Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 138: Expectations

[Thank you for waiting!]

The receptionist walks over to us with a tray of our passports shown to us. Looking closely at them, the green gems have now been replaced by yellow circular gems on the bronze coin. Other than that, nothing seems to have changed about passports.

[As of today, three of you are now [Topaz Adventurers]!] The receptionist celebrates in glee. [With this, you are now allowed to take D-Rank jobs as well as special [Quests] ranked two to three stars. You can expect jobs that involve mandatory dungeon-crawling and hunting [Quests] outside of the urgent ones. Please keep in mind your safety while adventuring. You might not be novices anymore, but adventuring through unknown dungeons and places is still dangerous. Remember that your health comes first before undertaking these tasks.]

I guess that's the game's way of saying "Don't be an idiot". It's not like we've made any reckless decisions. Well, there was the [Link Ants], but we've already learned our lesson from that!

"We will, Miss Aya!" Kazu says as he takes his newly-ranked-up passport. "Thank you for all of your hard work!"

Yur1 and I nod at the receptionists while we take ours from the tray.

[You're welcome! Now then...] The receptionist named Aya directs us to the [Quest Board] next to the promotion counters. [Do you happen to be interested in the [Quests] posted on the board?]

"We wanted to. But we got places to be after here," I answer. "We just arrived in <Lucet> and it's a long day of traveling from <Initio>."

[I understand. There are a few available inns for you to stay in <Lucet>. Since you're all [Topaz], you will get another 10% discount on your stay there if you show your passports. Plus, if you have a [Familiar], the [Grand Familiar Tournament] will occur at the <Central Light> next week. Other than that, enjoy your stay in the <Kingdom of Lucidus>!]

With that, Aya leaves us as we begin our private meeting between us.

"Good call, Wind. Although I might take a [Quest] from the board for myself. I still need to find that cave for my [Familiar] hunt," Yur1 says. "What about you two?"

"We have somewhere to be first," Kazu points out. "We can't say much, but we need to take care of some [Hidden Quests] we got from <Initio> first."

If I recall from our previous adventures, there are the samples we got from Bai Hu and the promise to meet a certain magician we saved a while ago.

"Makes sense. Guess we should part once we find an inn to stay in," Yur1 guesses.

"We might head there right after, but..." I look around the guild hall. "Where the heck are those two stooges? I haven't seen them since we arrived in <Lucet>."

Kazu then turns his head from left to right. "Yeah. The last time we saw them they got onto another cart before us. Could they be lost in the forest nearby?"

SLAP!

I flinch the moment I hear that slap. Why do I have a feeling that might answer Kazu's question?

"Geez... You seriously need to learn more about privacy and space, Arthur."

As I predicted, I see Razul and a certain knight rubbing on his red, throbbing cheek. Behind him is another receptionist NPC, who simply walks away in a huff.

"At least we know about the new feature added to the game," Arthur mutters. "Besides, I'm this close to getting a dating sim-style [Hidden Quest]."