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Volume 2 Chapter 8 - Work as a Wood Class Adventurer

RAW

Two days after he acquired the identity of Nella and had various things happen with Iseria on the 9th floor of the Lilac Dungeon, Allen came to the Adventurers’ Guild in his usual appearance at around 7 in the morning.

Although Nella was a mithril class adventurer, Allen himself was still a wood class adventurer, so he was thinking about taking a request in order to raise his rank.

At the Adventurers’ Guild, new requests are posted on the bulletin board at 5:30 in the morning. This is because Lilac’s gates open at 6:00 a.m., so the Guild wants to make sure that adventurers who take requests from a distant place can leave the city right after the gates open.

That said, that is not the whole reason; immediately after posting requests, adventurers rush to receive a good request, so by posting it early in the morning, they aim to disperse their number even by a little.

When Allen was providing for his younger siblings, he would go to the Guild early in the morning so that he could take requests that were as safe and well-paid as possible. That said, there are many adventurers who think the same way, so there was always a competition for good requests.

Even knowing this, this time, Allen still came at 7:00 a.m., a long time after the requests were posted, this was so he wouldn't steal requests from adventurers like the old him.

Because currently, Allen's goal is to rise in rank, and the reward is secondary.

Although he has money that he earned as a Nella, Allen's living expenses now that he's living alone are not that big in the first place.

Above all, Allen had been earning quite an amount of money recently, so it can be said that his pockets are warm.

“Now then, I wonder if there's any good request here. I wish there’s a request that’d give a lot of contribution points to the Guild.” (Allen)

While muttering something like that, Allen walked towards the bulletin board where several adventurers were standing in front of it and looking at it.

Although it was only for a short time, Allen had been an employee of the Guild, so he had some knowledge about requests that had high contribution points to the Guild. He was a little curious about the hidden circumstances that he never knew about when he was an adventurer, so he asked Matilda to tell him about it.

Of course, it would fluctuate depending on the type of request and the reward amount, but Allen had a general idea of the trend. That's why it should be easier for him to raise his rank compared to a normal adventurer, but...

“Ah, Allen. Just in time.” (Matilda)

Just as Allen was about to reach the bulletin board, he heard that voice, and his face stiffened as he looked toward its source. From the level-up trap application counter, Matilda was waving her hand at Allen with a smile on her face.

Although she was the oldest among the receptionists of the Adventurers’ Guild, Matilda's beauty had not diminished yet, so when she smiled at Allen, the surrounding adventurers looked at him with jealousy. In the midst of all those adventurers, Allen started walking toward her, clearly unenthusiastic.

“Good morning. Today is a good day, isn’t it?” (Matilda)

“Good morning. I wish it's a good day for me though...” (Allen)

Matilda didn't seem to be fazed by Allen's sarcastic line at all. Seeing her all too familiar state, Allen acutely felt a bad premonition coming his way as Matilda tilted her head a little and smiled softly at him.

“Of course. And so, I have a perfect request here for Allen to make it a good day.” (Matilda)

“Let me see... wait, isn’t this a herb collecting request? I knew it!” (Allen)

As Matilda took out a request form from under the counter and handed it to him, Allen felt his bad premonition turn into certainty, but he still accepted it and skimmed it over before he slammed it down on the counter.

It was the same request that Allen had been half-forced to accept by Orlando, the Guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild, and had only managed to complete it after much difficulty.

“It seems that the other side has nominated you. You sure are liked, Allen.” (Matilda)

“Nominated, you say, only iron class or higher are supposed to receive a nominated request. And even if that obstinate geezer likes me, you know.” (Allen)

‘Haa,’ Allen sighed heavily and became depressed while Matilda gently watched over him.

Indeed, as Allen said, the nominated request system in which the adventurer who would receive the request was nominated in advance was only for iron class adventurers and above.

That said, this is not to say that anything below that cannot be nominated at all. Cases like this where the Guild prioritizes the wishes of the client and offers flexibility, while rare, it does happen.

“But he definitely likes you, Allen. He nominates you every time, and the amount of reward is also increasing.” (Matilda)

“I guess I'm honestly happy that he appreciates my skill, but.” (Allen)

“But it's 30,000 zenny for a day of collecting medicinal herbs, you know. It's so outrageous that even an iron class adventurer would turn pale. They might also turn red from anger though.” (Matilda)

“Might be.” (Allen)

Allen agreed with Matilda's words that she said while laughing.

Before becoming a guild employee, Allen's annual income as an iron class adventurer was about 3 million zenny. He only chose requests that were highly reliable, short in duration, and close to the city, so he didn't get many good-paying requests, and he usually earned around 10,000 to 15,000 zenny per day on average.

Now he earns 30,000 zenny per day as a wood class adventurer, what's more, from collecting medicinal herbs. If Allen from back then had heard something like this, he would have definitely turned red and gotten angry. This is assuming he didn’t know the contents though.

Allen folded his arms and began to think. Although it was written as collecting medicinal herbs, the content was not so simple. To be more specific, it was necessary to collect medicinal herbs growing on each floor of Lilac Dungeon, and in specific surrounding environments, such as in the shade of a tree.

What’s more, it had to be harvested with roots, and there was a condition that it must be delivered within half a day after harvesting. Therefore, in order to complete the request, it was necessary to go back and forth between the dungeon and the city many times. What’s more, if the client found fault at the time of the delivery, the collection would have to be redone.

Because of the client's strong pickiness, the checks on delivery were strict, and the memory of being told repeatedly that it was no good when he first received the request came back to Allen's mind.

As you’d expect, he had gotten the hang of what the client was looking for after taking it so many times, so the nightmare of the first time didn’t happen anymore though.

Of course, Allen has no obligation to accept this request.

Because, even if it was a nomination request, the adventurer side can still decline it, and Allen, being a wood class, couldn’t really be nominated for a request either, so even if he refused it, the Guild shouldn’t hand down any punishment on him.

Still, Allen was hesitating, because...

“But Allen. You actually like this kind of request to collect medicinal herbs, don't you?” (Matilda)

“Ugh, no, well, rather than like it... I just feel like I was saved in the past thanks to collection type requests like this.” (Allen)

“I suppose completing these collection type requests can increase the supply of potions, and if their performance improves, there may be some new adventurers who’ll be saved by them.” (Matilda)

“Right. This request probably won't increase the supply, but it might improve their performance.” (Allen)

Seeing how she could see right through his heart, Allen smiled bitterly.

As Allen completed delivery requests for medicinal herbs, the client took a liking to him and even began to show him the state of his research, leading him to believe that the client's research attitude that could be called obsessive could really improve their performance.

‘Fuu─,’ Allen let out a deep breath, and then handed the request form to Matilda.

“I got it. I'll accept the request.” (Allen)

“That’s good. Then I'll take care of the procedure.” (Matilda)

“Ou, I’ll leave it to you.” (Allen)

Receiving a copy of the request form and leaving the rest of the procedure to Matilda, Allen raised one hand and turned his back to her with a grin on his face. Matilda stopped her hand that was moving to process the request form and looked at his retreating figure.

“Um, Allen.” (Matilda)

“Nn?” (Allen)

As Allen turned around at her call, Matilda’s cheeks turned a little red, and she continued her words.

“My work for today will be over by noon, so could you go out with me for a bit? I found a bargain bed and bought it, but it's too hard to carry.” (Matilda)

“Hmm, I guess it’s fine if it’s just that. What's the reward?” (Allen)

“How about I buy you lunch?” (Matilda)

“All right. Request accepted. Then, I’ll come back at noon. I'll leave myself hungry, so you better be prepared." (Allen)

Allen said that while smiling happily as he left the Guild. Without noticing the thorny stares from the surrounding adventurers.

Matilda, on the other hand, was receiving very interested glances from the receptionists around her, and was running her pen over the paperwork, hoping to complete the request acceptance procedure while it was still calm before the storm.

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(T/N: I really feel like my translation is getting worse. I hope it’s just my imagination.)

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