Chapter 53: Private Cultivator

Even after scanning the mission wall twice, Arya couldn't find any elite-rank missions.

Frowning, he decided to ask the group of people he had overheard discussing it earlier.

"Excuse me, sir," Arya said, tapping a man on the shoulder. Due to his young age, almost everyone around him was noticeably taller. Even though he was only ten years old, he already stood at 4 feet 11 inches, taller than most kids his age.

The man turned around with an unfriendly expression. "What do you want, kid?"

"I was looking for elite-ranked missions, but I don't see them on the mission wall. Where are they?"

At his question, the man laughed—and so did several others nearby.

Arya frowned. He was sure he hadn't asked anything stupid, so why were they laughing? Still, he didn't say anything and simply waited for them to finish.

After a moment, the man smirked. "Are you serious? You don't even know that? What kind of newbie—"

Realizing they were mistaking him for an ignorant newcomer, Arya pulled out his pass from his storage bag and held it up. "It's my first time here, so I don't know how things work. Please explain."

Seeing the unranked pass, the man stopped laughing. The surrounding people, who had been amused moments ago, quickly lost interest and went back to their business.

"Oh... so you're new," the man said, rubbing the back of his head. "You should've just said that from the start."

"But why do you want to know about elite-ranked missions?" he asked. "It's not that I have a problem telling you, but with an unranked pass, you shouldn't even be thinking about those."

"I'm just curious," Arya replied. "I wanted to see what kind of missions they are, that's all."

The man chuckled. "A curious one, huh? Well, there are no special missions labeled as 'elite rank.'"

Arya raised an eyebrow. "Then why do people call them that?"

"It's simple—any mission that is above your rank and considered exceptionally difficult is an elite-rank mission. If you complete high-rank missions beyond what you're supposed to be capable of, you're considered an elite adventurer."

"But aren't we only allowed to take missions that match our pass rank?" Arya asked.

"Normally, yes," the man nodded. "But there's a condition to take higher-ranked missions."

"And what is it?"

"If you maintain a 90% mission completion rate for your current rank, you qualify to take on missions from the next rank. So, if you complete 9 out of 10 unranked missions, you'll be allowed to take on bronze-ranked missions.

"And the best part? Taking higher-ranked missions gives extra rewards based on the mission's difficulty."

Arya absorbed the information carefully.

It was a simple but fair system—only those with proven consistency and skill could attempt harder tasks.

"But there aren't many missions on the board," Arya pointed out.

The man smirked. "Look again. There aren't few missions, you're just not paying attention. The wall always displays five missions per rank, but once a mission is taken, a new one replaces it immediately. The association updates the board constantly."

Understanding this, Arya turned back to the Unranked Mission Wall and focused on the details.

Unranked Missions

Mission 1: Hunting a Rank 1 Beast

● Objective: Retrieve the body of a Rank 1 monster beast with a minimum size of 10 feet (larger bodies yield better rewards).

● Reward: 3 pink coins (+1 pink coin for each extra foot in size).

Mission 2: Gathering Virelle Bloom

● Objective: Collect 5 stalks of Virelle Bloom, a rare herb known for its soothing and healing properties, especially for burns.

● Reward: 20 white coins per stalk (if more than 5 stalks are submitted, each extra stalk earns 25 white coins).

Mission 3: Hunting a Rank 3 Beast (Group Mission)

● Objective: Join Xalvor Kain's hunting team to take down a Rank 3 beast that possesses a Seed, making it as strong as an early 4-ring Seed Master.

● Leader: Xalvor Kain (Level 38)

Minimum Requirement: Level 20+ cultivators only.

● Reward: Profits will be split among the team members from the sale of the beast's body parts (however, the Seed is not included in the rewards).

Mission 4: ....

There were seven different missions listed on the wall, each requiring different skills and offering varying rewards.

Among them, the first mission caught Arya's attention the most—hunting a Rank 1 beast.

It had the highest reward, but also the greatest difficulty for an unranked cultivator.

A Rank 1 beast was as strong as an elite two-ringed Seed Master. Unlike humans, beasts were natural hunters with instinctual combat skills. Killing them was far more difficult than fighting an equally ranked human cultivator.

Even most Level 30 Seed Masters would struggle against a Rank 1 monster, especially in the wild, where the beasts held a natural advantage.

If Arya wanted to take this mission, he would need help.

He briefly considered the second mission—gathering Virelle Bloom. It seemed easier, but it would take longer since he'd have to search for the herb in the wilderness.

After thinking it over, he chose the first mission.

It wasn't just about the money—hunting beasts would train his combat abilities far better than picking herbs.

However, he knew he had to be careful.

Fighting human cultivators was one thing, but monsters had different battle instincts, strength, and abilities.

In the wild, they had the advantage.

And Arya was about to step into their domain.