49 First Ques (1/2)

Lars left the ability test area and training grounds, he infused his mana into the silver badge he had been given to take a look at what functions it had.

It turned out all it did was display basic information such as his name and approved danger-level, as well as verified completed jobs and current Quest Points.

Shrugging, he walked back to the common hall area as he contemplated the earlier spar and his gains.

First, the sword skills he had seen definitely, definitely, definitely transcended all system and levels of power he had ever seen or ever heard of! Just one fragment of that martial combatant's memories and a single demonstration of the sublime sword strike was enough to fill him with a sense of nirvanic awe!

And right now, with less than 0.001% comprehension of that slash, just a brush of his sheathed sword across the Master-level bearman's chin was almost enough to knock him out!

He shivered with excitement as he wondered just how powerful it would be if he used his full-power for that strike! Despite his physical abilities still being somewhere in the Adept-level, he was convinced that he had already exceeded the peak of Elite-level and was approaching Master-level in pure hand-to-hand combat alone!

It was all thanks to the ”lucky draw”. Speaking of which, he wondered what Kizorik had gotten from spending its 20% share of the Abyss Points. Surely he hadn't blown it all on the gacha system, right...

'D-don't you dare ask! I forbid you from ever mentioning or noseying into what I spend it on! It is forbidden, forbidden, I tell you!' In his mind's eye, he could see the little penguin waddling about, wearing an oversized pirate hat with a matching stump leg boot. The bird also wore a skull-and-crossbones eyepatch, obviously part of the set.

'Oh, what effect does that artefact set have?'

The demon froze in place, then began to turn pink. Then red. Then crimson. Then explode in fury.

'I TOLD YOU NOT TO ASK!!! WHY MUST YOU RUB IT IN THAT I ONLY GET WORTHLESS COSMETICS THAT HAVE BARELY 0.1% BOOSTS TO STATS??? YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU WHO'S BOSS, HUH???? HUH????!?! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND EVEN BASIC COMMON TONGUE!?! I'M EVEN SPEAKING YOU EARTHLING'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE!!! @#&^&%^*@*!!!' Various colourful expletives flew out of the cute little critter's mouth, matching its already colourful state.

Zoning the foul-mouthed demon out, Lars reached the door to the ability test area and saw that it had already been unblocked from this side - perhaps the drawers he used to obstruct the door were removed by the crowds of trainees and training questers who left before him.

He sucked in a breath and prepared himself just in case the trap from earlier ambushed him, then pushed open the door.

Despite the late hour - it was already past 8 PM - the guild common area was still bustling. If anything, there were even more people hanging out at Starbolts, mostly sipping on Mana-Lattes, something Lars felt was a major waste of coin. Each cup, even the shortest cup which absurdly was called the ”Tall” size, cost 2.90 silvers! And how should one split a silver to pay 0.90 silvers? Easy, just give 3 silvers and the 0.1 silver can be a tip to cover service charge! Though he had no idea what services the baristas actually provided...

Most people came here to socialise as it was a recent trend to be seen with a cup of Starbolts in your hand, looking ”cool”, whatever that meant. Lars sighed like an old man, he couldn't understand what was considered as ”hip” nowadays... At least it was better than the bar where brawls were common and sobriety absent!

He went over to the jobs posting board and looked over what was available. Quickly he shortlisted a couple of suitable jobs, but paid special attention to one just posted not long ago that seemed to pay very well in gold *and* in QP, and yet seemed too easy compared to other Silver-rank jobs:

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Danger-level: G-grade.

Description: Find missing baby goat.

Reward: 50 gold.

For more information, look for Astrid Estreya, XXX YYY ZZZ Address.

Urgent.”