章 6: Seraphia Adventurer Association

He walked down the hallway, passing by the kitchen and catching sight of the spacious living room up ahead. To the left, there was a parlor, another bathroom, and the study, while to the right were the kitchen and a guest room. Outside, there was a door leading to the garden. As he stepped into the living room, he saw Kael's mother, Lavinia, sitting beside the fireplace with Arabella laying her head in her mother's lap, sleeping peacefully.

Lavinia noticed him and smiled warmly, "Kael, sweetheart, why have you come downstairs? You have just received the blessing." Saad took a moment to gather his thoughts and replied as he approached them, "I feel fine now. The blessing worked wonders." It felt reassuring to speak those words, and seeing Lavinia nod and understand eased his tension.

"Don't push yourself too much, okay?" Her gentleness made Saad feel comforted. Lavinia truly embodied the image of a perfect mother. "Yes, Mother, don't worry," he replied with a smile. Now, however, was a perfect opportunity for Saad to check the Quest tab. While many special quests were related to unique circumstances, there were also daily quests tied to daily life tasks that helped players earn enough experience points for initial level ups.

As he pondered the daily quests, a silver question mark popped up above Lavinia's head, indicating a special quest. Saad needed to trigger the quest, so he cleared his throat and looked at Lavinia, "Mother, is something troubling you?"

Lavinia paused for a moment, her fingers barely pausing in their gentle stroking of Arabella's hair. She sighed softly and raised her hand to elegantly rest it on her cheek, "I am worried about you. Next year will be the awakening trial, but I feel like you are not ready for it yet. I would feel at ease if you got a little practice beforehand. Clearing the labyrinth is not a trivial matter. Why not just join your father in our merchant business? There is going to be a martial arts tournament next month. Why don't you try it out and see if you are fit for an adventurer's life?"

As Lavinia finished speaking, a quest window opened up in front of Saad.

[Quest: A Mother's Worry]

Lavinia has been genuinely worried about your health and your future as an adventurer. It would put her mind at ease if you are properly ready for the challenges that lie ahead in the vast world.

- Increase your level: 1/10

- Acquire class: Incomplete

- Acquire 1 defense skill: Incomplete

- Win against a warrior 1 level above yours: Incomplete

Difficulty: B

Time limit: 30 days

Reward:

- Reputation +30

- A Hidden Piece of Emberflame's History

- Spheres: +3

- Title: A Good Son

Saad read through the quest to the end and couldn't help but snicker at the title reward, 'a good son.' Only in a game could it be this easy to earn such a title. "Mother, I accept your conditions. I will try to fulfill your requirements and put your mind at ease," Saad replied, and Lavinia smiled back, clearly pleased with his response.

[You have accepted the quest 'A Mother's Worry.' The time limit is 30 days.]

The quest had been accepted, and soon a maid entered the room, serving tea and freshly baked cookies. Saad's eyebrows rose at the descriptions of the food items. Although his stamina and HP were already full according to his character profile, he couldn't help but wonder about the taste. Would it feel real? Would eating all the cookies increase his stamina, or would just one cookie do the trick? Curiosity got the better of him, and he grabbed a cookie, taking a bite. The taste was astonishingly real; the cookie was soft, filled with jam, and had a delicious buttery flavor. Saad couldn't hide his delight as a message window popped up.

[Congratulations on starting your journey as a foodie!]

Ignoring the message, he continued to savor the cookies and the slightly bitter, fragrant tea. After enjoying the snack, he opened the daily quest, fully committed to completing the quest given by Lavinia. While there were no penalties for not finishing daily quests, he didn't want to miss out on the rewards, especially the hidden piece, whatever it might be.

As Lavinia got up and carried the sleeping Arabella to her room, Saad decided it was time to leave Kael's house. Stepping outside, he admired the beauty of the house before making some adjustments to his character settings. He changed his name display to black, indicating he was a player, but hid his actual name and player ID. Then, he decided to head to the town square, where he had heard the local Adventurer's Association building was located, and where quests were handed out.

Following the map, Saad arrived at the town square, noticing a grand serpent statue in the middle, surrounded by a working fountain. Stalls and people filled the area, but his focus was on finding the association building. After locating it, he entered and was greeted by a warm and cozy atmosphere with red stones hanging like chandeliers.

[Flame stones - Middle Rank]

A famous stone found in the mines of Seraphia that emits warmth.

He pushed aside his curiosity about the stones and approached the reception, where he encountered a beautiful brunette, indicated as [Irene Bells]. Surprisingly, she was also a player, but Saad decided to remain composed. "How can I help you today?" Irene asked with a professional smile. Saad pointed towards the quest board behind her. "I want to take a newbie quest. What is the procedure?"

Irene nodded and explained, "First, you have to register with the association. The fee is 100 Quills. For now, you can only accept quests one level above yours. This will change as you level up. If you don't have a starting weapon, the association will temporarily lend you one, or you can buy it. If you choose to borrow one, you'll have to pay 5 Quills for every 1 reduced durability. Additionally, you have to pay 10 Quills upfront and the full price if you end up breaking it."

Saad's eyebrows twitched at the costs. It did feel like a hefty price to pay.

Saad felt a pang of hesitation as 100 Quills for registration already meant one Sphere, and the additional costs for borrowing a weapon seemed quite high. Irene seemed to understand his hesitation, speaking from experience, "Weapons are expensive, especially the good ones. Trust me, it's a lot cheaper to just borrow them from the association." Despite her assurance, Saad wasn't ready to trust her just yet. "For now, I'm only going to register," he firmly responded.

Irene nodded, pulling out an ash wood plaque with the association's symbol on it, which resembled the serpent he had seen outside. Handing him a magical pen, she instructed him to write his player ID and character name on it. As Saad did so, a magic circle on the plaque activated, absorbing a drop of his blood. Intricate patterns and sigils appeared around the teardrop-shaped blood droplet, which he couldn't read. Curiously, he asked Irene about it, and she explained, "It's a magic circle of Blood-marked Oath. It will help with tracking your association ID in case of unfortunate circumstances."

Once the registration was complete, Saad paid 1 Sphere, feeling the sting of parting with his hard-earned money. His association card was handed to him, and he examined the details:

[Seraphia Adventurer Association]

Name: Kael Emberflame

ID: Hidden

Class: ------

Adventurer Rank: Novice

Quests for Rank up: 0/20

"Please give me a quest for now that doesn't require a weapon," he requested, and Irene nodded, searching for a suitable quest.

Irene heard his request and she nodded, "Please wait a moment."

She turned and took a stack from multiple stacks of quests. This one has a white stamp on it, the color assigned for newbie quests. "Weapon-free quests," she spoke, and a few pages floated out of the stack, which she moved her finger to put in front of Saad, who was fascinated. Her badge seemed to faintly shine. "Here are-" She started, but Saad couldn't stop himself.

"How did you do that?" He was awfully curious.

Irene stopped talking and looked at him, taking a moment to understand his question before explaining, "It's the 'authority' that comes with being the receptionist. Every job has its own authorities and perks."

"Uh-huh," Saad replied, intrigued by Irene's explanation.

He was so curious about her authorities, but Irene didn't seem to have the time to elaborate further. He decided he would research it later on the official CWS site. For now, he grabbed the quest papers and stepped aside to read them while Irene attended to the next person. The stack contained various quests, ranging from simple house cleaning requests to herb gathering and ingredient gathering.

Among them was one quest with a small, easy-to-miss star placed on the folded corner of the page. Saad's eyes filled with excitement as he quickly went through all the other quests, but as expected, there were no stars on them. This clearly indicated that the quest with the star was different and special. He held it in his hand and waited impatiently while Irene dealt with the current adventurer, who was surprisingly an NPC. Perhaps it was because the game had launched not too long ago.