Seeker 154

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Chapter 154. New Quest

After a day of rest, the next morning.

Until our return to the original world, we still have 92 days.

Amidst the chirping of small birds, we woke up on the beds and prepared ourselves before heading to the Adventurer's Guild.

Upon arriving at the guild, we joined the adventurers swarming around the bulletin board, diligently searching for quests today.

Of course, our goal isn't just the quests.

But achieving missions that coincide with them.

The current list of unfinished missions is as follows.

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▼ Mission List

Reach a city with a population of over 10,000... Gain 3,000 experience points.

Reach the Dwarf stronghold, Dugmahar... Gain 20,000 experience points.

Reach the World Tree... Gain 30,000 experience points.

Defeat 10 Zombies (0/10)... Gain 2,000 experience points.

Defeat 3 Ogres (1/3)... Gain 5,000 experience points.

Defeat 1 Griffin (0/1)... Gain 5,000 experience points.

Defeat 1 Minotaur (0/1)... Gain 8,000 experience points.

Defeat 1 Hydra (0/1)... Gain 20,000 experience points.

Defeat 4 Dragons (1/4)... Gain 100,000 experience points.

Defeat 1 Elder Dragon (0/1)... Gain 100,000 experience points.

Clear a B-rank quest once (0/1)... Gain 8,000 experience points.

Successfully tame a monster... Gain 10,000 experience points.

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From small to large, there's quite a variety.

Dragon slaying quests are undoubtedly the most appealing, but finding that quest isn't easy.

It might be worth considering hunting Aerial Dragons without regard for quests.

But the respawn time for defeated monsters varies widely, from a few hours to several days.

Therefore, that's also out of the question.

It's doubtful whether we could reliably defeat them without Aria-san's help.

As a second option, hunting Hydras would be rewarding.

But suitable quests for us are nowhere to be found either.

It might be worth investigating their spawn areas regardless of quests, though.

"Well, let's play it safe around here."

I took a quest request sheet from the bulletin board.

While monster habitats won't disappear, good quests are a rare find.

I showed the posted quests to Kazane-an and Yuzuki.

"We're thinking of going with this one. What do you think?"

The quest sheet contained the following information:

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Quest Overview: Assist with mining in the Griffin Mountain area

Quest Rank: B (Recommended Level: Level 20+)

Client: Merchant Esurin

Quest Details: In the middle of Griffin Mountain, there's an abandoned mine where rare minerals were once extracted. I'd like to request your assistance for a round trip to the mine and escort you during mining operations. I anticipate it to be a day trip.

Additional Information: The general difficulty of conquering Griffin Mountain is Rank C. However, irregularities have been occurring frequently lately, so we've requested this quest as one rank higher. The reward has been increased accordingly. We're looking for a capable party of adventurers.

Reward: 80 gold coins

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Upon seeing the quest details, Yuzuki nodded thoughtfully.

"Griffin Mountain, huh? If I recall correctly, griffins were mentioned in the missions, right?"

"Yeah, defeating a Griffin grants 5,000 experience points. On top of that, there are 8,000 experience points for clearing a B-rank quest. It might not be as impressive as dragon slaying, but those are rare. Considering we've just dealt with dragons. It's more realistic to tackle something like this."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I mean, it's just like you, Daichi-kun. So, about the Griffin, Griffin..."

Kazane-san took a Monster Guide from the [Item Box] and started flipping through the pages.

"Ah, here it is. It's a monster with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Hey, Daichi-kun, could it possibly be tamed?"

"You've got it right, Kazane-san. Griffins can be tamed monsters. So, achieving the 10,000 experience points for successfully taming a monster is also within our reach."

While Griffin wasn't initially on the list of monsters that could be tamed, it was among the "monsters we've encountered so far" that were eligible for taming. 

There were still taming possibilities among the monsters we hadn't yet encountered. 

The griffin was a prime example of that.

But there's a catch.

To tame a monster, you can't defeat it in battle.

Therefore, the 5,000 points for defeating a griffin and the 10,000 points for successfully taming a monster were mutually exclusive.

On the other hand, Kazane-san pointed her index finger at me, as if saying I didn't get it.

"Daichi-kun, the important thing is the fluffiness. Look at this illustration. Doesn't this creature look fluffy?"

"Huh... Does it? I mean, I'm not particularly interested in fluffiness, so I don't understand."

"No way! Daichi-kun, you don't get the appeal of fluffiness!?"

Kazane-san looked at me as if she had just witnessed an alien sighting.

Then she dropped to her knees right there.

"No way... That there are people in this world who don't understand the greatness of fluffiness..."

"Oh, come on. It's problematic when a senior lacks sensitivity like this."

"You know, both of you always use your liking for me as an excuse to mock me as you please."

Well, this level of teasing is cute if you think of it as just playing around.

We decided to take on the quest and went to the reception to accept it.

During the process, the receptionist gave us a warning.

"They mentioned this in this request sheet, but there have been numerous reports of irregular monster occurrences over the past few days. Please be cautious."

"Irregular monster occurrences?"

"It refers to encountering monsters in places where they shouldn't be or encountering an unexpectedly high number of monsters. While we say 'numerous,' it's based on just a few reports."

Come to think of it. I remembered people mentioning being attacked by an unexpectedly large number of monsters in the Elf village we visited earlier.

Things are starting to get a bit suspicious, but.

Even if the risk has increased slightly, we can't end our activities in this otherworld and stay cooped up in the town until 92 days later.

Since we've come this far, let's break through our limits and push forward as far as we can go.