CHAPTER 7: Pursuit
I headed straight for the Guild Hall the next day. I was welcomed by an older man. He introduced himself.
"Hello there, adventurer. I'm Alistair Hedgemont, the Guild Master of the Arcstock Guild. I've already received the news from the mayor. I'd would be foolish of me to refuse your proposal, however, I have to warn you that there are monsters out there much stronger than the lesser demons you faced. I won't stop you from taking the higher-level missions, but I also cannot guarantee your safety."
"I'm aware of the consequences, guild master," I replied.
"Beyond the coast lies a great threat. A threat strong enough to wipe the civilzation off the face of the planet if he so wishes. I hope you understand the weight of your decisions, adventurer."
I assumed he was talking about the demon king.
I stepped forward, toward the quest board.
I scoured the choice and pick at one which seemed like it was in my range.
For the next month, I repeated that same routine.
Wake up early.
Head to the guild hall.
Pick out my quest for the day.
Fight some monsters.
Come back and rest to do it all again.
The stronger I got, the faster I was able to complete the quests. By the second week, I was doing two quests a day. I'm sure completing three quests wouldn't be that far of a stretch either.
In that short period of time, I was able to rise up the ranks and achieve an A ranking as an adventurer.
My level had risen quite a bit since I began as well.
[Level 13]
[HP: 130/130]
[STR: 18 (+4)]
[DEX: 14 (+2)]
[CON: 16 (+3)]
[INT: 8 (-1)]
[WIS: 12 (+1)]
[CHA: 4 (-3)]
[SP: 60/60]
[MP: 20/20]
[Lineage Factor: HUMAN]
[Class: WEAPON MASTER - ASSASSIN]
[Skills: ASSASSINATE, SHADOW STEP, SILENT WALK…]
I gained a handful of new skills and raised some of my ability scores as well.
[System Alert: You have chosen Poison Gas.]
[System Alert: You have chosen Exterminate.]
[System Alert: STR +2.]
[System Alert: CON +4.]
[System Alert: SP +40.]
[System Alert: HP +83.]
With this, I could finally afford to use overskills. Not often, but if I were ever in a pinch, it would come in handy.
I also gained some useful items.
[Wyvern Fang]
[You have a +2 Bonus to Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls with this weapon. You can expend a charge to deal additional poison damage with this weapon equal to your STR Score. The target must make a CON Saving Throw with DC equal to the damage they take. On a fail, the target is poisoned for the next 5 minutes. You have 3 charges of this ability. You regain all your charges after a long rest.]
[Orc Hide]
[You gain resistance to one damage type of your choice from the following list: bludgeoning, piercing or slashing. You can change the damage type once per day.]
[Berserker Gaunlets]
[You only expend half the normal amount of SP when using a Skill that deals damage. Whenever you reduce a creature's HP to 0, you regain SP equal to your STR Modifier.]
[Demon Ritual Knife]
[Whenever you reduce a creature's HP to 0, you regain HP equal to your CON Modifier. For every 5 creatures kill with this weapon in a single combat, you gain a bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls equal to your STR Modifier (up to 5).]
I headed to the town hall to let the mayor know that I would be leaving the village.
"So soon? Are you sure there's nothing else for you to do here?" The mayor asked me.
I shook my head and explained to her.
"My true purpose isn't here. I still have some unfinished business, I'm afraid."
"If that's the case, then I can't stop you. I wish you luck on whatever future travels you may have." She waved me goodbye.
That was the correct decision. I decided that I couldn't stay complacent here.
The fact that I was able to complete so many quests in a short amount of time only meant that the monsters here were too weak for me.
I still had a mission, a final quest to complete.
Stopping the demon king's invasion.
I ran back to my hometown, Woodrow Village. It only felt right that I should clue them in on what was going on as well.
I walked inside the guild hall and Sabrina looked surprised to see me. She yelled.
"I haven't seen you in so long! Where have you been? I thought you might've died or something!"
I walked up to her desk and assured her.
"I'm doing fine. I just had some errands I had to run. It took a bit longer than I was expecting is all."
She finished up her business with a different adventurer and turned to me.
"I was just planning on going on my break. Let's go out to eat somewhere."
"Sorry, I just came by to say that I'm gonna be gone for a bit longer. I didn't know how long it would take me, so I wanted to make sure you guys knew."
Sabrina looked at me with a worried expression, then let out a sigh.
"It seems you've left us behind already. In that short amount of time, you've really changed haven't you?"
She laughed and I laughed with her.
"I'll be back soon, I promise."
She was right. I had changed.
Whether for better or worse, only time would tell.
I set out on the journey.
Towards the demon continent.