Chapter 5: Under The Verriad Shade; Part 2

  Freiya placed the paper down and said, “You see, Cerea, I can’t give you another one. Mr. Anders has specifically told me not to give you two quests at a time involving the person who fell from the sky.”

  “Wait... I can’t take the two quests at once? No way! How was I able to do many two quests at the same time in the past? Did the rules changed?”

  “No, but the quest you want is for teams. We don’t know who the person is or why is he there. I deem it appropriate that you shouldn’t join the search, and Mr. Anders warned me not to let you. Finish your quest first, and if the person is still not found. I’d let you join the search.”

  “Jeez.” Cerea laid down her head on the desk sideways. The stairs to the second floor was in front of her. Beyond those stairs, Mr. Anders was probably studying and resting. She wanted to do another type of quest. If Mr. Anders had no plan to visit the lounge—something he frequently do for the past days—she could convince Freiya to let her take the quest.

  But, how can she do that? Freiya is a famous quest manager because she had this sixth sense that identified whether an adventurer was appropriate or not to take the quest. Among the quest managers in the country, she was at the peak. The quests she gave had a high success rate and had low return or failure rate. Mr. Anders even agreed to let her take a percentage from the reward that went to the guild’s fund. That’s how much the guild treasured her; no one other than her was allowed to take a percentage.

  Cerea sat up, and looked around. Freiya seemed to be absorbed in her book. She had this interest in strategic and tactical planning. Whenever she had a free time she would read the same type of book. Cerea turned from the stool and observed the lounge while thinking about the way to persuade Freiya.

  The quest lounge or main hall was empty. The oaken seats and tables were free of the boisterous adventurers, who visited at night. Before the tremors and the abundance of quest, there would still be people here, but the opportunity of earning more had encapsulated the minds of adventurers. It was rare had many quests that were easy to do. Cerea was fond of earning in the first week of the phenomenon, however, she couldn’t stand it afterward. Some adventurers near her age took a break from taking on quests and went on a spending spree instead. The reason why every merchant she came across greeted her gleefully.

  The older adventurers, however, were non-stop in taking the quests. They had families to feed, and thought of savings. The more money they had, the lesser their worries. And younger adventurers were given most of the easier quests, so for the older ones being able to get this was a huge load off their shoulders. Cerea was happy for the older ones, but she hoped they would stop drinking every night and tell everyone what they did for the day. Normally, though, she was alright with it, but there was this certain group—her parents’ friends—that kept on inviting her to eat. It’s hard to lose weight.

  On the walls, there were paintings of famous adventurers on their most memorable deed. The largest painting was a battle depicting the branch leader, Mr. Anders. Various high-ranked monsters surrounded him, but against them, he was undaunted and defeated many. He was the only rearguard when the guild’s exploration force to the uncharted part of the Verriad Forest retreated. His status elevated after that event.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Every guild branch had their leader’s power apparent in their own branch building. Mr. Anders was for controlling the motion, size, and shape of the blades. He could control millions of them at once, and create a whirlwind of blades. During the renovation of the building of the Verriad branch, Mr. Anders changed the pillars into a whirlwind of blades. Two branch leaders—Mr. Anders friends—from another country helped by applying a cohesion magic, detoxifying magic, and sleep magic. Despite the pillars’ impressive appearance, many complained because if your skin accidentally touch the blades, you’d be asleep for the day. Mr. Anders wouldn’t remove it and would say that it’s a memento of his power and his friendship with the other branch leaders.

  Cerea stopped gawking at the hall. An idea that would convince Freiya didn’t sprung. Something fell on the ground. Cerea immediately looked at the source, and found Leili picking up a tome.

  “My apologies,” Leili said.

  Cerea rushed to her side. “I thought you already left.”

  “It’s still two hours before noon, so I borrowed some books from the guild’s library. A friend from Vandema wanted these books. I’ll give these to him before I go to the meeting place.” Leili dropped the books on the table.

  “Leili...” Cerea said.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “You don’t know how grateful I am to you today,” Cerea clasped Leili’s hand. “I promise that I will return the favor to you in the near future.”

  Leili looked at her, perplexed. “Eh?”

  “You just made me remember something! Thank you!”

  “I don’t know what that is about, but, anyway, you’re welcome. I’ll take my leave now, my friend is waiting in the nearby restaurant.”

  Leili left the building, and Cerea returned to the stool.

  “Hello, again, Freiya,” Cerea said.

  Freiya glanced. “I won’t give you the quest.”

  “You were looking for the book written by the first conqueror, right?”

  “I still won’t give the quest.”

  “Let’s have a negotiation; a deal. I know someone that could lend you a copy of that book. I met him a week ago in Vandema library.”

  “I went there, and there was no book.”

  “When was the last time you visited there? I suppose it would be weeks ago. The man that has the book is a visitor, and he is lodging in Vandema for about two weeks now."

  Chapter 5; Part 2 End.

  Extra:

  It took me so long to make an update. My bad. （；￣д￣）

  Anyway, (very) minor edits are coming along with the next update, and probably for this one since I might've missed something. I'll complete the updates for this chapter within the week... hopefully.

  And what do you think of the story's exposition (C1 - C4)? I'm quite curious. Your feedback is much appreciated.