Ascension from Dual Professions

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Mission! Mission

Jon walked back toward his Hunter’s Cottage, unable to hide the joy on his face.

It wasn’t just because he had received three pieces of equipment and a flask of Blood Regeneration Potion from the old blacksmith. More importantly, new content had been unlocked on his game panel.

——

[Quest: Ore Sample Collection (Ordinary - Repeatable)]

[Sutton Silverbeard has dedicated his life to forging the legendary ”Metal of the Gods.” To do so, he must experiment with various combinations of smelted ore.]

[Objective: Submit Ore Sample (0/1)]

[Basic Reward: 200 universal Experience Points]

[Bonus Reward: Receive an additional Experience Points reward multiplier based on ore rarity, with a chance to obtain items, equipment, and money from Sutton Silverbeard.]

”Note: Overly common and Ordinary ores will be rejected.”

——

’Whew... Quests can still be triggered, just as I thought. And they still give Experience Points...’

Seeing the previously unresponsive [Quest] panel activate, the weight that had been pressing on Jon’s heart was finally lifted.

’I don’t have to worry about leveling up anymore!’

After killing the great snow fox and gaining his first batch of Experience Points, he had realized a problem.

The act of ”grinding mobs,” a perfectly normal behavior for players, might not be a sustainable long-term strategy for him.

The reason was simple.

In a game, monsters would respawn infinitely. But what about monsters in reality?

People are born from their mothers, and monsters are naturally born from theirs.

’Wasn’t a beast like the great snow fox born to a mother and father, growing from a kit into an adult?’

’If I kill too many, I’ll drive them to extinction!’

Even with no other players competing for mobs, the experience needed to level up in the late game would easily reach the tens of millions, or even over a hundred million. If he really had to rely on killing monsters to level up, just how many would he have to slaughter?

Besides, he still hadn’t chosen a second Sub-profession, meaning his demand for Experience Points was double that of a typical player...

The thought alone was despairing.

Since leveling up by slaughtering massive numbers of monsters wasn’t a viable path, Jon could only turn his attention to ”quests.”

On the vast and boundless Yino Continent, countless quests awaited players. Some were simple, others difficult, but most of them shared a common trait: they awarded a ton of experience.

Players who didn’t enjoy the story or disliked using their heads might find questing tedious. They’d opt for grinding mobs, running Dungeons, or other brainless playstyles instead.

But Jon wasn’t one of those players.

Although he was just an ordinary player, he was willing to delve into the game’s lore, get involved in the story, and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that came from altering the course of events.

As a result, he knew the steps for many quests.

But knowing the steps was useless. Until he could confirm that he could interact with the people of this world and actually trigger quests, he would remain worried.

Those last few words he’d spoken as he left the Blacksmith Shop had been a test.

Thankfully, it worked.

Now that he had the quest, he needed to figure out how to complete it.

Old Sutton’s quest was a repeatable one that many players in the Birchwood Territory had done. It was popular because it was easy and gave a decent amount of experience.

For new players, there was a perfect spot to complete this quest: an Abandoned Mine about forty-some *li* west of Nomu Village. There, one had a good chance of finding special ores.

It contained plenty of varieties that weren’t valuable but were rare enough. Bringing them back would be enough to farm a nice chunk of experience from Old Sutton, and with any luck, he might even give out equipment as a reward!

It was an easy win, so why not take it?

Besides...

’The [Abandoned Mine] is a small Dungeon, isn’t it? ...When I get there, will it trigger a Dungeon-clear quest?’

’Hmm... Regardless of whether it triggers or not, I need to prepare first...’

This was a Domain where a player excelled.

After finalizing his plan to head to the [Abandoned Mine], Jon thought of something else.

’If the Quest panel could be activated by accepting a quest, what about the other functions?’

His gaze seemed fixed on the road ahead, but it was actually focused on the floating system menu before his eyes.

Right now, only three functions were confirmed to be usable: [Character], [Skills], and [Quest].

The rest, like [Inventory], [Sub-profession], [Social], [Guild], and [Achievements], were all grayed out and non-interactive.

Jon’s gaze shifted, lingering on the inventory icon for a moment before he looked away.

’The inventory is the most important one... That’s a unique advantage for a player... Having it would make things so much more convenient...’

’I wonder if I need a spatial storage item to unlock it. Those things aren’t cheap, even from NPCs...’

’One step at a time. I’ll have to test them all...’

He’d passed villagers on his way, of course, but not a single one greeted him. They either gave him a wide berth or stared with a mixture of fear and disgust.

He was utterly detested.

But Jon didn’t care.

He was willing to be sincere with Old Sutton, who had shown him kindness. But as for these ignorant peasants?

Hmph!

If they dared to step out of line, they shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless!

He walked on.

...

In a wooden house across from the tavern, a pot-bellied middle-aged man in simple cotton clothes sat by the window. His gaze followed Jon’s retreating figure until the boy disappeared completely from sight.

He turned to a sallow-faced man crouching by the fireplace to warm his hands and said pensively.

”Basque, are you saying that boy, Jon, has a chance to become a [Knight]?”

”I just said he has a ’chance.’ I never said it’s a sure thing.”

The captain of the Nomu Village guard rubbed his hands together, his face a picture of innocence, as if to say, ’Don’t you go pinning this on me!’

But he didn’t leave it at that, adding,

”But the kid’s got a stubborn streak. I have a good feeling about him. Maybe not a [Knight], but he should have no problem becoming a [Soldier].”

”Is that so...”

The portly middle-aged man tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, making a light TAP-TAP sound. The folds of his chin bunched together as he was clearly lost in thought.

After a long moment, he finally spoke again.

”Basque, you used to be one of Lord Paris’s guards, so I won’t hide certain things from you.”

”Because of the plague at the start of the year, his lordship has expressed some displeasure with me. Unfavorable rumors are already spreading among the other officials.”

”I must prove my worth again if I want to secure my position as village chief.”

The middle-aged man stared intently at Basque, his gaze burning, and asked gravely,

”Tell me, if our village could produce a young man with a Knight’s potential to serve his lordship, do you think my current situation might improve?”

Seeing his old friend’s serious tone, the sallow-faced man dropped his slick, evasive expression.

He thought for a moment before giving his answer.

”Reed, you know what? It’s highly likely.”

”I’ve heard from the lads that things have been getting restless between the Empire and the Religious Country lately. His Majesty the Emperor is very likely to conscript the children of the nobility for the battlefield. If Jon really has potential, his lordship would be most pleased.”

”Is that so...”

The middle-aged man sighed upon hearing this.

”So it’s war again...”

But he quickly swallowed such useless sentiments and struck the armrest decisively.

”Those are matters beyond our control. Best not to dwell on them.”

A sharp glint flashed in his small eyes, his tone resolute.

”I’m counting on you, Basque. Help me keep an eye on this Jon kid.”

”And have your men warn those layabouts in the village. Tell them to cause less trouble!”

Seeing this, Basque knew he couldn’t refuse. He could only spread his hands and shrug.

”Sigh... all right. What can I say? We’ve been partners for so many years, after all.”