The reward for this job was… high. Way too high for an F-rank quest.
About 30–35 silver just for gathering information, then another 40 for completion.
That's 70–75 silver total.
Insane.
A normal F-rank job gives you maybe 3–5 silver. If you're lucky, you might stumble across one worth 10.
But 70 silver?
Sounds way too good to be true.
…Eh. It probably is. Luck doesn't exactly swing my way.
Which means… there's probably a chance of death here, huh.
Not like it'd be the first time. Hahaha…
Still, it'd suck to die right after learning I'm still in Solithra.
But I don't really have much of a choice.
And honestly… I don't care. Let's just get this done.
…
Right, the job details.
The biggest problem was… there weren't many.
Only two, actually: it involved a mysterious beast, and it was northeast of the village.
When I think about it… isn't that basically where I came from?
If so, at least I can take a safer path this time—one that'll bring me closer to the ocean coast.
My body's still in pain.
But honestly? The pain doesn't even matter anymore.
At this point, I've felt worse.
Right now, my mind isn't focused on the nerves trembling under torn flesh, or the bleeding wounds twisting with every step.
It's looking forward.
I don't care about my condition.
It all depends on how this ends.
I need to push through.
Finish this quest.
Find the others.
Not die.
As long as I can stay alive… the pain doesn't matter.
Dying—that's the only thing that would.
…
I keep walking through the village, slow, tiring steps—each one barely landing.
I search for the path that should lead to the coast, but finding it isn't easy. The signs and arrows pointing every which way don't help much either.
Finally, after wandering around, I find it.
Without a second thought, I start walking.
Strangely, there are people on this road too.
…Is it really that safe?
Maybe. Maybe those mushrooms avoid crowds? Or maybe something else keeps them away.
Eh, whatever. They're not here—that's good enough for me.
Still, I should be more careful. Stumbling into a forest in an unfamiliar land wasn't the smartest move… though, to be fair, I didn't really have a choice.
…And I'm still starving. That raw fish didn't do my stomach any favors.
First thing after this—I'm getting myself a real meal.
I also need clothes. This torn-up scrap isn't going to last much longer.
And money. Gotta save some, then use the rest to get to the next village or town.
But where?
…Should I head back to Sandory?
Maybe. It shouldn't be too hard—it's a big town. Transportation should be decent enough… I think.
Well… I guess that's a problem for after I finish this.
If I can't survive, then it's pointless to even think about it.
I do wonder what kind of beast I'm walking into though.
Doesn't matter—whatever it is, it's probably stronger than me. Strength isn't something I can rely on right now… especially not in this state.
I'll have to count on my head instead.
If I can think straight, come up with a plan, and win through dirty tricks, then maybe—maybe—I'll have a chance.
Worst case? It's so strong I get erased in seconds.
…Yeah, not impossible. But let's try to avoid that.
Maybe I can just retreat if it's too much. Even if I don't beat it, I could still earn money with the information. Maybe even more than those 30 silver, if I can talk it up.
If the beast really poses a threat to the village, they'd probably pay any price for solid intel.
…Guess we'll see what happens.
Thinking about it… 30 silver is about what you'd get for a solid E-rank quest.
And 70? That's more like a normal D-rank payout.
Uhmm… good for sure, but if that's the case, then this is probably an F-rank quest that should be a D-rank. Just one where nobody knows the danger—or the rank.
Could even be higher… maybe C.
Of course, it could also be something weak, not dangerous at all. They might've just slapped a huge reward on it to make it seem risky. Could be nothing more than a normal F-rank.
…Come to think of it, how many quest ranks are there again? Let's see… F, E, D, C, B, A… and then the numbered ones. One through Five, with Five being the deadliest.
There might be more, but I wouldn't know. The numbered ranks… yeah, I think I heard about those from Farren a while back.
Basically, in this world, the ranking system has a more logical structure. Laid out, it looks like this:
F-Rank = Kà → Twig / Lesser → written: ꓘ
E-Rank = Réh → Stone / Firm → written: 𐑮
D-Rank = Drú → Iron / Enduring → written: 𐑯
C-Rank = Sól → Sun / Rising → written: 𐑕
B-Rank = Véhn → Storm / Fierce → written: 𐑝
A-Rank = Âhn → Mountain / Great → written: 𐑨
Higher ranks continue as Âhn-One → Âhn-Five, each representing a step deeper into the A-Rank tier's power.
Well… not me trying to focus on anything other than what I'm walking into, huh? Hahaha…
Guess keeping my mind off death isn't too bad.
Still, maybe focusing on a plan would be a little more productive right now.
Right?
But… what plan? I don't have a single damn clue what I'm even up against.
Could be something like a Vuraskal — that beast the others fought when I first met them — or maybe one of those mushroom creatures I almost lost my life to…
Just that range alone makes it impossible to plan properly.
Maybe I should find it first.
Take a look before I strike.
As long as I don't get spotted before that, of course.
Keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings will probably help most once I get close.
Yeah… maybe that's what I should focus on when I finally approach the area—
wherever the hell that even is. Hahaha…
Gotta get past this forest and get to the chores first.
It's a relief I can take this path through the woods—those mushrooms are nothing I ever wanna mess with again, so avoiding them's great.
From a safe distance, the forest looks… pretty, at least. Maybe even beautiful. Kinda peaceful.
Seems like there's a lot of people on the track, though… but mostly I just hear blurred voices and see shadowy figures moving along the path, hahaha.
My ears and eyes must be playing tricks on me, right?
I know it's people—civilians, of course.
Guess I'm messed up real bad, huh?
All I can keep my eyes on is the path ahead.
The only direction my legs know is forward—step by step, or maybe just dragging through the wet dirt. I can't really tell anymore.
My arms hang limp, fingers freezing and trembling from the cold air… probably from pain too.
My hair? No clue. It's definitely dirty, dripping cold water, maybe hanging over my face—but I really don't know.
My head seems to still work though…
hahaha.
Though I feel like I'm drifting off.
My ears keep ringing, my vision's blurry—gray, unfocused… everything just zooming out. I can barely tell where I'm walking.
I probably look like some half-dead guy right now. Pathetic, isn't it?
Or maybe not? Maybe the others are the pathetic ones—for having it so easy.
I bet this kind of pain's something they'd never have to experience.
Maybe I am not weak, laughable… maybe it's them.
Agh…
Fuck this, I wanna die…
Just kill me.
…
Eyes tracking, head spinning with thoughts… just fucking get me there already. Let's get this over with. If I die, I die. If I survive… well, then I guess that's great, though I have no idea where it'll leave me.
Really, why am I doing this? A person in their right mind wouldn't… or maybe they would? Someone with the right mind and a good heart would do it for someone else. Me? I'm doing it for myself, if I'm honest.
At least I started out doing it for someone else—that part was good. But now, in my state, in my condition… it feels like I'm only doing it for me. I can't even think of doing it for anyone else.
Sure, I could tell myself I'm doing it with a good heart, for others… but that's just lying to myself.
I guess I'm even more selfish now than before, huh? That's… not a great habit.
Should probably stop that.
But I won't. Not now.
Eh, fuck it…
I'll probably die by tomorrow anyway.
Who cares, right?
It's not like anyone would know. Hell, I don't even know if they're alive.
I'm out here in the middle of nowhere… maybe they're trying to find me?
Heh… that'd actually make me happy.
I'd die before they got here, though.
Anyway—right, focus. What was I doing?
Am I getting close to that chore or whatever? Feels like I've been walking forever…
Makes sense, I guess. I'm moving like a damn sloth.
My legs aren't even functioning at this point.
Alright… body, keep moving. And mind, don't fall apart on me just yet.
We're almost there.
…Probably.