Volume 3 Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The old man tries to catch the meat.

Before departing, I plan to report the completion for the Death Scorpion Poison quest while accepting another quest at the same time. I asked the girls to wait at the in-built tavern in the guild while I headed towards the reception table. Flaregard had a recommended level of 30 for all of its dungeon which meant that all the adventurers who were presented are at least intermediate adventurers and carried themselves differently from those we have encountered so far. Thanks to this, there was a distinctive atmosphere flowing around the guild. I sat in front of the receptionist who guided us to our inn and reported the progress of the Death Scorpion Poison quest.

[Youya-san. Welcome back. I was worried about you as I heard that you were heading to the Desert Canal.] (Receptionist)

[Well somehow we managed to return and complete the quest safely. Here’s the designated number of vials.] (Youya)

I took out the vials of poison from my magic bag and passed it over to the receptionist. These vials were extremely sought after as one of the ingredients for producing medium tier and above potions, antidotes and perfumes. The receptionist checked the vials before proceeding with the procedure.

[Nice job on collecting this many in such a short period of time. Speaking of which.. Well done on surviving. You wouldn’t had been able to collect this many without coming across a swarm of Silent Death Scorpions. Many parties have fallen just to these scorpions alone.] (Receptionist)

[Yeah. When we were clearing out several of them, the whole swarm had appeared behind them.] (Youya)

[I’m sure your party has a very capable Magic Caster who has mastered a powerful magic spell since you managed to survive your encounter.] (Receptionist)

In the end, we encountered about three swarms of Death Scorpions before exiting the pyramid. Any party besides us would had most likely perished. Thanks to Luna’s Increased Drop Rate, we had already collected enough vials for our quest, and any subsequent vials were stored in our magic bag. By the end, our bags were almost bursting due to the large number of items we obtained.

[At the end of the day, what is important is that you came back alive. Here’s the reward for completing the quest.] (Receptionist)

[Thank you.] (Youya)

The reward for the quest was an insane amount as even a single vial of Death Scorpion Poison was expensive, and that price was further raised for the quest.

[Excuse me, Youya-san. This is a difficult request, however the demands for potions and antidotes has been constantly on the rise, however everyone refuses to hunt for Silent Death Scorpions for their items. Thanks to this, there is a severe lack of materials.] (Receptionist)

[The fight against a swarm of Silent Death Scorpions is a long and punishing one. One mistake and you will likely be slowly eaten alive.] (Youya)

Adventurers often avoided such harsh monsters that led to death if even one mistake was made. We were still beings who valued our lives. Even worse, it isn’t even a joke to consider hunting monsters who were superior in their covert movement and travel in a swarm.

[That is the case. However, there is another urgent quest from another vendor. And as a representative of the guild we can’t reject the quest. Aside from the Desert Canal, there is another dungeon where the Silent Death Scorpions spawn. Would you hear me out?] (Receptionist)

[I understand. If that’s the case, I’ll accept the quest.] (Youya)

[Thank you for helping us with the pinch!] (Receptionist)

The receptionist took out a piece of paper containing the contents of the quest. This quest was more or less identical to the one I had just cleared. However, since it was reported as an urgent quest, the reward was even higher than before.

[Hmm.. If this is the amount, then this should be enough.] (Youya)

Reaching into my Magic Bag, I took out the required number of vials for the urgent quest.

[Eh..?] (Receptionist)

The receptionist widened her eyes in shock.

[With this, I’ve completed the quest.] (Youya)

Increased Drop Rate is a really convenient skill to have. Just by raising the skill to the maximum level, items would have more than double their original drop rate, making it easier to obtain rare items and common item collection quests could be easily completed. As monsters often spawned in a fixed number per group, this would mean that we would have no need to hunt for a second group if a single group was enough for a quest.

[Uhhh. Thank you very much. Uhm, if you still have any with you.. I’ll like to purchase them from you.] (Receptionist)

The receptionist began muttering quietly.

[In that case, I only have twice the amount required for the quest with me, so I’ll sell them.] (Youya)

[Only.. twice you say? Then let’s settle the payment together with the quest.] (Receptionist)

With a pitiful look, the receptionist glanced over at the remaining vials before continuing with the procedures. Most likely, she planned to stockpile the Death Scorpion Poison for any future quests. However, saying that I had only twice the amount was a lie. I had kept another stock of vials so that I’ll be able to complete the quest again should another quest pop up. Since there is a high demand for material collection quests, there will definitely be another quest issued for the material while we are staying in the town. It wouldn’t be smart of us to sell everything we have for the regular price when we could save them for a quest, obtaining them at a quest price as well as obtaining guild points.

[Now then, I’ll be heading to another dungeon. Our destination is the Crimson Volcano. Please give me any quest that is available in that dungeon.] (Youya)

[If that is your destination, then there are some good quests available. Since the monsters spawned a while ago, they may have already been hunted however, in that dungeon, there is a request for Beef (Average). You can obtain it by defeating the Red Horns.] (Receptionist)

Since the Death Scorpion Poison is a somewhat troublesome item to obtain, we managed to help her clear two quests which would be otherwise difficult to clear. This time, she was giving us a somewhat easier quest to clear. Professional relationships revolve around a give-and-take basis, so long as the guild is willing to support me, then I would reciprocate their efforts. In any case, our next goal is to obtain Beef which is easily obtainable from Red Horns. They are also capable of dropping Beef (Excellent) albeit in very rare cases. Just having dishes using Beef (Average) was already delicious, I wonder how delicious if they were made with Beef (Excellent instead? I’ve come across several lumps of Beef (Excellent) in the past however I had sold them immediately to nobles and aristocrats who would easily throw their money just to have a taste of the meat. With Luna’s Increased Drop Rate, we may even come across it. Since our wallets are sufficient for now, we should enjoy the beef if we come across it.

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I headed over to the tavern where Luna and the girls were waiting after accepting a quest from the receptionist. This quest provided a pretty decent reward and at this rate, we will most likely become silver-grade adventurers by the time we leave Flaregard. Silver-grade adventurers received discounted prices for the guild services while being able to accept quests which aren’t available to ordinary adventurers. However, the benefits between a silver-grade and a gold-grade adventurer are worlds apart.

[Thanks for waiting everyone. The quest report is completed and our next destination has been decided.] (Youya)

[Youya, Luna is excited for the next dungeon.] (Luna)

[Anywhere except the dungeon is great. The hot weather is unbearable.] (Til)

I smiled bitterly as the two girls immediately drank the remaining juice in their cups. It was a good thing I went to complete the daily report alone today as usual. If Luna was present during the negotiations, she would most likely point out that I had made a mistake in the amount of Death Scorpion Poison I had and may even spill any other secrets we had.

[It isn’t the desert, however we are heading to a volcano, the Crimson Volcano. The boss room is also located there, however it has most certainly been defeated. Our levelling sessions will also serve as a simulation for the boss battle. Be sure to recognise the terrain and prepare yourselves for the boss as it is also a battle against time.] (Youya)

Everyone nodded in response.

[Just hearing the name makes me feel hot.] (Til)

[The dungeons in Flaregard are all similar in that aspect.] (Phil)

This is the city of earth, metal and flames. Greenwood was too comfortable as compared to this. For elves and foxes who are resistant against the cold were weak against the heat. In this situation, let’s cast a bait for them.

[Are you sure you want to say such a thing? By the time we are level 30, we’ll most likely obtain a rare meat that is incomparable to a Beef (Average) and more delicious beyond your wildest dream. Furthermore, the monster that drops such a meat spawns in the Crimson Volcano.] (Youya)

Luna and Til who had their attention somewhere else gave a sharp look towards me.

[Luna loves beef and looks forward to the beef more delicious than anything! She’ll hunt while having fun!] (Luna)

[Youya-niisan. Say that earlier! The crescent moon tonight desires for blood!] (Til)

Luna and Til began to display how they plan to handle their prey enthusiastically, as expected of the girls who love rewards.

[Youya, since we have Luna’s Increased Drop Rate it is highly possible for us to obtain a Beef (Excellent), however should we really eat it when we can sell it for a large sum of money?] (Phil)

[Unlike the past, we have plenty of money. We should focus on having fun and enjoying ourselves while we can.] (Youya)

Recently, I began to think that way. Aside from just becoming stronger, we should become stronger together while laughing and having fun.

[Erik, this will be your first battle. Try your best to support us.] (Luna)

[KYU!]

The Faerie Dragon hanging from Luna’s shoulder responded to Luna with vigor as it seems to have found it’s favourite spot.

Now then, it’s time for us to depart to the dungeon and prepare us for the boss fight while becoming stronger. Then, let’s enjoy ourselves tonight with a feast.