Everyone in the guild looked at Takeshi and Elfman in disbelief.
Takeshi also paused when he saw everyone. "Oh, everyone's here."
"Takeshi? Elfman? You're okay?"
"Okay? What's okay?"
Takeshi was a little confused, what could have happened to them?
Makarov waved his hand. "It's good that you're okay. Fortunately, you didn't go on that quest. That quest has already been reclassified as an S-Class Quest. I was really worried you'd impulsively go and do it. It was right to abandon the quest."
"Abandon the quest? Abandon which quest?"
"What else could it be but the Phantom Bandit Gang quest you accepted?"
"We completed that quest."
"What did you say?!!!"
Everyone in the guild was startled by this, looking at Takeshi in disbelief.
Mirajane looked at Elfman with an inquiring gaze. Elfman nodded at Mirajane, confirming the answer.
Makarov stared at Takeshi with wide eyes. "You... you really completed it? You defeated Camille, the King of Assassins."
Takeshi nodded. "Yeah. That guy was quite troublesome, a bit difficult to deal with."
"..."
Elfman didn't speak, but he grumbled inwardly, 'Yeah. He was quite difficult, it only took a minute to deal with him.'
"You... how could you be so reckless? That was an S-Class Quest. And that was the famous King of Assassins."
Takeshi spread his hands. "What could I do? The quest was already accepted, I couldn't just abandon it. Besides, they were trying to kill my client, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing, that would damage Fairy Tail's reputation."
Just then, a newsboy selling newspapers ran past the guild's entrance.
"Extra! Extra!"
"The notorious Phantom Bandit Gang has been fully apprehended!"
"The identity of the Phantom Bandit Gang's leader is shocking!"
A guild member quickly went to buy a copy.
"He really completed it!!"
"Takeshi, a rookie who just joined the guild, actually completed an S-Class Quest. That's incredible."
"Yeah. No wonder he could defeat Natsu, he is so strong."
...
Seeing the reports in the newspaper, the guild members exclaimed in surprise.
They finally believed that Takeshi had truly completed the S-Class Quest, as the matter had already made it to the newspaper, which clearly stated that Takeshi, a Mage of Fairy Tail, had defeated the Phantom Bandit Gang.
Makarov took a deep breath and said, "Report the quest process."
Elfman began to report the quest process, detailing it from beginning to end.
Listening to Elfman's report, it seemed Takeshi had completed it entirely by himself.
He alone defeated thirteen members of the Phantom Bandit Gang, including Camille, known as the King of Assassins.
Makarov sighed in relief and said to Takeshi, "Let it pass this time, but don't be so reckless again."
Takeshi asked, "Understood. By the way, Master, I've even completed an S-Class Quest, can I go to the second floor?"
The second floor had many S-Class Quests he longed for. As long as he completed more S-Class Quests, he would get more draws, and then his strength would surely soar.
"Oh yeah!"
"Takeshi has completed an S-Class Quest, so he should be able to go to the second floor."
S-Class Quests are very dangerous even for S-Class Mages. Since Takeshi had completed one, he was qualified to go to the second floor.
Makarov immediately refused, "No!"
"An S-Class Quest is an S-Class Quest, and the second floor is the second floor. To go to the second floor, you must become an S-Class Mage. These are the guild rules."
This stubborn kid dared to take an S-Class Quest right after joining the guild. If he let this brat go to the second floor, who knows what he might do? He might even take on a century quest.
He also cut off the idea of others wanting to reach the second floor by completing S-Class Quests. If everyone wanted to go to the second floor by doing S-Class Quests, he wouldn't be able to handle the worry.
"Haa... Alright. Master, how do I become an S-Class Mage?"
Takeshi was a bit disappointed, having thought he could just go to the second floor and pick any quest.
Makarov replied, "To become an S-Class Mage, you must wait for the S-Class Mage promotion exam at the end of the year. Only by passing the exam can you be promoted to an S-Class Mage."
Takeshi's eyes widened. "End of the year?! It's only the beginning of the year now. Doesn't that mean I have to wait another half a year?!"
"Exactly."
Makarov thought to himself, 'You kid, you'd better obediently go do other quests.'
...
Soon, the guild returned to its usual lively state, with many people eagerly discussing Takeshi's completion of the S-Class Quest. Looking at the destruction photos in the newspaper, one could tell the intensity of the battle.
Takeshi ordered a table full of dishes. He had lived a hard life for half a month since transmigrating, but now that he had money, he wanted to make up for all of it.
During his meal, many people in the guild came to invite him to form a fixed team, but he politely declined each one, saying he temporarily wanted to act alone.
Teaming up had its advantages, primarily increased safety and the ability to tackle more difficult jobs together. But that was based on similar strength levels. Too great a disparity in strength would only hinder his work speed. Hindering his work speed meant hindering his speed of becoming stronger.
Furthermore, his goal was to become an S-Class Mage. Once he became an S-Class Mage, he would definitely be taking S-Class Quests, and insufficient strength would be even more dangerous. Rather than breaking up then, it was better to refuse now.
Takeshi called out, "Mira! Another beer!"
"Coming!"
Mirajane quickly brought a glass of beer and placed it on Takeshi's table.
"Takeshi, thank you so much this time."
Mirajane had heard from Elfman that Takeshi had gone to deal with the Phantom Bandit Gang alone, not allowing him to intervene, and after completing the quest, he still wanted to give him half the reward.
In the end, due to Elfman's insistence, he only took 1 million. 1 million was not a small sum, requiring a very difficult hunting quest to earn such a high reward.
Takeshi blinked. "Thank me? Why? I should be thanking you. Thank you for having Elfman accompany me. If he hadn't protected the client on this quest, I might have completed the quest and had no one to pay the reward."
Hearing Takeshi say this, Mirajane developed a lot more goodwill towards him.
"If you ever need my help with anything in the future, just say so."
At this moment, Takeshi remembered something and said, "Hmm, I actually do have something I'd like your help with."
"What is it?"
"I want to buy a house."