The date of the festival was in sight, and the time for Damian's departure had finally come. After Elijah had spent several months enduring and listening to his every ramble, it felt a little strange not to see Damian once he returned to the dormitory. Elijah continued practicing and attending classes as usual. However, when festival time finally came, Elijah did not go to the back garden to train as he originally intended.
The academy was closed to celebrate the festival, and the results were worse than Elijah had expected. No matter where he went, all Elijah could see were groups of people enjoying their time off. Elijah could no longer train secretly with all the crowds. In the end, Elijah chose to go outside, though his destination was not something Damian had expected before the elf left.
"Welcome! Ah, Elijah, long time no see!"
The Adventurer's Guild Hall remained as busy as ever, even if it was the day of the summer festival in Arlo City. The one who greeted Elijah when he approached the reception desk was the same glasses woman who had helped him when he first registered. Elijah stared at her for a while, then realized that he had never read her status information, even though they had been in frequent contact all this time.
Elijah felt that there was no harm in knowing who the person who had always helped him with guild matters was. The woman had also introduced Elijah to a good blacksmith. So, this time, he took the initiative to look at her information status.
[Name] Agda (27 years old)
[Level 60]
[HP] 3000/3000
[MP] 2000/2000
[Stamina] 1000/1000
[Physical Skills] Light armor level 40, One-handed level 15
[Magic Skills] Wind level 40, Magic shield level 35, Thunder level 32, Teleportation level 29, Healing level 25
For a moment, Elijah was quite surprised to see that the glasses woman turned out to be strong enough to be a class-A adventurer. Elijah didn't know why the glasses woman would rather be a receptionist than an adventurer. However, there is one thing for sure. Her recommendation of a good blacksmith shop seemed to be based on her personal experience in the past.
"Hello? Elijah? Are you alright?"
Agda waved her hand in front of Elijah's face, making the teenager finally recover from his surprise. Elijah hurriedly nodded. Because of his surprising discovery of Agda, he had almost forgotten his original purpose for coming to the adventurer's guild.
"Is there a mission I can take today? If possible, I'd like to take a mission that doesn't take many days to complete."
Agda nodded. "That's because the academy only gives the students a special day off today, right? Don't worry. Let me help you find a mission that suits you, Elijah."
Elijah nodded, then waited until Agda finished sorting out the task requests that piled up at the reception desk. Asking the receptionist directly did shorten Elijah's time to find the right assignment. Not long after Agda started searching, the woman finally pointed out the task request she was found from the many requests coming into the adventurer's guild.
"I know you usually only take hunting missions. But Elijah, it's okay to take on different missions once in a while, right?"
Elijah took the mission sheet Agda gave him and started reading it while listening to the woman's explanation.
"Festival time is always a busy time for everyone. The Arlo City Security Guard is asking for help to secure Arlo City during the festival, and the pay is quite good for just patrolling around the city. You can also enjoy the festival with this mission, and the mission will be declared complete as long as you can patrol until sunset. This is a good offer, isn't it?"
No matter where Elijah went, everyone seemed to just want him to participate in the lively festival activities out there. Elijah came to the adventurer's guild to escape the festival crowds that were giving him a headache. However, when he requested a mission, the mission chosen for him was instead a mission to patrol the crowd.
Elijah wanted to refuse the mission immediately. Even if the pay was high enough for patrol duty, Elijah didn't want to go around when walking was already difficult out there.
"Before you refuse, you must know that sometimes those on patrol will also encounter some criminals, and the pay for catching those criminals is different from the pay for being willing to patrol. The city guards are already willing to pay 50 gold coins for each common criminal. Of course, if you catch those who are wanted and have their own bounty value, the pay can go up to double the initial bounty value."
As Agda spoke so, Elijah's eyes involuntarily gazed towards the bounty board that contained the rewards for anyone who managed to catch dangerous criminals wanted by the Arlo City Guard. Forget about catching those who couldn't even be caught by the city guard. Even if Elijah only caught a common thief, the 50 coins regardless of patrolling fee was too tempting to let go.
As a student, Elijah no longer had much money unless he successfully worked on missions assigned by the academy. Elijah still needed a lot of money to buy magic books and other equipment in the future. The teenager debated his options for a while. But in the end, money did persuade Elijah, who had nothing but himself.
"...I will take this mission."
"You make a good choice, Elijah! Just remember, you need to report to the city guard office to get your patrol badge and return there to return the badge when you're done. The Arlo City guards usually don't make it difficult for people who are trying to help them, so you don't have to worry about even going to their place."
Elijah nodded, slightly not understanding why Agda was so happy when he decided to accept the mission. Elijah waited until Agda processed his mission into the adventurer's guild database. Only when the mission was officially registered was he finally allowed to leave the guild room.
"Oh, yes. Coincidentally, one of your seniors in the academy is also taking the same patrol mission today. You might be able to team up with her to catch some criminals. She's one of the best in this guild and entered the guild before enrolling as an academy student like you. As a student, there is no harm in occasionally learning from those who are more experienced."
While taking notes, Agda continued to talk to Elijah. Elijah didn't answer because he had no intention of cooperating with anyone. Although the figure of someone had crossed his mind when Agda mentioned about academy students like him, Elijah didn't want to just guess when many academy students were part of the adventurer's guild.
"Alright! Your assignment has been officially recorded in the adventurer's guild. Good luck, Elijah. May your mission go smoothly!"
"What is this?"
Elijah asked coldly as Agda got up from his sitting position to hand him some gold coins. Elijah didn't remember that there was a mission that allowed him to get paid in advance before the mission was completed. Elijah was confused, and his confused expression even looked like an angry expression in the eyes of others.
"A, ah... this... I mean, I didn't get around to giving you a congratulatory gift when you got accepted into the academy a few months ago. Please don't take offense. I just want you to buy some food and things you like with the money."
Seeing Elijah's expression made Agda misbehave, so he immediately explained his purpose in a hurry. Other young adventurers were usually happy when Agda treated them. The woman didn't understand why Elijah was different from other children of the same age.
"Please! I just wanted to congratulate you!"
Agda subconsciously begged when she saw Elijah just staring at the money she gave him without saying anything. Elijah only looked back up after Agda said that. The teenager let out a long breath, then put the gift into his pocket.
Elijah could sense Agda's worry, and he felt that having a bad relationship with the guild receptionist would only harm him. The behavior of the NPCs did confuse Elijah at times. However, that didn't mean Elijah couldn't adapt to their program settings which sometimes felt too real to be an NPC.
"Thank you. I appreciate your concern."
Although Elijah's words were as flat as ever, Agda was already happy that Elijah was willing to accept her gift. The woman smiled sincerely from her heart. "Have fun! Ah, I mean, be careful on the mission, Elijah!" she said as she saw him off.