The place where the client had requested wolf extermination was located outside the gates of Arlo City, so it did not receive the protection that it did within the walls. It took half an hour for Elijah to reach the place on foot. Once Elijah arrived at the place, a level 7 farmer called Marva greeted him with a worried face.
"Are you the adventurer, sent by the guild? Please, please, drive away those wolves so that they don't bother my farm animals anymore."
"I'll do my best," Elijah replied, then looked at the new notification given by the system.
DING!
[Side mission: Help Those in Distress
Eliminate all the wolves that are harassing Marva's farm.
Number of wolves to kill 0/10]
Killing just one was hard enough for Elijah, who had only reached level 7. Elijah frowned but decided not to say anything since taking on this mission was his choice.
"They're coming!"
In the distance, Elijah heard the howls and silhouettes of wolves coming in packs. Elijah glanced at the frightened farmer behind him, then asked him to leave the battle site immediately.
"It would be best if you returned for now. I'll start the extermination mission now."
"Alright. Good luck, Adventurer!"
The farmer ran to his house as fast as he could, then locked the door tightly. Elijah took a deep breath as he stared at the wolf pack running swiftly toward him. While they were still separated by some distance, Elijah immediately used his fire magic to burn some of the wolves that were trying to attack him.
"Fire!"
The fire burned some of the incoming wolves. However, it was not enough to stop their attacks. Elijah pulled out his sword quickly when one of the wolves shortened the distance between them. His thrust hit the wolf in the throat. But when Elijah realized that the fangs of the wolf he had killed were only a few centimeters away from his neck, a feeling of fear and nervousness overcame Elijah automatically.
"Grrr!"
"Fire!"
Elijah repelled the wolf that was trying to approach him with fire magic, then held his short sword with his other hand. If he was just playing a game and didn't have to defeat it head-on, killing ten enemies that were two levels stronger than him might not be a big deal. But having to move alone and face them head-on was another matter. Elijah's adrenaline was pumping like crazy. If the teenager didn't remember that he was doing all this to bring back his dead parents, Elijah would probably give up then continue this grueling struggle.
Several times Elijah was injured by enemy attacks, but several times Elijah managed to land fatal hits on the wolves too. Elijah retreated every time he had half his HP left. He drew out a potion quickly, then drew it without hesitation.
Fortunately, Elijah had bought some potions before going to this place. Although the price of the potion was two gold coins for each bottle, Elijah was grateful that the potion at least increased his chances of winning this battle. The drastic level increase also made Elijah not feel sorry for spending all his gold to buy potions.
DING!
[Side mission: Help Those in Distress
Exterminate all the wolves that are harassing Marva's farm. (COMPLETED)
Number of wolves to kill 10/10]
By the time he managed to kill ten wolves and chase away the rest, Elijah was finally at level 10, which was quite satisfying, considering that Elijah only needed to do one mission to level up the other three levels.
Unfortunately, leveling up would no longer be easy when he reached level 10. Elijah looked at how much EXP he needed to level up, then felt that he might have to continue risking his life to become stronger from now on.
"You really did it!"
Elijah turned his head to see that the originally frightened farmer had come out with his wife and child, then looked at Elijah with a surprised expression. Though he clearly saw that Elijah was only an F-class Adventurer. But, from the speed at which he completed the mission, Marva believed that Elijah could rise in rank quickly from now on.
"The stamp."
Elijah took out the mission paper that he kept in his clothes pocket, then showed it to Marva so that his mission could be officially considered completed.
"Of course, of course! Thank you very much, Adventurer! I wish you well from now on."
Marva took the mission paper, then took out the stamp given by the guild to those who submitted official missions to the guild. Adventurers who successfully completed the mission would take the stamp back when the mission was completed. Elijah accepted the stamped mission paper given by Marva, nodded, and left the place without saying anything else.
"Wait a minute, Adventurer!"
Elijah turned around again when Marva called out to him in a hurry. The teenager didn't feel that there was anything wrong with his mission. But when Marva pointed at the wolf's corpse on the ground, Elijah finally understood what the farmer wanted from him.
"I heard that adventurers can sell wolf skins and fangs at the Adventurer's Guild. Is it alright if you leave the corpse here?"
Elijah didn't know that he could also sell the wolf's skin and fangs, so he returned to cut the wolf up with his sword. But Elijah was not a native of the Rhodes Continent, who was used to handling wild animals. Elijah might be able to kill it, but he couldn't separate the skin from the flesh or remove the wolf's fangs in a neat cut.
"Do you need help? I'm pretty good at doing that kind of thing."
Elijah looked at Marva, who was offering him help, then nodded because he felt it wouldn't hurt to accept some help from the farmer. Elijah observed and studied how Marva did her job while teaching Elijah. Although Elijah found it strange that an NPC could be this expressive in a game, Elijah just thought of it as the system's work to make the world seem as realistic as possible.
"Alright. It's done!"
"...Thank you."
Elijah accepted the skin and fangs that Marva had separated, then thanked the farmer. This time, Elijah really left after he was done with his business. Elijah only bought potions to increase his HP, so his MP and stamina were depleted again after the fight was over.
MP and stamina would indeed replenish automatically every few minutes. However, their increase took a long time, so Elijah still needed sleep to restore his status to normal.
Elijah made it back to the city with a struggle and headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild to exchange the one guild point he managed to get for sleeping in the guild dormitory.
Elijah arrived at the Adventurer's Guild when it was almost midnight, so the guild lobby was already quiet when he returned. Even those staying at the guild dormitory had gone to bed at that late hour. At the reception desk, there was only one different guild officer. The receptionist this time was a man with a good build, and he smiled when he saw Elijah enter alone.
"Welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I'd like to report on the mission I've completed."
"Very well. Can I see the mission paper?"
Elijah nodded, then took out the mission paper and stamp that had been returned by Marva.
"Alright. The payment for doing this mission is ten gold pieces. In addition, two guild point will be added for completing this mission. Is there anything else I can help you with besides this?"
"Can I sell wolf skins and fangs here?" asked Elijah.
The receptionist nodded. "Of course! There are always people looking for wolf skins and fangs on this continent. But first, can I check the quality of the wolf skins and fangs you get?"
Elijah took out the skins and fangs he had brought and showed them to the receptionist. The man assessed his quarry carefully. Then, after some time, he did so again while giving Elijah the price the Adventurer's Guild had offered.
"This wolf's skin and fangs are well cut. What if the Adventurer's Guild buys it for ten gold coins for the skin and two gold coins for the fangs?"
Elijah didn't think he could earn more money from selling the results of his mission, so he immediately agreed to the offered price. Elijah finally understood what the system meant by rewards would vary according to the decision he made. Just like now, Elijah would probably only get five gold coins if he didn't decide to bring home the skin and fangs of the slain wolf.
"Then, can I exchange the guild point I got for a room in the dormitory for two days?"
"Of course. You can go to room number 9 to stay for a day. You can go up the second floor to go to the room."
Elijah received the key from the receptionist and went up to the second floor as directed by the receptionist. Elijah entered the room with the number 9 hanging on the door. For a dormitory room that could be used only by exchanging one guild point, the room was quite nice and clean to live in.
The room consisted of a single bed, a table on which drinks and snacks were set up, and a bench placed near the table. The room also had a closet if one intended to stay for a while. Best of all, the room had a private bathroom equipped with soap and shampoo to clean up after a grueling mission.
Elijah was no longer the teenager who lost his way after the death of his parents. Unlike his usual disregard for his own hygiene and health, Elijah now took a shower before he lay on the bed in the bathrobe provided by the guild.
When Elijah realized that he only had a pair of clothes that he could use, the teenager finally realized that he might have to do some shopping before entering the Sword and Sorcery Academy. To study there, it would be impossible for Elijah to continue wearing the same clothes and shoes every day.
But for now, Elijah had no other choice but to wash his clothes in the bathroom and dry them using fire magic that he couldn't use for too long. Elijah was completely exhausted by the time he finished preparing for bed. Exhaustion made him unable to think about anything, and he fell asleep in dreamland as soon as his body hit the bed.