Each of the five Copper-ranked boards had a slew of adventurers and Elaine made her way to one of them. Guild personnel helped to usher the adventurers, making sure the quest selection process was as smooth as it could be. Elaine joined the queue for one of the boards, the line moved fast as adventurers quickly picked out their quests and brought them up to the counter to be processed.
Good thing one board can accommodate three adventurers at a time, she thought while looking around and observing those nearby.
Eventually, it was Elaine's turn. The board showed a quest poster with the title in big bold letters, the description of the task below, and the reward amount at the bottom.
Why's there only one quest available? She scratched her head.
Elaine looked around and noticed the other adventurers sliding their fingers across the board. She mimicked their actions, her fingers touched the cool crystalline surface, sliding upwards.
Nothing happened.
"Excuse me, Miss. You’ve got to use a bit of mana for it to work," an attendant spoke up, noticing Elaine's confusion.
"Oh uh, thanks."
The mana flowed through her arms, concentrating on the tip of her finger. Repeating the motion, the poster slid up, showing other quest posters that were hidden below. Elaine observed those around her again. They were sliding their fingers towards the top of the board, scrolling the quest posters upwards. She followed suit: browsing the quests available, and skimming through their details and rewards.
Boring. Easy. Too easy. Boring. Disgusting. Easy. Dull. Easy. Easy. Dull, her thoughts droned on as she browsed through the listed quests.
The excited smile on her face slowly morphed into disappointment. Her brows furrowed, the joy in her eyes dimmed, and the corners of her mouth drooped, slowly curving downward.
T-t-these quests are all too easy, she frowned.
Elaine spent a fair amount of time browsing through the posters but found the majority of quests were, in her opinion, too boring or easy to warrant her interest. As she continued browsing, the disappointment slowly turned into frustration. With each poster she browsed past, her finger pressed down harder and harder on the screen. With an exasperated groan, she gave up, selecting the next quest that showed up.
Rank: Copper
Details: Head into the Forest west of Wintrell and gather 50 patches of Shadowbark Moss.
Reward: 50 Gold.
A fetch quest? Really?! Ughhh. She rolled her eyes
Wait. What am I supposed to do now? Elaine looked around again, the adventurers around her were still selecting their quests.
"Excuse me, Miss. You've got to place your guild card above the quest you want and channel a bit of mana into it," the same attendant spoke up once more, noticing Elaine's confusion.
Following the attendant's instructions, Elaine pulled out her guild card placing it in the middle of the quest poster. Mana flowed from her fingertips into the card, the card glowed for a moment before the quest on the board disappeared.
“Ok. What now?” She turned toward the attendant again.
"Ok, Miss. Please go over to the counter to officially register the quest," the attendant pointed to one of the counters, where she managed to spot Leilani.
Just as instructed she made her way over to the counter serviced by Leilani, thanking the attendant as she walked past.
"Excited for your first quest?" Leilani greeted Elaine with a smile.
"Well, I was... until I realized how boring these quests were," Elaine complained, handing over her guild card.
Leilani laughed, "Well these are Copper-ranked quests we're talking about."
"I know," she sighed, "it's just that Father would always tell tales of his adventures. They were filled with grand battles against powerful monsters, rescuing cities from looming calamity, and exploring lost ruins. I guess I was expecting something... more?"
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"Well, most people tend to leave out their days as a low-ranking adventurer. Collecting herbs and killing goblins can only be so grand after all," Leilani inserted the guild card into the base of the crystal ball.
"I know," she sighed again, "I guess I was just too focused on being a big-shot adventurer. I mean, it is an Autumnbow tradition: go out adventuring, see the world, and grow stronger. Just didn't think it would be this... slow," Elaine pouted, her mouth drooping in a frown.
Leilani looked at Elaine's crestfallen figure, her smile never faded, "Everyone's got to start from somewhere. And with your talent, I'm sure you'll blast right through the ranks."
The crystal ball glowed slightly before the card was ejected and returned to Elaine, "There, the quest's registered. Remember if you forfeit the quest there'll be a penalty fee."
"I know and I'll keep what you've said in mind," a small smile formed on her face as Elaine received back her guild card.
Elaine headed to the west entrance of the city, cutting through the marketplace, straight for the gates. The guards standing by paid her no heed as she walked out of the city. The stone floor of the town transformed into a natural dirt path. The cobblestone buildings were replaced with an open-ended field decorated with lush green grass, the only visible landmark was the forest ahead.
At least the view is decent, she thought as she followed the dirt path heading into the forest.
She was met with a lush green forest, tall trees spread far and wide. Light peeked through the gaps between the treetops, the morning sun casting an array of light and shadows that dappled the path. The sound of birds singing was accompanied by the flutter of their wings as they flew above.
Going off the dirt path she veered deeper into the forest, off into the more untamed, wild areas. Elaine traversed the forest with relative ease, avoiding brambles and jumping over gnarled roots that spread across the forest floor. Eyes and ears sharp, she stayed vigilant of her surroundings. Her hands were ready to grasp her dagger at a moment's notice.
No more mistakes. Even if it's a simple quest, she reminded herself.
Her stance was low, senses vigilant as she kept out for whatever monster may be lurking in the forest. She inspected each tree she passed by, checking the trunk for any dark growth: Shadowbark Moss. As she ventured deeper into the forest the amount of sunlight decreased, less light was able to penetrate through the dense canopy, leaves forming a barricade where only slivers of light were able to seep through.
Getting closer. Haven't encountered anything yet. Have to be careful.
The rustling of the wind made Elaine extra paranoid, having to filter out redundant information. Finally, after passing and checking the umpteenth tree, there was something of use to her. A black growth dotted the trunk of the tree, roughly the size of both her hands put together. She pulled out one of her daggers and moved closer to the tree. Carefully separating the patch of dark moss from the bark of the tree. Her dagger dug in between the patch and the bark, severing the growth. She pulled the moss away revealing the smooth woody interior of the bark of the tree.
This should be about 5 patches worth, she thought as she inspected the soft and squishy patch she held.
She got the iridescent silver crystal out of her bag and opened a portal. This time retrieving a small satchel, one used for storing herbs. She placed the Shadowbark Moss into it, taking care not to damage the moss. Wiping off any excess stuck to her dagger into the satchel as well, before holstering it.
She headed further into the forest, keeping a sharper eye out now. She found another patch again, about 20 paces from where she found the first patch. It was roughly the same amount as the previous haul as well. As she was about to scrape off the moss again, there was a growling sound that came from behind her. She swiftly turned around grabbing her other dagger in the process, duel-wielding them.
Standing before her was a creature whose fur was as dark as the shadows surrounding them, eyes shining red. Elaine thought the rabbit-like creature was almost cute if only it wasn't snarling at her showing off its pronounced canines.
A Moss Rabbit, looks like it's a shadow moss variant too, Elaine analyzed the creature before her.
She cautiously circled the rabbit, ensuring she would no longer be backed up against the tree. The Moss Rabbit continued growling at Elaine, its red eyes tracking her every move. Suddenly, it lunged at her attempting a with its sharp claws. Elaine sidestepped the attack in the nick of time before taking aim at the rabbit, her arm raised and ready to let loose the dagger. The moment the rabbit landed on the ground, the dagger was sent flying through the air, spinning. It connected with the rabbit, hitting its side. The rabbit let out a yelp as it felt the dagger enter its body, slicing through various vital organs. It turned around to face Elaine. The previous dark fur now dyed a fresh coat of red, matched its eyes. It snarled again, baring its fangs, only this time it sounded more like a whimper. It continued snarling and snarling at Elaine, each one getting softer than the last. Eventually, it collapsed, lying in a pool of its blood.
Elaine crouched down and began to inspect the corpse, removing her knife first and foremost. The fur was spongy in her hands, almost like grasping at the Shadowbark Moss itself. She cut off the rabbit's feet, storing it in a separate bag that was pulled out of the storage portal. She wiped her dagger clean of the blood, before heading back to the tree to harvest the patch of Shadowbark Moss.
10 down, 30 to go.
She continued her trek through the forest, moving slower and slower as visibility became worse. The rays of sun barely shone through now. The forest ground was still visible, albeit covered in a layer of shadows. Elaine continued searching for trees with patches of moss, the process becoming faster and faster. There were more trees with Shadowbark Moss growing in this area of the forest.
30 went down to 20 then 10 then 5. She just needed one more patch of Shadowbark Moss to call it a job done.
She found it relatively quickly, the area she stumbled upon was apparently rich with Shadowbark Moss. Her final patch was plucked and stored. As she was about to backtrack her way out of the forest, she heard a familiar growing sound. She drew her daggers, looking around to pinpoint the source of the sound. She inched her way toward the epicenter, the sound growing louder as she got closer. She pushed away the thicket of bushes that hid the unmistakable sound of a Moss Rabbit, revealing her aggressor, or so she thought.