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The next day, I got suited up on my rented armor, strapped on my Mana Steel sword, and headed off to meet the guys. After breakfast with Dave and Sam, we headed down to the Adventurers Guild to look up the job board.
Under the non-combat section of the job board, there were two main subsections, they were resource collection which included foraging for certain plants and herbs for the guild's alchemist, and mining for ores but there are no active mines near the capital so that section is empty, and lastly was hunting to procure rare animal parts or materials from magical creatures.
While hunting was technically a combat job, the guild and the kingdom's regular patrols ensured nothing too dangerous was expected within half a day's journey of the capital, so it was deemed "safe" for newbies like us if we wanted to take up a bow and hunt some stuff.
The other subsection of the non-combat job board was the Miscellaneous subsection which contained everything else. It was everything from the classic 'Help old lady A to search for her pet cat.' to 'Help person A deliver a parcel to person B.', and everything in between, basically all the grindy quests I would find in an RPG.
Personally, I dislike RPG grind, but hey, in this world it gets people paid and keeps young kids busy and paid, and those kids spend that pocket money and makes money circulate, which makes a healthy economy, good stuff.
After looking through the resource collection board, Dave found a quest he had done before, it was a quest to collect something called a Bindo Flower. Dave took the posted job and we went up to the reception.
When it was our turn, we were greeted by one of the lady receptionists, "Good morning, how can I hel- Hey!"
Before the lady receptionist could finish her sentence, Verona pushed her aside to greet us, "Welcome back boys, what are you here for today?" she said in a husky voice while winking at me. I might just need to wear a chastity belt if I am ever alone with this woman.
Dave fidgeted a bit before he put the job posting on the table, "W-We would like to know if there are any other jobs we can do in the same area as this."
Verona took the Bindo Flower job post, then went under the table and pulled up a huge book with what looked to be attached papers sticking out between many of the pages. After flipping through the pages and looking up the available jobs, she pulled a few more gathering jobs and helped register the jobs to us as a group, all of them were either some kind of plant or mushroom.
After she teased Dave and Sam some more for looking embarrassed at her teasing and the other adventurers jeering at Verona for her favoritism of young boys, we left to complete our jobs. But first, we needed to get some supplies and bags to carry our haul, so after a stop at a general store, we were on our way out of the capital.
***
After a few hours of walking out the main gates, past the fields of wheat and farmhouses, we made it to the woods where we were to find our quarry.
During the long walk, I asked Dave and Sam about their farming village life, and their response showed me how hard the life of the average villager was. Wake up at the crack of dawn, tend to the crops, then the animals, go to the school one village over to learn their letters and numbers, then come home and help with unending chores to keep the family afloat.
As for how they got into the Royal Academy, it was the same way the commoner kids he traveled with to get here, their local school would recommend the best and brightest to have a shot at a scholarship, and the two of them made it, this was a golden opportunity for them to improve their's and their families' lot in life.
"So what are you two going to do when you graduate? The fact that we are from the Royal Academy opens a lot of doors for your futures." I asked.
They thought about it for a while and both said they would most likely join the army for some time. Apparently, if they graduate from the Royal Academy, they could be fast-tracked to become an officer.
"What about you Luke? What's after graduation?" Sam asked.
I shrugged as I answered, "I am the oldest son of the Ironcrest family, there are certain obligations that I need to fulfill, I come from a noble house that borders the Valorhelm Dominion, so if our neighbors try anything funny, my house would be one of the first to be called upon to defend and stall the enemy while the garrisons muster their forces." I sighed as I continued, "If I could, I would dump this responsibility on my younger brother, but I can't do that to them."
"Wow, being a noble is tougher than I thought." Dave remarked.
"Nah, from what I know, it is mainly a border noble thing. Most of the stories of noble decadence are from those closer to the capital." I replied.
As we kept walking and chatting, I remembered something I heard Dad's men talking about when debating where they should go for a drink just after they received their pay from the treasurer. "Hey guys, after your stint in the army is over, what say you come to work for my house, it pays better than the army and from what I heard, on top of what my family pays you, the kingdom throws in hazard pay for all fighting men along the border, you would be double dipping."
Dave and Sam looked at each other and then looked back at me with intense looks, "How much pay are we talking?"
Taken aback by this, I raised my hands as I backed up, "I-err, I will need to check with my father when I meet him at the end of the year."
Damn, I was just asking on a whim, I did not expect them to jump at the chance so willingly, I may have offered something Dad may say no to, it's his money after all.
Feeling the need to get away from this subject, I pointed in front of us, "I think I see one of the plants we need to collect, lets go!" I said as I fast walked forward.