"You are here" .
As he turned to face me, his voice rang in my ears.
As I looked at him, a vague memory rose within me, reminding me of his involvement in the game's Kraken's Dungeon event. But I soon disregarded the thought. This was no longer a game; these were real individuals with real ambitions, and I don't know when things will turn south. It was necessary to be cautious of the people around me, especially those I knew nothing about.
"Sit down." He said it again, this time with a hand gesture directing me to the empty chair in front of him, because I hadn't responded to his prior comment. I looked around the room and noticed that there were just two chairs available.
"Old man Gustav, it's been a while," Jessica, the woman with the bow who had been speaking with me before, said as she approached the chair to sit.
"It's good to see you, Jessica, but I wasn't talking to you when I said, 'Sit down,'" the guild master continued, his tone softening as he addressed her. His focus, however, returned to me, putting the lady in an awkward position.
"I am fine standing," I replied, taking a step back to make room for the rest of the adventurers behind me, while Jessica glanced at me with a trace of embarrassment.
"He doesn't mind," she asserted, slipping onto one of the chairs and attempting to hide her embarrassment. The man with the sword followed suit, taking the other chair because he is the leader?, while the rest of us remained standing on the side, awaiting further instructions.
"Given that you've all arrived safe and sound, your previous quest should have been completed, right?" The guild master spoke, his gaze fixed on Jeremy.
"Yes, guild master," Jeremy replied, straightening up in his chair.
"That's good to know. Take a couple days off. There's a named quest for you guys," the guild master revealed, rifling through the files on his desk in search of something.
"Named quests?" I interjected, crossing my arms over my chest while leaning on the wall and drawing the group's attention to my question.
"Ahhh, you're a newbie here. Named quests are specific requests made by clients who want a particular party for the job," explained the man with the staff. While I found his tone a tad annoying, I listened attentively since it was my first time hearing about such quests.
"Anyway, the quest is from the Merchant Guild, a B-rank quest, and it involves ensuring the security of a trade caravan traveling on the road to the city of Verdan," the Guild Master continued, providing more details about the task.
"Can't they just use the teleportation portal?"
The question was posed by a striking woman with bright orange hair neatly tied into a ponytail. Her eyes matched the fiery color of her hair, and she had a well-built figure wrapped in tough body armor. Her presence projected a knightly and courageous aura, making her stand out in the room.
"The teleportation portal has been closed due to an ongoing civil war within the city's ruling family. The only practical option to supply the city currently is via road, and after this task, your team will officially be an A-rank team," the guild master remarked, throwing light on the quest's significance and providing additional information about the quest.
"Remind me why I am here again." .
I said, returning the focus to myself. I feel like I'm here for no reason, and I'm exhausted, so I'd want to go back and take a much-needed nap.
"You will be going with them; if you rank up, they will be the ones to be your judges." .
The guild master responded to my inquiry, explaining why I was here.
"Wait, you're putting me in a B rank quest with them so I can be prompted to a D rank? Isn't that a little too much?"
Perplexed by this dude's way of handling things, I asked why he was giving me this task.
"Well, you are one of the fastest-growing individuals in recent time, so I need more precaution in prompting you so people don't question my decision, or you can wait for the half-yearly promotion quest that will happen and take that like everyone".
He left me to ponder what I should do.
"What kind of security are they looking for? Are there specific threats on the road, or is it a precautionary measure?"
I asked because I needed far more information on the quest than I currently have to even consider joining them on it.
The guild master paused for a while before responding. "Here is everything you need to know about the quest," he said as he handed me the quest file.
I immediately went through the quest specifications as I examined the file. It included information regarding the trade caravan's route, potential risks, and the estimated duration of the journey. My initial resistance began to fade as I dug more into the details.
There wasn't much for me to do except deal with the smaller mobs, while the larger ones would be dealt with by those on higher-ranking adventures.
"Fine, I will take the quest" . I gave them my consent at the same time; with only two days of travel, I can manage that.
"Let me introduce him; he is the super rookie everyone is talking about, and Neil, that's the B-rank group known as "Crimson Blades".
The guild master introduced us to each other while nodding about my decision.
"That's one hell of a cringe name".
I mumbled under my breath. I always thought my nickname was cringe, but they had to name their group something like "Crimson Blades".
"I knew it; you are the super rookie".
The women Jessica jumped out of her seat as she looked at me, while Jeremy looked at me as if I had betrayed his long-term trust. No matter how I look at them, they don't look like they are very strong.
"What a pain".
I grumbled, feeling the need for sleep increase within me.
'Hey, Edda Don't you have something that can check other people's status and level?'
Ignoring the ruckus around me, I questioned her. As the days passed, I felt like I needed a status checker because I can't tell anyone's level just by looking at them, like in cultivation novels, so I needed something like a status checker so I wouldn't provoke some old monster, unknownly.
[I do], she replied, and I can't express how irritated I am by this.
'Can't you tell me that before something happens? Why did you have to hide this?'
I asked, clearly frustrated by her lack of communication, how much easier my life would have been if I had that stuff from the beginning.
[You never asked.]
'I can't even describe how much I want to beat you up'.