Chapter 23

"Um... Mr. Cat, is it really a good idea to take on a promotion quest right now?" Seeing Wenlong jump out and immediately request a more challenging promotion quest, Catherine couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

"Don't worry, with this great guy around, there's no problem, meow!" Wenlong patted his chest and said.

Hearing Wenlong say this, Catherine calmed down a bit. After all, after the previous hunt, Catherine had come to trust Wenlong even more as a reliable hunter. Although he was just an Ailu cat, he gave her a special sense of security. Especially when Catherine was about to be trampled by a wild boar's hooves, it was Wenlong who drew the boar's attention and saved her. At that moment, Catherine even thought of her brother.

"Since Mr. Cat says so, he must have his reasons. I'll trust Mr. Cat..." Catherine thought to herself.

After the initial trial, Wenlong had a general understanding of his current body. Since he had managed to take down four wild boars with just his claws and no weapons or equipment, challenging a monster stronger than a wild boar didn't seem like an impossible task.

Moreover, Wenlong had another idea: to help Catherine quickly become familiar with the hunting process. Although it might be unrealistic to expect Catherine to become a seasoned hunter capable of taking down more powerful monsters in a short time, Wenlong was confident that with a certain level of training, Catherine could reach a point where she could help clear out weaker monsters in the area. This shouldn't be too much of a problem.

In short, with the high-quality equipment crafted by Grandma Ruisi and the significant potential for improvement in a new hunter, Wenlong had the confidence to take on the promotion quest.

As before, Sasha didn't immediately agree to Wenlong's request. Instead, she looked at Catherine, wanting to hear her opinion.

After all, in a human-Ailu cat team, the human usually makes the decisions, while the Ailu cat acts more like a companion. Although some Ailu cats have combat abilities that rival those of hunters, most of the time, the human hunter makes the decisions.

However, Catherine just smiled a bit sheepishly and said, "If Mr. Cat says we should take the promotion quest, then let's see what promotion quests are available."

Catherine's approach made Sasha feel a bit strange.

As the receptionist at the Hunter's Guild office in Mirado Village, Sasha often dealt with hunters and their Ailu cats, but she had never seen a hunter who would leave the decision to take on a quest to an Ailu cat.

"Alright," seeing that Catherine agreed, Sasha hesitated for a moment before nodding, "But before that, you need to pay a deposit."

"Deposit?" Catherine's eyes widened in confusion.

"Yes, a deposit. This is to prevent hunters from impulsively taking on promotion quests. Promotion quests represent the next star level and are more difficult than regular quests. The deposit also serves as a fund for rescue operations if a hunter encounters unexpected situations during a promotion quest. You can think of it as a mandatory life insurance for hunters taking on dangerous tasks."

Sasha repeated the explanation about the deposit that she had given countless times.

"Understood. How much is the deposit?" Wenlong asked.

"One hundred silver coins, not a single one less," Sasha said.

In reality, Sasha didn't think Wenlong and Catherine could come up with one hundred silver coins for the deposit. After all, the reward for the previous one-star silver quest, which involved hunting four wild boars, was only a meager 20 silver coins. Even if they included the income from selling the wild boar materials, they would barely reach 50 silver coins. If they subtracted the costs of the hunt, such as recovery potions, food, whetstones, and accommodation in Mirado Village, the remaining money would be very little.

So, Sasha didn't think that the newly promoted hunter, Catherine, could come up with one hundred silver coins for the deposit. Mentioning the deposit was largely to discourage Catherine from taking on a high-level quest too soon.

After all, from past experience, new hunters who were too impulsive often ended up with tragic consequences.

So when Wenlong took a golden coin from his pocket and placed it on the counter, Sasha was speechless for a moment.

"Don't worry, we can afford the deposit. It's just one hundred silver coins, right? My master doesn't even need to pay; I can cover it with my allowance, meow!"

To help Catherine gain a good reputation in Mirado Village and the Hunter's Guild, Wenlong didn't hesitate to lie.

According to common thinking, Ailu cats usually rely on the wages provided by their human partners to cover their daily expenses. This means that as a hunting cat, their allowance comes from the hunter's income. Therefore, as a hunter, Catherine should be much wealthier than Wenlong.

So, Sasha easily assumed that if Wenlong, an Ailu cat, could easily produce a gold coin from his pocket, then his human partner, Catherine, must be a very wealthy person. Given her young age and considerable wealth, it was easy to assume that Catherine was likely from a wealthy and influential family.

This made Sasha feel a bit ashamed of her initial underestimation, and her face turned a bit red. After all, even in the world of monster hunters, wealthy and capable young heirs are always envied.

"Alright, one gold coin, which equals one hundred silver coins. I'll take it."

Sasha took the gold coin and then took out some scrolls, each densely filled with detailed information about various quests.

"These are one-star gold quests, which are the next level of promotion quests for you. You can choose any one to complete, and completing any of them will allow you to advance to one-star gold."

"Got it, meow."

Facing the scrolls on the counter, Wenlong carefully examined them. Although Catherine didn't understand much and wasn't even sure of the strength of the monsters described in the quests, she pretended to read the information along with Wenlong.