Chapter 30

7/16 This is my sixth post today.

"Uu~n... Ah... I slept well again today..."

While cracking my neck and shoulders, I washed my face in the inn's courtyard and headed to the dining room.

When I was a salaryman, I never had this much time to sleep, so this might actually be a pretty good life.

"Good morning~"

"Good morning. I'll prepare breakfast right away, so just sit and wait."

"Okay... Ah, can I also have some fruit water?"

"Sure thing! Your skin is getting quite tanned, and you're starting to look more like a hunter!"

"Hehehe"

This tanned skin is mainly due to yesterday's river play...

But there's no need to explain the reason, I guess.

I'm working hard as a hunter!

"Here you go, sorry for the wait!"

As I was told, the usual breakfast set plus the leftovers from last night's dinner were placed on the table in front of me, and I started thinking about yesterday.

(The three of them experiencing 'kaari' for the first time was quite interesting...)

May seemed to know the existence of the restaurant, and when I led them there, she exclaimed, "Eeeeee!! This place is super expensive, isn't it?!" and made a big fuss.

Jink also panicked at the price of 9000 bekes.

I knew this would happen, so I pushed them into the restaurant, saying I would treat them.

"Hmm... You're already here."

Ignoring the provocative owner, I explained that 'kaari' is a dish often eaten in the place where I lived.

It's extremely spicy... so spicy it feels like your mouth is on fire, but the deliciousness that follows is addictive, I told them, and the three of them swallowed hard, accepting the challenge of the unknown.

When the dish arrived, the three of them, including me, naturally burst into flames. Well, I was included, so it was four of us.

Jink's face turned bright red as he struggled to endure, May's spoon trembled as she sobbed, and Potta's sweat was so profuse that I was worried he might die of dehydration.

But no one stopped eating.

Maybe it was because the meal was expensive, or maybe they were captivated by the lingering taste, but in the end, all four of us finished the meal.

"I might have chosen a more celebratory restaurant, but I'm sorry, I didn't know any. But you got a new experience, right?"

As I asked them, drenched in sweat, they all nodded vigorously without a word, so I think this will be a good life experience for them.

It's not the kind of place you can just casually challenge and afford to go to.

The three of them looked at me with complicated expressions as I quickly paid the bill, but in the end, they all said, "Thank you! I'll brag to my mom," "Thanks! I'll brag too!" and "It was spicy but I'm happy, thank you!" and seemed satisfied, so it was worth treating them.

As they wobbled away, I was a bit worried, but I had already told the innkeeper that I would have dinner, so I hurried back to the inn and finished another dinner.

(Recently, I've been eating a lot... Well, at this age, it's called a growth spurt, so it's fine. I'm moving around a lot too...)

Before I knew it, I had finished breakfast, so I checked today's schedule and got ready to go out.

First, I went to the guild to withdraw money and then visited Rody to check the materials obtained from the Locker Plains.

After that, I bought weapons and armor from Paiser at the weapon shop.

And then I went to the church to choose a job.

Ah, I also need to go to the store to buy poison potions.

If I don't start working on these tasks, I won't be able to finish them in one day.

So there's no time to be idle.

The slight pain in my buttocks is just part of the fun.

I hurried to the Hunter's Guild.

---

"Hey! Why haven't you been showing up here lately?!"

"Huh?"

It was still early in the morning, and while the hunters were competing for quests, I was called by the receptionist, Amanda.

The senior hunters turned to look at me... I don't want to stand out...

"Well, I heard from Rody that rewards can be stored, and I know where the cages are, so I go there directly. Besides, there are no emergency quests for the monsters in the Palmera Great Forest, so I don't need to come here."

That's the case.

If there were emergency quests, I would come here, but the Palmera Great Forest only has regular quests.

There might have been emergency search or rescue quests while I was away, but since regular quests don't require me to accept them, I didn't need to come here.

The cages I always borrow are just brought from the disassembly area if I ask at the reception, so it's more efficient for me to go there directly.

I also bought skewers for lunch from a shop near the south exit and ate them while heading to the forest.

"Well, that's true, but... we still have things to tell you, you know?"

"Huh? Is there something?"

"Absolutely... Your stable monster hunting record has been recognized, and you've been promoted to F-rank! ...Six days ago!"

"Really? I see..."

I had completely forgotten about the hunter rank...

I don't need special permission for F-rank quests, and even if I were recognized for E-rank, I wouldn't go there yet.

"So, here. Show me your guild card. I'll update it."

"Ah, sure, sorry... And I want to withdraw some money, so can I withdraw the amount I have on deposit?"

"All of it?"

"Yes, please..."

Oh... Amanda is in a bad mood... She's like a mother to me in this world... If I say that, I might get more than just a punch.

After a few minutes, the new guild card, which was the same iron-like material but with a large 'F' on it, was handed to me along with a heavy leather bag.

"Is this 'F' the update?"

"Yes, this means you're now F-rank. When you take on quests from people, showing your guild card will prove your rank. So, as I said before, don't lose it."

"Of course, but... I thought the material of the card would change or something."

"Well, we can do that, but it costs extra."

"Really?!"

"Of course, the guild is a business. Up to E-rank, it's not a big burden, but if we gave out cards made of assigned minerals for D-rank and above, it would be very expensive."

"Assigned minerals...? That sounds interesting!"

"Oh? You want to know more? You want to hear the details?"

"Ugh... I want to know..."

"Well, it's fine. Even if you have no business here, showing up can be beneficial for you."

She explained the hunter ranks, which were exactly as I expected.

G - Iron (Iron Rank)

F - Copper (Copper Rank)

E - Bronze (Bronze Rank)

D - Silver (Silver Rank)

C - Gold (Gold Rank)

B - Mithril (Mithril Rank)

A - Damascus (Damascus Rank)

S - Adamant (Adamant Rank)

Each rank can have a card made from the corresponding mineral.

If you request it, the guild will produce a card made of the mineral you choose, and you can exchange it for your current card once it's ready.

However, the cost of the materials is on the hunter.

If you don't want to pay, the iron card will still serve as proof, so you should just endure it.

The 'S' on the iron card... what a bland story.

"How about it?" she asked, puffing out her chest, which isn't very impressive, and leaning back.

"It's pretty much as I expected," I replied, and she looked disappointed, as if she had a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

"But it's a bit sad that even high-rank hunters have iron cards..."

"It's fine. High-rank hunters have money. If we provided cards made of assigned minerals for free, it would be a big problem. The cost would be passed on to lower-rank hunters."

"Really?"

"Yes. The overall quest rewards would decrease, and the rate of hunters taking on quests beyond their capabilities for money would increase, leading to a higher risk of death. On the other hand, the decrease in rewards for high-rank hunters wouldn't affect their finances much, as the reward amounts are in different orders of magnitude."

"I see... So, take what you can get, right?"

"Exactly. Most high-rank hunters care about the quality of their cards. You wouldn't want to show off your card when you go from G to F, right?"

"True, I wouldn't think of showing it off even if I reached E."

"Most hunters feel the same way. So, caring about the quality of the card is a loss for low-rank hunters. The guild doesn't give special treatment to a few high-rank hunters; instead, they complete high-reward quests."

Hmm, that makes sense.

The guild is more thoughtful than I thought.

They care about low-rank hunters.

However...

"I understand, thank you. But there's one thing I can't quite accept or feel a bit off about."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Is the Hunter's Guild really correct that S-rank is the highest?"

This is what I was wondering.

The highest rank being 'S-rank' isn't an issue, but Adamant Rank...

It's the hard, rare mineral often called Adamantium or Adamantite.

It's true that a beginner hunter can't get it.

But saying Adamant is the highest doesn't feel right.

Is it just my misunderstanding...

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, it just feels off. I'm wondering if Adamant is really the highest mineral."

"Well, it's not a secret... In the past, there were higher ranks. But they don't exist now. To be precise, there are no hunters capable of reaching those ranks."

"Is that so... I feel a bit relieved."

"Are you curious about the ranks that don't exist now?"

"Well, that's part of it. But as a new F-rank hunter, it's probably too high a goal to worry about. I'll ask more when I get closer to reaching it."

"Hehe... That's right. When you do, come to me. It's content that younger hunters don't know, so I'll explain it to you when you're a bit older."

"Haha, I'll grow physically soon. The issue is the rank."

"Oh! Growing physically is enough! Please come and ask! To me!"

Ah, this is bad... I can smell a monster from Amanda.

"Sorry, I have a lot of plans today! See you next time!"

"Wait, wait! Stay a while sometimes!"

I ran away down the path to the disassembly area, hearing Amanda's shouts.

I have a lot of plans today!

Still... there are no hunters capable of reaching those ranks.

That means there might be people who can reach those ranks, but they're not hunters.

(Takuya the Hero, maybe... That's probably the only possibility...)

Will I ever meet him?

He's a prince, so it might be difficult.

Thinking about this, I headed to Rody, the head of the disassembly area.

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