Two quests in one Part 1
Chapter 12
Two quests in one Part 1
I easily found the shop with the help of the slip that the receptionist gave me. The shop looked like it sold grains and other edible crops.
"Hello! Is anyone here" I asked into a seemingly empty shop.
"Yes?" A voice asked from behind me.
I turned around and noticed a nondescript man in his late 30's coming from another shop opposite this one.
I introduced myself and told him the reason for my visit while he introduced himself as 'Trader'.
I internally rolled my eyes at the given nickname. There would be dozens of 'Traders' in this town alone. I don't know why people continue this. Then again, if any evil person knows one's name, and even a single drop of their blood, they could do crazy shit with it.
It doesn't mean this system isn't cringy as hell.
Thankfully, the guy agreed to take me with him as a protection detail.
Initially, he didn't want to as he was hoping to get a team of obsidian ranked adventurers. But when I told him that I had a horse and I would be promoted in 2 days to 9th rank, he quickly changed his tune, though I had to show him the promotion form I got from the receptionist to get him to believe that I was telling the truth.
'Sometimes the reputation of the adventurers is really a pain in the ass' I thought bitterly.
I wasn't surprised by his change of attitude. After all, he will save a lot of time and money with my horse as taking transportation would have cost him a silver coin for a horse and 5 copper coins for a bull. And that too if he was taking them from a trustworthy source. If he was renting the animals from a stranger, the cost would double.
This way, I was saving him quite a lot of money and time.
We decided to meet at the town's gate in half an hour. He gave the reason that it will give him time to set up his shop and give the shop's keys and responsibiliy to his son. And I agreed because I also needed some time to drop my bag containing my civilian attire and get Blast from his stable.
Half an hour later, I met him as we agreed, just on time. I was on Blast's back while he was pulling an empty cart.
Without any word, I connected the cart to my horse and we took off. I was on my horse and he was sitting in the cart. Obviously, the speed was slow as hell but it was still better than taking a bull which he probably would have done.
The ride was silent and peaceful. We didn't make small talk.
'He probably didn't want to speak to a 'rowdy' adventurer' I mused. It suited me just fine as I didn't want to speak to anyone at all.
Unfortunately, my guess was proved to be incorrect after some time.
After a couple of hours, he started talking. I replied in monosyllables hoping he would take a hint but he still continued to talk.
'Man! What is with these people? First that adventurer with the horse breeder and now him. Are they retarded? Can't they take a hint? What I wouldn't give for some peace and quiet' I wondered ignoring whatever the guy was saying.
Still, I learned a little bit as I couldn't tune out him without turning off my senses. And that would be hazardous as I wouldn't be able to sense an attack.
From him, I got to know that the village was quite far. The only reason this quest was 9th rank was because of the long distance. Otherwise, this quest would have been just a 10th rank quest.
He also told me that he was visiting his cousins who were all farmers. They had a contract with him. He bought the food from them every month and sold it in the town at a higher price.
I wasn't surprised. This world is quite different from my previous world in this regard too. Crops are grown in a single month instead of a few that it took in my previous world. I suspected it was because of the magic in the air. It would seep in the ground and help the crops to grow. Unfortunately, it wasn't studied as this had been the norm ever since the age of gods.
But there were other studies that let me theorize this. People have studied how humans are able to use magic. There have been many theories but all of them agree on one thing that the human body absorbs magic from the air. And when we use magical attacks, we give the magic back to nature. This cycle repeats on and on and on.
Soon time passed and we reached the village in 4 hours, just in time for lunch.
The trader was visibly happy at the result. He was so satisfied that he offered to get me lunch where he would be eating. I agreed as I wasn't about to decline free food though I was irritated that he wouldn't stop talking even when we were in the village.
While we walked there, he told me that it usually takes them all day to reach here and he has to get a bull too to pull the cart. But I did smile when he told me how he makes the adventurers walk instead of sitting in the cart. I could just imagine the new, cocky adventurers being disgruntled at being forced to walk fast-paced while he is just sitting leisurely on his cart enjoying the travel.
While we were walking towards a row of houses, I let my eyes wander around the village.
This village was a lot bigger compared to the village I went to on my first quest. From then on, I have gone to a few more villages surrounding the land around the Water town. Most villages are about the same size as the first one.
But, judging by the houses in this village, it had two times the average population at the very least. I couldn't exactly get the exact number as some people were working in the fields.
We stopped in front of a larger than the average house in the village. Unfortunately, no one was there. Seeing as it would take time, I tied my horse to a tree.
The trader, on the other hand, went to talk with a farmer that was his main contact. I didn't go with him as there wasn't any danger here so I didn't hear what they discussed and I didn't want to hear it. I was already sick of hearing his voice.
Instead of idly sitting by, I looked around for the village elder. After asking around, I finally found him. He was sitting in front of his house. Just like the village elder from the first village and the other villages I visited, he was also built like a brick but he was a little bit older than average and the age was catching up to him, fast.
"Greetings, I am an adventurer and I came with Trader as his bodyguard," I said introducing myself before continuing "I saw a bandit extermination quest in Water Town's Adventurer Guild. It came from this village. Do you know anything about it?" I asked.
"Yes, I, myself gave that quest about 3-4 days ago" He answered.
'Jackpot' I cheered internally though I didn't show anything outside. Then, I remembered that he wouldn't have noticed it anyway as I still wore my helmet.
"Hmm, if you agree to give me the quest in writing, I can do it," I said with certainty and coming to the point.
For a second, he was taken aback by that.
After mulling for a bit he asked "What is your rank?"
'Just the question I was hoping for' I thought sarcastically.
"Irrelevant. You don't need that to know that" I retorted before explaining "If I fail the quest, you would not need to pay me anything as I would be dead. You just need to give me the quest in writing if I complete it"
He still looked unconvinced and reluctant.
I sighed. 'It appears that he is a good sort' I decided. There isn't a lack of people in this world who would have instantly agreed to do it.
"I am 10th rank adventurer and after only a month I am being considered for the promotion to 9th rank quest," I said and showed him my promotion form. Before he could speak again, I interrupted him "I have completed five 9th level quests and this would be my 6th"
"But the quest I gave was 8th level quest" He retorted back.
For a second I was angry at him for being stubborn.
"Look, old man, I don't need that quest" I lied straight-faced "I was just being generous. If you want to be plagued with bandits until your choice of adventurers comes along, it's your funeral" I bit out.
With that said, I turned around and started walking away.
"Wait" He called me just as I predicted.
I smirked at my plan's success and turned around. "Yes," I asked neutrally.
"Alright, I am willing to give you the quest in writing," He said with a sigh.
With that done, he went inside and brought a piece of paper and a pencil. It didn't take time for him to write that he was giving the quest to me on the paper.
"Very well, now tell me all about the quest?" I asked after taking the paper from his hand and reading it.
And after taking a deep breath, he started explaining all that he knew about the bandits.
...
Apparently, the bandits were a recent thing.
They came to the village a few days ago, took the money, crops from the village. Seeing as the villagers didn't have any choice, they acquiesced and lost about a fourth of their granary and quite a lot of their coins.
The village elder then visited Water Town's Adventurer Guild with the money the villagers were able to hide from the bandits. Apparently, he just came back yesterday after posting the quest. On the way to the road, he also learned that the bandits came to the nearby villages around that time too from the other village elders' who also came to give the same quest.
In the end, they pooled the money and increased it to rank 8 after reaching the guild.
I asked a few questions, like the positions of the villages the bandits struck, what they took, etc. The questions might look innocuous at first glance but they were very important.
Suppose, the bandits took 100 Gold coins in total. And when I clear the quest, I find 120 Gold coins in their hideout. Now, If I hadn't known the exact amount, the villagers could easily lie and take them all. But after giving me the exact number, they can't lie and I could easily keep the extra coin to myself.
Once, I got all the information I could from him, I went back to the house where I left Blast.
There I found the Trader and what appeared to be a Farmer talking. They both didn't look happy judging by their expressions.
I learned the reason when I came closer. Apparently, the Trader wasn't happy with how they lost the crops and Farmer wasn't happy that he won't be able to give him the agreed amount of crops.
Fearing that I might not get lunch, I told them how I was going on a quest related to the bandits and would be happy to bring back the stolen crops.
They were clearly surprised by it and it showed on their faces.
I thank the gods when they brought me in for the lunch so that 'I can give the bandits hell which I couldn't do on an empty stomach' in their words.
I didn't want to show my face to the Trader as he could easily connect it to my civilian identity. So, instead, I asked them to pack it.
After they gave me my packed lunch, I galloped away.
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While breaking the previous chapters, I also edited them so some of you might find them a little different. I suggest you read them.
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