It was dawn in the village, the day I left. In the house, everyone was still asleep, and outside, the streets were deserted. The perfect time for my morning round. I headed for the nearby forest, sinking deeper and deeper until I was sure I was completely isolated.
"Very well, one last time before the great departure."
I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, they brightened red.
In this scene, I was alone in the forest, in my point of view, I could see a message on a green screen.
[Extermination Quest: Kill 10 Boars | Reward: 20 exp - 1 soul stone]
[ Quest: Gather 400 black water lilies| Reward: 40 exp - 3 elemental stones]
I had a unique ability giving me access to a system offering me a choice of two quests every day. The best part was that after completing one of the quests, I was rewarded with a brand new skill that made me even better at things I'd never practiced before.
These skills ranged from combat skills like swordsmanship and archery to survival skills such as foraging and hunting. It was like having a surprise gift waiting for me every day.
It was amazing that I had access to so many skills, I could never get enough of having more, but managing the quest could be a challenge. This system assigned daily quests, but it was a catastrophe to fall short on even one of them since it resulted in losing some of my skills.
I could lose my dimensional room just like that for instance, like I lost a very important skill one time. Since then, these quests were the first thing I did every day.
"Huh... So the normal quest gives a special reward and the special quest gives a normal one, great. Hmmm If I was serious, I would choose the 40 experience and the 3 elemental quest but... 400... Damn... And on the other side this rare stone... And then... I don't have all day... Hah! I've been doing this all these years, what difference will this time make? Extermination Quest Select."
Once this sentence was spoken, the special quest disappeared and only the extermination quest was displayed.
I concentrated for a moment, in my usual meditation pose, one hand behind my back and another in sword finger, I could feel all the energy waves of the forest, all its essences, its life, and soon I was entering in contact with a particular energy.
"Found ya."
In a swamp, near a heap of black stones releasing a thick miasma, a group of wild boars devoured the carcasses of a large creature whose body was leading to decomposition.
Boars were a class of E-rank monsters, probably from the rift that Shining Sword had taken care of, these creatures were large, about 6 meters long on average and 3 meters high, with 2 large fangs sticking out of their mouths and their bodies, built like tanks, were covered with thick black fur.
There were about twenty of them and maybe more in the woods, a bonus exp then. A black stain appeared in the middle of the swamp and spread slowly, the boars, at first indifferent, stirred when the stain came into contact with them and soon it covered the whole swamp.
"Gamma Body"
About fifty spikes came out of the ground and impaled several boars, 2 of them by the head and the others in the side, The creatures went wild and those who had escaped the attack ran in all directions.
[Boar killed: 2/10]
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"... Oh? the head is their weakness."
I appeared in the middle of the swamp, stepping out of the shadows, and released a wave of energy. The boars stopped running and turned towards me.
"Sigh We're all adults here, don't play hide and seek."
They rushed at me, roaring, a few meters separated us and soon the first line leaped toward me.
"Rest..."
My whole body turned black and countless matter-like tentacles emerged from it, impaling all the boars everywhere.
"... in..."
The tentacles rose, carrying the boars in the air, and stopped several meters from the ground.
"... pieces."
Finally, the tentacles expanded and tore the monsters to pieces, which fell into the swamp. A macabre spectacle, from which I reappeared at the top of the highest peak.
[Boar killed: 10/10]
[Quest Completed]
[You have successfully achieved the quest]
[Reward received]
[+20 exp]
[1 rare stone dropped| 2 soul stones dropped]
"Nice, 2 souls in one quest, I made the right choice."
[Unlocked a new skill]
[Iron Stomach acquired| Allows the user to digest anything he eats]
I looked at this message like one would look at the middle child in an argument, Do they expect me to eat garbage? I took the 2 soul stones and analyzed them thoroughly.
"... Huh?! Smell tracker? The 2 of them??? What the fuck?!"
I terribly regretted my choice, as expected from animals eating a corpse, they only produced garbage. I squeezed my hand, which was shaking from the pressure when suddenly a gigantic shadow fell over me.
A huge wave containing the worst horrors of the swamp rose in the air and fell back on the spine of a gigantic Boar, red with 4 large teeth emerging from its mouth.
The creature, which must have been nearly 13 meters long, raised its head and realized that one of its legs had remained fixed in a large black Crystal.
"A little bit interesting."
I reappeared on top of the biggest pike and little by little, all the spikes broke and each fragment took the form of a javelin, the tip facing the monster, bellowing in rage or pain as the crystal covered its body.
"... So this is really the end? Can't break free? Sorry in advance, because I'm only an E rank, I can't get you to sleep fast, it might sting."
The creature curled up and spat a green bubble at me, I waved my hands, and the javelins in its path expanded and absorbed the grime, a puff of smoke made me understand it was probably acid.
"Grit your teeth."
I made another gesture and the javelins rushed at the monster and pierced it from all sides, again and again, a black and red whirlwind accompanied the cries of agony of the monster whose defensive abilities had become a nightmare for itself and after a good minute the animal collapsed heavily, torn on all sides.
The creature was probably a boss, or rather a higher class of the boars, but the little experience obtained was proof that the E-rank missions were no longer enough for my evolution, maybe the entrance to the academy would be more beneficial after all.
I went back down to the swamp and observed the remnants of this carnage, a soul stone floated on his body. I took it and examined it for a few seconds before throwing it at the boar's body.
"As a token of respect, I won't take your stone, and it's not because it's another ridiculous smell tracker, definitely. Sigma Body"
The red glint in my eyes disappeared and my face took on a placid, relaxed look. I noticed the Boar's entrails on my shoes.
"Ew..."
Disgusted beyond imagination, I disappeared into my dimensional room. It was my day-to-day, sometimes I had good days and I could learn some very interesting skills with little effort, and other times I had things like this, it would be helpful to know what the people cook or do in the toilets, I guess.
Later in the day, the hour of departure had arrived, and a very small committee was present for our departure, my mother, Wendy, and Elizabeth, having changed faces thanks to one of his abilities, Albert had returned to the capital. with Baron. I greeted my family one last time.
"But... If we're going to be rich, do I still have to study?"
"Wendy, your brother is working very hard for you, don't complain, and studying is good."
"Yes Wendy, thanks to my hard work you won't be able to oversleep anymore, you will spend hours reading books, doing brain-burning calculations, stop being carefree, and soon enter the world of over-exhausted adults."
"..."
She looked at me with her cute puppy eyes and when I couldn't take my smirk any longer she lunged at me and gave me the sweetest, cutest beating my arm had ever felt. After that, my mother gave me her last encouragement and everything was ready for our departure.
"Show them who you are, and if you ever have any doubts, remember that you have a home here and we will always be waiting for you."
"It'll be fine, I'm your son so I'm going to do... Oh?"
I paused when I noticed a few familiar characters ready to board the same bus as me and Hope. Our eyes met and I met for the first time in several days this group of emissaries, popular in the village, and very familiar, the members of Shining Sword.