Chapter 297 - The Exploration Quest
"You\'re all right, his story is probably fake and there\'s a chance that it could just end up getting you killed, which is why it\'s voluntary and not mandatory that you accept. If you have anything against the quest, set up a report to the receptionist. Aside from that, I don\'t want to hear anymore complaining about the quest. Am I clear?" He asked coldly
His final words, were bot Sharp and cold enough to send chills down everyone\'s spine, there was nothing they could say to retort. Everything the guild master said was correct.
"And besides, if there\'s nothing there. Then it\'s just free money for you lot. Take a risk, and go sightseeing. However, in the case that you do encounter something. Run, don\'t engage. Dragon\'s aren\'t as simple to deal with as wyvern and I\'m sure you all already know that." Said the guild-master
"H-He\'s right…"
"Yeah, the guild-master isn\'t just any master… He knows his stuff…"
"And if it really is true… What\'s going to happen to the village?"
Some of the adventurers began muttering amongst themselves while the rest stayed quiet.
One adventurer in particular walked up out of the group towards the guild-master. The adventurer wore a cloak and a face mask just up to it\'s mouth making it only possible to see their eyes and Light purple hair edges as they poked out from the cloak.
"If it\'s real, then the village is at risk. Give me the quest, I\'m in." Said the adventurer
The voice was definitely that of a girl, soft and light, yet intimidating at the same time. Seeing this person\'s resolve was enough to put a smile on the guild-master\'s face. He then turned to the receptionist and before saying
"You heard the girl, put the quest in the records as soon as possible, we have no time to waste, the exploration will occur today, right now."
Upon hearing this, the receptionists nodded before quickly getting to work, they went to their desks and began to write down on sheets of paper. When they were finally finished, they gave up a thumbs up to the guild master.
"Eh? The quest is right now?"
"I mean, it is emergency… and we don\'t have time to waste…"
The guild master then looked once more at the confused adventurers and the one who stood in front of him, before asking
"Who wants to join the exploration? Raise your hand. The reward is ten gold coins per person who participates."
"T-T-TEN GOLD COINS!?!" Many simultaneously shouted out
"Yeah, that\'s right. Ten gold coins."
Most of the members present raised there hands. There were around 40 present including the girl and 30 raised their hands. That would be troublesome for the guild, as it would be 300 gold coins in total which would have been a lot just to explore.
An exploration quest really didn\'t need that many people so the guild master had a change of plans.
"Also, don\'t forget about the rank rules. You can only accept quests up to 3 difficulties higher than your actual rank. And since in this case, a Dragon is a threat SS, only A-Ranks can accept. SO this quest is only available to A-Ranks." He said so, calmly.
"Huh? But doesn\'t that mean B-Ranks-"
"Nope, SS-Ranks are too high for B-Ranks" Replied the guild-master
"But didn\'t you say-"
"That is all. If anyone Is an A-Rank and would like to participate. Please step forward, I will be also going along with you in this quest, as things seem like they could get dangerous… Looks like I\'ll have to get serious again…"
Just as he had finished speaking, the tension in the room was at it\'s peak. They weren\'t sure how many A-Rank\'s were present.
Then it that moment, the girl in the cloak, In front of the Guild-Master pulled out a Red-A Rank card showing it as she said
"I\'m in."
Upon hearing this, the guild-master nodded, although it was hard to tell just from looking, he could feel great strength coming from her. Her control over her magic power was like the steady ocean with a storm in the distance.
She also seemed to leave little to no openings whatsoever, if one were to try to attack her, the guild-master would probably feel bad for them. And lastly, the look in her eyes. Fearless scarlet eyes.
Her build was also rather small but that was good for agility. After the inspection, he deemed that daggers were probably her specialty.
"Me too." Said The Bright Sword as he stepped forward.
Everyone in the room knew the bright sword, impenetrable defense and overwhelming offense, a knight with a build which wasn\'t too big nor small. When it came to a strong balanced powerful, yet durable build. He stood second to none in the whole room.
"If the village is facing danger, than even I won\'t stand down. It\'s an important place to me, after all." Said The Bright Sword with a smile
The guild master also seemed content with this. They were two very strong members, there was no way he would refuse such an offer. He nodded, but something worried him, they didn\'t have a magician or healer, and if it turned into an encounter in which they couldn\'t escape, it was fundamental. However, a B-Rank healer wouldn\'t cut it.
"Are there any others?" The guild master asked expectantly
For a moment, there was nothing but quiet, but just as he was about to lose hope. A lady with a witch hat, stepped forward.
She seemed rather young but seemed to have a fully developed body, she wore a strange magic cloak which seamed to have been enchanted with fire magic, making it work just as a regular fur robe.
Long smooth hair which seemed to be a mixture of both purple in the base and pink at the edges, along with apparently glowing pink eyes and a pink pipe sticking out from her pink lips. A beauty who everyone recognized. Another A-Rank adventurer, a well-known magician at that.
It\'s said that she\'s nearly all of the requirements to become an S-Rank in terms of quests completed but she\'s only missing one more, and that is to be able to complete an S-Rank quest or beat an S-Rank in a duel.
"This is exactly, what I\'ll need to reach it. You need a magician don\'t you? I\'m in"
Of course she wouldn\'t miss an opportunity such as this, she was a very talented magician Able to use three elements. Fire, wind, earth along with the holy element. The guild-master felt much More reassured having her there.
"Whoa… A party of A-Rankers with the guild-master, and these ones who are well on their way to becoming S-Rank, there\'s no doubt that this is the strongest party in the village right now…"
"Now even a dragon won\'t be a threat to us!!"
"Yeah!! The Dragon has got nothing on them, the guild master was even an S-Rank before he retired, what\'s a dragon going to do?"
The tension slowed dispersed as optimism began to cloud the room. However, all that optimism quickly disappeared as the guild master said
"No. There\'s a Reason why a Dragon is SS and not A-Rank, like the wyvern. A dragon isn\'t just a regular monster or creature. It\'s a legendary creature. It\'s lived for centuries, has more knowledge than anyone can imagine. It can use magic and even I\'ve never gone up against one before. There\'s also little information on them as they\'re intelligent." Said the guild-master
He spoke seriously, he wasn\'t trying to scare anyone or make the quest seem more dangerous than it actually was, he was just speaking from his heart and trying to warn them.
"Even with the four of us, I doubt we\'d even be able to severely wound it. I can handle a Wyvern solo, but a dragon… It\'s on a completely different level." Said The Guild-Master with a hint of fear in his words.
The adventurers were all speechless, and the A-Rankers chose to remain quiet. They too had heard many stories about dragons destroying villages and cities.
Just as the guild-master was going to break the silence with his next words, someone suddenly walked into the guild.
"Guild… Guild… This is the guild right…?" He asked himself as he took a look inside
\'The smell of beer and wine in the air, the wooden tables, broken glass and the worn out quest boards which always somehow seem to be made out of bad quality… Yep, there\'s no mistaking it, it\'s the guild!\' He thought to himself happily
"I had to sleep outside of the village while searching for my card… Now I\'m finally back!" He said so as tears of joys slowly flowed down his eyes
He then felt the tension in the air, before noticing that everyone\'s attention was on him.
"Eh? Did I come at a bad time…? And what\'s with everyone standing around that guy?\'
It was hexo, and in that moment, him entering at that particular moment, managed to disrupt the tension which had filled the air.