Chapter 11 My first Quest

'' Straight to the Guild, no more side quest, just don't turn your head. ''

I said to myself, trying not to get curious, but just to go to the guild. It was already late, and I didn't know if the guild was still open or if it was open 24/7. I don't think Tifa was in the guild all the time, maybe the staff had shift work. And while I was still talking to myself, I heard a woman scream.

'' .... don't do it, there must be guards around. ''

Shin...

'' Yes, yes I know. '' I said, annoyed and turned around.

'' THIEF THIEF HE STOLE MY BAG, PLEASE SOMEONE. ''

As I turned around, I saw 3 men running away, behind them was the woman I heard screaming. She pointed at the 3, and I saw one of them holding a fabric bag. I still hesitated because I was sure that there must be guards somewhere, but it was in vain. So, I sighed annoyed and was about to run when....

'' ICE STORM ''

'' huh ? '' I said

Because just as I was about to start running, I suddenly saw how the 3 men froze and could see a woman on the right who was probably responsible for it. Behind her were 4 other people, and judging by their equipment, they must have been adventurers. One of them ran to the men and took the bag from them before all of them went to the woman.

'' oh, thank you so much, thank you. '' said the woman

'' Don't mention it RAINER go and call the guards we will guard her until then. '' said the woman

'' Understood. '' said the man and ran off

....

'' mhhh no. ''

What do you mean, no?

'' Just now I'll tell you what will happen if I stay there any longer, look. ''

Sigh...I'm listening.

So I stay longer and watch at the moment the eyes of me and this woman cross. We both stare into each other's eyes before she comes up to me and wants to talk to me for whatever reason. Then we would talk, and she would just stall me longer, and then when I think I can leave she tells me to follow her, and so I get into another side quest The End. ''

I would say that you are crazy, but then you would tell me, "Do you still remember Sara," so I better not do that.

And so I went again as planned towards the guild and this time I was lucky because after a few minutes I stood in front of the guild and saw that it was actually still open. I opened the door and was greeted by loud laughter as I walked in. Everyone was drinking or talking, I thought there was a reason for this, but then I remembered that they were all adventurers. I looked around a bit and luckily saw Tifa already waving at me as I walked over to her.

'' Hey Shin, where have you been, I've been waiting for you the whole time. ''

'' oh something happened, but now I'm ready for my first quest. ''

'' haha then let's see mhhh since you are still G rank there are no really exciting tasks. And because it's so late, I have only one here. '' said Tifa and gave me a piece of paper

'' .... I knew it. '' I said.

When I looked at the note, I saw that the quest was to collect herbs. I mean, I shouldn't complain, I was the one who wanted it, so I looked at Tifa with a smile and accepted the quest.

'' I'm sorry, really, I know that you're probably already at the level of a C-rank adventurer. '' said Tifa

'' haha don't worry it may not be an exciting quest but still a quest mhh say are there any rules for quest? ''

'' Rules? '' Tifa asked

'' For example, is there a time limit? ''

'' ahh that's what you mean, there is of course a time limit, but it depends on the quest, the more difficult the more time you have. For your quest for example you have 1 week once you do quests where you have to kill monsters or explore dungeons you have much longer time. ''

Mhh I see that's good because with my luck I'll run into a side quest during my quest that I can't skip, I said and looked at the note again. The note was bright orange at the top, the task was written below it the number 0/10 and in the middle where I can find the herbs. The medicinal herbs were apparently outside the city wall right near the forest I was in.

'' Well then Shin if you have no further questions, I wish you good luck on your first quest.... it's an easy one but take care of yourself anyway. '' Said Tifa with a smile

Don't worry, I'll be fine, see you soon Tifa.'' I said and turned around.

I walked out of the guild and made my way to the city wall to immediately start my first quest. On my way however, I saw a store that I hadn't seen before, it was a mage store. I went to the store and saw a small sign on the sign was a wand and a potion. I had not intended to make any stops, but curiosity got the better of me and I went into the store. Unlike the clothing store I had been in the other day, this one was full of adventurers. Some were looking at glowing weapons, others at wands, but most were standing in front of the shelf of potions. Blue, red, white, yellow, the whole rule was full of different colored potions. The whole thing caught me off guard and I just stood there looking around before I could hear a voice.

'' Hey you, I don't know you, are you new here? '' It was a female voice, I looked around but couldn't see anyone before I looked down.

'' ..... um yeah I'm new here, do you need anything? ''

'' Do I need anything? I should ask you that! '' says the girl annoyed

Don't tell me...

'' Could it be that you are the owner of the store? ''

'' Yes I am....do you have a problem with that? '' she said with an annoyed look.

'' ha-ah-ha no not me- I just wanted to look around first. ''

'' tch '' said the girl before turning and walking away.

You might wonder why I reacted like that, well maybe it was because the girl reminded me more of a child. After this conversation I immediately went to the potions and looked at them, I saw that they were all different, but I didn't know what they could do.

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'' Hey Ruri can you maybe help me? ''

Sure, look, right now you have different potions Yellow, White, Green, Blue, Red and each of them gives you an ability or a buff for a short time. For example, the blue potion lets you breathe underwater for 10 minutes, the green potion increases your stamina. The red one increases your strength for a short time, the yellow one allows you to see in the dark and the white one makes you run faster for a short period of time. Potions have advantages but also disadvantages, first they are very expensive. The potions you have in front of you are not perfect, but even those potions only a few can afford. A group of adventurers can buy at best 2 potions, of course there are more potions, but you can't just buy them everywhere. Another disadvantage of potions is that not everyone can use one.

'' mhh what do you mean by that? ''

In order to use a potion, you need a certain amount of mana if you don't have the required amount the potion has no effect, but that's not all. I told you that every living creature has mana in it, but not everyone can use it. If someone who can't use magic drinks a potion, he will feel sick and throw up. That's why potions are only bought by those who can use them.

'' ahh then I better not use any, I don't even have mana in me. ''

Wow, I am surprised you remembered that hahahha

Said Rurir laughing as I made my way to the door, but at that moment I looked to my left and saw more potions, but they were different from the others.

'' Hey, Rurir what about them?' I ask Rurir.

Ahhh I completely forgot them, those are special potions that everyone can use even people who cannot use magic but of course the whole thing has its drawbacks. These are weakened variants they can do exactly the same as normal potions but are not as effective but-.

'' Perfect if absolutely everyone can use them, even people who can't use magic, it's just the thing for me. ''

......

I went to the potions and looked at them and indeed they were exactly the same, only much smaller. The price was also reduced by half but for a simple farmer probably still a high investment. Since I also didn't really have much money, I could only buy one, so I decided to buy the green one.

'' mhhh 1 gold coin, hey Rurir can you explain to me quickly the currency system of this world? ''

There are silver, gold and platinum coins, 1 silver coin has a value of 100 yen 2 200 yen and so on. 1 gold coin has a value of 100 silver coins, but to avoid carrying around 100 silver coins, you can exchange your 100 silver coins for one gold coin at local banks. 1 platin coin has a value of 1000 gold coins so no normal citizen or adventurer will ever see one. Platinum coins are not even in circulation, they are only used by nobles.

'' 100 silver coins so how much do I have with me right now. ''

I said and opened my inventory....

'' .... Ha-ha-ha I guess it's about time I earned some money.... '' I said sadly

... Let me guess, you are Broke?

'' ... ''

I didn't even answerd Rurir, I just quietly left the store and went to the city gate. There I saw the same guards as always, by now I had even made friends with them. We talked a little before one of them gave me some important information. A group of adventurers had been attacked by a monster deeper in the forest. Of the 4 adventurers, only 1 had survived, but the survivor was paralyzed and did not speak to anyone.

'' So, watch out their Kid we have no idea what attacked the group. ''

'' I will, thanks for the info. ''

I said, waving back before leaving the city and following the main road. That a few adventurers die or get injured is normal, that comes with the job. But the problem was that they weren't just any adventurers, they were all C rank. From what I've heard, there are no monsters in the area that exceed F rank. So, a group of C rank adventurers being defeated by an F rank monster is quite unlikely.

'' mhhh now turn right. ''

I said and was back in the forest and according to the quest these herbs should be nearby. However, I searched but didn't find anything which was strange because I was standing exactly at the place where these herbs should have been.

Rustle

'' uh? ''

At that moment I heard a rustling in the bush further in front of me, and as I approached the bush, I also heard voices. I went behind one of the trees and listened to the voices from what I could make out there were 3 people 2 women and 1 man. I stuck my head out and saw the 3 as they were on all four. It looked like they were looking for something, and that's when it made click...that would explain why I hadn't found anything. It was like in the MMORPG I played, when several players were doing the same quest and were not in a group, the quest items would just get snatched away and you had to wait for it to respawn.

'' oh man, hey Rurir will the herbs respawn again after a certain amount of time? ''

No of course not, they grow back, but it takes several weeks.

'' ..... well, I only need 10, maybe they have more and can give me a few. ''

So, I got out my cover and went towards the 3 who didn't notice me at first but just kept looking.

'' HEY TOJO don't just rip the herbs off the ground, or they'll break! ''

'' All right, you don't have to yell at me like that, sigh, why are we doing this quest anyway? ''

''Why? Because we need money, and we are not the strongest ones AND NOW PULL! ''

'' She's right Tojo everyone starts small and then works their way up, oh you can give me that. I said

'' yes, yes you are right here, no wait WAHHHH. ''

'' Mhhh what's wrong ToJOOOOOOOOO ''

'' mhh what's WRONGGGGGGGGG ''

While the 3 were talking and plucking herbs, I snuck up behind them and tried to grab one of the herb flowers. At that moment, however, the 3 noticed me and all screamed in terror.

'' ha-ha hey '' I said and raised my hand.

But at that moment, Tojo drew his sword before standing up and standing in front of the two women, who were still frozen with fear.

'' WHO ARE YOU? ''

'' ah don't worry, I am also an adventurer, here. '' I said and showed them my ID card.

'' Sigh, you should say that right away. '' said the woman and stood up

After I proved to them that I was also an adventurer, the situation calmed down again, and we introduced ourselves to each other.

'' My name is Lara, the other girl is my little sister Lana, and this is my big brother Tojo. ''

'' Pleased to meet you, I'm Shin sigh sorry about just now I probably shouldn't have sneaked up on you like that. ''

'' Oh well we kind of overreacted, but what do you want from us anyways? ''

And so, I explained to Lara how I also had the same quest as them and how I wanted to ask if I could join them. As I explained this to them, Lara and Tojo laughed before telling me that they thought I had some evil intentions. They probably thought I was a bandit or something who wanted to kill them from behind, well I can't blame them. After we cleared everything up, they accepted my offer and so the four of us started to collect the herbs. I must say that it was, as expected, quite boring but that was to be expected of such a quest and still it was somehow...fun. We also talked a bit while the 3 told me more about themselves. Apparently the 3 didn't really want to be adventurers in the beginning, but because of the circumstances they had no choice. They needed the money, their mother who actually cared for the 3 became ill, I asked about their father, but he was already dead. I felt sorry for the 3 of them, from their appearance they were probably not older than 18 years, Lana was only 16 and they were already risking their lives.

'' And now to you, why did you want to become an adventurer? '' Tojo asked me

'' You see, I'm not from this country at all, I'm from a country where life is very different. In my country there are no adventurers or monsters, people live a quiet and simple life. A life in which you always do the same day in and day out over and over again, I hated this life. I wanted to experience adventure, explore the world and just have fun. Back home I may have had a better life than I have now with a family and a place to live. But although I had all this, I simply needed this kick, and so I decided to fulfill my dreams and set out to explore the world. ''

'' haha then I guess you are like the other adventures too, many do it because it is just fun for them. ''

And like that we were done and had all the needed amount and thanks to the conversations the time also flew by.

'' Phew that's all sister, we should go back now. '' said Lana

'' Lana is right, let's go back and have dinner together, you can of course join us Shin. '' said Tojo with a smile

'' haha I'll gladly accept that offer. '' I said, and so we headed back to the city.

.....

But at that moment I felt a chill down my spine, my gut told me to use my threat perception skill and so I did. And that's when I noticed it.

'' Guys, we should get the hell out of here. ''

'' mhh what is Wro- ''

'' Is-is-is that a- ''

'' Tch it's exactly what you think Lana.... RUN, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES. ''

screamed Tojo before grabbing Lana and Lara and running off, at that moment I remembered the words of the guard at the gate.

'' hahaha I see, so that's what messed up the group...Rurir that's a demon, right? ''

Yes