Chapter 114: Preparing for the quest

"So you are ready, huh?"

After nearly the entire day wasted on looking for the owner of the house that he was renting, Fen was pretty close to assuming that actually locating the guy was the hardest part of the quest he was supposed to fulfil. 

Only once he stepped inside a rundown tavern at the very edge of West Town district, did the familiar huge posture of the man announce the end of Fen's perilous task. Now, for the actual quest…

"It will take me a day to prepare. What we will need to do, is travel outside of the city for a bit. There is a certain flame flower that I need to obtain to fulfil my own obligations, and only an arcanist can walk through the barrier that it creates around itself. Once you manage to pluck just a single petal out of it, your job will be over."

Barely taking any time away from drinking some awful, sour wine, the man looked up on me as if to gauge my reaction to his words.

"Seems legit."

Fen wasn't courageous or stupid enough to order a drink for himself in a place like this. If not for the owner of his house refusing to leave as apparently they could talk without worry about anyone eavesdropping them, he would already be long gone from this damned inn, where it was easier to find yourself a knife in your body rather than getting something that didn't taste like piss.

"Also, all I need is a single petal, but if you feel capable, you can take the entire flower with yourself and either use the rest of just sell it off. I heard that its petals can net a nice price on the market."

Taking another sip of the beer, the mercenary in front me didn't seem to mind the situation at all. It felt as if he was happy with giving me even more incentives to work with if only that would mean obtaining what he wanted a bit sooner!

"Then let's not waste any time. How fast can you depart?"

Sadly, Fen couldn't just go on and finish the entire mission by himself. Without the knowledge where said flower was, finding it could easily prove to be the most annoying part of the entire quest. And despite his age, Fen wasn't naive enough to believe that the mercenary would just give him the map or enough hints that he could find the place himself.

With how much he was losing each week on the rent, it was clear how important and valuable that petal was!

"Like I said. I need a day to organise the people and provisions. Just the journey to the place will take us two more days, so be sure to prepare for it."

The tone in which the man said those words gave the clear message that the talking part was now finished. Given how Fen didn't really fancy any of the choices available in this place, leaving the tavern turned out to be the most rational thing for him to do. 

Moving out of the place, the young man finally found some peace of mind to actually think about the situation. Given how far away he was from the main part of the city, just the time it would take him to move back to the inner city seemed like the perfect opportunity for Fen to consider his current situation.

After all, with how hastily Fen was preparing for the coming adventure, he didn't really have any time to assess his situation properly.

First thing, he lacked any weapon. Obviously, his greatest strength lied in arcana itself, not only because constantly using and practising it would allow the young man to master the related skills way easier, but also because it was way more versatile than anything he could perform with any given weapon, but it didn't mean the young man was willing to just venture into the wild with unknown dangers lurking around without ample preparations!

Moving through the dirty streets of the West Town, Fen could see at least several different smithies that could supply him with the items he needed, but judging from the general richness and safety of the area, the young man was unwilling to rest the fate of his life in the hands of a potentially fraudulent smith. 

Only once the young man finally managed to once again pass through the southern gate of the city marking his entry into Raven's house the situation has changed. But instead of aiming for one of those fancy smithies that he could already see at least a few around, the young man continued to walk north, all the way to the Dawnford plaza, where he could already see the academy.

After all, what was the point of paying for something, if there was a chance that the academy would grant it to him for free?

Obviously, Fen wasn't as naive as to believe in fairy tales in which great and randomly met people would be fighting for the chance of sponsoring his endeavours. If there was even any chance that the academy would help, it would entirely rely on Fen's ability to make the man or woman responsible for deciding whether or not the academy would support his efforts instantly befriend the young man! 

And what was the better way to look for help with this kind of task, if not by annoying his trusty senior?

Knock, knock.

After asking around for Nadia's academy office, Fen had the pleasure to learn that not only she already had her own study within the academy, but was also leading two different courses for the interested parties, along with holding weekly meetings during which one could train all the free jobs that academy loved to sponsor.

This was yet another element of the academic life that Fen couldn't wait to implement in his life. While being an arcanist already elevated his position amongst the common-folk, the same couldn't be said about the community of people with the same talent as the young man. Unless he could become one of the greatest phoenixians to ever walk in this world, then learning some secondary crafts would be the far easier way for Fen to obtain the additional resources or even a full-time job that didn't involve putting himself at risk!

"Come in."

Only after hearing the invite, Fen dared to push the doors open and enter the room. Compared to the training hall where he was practising his basic skills, the place where Nadia helped the crowd of beginning herbalist was way bigger. Outside of the space within the room alone, this place was actually filled to the brim with all sorts of equipment, only serving as a proof how intensely the academy was interested in grooming those who could master other crafts outside of being an arcanist alone.

"What do you want?"

To the young man surprise, once his senior momentarily pulled her eyes away from a small herb that she was cleaning, only an annoyed frown appeared on her face. It was clear that she didn't like being disturbed during this kind of time, yet due to how quickly Fen wanted to deal with the first test that could potentially turn into the door to the true growth, the young man couldn't really afford to waste several hours just on waiting for her.

"Quick question. If I need some equipment to fulfil my task, is there any way to get it from the academy, or do I have to deal with it on my own?"

Obviously, there were bound to be many other options in place. Given how nearly everything in this city seemed to strictly operate on the profit principle, there were bound to be countless investors willing to put down their money to help the young arcanists with potential growth, so that their investment would be returned manyfold once their protegees would start racking up credits.

This was something that Fen actually learned from Arla, as some sexually frustrated freaks already approached her with contracts that if not for a small, hidden clause, could be said to be predatory on the employer side! If not for the duty of sleeping with the employer, Arla could receive two damned gold coins per week just to help herself grow!

At this point, anyone in Fen's position could get worried about the situation. After all, Arla partnered up with him to escape the empire. Now, that this objective of her was fulfilled, there was absolutely nothing holding her back from finding a better sponsor for her needs. Looking strictly from the cost-to-benefit ratio, sticking up with Fen was one of the worse options for her, as she had no right to know about his insane potential!

"If its something simple, you can request it from the quest society, but you will still have to pay for it. Although, if you do not have the need to keep the item you need right now, after the quest itself, it will come far cheaper than if you were to outright buy it. The quest society headquarters are located on the fifth floor of the main office building, so you should head there for some more information."

As soon as Nadia answered the question, her attention instantly returned to the plant that she was taking care off as if leaving even a half of water drop on its petals was akin to a state-crime.

"Thanks."

With the basic information he required already in his possession, Fen didn't dare to waste any more of his time. With just a single day to prepare for a potentially perilous quest, he wasn't willing to just rest easy now to suffer later!