Chapter 231
The receptionist spared him a glance before sitting up.
Though he dressed simple, the air that lingered around Michael made the receptionist who had initially planned to do her tasks throughout the night lazily take him more seriously.
“Looking to report a completed quest, take a new one, or something else?” The receptionist inquired bring Michael who was observing his surroundings out of it.
Surprisingly the guild was still very much active even at this time of the day.
Michael didn’t know if it was an illusion or something caused by the meeting together of a few clicked boxes but the guild seemed to be even more active now than it was in the morning.
Michael wondered if this was normal or there were others like him who came to submit their task or take new ones.
Michael returned his focus to the receptionist.
“Both,” Michael answered.
The receptionist nodded and reached for a stack of papers, flipping through them as she spoke.
“What task did you take?” she asked, her tone more businesslike now.
“A subjugation mission. A notorious bandit group has been raiding villages along the trade routes,” Michael replied.
The receptionist’s fingers paused for a moment before she pulled out a file. “Your name?”
“Mic Nor”
Her eyes flickered toward him briefly before scanning the document. After a few seconds, she nodded. “I see. You accepted this mission yesterday.”
Michael remained silent as she skimmed the details, her expression neutral.
“Guild regulations state that mission completions need to be verified,” she continued, setting the file aside. “We’ll need at most two days to confirm that the bandits have been dealt with. You should return around that time to claim your reward.”
Michael gave a small nod. “Understood.”
Michael couldn’t help but note the process.
The guild took time to verify completions—likely through scouts or informants—which meant that if he had proof himself, the process would be much quicker.
This realization made him recall his suspicions that bringing undeniable evidence might be the key to receiving faster rewards in the future.
For now, all he could do was wait.
Michael remained in place, his gaze settling back on the receptionist. “Can you tell me what tasks are available?”
The receptionist paused in thought, tapping her fingers lightly against the desk before reaching for another stack of papers. “I can,” she said, her voice carrying a subtle shift in tone.
As she flipped through the documents, her expression remained composed, but internally, she was surprised. The task Michael had submitted—taking down an entire bandit group—wasn’t something that should have been given to a solo hunter, especially not one at iron rank.
‘What was the previous receptionist thinking when they approved this for him?’ she wondered.
Either they were careless, or they had seen something in Michael that justified such a decision.
Her fingers slowed as a new thought settled in. If he had actually completed that task alone, then his strength was far beyond the typical iron-rank hunter. That changed things.
She started selecting better-suited tasks—ones that required more experience, skill, or power. Surprisingly, there were far more tasks available than there had been the previous day.
Michael noticed the difference immediately. The board had seemed somewhat lacking before, but now, there were numerous missions, each varying in difficulty and type.
It made sense—if tasks were completed, new ones had to take their place.
The receptionist cleared her throat and began listing the available tasks aloud, her voice steady but tinged with curiosity as she glanced at Michael.
“First, we have a beast hunt—a pack of nightfang wolves has been attacking livestock near the outskirts. The request is to either cull their numbers or eliminate their pack leader. It’s a frequent issue, and the request has been marked urgent by the local farmers.”
She flipped to the next page.
“Second, an escort mission. A merchant caravan is departing for a neighboring town, but there have been recent monster sightings along the route. Hunters are needed to ensure a safe journey. The pay is decent, but it’s more about patience and readiness than direct combat—most times.”
Michael listened in silence as she continued.
“Next, a nest clearing. A group of stone serpents has settled inside an abandoned mine, preventing workers from returning. The creatures need to be driven out or exterminated. The client is the mining guild, and they’re offering bonuses based on how thoroughly the job is handled.”
She tapped the next sheet, then hesitated slightly before reading.
“There’s also an investigation request. A village near the riverbank has reported multiple disappearances. No confirmed sightings of monsters, but tracks indicate large creatures may be responsible. The village head is looking for hunters to either solve the mystery or deal with the threat.”
Michael took note of the tasks, quickly assessing the risks and rewards of each.
The receptionist gave him a moment before adding, “There are others, but based on what you handled last time, these seem the most fitting. If you’re strong enough to handle a bandit group alone, you’ll likely find these within your capability.”
Michael caught the slight emphasis in her tone. She was testing him, trying to gauge his real strength.
He let out a breath, then glanced over the tasks again.
Michael weighed his options, his thoughts moving quickly as he considered each task.
The beast hunt seemed straightforward. If he went after the pack leader, the rest would likely scatter, making the job easier.
One thing he particularly loved about the task was that they involved monsters.
Why?
Because of the experience points they could provide him.
If his last experience wasn’t just a fluke or dumb luck, then completing these tasks should also give him a quest—making the experience gain even better.
Of course, the profit was subjective.
Perhaps the experience points would be just as worthless as what he got from killing bandits. Perhaps the quest reward wouldn’t even be as good as his previous one due to the task difficulty.
Maybe, in the end, only the monster corpses would be worth anything.
The escort mission also had its own advantages.
Travel meant gathering information—about the land, about people, about how hunters operated in a group setting.
While it didn’t promise combat, the unpredictability of monster encounters made it anything but dull. Plus, working alongside merchants might open up useful connections.
The nest clearing offered the potential for good rewards. If anything a monster nest meant a good number of monsters gathered together.
In Michael’s book, as long as those monsters weren’t far too strong, it was a good nest.
The investigation request was the one that stood out the most. Something about disappearances with no confirmed sightings intrigued him. If it were just large creatures, why had no one seen them? Either the creatures were highly intelligent, or something else was at play.
Unfortunately, sollving mysteries wasn’t something he had much experience with, and currently didn’t want to have something to do with.
Michael found himself nodding slightly.
Now, he just had to decide.
Michael eliminated the second and fourth tasks almost immediately.
The escort mission was out of the question. Travel meant spending several days on the road, and with his appointment with Mage Lian tomorrow, that wasn’t an option. Missing that meeting wasn’t something he could afford.
The investigation request was just as unappealing. A mystery with no clear enemy? No confirmed sightings of monsters? That sounded like wasted time with little guarantee of results. He wasn’t interested in chasing shadows.
This and that he didn’t want another lookalike encounter with a monster trying to get its tentacles on him.
That left two options:
The beast hunt, where he’d face a pack of nightfang wolves and their leader.
Or the nest clearing, where a group of stone serpents had taken over an abandoned mine.
Both involved monsters, which meant experience points.
Michael took a moment, weighing the remaining options. Both tasks had their own appeal, but efficiency mattered.
He glanced at the receptionist. “Which of the two is closer to the capital?”
The receptionist scanned the documents before answering. “The wolves are just outside the outskirts, within a few hours’ travel. The mine, however, is farther, near the southern trade routes. A day’s journey at least.”
That settled it.
“I’ll take the beast hunt,” Michael decided.
The receptionist nodded and pulled the request paper, stamping it with the guild’s seal. “Understood. The task is officially yours.” She handed him the document. “Standard protocol for missions like this: bring proof of completion—preferably the head of the pack leader and ears of the wolves you kill to indicate their numbers.”
Michael took the paper and gave a small nod. “Got it.”
In fact Michael wanted the nest mission more.
The way it was stated just felt like it held stronger monsters and they also weren’t less in numbers too.
However just because he didn’t take the mission now didn’t mean he couldn’t take it later.
He just had to be fast.
With that, he turned, ready to leave the guild and head out into the night.