The Return

It was early morning, and Albrecht was tilling the soil with his trusty hoe. It was a gift from Riurgus Rosethorn himself, Yulie's father.

This particular plot of land was Albrecht's own and he bought it with his own money. A hectare's worth of potatoes. And he planted and took care of everything by hand, not because he was showing off, but because he needed to put in some training so his stats would increase a little bit.

He still couldn't see his stats, but he knew that they definitely went up after this rehabilitation.

[Ti-ring]

[Quest (Optional Quest): 'Take Three Weeks Off' Complete!]

[You've received Quest Reward Box]

[You gained Stat Points x10]

[You gained Skill Scrolls x2]

[You gained the Key Of Patience]

Upon hearing the notification and seeing the System window in front of him, he heaved a sigh of relief. Three weeks went by a little quicker and it was a worthwhile vacation.

However, after all these, he knew that he'd once again be busier than normal.

Despite the fact that he wasn't adventuring himself, he still heard the news about the Outerlayers from Yulie Rosethorn. She was the guild master of the Caharsa Guild, after all, so she couldn't help but talk about those things at the dinner table.

Because of the ambiguity of the quest presented to him, Albrecht had no choice but to reject every offer of adventuring. It wasn't just the Lomenschwaal Guild who asked for his help, even other parties in the Rilegarthe Guild tried to ask him for assistance.

But he told them that he was taking a three-week break. Since then, no one came to bother him. They probably were planning to bother him once the three-weak break was over.

Words about the legendary porter also spread across the neighboring kingdoms like wildfire. It didn't take long before heroes from the Dragonia Guild also tried to recruit him. In fact, today was the first time that the guild master of the Rilegarthe Guild requested his audience, and he was going there in the afternoon.

"Albrecht, let's have some breakfast before you leave." Julia Rosethorn called out as she walked past. This was a normal invitation so Albrecht obliged.

"Now that I think about it... I've been having meals with the Rosethorns all the time. I always join them and all that." Albrecht muttered to himself. Of course, how could he refuse an offer of free food?

"G-good morning, master, do you need some help?" Yukina asked out of nowhere as the Summoner's Ring glowed. She then came out of the ring.

"I'm just about done, but I left another field for you to dig up." Albrecht relaxedly said.

Yukina's eyes lit up as she called for her partner, the Adamantium Goliath Cobra. It dug up the soil with ease, and it let out an affectionate hiss as it rubbed its head on Albrecht's belly.

"Let's get going then," Albrecht announced after their morning routine of farming was done.

The reason why Albrecht went to great lengths just to finish such a lazy quest was because of the reward.

Key of Patience.

Not only was this key a required item for a secret dungeon, it also grants access to a certain dungeon in the Second Outerlayer. In short, it was a key that could open two locked dungeons. Considering that Albrecht could get it without doing anything for three weeks, it was basically a cheat reward.

Besides, it's not like he couldn't train while he was not adventuring.

In fact, Albrecht's control over the Earth Element had risen significantly thanks to farming.

—

"Let's go" Albrecht finally announced after making sure that his plot of land was in order.

With a nod, Yukina meekly followed behind him. This was also a regular occurrence since Yukina rarely stays in the Summoner's Ring.

As such, she was also known in town as Albrecht's adventurer partner.

Little did they know, she was actually the boss of the First Outerlayer. If they came to that information, they'd probably believe their eyes.

The breakfast with the Rosethorns went by and Albrecht announced that he would finally return as an adventurer. He was done with rest, and he'd finally resume accepting quests and going to dungeon raids.

Currently, adventurers reached the Seventh Outerlayer. The Sixth Outerlayer was easy enough, and most players already received the Earth divine blessing from Hldrmir who oversees the Outerlayer.

Fortunately, the new Mystic Rank Adventurer didn't bother trying to defeat Hldrmir, that would've been suicidal. Then again, he did solo the Mythical Blood Dragon which was an unbelievable feat in and of itself.

It was time for Albrecht to leave, and once again, he took one of the horse-drawn carriages that go back and forth between the city and the Rilegarthe Kingdom.

The mid-morning was cool and cloudy, so the ride to the kingdom was comfortable and relaxing. Gentle breezes blew on the horse-drawn carriage, and the rustling leaves coming from the nearby Forest of Chythyllu almost lulled Albrecht to sleep.

A couple of hours passed, and Albrecht found himself in front of the great kingdom once again.

'It's been so long since I last met the guild master so I don't know what to expect.' Albrecht inwardly thought to himself.

He didn't want to harbor a grudge against the guild master for allowing the Heroes of Relics to remove him from the party. After all, they were just being practical.

Then again, he still felt a modicum of anger toward the guild master for allowing such a thing to happen. It's not like he was useless. In fact, what he lacked in combat, he made it up with his financial skill and overall monitoring of the group. He was the oil in their machine, and they just had to get rid of him just like that.

"You've arrived, sir Albrecht. Please follow me." A woman in her early twenties greeted him. She was none other than Margaret Hawks, the receptionist of the Rilegarthe Guild.

A plethora of thoughts occurred in Albrecht's mind as he followed Margaret. He was sure that they'd be going to the guild master's office.

'What did he want from me though?' Albrecht asked himself.