Chapter 14: Adventure awaits! Huzzaaah!!

Chapter 14: Adventure awaits! Huzzaaah!!

I was standing in front of a pair of large doors, that a guard had assured me was the entrance to the guild master's office. I had needed to schedule an appointment with the older man by asking a secretary, who in turn needed to be notified by a clerk. Bureaucracy was the same everywhere, I guessed.

I was a little stressed for this meeting. I had a goal I wanted to achieve by the end of the meeting and I wasn't exactly sure if the guild master would allow it. Still, I had to try. After some hesitation, I knocked on the door. I heard a gruff voice coming from the other side.

"Ah, that must be Arthur. Come in, young man."

I opened one of the doors and entered, nodding politely to the guards as I passed them. I could see the old man I had met just once a few weeks ago, sitting behind a desk. He'd evidently dropped his paperwork to talk to me, because there was a stack of paper sitting right on his desk. The guild master was the first to speak.

"Good to see you again, Arthur. Doran has reported to me that you have tiered up all of your class skills to tier 2. I suppose you are here to ask about tiering up your class itself this time?"

"That's correct, sir. I feel that it is time for me to advance to the next tier."

The elder smiled kindly and nodded.

"Yes, judging from your progress, the time has come indeed. I must say, you did a remarkable job, completing Doran's training schedule this quickly. Congratulations boy. Now then, let's get to business. The guild has a few dungeons that we use to power level..."

Without thinking, I interrupted the guild master.

"Sorry sir, but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Rather than getting angry, the guild master seemed to expect my interruption, because he got a Cheshire grin on his face.

"Then may I ask what it is, young Arthur, that you had in mind?"

Determined, I asked for something that I doubted anyone else would have asked at tier 1.

"I want to complete a tier 2 quest involving combat."

The old man only smiled wider when he heard that.

Quests were paid jobs handed out to guilds. They were categorised based on their difficulty and the type of work they represented. Gathering quests, exterminating quests, bounty quests, excavation quests and so on, there were an infinite amount of different jobs. Our local guild typically received around 50 quests per week, which were accepted by various parties and solo hunters. Jobs involving combat were the most common in our guild, which is in part why we were so combat oriented in the first place.

Finally, you had bigger quests that involved entire companies of warriors to complete. Each guild had their own version. The adventurers' guild would sometimes organise expeditions to unsettled lands. Mercenary companies would participate in wars and witch hunters would go on crusades if a larger group of undead gathered. Some historic crusades were even done in partnership with the church.

Asking for a quest above your tier wasn't that unusual. Doing so as a solo hunter, however, now that was a dangerous proposition. And yet, I still decided to walk this path. On one hand I was confident in my skills, on the other I knew that no one became strong without struggle. I could power level for the next few tiers, hidden behind thick walls and the backs of my comrades, but that wasn't me. That wasn't why I started this journey. My stats could already rival an average middle level tier 2 and my skills surpassed what any tier 2 was capable of. All of this combined gave me confidence to complete such a quest.

I hurriedly explained my reasoning to the guild master, while he nodded along. Eventually I fell silent. He hummed for a moment, before speaking up.

"I guessed you wouldn't be able to sit still. Very well. I will allow it."

I gave a sigh of relief and was about to thank him when he intervened.

"On one condition. You will complete this specific quest that I have prepared for you."

Saying this, he pulled a file out of his cupboard. Even from a distance, I could tell that it was a quest document, which described the specifics of the quest in question.

Smiling, he pushed the file in my direction, allowing me to read it.

Quest: Kill the rogue alchemist.

Tier: 2

Danger level: Mid

Name: Arthur Titles [Dark prodigy] Class: [Death Knight] LVL 23 Strength 100 Constitution 96 Dexterity 96 Intelligence 25 Wisdom 50 Affinity 223 Free stat points 2

Skills:

Passive: [Overloading Dark core](1%), [Dark sight](2%), [Berserker Swordsmanship](3%),

[Novice lifespan](N/A), [Perfect physique](N/A), [Flexibility](N/A)

[Mental resistance](N/A)

Active: [Dark augment](59%), [Shadow apparation](12%), [Battle meditation](5%)

I decided on strength, because, of the three physical milestone skills, its effect was the most useful in combat currently.

[Perfect physique](N/A)

Tier 1 skill.

Your muscles and fat are now perfectly proportioned for the use of the class skill [swordsmanship].

Increase strength to the next milestone to increase skill tier.

Tier 2 upgrades

[Mana physique]

Your muscles slowly absorb a minimal amount of ambient mana.

[Reactive physique]

A small amount of recoil will be absorbed and redistributed by your muscles.

[Versatile physique]

Your muscles and fat proportions no longer matter when it comes to using skills.

I found this to be another interesting choice. None of these choices had immense effects on my combat strength, but they might have affected what skill options I get in the future for my other skills. I imagined combining [Mana physique] with [Overloading Dark core] to create a mana core spread out throughout my entire body!

Immediately, I fell in love with the mana physique. My skills sucked up most of my mana and I would take any solutions that could aid my meditation in alleviating my troubles. Since it didn't mention manipulating mana, I was confident it wouldn't force me into a caster class.

Ding! [Perfect physique] skill reached tier 2! [Perfect physique] has become [Mana physique].

I felt an intense pain course through my body as my muscles adjusted to the skill.

[Mana physique](N/A)

Tier 2 skill.

Your muscles and fat are now perfectly proportioned for the use of the class skill [swordsmanship].

Your muscles slowly absorb a minimal amount of ambient mana.

Increase strength to the next milestone to increase skill tier.

With a new boost in strength and in confidence, I headed towards the gates, intent on meeting the mayor. The time for adventure was nigh! Huzzaahh!