Chapter 292 - Red Spider Queen

'Now then…'

Mercury looked at the receptionist in front of him as he gave a slight smile

"I would like to know the fastest way to rank up"

"...Pardon?"

"You heard me, well in other words I would like the hardest request you can grant me at my level"

This might seem random but Mercury had given it a lot of thought during his night-long walk, he wanted to gain authority and respect, but he didn't have a 'get rich quick scheme' so using cel to get there was out of the equation, the next thing he thought about was finding a mine and simply eating all the ore there to level up quickly and obtain overwhelming power, there were a couple of problems with that as a mine would most likely be a large source of income and thus probably be appropriately guarded, also

'I am not sure that I would be able to conquer a mine, nor do I think I want to become an enemy of this country without knowing I can stand up to it…'

Thus he thought of another way and he eventually came to the conclusion that ranking up to at least silver would be a good start as it would earn him money and maybe even a little influence which he could leverage to gain both more cel and metal he could use to level up with, thus his simple question to the receptionist that was currently looking up requests for iron level hunters

"...There are several kinds of requests that would make you rank up fast, what kind are you looking for specifically?"

"Hmm… Subjection requests or caravan guard requests towards the east"

"One moment…"

As the receptionist flipped through the request book Mercury felt several gazes of disdain on him, he also heard people making fun of him to their friends, he had expected this so he could allow these mortals to make fun of him for now, after all, he would prove them wrong by ranking up and clearing any request the guild could throw at him

"There is this one request… But the guild is considering ranking it up to steel or even higher, so I don't think it's---"

"I'll take it"

Mercury took the request and read it

-Hunter extermination request-

-Required rank: Iron

-Description: Hunt the great red spider queen-

-Prof of extermination: head or any easily identifiable body part-

-Location: the road south of the town-

-Reward: 5000 cel-

Then he looked over at the slightly nervous receptionist and spoke confidently

"This request, I'll take it"

The receptionist looked nervously between the request and Mercury for a few moments before she sighed and gave a nod

"Understood, I'll have to record your name and rank in case you don't return"

"Mercury, iron rank"

"...There, you are free to go now Mercury, I hope you return safe and sound… Remember there's no shame in giving up a request you are unable to complete"

Mercury gave an arrogant scuff and turned around before he walked out of the guild and as his cane tapped against the cobblestone pavement he looked up at the sun

'It's still morning so the sun is east… So put it on your left and walk straight ahead…'

Mercury soon arrived at the south end of the town and walked past the walls soon after, he walked for about ten minutes before he ran into some trouble

"I see so this is the problem with the current request… It's a queen spider"

In front of him, right under the sand were countless red spiders of varying sizes, from soccerball sized to a few that were minivan sized, Mercury tapped his cane as he walked over the spiders, as for why they didn't attack him it was simple, hiding underground was suicide against Mercury and any decent earth mage as they simply surrounded themselves with the earth that could turn into deadly spikes at any moment, Mercury strolled past and the sand behind him turned dark as it was wetted with spider blood as he kept walking, after a few minutes he found the so-called red spider queen

"Well, it's red alright…"

The body alone was the size of a minivan while the legs were almost three meters long and sharp at the ends like eight deadly spears, it let out a dreadful hiss when it noticed Mercury and then… I disappeared from view

"What the fu---"

Mercury felt a tingle up his spine and dodged to the side as a spear-like leg shot right through where he had just been standing as the queen spider reappeared, then like a mirage it melted into the surroundings again after letting out another hiss

'Welp… This might be bad, I can't tell where it is at all!'

Mercury dodged to the side again and as he did he got an idea

"If I can't see you then I should just attack all over!"

Mercury's idea proved to be simple but effective as he stomped down with his uninjured leg and sent a rock the size of a football flying into the air before it shattered sending rock shards flying all over the place, several of which landed on the red spider queen

"Over there!"

Mercury tapped his cane as he sent a spear of compressed rock flying at the red spider queens direction which then swiftly bored itself into its body as the spider queen let out a long hiss of pain as it collapsed onto the ground, Mercury didn't approach, instead, he stamped the ground and several rock spikes impaled the red spider queen from below

"And that's that… Must have used heat to make mirages to hide, should have been called a mirage spider instead..."

Mercury relaxed his guard and walked over to the red spider queen's carcass and confirmed that it was dead before he tapped his cane making the rock spikes that had impaled it from below retract before he grabbed one of its legs and dragged it after him back towards the city…

About an hour later there was a commotion at the gates as Mercury dragged the carcass of the red spider queen into the city, under the stunned eyes of the citizens of Ofrences, when he arrived at the guild a guild receptionist was already waiting for him outside, it was the same that had given him the request to slay the red spider queen an hour earlier, she watched Mercury drag the carcass of the red spider queen after him with a slight twitch in the corner of her eye, then she showed a smile and spoke

"Congratulations on slaying the red spider queen…"

Mercury let go of the leg he had been dragging the red spider queen with and simply sat down on the spot before he began massaging his injured leg, the receptionist saw this and asked with a slightly concerned tone

"Are you injured?"

Mercury shook his head

"Yeah, though not by the red spider queen here… nevermind that, can I get this dismantled and sold?"

"Certainly, I shall arrange for it at once"

"Thanks… I'll leave the city after it's done so tell the butchers it's a rush job"

"I will… Oh right, here's the initial reward"

The receptionist handed Mercury a pouch with 5000 cel in it, Mercury gave a nod and stood up before he asked

"So… was that enough to rank up to Steel?"

"...I'll have to check with the guild master, but if not then you should be close"

"I see…"

Mercury let out a yawn before he asked

"Can you recommend an inn? I am rather tired"

The receptionist showed a smile

"Certainly, down that street and then at the second right turn, you can't miss it"

"Thanks"

Mercury walked down the street the receptionist had indicated and soon found the inn she had recommended, there he paid for a quick meal, ate it before he decided to retire for the night in his room…

The next morning Mercury slowly awoke, he felt a slow burn in his injured leg, but that was normal so he swiftly ignored it

'...Must be the injured nerve endings'

Mercury sat himself up in the bed and glanced around, his gaze stopping at the window where it remained for a few moments before he let out a long yawn

"Gotta get to it… Even though I would rather sleep…'

Mercury got out of the comfy bed and put on some clothes before he patted his stomach and took a swig of water from his waterskin to wake his sleeping stomach up

"Guess I'll go to the guild…"

Mercury took his cane that leaned up against the night table and used it to alleviate some of the weight of his injured leg as he stood up, picked up his backpack, and swung it over his shoulder before he walked out of the room, after checking out from the inn he walked towards the guild with his cane making tap sounds against the cobblestone pavement as he made his way through the morning crowds, when he arrived he found the receptionist from yesterday and greeted her

"Good morning"

The receptionist showed a smile and greeted him back

"Good morning Mercury, the guild master wants to meet you… Are you perhaps available now?"

"Sure, lead the way"