Chapter 62. Taking a Quest

After sending the message to Bowler and Flame, Jack went over to the rows of benches, found a comfortable spot and sat down and looked at one of the large notice boards hanging above. There were lots of quests.

*

Finding my lost cat: Mimi

Difficulty: E (recommended: Solo, level 1)

Rewards: 50 copper coins, 200 Experience points, 1 Adventurer Points

*

Escort a merchant to a meeting in the slum

Difficulty: D (recommended: Party of 3, level 10)

Rewards: 2 silver coins, 1000 Experience points, 8 Adventurer Points

*

Deliver a merchant package

Difficulty: E (recommended: Solo, level 5)

Rewards: 1 silver coins, 350 Experience points, 4 Adventurer Points

*

'Most of the Quests in Bronze Hall have difficulties of E and D,' Peniel explained as Jack continued reading on the quests. 'Basically, they are quests meant for beginner adventurers who are still in Basic Classes.'

'All of the quests are located inside the city,' Jack noticed, then corrected, 'ah, no, I just found one that requires you to go out of the city.'

*

Pick a blue magecrest flower for an apothecary at the foot of Siren Hill

Difficulty: D (recommended: Party of 4, level 12)

Rewards: 3 silver coins, 2000 Experience points, 14 Adventurer Points

*

'Most of the quests which require you to go out of the city are more difficult," Peniel said. "That's why there are fewer. You can find more of those quests once you rank up to Silver.'

'Hey, what is that quest?' Jack said as he pointed to one of the quests on the board.

*

Investigate the Cult of Phobos

Difficulty: ??? (recommended: ???)

Rewards: 1 silver coins, 500 Experience points, 3 Adventurer Points (subject to change)

*

'Yeah, sometimes this kind of quest will pop up. It is a quest where the Adventurers Association isn't sure of the difficulty. They placed it in this Hall because they think it is the most likely difficulty, but it is not definite. Sometimes the person undertaking it might complete the quest as easily as that find the cat quest. Sometimes instead, it is way above their level. If it turns out to be so, and they still manage to complete it, the rewards will be increased. So, it's a gamble.'

Jack continued reading through the quests. He then asked, 'How many points to get to Silver rank?'

'100 adventurer points.' Peniel replied.

'Wow! That means I have to do that find the cat quest, like, one hundred times to rank up?'

'You are assuming there will be one hundred cat quests?'

'Sigh, never mind. Let's take that gambling quest,' Jack said.

'You sure? It might turn out to be a dangerous mission,' Peniel warned.

'No pain, no gain,' he said as he rose up. He went up to one of the unoccupied counters. A pretty lady was manning the counter.

"Good day to you, sir," she greeted in a polite manner.

"Good day to you, too. I would like to take a quest," Jack said to her.

"Can I see your Adventurer Badge, sir?"

Jack gave his badge to her. She received it and checked it. After confirming it was legit, she returned it.

"Which quest would you like to take, sir?"

"Investigate the Cult of Phobos," Jack answered.

"This is a mysterious quest, which means that the difficulty may actually be higher or lower than expected. Are you sure you want to take this quest, sir?"

"I am sure," Jack said firmly.

"All right, sir. Let me process your request." She took out a paper, wrote something on it, stamped it, then offered it to Jack. "Please put your badge here, sir."

Jack did as he was told. When the badge touched the part of the paper indicated by the girl, it trembled slightly and emitted a soft glow. A symbol was carved onto the paper where the badge touched. Jack heard a notification sound afterward.

"You have received a quest: Investigate the Cult of Phobos. You should review the quest information under your Quests Window page."

'Quest Window Page?' Jack thought in his mind.

'It 's among your status window pages, you should find a new page now,' Peniel explained.

Jack opened his status window and took a look. There was a new page after the Party page.

*

Investigate the Cult of Phobos

Difficulty: ??? (recommended: ???)

Rewards: 1 silver coins, 500 Experience points, 3 Adventurer Points (subject to change)

Go to the Residential district. Interview the baker Amy for more information about the Cult.

Time limit: 2 days

*

His quest page contained more detailed information about the quest. It gave him a clue about how to proceed with the quest, and also added a time limit.

"That's all there is to it, sir. Good luck with your quest," the girl said as she took back her paper.

Jack thanked her and walked away.

'By the way, could I take on more quests?' Jack asked Peniel.

'For quests found outside, yes. But for Association's quests, you can only take one at a time. You would have to cancel your current quest in order to take another quest.' she answered.

'Oh, too bad.' He had the thought of hoarding the quests, but guessed the system didn't allow such shameless behavior.

Before he exited the building, he stopped at the counter near the entrance, to ask the young girl there for directions to the baker called Amy. Luckily, the baker's shop was in the same business district and wasn't too far from the Adventurers Association so Jack didn't waste too much time traveling. It took Jack approximately forty minutes to find the Bakery, including extra time added to the trip when Jack lost his way and again had to ask a native for directions.

'You could just hail for a carriage to take you anywhere within the Business and Residential District, you know,' Peniel told him.

'Is it free?' Jack asked.

'No, you would need to pay, of course. I have no idea for the exact cost, but should range between ten and fifty copper depending on the length of travel.'

'No, thanks,' Jack said after considering the number of coins he had left.

The shop this baker called Amy ran was on a rather quiet street compared to the other streets he had passed through. It was situated at the edge of the Business district, so it didn't boast many customers. Jack saw that the bakery had an Open sign on the front door, so he walked right in.

A doorbell rang out as he stepped inside the shop and the sweet aroma of fresh-baked bread and cake tickled his nostrils. Rows of delicious-looking bread were displayed on shelves against the wall on one side of the bakery. While on the further side was a glass case with rows of cakes inside. A pleasantly chubby girl was behind the counter. When she saw a customer enter her shop, her countenance brightened up.

"Good afternoon, sir. Are you perhaps interested in our bread or our cake? They are all freshly baked and we use the best ingredients there are. You won't find better tasting baked goods anywhere in the district," she happily promoted.

'Did she memorize those lines for all the customers that come in?' Jack thought to himself.

"Actually, I'm here for the quest regarding the Cult of Phobos. Are you Amy?" Jack asked her.

"Oh," Jack could see a slight trace of surprise in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by her cheery nature.

"Yes, I am. Please follow me to the back room," she said.

"You aren't concerned that a customer might come in?" Jack asked.

"I will hear the doorbell if there is someone," Amy said as she ushered Jack to the door beside the glass counter.

Jack followed her through the door and into a small room with a dining table and a kitchen where she made the bread and cake. Amy invited him to sit on one of the chairs at the dining table. Once they sat down, her expression turned serious.