Advancement Quest

In the last two days, the king had used all his influence and power to complete all of Ayla's requests.

So far, since he was the king of one of the strongest kingdoms and had lots of influence in other kingdoms, he had managed to complete all requests swiftly, except for one.

Within two days, the king had collected various treasures and information from every corner of the world, each holding a certain significance to their previous owners. He even went as far as to offend others, not caring about future problems he may face.

To Ayla, this display of desperation gave her an unsettling feeling in her heart. She could guess some of his reasons, but all of them led to one conclusion: This man possessed no courage and was no different from a coward, needing others to ensure his safety.

Armant held various grades of treasure and over a hundred pages inside a small space artifact, shaped like a ring, in his hand. He had finished going through everything. The treasures were random treasures, and he couldn't see why she wanted them, while the pages mostly contained the latest information on the heroes.

After he finished verifying that everything Ayla had asked for was inside, he handed the space ring over to one of his shadow guards, who had canceled his disguise.

The man had the appearance of someone in his twenties, but in reality he had lived for more than a few centuries, having dark hair and clear blue eyes. He was dressed in high-ranking light armor with a sword that hung from his waist. The man had the appearance of a high-ranking adventurer.

Receiving the space ring, the man left, leaving to meet Ayla.

Reaching the inn, his sudden presence caught a lot of attention. Not only that, but most of the people recognized him! They weren't aware of his identity as one of the king's shadows, but they were aware of his other identity.

"Isn't that the Sword Saint, Kei? I heard he has been on a mission for the last few months. Why did he suddenly appear here?"

"Could he be after the Blood Shadow Empress, Ebony, as well? She's gained a lot of attention recently, and even the prince himself came to see her, but that still doesn't explain why someone as powerful as him would come to see her."

"She's strong, but she's still a rookie. There's no chance she could stand against him. No matter how strong a rookie is, they still can't possibly compare to a saint."

As he walked inside, he could hear hundreds of people talking about him and Ayla. There wasn't a change in his calm expression on the outside. However, in his heart, he felt immense anger towards Ayla. There was also a prideful smile hidden under his facade as he enjoyed their praise.

What he really enjoyed the most was them placing Ayla under him, thinking she was weak when compared to him. He walked inside the inn without any hurry in his footsteps.

As he reached the stairs, Ayla finally moved, having noticed his presence since he appeared. She got off her bed, donned a simple dress, and waited for his arrival.

Before he even raised his hand to knock on her door, Ayla opened it, her eyes directly landing on the space ring in his hands.

"Did you gather everything I've asked for?"

"Everything you've asked for besides the last request has been placed in this ring. As for one of the things inside here, you'll need to come with me." Kei nodded before handing over the space ring.

"The king may have great influence, but there are still many forces he can't control that reside in this kingdom. The church is one of them, and it holds stronger power than the king himself. But there's also the adventurer's guild that's spread throughout the entire human continent."

Hearing his explanation, Ayla took the space ring, tossing it inside her shadow. "He doesn't have much influence over the adventures' guild; I get it! What does that have to do with me coming with you?"

He might've canceled the disguise he had when she first confronted him, but that didn't change his aura. Ayla knew who this man was. He was the same foolish man who lost his cool after she insulted the king. He tried to use his strength to silence her but failed.

Ayla wasn't threatened by him, but she still had a bad first impression of him. Like the king, he wasn't someone she would respect.

Kei clenched his fists tightly, causing blood to trickle down them. In his heart, he wanted to grab her fragile neck and end her life, but he somehow managed to maintain his composure on the outside.

"The king can't directly promote your adventure rank as you've asked for, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a way around that. Inside the space ring, there should be a recommendation letter from the king. With that, you'll be able to advance in one leap unless you fail."

Ayla passed him, taking a few steps at a calm pace into the hallway. However, she didn't move far before she turned around. "Are you coming? I thought you said I needed to go to the adventure guild."

"Let us get going then." Kei smiled, his fingers digging deeper into his palms.

****

"This is the guild?" Ayla's eyes widened slightly at the sight before her.

There wasn't any destruction, and the guild was completely intact. However, the adventures that gave the guild a sense of liveliness were gone! There were still a few adventures that remained, but the atmosphere couldn't be the same.

"What do you think the guild would look like if you severely injured almost all the adventurers here? Do you think the adventurers would come here again after their one-sided beating?" Kei responded to Ayla's query. "There won't be many adventures here for the next few months at the earliest."

"I'm certain you would've done the same... You aren't pure-hearted or as justifiable as you make others believe." Ayla smiled, walking over to the reception desk.

Kei stood dazed, not taking his eyes off Ayla. He only moved after remaining in this position for a few minutes. He walked over to the reception desk.

"We have confirmed this recommendation letter to be valid." The woman returned. "However, as you might've been told, this letter alone isn't enough for you to advance a rank, even if it was a personal recommendation from the king."

She pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it over to Ayla. "Before you can advance, you'll need to first complete a rank advancement quest. Since you were recommended, you have the choice to choose your quest."

Taking the sheet of paper, she read the paper's contents. The sheet of paper held information about quests similar to the ones on the quest board, but there were a few key differences between the two.

The first was that there were only three quests on the entire sheet, each specifying their own difficulties and requirements in immense detail compared to the other quests, which gave a general difficulty and requirements. There were also three words at the top, bolded in gold.

'Saint Rank Quests…' Ayla thought as her eyes landed on the first quest.

She read through everything in the first quest, even the information she didn't consider too relevant at first glance. The first quest had various rewards that would benefit her. She also noticed the sheer difference in the rewards she received compared to before.

"The first quest has many rewards that are extremely beneficial to my growth... I expected this, but still."

Ayla didn't immediately select this quest. There were still two more quests that she hadn't looked at. She wasn't going to decide until she read and understood them. Ayla kept reading through them, going through all the lines of text on the page.

[Hmm? This is…] Cynthia finally spoke after a long time, with a visible surprise in her tone. She didn't expect to see this quest before, nor the image that detailed the quest's objective.

[Ayla… I understand you might still be upset over what happened last time. However, this quest isn't something you can pass on. This quest is more beneficial to you than the two others combined. I'm certain of this. I wouldn't lie about this. I ask you to trust me this once.]

'I'll go with your suggestion.' Ayla answered, her voice maintaining its coldness. She returned her attention to the receptionist, handing back the sheet of paper.

"I'll take the second quest."