I’d ended up staying up late that night doing some work, so I woke the next day feeling a little sleep deprived.
I was really tempted to go straight back to sleep, but I knew I needed to start making some money again. I’d already spent two of the three gold coins I’d earned from two months of hunting goblins on skill assessments, and the third had gone to purchasing supplies for my expedition into Patia Forest.
I didn’t want to dip into the money I’d gotten from pawning those stolen goods unless I really had to, but I was going to be in pretty dire financial straits unless I resumed my adventuring activities.
After slapping my cheeks as hard as I could, I shook off the last remains of my lethargy and crawled out of bed.
When I looked around the room, I noticed that the other two were gone. They’d probably left first thing in the morning.
As I packed up my things and readied myself for the day, I couldn’t help but notice that it felt a little lonely here without them—it was a little too roomy in our shared room when I was here by myself.
I left the hotel and made my way to the Adventurers’ Guild, then headed straight to the quest desk.
Starting today, I’d be able to accept bronze-level quests. I was eager to say goodbye to the days of goblin hunting, but that didn’t mean they were off the menu entirely. Reaching this rank didn’t mean I couldn’t still keep hunting goblins—if I wanted to, that was.
Bronze-rank quests paid better, obviously, but there was a case to be made for continuing to hunt more goblins. After two months of nothing but goblin quests, I’d gotten pretty good at tackling the little monsters. You might even say I was a bit of a professional now.
Even though goblin hunting paid the least, the thought occurred to me that at the end of the day, I still might be able to make better money off them if I kept up the same rate of slaying. That being said, it felt like I ought to at least accept a bronze quest today, just to see what they were like.
Worst-case scenario, if bronze quests prove to be an inefficient way to make money, I can just go back to goblins again tomorrow, I thought as I took my place in line at the quest desk.
“Welcome to the quest desk. How may I help you?” asked the receptionist once I’d made my way to the front.
“I’d like to accept a quest.”
“Understood. Can I please see your adventurer’s card?”
After we’d finished the typical introductory exchange, I handed her my card.
“Mr. Chris, yes? Let’s see here... It looks like you’ve leveled up from rookie to bronze rank since last time. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“From here on, you’ll be able to accept bronze-rank quests. What kind of quest would you like today?”
“I’d like a bronze-rank monster-hunting quest. What do you have available?”
“You have access to a broader range of quests now, so I’m going to have to ask you to be a little more specific. Would you like to hunt many monsters today or just a few?”
“Just a few, please.”
“Understood. The available quests in this category are: a stray-cowbird-hunting quest, a baby-lizard-hunting quest, a bubble-wisp-hunting quest in an abandoned village to the east, and a sludge-slime-hunting quest downstream of the Mizzuria River. Each of these quests requires you to slay only one monster for completion,” the receptionist explained.
A stray cowbird, a baby lizard, a bubble wisp, or a sludge slime, huh? I thought.
I hadn’t heard of any of those monsters before, but I had a pretty good idea what to expect based on the names.
The stray cowbird sounded like the easiest to slay, but there was one thing about the receptionist’s list that I couldn’t help but wonder about.
“I noticed that some of the quests have a location and some don’t,” I said. “What’s the difference between them?”
“People who submit requests without a designated location are after parts. These quests can only be completed once you’ve brought back the remains of the monster, or any specifically designated parts.”
“I see. So then, quests with a location are from people who just want the monsters in a specific area gone?” I asked.
“That’s correct, sir. You can generally assume that quests without a designated location will have higher rewards.”
That made sense. No designated location meant you’d have to do some research on the monster and actually go find it yourself. Plus, then you’d have to dismember it for the desired parts or bring the entire carcass back.
It sounded like a lot of work, so it was no wonder that those quests tended to pay better.
As I tried to figure out which quest I should pick, I considered my chances. If I took on a quest without a designated location without a party, it would probably be impossible to finish it within a day.
But as always, it comes down to the money...
If non-location-specific quests paid twice as much as the location-specific ones, then it would be more efficient to just spend two days tackling location-specific quests.
“Which of those quests pays the best?” I asked.
“Today, the stray cowbird offers the biggest reward. The quest was commissioned by a butcher, who requested the monster’s torso. The reward is one gold coin, but depending on the size and condition of the cowbird, the butcher has offered to pay up to three.”
“So there’s a chance for a two gold coin bonus, huh? Got it. And what is the lowest-paying quest of the ones you mentioned?”
“The sludge slime and bubble wisp quests both offer the smallest rewards. Completing either of these will earn you four silver coins.”
The reward for the stray cowbird torso was obviously pretty enticing, and it was hard to believe that slaying even one of the lowest-reward monsters would net the same amount of money as slaying twenty-four goblins.
These bronze-rank quests really do pay well after all, I thought.
The stray cowbird quest seemed like the best pick if I were choosing based solely on the reward, but there had to be a good reason it paid so well.
I could easily wind up going for a whole week without managing to hunt one down, and then I’d be in an even worse financial position than before.
I needed money now, which meant it was probably the safest bet to accept a location-specific quest.
“I’ll take the sludge slime quest, then,” I told the receptionist.
“Understood. The quest will reward you with four silver coins for slaying a sludge slime downstream of the Mizzuria River. You may slay up to three slimes in total, for four silver coins each.”
“Got it. Thanks for your help,” I said, standing up.
Just as I was about to leave the quest desk, however, the receptionist abruptly stood and called after me.
“Excuse me, sir, just one more moment,” she said, sounding flustered.
“Hmm? Was there something else?” I asked.
“You can accept a greater variety of quests now that you’ve reached the bronze rank. There’s too much information for me to list them all each time, so I suggest you take a look at the quest boards over there.”
“Oh, so that’s what that crowd over there is doing?”
“That’s correct, sir. The boards list available quests by rank. You’ll find quests for bronze, silver, and gold ranks starting with the board on the right. In the future, you can accept quests more easily by bringing the slip with your chosen quest here to the quest desk. Please be sure to take a careful look at the quests before selecting.”
“I see. Thanks for explaining it to me,” I said.
“My pleasure. You’re still welcome to select a quest via the receptionist like you did today, if you prefer that over sorting through them yourself. Please feel free to choose whichever method suits you best.”
“All right. I think I’ll try using the board from now on.”
“Very good, sir. Best of luck on your adventures.”
Huh, okay. So, I guess I can pick a quest from the board and bring the slip up to the receptionist, I thought.
She was right that it was pretty time-consuming to go through the quests one by one at the desk like I’d been, so I figured it’d be worth taking a look at the quest descriptions and rewards outlined on the board in the future instead.
Sounds like a plan, I thought as I left the Adventurers’ Guild. Now...what’s next?
I didn’t want to overdo it too much preparing for this quest, so I decided I’d stick to the same equipment I’d been using for goblin hunting.