LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 217: The Perfect Quest
Being one of the most popular buildings visited by many, the Adventurer's Guild was located at the heart of Qingyun City. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire
Mages of all kinds went in and out of the large building.
Walking inside, Lucian went straight towards the quest wall. The wall was packed with parchment scrolls pinned neatly into sections, each marked by a large wooden plaque indicating the type of quest — Magical Beast extermination, herb collection, artifact retrievals, and many more.
Quickly, Lucian found what he was looking for — the bandit extermination section.
Lucian stood before the section and looked at each quest. Some were simple — local villagers complaining about petty thieves or small-time bandit groups raiding caravans.
But those quests did not interest him. He was looking for bandits with actual strength and preferably a skilled Alchemist among their gang.
Sometime later, one quest in particular caught Lucian's attention.
'Wanted: Black Fire Bandits — Dangerous Group Operating Near Tianshan Mountain Pass.'
The quest detailed that the Black Fire Bandits were notorious for terrorizing villages and even some small cities, especially near the paths that lead to Tianshan Mountain. They were a growing threat, skilled in guerilla tactics, and were led by a cunning leader known as Alchemist Huo.
But what truly earned Lucian's interest was the leader's alias, 'Alchemist Huo.'
Before someone took the quest away, Lucian tore it off the wall and then walked to the reception desk, where a tired-looking receptionist sat. The woman barely glanced up as he approached.
"I'd like to accept this quest," Lucian said as he laid the parchment in front of her.
"Alright, one moment." The female receptionist took the quest in her hands and gave it a brief glance, but her expression instantly froze when she saw the quest Lucian accepted.
She nervously gulped and looked up at Lucian.
"Are you sure you want to accept this? The Black Fire Bandits aren't like the usual ragtag group of misfits you might have faced before. Reportedly, there are a dozen Bone Tempering Realm Mages among them. And their leader…" She trembled, before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Alchemist Huo. Before he went rogue five months ago, he was at the Mana Vein Tempering Realm.
By now, he might be even stronger. No one really knows, since he never shows his face to the public anymore."
"So, he's hiding?" Lucian asked, despite knowing it was most likely untrue. He was probing for more information.
The receptionist shook her head.
"He's not hiding. Well… I don't know. But what I do know is that he doesn't need to show himself. His bandit group is constantly swallowing smaller groups, expanding, and growing stronger. It's unknown just how large or powerful his forces are now."
'Good. I found a way in.' Lucian mused.
After a moment, the receptionist continued, "They're not just a bandit group anymore but something akin to a faction. That's why the quest's difficulty rank has been changed to an X, meaning unidentifiable. Nowadays, most adventurers don't even glance at the quest anymore. No one wants to get involved.."
"Has there been any response from our City Lord or from other nearby City Lords?" Lucian asked casually.
"No." The Receptionist looked around the guild before whispering, "They're aware of the growing threat, but none of them want to commit the resources necessary to wipe them all out. They're afraid of weakening their own cities, leaving them vulnerable to invasion from other cities."
Lucian blinked, appearing thoughtful, but inwardly, he was grinning.
Unbeknownst to the receptionist, Lucian had, for the first time since acquiring it, activated the power of the Universe Defier Title.
The Title allowed him to influence other's emotions to a greater degree. Of course, it would not work on everyone, but on a Mana Condensation Realm Mage, it worked wonders.
The moment Lucian had walked up to the receptionist, he activated his Universe Defier Title.
And the receptionist, without realizing it, fell under his Title's effect.
"I see. Thank you for your time, miss. I'll be right back."
Without waiting for her to respond, Lucian turned around and went toward the quest wall.
On the other hand, seeing Lucian leaving, the receptionist believed he was scared off and decided to take another quest.
Her belief only solidified when she saw him searching for a new bandit extermination quest.
'Good. He came to his senses.' The receptionist felt relieved. Part of her job was to keep adventurers alive — after all, without them, the Adventurer's Guild would be no different from an empty building.
Contrary to the receptionist's belief, however, Lucian had no intentions of backing down. His main objective was still the Black Fire Bandits, but walking out of the guild with that quest might put a target on his back.
Looking for another quest was merely a pretense to cover his tracks. But most importantly, it was the perfect method to start his plan.
Lucian would rather not take chances. Without Mana, he would be no different than a lamb jumping into a den of wolves.
Bandit groups might seem like a disorganized group of thieves. But that was not always the truth. The more powerful groups, like the Black Fire Bandits, were extremely resourceful.
With first-hand experience dealing with notorious bandit groups, Lucian understood they would have eyes and ears everywhere. Otherwise, they would not have survived, let alone grown into the organization they now were, without a solid information network.
Therefore, the best way was to strike from the shadows.
As for the quest reward? Lucian did not care about those Mid-Grade Mana Stones. If everything went according to plan, he would be swimming in Mana Stones.
'My debt will soon be repaid.'
After a while of searching through the quests, Lucian found what he was looking for — a C-Rank bandit extermination quest.
It was the perfect quest. He could remain low-profile, and, most importantly, the Ember Lion Pride were last spotted not too far away from Tianshan Mountain Pass, where Alchemist Huo and his bandits operated.