10. Quest Complete

10. Quest Complete

The walls of the Adventurer’s Guild invited them in, the warmth spreading out towards them. Their sense of accomplishment helped quicken their steps as they approached the desk.

Emma blinked at Adam and Jurot, seeing the boar over his shoulders. “Welcome back,” she said, flashing her practised smile. “I see you’ve managed to complete your first quest.”

Adam smiled, throwing up a thumbs up. “That’s right.”

“I will complete the transaction,” Emma said, looking at the boar. “Will you please bring it around back?” She grabbed some paper and led them to the room behind, which was quite large, and made completely from thick stone. There were a few wooden columns in the centre, though they were covered in notes. Around the place were a few weapons too of various disrepair. Some were fine, whereas other weapons were completely chipped and ruined.

There was a large stone table, and a few stools around to sit on. Emma waved her hand towards the table where Jurot lay the boar. He cracked his neck and stretched his shoulders, feeling the gentle ache.

Emma leaned in towards the boar, reaching out with the back of her pen to follow a line she had drawn in her mind. She circled around it, writing down some notes on her paper. She leaned in close towards the tusks, and then towards where it had been wounded. Her eyes fluttered for a few moments as she calculated everything together.

“I have confirmed that you have completed the quest. Do you wish to keep a portion of the meat?”

“A small portion,” Adam said, looking to Jurot. “What do you think?”

Jurot nodded. “I want to eat it for dinner.”

“We’ll be eating well tonight and tomorrow morning,” Emma said. “I’ll send Margh the news.”

‘Oh, right. Margh! I knew someone was missing.’

“I’ll portion some of the meat for you. If you’d like, you can ask Margh to cook it separately on the grill. We have a few herbs that you’ll be able to use as well, since you’ve taken a quest which allows the guild to feed its members.” Emma smiled, making sure they understood that they would be rewarded properly for helping the guild out with a boring quest.

“That sounds good! I should go and get some butter too.” Adam nodded, thinking about grilled boar meat. He hadn’t tasted it before, but butter and some herbs would make most things taste good.

“The boar you have slain will earn you twelve gold total, this includes the price for the meat, the tusks, and the bounty for slaying it.”

“Nice,” Adam said, nodding his head. He was glad to make so much gold in one go. Of course, it wasn’t like he was going to be able to swim in the gold, and in reality it wasn’t that much, but since he had very few bills, it meant he could steadily earn coin and create a pot for his savings for emergencies.

Emma brought them to the front desk once again. She prepared the coin for them, as well as their stamps.

Quest Complete

Boar Hunting

XP Gained

+50XP

70XP -> 120XP

Stamps Gained

+1

3 -> 4

Currency Gained

+5GP +4SP

14GP, 6SP -> 19GP, 10SP

Adam beamed with a sense of achievement as the two of them passed their first quest together. He looked to Jurot with a large smile on his face. “Here,” Adam said, quickly casting Tricks on the jam buns to make them warm, before handing one to Jurot.

Jurot stared at the jam bun for a moment before accepting it. He waited for Adam to take a bite, but then ate it once Adam started to eat it. It was warm, soft, and tasted fairly fresh still. ‘How can it be so warm? Why is it not that stale?’ Jurot continued to eat it until it was done, not even thinking about whether it could be poisoned.

Adam finished it too, tasting how warm and sweet it was. “After we finish a hard day at work, shouldn’t we reward ourselves?” Adam said innocently. “Next time, let’s head to the bakery so we can order it fresh.” Adam wiggled his brows towards Jurot, before putting his helmet back on, feeling the gaze on his ears.

“Making two trips is inconvenient,” Jurot said, licking his lips to finish tasting all the jam.

“That’s true, though isn’t it worth it if we can order from the baker fresh?” Adam’s voice remained as innocent as it could.

‘Order from the baker...’ Jurot thought about it for a moment, spending as much time as most Iyrmen did thinking. “Okay.”

Adam chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “What quest should we take tomorrow?”

Jurot blinked at the half elf. “What?”

“I will find someone through the guild,” Emma said as she sighed. She reached up to rub her brow. ‘These two are too reckless. Just how much trouble are you intending to bring to the guild?’

“Then we’ll leave it to the dependable guild,” Adam said, smiling at Emma. He could understand why Emma was currently annoyed by what he had said, and he had to make sure he took her concerns on board. ‘If a guild worker, who knows how strong we are, tells us to be careful with something...’ He didn’t want this life to end so quickly.

With that, Adam went up to bathe. As he did, the other adventurers watched him. One almost stood up, but their partner pulled them down.

“Calm down, idiot,” she whispered. “Sit.”

“I wasn’t going to do anything.”

“I’m sure.” She pulled him back down.

Adam bathed quickly and ate even quicker. Since they had slain the boar, they had a few extra slabs of meat. He didn’t spend much time savouring it since he could feel the intense glares of other adventurers with his helmet off. ‘Damn, they really don’t like half elves...’

Adam quickly returned to his room, saying a quick good night to Jurot. He didn’t want to aggravate the others too much. ‘I should eat earlier, or maybe later?’ He sighed.

He dropped onto his bed and stretched. “Bell, show me how much XP I need to buy another trick.”

[You can buy another trick for 400XP.]

“Whoa, so much?” Adam whispered. “How much do I have?”

[120XP.]

“Wasn’t it only 200XP last time?”

[Yes.]

“...”

[It has increased because you already have plenty of tricks at this level.]

“So does that mean my next trick will be cheaper once I level?”

[The price will return to 200XP once you level.]

“I see. So the higher levelled I become, then the cheaper things become? Or is it just that it resets the price?”

[Yes.]

“Yes to both?”

[Yes.]

“Huh. Makes sense...” Adam wondered if he should try for another trick. “How much to level up?”

[1000XP.]

He whistled. “Damn, that’s a lot. Alright, well...” He took a moment to think. “A trick might be nice, but the level would give me more health, won’t it?”

[Your health will increase by 13.]

“Double...” He clicked through his teeth. “I think I should wait for that then. The extra health will be too useful, and I will be able to learn new spells. Or should I pick the greater martial abilities?” Adam yawned. “Whatever, I’ll think about it when I have enough XP. Good night, Bell.”

[Good night, Adam.]