A Monster to devour a Nightmare

This is the Base draft version edited by ChatGPT for comparison.

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As the days went by, Dale continued with his training and progressed with his plans…

(I'll start the time skip by giving a quick summary of the previous two days. You'll understand why later…)

Day 1

The first day of Resko's intensive training.

Starting off with a bang, this was the day Testros reached enlightenment after achieving a long-held dream. He also set up a new one for himself—a desire to surpass himself and establish, or rather, create a new future. One in which he can actively participate instead of entrusting it to another generation.

It was also the day Dale learned how to use Mana after watching Testros, altering his future in unpredictable ways by opening the Heart Gate. He also learned a bit about the truth of the outside world when he was attacked right next to his home.

This marked the beginning of his growing desire for power. What was once simply a means for him to seek out the truth, not a true goal, now held more significance. The situation had escalated, involving the people around him—his family.

Day 2

Not much happened this day.

Dale witnessed Illia's progress and her growth toward becoming a cook, rather than simply a caretaker. She had finally settled into doing something with her life, instead of living day by day taking care of children who were not hers. She no longer let the days pass by without a goal.

Although she loved her previous role, it wasn't her true calling. Now, she could take better care of the children around her by preparing tastier foods. Seeing their smiles was everything she could ask for.

Later in the day, Dale created a player squad with the goal of collecting materials in the Catacombs. He hoped this would be enough to silence a certain old man who complained about the lack of materials.

Dale reached Level 30, becoming the first one to do so and receiving the corresponding privilege for such an achievement.

Around this time, Tina returned from the Forest. Although she tried to brush it off, it was evident that she was lightly injured. For older people like her, no matter how strong they are, their natural healing abilities deteriorate.

Dale couldn't tell her to stop, as he knew she wouldn't. At most, he could make her hesitate, and that was the last thing he wanted when she was risking herself like that.

While she usually acted tough, he knew she always took what he said to heart. What if she were to hesitate at a crucial time? He didn't want to think about that.

He gave her a potion to help heal her injuries quickly and left. This was the most he could do for now.

Afterward, he spent the rest of the day studying and later practiced what he had learned by sparing with Testros in the training arena. Midway through the training session, Misgurd joined in, seeming a bit heated. It was unclear why he was so eager to fight.

Perhaps he felt motivated by seeing everyone try so hard. Even though his arm didn't function the same way as before, it was still more than enough to challenge Dale.

Once his training was complete, Dale took a quick break to log off and have dinner at home. If not, his mom might punish him. But that only took a few minutes of his time.

And what can I say? It was very tasty.

He also used this opportunity to test the effects of his skill. Dale wanted to see its effects and what would happen if he used it for short periods. He was surprised to find out that he gained nothing from it.

It appeared that his skill would only work after a minimum amount of time. He would need to conduct a few more tests to determine exactly how long. But it was certainly more than an hour.

The day ended with Dale taking a quick look at the crop fields. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that they were okay, for now.

However, he quickly noticed that one bull and two chickens were missing, which angered him. According to the Head, the village had a total of two bulls, slightly over 55 cows, and around 60 chickens.

It seemed this peace wouldn't last forever, as the number of bulls had been cut by 50%.

"It's manageable for now, but I can't rely on luck with this. Nor can I wait until the players reach +10 Reputation. I need them here, now," Dale thought to himself.

Dale was clearly stressed. He wanted to eradicate these pests, as their presence meant additional responsibilities, such as feeding the farm animals and protecting the crops. These were tasks the players could easily handle, allowing the villagers to return after two weeks.

Unfortunately, these pests were like spiders, laying thousands of eggs and multiplying rapidly due to little competition.

With a serious look, Dale spread a strange yellow powder around the crops and farm animals. The powder, made by Yumi, was a simple repellent that should minimize the damage, if not resolve the problem entirely.

The farm animals were neither weak nor stupid. A single spider pest wouldn't faze them, not even the chickens. However, when faced with a swarm of 10, 20, or 30 pests, even the most formidable Ignition Bovine could be overwhelmed.

Dale logged off, ending another day of hard work.

Day 3 (Actual start of the Time Skip)

Early morning, inside the Mercenary Guild...

"What's this?" Misgurd asked as he looked at a small stack of papers.

"These are a few missions I want to be issued. Can I do that?" Dale asked, arms crossed.

"Yes, you can. There isn't a restriction on that. At least, I'm not enforcing it," Misgurd replied as he read the papers.

"Of course, missions have ranks, and what you can request to be posted is based on your rank and position. The content of the mission itself is also considered. But you don't need to worry about that."

"What about the newcomers?"

Misgurd scoffed and said, "Yes, they can post commissions as well, as long as they pay. It's okay."

"I don't mind as long as I'm not the target. I won't do any of their missions unless it's something critical. Neither should you. We aren't here for them; they are here for us. Be wary of that, Dale," Misgurd said, wearing a serious expression.

"Once they find out how much money it's necessary to boss you around, they'll keep doing it. Perhaps for you, reputation doesn't matter, but if you keep refusing their commissions after they realize how much you 'cost,' they'll start calling you a pretender."

"So until they prove themselves worthy, don't take commissions from them. Don't let them order you around."

"... That's quite a pessimistic outlook on the players. But he's right. There are all sorts of crazy players. What if they decide to lure me into the forest under the guise of a quest?" Dale pondered.

"Decency is also a requirement for the quests. You can't post a quest that asks someone to run around naked, causing a disturbance and creating more problems. The quests were made to resolve problems, not cause them," Misgurd continued.

"Nor scream next to my office or pull a prank on me. And certainly not call me bald loudly. The last one, I'll make sure to throw the culprit in jail," Misgurd said, his expression darkening.

"Did... something like that already happen?" Dale asked.

"More frequently than you think. But we're getting off-topic. Can you explain to me what this is about? You know very well what we talked about last time. We decided to keep them inside for now."

"Yes, I know. But we need to take care of the crops, so I'm willing to break the agreement we decided on and have a group do the job for us."

'Someone has to feed the animals. Someone needs to be outside.'

"... Fine, I agree with you on that one. Both Edimund and I were discussing how to deal with this issue, and this may very well be a solution."

"I'll issue this quest as soon as possible. I'll pick the most trustworthy people; you can be assured of that," Misgurd said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Why are you thanking me? This benefits both of us," Misgurd chuckled as he patted Dale's back.

"Is there anything else?"

"That was all," Dale replied, shaking his head.

"In that case, I'll be here if you need me for anything else. I've been swamped with work recently, so it's unlikely I'll leave this place anyway," Misgurd said, annoyed.

"You should be thankful. As the second-highest-ranking member after me in this Branch, you should be kneeling on the ground that I'm not drafting you to work as the Vice Leader," he said smugly.

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Your Highness," Dale replied, bowing.

Misgurd rolled his eyes and waved his hand, shooing Dale away.

Dale smiled and left to train.

...

About a minute later...

"Hopefully, with this, another problem shall be resolved," Dale muttered, glancing back toward the Guild.

"A few simple repeatable quests. It's the best solution for this problem. One quest that involves hunting the pests, one that involves protecting the crops and animals, and one that involves taking care of them," Dale thought.

"I'm sure there'll be a lot of players interested in that, or at least one of them, from the older players to the newcomers that just arrived. At first, I was thinking of leaving this to Rodi's Clan, but that may attract too much attention and make the players think I'm favoring them."

"Besides, they don't have time for that after the quest I assigned them already. And although I'm leaving these quests for the normal players, I doubt they'll mess it up."

"If they fail initially, better players will take their place until the quest's difficulty is adjusted. Over time, suitable players will flock to complete it, while the less capable ones will have to complete miscellaneous quests to increase their Reputation."

"Increasing the quest diversity within the Mercenary Guild is key. It's currently one of the best tools for controlling the players, so I need to increase its appeal to them. But I'll have to wait and see the effects of these quests later."

For now, Dale cleared his mind and focused on his training. Each day, he pushed himself a bit further. He needed to. He had to. All of it to become...

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Notes: