Chapter 36 – Bounty
I found myself in a lobby when I entered the Craftsman Association building. There were much less people inside than the Adventurers Guild and the place gave off an aura of elegance. There was a similar reception desk so I headed over.
"Hello. I'm here to see if I can take on some bounties?" I said to the receptionist girl.
"Good day. The bounties are pinned on the board over there." She pointed out a large board with numerous pieces of paper attached on it. "Once you have chosen bounties to do, please inform me so that I can make a record."
That's it? No registration or rules to follow? When I asked her about this, she replied saying that bounties are free for anyone to take on. Of course if you fail too many, you could be banned from ever coming back to take more. The Craftsman Association also can't be held responsible for anything that happens while a person is taking on a bounty unlike the Adventurers Guild which provides Adventurers a form of insurance through their ranking system.
I took a look at the bounties on the board.
Request: Looking for Mana Herbs
Type: Gathering, Delivery, Unlimited
Client: Alchemist Guild
Deadline: None
Reward: 1 Large Copper per herb
Request: 3 Rare Magic Crystals
Type: Delivery, Urgent
Client: Clint from the Enchantment Guild
Deadline: Within the day
Reward: 4 Small Silver
Request: Need half meter-long Lightning-struck Darkwood and Steel Turtle Shell
Type: Gathering, Delivery
Client: Max from the Blacksmith Guild
Deadline: Until Fire Day next week
Reward: 8 Small Silver for Darkwood, 1 Large Silver for Shell
…
Various types of bounties were shown on the board. Most of them were related to gathering some sort of material. As expected from the Craftsman Association.
The difference these bounties had from the Adventurers Guild ones were that there was no difficulty rating or restriction. Usually gathering bounties like these ones had a difficulty rating based on the item rarity or gathering location. However, if for example, an F-rank Adventurer luckily acquired a D-rank material for a request, he would not be able to take the bounty due to the rank restriction. Some people asked why the Adventurers Guild was so inflexible and they simply answered with "That's the rule that the founder of the Adventurers Guild made." It should be noted the founder of the Adventurers Guild was actually a Hero in the past. As such, the Adventures Guild strictly complies to all the established rules which in turn makes their management system incorruptible. The results of this method of management shows through the reputation of the guild.
The inflexibleness caused gathering requests tend to be given through the Craftsman Association instead. This offers higher chances for the bounty to be accepted and completed. There are some people who post the request to both groups but this just leads to conflict between the parties who accepted the request. I would be pissed if I worked my butt off to do this bounty only to later find out the it had already been completed by another party.
Despite this, the Adventurers Guild and the Craftsman Association actually have a harmonious relationship. Though they tend to butt heads and compete with each other to see who's on top from time to time, they complement each other in the best way. Adventurers buy stuff made by the people from the Craftsman Association in order to complete difficult quests. They in turn sell their spoils to the guild or the Merchant Guild which the craftsmen buy and use to create more stuff for Adventurers to buy. They cycle is on a never ending repeat. The competition between the two helps the economy grow and develop which leaves the neutral Merchant Guild and normal civilians very satisfied.
I took the bounty the needed rare magic crystals. I've only seen common and uncommon magic crystals, so if I could find out where to farm these rare ones, I could worry less about my mana supply. I brought it over to the receptionist.
"Excuse me. I would like to take this bounty. If you could also tell me where to go to get the crystals, I would very much appreciate it." I told the receptionist girl while showing the bounty.
"Rare magic crystals? The best place to get those is the Woodland dungeon, but that is being controlled by the Adventurers Guild so unless you have an Adventurers ID and meet the level requirement, you won't be able to enter." She replied.
Damn. Are all the dungeons being monopolized by them? Well maybe it's just to minimize casualties that they put restrictions…
"Are there any other places? One that doesn't have any restrictions."
"Hmm. I think that the boss monster of the Dark Swamp dungeon should drop it. You can also get the Steel Turtle Shell from it and I think I saw a bounty which is looking for those. Unfortunately, because of the environment, it's not a very popular dungeon."
Eh? It drops an item? I thought that only magic crystals drop from dungeon monsters. I asked the receptionist girl about this.
"Low level dungeons only drop magic crystals but higher leveled ones can also drop items."
That bastard William lied to me! *Sigh* Well no use complaining about a dead man.
"Understood. I'd like to take this and the other bounty that you mentioned as well."
"Thank you very much. May I please get your name, job, and level so that I can make a record?"
"Krim Son, Swordsman, level 13."
The only true thing I stated was my level. Well, with Blood Bane I should be able to play as a Swordsman anyways.
The receptionist girl, Lia, kindly gave me directions to the Dark Swamp dungeon. I found out that her job was Receptionist through my [Appraisal Analysis]. Quite high level too despite her young looking age.
Following her directions, I left Lam City again but this time through the east gate. I quickly arrived at the dungeon entrance which was a cave opening similar to the Cockroach Cave. There was a sign board above it too which I took a picture of.
I entered the cave and after walking a few steps, I found myself in an entirely different world. I thought this because, the place was a dark and gloomy swamp with no sunlight to be seen peaking from the ominous rumbling clouds. If there were a few ruined buildings scattered around, it would be the perfect apocalyptic world setting. I only saw some weird humanoid figures in the distance though.
Name: Lizardman Lv. 12
Race: Reptilian
Class: Warrior
All of them were Lizardman with levels ranging from 10 to 15. I walked forward and when I stepped into the swamp, I suddenly felt energized and my mana rose to 100% immediately.
"Hmm… Haa… I feel just at home…" I took in a deep breath and relaxed.
Is this the effect of my Half-Magical Creature class? I initially wanted to sneak towards the Lizardmen and take them out one by one but now I felt like I could take on a whole army of them. I took out Blood Bane which I kept inside my mud body and activated my buffs. With [Mana Absorption], my mana was barely being drained. I shapeshifted my left arm to 'hold' a sword similar to Blood Bane, and I also turned parts of my clothes into a light leather armor-like appearance similar to Suzuna's who I encountered earlier. I am now a dual wielding Swordsman.
I raised my left sword and made a mud spear at the tip. Only by controlling it with [Cloning] and [Mana Release] I fired it off towards a group of lizardmen. It was the same method I used to pin down the Alpha Wolf. It pierced through the back of one of them, but with my sense sharing, I could tell that the wound wasn't deep. I would have done more damage if I properly threw the spear. Oh well, at least this got their attention.
"Hey you giant scaled rats! Fight me!" With the abundant supply of mana I had, I used some to enhance my shout at the lizardmen.
All of the ones I could see were now looking towards me. Some even started popping out from beneath the muddy swamp.
"Oh… Uh… Didn't think there was that many of you."
My shout was very effective. Soon, there were over a hundred lizardmen all staring ferociously at me.
"SHHHAAA!"
The one I hit with the mud spear pulled it out of its back and loudly hissed at me. All the lizardmen started running across the mud to me. I could feel the ground shaking from the sheer number of them.
"Detonate!"
I didn't need to shout to activate the skill but I wanted to do it anyways. The mud spear I initially threw blew up and the lizardman that was holding it died this time. And with that, my fight in the second dungeon I entered started.
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 13
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Class: Half-Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 13
HP: 10 [39%]
MP: 15 [96%] (+5)
STR: 10 (+15)
DEF: 10 (+35)
INT: 17 (+10)
WILL: 15 (+10)
SPD: 10 (+5)
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
Foresight
Shapeshift
Mana Absorption
<
Dissolve
Body Enhancement (Active)
Mind Enhancement (Active)
Mana Release
Sensing
Camouflage
Sculpting
Detonate
Appraisal Analysis
Lesser Heal
Mana Coating
Cloning
<
Tongue Enhancement