The next day after he returned with Makarov, Ben starts to take jobs. There's only a month before the exam and he is a new member, so he needs to move fast because he hasn't taken any quest since he joined. The others who joined before him have finished a lot more quests in this Guild, after all.
But the other young Mages also have a similar plan because they want to be S-Classes too. Only the older members who don't take quests because they think they are already too old to be S-Classes. So now, there aren't many quests on the quest board.
It's not a problem though because there are still many quests to take. Not every quest is being placed on the board. As the strongest guild in Fiore, many quests are sent to them. But all those papers won't fit on the board because there are so many quests.
Many quests are being stacked like a thick book and the Mages often overlook them. It's because these quests aren't as urgent as the ones on the board and the rewards are low sometimes. Also sometimes these quests have been finished by other Guilds, so not many want to take a risk by taking them.
But it doesn't matter for Ben because he just needs to finish a lot of quests. Even if other Guilds have finished it, he just needs to return, and take other quests. Besides, the Guild's receptionist can always check if the quest has been finished by other Guilds or not.
Currently, Mira is working as the receptionist. She has been doing this as a part-time job since Lisanna's incident. By being a receptionist, she'll have more income and also get more access to information.
She hoped to find information on the method to cure Lisanna by being a receptionist. Now Lisanna has been cured, but she's still doing this work. It's because she has liked this job and she wants to fill her time while she doesn't take any quest.
Ben looks at the quests list and scans them all using AI Chip. He flips the papers fast and makes Mira confused because it looks like he doesn't read the quests seriously. But she let him be and just watch as he flips all the papers.
'AI Chip, find the quests with a similar purpose that can be taken at once,' asks Ben in his mind.
[Processing... Found 5 quests with a similar purpose.
1. Subjugating a Manticore that threatens a village.
2. Get Manticore's eyes.
3. Get Manticore's blood.
4. Get Manticore's venomous tail.
5. Get Manticore's pelt.
There's also a long-term quest to get any part of A-Class Magical creatures.]
'So 6 quests at once, huh? Nice,' thinks Ben.
Since joining Fairy Tail, Ben has learned about the quest system. Sometimes, there will be similar quests that can be finished at once. They came from different clients, so they become different quests.
Mages usually don't look at the quests thoroughly and just think of the ones with high rewards or the ones that aren't too difficult for them. If Ben doesn't have AI Chip, he might also miss this fact and take whatever he likes first.
"I'll take these quests," says Ben as he puts 6 quest papers on the table.
"Eh? 6 quests at once. You can't do that, Ben. It is not allowed because it might cause problems," says Mira.
"Is that so? But these quests are the same, just look at them," says Ben.
Mira raises an eyebrow and checks the quest papers. She is surprised to see that they really are the same and can be done at once. But she is still not sure if it's allowed, so she goes to Makarov's office to ask him. When she returns, she has a surprised face and says that Makarov allows it.
"What did he say?" asks Ben as he keeps the papers.
"He said that it is not against the rules as long as the quest is really the same. Being able to find these similarities is also important for a Mage. He also said that many quests can be done at once since a long time ago. When I asked him why we don't just make them into one quest, he said that we need to figure them out ourselves. Besides, different clients mean different quests. Finding the same quests will show our qualities as Mages he said, sigh," says Mira.
Ben smirks and says, "Heh, it seems the Guild is testing its members every day."
After registering the quests, Ben leaves the guild and goes to do the quest. He just goes with Bella and doesn't bring Wendy & Carla. Both of them will do their own quest s a training to be independent. Besides, he needs to be fast so he can take other quests soon.
Ben & Bella ride the car and go to a forest rather far in the East. They arrive in a village at the border of the forest in an hour and meet the village head who issued the quest to confirm it. After getting the confirmation, they go to find the Manticore in the forest.
With Ben's tracking ability, they can find the Manticore fast. But they don't just find one Manticore, but 2. The 2 Manticores are male and female that are in the middle of their mating session right now.
Ben feels rather bad for them, but he has quests to do. So he increases the gravity around the 2 beasts and they are pinned down instantly. They are just A-Class creatures so they're not the match for Ben's magic.
He doesn't kill them immediately but he puts them to sleep. Then he hangs their hind legs on a high tree branch before he kills them by cutting their torso right in the middle. He has a quest for their pelts, so he needs to be careful with how he kills them.
After that, he takes their blood and puts it in bottles before he takes their eyes and tails. Then he skins them and stores everything in his storage. He has got everything he needs, so now he returns to the village.
Ben has finished the subjugation quest, so now he moves to meet the other clients and finish the other quests. He finishes all 6 quests in 4 hours and then returns to the guild. The clients even give him a bonus because he got 2 Manticores and they want to take the other one too.
Mira is very surprised when he returns with all his quests finished just in a few hours. She gets even more surprised when Ben takes some other quests that can be done at once too. Now, he only gets 3 quests, but it's better than just one quest at once.
Ben keeps taking quests every day and so are the others who want to join the S-Class exam. But he takes more quests than the others because he always takes some quests at once while the others just take one quest at a time.
However, that can't last forever because in the last week before the exam starts, he can only get at most 2 same quests. It's not a problem though because he has finished more quests than anyone in these 3 weeks. So he keeps taking quests and finally the day has come.
Today, everyone gathers in the guild and Makarov is standing on the stage with Gildarts, Mira, and Erza. Makarov will announce the names of the ones who are qualified to compete in the S-Class Exam. Everyone is anticipating this and waiting for Makarov's announcement.
Makarov gives a small speech before he announces the participants' names, "Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, and Mest Gryder."
The participants are cheering while Ben is slumping dejectedly and all colors left his body. Imaginary black cloud & rain even appear above him. He has worked very hard in the last month and hasn't slept much, but he still failed. Wendy, Bella, and Carla are cheering him up, but it just makes him more pitiful.
Makarov sees this and smirks, "That's a good reaction. I feel bad for him, but his reaction is really priceless."
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