17 – First quest as a mercenary

Clara and myself rushed inside the training room. It was a room with thick stone brick walls. Nothing much was inside except… everything was burned to a crisp and the old mage was lying on the ground.

"Oh, Yufi. Look. I passed with flying colors."

I got close to her so I can whisper.

"I thought I told you to restrain yourself."

"But I did. It was the first time I actually held back this much."

Is that so? This girl might have more potential than I thought. I'm glad I picked her up.

"Okay… it seems everything is ok. So let's return to the counter and I will issue your licenses."

An adventurer license is different from a mercenary. Adventures have a color based system, to see how hard of a quest you can accept. But for a mercenary, it was a plain wooden card engraved with magic to ensure only you can use it. And a mercenary can accept any quest he or she wants.

"And with that, it's done. Now please feel free to go to the bulletin board and check out the available quests."

We thanked Clara for all the help. With these guild cards at least we don't have to pay tolls anymore from town to town. We make our way towards the bulletin board. Various quests were displayed. At this point, I'm glad that Olivia taught me to read or else this would have looked like gibberish.

"Shall we take the most difficult quest? The 2 of us should have no problem clearing it."

"Let me have a quick look at everything, first. I'd rather take something that won't attract attention on us for the time being."

Regarding the quests, there were all types of request: roof fixing, dish washer, babysitting, herb gathering, bandit hunting, goblin extermination and so on and so on.

"Well, what do we have here? Some lovely ladies looking for work?"

We turned around towards the voice. A handsome man with blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing a fancy armor. Back in Japan this guy would be called an ikemen.

As for his armor, I recognize it. In the game it was a lvl 20 returning player reward. It's stats are really good for beginners but… it's trash in my eyes.

"I am Eric, the ally of all women. Have no fear. If you are in need of funds, allow me, as your senior, to offer you some advice."

"Yufi, can I kill this insect?"

"No. Bear with it for now."

This Eric fellow came close as if wanting to get all chummy. Is this how people try to pick up chicks in this world? And more importantly, does it even work? I am no expert in romance since I never had a girlfriend, but this doesn't feel right.

"This one would be most suitable for you!"

He picked up a quest and flashed it before us. Finding a lost kitten. Is this guy for real?

"And the best place to start looking is at the tavern. You hear all sorts of things. Maybe someone has seen it. We can get a drink while we're at it."

Ok. That does it. This guy is just pathetic. Is he trying to get us drunk to have his way with us? He wouldn't be so eager if he knew what I had down there. Regardless, I can't stand him. I probably would be pathetic too if I tried asking a girl out but in this world… I'd spare myself the shame and just use my Slavery Seal. I gave this dude a slap on the face.

He was sent rolling on the ground until the wall stopped his momentum. I could even hear whispering "Did she just beat Eric with a single slap!?" or "Who the hell is she? I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." or even "I guess those muscles aren't just for show." and stuff like that. Honestly I couldn't care less. I turn my attention towards the board again, until something caught my eye.

"Yufi? Is something wrong?"

I grabbed a quest from the bulletin board and turned back towards the counter without answering Lu-chan. A burning flame was beating in my heart.

"Oh, have you decided on something already?" (Clara)

"Yeah. This one. I want to take this one."

"Eeeh!?"

Carla showed a perplexed expression and sweat was running on her forehead.

"Excuse me, but by any chance are you seriously even thinking of going into this one with just the 2 of you?"

"Yeah."

"That's suicide!!"

The reason Clara was so shocked was because of the quest I picked.

Quest type: Dragon Slaying

Difficulty level: S

Details: Help to slay the dragon that is terrorizing the area North-East from the town of Arens

Reward: 200 gold coins

"An S rank difficulty is the hardest rank a quest can normally have. It isn't meant to be cleared by just 2 people. Killing a dragon would require an army of 100 people or more."

"The reward wouldn't make sense if so many people participated. You would have to split it."

"That is true but… for crying out loud, please, let me give you at least the meeting place of where the party is going to be formed. You can't just…"

"Mercenaries can accept any quest they wish regardless of difficulty, correct?"

"That's correct, but…"

"Then stop complaining. We're taking this one."

Clara dropped her shoulders dejected. I understand her worries. Even in the game it was not advised to solo a dragon boss. But I got myself a reason. A dragon lurking around these parts. If it's the same dragon that killed Olivia, or is acquainted with the culprit… I gotta find out. And Mother taught me enough dragon anatomy. This isn't a game. I know precisely where to strike and how to deal with one.

"Very well. I can't stop you. Then… as proof of completing this quest you must bring back the dragon's head."

"Not a problem. Come on, Lu-chan. We're going."

"...

Yes, Yufi."