Chapter 29: Guild Quest
Chapter 29: Guild Quest
“Alright, shall we head to the dungeon?”
“Ah, um. You go on ahead.”
As Guwon stood up, full of energy after their meal, Diana stopped him.
“Hm? Why?”
“I, uh, I have a brief errand to run. It won’t take long, so please go on ahead and wait for me.”
Diana said, fidgeting suspiciously.
Seeing her, Guwon’s intuition kicked in.
Come to think of it…
“Oh, right. I just remembered I had something to do, too.”
“You too, Guwon? That’s unusual.”
“Sorry, sorry. It’ll only take me a moment. How about we all just meet up at the Guild today?”
“Hmm. Let’s do that.”
“Sara, sorry about this. Could you go on ahead and see if there are any good quests for us?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well then, I’m off to get my thing done real quick!”
Guwon blurted out and quickly left the inn, as if he truly had urgent business.
Of course, he had no business to attend to.
Guwon slipped around the corner of the building and hid, waiting for Sara and Diana to come out.
After a moment of waiting in a suspicious-looking posture, Sara and Diana emerged together. They exchanged a few words and then parted ways—Sara toward the Guild, and Diana toward the city center.
Guwon quickly fell in behind Diana and, as soon as Sara was out of sight, called out to her.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“W-wha? Y-you. What is it? Didn’t you say you had an errand?”
“I thought about it, and it doesn’t really need to be done right now. So, where are you going? Since we’ll have to wait at the Guild anyway, can I tag along?”
“Uh, um? No, no, you can’t. This is something I must do alone. Go on ahead and wait.”
“Hmm. Suspicious.”
“W-what is? Just go on, now.”
“Hey. Be honest with me. You’re not wearing anything under that robe, are you?”
“W-w-w-what kind of absurd nonsense are you spouting?!”
Just as Guwon expected, Diana began to panic visibly.
Come to think of it, when she teleported or whatever into my room yesterday, she wasn’t wearing anything under her robe.
And right after that, she used her reincarnation magic.
There was no way she could use a grand spell like teleportation now that her level was reset, which meant Diana was in the exact same state as when she’d visited his room yesterday.
“You look even more suspicious now that you’re flustered. Why not just tell the truth?”
“N-not even worth responding to! Hurry up and wait at the Guild! I am busy, so if you’ll excuse me!”
“If you don’t confess, I’m pulling that robe off in ten seconds. Ten… nine…”
Diana tried to finish her sentence quickly and flee, but shaking off Guwon, whose physical abilities were overwhelmingly superior, was impossible from the start.
“Eek! Y-you! There are lines a human being should and should not cross!”
“Eight. If you’re properly dressed, there’s no problem, is there? Seven… six.”
“And you call yourself a person! I simply can’t believe it!”
“Five… four… three.”
“You will sit right there. I shall teach you about the basic decency a person ought to have…”
“Two… one… zero!”
“Hyaak! Alright! Alright! Calm down! Use your words! Let’s talk this out!”
The moment Guwon finished his countdown and slightly lifted the hem of her robe, Diana finally waved the white flag.
Through the small gap, her bare, snow-white feet were visible. It seemed she was, without a doubt, completely naked.
Phew. Revenge complete.
That’s what you get for teasing me like that this morning.
He wanted to mess with her a little more, but he decided to stop here, fearing the consequences if he pushed it any further.
They had to go to the dungeon together, after all.
“See? It would’ve been better if you’d just confessed from the start.”
“You truly do not understand a woman’s heart. A woman is entitled to secrets she wishes to keep hidden.”
“What secrets? You came to me yesterday completely naked. If you were an exhibitionist and went around like that, I could see it being a secret, I guess.”
“Th-th-th-that’s not it at all! Don’t say things people might misunderstand!” Diana shouted, her face flushing in obvious panic.
He was just saying it, but her reaction made her seem even more suspicious. Could she really be an exhibitionist?
“Listen closely. There are profound circumstances behind this. First, I visited you with the intention of testing your skills. Since they are those kinds of skills, it is naturally better to have direct skin contact. And even if I were to touch you over your robe, it would be better to be as lightly dressed as possible rather than wearing layers underneath. Wouldn’t you agree that is a logical conclusion?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Therefore, to minimize the procedure, I visited you without wearing anything under my robe. I am an Archmage. I store my belongings using subspace, so taking off my clothes for a moment was no issue at all.”
“That’s a long-winded intro. Long story short, you put your clothes in your spatial storage, but like an idiot, you used your reincarnation magic without preparing, so now you can’t use your subspace magic and are stuck being naked. Right?”
“Ugh. C-calling me an idiot.”
“How could an Archmage like you make such a mistake?”
“I-it couldn’t be helped! The clue to the magic I had sought for so long was right before my eyes! Is it not possible to make a mistake when one is somewhat agitated?!”
“Alright, alright, don’t get so worked up. Here, at least put on some shoes.”
Guwon took a pair of shoes out of his inventory.
For the record, Guwon kept a good number of spare clothes and shoes in his inventory. Since he often fought by just throwing his body around, his clothes tended to get ripped to shreds.
They were shoes that fit Guwon’s feet, so they’d be quite large on Diana, but it was still better than walking around barefoot.
“H-hmmph. You’re not entirely unobservant, I see.”
“So, you’re going to buy clothes, right? I’m bored, so I’ll come with you. Where are we headed?”
“Mm. There is a clothing store nearby.”
“A clothing store? You said you’re a super famous Archmage. Don’t you have a house or a villa here?”
“Mm. I do, of course. However, due to certain circumstances, I am unable to go there.”
“Why can’t you go to your own house? Did you run away or something?”
“What on earth do you take me for? I don’t expect you to revere me, but could you not show a little more courtesy? I simply left without a word, that is all.”
Nope, that sounds exactly like running away from home.
It was strange enough that an Archmage was staying in an inn like that, but it turns out she was in the middle of a grand escape.
“By the way, from the sound of it, you kept all your belongings in your subspace. Do you even have money to buy clothes?”
“S-someone of my stature can get credit on my face alone…”
“Is it okay for a runaway to be showing her face around like that? I’ll just lend you some money. Pay me back after we get back from the dungeon later.”
“I am not a runaway!”
Despite her protest, Diana didn’t say she wouldn’t borrow the money.
In the end, Guwon bought Diana a set of cheap cloth clothes and shoes, and for good measure, a pointy, wide-brimmed hat that made her look like a stereotypical mage, along with a new, properly-fitting robe. After getting her dressed, they headed to the Guild together.
Diana gathered her long, wavy hair, tucked it into the hat, and pulled the brim down low, making her look like some kind of shady sorceress.
“Guwon! Oh? Diana, you came together?”
As they entered the Guild, Sara rushed over to them.
“Yeah. We ran into each other just outside. But why are you in such a hurry?”
Sara gave them a brief, suspicious look but quickly changed her expression and said, “Oh, right. We should hurry to the dungeon. A Guild Quest is currently active.”
“A Guild Quest?”
“Yes. It seems the Guild issued it to encourage the exploration of uncharted areas on the upper floors. They said they’ll pay an additional reward if we submit a map of a place not yet known to the Guild.”
“Really? That’s great. We can wander around and complete the Guild Quest at the same time. But why would the Guild suddenly issue a quest like this?”
“Apparently, our discovery of a Transcendent Species on the upper floors yesterday became a hot topic within the Guild. It seems to be causing quite a stir among the low-level adventurers, too, who see it as a chance to strike it rich.”
“What? Then the places we’ve been going might get crowded. This is bad. Let’s go, quickly.”
“Hmph. It is good to be in a hurry, but are you two even capable of properly completing that Guild Quest?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I don’t recall seeing either of you drawing a map yesterday. Mapmaking requires a fair amount of talent and skill, you know.”
“Ah, th-that’s true.”
“Don’t worry about that. I can do it all.”
The map draws itself automatically as I walk around, after all.
The only problem was how well he could copy the map with his own drawing skills, but hey, it wasn't like he was entering an art contest. As long as it was recognizable, it should be fine, right?
“Hoh. You seem to have quite a variety of talents, for someone who looks like you.”
“What do you mean, ‘for someone who looks like me’? I look overflowing with talent no matter how you see me.”
“Hmm…”
“Umm…”
At Guwon’s words, the two of them, as if on cue, simultaneously made dubious faces.
Okay, so it’s not really a talent, but do you two have to team up on me with that reaction?
“Wait. Should we just report the areas we’ve explored up to yesterday right now?”
“What? Is that possible when you haven’t even made a map?”
“It’s all in my head, so as long as I have paper and a pen, I can draw it anywhere. What do you think? See me in a different light now?”
“Hah!”
“W-wait, what are you suddenly doing in the middle of the Guild?!”
As if moved by his shining talent, Diana suddenly pressed herself against his body in an embrace.
“Shh! Be quiet. We must leave this place at once. Come, there is no time to waste. Let us go, quickly.”
Diana buried her face in his chest and urgently led them toward the dungeon entrance.
Looking over Diana’s shoulder, Guwon saw a group of people in flashy armor scanning the area.
They wore emblems of a silver staff on their capes and chests, and they soon began to focus on examining every person wearing a robe, one by one.
“Hey… You didn’t get into some kind of trouble and run away, did you?”
“What are you talking about! As if I would ever do such a thing! They are merely a heinous group of villains trying to interfere with my peaceful life of magical research. Let us hurry.”
It seemed she hadn’t caused any trouble, but she had definitely ditched her duties and fled.
Is that really okay, O great and supreme Archmage?
“No. We should still make the report before we go.”
“The Guild is likely aware of all the places you have been anyway! Do not waste time on such pointless acts and let us go!”
In the end, pushed along by Diana’s insistence, Guwon postponed the report and headed for the dungeon.
Diana’s point that the Guild probably knew the general areas he’d explored had some merit, and he figured they could just start earlier and explore that much more.
What Sara said about the quest being a hot topic among low-level adventurers seemed to be true. They were running into other adventurers with surprising frequency, whereas normally they’d be lucky to see even one other party inside the dungeon.
At this rate, even if a wolf howls for reinforcements, will only a few more even show up?
It would’ve been nice if things were like this a little earlier.
Guwon discreetly opened his status window.
Name: Guwon
>
Race: Human 24
>
Job: Saint 40 / Adventurer 3 / Martial Artist 12
>
Level: 40
>
Health: 9200/9200
>
Essence: 4000/4000
>
Strength: 85
>
Durability: 86
>
Agility: 76
>
Stamina: 55
>
Intelligence: 49
>
Spirit: 52
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Charm: 89
>
Bonus Stats: 75
>
Status: Normal
Thanks to the massive experience boost from his time with Diana yesterday, he was now at a point where he wouldn’t be scared no matter how many wolfdogs swarmed him. But now, of all times, wolfdog hunting had become safer.
It was a bitter feeling, as even the armor he’d just gotten yesterday felt somewhat meaningless now.
Still, he was wearing it properly since he’d gone to the trouble of getting it.
The only consolation was that, thanks to his increased stats, his body didn’t feel weighed down by the armor at all.
And so, Guwon, who no longer had any worries about facing wolfdogs, entered their territory. But the first monster he encountered was not a wolfdog.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“A goblin. They’re on the same level as wolfdogs, nothing special.”
Yeah, I can see that for myself.
Green skin, short enough to barely reach Guwon’s waist. An ugly face with a few sparse strands of hair and a large nose. Despite its small frame, it had solid muscles and didn’t look weak. It was the goblin, the very monster that had followed in the footsteps of orcs—who had been trending toward being portrayed as strangely strong lately—to become the new punching bag of the fantasy world.
The problem was, what were they doing here?
A group of four was sitting in a circle in the middle of an empty clearing, chattering cheerfully with crude wooden weapons lying beside them, looking thrilled about something.
He didn’t know why these new faces were suddenly here, but now was his chance while they hadn’t noticed him.
“Alright! Go! Sara! Diana! I choose you!”