NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52: [52] Commission
To preserve order as well as give a general knowledge of a person's strength, the imperial knights developed a ranking system of their own.
It did not matter if you were a mage, beast tamer, or awakened, they were all considered knights if they graduated from the academy and fell under this ranking.
Starting from the weakest rank to the most renowned, the rankings were: Paladin, Ascended, Crusader, Grandmaster, Calamity, and Sovereign.
Paladins were people who barely graduated from the academy, while Sovereigns were those said to have reached the realm of gods.
A Crusader was pretty high up even at the third rank, as only a fraction of the population ever crossed the Ascended rank.
"What is a Crusader doing searching for such a monster?" he asked, slowly tapping his finger on the table.
Diane shrugged. "I don't know, all I know is that he even paid money to have the quest removed from the quest board."
"Is that so…" Stark took out the old paper and took his time to stare at it, but no matter how he looked, he could not find anything special about the monster.
It didn't help that it was in black and white…
He then glanced at the receptionist's stand and then back to Diane.
"Isn't he here yet?"
Just like he had done, she looked in the direction of the reception as well, then she scratched her ear while frowning in confusion. "He was just here… maybe he'll be back soon?"
"Arrange a meeting for tomorrow then, there's a lot of stuff I have to do after leaving here."
"Mmhm, no problem. So what would you like to eat?"
"The usual of course," Jade said, cutting in. "He always eats that weird meat porridge, which is strange. Aren't most elves vegetarian?"
"First of all, I am a Half-Elf," he said, emphasizing his race. "Secondly, elves eat loads of meat, that is just a common human misconception. It's like saying beastfolk only eat meat."
"Ummm, we actually eat mainly meat…" Diane smiled shyly, while Jade had a sly smile on her face.
"Just get me my food please," Stark said, resting his head on the table.
As he did, Chubby appeared beside him, walking on the table with slow, noiseless steps. Stark did not have to see him to know he had arrived.
"So? Is he done?" he asked, his face still nestled in his hands. Stark was asking about the local blacksmith he had given a job to.
"Huuu huuu."
"Good, you can rest now."
The little guy looked around, its eyes landing on Jade, then it slowly walked up to her, its steps so slow that you would think it was courting death.
Jade glanced at the little guy and frowned. "Shoo."
Chubby did not budge. Instead, he sat down and continued staring at her as though she was a performer in a play.
Seeing that nothing would dissuade the little guy, Jade turned her attention back to the reception, taking note of known faces as they waited for their food.
Ten minutes later, Diane came with two steaming plates of food—Stark's porridge and her plate of stone fruit.
As they both began to dig in, Jade couldn't help but wonder if Chubby was slowly getting closer with each passing second.
She placed a fruit in her mouth and chewed while watching the spirit's weird antics.
It was tasteless as usual, but unlike other food she had tried after dying, this one had a strange way it felt on her tongue.
Just that slight difference was enough to make her pick it over others.
By now, the little guy was just a few inches away from her… Jade raised a brow.
"Stark, your little guy looks broken—hey! Give that back!"
As she was speaking, the spirit suddenly jumped atop her plate and gulped down the last piece of fruit, smiling with no remorse in its round eyes.
It was about to run away when she grabbed it and pinned it to the ground, trying to force its mouth open.
"Do you want to die? Cough that up right now!" Jade's fingers tightened in a fist.
"Huh huuu." The spirit replied, its bead-like eyes burning with greed.
"Spit it out, you little thief!"
From the other side of the table, Stark just watched them as he took another bite of his food.
That was until Jade picked up a knife…
"J-Jade, wait, wait!"
•••
As the sun sank behind the mountains, the sky was bathed in a bright orange glow, the grey clouds combining with the allure of the warm glow to create an unforgettable sight.
Under the searing sun, Stark and Jade exited the adventurer's guild and began walking down the road.
The monster they were hunting strangely only came out in the daytime, so going after it was completely useless.
Instead, Stark decided to visit a particular shop, a place he had visited not long after arriving in the city.
The shop was not exactly too far from the adventurer's guild, but far enough to give them a light exercise.
When they arrived, he barely spared the shop a glance before pushing the door open—he had seen it many times after all.
Clang!
There was a spark of steel, followed by a song being sung with a scratchy voice.
Inside the room, a muscular man wielding a gigantic axe was pounding a glowing piece of metal with utmost focus, beads of sweat dripping down his bare chest.
The man observed the blade and frowned, before finding the metal once more with so much force that the building shook slightly.
Stark felt pity for the poor anvil. Very soon it would be broken just like the other broken anvils piled up at the edge of the room.
Satisfied with the work, the man moved over to his water pool and immersed the blade in the cold water, causing ripples of steam to fly out of it.
As Stark stepped into the room, a wave of heat swept past him. It was so intense that he could already feel sweat forming on his face.
It was clear why the blacksmith had taken off his shirt…
If the man noticed their arrival, then he made no move to acknowledge it. Instead, he moved the sword to another table, where a gigantic magnifying glass was suspended in the air by wooden holders.
Underneath the glass, he observed the fine details of the sword before lifting it to the air, the black blade catching the light.
Then a bright smile appeared on his face…
"I'm guessing you came for your sword."