Chapter 17: Rank Up - Part 1
It had been a few days since I registered as an adventurer, and our coordination as a party with Chloe had improved quite a bit.
"Chloe, I'm done with my assigned gathering. How about you?"
"Yeah, I'm finished too."
Today, we had taken on a gathering request instead of a subjugation request. The reason we were accepting gathering requests now was to rank up.
Chloe and I were currently at the same rank, "Iron Class," and we were completing requests to advance to the Bronze Class.
"By the way, Rikora-chan and the others mentioned that we were the first ones to complete the subjugation requests for the sake of ranking up to the Bronze Class."
"Well, the subjugation requests for the Iron Class are tough because they match the abilities of that rank. So, it's natural that gathering requests would be completed first. In our case, it didn't matter, but the introduced requests were mostly subjugation ones."
Indeed, we were moving forward with the mindset of whoever finished first. However, the requests introduced to us by Fina-san and the others were mostly subjugation requests, and as a result, we fell short on completing gathering requests.
That's why we were currently taking on multiple gathering requests simultaneously to clear them all at once.
"According to what I heard from Rikora-chan, they wanted us to gain experience with various monsters early on, so they emphasized subjugation requests."
"I was told the same thing... Since they expect us to rise quickly, they wanted us to focus more on subjugation requests."
"We're expected to perform well even among the newcomers. Well, even though I'm called a newcomer, I've been an adventurer for half a year."
"Half a year is still considered early, right? Normal adventurers usually stay at the Iron and Wood Classes for about a year. But Chloe, you're aiming for a promotion to Bronze with me."
As I said that, Chloe glared at me.
"It's true that there aren't many adventurers who reach the Bronze Class in just half a year... But in Jin's case, he registered less than a month ago and already aims for the 'Bronze Class.' So, hearing that from someone like Jin..."
"Even I didn't expect to rank up this quickly, you know that, Chloe? It's because of Asuka's unnecessary comments to Fine-san..."
I met Asuka, the guild master, and she took a liking to me. From then on, she would occasionally ask me for favors.
I could have declined, but Asuka's requests always came with generous rewards, and the tasks themselves weren't too difficult. So, I ended up accepting them time and time again.
As a result, my rank steadily rose, and before I knew it, I had reached the promotion line for the "Bronze Class."
"Registering as an adventurer and immediately forming a partnership was the right choice. If you were an ordinary adventurer, people at the reception would be surprised by how quickly you're advancing."
"Seems like the adventurer's guild has been keeping a lot about you hidden, Jin-kun."
"That's because I asked them to. I didn't want to attract unnecessary attention."
"I see. I've been hiding as well, so there haven't been any noticeable changes around me. But some of my acquaintances have started asking, 'How's everything going with you lately? Are you doing well?'"
"They probably figured it out when they saw my new equipment, thanks to the rewards. They realized things were going smoothly."
Unlike me, Chloe recently switched her equipment, which she had bought six months ago, to a complete set of higher-tier gear. That's probably why people saw her as someone who was "doing well."
"In that regard, Jin-kun, you're really good at concealing things."
"Well, it's an advantage that I didn't have any acquaintances to begin with. I mostly stayed at home and only ventured out into the outside world recently, so I can count the number of people I can call acquaintances on both hands."
"Jin-kun, you really have few friends... Do you have any acquaintances other than me who are adventurers?"
"For now, no. I hadn't really thought about making any... Well, if I had some, we could exchange information, so maybe I should try making some in the future."
When I said that, Chloe suggested, "Then I'll introduce you to some of my acquaintances."
There was no reason for me to refuse, and I also wanted to know what ordinary adventurers were like, so I agreed to meet them.