“Wow! Is this the town you live in?”
Hilia walked beside Xia De, her eyes bright under her wide hood as she curiously looked around.
More than anything, her voice was filled with excitement.
Seeing her like this, Xia De let out a dry laugh and rolled his eyes.
“Aren't you my senior adventurer? You must have been to plenty of places like this. Is there really a need to make such a big deal out of it?”
Hiring Xia De's words, Hilia quickly stepped in front of him. She faced him and wagged a slender finger in front of his eyes.
“Hmph, you don't get it, do you? Keeping things fresh is the secret to making life interesting.”
With that, she grabbed Xia De's hand and let out a cheerful shout with a smile. “Now, let's keep moving!”
Her voice was so loud that it stood out even on the bustling street, causing passing pedestrians to turn and stare.
The sudden spotlight gave Xia De a headache. He wasn't one who enjoyed standing out.
He gently broke free from Hilia's grip, placed his hand on her head, and pulled her hood down even lower.
“Move where? You don't even know the way. Let me lead.”
“Okay...”
Hilia suddenly grew quiet, sheepishly muttering her reply.
The two of them quickly arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. The large doors were wide open, offering a clear view of the interior.
The moment they stepped through the entrance, the noise inside instantly died down.
“What's going on?” Hilia asked, her eyes looking up at Xia De in confusion from beneath her wide hood.
Xia De didn't answer. He walked toward the front desk in silence, his expression slightly dark and unusually stiff.
Hilia quickly understood why. Wherever they walked, quiet whispers followed.
“Is that the Grim Reaper? What's with that massive black sword on his back? It looks like a coffin lid.”
“Well, now the name really fits.”
“Do you think he finished the quest?”
“I bet he didn't. It's been less than two weeks. You have to realize that the last veteran C-rank adventurer who took that quest spent half a month on it. He's just a rookie, how could he?”
“I think he definitely finished it. The Grim Reaper's quest success rate has been a hundred percent since he debuted.”
The two adventurers debating this instantly got into a quiet argument, muttering under their breaths.
“That's minor stuff. Didn't you notice that the person in the green cloak seems to be the Grim Reaper's companion?”
“Companion?!”
At those words, the two stopped arguing and stared at Hilia with shocked expressions. It wasn't just them; most of the people in the guild were staring at her in surprise.
“She actually dares to be the Grim Reaper's companion? Isn't she afraid he'll kill her if he gets annoyed?”
“I don't think so. Even though most of her body is covered, you can tell from her figure that she's a woman. Maybe the Grim Reaper was seduced by her.”
“Seduced? Are you kidding? That guy is someone who won't even spare a woman. I saw him decapitate a gorgeous, well-endowed woman with my own eyes.”
“By the way, does anyone else feel like it's getting colder in here?”
“...”
With every word they spoke, Xia De's face grew a shade darker, and a cross-shaped vein of annoyance seemed to pop on his forehead.
Although Hilia couldn't hear everything clearly, the frequently repeated words allowed her to piece together who they were talking about.
She covered her mouth and giggled, then nudged Xia De gently with her elbow, teasing him, “Oh? ‘Grim Reaper’? I didn't realize you had such a nickname.”
She looked Xia De up and down and smiled. “Actually, it fits you pretty well.”
With a dark expression, Xia De ignored Hilia's teasing and coldly handed his mission completion proof to Miss Elulu, the receptionist with purple hair tied into double buns.
Even though Elulu was also slightly surprised to see Xia De, her professional training kicked in. She accepted the documents from his hand and said in a sweet voice, “Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xia De. Since this was a long-distance quest, the reward will be issued directly by the client. The Adventurer's Guild thanks you for your contribution.”
“Mr. Xia De?”
Looking at the sweet and lovely Elulu, a trace of wariness flickered in Hilia's eyes.
Xia De nodded slightly, then asked, “So, can my adventurer rank be promoted to C-rank now?”
Elulu quickly pulled out several documents from a drawer, scanned them rapidly, and then looked up to answer, “Yes, Mr. Xia De. Please give me your adventurer proof. I will process your new adventurer proof right away.”
“Thank you.”
Xia De handed his adventurer proof, which was stamped with his information, to Elulu. When he got it back, the large ‘E’ on it had been replaced with a ‘C’.
Having finished his business, Xia De prepared to leave. At that moment, Hilia stepped forward and handed her own mission proof to Elulu.
“Hello, please help me settle my quest as well.”
Elulu was surprised when she saw the large ‘B’ on the document. She took the materials, scanned them quickly, and then placed her hands on a nearby crystal ball. As she channeled her mana, a faint white light glowed within the crystal ball.
She then opened her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her, and bowed slightly to Hilia with an apologetic expression. “Regrettably, you failed to complete this quest. However, the Adventurer's Guild will always be grateful for your contribution.”
Hilia seemed to have expected this. Far from being discouraged, she let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
“A quest?”
Seeing Xia De looking over, Hilia met his gaze and smiled. “Yeah. Didn't I tell you that I rashly took on an A-rank quest out of spite? It was a herb-gathering quest. The description mentioned that a powerful magical beast was guarding it. I thought it would be a Tier Five beast at most, but who would have thought... Sigh.”
“I remember. I'm just a bit surprised that you can settle a quest here when you accepted it at a different Adventurer's Guild.”
Hearing Xia De's words, Elulu explained, “Mr. Xia De, our Adventurer's Guild has a data terminal that updates once a month. As long as your quest was accepted within the month, you can settle it at any Adventurer's Guild branch, regardless of where you are. If a quest exceeds one month, it must be declared in advance.”
It seems I can travel further away in the future.
After listening to Elulu's explanation, Xia De nodded and fell into deep thought.
His Combat Power had already reached around 250,000. The resources in this region were becoming a bit insufficient for him. The strongest magical beast within his Perception Domain was only at Tier Five, Rank Three.
This was far from enough for his needs.
However, he quickly snapped out of it, keeping these thoughts to himself, and led Hilia toward their rented lodging.
Over the past few days, they had either slept in the wild or been in battle. The room the village chief had prepared wasn't very comfortable either. Right now, he desperately needed to go home and get some proper rest.
After all, this was the first time he had spent so long on a single quest.
Little did he know, his departure shocked the crowd once again. Even Elulu was astonished that Xia De—who usually completed an average of three quests a day—was actually leaving without taking another one.
After leaving the Adventurer's Guild, Hilia could still feel the commotion behind them.
“Who would've thought? You're actually quite famous. But why do they seem so afraid of you? No one even came up to say hello.”
Xia De waved his hand helplessly. “Who knows? Personally, I think I'm very amiable.”
“Hmph! You're nothing, Xia De! This young master will definitely surpass you in the future!”
Rate on N.U.
