The Hunter's Guild, Again

Before Connie and Illumca went out for the guild, Sen insisted on staying and helping Ethel with her work. The old woman accepted with a wry smile.

Along the way, Connie stopped by Planthorne's to buy Illumca an eyepatch to hide the scar on her eye. The old man quickly took a plaid cloth and sewed an eyepatch for her. This took him not more than 10 minutes. After putting it on, she ordered some with butterfly motifs for future use.

Connie felt her wallet quickly thinning. Yet she was not worried. If her plans went well, she would have more than enough money to cover her expenses. That and more.

When the two arrived at the guild, all eyes were on them. The men's, especially, were immediately fixed at the curvy body of Illumca.

"Hi, Connie! I haven't seen you for a while. I've been so worried!" Cosette pushed her friend away from the counter when she noticed her coming.

"I've had some things to do. How are you?" she said, approaching the counter.

"It's been busy lately. What with the recent surge of monsters these days. The hunters and the guild are doing their best, of course. But we have our limits. And who's this?"

Before Connie managed to open her mouth, Illumca had already spoken. "I'm Illumca. Connie's partner."

With a professional smile, Cosette asked. "Illumca, is it? I haven't seen you before. Are you a hunter?"

"No."

"Oh, is that so?" Without missing a beat, Cosette continued. "So, how may I help you today? A quest?"

"I want to enter Alabaster Atrium. How do we go about this?"

At the mention of the dungeon's name, the whole guild went silent.

Cosette concernedly looked at Connie. "That dungeon is a dangerous one. I know that you are strong enough to defeat a B-Rank Monster. However, diving into a dungeon is a different beast. You have to control your supplies, regulate your party and other things. Your last dungeon record was a solo quest that you ended up failing because you stopped at the third level. The Training Dungeon was a 9 stages dungeon with a Level 5 average!"

"How do you remember that much detail about her?" illumca asked sternly.

"W-well, I just kinda…," she covered her blushing cheeks with both hands. "I…um…look up your guild history. The day of your enrollment, your quest failures and success, and asked the city guards about what happened after your last quest."

"That's a lot of dedication for your job," Connie said, impressed.

Cosette beamed at the praise. "Thank you. It's my duty to learn everything about my hunter!"

"Too much dedication, I think."

Ignoring the snide remark of Illumca, Cosette explained further. "A-anyway. To enter Alabaster Atrium, the minimal limit was to have at least a 4 people party with level 20 at minimum. Or Hunter Rank C."

"That's…hard," Connie said worriedly. "Not to mention the party, my level is at 5."

"How about this, we try asking for help from the available hunters," Cosette advised. "Master Kaihaku seemed to be taken with you. If we asked him for help, he would be happy to help."

"Hmm. That's a bit of an inconvenience. I'd like this little trip to be private. Can you give us a leeway?"

She shook her head wearily. "I can't do that even if I want to. I don't have the authority."

"Then who has it?" Illumca asked.

Cosette eyed the beautiful dark elf and replied. "Right now? No one. This kind of special permit can only be given by the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master. The both of them are going to attend the festival that is going to be held in the Capital."

"The Maiden of Water Festival?" Connie asked.

"Yes. They are there to help control the Guild's hunters from getting too rowdy. Despite his looks, Mr. Krantz is a good at administration, you see. And Guild Master Sabrac is…well, he is the way he is. You'll know when you meet him."

Illumca frowned at this obstacle. "Then what should we do?" she leaned down and whispered in Connie's ear. "Should we just sneak in?"

"Hold on please. Let me check," Cosette pulled out a small note from her pocket and furiously flipped through it. "There is another way. If you can reach Hunter Rank C, we can forgo the level restriction. As it happens, your Hunter Rank is currently at D. Taking one more quest would be enough for you to rise to C."

"How did that happen? I thought I was Rank E?"

"It was the Vice Guild Master's decision. You completed a task that outranks you by twice. That fact was taken under consideration as it will be a waste letting you stay as an E rank Hunter."

"And what quest can do this?"

The enamored guild receptionist gestured for her to come closer and whispered. "I shouldn't be favoring one hunter of others buuuut taking the D-Rank Drygg Boar meat gathering quest would be a great idea."

Connie smiled brightly then stepped over to the quest board and tore down the quest she needed. With deft and practiced speed, Cosette received the quest and jot the details down before handing it back to Connie.

"For this quest, you need to hunt 5 Drygg Boars and gather the meat. If you deliver them to us in good condition you will get extra reward. Do you have an Item Ring?"

"I don't have it, is there something I need it for?"

"Well…the boar is huge, so…if you don't have an Item Ring it would be hard for you to bring it back. I recommend you hire some people to help you with that."

"Connie and I can do that by ourselves," Illumca interjected.

Cosette shook her head while pointing at the quest detail, "Not with Drygg Boars. An adult one weighs about 200 Kilograms. Unless you can carry a total of a ton, I suggest you hire some people. It would not cost more than a few coins to hire some."

"That heavy? I could manage half a ton, perhaps a bit more. But I don't think you can handle that much weight, Illumca."

Illumca looked down with shame. "I-I'll increase my strength in the future."

"Well, it's unavoidable then. I still have some coins to spare," she shrugged with a sigh. "Thank you for the help, Cosette."

"No need for thanks. But perhaps you can invite me out to dinner sometime. Just between friends. I'd like to…know more about you."

"I'd like that," Connie replied with a smile. Behind her, however, Illumca's single eye was staring daggers at the guild receptionist. Cosette received the gaze with a fearless smile while adopting the guild's professional posture, unflinching like a statue.

"Well. How about we start looking? Let's split up and look for some people," Connie rubbed her chin as she turned around to look at the hunters.

About an hour later, the two came up empty. Even with Illumca as the bait, Out of the 20 plus hunters in the guild, there were still no takers.

"That's odd. Don't people like working with beautiful women?" Connie said exasperatedly.

"Ah, about that. Everyone looked excited about working with me, but when I mentioned you, they backed down. The rumor of you killing a full party of a C-Rank hunters alone with a pamphlet had circulated around," she paused, looking proud. "As expected of you, Connie. I could never dream of killing people with a piece of paper."

"I didn't kill anyone!" she paused. "Wait, no. I killed one and crippled the rest."

Illumca continued. "They said that the others were never found. They think you finished them off."

"That's pure slander!" she felt offended and growled in dissatisfaction. "If I want to kill someone, I'd do it straightforwardly!"

Illumca acknowledged that lighthearted confession of ruthlessness with a nod.

"Alright, forget about the men. How about the women? They seemed to be more accepting," Illumca asked.

"They were indeed more accepting. I almost closed the deal with some. But for some reason they look like they saw a ghost and refused me just moments later."

"Oh, how did that happen? How strange," Illumca said with a monotone voice and a forced smile. "Maybe they have something else to do."

"That's crap, though. I don't care about the quest but we need it to get the permit."

Cosette noticed the two standing at the corner and called out to them. "Still haven't found anyone?"

The two shook their heads.

Cosette put a finger under her chin and suggested something. "Then how about slaves?"

"Slaves?"

"Yes. Slaves. They are not that good for complicated jobs. But there are some combat slaves that you can hire by the hour. They should be able to help."

Illumca hated to say it, but she made a lot of sense. "We can have a look around in the Slave Market for someone acceptable. It's much better than looking for unsuitable people."

"Hmm…I see," Connie had seen people use slaves before. But in her past life, theses slaves are worth less than insects. Many cultivators use them for practice and simple bodily pleasures. For herself, she had never owned them.

"I guess we should have a look then."

Unbeknownst to Connie, that unplanned visit to the Slave Market happened to be a pivotal choice that will later cause an upheaval in the kingdom and cause a fight between heroes.