Chapter 8: Chain Quest

Contrary to popular belief, the receptionist in an Adventurer's Guild isn't always a beautiful onee-san. The Adventurer Guild of Lean City has a muscle bound middle aged man for a receptionist.

His name is Hus Tomper. He was once a Climber and retired due to an injury. The title of being a Climber alone made him quite respected by the Adventurers. So even if most Adventurers are aggressive and disruptive, they don't dare to cause trouble while inside the Guild.

So when Klein entered the building, there's no brawl, and the patrons are well behave. They were quietly drinking their beers. Some are sharing stories. Some are whispering in hushed tones while plotting a conspiracy. And some are drinking their sorrows away.

Hus saw Klein enter and grinned in welcome. Hus has a a good impression of Klein. He is a good kid who's struggling in a dense city to feed his younger sister and bedridden parents in the countryside.

Hus Tomper lament on the state of the youth these days. They should be like Klein and shouldn't waste their youth in debauchery.

"You're alive. You haven't shown your face for a week. You really scared this old man to death when you said you would enter the forest to gather herbs. Good thing you followed my recommendation to just search on the outskirts of the city." Hus Tomper greeted with a laugh.

"You're wrong about that old man. I really went deep and got a good harvest."

Seeing Hus looks of disbelief, Klein decided to explain further. He doesn't want Hus to view him as a liar so he decided to lie. He doesn't want to share the specifics of his Blessing. It's his trump card even if it's a trash.

"I was loitering outside the city just like you said but saw someone entering the forest. He looks strong so I decided to tag along."

"Really? Who?"

"Kruce."

"Oh, that kid! It's quite impressive that you managed to befriend him, and he didn't beat you up. He's a troublesome kid. He's a recluse but he often gets into a fight with other adventurers. Quite contradictory. But he reminded me of myself when I was his age."

Hus Tomper spoke in reminisce. If he hadn't received his injury, he imagined that he will be one of the most famous person in the kingdom by now.

"Let me tell you a secret, " Klein said and he leaned in. He is feeling lucky. An opportunity to seal up his lie falls in his lap just like that.

"Kruce is really just shy. He's hard on the outside but soft on the inside. He's that type of person. So can you do me a favor? Don't tell anyone, even if it's Kruce, that we went together. I don't want to embarrass him."

And with that, Hus won't inquire Kruce if Klein was really escorted by her, perfecting the lie.

"Of course! Of course! I'll keep this secret. By the way, are you here to report on your quest? You don't need to. It's an Open Quest anyway. Just deliver the herbs directly to the apotecary and receive your reward there. Or are you asking for a new one?"

Hus was once a tower climber and has a wealth of experience. Klein always asks him for some advice on what jobs to get that allows him to have better rewards. And sometimes, he would ask Hus on his experience as a Climber.

After all, Klein main goal is to become stronger by Climbing the tower. With that he can fulfill both his and the original Klein's dream.

The original and pitiful Klein's dream is to search for his parents that disappeared inside the tower while our Klein's dream is to pick up girls.

Hus is really happy to answer all of Klein's questions after he fed him a fake sad back story of his life.

Klein is shameless to the core, and it's easy for him to lie through his teeth.

And it is good to befriend the receptionist old man. He is not a mob NPC, and is a good NPC to get close to. It's better to raise your intimacy on the NPC who gave quests.

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"No. I'm here to report on another quest. That one." Klein replied. He clenched his fist and gave a thumbs up. He used his thumbs to point on something on the board.

"Oh! that one," Hus said apprehensively while stroking his chin. He's currently looking at a drawing that looks like a coat of arms of a noble. It closely looks like a three headed dog biting an iron sword.

"Are you sure that you have seen the real thing? Somebody's drawing that all over the place." Hus said in concern.

It is a quest appointed to the guild by some mage approximately three weeks ago. It was easy and hard at the same time. The mage is looking for any clues pertaining that coat of arms. It is easy if you already know something about it but hard if you don't know anything at all.

Unfortunately, nobody in the city had seen that coat of arms before.

The reward is a hefty sum, and some adventurer with some forging knowledge decided to cheat.

He falsified some clues and reported it to the Guild. It didn't take long before the mage catch on that it was fake, and the adventurer was forced to pay a fine.

The forger, out of spite, decided to make more clues and spread it in every corner of the city. He even paint the coat of arms in some weird places.

Two days later, that Adventurer vanished, never to be seen again.

Some did find these clues and reported it to the Guild but after some verification, they were also forced to pay the fine.

Hus Tomper wondered if it was the Mage plan all along to gain some quick cash. But it doesn't make sense. Mage are known to be rich.

Hus is concerned if Klein also found these fake clues.

Of course, Klein also knows this story. But his instinct tells him that he found an authentic one. Of course, game clues are always found by the players.

"You don't need to worry about that. I found it in a remote place. I have seen the forger's style and it's not even close to what I found. There's an antique and ancient feel to it. Clearly different. There's even some murals on the wall," Klein explained.

Klein is positive that he found the right clues. It is located inside a cave. When he went inside the cave, he saw a three meter tall bear sleeping.

With weak Presence, he doesn't need to fret. He is safe from the threat of mauling from the bear.

He was happily exploring the cave and looking for some rare herbs, when he found some markings. Markings that closely resemble the Coat of arms in the quest.

There's no way that feeble adventurer can enter that cave and sculpt that masterpiece without alerting the bear.

"Tell me the location," Hus said after reaching on his drawer and producing a map.

Klein carefully looked at the map. He was sure that he crossed at least two mountains.

"I think this is the the general area. It is inside some cave."

"Hmm. That's quite far."

"Yeah, it took me three days to get there. So when can I get my reward?"

"I still need to clarify it with the client. I think I need two to three days."

Klein chatted a bit more with the old man before he left. He decided to find Kruce to raise some more flags.

Amy's Bakery, Gord St. Lean City

Kruce Ross wanted to explode. She really had a bad day.

At first, her day started great. She has contributed a bit to the society by beating up a gangster who's bullying an old couple.

But it went downhill from there.

A pigeon shat on top her. She did evade but some still land on her shoes.

And even more bad things continue to happen.

It's as if someone is warning her to go home or something terribly dire would happen.

She ignored it. She didn't believe in divine providence. If the Goddess truly exist, she wouldn't give Kruce a good Blessing but not the talent to fully utilities it.

And when her day is finally going better, they appeared. The gang members of the guy she had just beaten up.

It didn't phase her, she doesn't need to fight. She can just escape.

But then that idiot appeared. She can see that's he's no match for them, but he had the audacity to taunt them. He's a weakling, anyone can see that.

Though, she was a bit impressed when he tried to save her.

Her plan is in tatters, and she can't escape now. Kruce was sure that they will beat that idiot up. She can't just leave. It will leave a mark in her conscience.

So she was forced to fight. It would have been a piece of cake if her opponents are just normal thugs. They know body reinforcement, albeit weak, just like herself.

Kruce did struggle for a long time before finishing them off. She was really tired after it.

At normal times, she would have beaten that idiot who continued to pester her. He even had the audacity to continue spouting nonsense. What help? What brother? What boss?

If not for him, she could have easily escaped.

She was so tired.

She had no choice but to gave up her name to finally leave that idiot. Though, she wondered if she's also an idiot by giving her real name.

And with this bad day, she decided to cheer herself up by satisfying her vice, and it's by having her favorite food. The specialty of this place, the Caramel Pudding. It's a bit expensive but she is sure that it's all worth it.

Kruce watched with star in her eyes as the waiter carrying her order walks toward her table.

"Heya, Kruce." A familiar voice is heard from behind.

'Fuck, could this day get any worse,' Kruce thought to herself.