章節 36: 36
Arthur was rescued by Ol' Smith who wandered by to serve his order. He placed the meal on the table before the young man and commented jokingly, "Arthur, your appetite has gotten much bigger after you become an adventurer. I hope it's the sign of a second growth spurt because you'll need the size to fill in those shining armour nicely." Of course, Ol' Smith knew Arthur was not going to be a warrior type but the man would not give up any chance to slide in a scathing but well-meaning comment towards his favourite customers.
Arthur ignored the tavern's proprietor like how he ignored the couple who was still in middle of their banter and focused on his food.
After Ol' Smith got the cold shoulder from Arthur, he laughed and walked away but to Arthur's disappointment, the man returned after a few minutes. "Before I forget, this is the reward money for completing the quest. Don't spend it all at once. And Arthur, have a nice dinner." Then, Ol' Smith walked away.
The mention of business brought Felicia and Billy back from their friendly argument. Felicia reached for the bag of gold that was on the table. While Arthur was gorging on his food, Felicia counted the money and then split it in half and gave one half to Arthur. "Half and half?"
Arthur nodded between bites.
After Felicia kept her part of the money, Billy suddenly brought up this topic, "Speaking of adventures and quests, Arthur, do you remember the promise of the village's adventurer's guild's leader to make you a level D adventurer?"
Of course, Arthur had not forgotten. The leader was going to write a recommendation letter on his behalf to the adventurer's guild's headquarters at Celestia to help him skip the advancement test to be a level D adventurer. After all, he had beaten Emile who was a level D adventurer, so how could he be a level E adventurer?
Arthur thought it was slightly unfair for him to skip over the advancement test but if the adventurer's guild was willing to give him a shortcut, he was not going to say no.
Billy reached into this back pocket and pulled out a letter to hand over to Arthur. He said with a big smile, "Arthur, this is a surprise for you."
On top of the letter was a crest of the adventurer's guild. Arthur found it difficult to contain his excitement as he reached for the letter. There was a big smile on Billy's face and Felicia congratulated him.
Billy added, "While you were away on the quest, the entry test has already wrapped up. So it is now the time for the advancement tests that will be held at Celestia. If I'm not mistaken this letter is most likely related to that."
Arthur tore the envelope open and the letter fell out. He read through the letter quickly. The content of the letter stated that the headquarters have read the recommendation letter sent by the leader of the guild at Armana and they wished to award Arthur with the identity of a level D adventurer due to the uniqueness of his circumstances. Of course, if Arthur showed the promise of an even more-skilled adventurer, they would not be hesitant to award him with a higher ranking to match his ability.
Arthur was ecstatic that they would do such an exception for him. His goal was to be a high-ranking adventurer so that one day he could match the legend of his father. Perhaps then, he would be able to attract his father's attention and get him to return.
Arthur shared the contents of the letter with his friends. Both Billy and Felicia were happy on his behalf.
This also meant that Arthur had to make his move to Celestia as soon as possible or else he might miss the deadline. The advancement tests were going to be held for a week only. Even though the letter did not specify that Arthur was required to enroll in the test, it did request for Arthur to be present for the closing ceremony where the upgrade in ranking would be awarded.
Arthur had not been to Celestia before so he felt like asking someone to accompany him. At least that way he would be so lonely on the road and lost when he arrived at the city. Unfortunately, now that Billy had taken up his post as the instructor, he did not have the time to leave the village.
Felicia volunteered to go with Arthur but he rejected her kind offer. She was still recovering from the injury suffered from their previous adventure so Arthur did not want to trouble her anymore.
In the end, Arthur had to make this journey alone. After they departed at Ol' Smith, Arthur returned to his home to rest for the night and to prepare for the journey tomorrow. He made sure to pack everything even though there was technically nothing for him to pack other than that letter.
Billy and Felicia came to give Arthur a send-off. Felicia gifted Arthur a steel dagger. "I've noticed you relying a lot on your magic during our adventure. I don't want to jinx it but perhaps you might run into a situation where your magic is sealed. In any case, it is better to be prepared and a weapon to protect yourself is absolutely necessary. Better safe than sorry."
Arthur thanked Felicia for her concern. With Billy and Felicia waving him off, Arthur made his journey to the city of Celestia. This was the first time the young man had departed from his home town of Armana. He was a city boy, going to a big village, he wondered what kind of adventure awaited him at the other side...
創作者的想法 
Lonelytree
Lonelytree I'm planning to rewrite the whole arc to reflect upon the criticism and the comment so bear with me please. Around 20k words have been abandoned [including draft chapters], so updates might be slow. Much apologies.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票