Old Monk Nalud’s Special Quest?

Nero soon arrived at the village chief who seemed to always be in a decent mood, and like always whenever she looked at Nero, her eyes brighten as she engaged in conversation.

"Child, I take it that you've successfully completed your quest?" Village Chief Pan asked.

Nero showed her the quest completion token causing her smile to widen as she spoke, "You've done well-child, not many can defeat Normal Grade monsters during their first attempt. I was originally planning to send you on another warm-up quest, but now I see that you are almost ready to start accepting more serious tasks."

Nero's face grew excited when he heard this; he thought to himself, "Yes, I've been recognized, this has to be some kind of hidden quest or special mission."

Nero looked expectantly at Village Chief Pan as if expecting a grand mission, but sadly, the latter merely waved their hand and spoke, "That being said, you are still a bit weak, come back once you've achieved Level 7. As for the current Quest, here are your rewards young one."

The moment she spoke, a series of lights flowed into Nero's body, causing a bunch of notifications to sound.

Ding!

[You have completed the Normal Quest: Slay the Pests of the Bamboo Grove!]

Ding!

[You have been rewarded 400 EXP and 100 Prestige!]

Ding!

[You have leveled up! All stats have increased as follows HP: 20, MP: 20, SA: +5, CF: +10, BT: +3, SP: +3km]

...

Nero was both happy and sad, on one side, he felt pleased that he got a power-up, but on the other hand, he didn't like that he had to try to level up some more before he got another quest.

'Darn, it looks like I'll have to check around and see if there's anything worth doing, if not, then I suppose it's really as my older self said, I can only strive to increase my mastery while leveling in the fields,' Nero contemplated as he made smile to the village chief and spoke.

"Grandma chief, thank you, I will definitely return when I am stronger!"

Village Chief Pan laughed as she spoke, "Hoho, good young one, go on now, I still have to take care of the rest."

Nero nodded and hurriedly left, noticing that the line was growing, the men stared at him with hatred in their eyes as if they saw an enemy. However, he didn't even spare them a glance and continued moving onwards.

While leaving, Nero didn't notice that a familiar green-eyed, green-haired youth with freckles was in the crown, he wore a simple cloak with a staff in his hand. He glared at the direction Nero left as if poison were in his eyes as a person standing by his side spoke, "Eh? Isn't he that kid you're always talking about getting revenge on, why aren't you doing anything?"

The other person who spoke was a young girl with narrow green eyes that held two daggers; she had blackish-green hair styled into two pigtails and wore a sexy type of female armor.

"Sister, a gentleman gets his revenge only at the best moment, I can wait, besides it would be much more fun to see his despair, only after he tried his best and thinks he's reached the peak." The green-haired youth replied with a menacing look.

"Hehe, brother, you're always so cruel, I love it…" The girl said with a smile.

The green-haired youth then smiled before both he and his sister went towards the village chief to turn in their quest. A few others couldn't help but notice them as one person spoke with a hint of shock, "Hey, isn't he that rising rookie who startled everyone yesterday?"

Someone nearby nodded and spoke, "Yes, I think he's the one that's now called Poison Boy, if I'm correct, truly a talent indeed, he might have a shot at catching up to the Child of Blaze."

"Haha, you're speaking nonsense, you and I both know how much of a fruitful dream that is…" Another person said in a light tone.

The other person shook his head, he wore a wistful look as if he too knew that it was wishful thinking. Unaware of those scenes behind him, Nero did a quick search around the village, but no matter which individual he conversed with, none of them were interested in giving him a quest.

At this time, Nero had arrived at the small temple with the monk that sat in mediation, the moment Nero saw him, his face turned dark as he didn't like the sight of him.

''This darn greedy monk... to think I have to come and ask him for a quest..." Nero murmured as he slowly made his way over to him.

As expected, the moment Nero neared him, the monk opened his eyes and stared at him, scanning his equipment first before his eyes beamed as he made a warm smile and spoke, "Oh, I didn't think I'd see you here so soon young novice, it seems that you've gotten quite the haul as of late. Do tell this old monk what it is you wish to purchase from our temple?"

Nero tried his best to push down his mood before he spoke, "Dear elder, I am about to venture into the wilds while traveling to Birgime, and I thought that I might give a helping ahead where necessary. Do you have a quest that I can do?"

When Nero said this, he had a look of hope on his face, as he was hoping that this greedy monk would be his breakthrough. Yet, at this time, the monk's precious smile changed to one of pondering.

"Hmm, a quest?" The old monk said in surprise.

"That's right; I would like to receive something that can grant me suitable rewards," Nero said while looking at him.

The old monk looked at Nero up and down before a shifty look appeared on his face. He spoke with a strange smile, "Hehe... a quest, well, I have to say young one, you've truly come at a good time, I indeed have a matter I'd need to handle... but the only question is, can you do it?"

Nero felt a bit hesitant as he saw his expression, he contemplated, 'I don't like his look... but I have no other choice, by what I've seen questing is the quickest way to catch up to those talents as leveling is only getting harder as I progress.'

As he didn't have options, he spoke with a firm spirit, "No matter the quest, I will do it!"

When the monk heard Nero's words, his smile grew eider as he spoke in a vague manner, "Good, then since you are so brave this is my request, I am in need of a special creature's blood, one that can only be found at the depths of Blackfern Hollows. Go there and bring it to me, and I shall grant you a few special rewards."

[Special Quest: Retrieve the blood of the ???]

[Difficulty:?]

[Description: Defeat the ??? and retrieve its blood from the Blackfern Hollows, only by returning with one jar will this Quest be considered a success.]

[Rewards:]

[??? EXP, Prestige ???, Old Monk's Special Gift]

[Old Monk Nalud of Winfrey Village's Combat Temple has offered you a Special Quest. If you reject it, your prestige will decline, and you will never be able to purchase another combat technique from his temple.]

[Do you accept the Quest, Yes or No?]

'This darn, dirty monk! What kind of Quest is this?' Nero cursed in his mind, he didn't like the old monk, but as he saw that Quest would leave a pretty troublesome penalty, he could only grit his teeth and accept it.

Monk Nalud smiled as he saw Nero's conflicted look, he spoke, adding fire to the flames, "Hmm? What's this? Are you not interested in my Quest? If so, I can take it back..."

Monk Nalud was about to say something, but Nero promptly spoke and cut him off, "I accept the quest!"

Monk Nalud as a bit surprised, he chuckled while speaking, "Oh, well now, I didn't think you'd still have the guts in you boy. Fine, go and be done with it, I shall look forward to your return..."

As Monk Nalud said this, he flicked his sleeves and closed his eyes, returning to meditation. Following this, a notification sounded in Nero's head.

[Quest accepted!]

Nero didn't even bother to say goodbye, he hurriedly left the temple and carefully made his way towards the village entrance. He sighed while walking on a hidden track, avoiding the sights of potential hazardous women as he questioned his older self, 'Hey, what are my odds in even passing this so-called Special Quest?'

Adult Nero gave him an immediate reply, "Not to mention at your current level, even if you achieve Level 5 with stage 5 mastery, it will be less than 10%. Huhu, I must say, you truly are brave and daring to accept such a quest like that and still have the mood to press on with pride. I wonder what gave you so much courage?"

Nero hearing this knew that he didn't have the slightest chance, but he still spoke with confidence, "In life, there is no eternal absolute, if it's something that can be conquered then, by all means, I shall find a way to overcome it."

When Adult Nero heard those words, his eyes flashed when he thought to himself, "No eternal absolute... heh, well I'll be damned, I never thought I could say such things at this age. So fascinating, I truly want to see what he can accomplish in my stead."

As Adult Nero wandered off into his thoughts, Nero had already arrived at a remote section of the Lesser Plains. He looked around and saw that no one was around and couldn't help but sigh as he muttered, "These women truly are troublesome, I'll need to find a way to deal with this soon..."

Adult Nero snickered in silence, not saying anything; Nero ignored his older self and prepared to move forward. However, right at this time, he heard a notification.

[Avollo has sent a message!]

Nero quickly opened it up and read the details, but as he saw it, not only his own but even Adult Nero's face turned dark.

[Avollo - "Hey, it's almost 3, it looks like I've made it to the town a bit early, I just remembered that you're at a pretty low level, do you need me to come and pick you up?"]

Both Adult and Young Nero's eyes blazed when they shouted in their minds as of in synchrony, 'This must never happen!'

Not even wasting a moment, he replied by typing a message on a virtual keyboard.

[Nero - "As if I'd need it, I'll be there in an hour the latest!"]

[Avollo - "Haha, if you say so, then I'll be waiting."]

Adult Nero sighed in relief as he saw this, he also recovered his usual mood, closing his eyes as he didn't bother to pay attention to the world around him.

Nero had also calmed down; he looked at the distant path before with firm eyes, he quickly called out his sword from his personal storage space and equipped it at his side as he dashed forward at full speed.

"Hmph! I won't fall behind, not to you or anyone else," Nero said as he bolted across the plains, vanishing towards its depths.

****

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