NOVEL NEXT 17: Taking on a Quest!
Making it back to where they had started, near where Kaitlyn had been lazing around, Dexter laughed, rousing Kaitlyn from her dozed off state, “Okay! Now that you’re all warmed up, I’m going to hand you all off to Kaitlyn, she’s going to be your consistent trainer after all.”
With that, Dexter spun on his heel, saluting the group before bolting back towards the gate.
Opening his mouth to reply, Oliver’s words trailed off as he watched Dexter shoot off like a lightning bolt, already almost out of sight.
Turning back towards Kaitlyn who had finished being a lizard basking in the sun, Oliver along with the other three sat on the ground, forming a small circle with Kaitlyn at the top.
“So…” Kaitlyn began, drawing on the ground with a stick, “I was thinking that we could do some quests for now, because then we could help solve some problems while you all could get stronger while I’m there to protect you if anything goes wrong. Do you all have some thoughts?”
Hearing their voices of assent after a moment of deliberation, Kaitlyn stood up, stretching before continuing, “Okay, uhh… how about you all collect your weapons, I organized them earlier so they’re sitting over there, then we’ll go back to the guild to pick out a quest, yeah? After that we’ll either wait until tomorrow to do it or we’ll just… do it right now.”
“Sounds good!”
“Mhm”
“… Just do it! HAH!”
“Damien why?!?”
———————————
In the guild hall, under the few beams of sunlight that managed to find their way through the windows, were a few groups of people.
One group, led by Kaitlyn was perusing the various quest boards, looking for a quest to take. Another group, a pair, was sitting at one of the rich dark wooden tables, eating some food now that they had finished a quest.
Slamming his cup down, one of them sauntered over to the group, letting out a burp in stark contrast to the aristocratic armor and clothing he wore.
“Look at you newbies! Other than Kaitlyn you all seem like little squirts! Therefore if you ever need help you can call on me! I’m Frazer, by the way! A-Ranked adventurer!” Following his introduction, Frazer offered a handshake to the group with a smirk plastered onto his face.
Walking up behind Frazer, the other aristocratic man slapped Frazer’s hand aside, yanking him back by his ponytail before introducing himself as Callum.
Slinging an arm over Frazer’s shoulder, Callum held back laughs while explaining to Frazer, “Don’t you know that these are the new S-Ranked adventurers? Although their skills might not be at that level yet their rank is, did you already forget that meeting with Dex, ya knucklehead?”
Seeing a look of enlightenment flash across Frazer’s face, Callum began dragging Frazer away, waving, “Sorry about that Kaitlyn! Have a nice rest of your day! Don’t worry about Frazer, I’ll keep him under control! Anyhow, it was nice meeting you new adventurers!”
“Alright then…” Kaitlyn murmured after they walked away, running her hands across the board, flicking a few of the quests pinned there, “any of these catch your eyes?”
“How about this extermination then?” Damien asked, pointing to a pinned quest detailing a nest of ogres that had been discovered a few weeks ago in the nearby forest, “I think extermination is the type of quest we’re really aiming for yea? Cap or no cap?”
Jabbing Damien in the side with two fingers as aggressively as she physically could, Rachel did an exaggerated curtsy as Oliver and Josephine clapped in appreciation before nodding, “Yeah I think Damien makes a good point, real combat like that is going to help us hone our skills while probably being more time efficient than something like an escort mission.”
Leaning over to pick a mission from a different board, Kaitlyn asked, “How about this one then? It’s functionally the same mission just, from my personal experience, the location is closer and easier to get to.”
Seeing their nods and getting a weak yes from Damien on the floor, Kaitlyn ripped it off the board, bringing it over to the front desk.
The desk, labeled with “Quest Counter'' in large letters, was made of a rich mahogany wood, drawing a half-crescent shape with several guild employees standing and sitting within. Strewn across the well-used but well-maintained desk was indexing work the guild employees worked through while waiting to help the next adventurer.
Walking right up to the desk due to the lack of a line at the current time, Kaitlyn waited for not even a moment before a guild receptionist greeted her, “Hi, how may I help you today?”
Putting the paper onto the desk, Kaitlyn explained, “I’d like to take this quest, Ogre extermination in the Renair Forest.”
“Will you be taking it alone or with others?”
Pulling out her guild card in preparation, Kaitlyn answered, “I’ll be taking it with the four otherworders, they should already be registered under their names, Rachel, Oliver, Josephine, and Damien.”
“Alright,” The receptionist nodded, writing it down on a small note, “You’re good to go then, Kaitlyn, have a nice time! Stay safe!”
Lowering her hand, a little lost, Kaitlyn inquired, “Wait, you don’t need the Adventurer's card anymore to take quests?”
Laughing and brushing her hair out of her face, the receptionist explained, “You still need it, of course! Just that for you, you’re quite famous, at least at this location since it’s where you usually work out of. Therefore, I’ll just let it slide, it’s not a big deal.”
“I... see,” Kaitlyn murmured, turning to go back to her companions, “Thanks, then also, tell the old man if you see him that I’ll make sure that the new adventurers don’t die.”
Making her way back to where the other four were sitting, Kaitlyn sat down, scooting over to join the conversation, “So I told the receptionists that we’ll be taking the quest, but looking at the time, it seems like it’d be better to get started tomorrow morning instead... Don’t tell Dexter.”
Giving them the paper that detailed the quest, Kaitlyn added, “Oh yeah... it’d be useful if you four came up with a party name...”
