board next to the guild counter. It displayed several sheets of paper with information about available quests.

"You are currently an Adventure Rank 0 adventurer. That means you can only take "D" ranked jobs".

According to her, the Intelligence Department Organizers were in charge of classifying tasks by rank, from S to D, to help newbies like me progress safely.

Ranks that could be accepted increased with experience in the Adventure Rank, allowing both veterans and newcomers to face challenges commensurate with their abilities.

"I'm really looking forward to starting a quest right now," I commented with a sigh. "But I don't think the time is right yet."

"True, you don't have a weapon and with Stormterror hanging around, it's better to wait."

It wasn't that I was afraid, at least I didn't want to admit it, but I had to be realistic. My Level was good for a rookie, but compared to threats like Stormterror, my skills were still lacking.

If I had to be honest, I preferred to practice my skills. That way, once I'm satisfied with my progress, I could venture out into the world without thinking about the consequences.

"But, Touya," Katheryne insisted with a smile, "completing quests doesn't just mean fighting monsters. We also have Daily Commission here in town. You could take on jobs like finding lost cats, running errands, or babysitting. It would be a good way to move up the ranks!"

"Not interested."

I instantly crossed my arms in denial. With a small "Hehe~", Amber laughed from the side.

Running errands, babysitting, hell no!

I remembered another important detail that Katheryne had mentioned to me earlier. These "Daily Commission" could only be completed four times a day, unlike the usual quests.

Although the rewards were tempting for someone as poor as me, they really only amounted to a waste of time for the time being.

"There are other easy jobs as well." She continued, "For example, Sara of Good Hunter needs 5 pigeons for her kitchen, and some Sweet Flowers if you can find them."

"Pigeons..." I remembered seeing a large number of them near the bridge. They used to be fed by a boy named Timmy. In fact, when we walked by there next to Amber, I think he looked at me like I had killed his father.

Well, I guess I can catch some and get some Mora.

Sorry Timmy, but you'll have to suffer a little. All in all, there were plenty of pigeons everywhere.

"Okay, I accept Sara's commission."

I walked over to the board and tore off the sheet with Sara's order. I handed it to Katheryne, who instructed me to pull out my Adventurer Card.

Then, the sheet turned into tiny luminous dots that were absorbed by the card. Faced with an unfamiliar sight, I blinked in amazement.

"The card also serves to record accepted quests and prevent fraud." Katheryne saw my bewilderment and explained, "When you complete the task, "completed" mark will appear. Come back here to collect the reward."

I nodded slightly and put my card away. I now had the order written on the card, although I didn't quite understand it because of the language wall.

"By the way, since you're just starting out, Wagner from the blacksmith shop must have a beginner's weapon that he'll give you for free."

"Oh, thank you very much!" As soon as Katheryne informed me of a free weapon, I said that, "I'll go right now."

"Hey, wait for me!" as I turned at the sound of her voice, I saw Amber running to catch up with me.

'Does she plan on following me the whole time? Well, at first she had given the Traveler a Wind Glider. She probably plans to do the same with me, although I have a better idea.'

Without realizing it, when she reached for me, I ended up taking her warm, soft hand in mine. Her touch was comforting, like the embrace of a burning flame. After all, it was only natural for the skin of a Pyro archer like her to give off such warmth, wasn't it?

"H-hey, let go of me!" When I started to tug on her hand to make her follow me, she exclaimed. Looking over my shoulder, I expected an annoyed expression, however, I could see her cheeks as red as her clothes, "W-what do you think you're doing? Holding my hand all of a sudden is illegal, y-you pervert!"

Still, she wasn't really struggling to get free. Her grip felt tightening around my hand. I quickened my pace with a smile, only to see her blush even more.

"Come on Amber, don't complain. Just admit that deep down you enjoy it too."

"Th-that's not true!" She looked too cute as she averted her gaze, her face more aflame than ever. Her adorable pout only made my smile widen even more.

Holding Amber's warm, soft hand felt really comforting. A simple but pleasurable pleasure that I would have liked to prolong for longer, though I knew given the place and time, it wasn't appropriate.

When we arrived in front of the blacksmith shop, I felt a twinge of disappointment as I felt Amber quickly let go of my hand, before pulling away with a flushed face. Her shy reaction only made me want to keep teasing her a while longer.

"Oh? What do we have here?" The burly blacksmith stopped banging on the forge at the sight of us. His eyes landed first on Amber and then on me, smirking a big smirk. "Did Outrider Amber get a boyfriend yet? Now that's news worth celebrating!"

"B-boyfriend?! That's completely untrue!" Amber exclaimed in panic, shaking her tiny fists in the air. Her mousy face only made her look even cuter.

"Hey old man, Katheryne said they usually give away basic equipment to new adventurers." I said to the blacksmith, trying to deflect the topic. "Is that true?"

Despite the small affectionate gesture earlier, I was aware that Amber still didn't feel that kind of affection towards me. After all, we had just met just a few hours ago during my arrival into this world. As for her reaction, I could only assume it was her panic at interacting for first time with someone of the opposite sex so blatantly.

However, considering her attitude that didn't seem to reject me, I couldn't help but feel happy that I had made a good first impression on her.

"Sure, we have some basic weapons that can get you started. They're the result of my useless disciple's failed attempts, so they're a bit worn out, but they'll do to get you started as an adventurer."

I pursed my lips at the first part of his words. This man was really stingy. But then I was slightly puzzled at the new term.

"Aptitude?"

"Huh? Didn't you know?" He replied with a quizzical gesture, then began to explain to me while wiped his hands, "Each person has a specific natural 'aptitude' for certain weapons. Someone might be more skilled with greatswords, while others do better using Catalysts. Those who check their aptitude do not hesitate to use the weapons that match it, as they will be able to get the most out of them in combat. Otherwise, even if they use another type of weapon, they will find that it is not effective at all."

"So... how do I know what my aptitude is?"

Faced with the new mechanics of this world, I decided to put aside what little knowledge I had about the game. After all, I didn't remember there being a mechanic about aptitude limitants.

'Well. Characters always used a specific type of weapon and it couldn't be changed. Maybe it's because of this?'

"Of course, let me go for our aptitude detector."

What a cliche name...

He headed to the back and returned almost immediately holding a strange object in his hands. "This crystal was created millennia ago precisely for this task. Allow me to test it on you."

He placed the round crystal on the table, and I could see that it was completely transparent. He asked me to place my palm on it and after a few seconds, a spear began to draw itself inside.

"Wow, you have an aptitude for spears. Not bad-" The blacksmith commented. But he did not finish the sentence, for suddenly another symbol appeared. A book, that is, a catalyst, and then a sword, a greatsword and finally a bow.

"What the hell..." The man's eyes were wide as he gawked at me. "I've never seen anything like this before. Boy, what kind of being are you really?"

I also looked at the crystal with slight surprise. Would I perhaps have such a versatile hidden ability?

I suddenly felt the need to praise the goddess.

I decided to ignore the blacksmith's question, who was clearly still puzzled by me. I also pretended not to notice Amber's piercing gaze, who was watching me with much more curiosity than usual to the point that I felt my cheeks being pierced.

"I would like to take the spear. Even if the detector shows aptitude for several, it's best to start by practicing with one."

"Ah, right!" The blacksmith snapped out of his stupor, "Hey, you useless brat, get the boy a spear!"

Soon his apprentice returned with the weapon. He explained that it was a one-star spear. Apparently, just as in the game, weapons were also rated from one to five stars according to their quality.

I took the spear in my hands. As I left the smithy, I met Amber's curious gaze. Her eyes were staring at me.

"So... Are you going to tell me what the heck that was all about? I've never seen such varied results."

"I think it was due to some cheating ability I received when I was reborn into this world thanks to the goddess."

Of course, I couldn't say something as outrageous as that. So I opted for a shrug, "The truth is quite a mystery even to me."

"Bah! Clearly you know what happened!" She puffed out her cheeks and ignored me, stepping forward.

She looked so cute sulking like that that I was tempted to slap her bubble butt swaying back and forth under her leather shorts, though I restrained myself in time.

Well, it was time to train.

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I got a cringe writing this chapter...

Give me some power stones so the story can move up in the rankings and get more people to read it! I would also really appreciate it if you could leave some comments to improve the story or a review to increase my motivation. <3< p>