[System] Congratulations! Your adventurer experience maxed out. Gained a level!
"Sigh... Another nonsense title."
"That's because yours were too high."
They have released from the pressure and gained some notifications after that.
One of them was what Ar complained about. Even a level up notification couldn't catch his attention.
"I've got this kind of title twice. 'Mythical' event which only gives Rare or below. Seems incompetent."
They continued their expedition. The short and unknown event was over and the location has been so close to them on the map.
"This is weird."
Stugrd frowned while looking at the item in his hand. He moved for quite a time, following the direction showed by 'GPS'.
"Tricky stuff? Well, a hidden entrance means we will unlock a dungeon or something." Ar said it nonchalantly.
He is used to this kind of stuff. A hidden location like this often has more benefits than not.
"Hope something like 'fame' or 'merit' was here too." He added.
The three of them walked around the area. For a few minutes, they just circled the area.
A plain area with some rocks around it. A shallow river flowed nearby. There were no detected creatures around except the three of them.
Ar and the others even spread out to cover a wider area. It didn't make much sense, but that's what people did when they couldn't find something they're looking for.
Even away from the marked location, resulted in nil. In the direction Ar was headed, he was unable to proceed any further as Slimes with quite a high level of danger were hanging around.
Several thoughts came to him. He didn't really know the details of the quest, but he had some ideas that might be worked.
'Maybe killing a few of the residents will trigger the quest.' That was what he thought when he saw a slime jumping around in the grass.
But, of course, he couldn't do it that simple. The risk and danger levels were very high. So far, he and his party even needed enough cooperation or additional stats to finish monsters with the danger level of 'orange'.
Something like what Vi did with the salamander could not be easily tested here. They were only three of them, and 1 of them was a civilian. He might be accustomed to civilians because one of his party members was a civilian, but that was after he witnessed and guaranteed Avia's abilities personally.
Giving up on the idea, he returned to the original destination. What the other two found had the same result as him.
"There should be a simpler approach," Ar said as soon as they met in the middle.
"Maybe we should know the details of the quest," Korka added.
After hearing that, Stugrd revealed the quest screen.
"Hmm .. 'Met with Coyopus Ranwulf'. So, he should be here."
The screen shown by the Lionkin showed not much help.
Ar paid attention to some details on it. Something like using the given tool as a location's pointer, and a location name written on it, they've done it all.
"Silv."
"Yes. Because the world is designed with dynamic scenarios as its basis. One possibility is that the quest collides with other dynamic events."
A robotic kid with a silver body. His hair was black and slicked back. His clothes and pants matched his hair. He provided input to parties based on a database that he had access to.
"How else, something that can't be avoided is part of the adventure itself. Is there any possibility that we could receive additional compensation or rewards, Silv?" The Lionkin felt quite guilty and tried to brighten the atmosphere. That of course wasn't his fault at all, but he couldn't ignore it that easily. Most importantly, he also had to entertain himself.
"Yes, the quests and the events around them change dynamically. Rewards and some details will follow these dynamic events."
Hearing that, Ar managed to confirm additional rewards and other small things. For him, the thing such as additional rewards was still less valuable than this unexpected condition. However, he was deep in thought and not affected.
"Rescue mission. It will show our quality, increase the affinity, and possibly pass another quest chain."
Ar said while not changing his standing position. His hand was still on his chin, and his gaze was still far away.
"Yeah, but that can make this quest several times more difficult. And in addition, there are no updates to the quest, which means we have to navigate the surrounding area without a clue." Stugrd the Lionkin gave his opinion.
"What's the recommended level for the 'red' and 'black' name here, Silv?"
"Monsters with a fairly high level of danger in this area are meant for Natives Adventurers who have completed advanced classes and are not brave enough to leave Lv 1 City. Lv 35 to 55 is the range.
"What's the matter, Korka?" Stugrd asked the human beside him.
Korka left a small exclaim and opened his mouth.
"Personal AI, they are very useful and feel like a cheat."
"Sorry for my disturbance, but this information can be found in the City."
"I know. But, it takes time to find information."
"Yes, several benefits to be had. By buying our pro-"
PLAK
A hit interrupted Silv's conversation.
"Excuse me, Mr. Stugrd?"
"Sorry, a habit of mine."
Amidst the ruckus, Ar continued with the topic by confirming some information.
"What level are you?" He asked Stugrd.
"14."
"14!?"
Ar was so surprised by the answer.
"That's because Mr. Stug hunts differently than the others."
The one who said that was Korka. Somehow, he felt a little bit agitated.
"Huh?"
"People gain more level and progress faster by doing the bounty quest. The forum I checked mentioned top players are at around Lv 17 and 18 while grinding bounty quest."
Ar frowned and confused. Korka who saw the expression added another explanation.
"Mr Stug has gone grinding on the hunting ground and not touching the bounty quest at all. So, he can't get that much Exp like the others who follow the textbook."
Ar could only shift his eyes to look at the big lion guy's direction. Stugrd who met his eyes only left a shrug.
"He also hunts solo."
Korka added.
Another exchange looks and Stugrd shrug again.
"What is your point?" Ar frowned and couldn't help but to expressed his annoyance.
"I mean.. since you so surprised with his level."
Korka answered, but Ar changed his focus once again.
"What did you hunt?"
"Demonic Apes. I can have a one on one with Korka's help."
"I see, you are pretty useful, huh? Since those monkeys play in a pack." Ar expressed his opinion on Korka, and continued with the other thing he wanted to say. "But still, with your level, can we beat monsters in this area?"
"Of course. As long as you give a one on one opportunity to Mr Stug, he can deal with anything."
Korka was the one who answered. Ar only gave him a side glance and ignore it. He raised his eyebrow for a gesture to signaled Stugrd. He wanted his answer.
"We have to try it with 'Slime' first then. A 'red' name, and on top of that, a 'Slime'. We can measure the 'power creep'."
"Okay then. I believe we can only hunt in a 3 to 1, right? Follow me, I've met a slime there."
"What's your level Mr Arceede?" Korka asked him while they started walking.
"19."
Ar answered without looking back. On his back, Korka had a private talk with Stugrd.
"Can I believe his skill? He must be doing bounty quest all the time like the others, right? Those quests can't be compared with the hunting ground difficulty. The high level can't prove anything now."
Korka ended it with a snort.
Giggle.
Only a giggle came out from Stugrd.
As it looked like an affirmation, Korka added another talk.
"Even the previous Rank 3 PvE said that the hunting ground was too hard and ineffective. He also said that the mess happened on Sizzeria Hill as a newbie doing to seek attention."
"Well, his statement is basically true."
Casually, Stugrd just replied like that.
"That's because he can not hunt the hunting ground. If he saw you, I'm sure he'll lose his face. A high-level who only obtained it from bounty quest is not something they can proud of."
"Okay, okay. Go prepare your flasks and potions."
Since the Slime started to appear in their sight, Stugrd unsheathed his greatsword and told Korka to get ready.
"Can you guys try to hunt them, first? At least, try to learn the pattern. I have something I want to try."
In front of them, Ar crouched and observed stones around.
Stugrd tilted his head in confusion but caught a signal sent by Ar to do as he asked.
"Okay, let's go Korka."
Korka has a displeased expression drawn on his face but did not say anything before they have some distance.
"What is that? He wants to run away or what? How can he do that after asking and knowing your level?"
Stugrd ignored him and just readying his stance. He wanted to keep his focus since this was his first time to felt that much pressure against a Slime in his accumulated gaming experience.