"Tch, come at me! You'd better come!"
I said I'd go eventually, but I never specified when.
If I felt like it, I could even go ten years from now... or maybe I'll just forget about it altogether.
It's not like they'd obediently wait in the dungeon, and they'll probably forget about me eventually anyway.
So, I left the border town of Calista by horse carriage and headed for the next town.
After taking my time traveling, I arrived in the town of Dorkan.
Being in a major nation, even this town—far from Meigrant's capital—seemed to be about as large as a city near the capital back in the Raging Kingdom.
◇◇◇
After securing a decent inn, I stopped by the adventurers' guild in this town.
The person at the reception desk was a man wearing glasses.
"Um, mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"I heard in the town of Calista that an adventurer's rank in the Raging Kingdom is about two ranks lower than the same rank here. Is that true?"
"It's a bit awkward being asked so directly, but Meigrant has roughly ten times the population of Raging. As a result, rank certifications are naturally stricter."
"I see."
"The two-rank difference you heard about in Calista might be a bit of an exaggeration. But there are bound to be differences between countries."
"That makes sense."
"So, it can't be helped that ranks from the Raging Kingdom tend to be viewed as slightly lower. However, you can still take on Orichalcon-rank requests."
So that's how it is.
They're putting it nicely, but it still means I'm being looked down on.
I think it ultimately comes down to ability, though. I wonder how it really works.
"I've already reached Orichalcon rank in the Raging Kingdom. Oh, here's my tag. Do you have any decent requests?"
Even after seeing my Orichalcon-rank tag, the receptionist's attitude didn't change at all—they just handled it matter-of-factly.
"Let's see. There's nothing around here suited for Orichalcon rank... Ah, actually, there is one. How about delivering this rare item called the 'Tear of the Rainbow'?"
"What exactly is that?"
"It's an extremely rare gemstone that changes color depending on the time of day. The only place you can find one is in the treasure chest of a Gold-rank dungeon here in Dukan—a
real piece of work,
let me tell you."
"It's a Gold-rank dungeon, but the request is for Orichalcon rank?"
"Yes. The last time one was discovered was over twenty years ago. Because it's so difficult to find, it's been classified as Orichalcon. Honestly, nobody's expecting anything, so there's no commission fee for this request."
"So they want someone to find it even without a commission fee?"
"That's right. There's no penalty for failure either, but if you do find one, you'd be set for life. Some people take it on casually, figuring that if they find one, it's just their lucky day."
Huh.
Well, might as well give it a shot.
"I'll take it, just for the experience. What about the reward?"
"Market price."
◇◇◇
While Alan was accepting the request—
"Hey, did you hear? Another high-ranked guy from a bottom-tier country is apparently going off to search for that thing again, driven by greed."
"Just the right mark, huh."
"We'll do this the usual way."
The trio watched from behind as Alan was about to accept the request.
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Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Fist God][Spear God][Scorching Magic][Freezing Magic][Clear Gale Magic][Rock Iron Magic][Sacred Magic][Dark Magic][Spacetime Magic][Thunder God Sword][Phantom Gentleman][Ninja Master][Seeker of Truth][Monstrous Strength][Pain Dulling][Complete Status Ailment Resistance][Dark Spirit's Protection][Super Intuition][Heaven's Gate][Abyss Contractee][Magic Hand][Seduction][Eloquence][Fortune]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!