Chapter 105: Quest

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Quest

"Appearances are often deceiving." — Aesop

The low tier quest board at the Adventurers’ Guild was cluttered with simple tasks meant for greenhorn adventurers.

Harvesting luminescent herbs.

Clearing farm cellars.

Hunting pest tier monsters.

Delivering supplies to nearby villages.

Riven stood before the board with his arms crossed, scanning the available contracts.

After registering as an F Rank rookie, he had expected the guild to assign him something painfully easy.

"Here."

Fen pulled a parchment from the board and held it up proudly.

"F Rank Extermination Contract."

Sera leaned over his shoulder and read the details.

"Nest near the lower mountain road. They’ve been attacking merchant caravans for the past two weeks."

Mira adjusted the glasses resting on her nose and glanced at the parchment.

"Estimated population?"

"Eight to twelve."

Mira’s forehead gem pulsed faintly.

"That’s probably an underestimate."

Fen shrugged.

"Still easy."

He looked toward Riven.

"Don’t worry if you get overwhelmed, Riven. Iron Claw Crawlers have reinforced chitin and pretty fast instincts. First timers usually struggle to break through their hides."

Riven stared at him for several seconds.

"How strong are they?"

"Individually?"

Fen thought about it.

"Probably around the upper end of F Rank. Maybe low E Rank if you get unlucky."

Riven nodded.

"Understood."

Sera gave him an encouraging smile.

"Just stay behind Fen’s shield line and watch our pacing. You don’t need to prove anything on your first mission."

Riven glanced at her.

"I’m not planning to."

Fen laughed.

"That’s the spirit!"

The four of them headed toward the dungeon entrance.

Nyx followed behind them, her large shadow wyvern body moving with quiet, predatory grace.

The sight of her alone attracted several curious glances from passing adventurers.

Riven didn’t pay them any attention.

His dark eyes remained fixed on the path ahead.

He had spent a year fighting monsters in the abyss.

Compared to that place, an F Rank extermination contract almost felt like a vacation.

Still, he had to remind himself that he was supposed to be an F Rank rookie.

He couldn’t simply walk into his first guild mission and reveal that he was capable of fighting creatures several ranks above his registration.

Six months.

That was all he needed.

Six months of legitimate work.

Then he could cross the border.

Then he could begin searching for Elora.

Riven tightened his fingers slightly.

First, survive the bureaucracy.

The thought almost made him smile.

The entrance to the Iron Claw Crawler nest was a narrow opening between two enormous boulders.

Cold air flowed from within.

Fen drew his greatsword.

"All right. Formation."

Sera moved toward the left side of the tunnel.

Mira remained behind the other two, her forehead gem glowing softly as she scanned the darkness.

Riven stood near the entrance.

His hands rested loosely inside the pockets of his tailored vest.

Nyx settled down beside him on a moss covered rock.

The wyvern gave a long, bored yawn.

Her rows of sharp teeth briefly caught the light before she lowered her head onto her paws.

Fen looked back.

"Don’t worry, Riven. We’ll keep the front clear."

Riven nodded.

"Thanks."

They advanced deeper into the cave.

The walls gradually became wetter.

Small pools of water gathered between the rocks, reflecting the faint blue glow of the moss growing along the ceiling.

Mira suddenly stopped.

Her forehead gem flashed.

"Wait."

Fen immediately raised his sword.

"What is it?"

Mira’s eyes narrowed.

"I’m detecting multiple signatures."

"How many?"

"Eight."

She paused.

Then her expression changed.

"Fifteen."

Fen’s grip tightened around his greatsword.

"Fifteen?"

"More are moving."

The sound came first.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Dozens of tiny claws scraped against stone somewhere in the darkness.

Sera raised her bow.

"That’s a lot more than the contract said."

Mira’s gem pulsed rapidly.

"Twenty."

Fen stepped forward.

"Everyone, prepare!"

The darkness above them suddenly moved.

A swarm of Iron Claw Crawlers poured from the ceiling.

Their armored bodies were roughly the size of large dogs, each supported by multiple sharp legs. Their iron colored chitin reflected the dim blue light while their enormous mandibles snapped aggressively.

Fen planted his feet.

"Get ready!"

The crawlers charged.

Riven sighed.

Fen heard it.

He glanced backward.

"Something wrong?"

Riven shook his head.

"No."

His eyes moved across the swarm.

Twenty three.

No.

Twenty seven.

More were emerging from behind the walls.

The creatures were moving quickly.

Fen raised his sword.

"Hold formation!"

Riven looked at the approaching swarm.

Then he lifted his right hand.

Sera’s eyes widened.

"Riven?"

He flicked his index finger.

"Umbral Needle."

The world went silent.

Thin black needles appeared around Riven’s body.

They were almost impossible to see.

For less than a fraction of a second, they remained completely motionless.

Then they fired.

Thwip.

One crawler collapsed.

Thwip.

Another fell.

Then another.

And another.

The needles moved so quickly that the sound of their impact seemed to arrive after the creatures had already fallen.

Within a single heartbeat, the entire swarm stopped moving.

Twenty seven bodies collapsed onto the stone floor.

Silence returned.

Fen remained frozen.

His sword was still raised.

Sera’s bow was drawn halfway.

Mira’s forehead gem flickered rapidly.

Riven lowered his hand.

The black needles dissolved into faint wisps of shadow.

Nyx lifted her head from the rock.

She looked at the pile of dead crawlers.

Then she looked at Riven.

Then she went back to sleep.

Fen slowly lowered his sword.

"Riven."

Riven looked at him.

"Yeah?"

Fen stared at the corpses.

Then back at Riven.

"You didn’t even draw your sword."

Riven glanced at his empty hands.

"I didn’t need it."

Sera slowly lowered her bow.

"Twenty seven."

Riven nodded.

"I counted."

"You counted them?"

"Yes."

Mira stepped forward.

Her forehead gem was glowing brightly now.

"I couldn’t even properly track the technique."

Riven looked at her.

"Its just a tier one spell."

Mira stared at him.

"Just?"

She pointed toward the bodies.

"Those creatures have reinforced iron chitin."

Riven looked at one of the corpses.

He crouched beside it and examined the armor.

The needle had pierced directly through the thickest section of its chest.

There was almost no damage around the entry point.

Riven stood.

"They weren’t very strong."

Fen stared at him.

"They’re F Rank monsters."

Riven paused.

"Oh."

Sera covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Fen rubbed his forehead.

"You’re really bad at pretending to be an F Rank."

Riven looked at him with genuine confusion.

"I’m trying."

That only made Sera laugh harder.

Mira looked between them.

"I don’t think he understands how suspicious that sounded."

Riven sighed.

He had forgotten how different ordinary monsters felt after spending months fighting creatures that could tear through entire sections of the abyss, he had learned never to underestimate his opponent.

Fen eventually laughed.

"Whatever."

He lowered his greatsword and walked over to the nearest corpse.

"At least the job is finished."

Sera looked around the cavern.

"Are we sure?"

Mira closed her eyes.

Her forehead gem emitted a faint pulse.

"No additional signatures."

She opened her eyes.

"It’s clear."

Fen looked at Riven.

"Well, that was fast."

Riven nodded.

"Can we go back?"

Fen stared at him.

"We haven’t even collected the cores."

Riven paused.

"Right."

He had forgotten.

The four adventurers spent the next half hour collecting the monster cores.

Riven helped without complaint.

This was nothing.

Fen, meanwhile, couldn’t stop staring at him.

Eventually, Riven noticed.

"What?"

Fen shook his head.

"Nothing."

"You’ve been looking at me for five minutes."

"I’ve been thinking."

"About?"

Fen scratched his chin.

"How exactly did you become this strong?"

Riven was silent for a moment.

He looked down at the black core in his hand.

"I survived."

Fen’s expression became slightly more serious.

"That’s it?"

Riven nodded.

"That’s it."

Fen studied him for another moment.

Then he smiled.

"Fair enough."

Sera walked over carrying a small sack of cores.

"Fen."

"Yeah?"

"Stop interrogating our new teammate."

"I’m not interrogating him."

"You absolutely are."

Mira nodded.

"Statistically, you are."

Fen sighed.

"Fine."

He looked at Riven.

"But I’m still curious."

Riven gave a faint smile.

"I noticed."

By the time they returned to Kaelen’s Rest, the sun had already begun descending behind the violet mountains.

Riven found himself stopping for a moment as they entered the city.

The sight still felt strange.

A real sky.

Real sunlight.

People walking through streets without constantly checking for monsters.

Children laughing near market stalls.

Merchants arguing over prices.

Adventurers returning from quests.

It was almost overwhelming.

Nyx walked beside him, her violet eyes quietly observing everything.

Fen noticed Riven’s expression.

"First time seeing the Demon Empire?"

Riven nodded.

"First time seeing this part of the surface."

Sera glanced at him.

"You really were isolated for a long time, weren’t you?"

Riven looked toward the mountains.

"Something like that."

They reached the guild.

Fen pushed open the doors.

"Come on. Let’s get paid."

They approached the administrative counter.

The receptionist looked up.

"Back already?"

Fen placed the quest parchment on the counter.

"Contract complete."

The receptionist blinked.

"Already?"

Fen nodded.

"Already."

"How many crawlers?"

Fen answered.

"Twenty seven."

The receptionist stopped.

"...Twenty seven?"

"Yep."

She looked at the original contract.

The listed estimate was eight to twelve.

Her eyes slowly moved back toward Fen.

"You were supposed to report an unusually large nest if you encountered one."

Fen pointed toward Riven.

"Ask him."

The receptionist looked confused.

Riven remained silent.

Sera smiled.

"It was handled."

The receptionist looked at Mira.

Mira nodded.

She slowly began processing the quest report.

Fen leaned toward Riven.

"You’re going to cause a lot of paperwork."

Riven sighed.

"I was afraid of that."

Sera laughed.

Mira’s forehead gem glowed faintly.

"I’m beginning to think six months is going to be very interesting."

Riven looked down at his temporary F Rank guild tag.

It was crude.

Wooden.

Almost laughably insignificant compared to the A Rank credentials he had once carried.

Six months.

He could do six months.

And perhaps, for the first time in his life, starting from the bottom wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

He slipped the guild tag back into his pocket.

"Let’s take another contract tomorrow."

Fen grinned.

"That’s what I like to hear."

The Dusk Strikers walked away from the counter together.

Behind them, the receptionist stared at the completed quest report.

Then at the F Rank guild tag.

Then back at the retreating figure of the quiet, dark haired human boy.

She slowly picked up her pen.

And wrote one sentence beneath his name.

Potentially problematic.