All the tv on the walls of the adventurer guild goes black and lights up again but what is playing is the footage of the second part of the adventurer exam, more precisely the part where Noah goes against Fenrax.
- Foivos... That bastard! says Fenrax while gritting his teeth
{Noah}
" To think that he had already prepared a measure for this situation... Foivos... he is way better than I thought before."
- What the hell? Did you see that? asks an adventurer to another one
- As if! How is it even possible to move that fast? answer the other adventurer
{Noah}
" The footage will kill any complaints that the other adventurers may have."
- Let's do a quest. says Noah while heading to the quest board
{Noah}
" The quest taking his pretty simple. You can only take quests from your rank to the ranks below your rank. If you have a team you use the highest rank in the team to determine what quest you can take. However, the team rank is not determined by the highest rank in the team but by the average rank in the team. If we take our team for example, we are a B-rank squad because I am the only one with a BB-rank and all the others got a B-rank but because I am a BB-rank we can take BB-ranked quests."
- Did you choose something, Boss? asks Abel
Noah takes a quest sheet from the quest board
- I did. he answers while looking at the quest. This one is perfect for our current squad
- What did you choose? asks Gancelot while looking at the quest sheet over Noah's shoulder
Abel joins the two and also look at the quest
- Boss! Are you serious!? asks Abel
- Why are you reacting like that? Just what type of crazy quest did he choose? asks Juliana while walking toward the trio
Juliana looks at the quest, then looks at Noah
- Are you serious? Didn't you almost die yesterday and the day before yesterday?
- So, what? I learned from my mistakes. says Noah
- I think you didn't learn anything. says Juliana. Actually, I think that you might have a death wish!
Noah walks up to the receptionist
- We will be taking this quest. says Noah
[Quest]
Quest objective: Raid and Destroy a goblin settlement
Quest Rank: Minimum B~BB-rank
Quest Reward: 100 000 Nols
The monetary system in the kingdom is the same as the one in every other kingdom on the continent of Zenrok, Nols. Nols is actually the only currency on the continent of Zenrok. The money on paper only has four types of bills. The 5 Nols bill, the 10 Nols bill, the 20 Nols bill, and lastly the 100 Nols bill. However, it is not rare but it is uncommon for people to walk around with physical money. Most people keep their money in their bank account and use their debit or credit cards. That's why rewards from quest are directly sent to the quest receiver, after completing the quest, straight to their bank account.
- I know that you are strong but this quest really could be dangerous. says the receptionist.
- What do you mean? asks Noah while looking at her badge. Atille?
- That's my name. I am Atille and the branch master appointed me as your personal receptionist.
- Foivos is doing some unnecessary stuff. Anyway, what did you mean when you said that it could be dangerous? I got ranked BB-rank and the minimum rank requirement is B-rank, right? says Noah
- To tell you the truth, we received the quest yesterday anonymously.
- What are you trying to say? asks Noah
- Since the quest arrived yesterday we haven't been able to send a scout to properly determine the quest difficulty.
- Basically, you are saying that the current rank of the quest is not set in stone? asks Noah
- Yes. answers Atille
- Is Foivos here? asks Noah
- No. The branch master got called to the headquarters yesterday. answer Atille
Abel approaches Noah
- What's wrong Boss? asks Abel
Noah turns his head toward Abel
- The quest difficulty might be wrong. answer Noah
- Are we taking a different one? asks Gancelot that joined them
- No. says Noah
Noah turns his head toward Atille
- You still want to do the quest? asks Atille
- Not exactly. answers Noah. I am not that crazy.
{Atille}
" So you are crazy."
- We will do the scouting for you. says Noah. Just pay us the amount that you would normally pay your scout.
Atille starts thinking
- What are you thinking about? asks Noah
- I am.... just not sure if you have... the skills necessary for a scouting mission. says Atille
- You don't need to worry about that. says Noah. So, what do you think? Are you accepting my proposal?
Atille takes out her phone and makes a call.
*riiiinnnnggg* *riiiiiinnnggg* *tutututu*
- He's not picking up. whispers Atille
- Who were you calling? asks Noah
- The guild's official scout. answers Atille while calling another number
Just like the first time, nobody picks up
- The scout again? asks Noah
- No. This time it was Mr. Fenrax. Atille answers
- Why'd you call him? asks Juliana that finally joins the group
- To see if he could go with you but I guess he is busy with his daughter since she is going back to the Academy today... FINE! I will trust you.
- Great. So how much is the pay? asks Abel
- If the quest really is a B-rank after evaluation, the guild pays you half of the reward of the quest. If it's higher than the rank that it was given before scouting you get paid the same amount as a quest completion.
- WOW! REALLY! says Abel. Doesn't that mean that being a scout is better than being an adventurer?
- Not at all. says Atille. The first rank evaluation is done based on the information received when the quest is submitted.
- So it's pretty rare for the given rank to be wrong. says Noah
- Yes but that's not all. Scouts, during a mission where they realize that the rank given is wrong, often end up dying or getting seriously injured on those missions. No matter what, they must prioritize the information gathered before their own life-
- Because the information is needed in order to confirm the quest rank. finished Noah. Do you want to be a scout, Abel?
- I am good. I've always wanted to be an adventurer, after all. he says while laughing awkwardly
- Noah, do you still want to do the scouting after hearing all of this? asks Juliana to Noah
- Would there be a problem if I did? asks Noah
- Yeah! The fact that you are putting all our lives in danger is a pretty big problem for me! says Juliana
- Juliana. says, Noah
- What?
Noah turns around to face Juliana and slowly approaches her
- I think there is a misunderstanding between the two of us. says Noah while putting his hand on her shoulder
- Huh? What are you talking about? she asks
- Don't forget that I am the squad leader. That also means that you need to follow my orders to the dot. Capiche? says Noah while staring her eye to eye
Juliana gulps
- I... I got it. she answers while stammering
Noah turns around to face Atille.
- We will do the scouting. Just have the reward ready for when we come back.
- Yeah... ok. Atille answers
{Atille}
" What was that? I thought they were comrades but I guess when it comes to things like this, he only sees them as subordinates."
The group leaves the guild and heads to the city's gate. The guards at the gate stop them
- Where are you, young ones going? asks a guard
The one who asks that question is an old man with wrinkles on his face. He has grey hair and a small grey beard.
Noah takes out his guild card that he received earlier and shows it to the guard. All the others do the same
- You guys are adventurers!? asks the guard. And most of you are B-rank! At such a young age!
- Yeah we are. Now, can we pass? asks Noah
- Sorry. You must be in a rush. My name is Verno and I am the guard captain.
{Noah}
" So he is the one who leads all of the guards that are stationed at the city gate."
- Grandpa, are you sure you can watch over the city gate? You seem kinda old. says Gancelot
- HAHAHAHAHAHA!
- Eh! What's so funny, Grandpa
Abel punches Gancelot on his head
- What the hell are you saying to such a person!? says Abel
{Noah}
" Such a person?"
Gancelot rubs his head and ask
- Why the hell did you do that!? asks Gancelot with anger
- Don't you know who this person is? asks Abel
- The hell? Obviously, I don't! It's my first time meeting him! says Gancelot still fuming with anger
- This man once was one of the few S-rank adventurers there was. Swift Blade Verno! He retired five years ago at the age of 47!
- Oooh! You know quite a bit about me. says Verno
- Of course! I always wanted to become an adventurer. says Abel
- Is that true? asks Noah
- I might not look my age but I really am 52 years old! says Verno
- I wasn't talking about that. says Noah. If I remember right, 5 years ago there were only 6 S-rank adventurers in the world and Fayrak only had one of them. That was you?
- It was me. says Verno. Even though I was the weakest out of the six of us, I was the sixth S-rank in the continent of Zenrok. But I am surprised, now there are 22 S-rank adventurers on the continent. In the span of 5 years, the world has progressed a lot. Must be because of the peace treaty.
- If you really are who you say you are, what are you doing here? asks Noah. With your history, you could easily get a better job. You could even become the HeadOrder of the Royal Knight Order.
- That's true but I already am the HeadOrder of the Arcadios family Knight Order. says Verno.
- Huh? says Noah
- I owe your father a great debt since he saved my life. So when he asked me to become the HeadOrder of his Knight Order, I accepted. says Verno
{Noah}
" What the hell! Roan is the HeadOrder of the Mage Order and this old man is the HeadOrder of the Knight Order. How come I didn't know? I really wasn't paying attention to what was happening in my family. He could be useful in the future."
- Where are you going, young master? asks Verno
- We're going to Eucerin Plains.
- The plains that are past the forest? asks Verno. Why?
- For a quest. I don't need to tell you everything, do I? says Noah
- Of course, you don't need to tell me everything. says Verno. But I do have to send a report to your father.
- My father doesn't need to know everything about what I do. Knowing where I am should be enough. says Noah while leaving
Juliana and Gancelot follow him
- It was nice meeting you, Swift Blade Verno. says Abel while leaving to follow the others