After the talk with Alfaera regarding the nearby dungeon that stopped the village from expanding, Valyr went ahead and talked a bit more with Damian regarding his need for a new set of uniforms. After that, he asked Damian to clarify the first responsibility that had been given to him, which was him being appointed as a Guard Captain.
"I've had this question in my mind ever since you mentioned it earlier." Valyr looked at the man in front of him with a slightly confused expression. "You said earlier that I'm now classified as a Guard Captain, but wasn't my position in the organization Guard Captain already even though I wasn't Rank 1 yet?"
Hearing his question, Damian quickly understood what perplexed Valyr, nodding as he opened his mouth. "That would indeed be true. Your position was indeed Guard Captain even though you weren't Rank 1 yet. However, appointing you as a Guard Captain is different from the Guard Captain position in the system."
Seeing the confusion on Valyr's face deepen, Damian pondered in silence for a bit as he tried to explain it from another perspective. "Think of it this way. The Guard Captain position in the system is like the level of reputation you have in the organization, while the Guard Captain appointment is your actual position in the organization. Does that make it easier for you to understand?"
"I guess?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders as he slowly nodded. "But what's the difference?"
"Being appointed as a Guard Captain is only given to those who are officially Rank 1 class holders," Damian responded, finally allowing the puzzle pieces in Valyr's mind to fall into place. "On the other hand, anyone can reach the rank of Guard Captain in the organization as long as they have enough merits to reach the rank."
"So basically, one's a rank and the other one's a position." Seeing Damian nod at his words, Valyr finally felt like he understood. "Yeah, that's definitely not confusing at all."
Damian bitterly smiled at the statement. "This rank and position system was designed by the first leader of the village guards, not me. If I had the option to modify the system, I would have already done so a long time ago."
With that part clarified, Valyr then asked Damian about the new set of missions he could take now that he was Rank 1. In response to that, Damian sent Valyr a list of missions, all of which had a corresponding number of stars that dictated their level of difficulty. Though he was not sure how many stars corresponded to what grade of quest would obtain, the fact that a four star mission was on the list slightly intrigued him.
Then again, as he was planning to head out to Danyhris Town tomorrow with Tristan, he decided to place the matter of taking advanced missions at the back of his head for now, thanking Damian for the time as he headed back to his dormitory room, relaxing for the greater portion of the day as he allowed his body to get some well-needed rest.
…
By the time Valyr made a move once more, it was already the next day. Gradually opening his eyes in slight annoyance at the sun rays that pierced through his window, Valyr lightly grumbled as he scratched his head, slowly getting up from bed as he eventually went through his usual morning routine.
After changing into a new set of clothes once he was done taking a shower, he affixed his spear to his back before making his way to the cafeteria, feeling more alert at this time than he would usually be. Chalking off it as a perk of ascending to Rank 1, he went ahead and grabbed a quick breakfast, wolfing it down within minutes before heading out of the barracks around 15 minutes later.
Feeling the slightly cold breeze of the morning air blow against his body, Valyr could not help but take a more leisurely pace while making his way towards the gates, which was the place the two had agreed to meet up at. Nevertheless, with his high AGI, even his leisurely pace was quick, arriving at the gates a few minutes later as a familiar man greeted him with a wave.
"It seems both of us got up early." After waving at Valyr, Tristan let out a chuckle.
"To be honest, I thought I'd be the first one to get there." In response, Valyr chuckled back, his eyes affixed to the clothes Tristan currently wore.
As he had always met up with him in the smithy, this was the first time he had seen Tristan wear such casual clothing. Even during the monster tide, Valyr saw Tristan in a getup more akin to what he wore in the smithy. Wearing a light gray sweater, dark gray pants, coupled with dark leather boots, Tristan's current appearance made it seem like he was going on a vacation rather than going on a trip to get his identification badge removed.
After talking for a bit more, the two of them then walked outside the village gates, hopping on a small carriage Tristan had rented for the journey. Being notified that Danyhris Town was only a dozen kilometers or so away to the northeast from Klaus Village, Valyr thought that the current size of their carriage made sense.
Once they were finished double checking if they had forgotten any other things to carry for the journey, Tristan went ahead and signaled to the horse pulling the carriage to start moving, beginning their somewhat relaxed journey to Danyhris Town.
"At our current pace, we'll reach Danyhris Town within two days. In total, we'll take four days to head to Danyhris and back." Deciding to break the silence as the walls of Astarto Village gradually disappeared from their field of vision, Tristan went ahead and took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Is it possible for us to get there faster?" In response to Tristan's words, Valyr surprisingly asked this question, which made Tristan raise his eyebrow at the former in curiosity.
Seeing Tristan's expression, Valyr bitterly smiled, thinking about the note at the end of the quest he had obtained yesterday. "The village chief tasked me with clearing the dungeon near the village. I was hoping to finish it as soon as possible."
Hearing Valyr's words, Tristan quickly understood. "I see. So, she also requested for your help, huh?"
"You too?" Naturally, from his words, Tristan implied that he had been offered the same thing as well, prompting Valyr to ask this question.
In response, Tristan nodded at the question. "I was around Level 15 or so when she approached me regarding the dungeon. Of course, just like many others before me, I failed at the final step, failing to kill the final boss."
"What's the final boss like anyway?" Hearing Tristan mention the final boss, Valyr decided to ask him about it, hopeful that he would finally get a detailed answer.
Unfortunately for him, Tristan's response to his question would crush that hope. "Did Damian tell you about the boss?"
"He wasn't that specific," Valyr replied. "He only told me that it was an incredibly strong goblin."
"An incredibly strong goblin… yeah, that more or less sums it up." Just as Valyr was expecting Tristan to expound more on the final boss, the latter instead agreed with Damian's words and decided to be silent about it. Of course, Valyr tried a couple of times to ask Tristan more about the final boss, but to no avail.
Seeing as Tristan wouldn't budge on telling him about the final boss, Valyr eventually gave up and let out a long sigh, deciding to focus his thoughts on what he was going to craft during the registering process at the Blacksmith Guild.
