Unsurprisingly, once Valyr heard the question that came out of Damian's mouth, the former responded back with a question of his own. "Why me, though?"
In response, a bitter smile appeared on Damian's face. "Well, you're heading to Clossbay City anyway and the mission is something you could do while you're in the city… I thought you wouldn't mind taking a mission along with you."
"I mean… I don't really mind that much. In fact, I'll probably take it once we're done here." Valyr shrugged his shoulders. "But let me ask once again… why me? Why give me a three star mission, a mission that I probably think is one of the more difficult ones to complete?"
Feeling as if he had misunderstood the question Valyr asked him, Damian went silent for a bit as he mulled over it. After some time, he looked back at the former before responding with a light sigh. "Let me be honest, Valyr. This mission has been on our list for a long time already, with none of the other Guard Captains taking it. As for those who do, they end up heading to the city before returning back to the village empty-handed, informing me that it was impossible for them to compete the quest."
"In fact, that's the reason why it's considered a three star mission. Back then it was only considered two star," he added, only for him to go silent once more before continuing. "In any case, this thought of giving you the mission was just a spur of the moment thing. If you accept it and you actually complete it, then you get the boosted rewards from the quest, as well as my gratitude."
"Of course, if you choose to decline, that's fine as well. I did say giving it to you was a spur of the moment thing, after all." With that, Damian finally went silent, allowing Valyr to ponder over it as he decided to check the description of the mission. While reading through it, he could not help but raise his eyebrow in curiosity.
Ding!
[The Clossbay Killer] (Mercenary Guild Quest)
Difficulty: C
There have been reports of a person on the loose, killing the innocents of Clossbay City as if it were as normal as breathing. Though many people have seen the man's appearance, none of them have been able to capture and arrest them. In fact, to this day, they continue to kill the innocents of the city from time to time, eventually gaining the moniker of the Clossbay Killer.
Although the problem still hasn't gotten out of hand, the mayor of the city has put up this quest in order to stop it from getting worse, in the hopes of increasing the trust the citizens have towards the city's safety. With how elusive the Clossbay Killer is, the mayor only hopes that you figure out the killer's whereabouts. However, if you do find a way to apprehend them, you shall be handsomely rewarded.
Quest Requirements:
> Locate the whereabouts of the Clossbay Killer (0/1)
Optional Quest Requirements:
> Apprehend the Clossbay Killer (0/1)
Quest Rewards: Affinity +100 with the mayor of Clossbay City, Reputation +100 within Clossbay City, 50,000 XP, 100 gold coins
Optional Quest Rewards: Affinity + 400 with the mayor of Clossbay City, Reputation +400 within Clossbay City, 200,000 XP, 400 gold coins
Quest Penalty: Affinity -10 with the mayor of Clossbay City
'So, a three star mission is equivalent to a quest with a difficulty grade of C… good to know.' Once he was done reading through the mission's description, Valyr went ahead and closed the screen in front of him before commanding the system to accept the mission. Of course, once he had found out that Valyr had accepted the mission, Damian could not help but beam a smile at him before thanking him.
While Damian thanked him, Valyr could not help but think that there was more to the quest than what it described. 'Considering how the mayor of the city is willing to give up 200,000 XP as long as the Clossbay Killer is apprehended… I feel like it wouldn't be bad looking a bit deeper into it once I'm there.'
'Plus… getting 100 gold for just telling the mayor someone's whereabouts ain't a bad deal.' Chuckling at this thought, he then went ahead and bade farewell to Damian, leaving the office as he made his way out of the barracks to get a carriage for the journey to the city and back.
Although the city was close, Valyr decided to not skimp out on the speed of the carriage, going with a one-person carriage that would be pulled by two steeds in order to ensure it could achieve the highest speed possible while still being able to bring along more items with him than just his essentials. After all, since he had the money to do so, why would he not spend a bit more for a couple creature comforts?
And thus, Valyr set off on a journey to Clossbay City once the sun had reached its peak, trekking a great amount of terrain by the day while resting and pondering over his actions in the future during the night. Eventually, once four days had passed, the walls of Clossbay City had finally appeared within his field of vision. Though, knowing that he was able to see it that far was mostly thanks to [Gambler's Discerning Eyes], he knew that it would be quite some time before he actually got close to it.
In fact, it was only when it had hit noon was he finally a couple kilometers away from the city walls, finally being able to see the true grandeur of the city from up close. Giving a signal to the horses to pick up the pace, his carriage passed through the city gates around ten minutes later after paying an entrance fee to the city guards.
While passing through, one of the guards escorted him to an area designated for carriages that came from the outside, informing Valyr that personal carriages were only allowed up to a certain point in the city. Nodding in response to that, he and the guard parked his carriage at the area, thanking the latter for his help before tossing him a silver coin, to which the guard beamed a light smile before leaving Valyr to his own devices.
Taking in a breath of the air in the city, he then strolled around the streets for a bit, wanting to see if there was anything in the city that didn't exist before he and the other players came in his past life. While doing so, he could not help but take in the sights surrounding him, a smile adorning his face all the while he walked.
Compared to Anadhar City, Clossbay City seemed to be more bustling as there were more people crossing the streets, as well as stalls and shops beside the main road that led to the heart of the city. Then again, the scale of the city was double of Anadhar City's, spanning over 50 kilometers in diameter.
As to how this was possible, this was due to the fact that the city had a system dedicated to the safety and security of the citizens living in the city, which increased the confidence of many traveling merchants to stop by the city before deciding to live in the city long-term. With how the city also focused evenly on combat and production classes, it could be said that it was not surprising for the city to be this bustling.
"Hmm… since there's no time limit on the quest Damian gave me, I should probably find the place to get those titles first.' Pondering over what he was going to do first while in the city, Valyr went ahead and started to head in a certain direction, relying on the memory from his past life regarding the cities. However, just as he had entered a new street, he could not help but stop in his tracks, staring at a man slightly far away from him that looked familiar.
Feeling as if he was being stared at, the man looked back at Valyr, only for his eyes to widen as his mouth went agape. Wondering if he was seeing correctly, he called out to him.
"Valyr?"
Hearing his name being called out by the man, Valyr's question had been answered. Being made known to the fact that he hadn't seen wrongly, a hint of excitement appeared on his face as he ran towards the man.
"Tryndall!"
