Chapter 54: No.54: Stage Three {5}; Solo Hunter
Having left the Dark Sections of the Hunter Association, Bruce was now in the Upper parts of the building.
These parts, being much cleaner, were more organized and properly managed than the Dark Sections, with multiple staff working behind see-through glass as they attended to Hunters in an orderly fashion.
Upon reaching his turn, Bruce simply stated his intent with a casual smile.
"I’d like to take on a Quest for my Rank, but I’m still a bit new to this. So, what exactly am I qualified to do, and how can I select a Quest?"
Enquiring honestly, as he had no recollection of how such things occurred, Bruce’s smile became a bit strained. His expression turning slightly awkward, as he seemed unused to such things.
Recognizing his unfamiliarity due to him obviously being a newcomer, the receptionist attending to him smiled in return.
"No problem, sir. I’ll just need to see your Hunter’s ID to better help out with the Quests you’re currently eligible for."
Replying respectfully, despite Bruce being obviously younger than her as she was visibly in her late twenties, the receptionist answered politely with a practiced smile while extending a hand towards the bottom part of the standing glass, which had a small rectangular opening just large enough to fit a single hand.
Passing his hand with the OmniBand towards her, Bruce watched as she gently placed the device she held over his OmniBand. The device, almost resembling a spray gun, made a dull chipping sound before his information appeared on the glass screen in front of the receptionist.
Briefly skimming through his Hunter ID displayed on the screen, she nodded soon after as she directed.
"Alright, Mr. Wade. Just head to the lounge labelled ’Novice Hunters’ on the right. You’ll find the Quest Board of missions that are still available on it. Once you’ve made your decision on the Quest you’re interested in, kindly return so I’ll help register it under your group’s name."
Hearing this, Bruce simply nodded in reply before heading towards the Novice lounge.
On getting there, he found a number of other Novice Hunters relaxing and chatting with one another within. His arrival easily drawing the attention of nearly everyone around, as his features were striking, handsomely so. And the equipment he used were flashy, to say the least, especially the huge shield resting on his back, which was nearly half his giant frame.
Ignoring the stares directed at him, most of which were filled with a variety of different emotions ranging from admiration to mild interest, to jealousy, with some simply being neutral towards his presence, Bruce simply walked towards the Quest Board.
Which turned out to be more of a Quest Screen rather, as it showed a live feed of the Quests still available for his Rank. While also displaying Quests that had already been completed, those that were still in progress, and a horizontal, miniaturized map of the outer perimeters of the City.
The mini-map was filled with tiny, moving green dots signifying the locations of the groups that were currently outside the City on missions, while tiny red dots or sections indicated the Quests that hadn’t yet been taken or completed. Orange dots signified those that were still ongoing.
Looking at the vertical Quest Board, or screen rather, Bruce briefly browsed through the number of available Quests, which displayed images of them on it.
Tapping on each one to get more information on them, he took a while before settling on a particular Quest that piqued his interest.
Quest Name: Blood-Ore Extraction
Quest Type: Gathering
Difficulty: Novice/Junior Rank (+)
Quest Status: Incomplete (Available)
Location: Whispering Caves
Would you like to accept this Quest?
Yes No
Upon reading the full description, a mild smile crept up Bruce’s face as he decided this was precisely the kind of Quest he was looking for.
As he tapped against the holographic Quest Screen, a notification appeared on it, causing his OmniBand to light up as well, as it prompted him to accept or not.
Not bothering to delay much further, Bruce clicked on the ’Yes’ Icon, resulting in the screen buffering a bit before changing once more.
Application submitted.
Pending Request...
On seeing this, he casually made his way back to the receptionist that directed him here earlier.
Watching as he left the room as composed as he entered, a few other Hunters got interested in the kind of Quest he’d chosen.
Shifting closer to the Quest Screen, the ones now gathered around it looked at the one he selected. Their expressions turning ugly on seeing the Quest.
"Yikes! Someone actually took that Quest again? I thought no one would be able to anymore after what happened to the last group."
"Poor guy probably doesn’t even know what he’s walking into."
"Shouldn’t we warn him? The kid still looks a bit green to me. He likely doesn’t even know the kind of trouble he’s getting himself into."
"Nah! The receptionists will probably warn him before he does."
"Rather than worrying about that, it’s the poor souls that decided to follow him, should he be adamant on taking on the Quest, that I pity. They’re all likely to end up dead before they even complete it."
Shaking their heads in silent agreement to what the last person uttered, the people gathered around the Quest Screen couldn’t help but feel bad for the people that chose to venture outside with such a person.
Smirking subtly to himself on picking up what they said despite the distance between them, Bruce continued making his way towards the receptionist.
A gentle smile returning to his face upon reaching her, he saw the receptionist’s expression had turned a bit complicated.
Hesitating upon seeing the kind of Quest he’d selected, as the notification had appeared immediately after Bruce chose the Quest, the receptionist became uncertain of how exactly to approach the matter at hand.
Sighing eventually, she enquired with a practiced smile that now looked a bit strained as she struggled to remain calm.
"Pardon me for asking, but... You’ve read the description, right, Sir? So, you know that this isn’t a mere Gathering Type Quest."
Continuing on seeing Bruce simply nod in agreement, his expression remaining as easy-going as before, the receptionist’s smile faltered a bit as she did.
"I’ll have to inform you that the last group that took on this particular Quest never returned from there, and were presumed dead, as their bodies couldn’t even be retrieved. All that was left were the items they took, most of which were sullied with blood stains.
"So, I’ll ask you once more... Are you sure about this, sir?"
Understanding her reasoning for acting suspenseful and vague, Bruce was aware of why she appeared to be trying to convince him against taking the Quest.
After all, despite how it seemed, the Quest was more than just simply mining Ore, as it was one of the most dangerous missions for a Novice Hunter.
The Quest on its own wasn’t particularly difficult, hence why it was still viewed as a Novice Rank Quest.
Instead, it was the location where the Blood-Ore was situated that was the issue.
The Whispering Caves!
Though not home to any particularly overpowered threat, the place had a sort of... peculiar predicament. Whereby one had to be silent to not draw any unwanted attention.
But with a mission where one had to dig up Ores from within the cave, being quiet wasn’t exactly possible.
Which eventually ended up being the cause of the last group’s untimely demise.
Already aware of this from reading the description of the Quest, Bruce maintained his usual smile as he simply replied.
"Yes."
Sighing faintly as she failed to understand why Hunters would willingly risk their lives for such things, the receptionist subtly shook her head as she added.
"Then I guess there’s nothing I can do to stop you. Since you’ve already decided on a Quest now, all that’s left is for you to find a group, if you’re not already in one, that will accompany you on your mission, then I ca-..."
Hearing this, a small smile crept onto Bruce’s face as he interrupted.
"There’ll be no need for that."
Pausing as he said this, his right hand resting on his sword as he added.
"After all, I’ll be going on this Quest..."
"...Solo!"