Chương 37: Hiring a Tracker

"I don't want any share of the Quest's commission," Nickolas said, waving off the topic of profit sharing. Similar to Nickolas, the others also refused to take a share of the commission. Although Arthur could somewhat guess that these youths were wealthy, and that 550, 000 Credits were nothing to them, were they truly generous enough to deny a share of the Quest's profits?

"I mean, I'm naturally glad that you're not taking any of the profit," Arthur said, looking at the group.

"But why do you need to take part in this quest with me? You could all take on another quest that would better benefit your individual growth, couldn't you? I'm doing quests to earn money. You don't need to tag along with me and waste your time," Arthur said. From the very beginning, his plan was to do solo, high-paying Quests so he could obtain the entire commission for himself.

Now that these Guys were joining for nothing in return, he could not help but advise them to take another Quest that would actually aid their growth. Furthermore, this Quest could turn out to be dangerous. Since they had already gone through a do-or-die battle just yesterday, if they were to experience such life-threatening danger again, it would definitely affect them mentally.

"That is a valid point. Then let us split the beast cores we get from this quest," Nickolas said.

"Yes, that is a good point. We will take a share of the beast cores," Susanne said. The other two youths echoed her, agreeing to take a share of the beast cores as well. Arthur let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the youths, wondering what they were actually planning. After all, there would be very little beast hunting on this quest, as they were traveling to the Solomon Valley. However, he did not dwell on the matter any longer.

Since the youths were wealthy and clearly came from prominent families, they had the luxury of doing whatever they pleased. After that, Arthur accepted the quest, and it was immediately assigned to him. With the quest confirmed, he began considering what he would need for the task. At the moment, he had the perfect party for a hunting quest. However, since he was now undertaking a tracking quest, he needed to find a Skeleton Worker that could assist him in navigating the dense forest.

Naturally, Coburn was a highly capable Skeleton, having been the one who tracked down those people in the Luck Forest. Nevertheless, hiring a Skeleton that specialized in tracking would benefit Arthur immensely. With that thought in mind, he immediately opened the Marketplace and navigated to the [Others] tab. He needed a Skeleton Worker specialized in tracking and navigating through dense vegetation. Such skills would be invaluable if they ended up lost in the valley, just as the missing people had.

A few Skeleton Workers appeared in the search results after he performed a vague search, including the Scout, Tracker, and Pathfinder. At the moment, he was unable to view their innate abilities. However, judging solely by the names of their professions, he would naturally choose either the Tracker or the Pathfinder.

[Worker Status] Name: Brog Designation: Tracker Specialist: Trail Detection Professional Status: Beginner Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 1, 500 Credits Contract Payment: 1 Chronarch Watch, 1 Truecourse Compass Arthur felt Brog would be the perfect fit for this quest. His specialization in Trail Detection would prove invaluable in locating the people who had gone missing in the vast valley covered in dense vegetation.

Furthermore, the contract payment was relatively inexpensive, and Arthur currently possessed 18, 000 Credits. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. However, there was another worker who would also be invaluable for this quest: Nearchus, a Pathfinder who specialized in Navigation. If Arthur had enough money, he would definitely hire him as well.

[Worker Status] Name: Nearchus Designation: Pathfinder Specialist: Navigation Professional Status: Beginner Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 2, 000 Credits Contract Payment: 10 Graph Parchment Sheets, 5 Ink Vials, 1 Quill Pen If he had to choose one, however, he would choose Brog. His priority was to find the missing people as quickly as possible and ensure they were safe. With his specialization in Trail Detection, Arthur believed the task would be completed quickly.

Once he had confirmed that everyone was safe, he could then find a way out of the valley easily. With his decision made, Arthur prepared to leave the Quest Hall. However, he first needed to find an artifact store where he could purchase the items required for the contract payment. He could only hope they would not cost more than his 18, 000 Credits. With that thought in mind, Arthur decided to ask the others, as they were bound to know their way around Sector A.

"Do you guys know of any small artifact stores nearby? I need to buy a few items," Arthur asked.

"You want to buy artifacts? What kind?" Nickolas asked.

"I need a Chronarch Watch and a Truecourse Compass," Arthur replied.

"Oh, for the quest?" Nickolas asked, surprised when Arthur mentioned the watch and compass. Those items were clearly used for navigation, allowing one to determine direction and distance. Considering the quest they had accepted to find the missing people, it was only natural for Nickolas to assume Arthur intended to buy them for that purpose. Although they were indeed for the quest, Arthur had no intention of using them himself to locate the missing people.

"Yeah, sort of," Arthur said.

"I know a small artifact store that sells items like those. We can head there if you'd like," one of the youths with the Sword Affinity said.

"That would be a great help. Let's go, then," Arthur said as he stood up. However, before the newly formed party could leave the private quest search section, they were suddenly stopped by another party of seven youths. Arthur shifted to the side, intending to walk past them, assuming they were simply heading into the quest search section. However, his path was blocked once again. Confused, Arthur tilted his head to look at the person standing before him.

It was a stocky, broad-shouldered young man with a tall frame. His face was filled with disdain as he looked down at Arthur. However, before Arthur could question his intentions, the youth leading the party spoke.

"Well, well... what do we have here?" the youth asked. He was well built, with a longsword strapped to his waist. Speaking in a mocking tone, his gaze swept over Susanne and the others. Do they know each other? Arthur wondered silently.

"What do you want, Fredric?" Susanne asked, her voice laced with irritation.

"Nothing, Ms. Susanne. I was just a little surprised to see all of you at the Quest Hall," he replied, the mocking tone never leaving his voice.

"You're here too, aren't you? So why wouldn't we be?" Nickolas shot back with an equally mocking tone.

"Don't ever open your mouth in front of me, you insignificant fool, if you want to keep your teeth intact," Fredric said, his voice dripping with contempt. The atmosphere turned tense in an instant. Arthur remained silent, carefully observing the exchange. He was simply waiting for it to end so he could leave without getting involved.

"Let's go," Susanne said, sensing that the situation was about to escalate.

"Yeah, go and do your little quest. Just remember your place while you're at it. And don't even think about participating in the [Grande Tournament]," the stocky youth who had blocked Arthur's path said.

"Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do if I participate?" Nickolas shot back, refusing to back down from the stocky youth's threat. At Nickolas's words, Fredric's demeanor changed completely. The atmosphere instantly became suffocating. Arthur found it difficult to breathe. Is this some kind of innate ability? Arthur wondered as beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. However, before the suffocating feeling could increase, several people around them turned their eyes toward their group.

Seeing that many veterans and other strong Awakened had noticed them, Fredric stopped whatever he was doing. The next second, the suffocating feeling disappeared, allowing Arthur to breathe normally again.

"That will be the end of you!" Fredric snorted. Following that, he turned around and left.