Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

10. Promotion Request

The herb-gathering quest, which included a fierce battle with goblins, had been successfully completed, and Nord returned to the royal capital.

From then on, he continued accepting quests.

On some days, he gathered magic stones in dungeons; on others, he foraged; and on yet others, he went out on monster hunts.

Fighting monsters always carried the risk of death or serious injury.

But thanks to the bonds forged during his battle with the goblins, he joined Genius’s party and occasionally teamed up with other adventurers of Slate Adventurer to complete quests.

And then, on the day he returned from a mission to subdue a giant boar that had been ravaging crops,

“Congratulations! You’ve accumulated enough contribution points, so Nord, you are now eligible for promotion to the second rank.”

That’s what the guild staff told him when he went to report his quest completion at the counter.

It seems that his contribution points had steadily increased thanks to the proactive quest acceptance he had maintained since his first expedition.

If promoted to the second rank, the Gemstone Adventurer, the scope of available work would broaden even further.

The Adventurers’ Guild handles a wide variety of jobs, but among them is a type called “escort requests.”

As the name suggests, it involves escorting caravans or important people.

However, there are often conditions attached to these requests. For example, if the route passes through areas with potential monster attacks, conditions like “adventurers of rank X or higher with experience in defeating the monsters in the area” may be required.

In addition to conditions specified by the client, the guild itself might impose extra requirements.

And for even the simplest escort missions, the minimum condition imposed by the guild is “Gemstone Adventurer or higher.”

There are also other types of quests, such as “delivery” or “investigation” requests,

where the requirement of being of a certain rank applies.

This is not just about the difficulty of the task but also a matter of trust—whether the adventurer might betray the client or run off with the delivery of goods.

Whether the guild can trust the adventurer to handle the task is key to being able to accept it.

For Slate Adventurer, it’s easy to rank up by completing simple tasks that anyone can do.

The reason why simple tasks are given at first is to see if the adventurer can complete even low-paying jobs without complaint.

It also serves as a training opportunity in how to work with the guild, especially regarding the procedures involved.

For escort missions, what’s demanded is “strength.”

The client expects the adventurer to protect them, so it wouldn’t do if the adventurer took the quest only for both to end up dead.

Through several monster subjugation requests, the Adventurers’ Guild recognized that Nord possessed the minimum required strength.

However, while contribution points provide a simple measure for gauging an adventurer’s ability, they also serve as a gauge of something else:

Contributions to the guild and society.

Quests posted at the Adventurers’ Guild are requests made by people in trouble, essentially issues that exist in society.

Among them are those that have little reward but are high in difficulty, or that don’t pay much but are essential to maintain social stability.

It would be impossible for the guild to handle such requests by constantly offering extra rewards or urging the country or local lords to issue them.

To solve this issue, the guild has created a system where setting a high contribution point reward in place of monetary compensation makes it easier to rank up.

However, if this were the only system in place, adventurers with high contribution points but low combat ability could be promoted to higher ranks.

Higher-rank quests typically involve powerful monsters or enemies, as well as other difficult challenges.

The essence of being an adventurer is strength, and no matter how high their contribution points, an adventurer lacking in strength cannot be allowed to advance in rank.

Thus, the guild issues promotion quests for those who meet the conditions for rank advancement.

This system requires adventurers to accept a quest designated by the guild, with a difficulty level suitable for the rank they seek to achieve.

In short, it’s a test—complete a quest meant for the next rank, and if successful, you’ll be promoted.

“What will you do?”

The guild staff explained this to Nord, and he asked to hear what quests were available at the moment.

There was a chance that there might not be a suitable quest in terms of difficulty or one that matched his skills.

“The current rank-up quest is this one.”

The staff member pulled out a file from behind the counter, flipping through its pages until they extracted a quest request sheet.

Nord’s eyes fell on the quest request that was handed to him.

It was a monster subjugation quest.

Rank-up quests are typically monster subjugation quests, as defeating monsters is a clear measure of strength.

The request form read, “Seek to exterminate Rock Wolves!”

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The Rock Wolf is a monster that inhabits the mountainous regions of the eastern part of the Ilva continent.

It’s a type of wolf-like monster, and its behavior is similar to standard wolves like the Forest Wolf.

However, it has evolved tough armor in place of fur, giving it the appearance of a wolf clad in tiles-like armor.

While young individuals have thin armor that covers only small parts of their bodies, the leader of the pack is said to be almost entirely covered in this armor.

“Is said to be,” because this information was gathered from Gemstone Adventurer at the tavern.

Drunk adventurers also shared other bits of information: Rock Wolves’ favorite food, the fact that they camouflage against rocky surfaces, and how their armor deflects direct attacks.

Nord carefully wrote all this information into his leather-bound journal.

This journal contained details of Nord’s adventures, and the things he saw and experienced.

Initially, it only held notes on herb-gathering tips and day-to-day occurrences, but as time passed, the contents expanded.

It now included simple maps of the places he visited, information on the monsters he fought, and even cooking recipes he learned from other adventurers.

This journal had evolved from mere notes into what could now be called a book of adventures.

Now, a new page about Rock Wolves has been added to the book.

Looking at the Rock Wolf page in his journal, Nord understood why this creature was chosen as a rank-up quest.

Nord, having been trained as a knight, had not changed his combat style even after gaining more experience as an adventurer.

He fought in the traditional knightly manner, clad in full armor, deflecting enemy attacks and cutting them down with his sword—a straightforward but highly effective style.

With the addition of a new shield and chainmail, bought with the rewards from completed quests, Nord’s defense had been further strengthened.

Against average monsters, their attacks were no longer life-threatening, and he could handle being surrounded with ease.

When working with a party, Nord’s role was always to use his defensive skills as a shield, absorbing and countering enemy attacks.

His exceptional defense often allowed him to completely shut down lower-level enemies, making him an invaluable asset to the group.

Because of this fighting style, Nord understood the true difficulty of the Rock Wolf.

One of the subjugation quests Nord had taken as a Slate Adventurer adventurer was for the Forest Wolf, another wolf-type monster like the Rock Wolf.

That battle was different from facing goblins, who relied on sheer numbers to overwhelm their enemies.

Wolves hunted in packs, attacking with coordination and strategy.

Goblins relied on numbers, but wolves relied on teamwork.

The Rock Wolf, however, had something the Forest Wolf did not—armor.

Rock Wolves are said to resemble gray wolves wearing stone armor.

The truth behind this armor is their fur. As the Rock Wolves age, their fur begins to weave together, slowly hardening over time.

This gray fur thickens as the wolf matures, eventually resembling solid stone. The more mature the Rock Wolf, the thicker and darker its armor becomes, making it impenetrable to weak blades.

Imagine the threat of a monster that fights in coordination with its pack, all while wearing impenetrable armor.

As the Rock Wolf’s armor thickens, its prey can no longer be hunted easily—it turns into a fair fight.

This was the fundamental difference between a Slate Adventurer adventurer and a Gemstone Adventurer one.