Chương 13: The First E-Rank Quest

With a slash, the tenth slime was cleaved in half. Kyle kicked the remaining stubborn slimes into the river before putting on gloves and processing the slime's condensate.

'As expected, dealing with slimes is effortless now that I'm a professional. Even just using my physical strength alone is more than enough.' Kyle thought proudly. However, he still felt disgusted every time he had to process the slime condensate.

'Why don't they just have a solid core? Things would be much easier.' He thought.

"This will be the last time I take the [Hunting slimes] quest." Although the difficulty wasn't great, the pay was too low, the journey back and forth took more than 2 hours, and the quest item processing was too disgusting. The slime condensate was not only stickier than honey but also smelled very bad.

"The last one." Kyle finally finished processing the slime condensate, putting it in the prepared leather bag. He took off the gloves and threw them away before stretching and walking down the river to rinse off all remaining traces of dirt on him. About an hour later, Kyle was walking in the streets of Mirevale Town. He submitted the slime quest and then headed back to the inn to rest for the day. Over the next week, Kyle took a variety of quests.

From hunting dire rats in farms, to gathering moonshine herbs in the forest, to hunting small teams of goblins. He took special care to choose quests from easy to difficult. After all, without an experienced veteran to guide him, he had to learn on his own. How to fight small and fast enemies, how to navigate through a complex jungle environment, and how to communicate with the people who issued the quest. He had to figure everything out by himself.

In just one week, he completed 8 F-class quests, netting him 23 silver coins and bringing up his net worth to over 30 silver coins.

'It's about time I move to more difficult quests.' Kyle thought as he looked at the E-rank quests on the quest board. After looking on for a while, he finally made his choice. [E-Rank Quest: Hunt 5 Great-Fang Wind Wolves] [Quest Info: A pack of Great-Fang wind wolves has migrated to the northern trade routes due to the unusual goblin activities. Hunt 5 Great-Fang wind wolves and bring back their fangs.] [Quest item: The fangs of the Great-Fang Wind Wolves] [Reward: 25 silver coins] Great-Fang wind wolves, also known as the fanged wolves, were pack-type low-level magic beasts commonly found in the outer regions of forests and plains. Unlike ordinary wolves, these creatures possessed wind affinity. Though limited, this ability allowed them to subtly manipulate airflow around their bodies, enhancing their speed and imbuing their claws and teeth with sharpness rivaling that of fine weapons.

What made them dangerous was that they were seldom alone. A standard pack consists of three to five individuals, moving with coordinated precision, making them quite dangerous among the low-level magic beasts. According to the [Monsters and magic beasts guide] the guild had provided. Either an experienced party or a rank 1 professional is recommended to deal with a pack of these wolves. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Kyle looked at this quest for a while, weighing his options, before he decided to take it. He pulled out the quest paper from the quest board and walked to the counter.

"Good morning, Celia. Please register this quest for me," Kyle said as he placed the quest on the counter.

"Good morning, Kyle, please wait a moment," Celia replied with a smile before taking the quest and looking at it.

"Wait a minute, Kyle, are you planning to complete this quest on your own?" Celia's eyes widened as she read the quest.

"Yes." Kyle nodded.

"Please reconsider. You're still a new adventurer. Even if you're an apprentice swordsman, you'll be in grave danger if you face a pack of Fanged Wind Wolves alone." Celia quickly advised, looking quite flustered. Kyle looked at the woman who was genuinely worried about his safety and felt comforted. It seems that there are people who care about him in this world. However, he doesn't intend to change his mind.

"It's fine, Celia. I'm pretty confident about completing this quest. I was a hunter before, so I know how to deal with beasts," Kyle said confidently.

"But those were ordinary beasts! Magic beasts are much more cunning and aggressive! You've read the Monsters and Magic Beasts guide, right? So you should know that you need a party to complete this quest. If not, you need to be a rank 1 professional; you're just an apprentice swordsman, Kyle." Celia dissuaded. She seemed adamant about refusing to register this quest for him.

"Who said I'm an apprentice swordsman, Celia? You've known me for a month now. Am I the hot-blooded, reckless type? I won't take a quest that I'm not sure of completing." Kyle said with a faint smile on his face.

"What? You—" Celia looked at the confident expression on Kyle's face with wide eyes. Kyle had been cautious enough to prepare for over two weeks just for his first quest. Even for the subsequent quests, he would ask many questions, squeezing all the information she knew before he would take them. Now that she thought about it, he had constantly asked her about the habits and habitat of fanged wind wolves over the past few days, so it seemed that he didn't take this quest on an impulse.

However, for him to take this quest that requires a party so confidently means just one thing.

"Are you already a professional?" Celia asked with a look of surprise on her face. Kyle nodded confidently.

"That's amazing, Kyle! Becoming a professional at such a young age is something only geniuses are capable of! Most adventurers become professionals in their late twenties or even thirties." Celia exclaimed. She looked at the handsome young man in front of her with shining eyes. This was undoubtedly a very promising young man. Taking a deep breath, Celia slowly calmed her rapidly thumping heart and reigned in her eagerness. The future is still long. She would take her time to slowly cultivate their feelings.

She didn't believe that she couldn't take down a pure young man. She was very confident in her charm and appearance after all.

"If that's the case, then you're qualified to take this quest. Please wait a moment; I'll register it for you." Celia said with a smile before registering the information. She leaned down further than usual as she wrote, slightly exposing her cleavage. Kyle took this in with a look of surprise before quietly looking away.

"Here you go; good luck on your quest. I'll be waiting for your safe return." Celia said as she handed him the quest form, her fair fingers brushing against his palm.

"Thank you, Celia. Have a nice day." Folding the quest form and placing it in his chest's pocket, Kyle nodded and walked away.

'Celia started acting differently upon hearing that I was a professional. Was she trying to seduce me?' he wondered as he walked on the streets.

'It seems that the influence of professionals is greater than I expected.' Kyle thought as he walked out of town. He had already prepared all the materials required for this quest. From traps to the concoctions required to mask his scent. Those wolves' noses are very sharp after all. He had also bought a map for the northern trade routes and the forest terrain in the corresponding area.

Finally, he had paid some experienced hunters to teach him how to find the traces left by fanged wind wolves, from the shape of their paws to how they mark their territory. Although not all of this would be useful since they had only recently migrated, being prepared was never a bad thing. At least that's what Kyle believed. The quest to hunt Great Fang Wind Wolves was placed on the quest board three days ago. Several parties had already completed it. It was only then that Kyle decided to take it as well.

As Kyle walked towards the gate of Mirevale town, he passed by a stall selling fruit, where a burly man was arguing with the stall owner. The man glanced at the passing Kyle before continuing to argue with the stall owner. It wasn't until he was far away that the burly man quickly walked towards an alley. He muttered, "The target is heading out," as he passed by a beggar. The beggar laid lifelessly on the dirty ground for a while.

It wasn't until the burly man completely disappeared that he sprang up and shuttled through the alleys in the southern section of Mirevale town. He stopped in front of a wooden house and knocked three times. He repeated the same message, then walked away.