A dream that quickly turned to a nightmare.
“There are no quests?!” His eyes bulged at the empty quest board, and the surrounding adventurers chuckled at the sight.
“I warned you,” Orion stated. “Registering to a small guild with only one stone; this was bound to happen.”
“But my old parties never had issues getting quests…”
“Were you the one who came to receive them, or did you simply follow them around like a sad, lost puppy?”
“Shut it.”
“You’ll have to get in line,” A new voice interjected, and Ansel immediately recognized it as the older, gruff adventurer known as Fletcher. The young necromancer had been invited to his party a few months before joining Silverstride, but they only used him to fetch their loot at the end of their adventures. Ansel turned, meeting Fletcher in the eye, which caused the man to stop in his tracks for a split second. Back when they had adventured together, Ansel was sure that he had never maintained eye contact for more than a fleeting moment.
But now, the boy had a renewed sense of confidence. “And why should we?”
Fletcher cackled before responding. “Oh, the little boy thinks he’s tough now cuz’ he’s got some new friends, especially this big–” Fletcher yelped as he was dragged into the air by a massive palm gripping his skull.
“We have better things to do than adventurers like you, who do nothing but sit around with a thumb up their arse,” Orion laughed, watching as the comparatively tiny man struggled for control as he was suspended in midair. Finally, he released his grip, letting loose another torrent of laughter as Fletcher stumbled.
Is he only motivated by the suffering of others? Ansel thought to himself, but even he couldn’t stifle his laughter entirely.
Fletcher dusted himself off, then cried out indignantly, “What makes you so important?! Huh? We’ve been adventurers much longer than you! Just cause you waltz in here with your big sword and your fancy armor doesn’t mean–”
“This one’s perfect!” Ansel cried out, back already turned to the protesting Fletcher. Orion placed his hands on his hips and nodded his affirmation, and the duo promptly exited the adventurers guild. In Fletcher's fury, he hadn’t managed to notice a new quest being posted, which Orion and Ansel quickly snatched up.
“Hold on–”
The slam of the wooden door cut off the protest, and the pair quickly scurried off, reading their new quest.
[System Message]
<>
Quest Accepted By: Asharin
Info: Rockenfall, a small, quaint village, has long been terrorized by a creature who only strikes in the dead of the night. Slay their monster, and many rewards await you!
Objective:
- Defeat the Beast in the Night
- Optional Objective: Allow zero casualties to the residents of Rockenfall
Reward:
- Skill Reroller (Bonus Reward!)
- 1000 Exp (Guild Tax 40%)
- 500 Crystal Cores (Guild Tax 40%)
“My guild tax is still forty percent even though I’ve ranked up to Iron…” Ansel complained. “Atleast it’s not fifty like before.”
Orion ignored the complaints, raising a fist in anger to voice his own. “So because I’m your ‘summon’, I don’t actually get my own share of the quest rewards?! You reap all of the benefits?”
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“Well, even though they registered us as two separate members of the party, it seems like we only get one quest payout from the system… but don’t worry! I’ll be sure to split the rewards with you!” Ansel explained worriedly.
“At. What. Rate?”
“Well, uh, you see, seeing as I’m the master and all…” Ansel gulped.
“Choose your next words carefully, boy.”
“Seventy-Thirty! You can have thirty percent!”
“Insolence!” Orion roared. “I deserve more than half compared to a pathetic brat like you! I’m all of the manpower!”
“You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me!” Ansel protested. “Besides, I don’t actually have to share anything with you. I’m being generous!”
“And I don’t need to fight for you either,” Orion shrugged.
They were silent for a moment before the young necromancer decided to speak again with a heavy sigh. “Ok, Fifty-Fifty, but I get the items.”
“Hmph,” Orion grunted. “You’ll have to do better than that after the insulting offer you gave me before.”
“Ugh, fine,” Ansel muttered. “How about this, Fifty-Fifty, but you get sixty percent of the crystal cores looted directly from the monsters and bosses. I get half of the loot dropped, and all quest items go to me.”
“If there is an item that piques my interest, I should be allowed to claim one every other quest.”
“What items could you possibly need?! You’re already freakishly strong and have a full set of equipment, not to mention some kind of incredible magic sword!”
“The rich and powerful do not become so because they have a knack for giving away their possessions,” Orion lectured.
“The crystal cores looted from the monsters are untaxed by the guild! You’d be making a lot more than me, it’s not fair if you take half of the quest items too!”
“Hmph,” Orion grunted. “Fine. You may keep the items, but in the event of a particularly interesting one, I reserve the right to challenge you for it.”
“Challenge?”
“I’ll show you,” Orion said with a sly smile. He held out a single fist, gesturing for Ansel to do the same.
A grumpy old man like him wants to play a game? Where is this going…
Ansel reluctantly held out his fist while Orion explained the rules of the game.
“In my time, it was called sword, arrow, shield,” He mimed three distinct hand signs, loosely resembling the three weapons. “Sword beats shield, shield beats arrow, and arrow beats sword.”
“This is stupid,” Ansel complained.
“It’s a classic! We loved this game!” Orion yelped, almost childlike and unbefitting his massive stature. Ansel had to fight the urge to laugh as the skeleton straightened, seemingly aware of how his outburst made him look. “No matter. Play, or we have no deal.”
“Fine, but you are only allowed to challenge once every five quests.”
“Three.”
“Four.”
“Three,” Orion repeated.
“Fine,” Ansel sighed, knowing that somehow, the centuries-old man was even more stubborn than he was.
“Then, I hereby declare my right to challenge for the reward of this quest.”
“Oh, c’mon!”
They both held out their fists, and Ansel copied Orion’s movements, chanting the names of the three weapons in rhythm as they rocked their hands up and down.
The boy yelped with excitement as he saw the hand shape of an arrow, knowing that he had played shield. “I win! You can’t challenge for another three quests!”
Orion’s fiery blue flames flickered, as if he couldn’t believe his nonexistent eyes. “I… I lost?”
The quest itself sent out a tiny, blue whisp that flew through the air, guiding them towards their destination. Furthermore, as they travelled to Rockenfall, Ansel and Orion had no choice but to engage in conversation with each other, even though the skeleton warrior was still pouting about his earlier loss.
“I have a curiosity, boy. In my time, guild quests were rather simple and only required us to complete various instanced and zone dungeons, or kill several specific monsters. Something like this,” Orion gestured to the quest screen that he had been reading from moments ago. “Would only be given as a personal quest.”
“Interesting…” Ansel contemplated. “Well, as far as I know, this is how things have always been. Of course, we still get the dungeon quests and stuff every now and then, but we also receive things like this one.”
More has changed in this world than I once thought. Perhaps, even, the system itself has changed. But my memory is still jumbled, none of the details are clear to me yet…
“I have a question,” Ansel said.
“You need not announce it to the world, spit it out, boy,” Orion reprimanded.
“Well, all that stuff back in the workshop with Hadr, what exactly did he do to your sword?”
“Hmph,” Orion grunted. “That wrought pearl he used, it has the ability to imbue magic into items, although the exact details of how are beyond me. I only have a surface-level understanding of the arts of smithing and artificing.”
“Hundreds of years, and you didn’t even bother to learn how your weapons were made?”
“Insolent brat,” Orion spat. “I had no need for such knowledge, considering that even without any of my weapons or armor, there was no being in any realm who could defeat me.”
“Of course, Orion the great and infallible,” Ansel mocked, flexing his two slightly more toned biceps.
“One day, I will break these shackles and–” The skeleton paused, then stopped.
“What, what's wrong?”
Orion’s bony mouth twisted into what could’ve been considered a smile, even though he knew that Ansel couldn’t see it. “We’re being followed.”
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