Quest: Defeat the giant Basilisk near Messelia Village. West of Root: two days on foot. Reward: 150 gold coins.
That's what the quest I choose to take from the board says. I wanted to confirm it to the receptionists right away, but all of them were still busy entertaining the other adventurers.
It was still morning, so the adventurers haven't left to take on the guild quests yet. Most of them have already decided on what they would take, and they're now only waiting in line to get the pass.
To confirm the activity of the quests, the adventurers must first inform the guild. The guild would then verify if they have the required rank to take them. If an adventurer didn't get the pass to tackle his chosen quest, he won't get any rewards even if he managed to successfully accomplish it. This rule prevents low-ranking adventurers on taking quests that are way above their skill levels.
"But there sure are a lot of them..."
Most of the adventurers that are here in this guild at the moment appear to be veterans already, but there are also many that appear to be complete newbies. Some of those newbies don't even try to hide their inexperience, they look so uncomfortable and awkward.
"Mm..." I moaned in discomfort...
I always get the expectant stares of people, so I'm kind of used to it. The look of interest in their eyes, the amazement and even jealousy, I mostly don't mind them anymore. However, to be exposed to them for such a long time and to such an intense degree, I just can't ignore them anymore.
Don't they feel any shame on staring at me and only me?
The veteran-looking adventurers are all chatting to themselves. As expected, they are talking about recuiting me. The youngsters were also talking about the same thing, albeit, they all look more hesitant about it.
"Finally..." I mumbled under my breath, excited to see a vacant receptionist.
"Fuwaa..."
Only a moment later, I was able to get the pass to work on the quest I took.
"Excuse me... are you a newbie like us as well?"
Suddenly, a group of three people appeared in front of me. They all look young, they are all probably in their teens.
The leader seems to be the boy with black hair that was in the middle. The one on his left was another boy while the one on his right was a girl. They were all well-dressed for being adventurers... but that just shows they're still rookies...
"No, I'm sorry but... I'm not a newbie..." I tried to laugh them off.
Mm... did they seriously mistake me for a rookie? I know I look young, but they do know I'm an elf, right? Or maybe they mistook me as a rookie because my clothes looked plain? My adventurer's garb seem ordinary after all, and I also hide my sword in a plain sheath.
"I-Is that so? I'm sorry... we just thought... you looked kind of similar to us..." the boy with black hair apologizes.
"He-hey! Don't say that! That's rude!" the only female in their group scolded.
"It's fine... I look young after all..."
It might sound like I'm bragging, but I'm actually kind of sad about it. After all, I won't grow in this body anymore to look more mature. I'll never look like an Ara-ara auntie, and I'll remain a rebelious-looking Onee-san forever...
With that sad thought, I left their group alone. However, once again, another party of adventurers blocked my path.
"Hey there, onee-chan! We've never seen you in the guild before, are you from another town?"
Instead of youngsters, this time, the adventurers that stood in front of me were all rough-looking adult men. There are only three of them in total, which is quite few for a party of mid-range rank. I can guess they are around rank E or D.
"You see, we're lacking in members at the moment. So if you want, you can join us."
"That's right! We're strong, you know?"
Getting invited to join a party... Every time I go to a new guild in a different town or city, it's always been like this. That is why I developed a way to stop them from coming at me again and again.
To be honest, I don't really think I can refused them so blatantly. I want to do that, but they will only get angry, and they will pester me even more. So I'll do this instead...
"Then, I might join you if you have the same rank as I have," I answered to the three grown men blocking my path like children.
"And your rank is?"
"Fufu... it's better if you ask the guild."
I don't like flaunting my status to people, but this is the only way I can truly stop them from coming at me.
I'm an A rank adventurer... It's a rank only a few people ever accomplished to have. In the entire world, there might only be a total of 1000 who has it. The chance of there being one in this town is extremely low.
All A rank adventurers are supposedly strong. A single party of them can take down an entire army of ordinary soldiers, and there's not a chance they would ever lose.
However, not all A rank adventurers received their ranks by their own greatness, hence, they are not all equivalent in power. There are always a few exceptions to the rules.
Heroes and their party members, no matter how weak they are, are automatically gifted that rank when they join the guild. There is also an exception for royalties... It's unfair, but they can request the guild with their authority to give it to them as well. Hence, most princes in the world are also registered as A rank adventurers.
However, hero parties and royalties only amount to a small portion of all A rank adventurers. Most of us accomplished it with hard work and dedication.
And as for me, I got it as a hobby.
"Well, then... excuse me," I walked pass the trio and finally left the room.