Reborn as an Adventurer: I Gain a Skill From Every Monster I Eat

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 — A New Class of Quest

Three weeks passed before Garrett pronounced himself satisfied enough with Arlen’s progress on both techniques to stop treating every session as pure drilling.

”Not mastered,” Garrett clarified, watching Arlen complete a clean Edgeline Strike against a padded practice post. ”But reliable now, under controlled conditions. That’s enough of a foundation to build real combat application on top of. The rest comes from actually using them when it matters.”

”When should I start looking for that kind of work?”

”Already have, I’d wager, knowing you.” Garrett’s weathered face carried a faint, knowing amusement. ”Go on. Check the board properly. See what your confirmed status and two named techniques actually qualify you for now.”

Arlen took the advice seriously, spending the better part of an afternoon working through the guild’s full posting board with careful attention, cross-referencing the newer, previously restricted notices against what he now understood of his own capabilities.

Most of the confirmed-Awakened postings proved modest — escort work through slightly more dangerous terrain, minor subjugation contracts against creatures just above what an ordinary Rank E adventurer could safely handle. Useful experience, certainly, but nothing that tested him the way he was hoping to be tested.

He found what he was looking for tucked toward the board’s edge, a posting that had clearly been sitting unclaimed for some time, the parchment slightly weathered compared to fresher notices around it.

Subjugation — Iron-Bark Treant, confirmed Rank 3-4, disrupting logging operation at Northern Timber Camp. Multiple conventional weapon strikes reported ineffective; creature’s bark-like hide carries unusual density, resistant to ordinary blades and blunt force alike. Confirmed Awakened required. Reward: 80 Silver, plus timber consortium’s standing gratitude and preferred contract status for future work. Rank D preferred; Rank E confirmed Awakened considered with adequate support.

He read it twice, turning over the details with the same careful attention he gave every serious decision now. A treant’s hide resistance made immediate sense to him — something closer to living wood grown dense and hardened over years, rather than any conventional armor. The kind of resistance Aura might actually cut through where ordinary steel simply glanced off.

He brought the posting to Lyra that same afternoon, understanding well enough by now that anything this far above ordinary quest work required proper guild oversight before he committed to it.

”Northern Timber Camp,” Lyra said, reading over the notice with a slight frown. ”This has been sitting unclaimed almost three weeks. Iron-Bark Treants are rare this far from the deeper forest — I’m not surprised the loggers are having trouble with it.”

”I’d want a full party,” Arlen said. ”Same arrangement as the goblin camp — proper numbers, careful reconnaissance before any engagement.”

Lyra studied him for a long moment, the same careful, evaluating attention she’d shown him since the night of the wolf pack mobilization, though considerably warmer now than it had been during those tense weeks following Millbrook.

”Your rank and confirmed status make you eligible,” she said finally. ”Whether it’s wise is a separate question. Aura channels differently than a simple weapon strike — should pass through that kind of dense, wood-like resistance better than ordinary blades manage. That’s exactly why it’s flagged for confirmed Awakened only.”

”I’ll need at least one other confirmed Awakened alongside me, understood.”

”Correct. Assemble your party properly before setting a departure date.” Lyra’s expression eased slightly. ”And Arlen — I’m glad to see you taking on more demanding work. After Millbrook, I wasn’t certain how you’d handle the aftermath. This is a good sign.”

He left her office with the posting formally logged against his name, pending proper party assembly, and spent the following days making careful inquiries throughout the guild hall. Cobb and Sil, though skilled, hadn’t undergone formal evaluation. Reya’s party proved similarly unconfirmed, though Dorn mentioned he was working toward his own evaluation and simply wasn’t there yet.

It was Ysolde, during one of Arlen’s regular kitchen visits, who mentioned that Halvard — the same quiet, capable Rank D warrior who’d escorted Eldrin’s ruin expedition alongside him months earlier — had recently finished a contract and was currently between assignments.

”Not seen him take on anything new in a couple weeks,” Ysolde said, ladling out Arlen’s usual portion. ”Man works steady, but he’s particular about what he’ll commit to. Might be worth asking, if you need someone reliable.”

Arlen sought Halvard out at the guild hall the following afternoon, finding him near the training grounds reviewing his own equipment with the same economical, unhurried focus Arlen remembered from their shared expedition.

”Timber camp job,” Halvard said, once Arlen explained the situation. ”Heard about it. Wondered if anyone would actually take it on, given how long it’s sat unclaimed.”

”You free for it? Ysolde mentioned you’re between contracts right now.”

Halvard considered the question with the same careful deliberation he brought to everything. ”Pays well. Consortium’s reputation is solid, they won’t shortchange us on the reward. And I owe you something, honestly, for how well that ruin expedition went with you managing logistics.” He nodded slowly. ”I’ll join you. Confirmed Awakened, proper Aura training behind me. Should satisfy Lyra’s requirement alongside your own.”

”I’ll need a full party beyond just the two of us, given the estimated danger.”

”Fair. I know a couple others worth asking — a scout named Wren who’s worked with the timber consortium before, knows the terrain, and a mage, Cass, solid with defensive ward work if things go poorly.” Halvard studied him a moment. ”Four total, then, if they’re both willing. Manageable numbers for a Rank 3-4 threat, provided we’re careful about approach.”

They spent the following two days finalizing arrangements — Wren and Cass both agreeing readily once Halvard vouched for the job’s legitimacy and reward, supplies gathered and checked with the same careful thoroughness Arlen brought to every expedition now, a departure date set for the week’s end.

Arlen wrote in his journal the evening before departure, the familiar weight of anticipation settling into him alongside genuine confidence born from months of deliberate, patient preparation.

Full party assembled — myself, Halvard, Wren, Cass. proper support otherwise. Lyra’s approved the posting formally, and I think, for the first time since Millbrook, I actually feel ready for something this dangerous, rather than simply willing to attempt it regardless.

An Iron-Bark Treant, according to the posting. Living wood grown dense enough to shrug off ordinary weapons. Aura should cut through where conventional steel hasn’t managed to. I’m curious to test that theory properly, alongside everything else I’ve built these past months.

Two named techniques now settled reasonably well into muscle memory. Four hidden abilities I understand properly rather than simply having discovered by accident. Months of grinding, deliberate training behind all of it.

Whatever’s waiting at that timber camp, I think I’m finally facing it as the adventurer I promised myself I’d become — not through luck, not through desperate improvisation, but through genuine, patient preparation.

Tomorrow, we find out if that preparation actually holds.

He closed the journal, the evening settling comfortably around him, and slept soundly that night, the quiet confidence of proper readiness carrying him toward whatever the northern timber camp had waiting in its deep, resistant shadows.