“Fine, thanks! I'll head over for the test now!” Starlight thanked Nicola once more and immediately turned to walk in the direction she had pointed.
Nicola watched the youth's retreating back with interest before burying herself back in her busy work.
Shortly after, Starlight arrived at the place Nicola had mentioned. Looking at the sign hanging overhead that read “Professional Rating Office” and the queue stretching dozens of meters in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
He thought he had arrived early enough, but he hadn't expected the actual situation to be so spectacular. However, there was nothing he could do; after all, there was only one rating office in the Adventurers Guild.
If it took ten minutes per person, he would probably have to wait for about three hours... Starlight looked at the line and could only sit on a nearby bench in resignation.
The summer temperature rose rapidly. As time passed, the brief morning coolness was soon replaced by the heat from outside. The air seemed to be filled with a heavy atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.
Starlight watched the queue, which only moved a tiny bit after a long time, and a wave of sleepiness gradually washed over him. Since the rating office would call out numbers anyway, he simply leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but because he was sitting close to the main hall, the groggy Starlight was awakened by a commotion. A crowd not far away was gathered together, discussing something intensely.
“Did you hear? Another caravan was just taken by bandits! That's the third time in the last few days!”
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘taken’?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. People and goods, all of them were abducted.”
“Why? Don't those bandits usually just rob the wealth and spare the lives? Are they taking people for ransom?”
“Exactly. If it's just robbery, it's a minor issue, but if they're kidnapping everyone, then this is a big deal!”
“The specifics aren't clear yet, but the City Lord's Mansion has already been alerted. They just sent over a formal commission, though I'm not sure what it entails.”
“Another bandit suppression commission? This time with a rescue mission added... But these kinds of tasks aren't very popular. Are those lords at the City Lord's Mansion planning to dump this drudgery on us again?”
“Sigh, you're right. I heard the kidnapped caravan came from Egret City. If they're outsiders... then the reward for this job might not be easy to get.”
“So, do you guys plan on going? Even though the profit from this kind of commission isn't high, I saw several teams asking about it just now. I wonder how they're doing.”
“I doubt it'll work out. Bandit suppression can be a big or small matter. If it were a local merchant group in trouble, everyone's enthusiasm might be higher, but Egret City is just too far from here...”
“True. It looks like things aren't looking good for this caravan~”
After listening to their conversation from the side, a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Starlight's heart.
“A caravan from Egret City-State? Could it be Uncle Tara and the others?”
At this thought, he immediately rushed forward and asked the group that had been discussing, “Excuse me, you just mentioned a caravan from Egret City? Was the leader named Tara?”
The leader of the group looked at the anxious black-haired youth in front of him, stunned for a moment, and replied, “I don't know the leader's name, but if you want to know more, you might as well ask at the front desk. By the way, who are you?”
However, Starlight only left behind a “Thank you” before hurrying back to the front desk, arriving once again before Nicola.
“What? You passed the assessment? Why was it so fast today?” Nicola asked in surprise as she saw the youth reappear before her.
Starlight shook his head and asked urgently, “Did a commission from the City Lord's Mansion just come in about a kidnapped caravan? Can I see what the situation is?”
“Eh? There is indeed such a thing,” Nicola said with a slight start. “Even though you haven't finished registering, it's not impossible to let you take a look.” After saying that, she pulled a commission form from the thick stack of documents beside her and handed it over.
Starlight took it and read it carefully. When he reached the halfway point, his heart sank.
Sure enough, just as he had expected, the caravan the adventurers were talking about was the one led by Uncle Tara. When they set out early this morning, they were attacked shortly after leaving the territory of the Violet City-State.
Although they sent out a distress signal in time, by the time the city defense force arrived, the entire caravan had been abducted. Judging by the traces left at the scene, at least several hundred people were involved in the struggle.
The kidnapped caravan was likely taken into the forest in the northwestern part of the Violet City-State, and several hours had already passed.
Because it involved foreign merchants and the cavalry of the city defense force couldn't maneuver in the forest, they could only return and issue a commission to the adventurers.
However, because of the large number of bandits, small-scale adventurer teams simply couldn't defeat so many opponents on their own. Coupled with the additional condition of a rescue, most people who saw it could only shake their heads, feeling powerless.
At the end of the commission form, there was a simple map attached with a few blurred locations marked on it.
“This is it. Thank you, Miss Nicola. I'm going!” With that, Starlight tore off the map, stuffed it into his pocket, and turned to leave.
“Eh, you're welcome... Huh??? Wait! This isn't a task someone can take alone! Also, you haven't finished logging your information yet! How am I supposed to register this?” Nicola snapped out of her surprise and shouted hurriedly. But Starlight had already rushed out of the Adventurers Guild's doors like a gust of wind, leaving her calling after him.
Just as Starlight charged out the door like an arrow from a bow, a tall, blond figure noticed him. It was the youth he had met in the tavern last night.
The youth intended to reach out and greet him, but the frantic Starlight didn't notice his presence at all, running toward the city gates without looking back.
“Huh?? Hey! How can you be like that? At least say hello, right?” The blond youth, whose hand was halfway raised, was a bit speechless. He had no choice but to give up on the idea and turn to walk inside.
However, he had only taken one step when he collided head-on with the pursuing Nicola. Strong as he was, he didn't budge, but the petite Nicola was bounced back and fell to the ground.
“Ow... That hurts. I'm sorry, sir. Did you see a black-haired youth run past just now?” Nicola rubbed her sore bottom as she stood up, adjusted her glasses, and asked the blond youth.
Hearing this, the youth was stunned for a moment. “Black-haired? Isn't she talking about that impolite fellow?” He quickly replied, “I did. I just saw him running north. What's wrong? Did that guy do something bad? He's running faster than a rabbit.”
Seeing that the blond youth seemed to have misunderstood something, Nicola quickly explained the situation they had encountered.
After listening, the youth realized, “No wonder that guy was in such a frantic rush. It seems there's someone he knows in that caravan.”
“Since that's the case, I'll chase after him and take a look. Don't worry, little miss~” The blond youth waved his hand casually at Nicola, signaling her not to worry.
“But...” Nicola wanted to say more, but her gaze inadvertently caught a black badge tied to the youth's shoulder, and her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Every registered adventurer would receive a badge that could prove their identity and rank, and this badge was the most direct reflection of an adventurer's personal strength.
Starting from the lowest rank, the First Tier White, adventurers would earn corresponding points whenever they completed guild commissions or made significant contributions. These points would raise their individual rank, and the colors for the higher ranks were Yellow, Red, Blue, Purple, Black, Silver, and Gold, totaling eight levels.
And on the youth's shoulder was the black badge symbolizing the identity of a Rank 6 adventurer. Not to mention that Rank 7 and Rank 8 adventurers were incredibly rare, each being a person of extraordinary strength.
Just looking at the thousands of adventurers in the vicinity, let alone obtaining a black badge, even those who could get a Rank 5 Purple qualification were few and far between.
Rate on N.U.
