Chapitre 35: The Quest Bar Part II
“If that’s the case, then first let’s see the quest the madame gave me.”
Joker realized that he also now had three quests at hand that were ready to be completed. He then opened the information window, a little more deftly this time, before scrolling around to find information on his quests until finally opening up the window successfully.
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Quest
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Level E
Defeat Wild Boar x20
(0/20)
Expiration: 24 hours
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Reward * Beginner Pack x1
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…
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Quest
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Level E
Collect Valerian blossoms x20
(0/20)
Expiration: 24 hours
----------------
Reward * Beginner Pack x1
----------------
…
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Quest
----------------
Level E
Defeat Green Chameleon x1
(0/1)
Expiration: 24 hours
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Reward * Chaser Pack x1
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He smiled at the given quests as the “Wild Boar” mentioned was, true to its name, a level three wild boar monster living in the nearby forest that he had already fought easily with yesterday; while the “Valerian blossoms” were common items dropped from that boar, which were not rare at all.
As for the Green Chameleon, it probably was some kind of monster in the game, which probably should not be difficult to find if he looked carefully. Plus, he only needed to defeat just one of them.
“Great. There shouldn’t be any problems with the quests I received. Then, the rest are the in-game quests.”
He then looked forward at the Quest Bar, which was a place where every summoner received their quests.
“I have to check the place out, then.”
Joke concluded before closing all of the opened information windows. Apart from going there in search of quests, there should definitely be information available for new players at that place. The tall figure pushed the short wooden wide open. As soon as he popped his head in, loud commotions could be heard from the inside. There were a large number of summoners crowding inside, sitting at long wooden tables that jam-packed the place. There were both food and drinks on the table along with some kind of drink in tall wooden bottles.
It was decorated with plain and simple furniture in every corner. The building was made entirely of wood, creating an atmosphere that felt like a fantasy-looking tavern. There was a large wooden board with chalk writings on it placed in a corner along with a number of players crowding around to see what was on it.
There was an antique-looking bar counter at the front with bottles and barrels of liquor behind the counter along with a monster’s head, likely a giant wild boar, hanging on the wall. There was also a middle-aged man with a chiseled body dressed comfortably in a tank top and an apron standing by the counter. It was clear from the sight that he was probably the NPC in charge of the Quest Bar.
“Hello.”
Joke walked up to the middle-aged NPC and greeted him politely. The person who was greeted lifted his gaze from the tall wine glass he had been wiping before showing his pearly whites through those wide smiles. When looked at closely, he was almost two meters tall. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail, while his face was full of mustache and beard long enough to be braided into a fishtail.
"Hey kid, need help with anything?" he greeted in a friendly tone. "I've never seen a face like yours around here before. I assume you’re a new summoner?"
"Yes."
Joke nodded. It still amazed him how the AI in this world could converse such realistically like a real human being.
“Well, I have just arrived in this town for the first time, so I want to do a quest here.”
“Oh! You got it, brother,” he said before smiling widely. “My name is Thomas, the master of the Lovera’s Quest Center. Nice to meet you. Don’t be afraid to ask me any of your questions.”
"Thank you, sir. My name is Joke…er."
Joke realized that there were some additions to his name in AOS. He greeted politely, which seemed to be causing this man to smile with gratitude.
“So, what then? What types of quests are you interested in, my novice young man?”
"Well, right now I don't have a single clue about it. Are there any quests that I can do?”
The man raised his hand, scratching his head at this clueless beginner before holding out his hand.
“Not a single clue, eh? Let me have a look at your ID card, then.”
“Oh, okay.”
Upon that request, Joke quickly held out his hand to call out his ID card. The man then received it before shaking it slightly until information appeared. When looked closely, his blue eyes became noticeable along with a scar at the head of his eyebrow as if he was seasoned in battle.
“Oh, boy. You’re really an absolute beginner. Your rank’s still at zero.”
"Rank?" Joke raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah. In the world of AOS, aside from the summoner’s ‘level’, every summoner will also have a ‘rank’ that ranges from the lowest E-Rank to the Platinum S-Rank, which is our highest rank currently.”
He listened dumbfoundedly at the explanation. It looked like Rin had not explained this to him. He only knew that halves could be leveled up to become more powerful, but he had no idea that summoners also had their own levels.
“And what effects do these ranks have on a summoner?”
“First of all, ranks will impact quests. The higher the rank that summoner has, the more difficult quests they can receive. In addition, ranks are used to determine various other matters. For instance, some tournaments would require a summoner to be at a certain rank in order to participate in it.”
“Oh,” Joke cried out in understanding. It seemed like these ranks had nothing to do with health points, but rather an indication of a summoner’s skills.
"So, how can these ranks be increased?"
"You have to keep collecting points." Thomas moved his information window towards Joke before pointing out. "You see the table here? You can see a reward bar for your rank there. There are usually a variety of ways to increase points for your rank whether completing quests, dueling with other summoners, or participating in tournaments both inside and outside of Arcadia. The points you’ll receive depends on the difficulty of the activity you participated in. When the bar is filled up, you will automatically level up… Oh, except if it's a rank promotion. You will have to complete a special quest to get a promotion.”
“A rank promotion?” Joke narrowed his eyes confusedly.
"Well, in AOS, the ranks are divided into Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Platinum," he said as he counted along with his fingers, "and each rank is subdivided from E to S. When you’re at an S-rank, you can take a promotion exam to up your rank.”
Hearing that, Joke glanced at his rank, which was now still at a Copper E-Rank. Plus, his rank emblem was still copper-colored with no decorated pattern. It was obvious that he was at the lowest level in the game.
“Looks like it’s going to be long until I reach the highest rank.”
"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, kid!" Thomas laughed.
“It’s not easy to climb up the summoner’s rank—even some of the pro players are still in Gold. It’s better to take your time in things like this. Oh, there are not only ups with these ranks, they can also go down. If you fail at a quest or get defeated frequently by monsters on a lower level than you, your rank can also drop as well, got it?”
It sounded complicated, but he believed that he currently did not have a choice because if he wanted to make a large amount of money quickly, he would have to hurry his way through the ranks in order to receive better quests. He assumed that these ranks would surely have some impact on accepting quests outside of Arcadia.
"Then, what kinds of quests can I accept?"
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone