[You have been given a quest.]
As August entered the cave, he received a prompt notifying him of a new quest.
'Let's see what quest the system has given me,' he thought, quickly opening the quest details.
[Unexpected Quest]
You have found the Snow Vipers' behavior odd near the cave, so you have set out to investigate what's in there.
Requirement: Find out what is happening inside the cave.
Reward: 5000sp. ]
[Do you wish to accept the quest? Y/N]
'Hmm, so I have to find out what's happening inside the cave. It looks easy enough to complete the quest, but given the high reward, I can't help but feel slightly worried,' August mused.
'Why doesn't the system add a difficulty level to the quests?' August asked the system. After talking with the system for a while, he discovered that he could communicate with it using his thoughts.
[Taking host suggestion into consideration…]
[Accepted]
[Updating]
[The quest panel has been updated with the difficulty level.]
[Unexpected Quest]
You have found the Snow Vipers' behavior odd near the cave, so you have set out to investigate what's in there.
Requirement: Find out what is happening inside the cave.
Difficulty: Hard
Reward: 5000sp.
[Do you wish to accept the quest? Y/N]
'Whoa, you take suggestions?' August couldn't help but be surprised.
[I do take suggestions, but the host couldn't find out until now.]
'Can I suggest anything to you?'
[No, it's only related to system improvements.]
'Okay, then can you tell me how many difficulties there are and how you measure them?'
[There are six difficulties added to the quest panel: Easy, Medium, Hard, Extreme, Insane, and Impossible.]
[They are measured based on the quest requirements and host's combat capabilities, but host should not rely on them solely because there might be unexpected situations that can upgrade or downgrade the difficulty.]
"Okay, I will remember that," August replied aloud.
'The quest difficulty is hard, so I can complete it, but it might be tougher than I anticipate. Whatever it is, I'm going inside anyway and can find out more on the way.' August clicked "Yes" to accept the quest.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, noticing August's eyes fixed on something invisible, his brow furrowed in concentration.
August blinked, snapping back to reality. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, though his voice carried a hint of distraction. "Just thinking about those Snow Vipers. Their behavior's been strange, don't you think?"
Harry nodded, his expression mirroring August's concern. "Definitely weird. They've been hunting nearby beasts and stockpiling food. It's unusual for them."
"Did you inform the task center?" August asked, curious if they had reported the behavior.
"We did inform the task center, but they said that when Snow Vipers reproduce, they gather food together for the mating season. But this doesn't seem like that, so we came here to confirm it and got into trouble until you helped us," Harry explained, looking frustrated at the end but smiling gratefully at August.
From the quest alone, I can deduce that it's going to be tough. August thought as he warned them, "I think it's more than that, so we should be careful on the way."
"We'll be cautious," all the team members replied as they prepared themselves for any unexpected threats.
"Then let's move out," August commanded, his voice steady but his mind racing with possibilities.
As they ventured deeper, August couldn't help but marvel at the cavernous expanse. The cave stretched out before them, its towering walls adorned with shimmering frost, making the air around them feel almost enchanted.
"Hmm?" August muttered, his gaze falling upon a cluster of mushrooms with delicate blue circular patterns. Curiosity piqued, he activated the inspect feature.
[ Frost Circle Mushroom ] (uncommon): [ Found in enclosed areas where ice elements are abundant. It can be used to make antidotes or other potions. ]
A small smile tugged at his lips. These were valuable ingredients. He carefully retrieved a knife from his inventory, the blade glinting in the dim light, and cut the mushrooms at the base, handling them with the precision of a seasoned alchemist. Each mushroom was gently placed into his inventory, a sense of accomplishment washing over him.
"Are you an alchemist?" Dina asked, her eyes widening as she watched August handle the mushrooms with practiced ease.
August dusted off his hands and nodded. "Yes, though I'm still an apprentice. Not officially registered yet. Why do you ask?"
Dina's eyebrows shot up. "Really? How old are you?"
"Fifteen," he replied nonchalantly.
"What?" The group's collective gasp echoed in the cavern, their expressions ranging from astonishment to admiration.
"You're one year younger than us and you're this strong?" Dina complimented him, unaware that August had only awakened his mana sense less than a month ago, which would have shocked them even more.
"Are you from a prominent family?" Dina asked.
"No, I have a normal family," August answered.
"Whoa, you got that much stronger on your own?" Dina admired him, then asked, "So can you make a potion that can help in breaking through from a rank 1 beast to a rank 2?"
'System, can you find a similar recipe for me?' August asked the system
[Searching...]
[Found.]
[Advancement Booster Elixir] (common): This potion can increase the chance of a beast breaking through and has a slight chance to awaken a beast's higher-ranking bloodline. Recipe variations exist depending on the beast type. Price: 1500sp.
A spark of excitement lit in August's eyes. An elixir with such potential could be invaluable. He glanced at Dina, considering the possibilities.
"Why don't you hire an alchemist from the Alchemist Guild?" August asked, not directly answering her question as he wanted to find out why they were asking him, then added, "And you don't even know me well."
"We tried to hire an alchemist from the guild, but we couldn't meet an apprentice alchemist as they were always busy, and we couldn't risk a novice alchemist failing to make the potion, wasting all our hard-earned money," Dina explained.
"I can try, but I might fail to make the potion," August admitted.
"Don't worry, we can manage that risk better than letting a novice alchemist do it," Dina replied as everyone nodded.
"We can talk about that after returning to the shelter, but now we should focus on the mission," August said, ending the conversation as he headed deeper into the cave.
After some time, they arrived at a fork in the path. They had fought their way there, killing every Snow Viper that crossed their path.
"Let's go right first, and after scouting that path, we'll return to check the left one. What do you think?" Harry asked August.
"Let's go with that," August agreed, scanning the paths ahead. His mind raced with potential scenarios, but he kept his face composed. "Stay sharp. We don't know what else might be lurking in here."
"Then let's go," Harry said, leading the way. His beast, a tank type, could handle unexpected hits and recover using its earth absorption ability.
Reaching the end of the right path, the group halted abruptly, staring in disbelief at the scene before them. Piles of glimmering beast cores were stacked haphazardly, their faint light casting eerie shadows on the surrounding heaps of rotting corpses.
"What is this place?" August muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. The stench of decay mingled with the sharp tang of cold air, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
"It looks like a storage area," Harry replied, looking equally perplexed. "But why would Snow Vipers gather so many beast cores and carcasses?"