The interior of the Guild was busier than the morning undoubtedly; the tables were full of adventurers, a lot of which were either arguing about who should get dibs on which quest, or puffing their chests on the greatest beasts they’ve slain.
“All done?” Julia asked, greeting him as he approached the reception desk.
All he did was nod, “There was an orc there, ya know? And a whole lot more goblins than the quest paper said.”
Holding up the document that detailed the quest, which only specified a “small gathering”, he complained, though what he was really trying to infer is that he wanted a bonus for his troubles.
“Is that so?” Julia said worriedly, holding her hand to her chin, “We’ll look into that–for now, here is your payment, and a small bonus for your exemplary work!”
All complaints were washed aside as he counted the pouch of coins slid across the reception desk to him, finding there to be seventy copper in it.
“Will that be all?” Julia smiled.
“Yeah…This is great!” He happily accepted the quest reward.
Julia bowed her head, “Have a good rest of your day then, adventurer.”
Leaving the guild with a hefty sack of copper in addition to the good bit he still had left, Gunter and Edith had the same excitement as him as they all headed for the bakery in Merdlum, following the delicious, warm scent of baked goods.
Arriving at the front of the bakery shop, as led by Gunter, it was a humble establishment with its windows open, allowing the stomach-luring aroma to flow out.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable going in dressed like that, Master?” Edith asked.
“Huh?” He replied before looking down, realizing his jacket and shirt were tattered from the earlier fight, “--Oh. Err…I’ll go get some new clothes, actually. I’ve been meaning to do that! I’ll meet you guys inside!”
“But, Master–” Edith tried to stop him.
He handed the spellblade enough coins to buy whatever her and Gunter wanted in the bakery before running off, intending on finding some new fabric for himself.
‘Seriously, this is actually super embarrassing!’ He thought.
At first, he considered visiting a normal tailor shop, though what caught his eye was Falmur’s shop, as it was still open.
‘I saw clothes in there before, if I recall,’ he remembered.
Entering the shop as the bell atop the door jingled, he saw the bald-headed shop owner at the shopkeeping desk. The middle-aged man was cleaning a longsword with a rag, making it nice and shiny.
“Welcome in–oh, it’s you! Damn, what happened to your clothes?” Falmur asked in surprise.
“Long story…Anyway, I need a new outfit or two,” he requested, holding up a bundle of copper.
Going through the tryout rooms with different outfits, going from plated armor to casual fabric, he found himself stopping with an outfit that felt right: black pants, a long-sleeved, dark-blue shirt and brown-leather gloves and boots, along with a black cloak.
He had always preferred darker clothing, and it also functioned both as a casual outfit and something practical in adventuring, equipped with light armor.
“This’ll do!” He said.
“Looks good on ya’!” Falmur smiled.
The price was twenty copper, but well worth it for Jett as he now felt as though he blended into the mystical world of Fantasia, tightening his gloves and adjusting the dagger scabbard on his belt along with his pouch of coins.
‘I’m really settling in, aren’t I? Now…Time for pie!’ He thought.
Upon returning to the bakery, dubbed “Merdlum Baked Delicacies”--a popular stop for passing merchants and adventurers, he found both of his familiars stuffing their faces with sweets without him.
“Ya gof try thif chocolate pie, Soufa!”
–Edith’s words were nearly unintelligible with her cheeks stuffed with pie like a chipmunk, though it was inexplicably adorable seeing the usually stoic spellblade dropping her steel-like exterior.
He sat down at the table, not even hearing a word from Gunter who was shoveling apple pie into his mouth as if it was the last meal he’d ever eat. Crumbs were flung everywhere, though it hardly affected his appetite, as after a hard day of fighting and spending mana, he felt as though he could eat just like they did.
And that he did.
A peach pie was ordered, and a peach pie was annihilated; by the end of the meal, they were all completely stuffed.
“...Your pies are the best…” He said, exhaling and patting his stomach as he pointed his words to the kind old lady that ran the bakery.
“Come by anytime, dear,” the owner smiled, sending them off.
As they left the humble establishment, Jett recalled something he wanted to do, glancing around as he set his sights on a different direction than the inn.
“Master?” Edith looked at him.
“I’ll meet you both at the inn–I need to check something real quick,” he said.
“Alright! I’ll warm your bed up for you! Just kiddin’! Ga-ha-ha!” Gunter waved.
Though he was definitely exhausted, there was something he urgently needed to test out, quickly pacing towards the Merdlum Guild, which he believed was still open at this time of night. Checking the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was, entering to find a different receptionist working at the front.
“Welcome in, adventurer,” the hazel-haired, freckled woman greeted him kindly.
“Yo,” he briefly waved with a smile.
What he had his sights aimed for was the quest board, moving over to it and looking at the rookie division missions that were left.
‘Extermination quests…Give me any I can find,’ he scoped it out.
He checked every single pinned document, earning weird looks from the experienced adventurers that were still drinking in the lobby. After spending several minutes meticulously checking every available quest, he retrieved five that met the requirements he was looking for: missions that solely involved eliminating creatures.
‘Bingo,’ he thought.
Bringing them to the reception desk, he placed them down, earning a worried look from the youthful woman behind the counter as she looked through them.
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“This is your first day as an adventurer, right? ‘Jett Levine’, was it?” She asked.
“That’s right,” he nodded.
“...And you’d like to accept all of these, is that right? You do know that if these fail to be completed within the designated time frame, you will be subject to fines and potentially demotion within the Guild, correct?” She asked for clarification.
“Mhm,” he nodded again.
It seemed as though she was trying to subtly hint that it was a bad idea, but the immutable confidence in the newbie adventurer’s decision allowed the worried receptionist to stamp each of the quests.
“Alright, then. Best of luck to you, Jett Levine,” she bowed her head.
“Thanks,” he waved off, walking away.
To the woman, what she saw was not a bronze-ranked adventurer, but certainly somebody with incredible potential as he left with impervious confidence.
He tucked the numerous quests into his pocket before heading back to the inn, following the paved roads between closed shops before finding his way there.
“Welcome back,” the inn worker greeted him; a lithe woman.
“Yo,” he quickly responded.
Returning to his room, he found Edith sitting on her bed, looking relieved that he returned safely. Though he was about to ask about Gunter, he got an answer as he could hear muffled snores through the wall leading to the neighboring room.
“What was it you needed to do?” Edith asked.
Jett waved the quests he obtained in front of the silver-haired girl with a smile, “This.”
“Quests? Why so many? I find it hard to imagine we could complete all of those before tomorrow ends,” Edith asked.
The man clearly had a pan as he held a smile, setting the quest papers down before retrieving the pouch of coins from his belt, tossing it up-and-down above his hand.
“I have a plan, actually. If it works, I’ll wake up tomorrow twice my current level–no, probably even higher. And I’ll have all of these quests done without having to lift a finger,” he told her.
“...Huh? How’s that possible? Wait, do you mean–” Edith began to realize.
Jett nodded, “I’m going to summon a buncha’ familiars!”
Neither his system clarified nor did his own familiars know how the [EXP] gained from their skills worked, but he was about to put it to the test with a trial that would prove to him whether or not what he possessed was truly a “cheat ability”.
“I’d stand back–it’s about to get real crowded in here,” he warned with a smirk.
Edith nodded, standing at the opposite end of the room and watching as Jett held the sack of coins in his palm, not bothering to single out any copper.
‘Five won’t do. I doubt a single familiar would be enough to handle an entire quest on their own–especially considering I’m going to mostly get Basic rarities…With that being said–’ He decided.
“Gacha System! Ten summons on the Rookie Familiar Banner, and make it quick!” He demanded.
Just like that, the sack of coins definitely felt lighter as a hefty thirty copper were used as currency to enable his mystical ability to activate.
It sounded like a casino with all of the slots rolling; a plethora of digital screens were painted onto the air as he watched silhouettes o’ plenty flash by.
‘...My heart won’t stop racing. This can change everything depending on how this test turns out. So many at once…It’s like my own personal army. Let’s see ‘em!’ He thought.
Pillars of light reached from the ceiling to the floor, summoning in the plentiful familiars that were rolled through the [Gacha System]
First to arrive:
[New Familiar Obtained: (B) Sword Goblin | Special Traits: Excited to help!]
[ATK: 2 | DEF: 2 | MAG: 0]
A goblin showed up from the first dissipated pillar of light, standing half of his height with a lighter complexion of green skin to the others he had seen, and definitely a nice change of pace: it wasn’t trying to stab him.
‘A goblin? Not the best, but I can’t complain,’ he thought.
“Kra!” It greeted him.
Three more were goblins, in fact:
[New Familiar Obtained: (B) Dual Hammer Goblin | Special Traits: Hammer Time!]
[ATK: 4 | DEF: 3 | MAG: 0]
[New Familiar Obtained: (B) Archer Goblin | Special Traits: Somewhat accurate!]
[ATK: 2 | DEF: 1 | MAG: 0]
[New Familiar Obtained: (B) Novice Mage Goblin | Special Traits: Embers!]
[ATK: 1 | DEF: 1 | MAG: 4]
What was surprising to him is that the subservient goblins definitely seemed intelligent, patiently waiting for orders.
Perhaps more shocking than having goblins serving him loyally was what manifested next:
[New Familiar Obtained: (B) Blue Slime | Special Traits: Gluttonous]
A small, unassuming slime plopped onto the floor, subservient to the summoner all the same despite seeming to lack sentience.
[ATK: 1 | DEF: 1 | MAG: 1]
Next, more notable summons arrived:
[New Familiar Obtained: (N) Demonkin Youth Alex | Special Traits: Hero’s Journey!]
[ATK: 7 | DEF: 7 | MAG: 7]
A short, youthful boy with tan skin and two, small horns protruding from his forehead manifested, wearing rag-tag armor with a feather-decorated sword on his back. He had bright-blue irises that stood in contrast to the dark horns he had and the tail swaying behind his back.
“Hey, hey!” Alex jumped up and down.
[New Familiar Obtained: (N) Lizard Spearman: Aguta | Special Traits: Diligent!]
[ATK: 11 | DEF: 11 | MAG: 11]
A prideful, bronze-scaled warrior appeared, wearing fur-lined leather armor with a spear strapped to its back.
“Well met, Master,” the lizardman spoke in a dignified tone.
Another familiar manifested, possessing quite the large form in the room that was becoming cramped:
[New Familiar Obtained: (N) Cyclops Warrior: Juru | Special Traits: One-Eyed!]
[ATK: 16 | DEF: 8 | MAG: 0]
A tall, exceedingly muscular cyclops with gray skin appeared with his arms over his chest, wielding a stern look on his face. He wore sparse, leather armor with a massive warhammer strapped to his back.
“Hm,” Juru grumbled.
[New Familiar Obtained: (N) Silent-Footed Khan | Special Traits: Stealthy!]
[ATK: 12 | DEF: 5 | MAG: 2]
A man appeared, wearing beige clothing with a black hood, possessing a scarred lip and spiky, red hair with a pair of daggers sheathed behind his back.
[New Familiar Obtained: (R) Crimson Swordsman Jiao | Special Traits: Fiery!]
A man looking to be in his mid-twenties with shaggy, crimson hair that ended in a ponytail manifested, possessing tan skin and wearing black-and-red armor along with a massive greatsword strapped to his back that had its edges curved like the swirls of flames.
“Yo, Master!” Jiao smiled excitedly.
[ATK: 20 | DEF: 30 | MAG: 20]
[Pity: 0/100]
With all ten familiars summoned into the room, making it seem as though a conference was being held in the unassuming inn, Jett smiled at the results, already satisfied with what was brought to him.
“Alright, listen up!” Jett called attention, holding the five quests up, “I’m going to divide you each into groups to complete these missions–all of the information will be on these documents. You’ll begin them as soon as I select your groups.”
Edith seemed pleasantly surprised at how adequately it was being handled, standing by Jett’s side as his own right-hand guard.
After some thinking, the groups were decided as:
[The four goblins would be given one quest to handle as one group.]
[The slime and Alex would be given one to handle themselves.]
[Silent-Footed Khan and the Lizardman Aguta would have one quest to accomplish.]
[The cyclops, Juru would handle one alone.]
[Jiao, possessing the rank of [Rare] and incredibly impressive stats, would handle a quest by himself along with aiding any of the others that might need assistance.]
In addition to completing each of their assigned quests, Jett told his familiars to seek out any creatures on their path in order to gain further experience. It was a bit of a hassle to repeatedly explain all of this to the goblins, who while intelligent, still seemed to be somewhat hard to get to settle down.
Though after a good thirty minutes, he sent all ten of his newly-summoned familiars out of the room, divided into their groups with quests in hand.
‘It’s important that I started this at the dead of night…Jiao and Khan are going to help the more “monsterly” of the bunch sneak in-and-out of town, otherwise…Well, I don’t want to think of that. Now, I can get some good rest and hopefully wake up to some nice results!’ He thought.
Plopping down on the bed, he held a victorious smile as he slid his hands underneath his head, staring up at the ceiling.
“Are you confident in these new recruits, Master?” Edith asked.
He turned the question onto the girl, “What do you think about them, Edith? Think they can handle this? I trust your judgment.”
Edith’s lips fell agape at his complimentary words before pondering it for a moment, sitting on the edge of the bed that neighbored the man’s, “...I believe they will prove successful.”
“Then I’m sure they will be,” he closed his eyes with a smile.
With that, he called it a night, awaiting the results of the following morning as he awarded himself with some much needed rest.