Chapter 44 - Returning The Quest!
Ban, fortunately, managed to hitch a ride from that carriage driver.
Although the driver was not familiar with Ban, he still decided to let him hitch a ride after some questioning.
Ban felt grateful to the carriage driver who came by the name, George. Supposedly, George had only awakened a year ago and his Monster was only suitable for pulling carriages just like Mario.
After awakening, every monster will automatically gain one [Skill] that can be used. Some might have two or three but they only usually appear on what they call as the geniuses, just like those who owned Monster Tattoo.
The [Skill] may vary depending on the Monster but it usually revolves around two types, the one that could be activated, and the one that is always activated or the passive [Skill].
Usually, the Adventurers Guild would list the Monster that got awakened as well as their primary [Skill], of course, if the Adventurer or the Summoner doesn't want to, they would just let it pass.
Meanwhile, almost all of the Logistics Type Summoners will immediately tell the Adventurers Guild the [Skill] they got to record it. This way, even if they become an Adventurer, they can avoid being on the frontlines when an event just like the Beast Tide occurs.
Anyways, it was during this time that the Summoner's job will be decided if they could be an Adventurer or will settle on more normal jobs.
Usually, Logistics Type Beast will only have a passive skill that was meant for pulling and pushing. George's Monster, Swift Snail for example has a passive [Skill] called Terrain Stability. It allows the carriage he was driving to become stable and comfortable no matter what kind of terrain they were on.
The carriage drivers usually tell their customers what the [Skill] of their monster is. This way, the drivers could let the customers expect what they will experience if they choose their carriage.
Although it was not as luxurious as being an Adventurer, it was also not as dangerous.
Usually, a ride would cost at most 50 Silver Coins going to the next city. And inside the city, the minimum ride will cost 5-10 Silver Coins depending on the distance. However, they would also need to pay the owner of the carriage a rent every single day, so the amount of their income will be greatly reduced.
When George keeps talking about that and his daily income, Ban could not help but feel guilty for hitching a ride.
However, he still decided to stay silent at the end and managed to resist the urge of paying George.
"Alright, I could only drop you here. We always have inspectors checking our passengers and if they knew that you did not 'PAY...' me anything, I will be scolded and will even receive a fine."
Ban felt shivers when George purposely stopped at the word 'pay.' However, he acted as if he did not hear anything as he replied, "Thank you very much! You are such a good person! I hope you'll live long enough to buy your own carriage!"
Ban then sprinted off without looking back.
He already rested enough from the comfortable ride and Eva also did not sustain any noticeable injury during their last battle.
Sometime later, they arrived at the Adventurers Guild and Ban did not hesitate to go towards Marrie's receptionist table to hand in the Quest.
Marrie was surprised upon seeing Ban with the bulging leaf he was carrying.
"I'm already done with my Quest, here's the Red Cave Rock's I've collected."
"Done? Ban, you knew that there's no time limit for that Quest right? You don't have to hand it in if you still haven't collected the necessary amount." Marrie stated nervously as he waited for Ban's obvious reply.
"Yes, but I have already collected more than 20 Pieces of Red Cave Rocks."
"What? Let me see!" Marrie stood up from her seat as he beckoned for Ban to drop the leaf he was carrying.
"All of them are really Red Cave Rocks! And there's even more of them than the Quest Requirements. Stella, help me count them!"
Although she had somehow expected it after seeing that bulging leaf, a part of her still wanted to deny it. After all, it was not that easy collecting Red Cave Rocks.
Although it might sound easy as the Adventurer only needs to collect, that was actually the case years ago when the usage of the Red Cave Rocks was just being discovered.
Right now, the Red Cave Rocks are already scarce and one could only harvest this many pieces if they went right to the Red Termites dwelling.
And for Ban to collect this many in just half a day, "You… Did you risk your life and go right to the Red Termite's dwellings?"
Marrie pointed at Ban in bewilderment. Stella was already done counting them and the total is about 70 pieces of Red Cave Rocks.
Nowadays, the Maximum one could collect was about 20-30 Red Cave Rocks without needing to go to the termite's dwellings.
"No? I mean, I did go a little deeper but I did not arrive at the Red Termite's dwellings nor did I see any signs of it."
Marrie was taken aback, if he did not go that deep how can he collect this many?
"Wait, did you perhaps manage to find an entirely new Red Termite Cave that has not been excavated yet?" She could not help but yell in an excited voice.
However Ban did not let her hopes get that high when he said, "I don't know, but I think it's the same with the one provided by the quest?"
Hearing that, Marrie's excited expression instantly died down. "I… I see!"
Seeing her dejected expression, Ban could not help being curious, "By the way, what's the Red Cave Rocks used for?"
"Oh, I just recalled that you just awakened yesterday. Well, they could play a small factor on the incoming Beast Tide and you could say that if we somehow discover a new Red Termite Cave and harvest the Red Cave Rocks inside it, we might even be able to avoid some casualties during the Beast Tide."
She then continued after recalling, "Wait, you do know that you will receive rewards if you managed to find a new Red Termite Cave right?"
________
Thanks for reading!
Vote with power stones for more chapters!