It takes more than 10,000 hours

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 – Third Quest


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Chapter 15 – Third Quest

BEEEEP!

“Stand back, you two!” Casa shouted. His hand emitted green light — a spell, ready to activate.

The two followed his words and backed up. Meanwhile, the cat watched their movements, purring as it readied to pounce once more. But Casa didn’t give it a chance. He stamped the floor with his hand.

Bam!

Green vines appeared on the floor, quickly slithering towards the summon. The cat jumped to get away. But it was too late as the vines burst out of the ground and formed a tight circle around it. Then they rose, forming a dark-green cocoon around the summon.

The cat then leaped above, aiming to leave the trap. However, the wall reacted by quickly spawning another vine to entangle it and drag it down. It tried to cleave the wall with its claws, but the plants persevered. Eventually, the summon’s blaring sound became muffled and died out soon after the vines had closed any space it could escape from. Casa wiped the sweat on his face.

“Almost done.” He said, while sighing in relief. “Next, we need to put it in the carrier.”

Casa turned to James, who belatedly nodded and placed the carrier beside the dome with its sole door facing the dome’s wall. Seeing them, Noah came over and held it exceptionally tight with James.

“Are you ready?” Casa asked, and the two gave the go-ahead. “In three, two, one…”

“Zero.” Casa’s hands glowed green as a hole appeared between the dome and the carrier, serving as a tunnel for the cat.

“Go!”

BEEEP!

Instantly, they could hear the warning system blasting from inside again. It became louder as the cat pounced out of the dome. It landed inside the cage. Turning around, it found the divide between plastic and plant and prepared another attack. But Noah didn't give it a chance.

“Flip it.” He shouted.

Noah and James then turned the carrier upright, letting the open entrance face the ceiling. James immediately slapped the gate to close it with an automatic lock. But the summon found its footing and jumped. It knocked off his hand, injuring it in the process.

James screamed in pain as he withdrew his hand. As a result, Noah had to use his left hand to close the gate. The cat leaped a second time and knocked off his hand. Noah winced in pain. He glanced and saw the back of his hand was bleeding. Biting his lips, he attempted to close it once more.

Click!

The sound of locking accompanied by another charge from the cat rang in his ears. Noah let out a groan. He turned back to his friend while putting pressure on his wound. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” James said as he showed the few cuts on his fingers. Then he smiled. “Small cuts, no big deal.”

Casa came towards them and knelt. He inspected James’s hand. Next, he pulled out bandages and a disinfectant from a small pack on his waist. He handed a bandage to James and another to Noah. He spoke after. “Use this. Then we’ll go back to Ms. Emilia’s place after.”

Noah used the disinfectant and covered his wounds. Letting his mind clear up, he looked around. He wanted to see how the cat became trapped.

He saw the same slashed wall and the messy floor after a downward glance. Then he saw a rotting corpse. It wasn’t rotten that he could see its bones, but he could tell the thing was between the size of a cat and a mouse. He took a closer look and saw several lacerations on its neck. Noah realized how it happened as the scent hit him. The cat must’ve been chasing the poor animal when it entered the establishment.

After killing it, the cat couldn’t leave the place since they entered the building using a small entrance like the chimney hole above. Still, Noah was unsure that was the only way the animal could enter. A hole could be in the wall, and he wouldn’t know. Besides, the summon probably wouldn’t leave the building as it had no reason to.

Another thought lead him that the summon might have even thought that it was its home. Noah shook his head before heading over to James.

The group walked back to Emilia’s house carrying the cat carrier. Some people stood outside when they left the building. They gave the group an inquisitive look as the cat was still blasting its eerie warning noise inside the carrier. The group could only smile awkwardly. They also walked a little bit faster.

Upon arriving, Emilia opened the door and smiled as she saw them. The group entered her home and sat in the living room. James placed down the carrier on the centre table before picking up a cookie from a plate beside it. Noah sat between James and Casa, watching the summon.

Meanwhile, Emilia walked towards her cat. It was still playing its irritating alert, so she had to turn it off. Calling out its name, Emilia spoke in a commanding tone. “Ron. Warning system. Off.”

Instantly, the sound disappeared, leaving Noah and James surprised. The cat was voice activated. Emilia then continued. “Reset protection area.”

A bleep rang out from the inside, signalling her words had worked. Noah’s eyes widened. Maybe his theory that the cat thought the establishment as its home was correct.

Emilia smiled and called out her pet’s name. “Ron!”

A meow replied, and the smile on her face grew. She turned towards the trio. “Thank you. Ron’s been my partner for four years now. I already grew attached to him.”

Emilia paused as she said softly. Her eyes almost crying. “If he was gone, I’m not sure I’d get another one.”

“You’re welcome. It’s our job to get him safe.” Noah shook his head as he said courteously.

Casa gave Noah a thumbs up for improving. He sat the closest to Emilia, ready to settle their finished quest. Pulling out his phone, he tapped on the adventurer’s app before speaking formally. “I’ve marked the quest as finished. We just need your confirmation, Ms. Emilia.”

“Thank you again.” The woman nodded and began typing something on the laptop resting on her thighs with her slim fingers. She said with a charming voice. “I’ll get it done. Immediately.”

With that, she confirmed their quest on her laptop. A notification appeared on Casa’s phone and sure enough, the app marked her quest as complete. Their group received the cash on the app, as well as the credit points they could use on any adventurer’s guild branch. They also received experience points, which Casa explained to the two earlier on the car.

Experience points. Each quest gives experience points proportional to the difficulty of the quest. With Emilia’s quest, their group received 12 points, and 12 each on their own profiles. When Noah asked what they were used for, and Casa explained that experience points are required to upgrade their adventurer ranks. But upgrading didn't only need sufficient points—the guild also required the adventurer to show their current cultivation, their tier and rank.

Of course, the guild tested with combat as well. They made it in such a way that adventurers were above a strength limit. Ensuring quest givers that all quest takers are certified mages and true hunters, not fakes.

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The group thanked the woman, who tried to keep them for longer. But they have other quests to do. So, they rejected her offer. She didn’t take it as offense and bid goodbye to them, fortunately.

Closing the door, Noah slumped in his seat. Catching a stray magical robot cat was harder than he thought. They didn’t know where to look. Second, the company built the cat to hide better. It led towards the fact that the cat might’ve been on the other side of the city, and they wouldn’t have any inkling. It was by luck that it became trapped inside the community building and stuck there since.

Third, it was dangerous. No wonder Casa said the third quest was the easiest; they won’t have to deal with a problem called magic. Noah sighed.

Casa sat on the driver’s seat as he picked up his phone and began tapping on the adventurer’s app. “And so, the Purple-Cat wins their first ever mission.”

Hearing this, James asked what was next. “The escort or the personal matter?”

“Hmm.” Casa said while twisting his lips. He tapped on his phone a few times before he spoke. “The escort quest happens at night, so I’ll just accept the quest. That way, they’ll know we’re coming tonight.”

“As for the third quest, it also hasn’t been taken by someone. Luckily.” He said as he started the vehicle before asking. “Do you want to do it first?”

“Sure.” Noah replied and James agreed.

“Alright then. But first, we need to eat.” Casa said. “It took us about three hours preparing and catching the thing. We should be rewarded, don’t you think?”

“You say that, but you’re still hungry with the exercise earlier, aren’t you?” Noah said sarcastically.

“You get me so much.” Casa switched the car to drive mode and drove.

 


 

The group arrived at Audrey McKay’s house after eating at Fireflies’ Gathering. Earlier, the two saw Casa’s gaping mouth as they entered the food court. Saying ‘I can’t believe this.’, the man glanced at the two who moved forward. Casa followed as they walked up the semi-transparent stairs and onto the second floor.

After eating, Casa accepted the third quest on the app after seeing no one had yet to take it. They drove towards the contact’s place and now they have arrived at the present.

“Do you guys want to talk to her?” Casa asked the two.

“Sure.” Noah said. “I needed to practice, anyway.”

Noah walked on the pathway, passing a garden that had pink flowering plants on the left side and yellow chrysanthemum flowers on the other. He stepped up the elevated ground and rang the bell of a single storied house. He gave the two, who followed him, a glance before looking around. The house had one wide window on the left side with nothing on the right except the chimney sticking above that he could barely see. Only a few seconds have passed before a woman opened the door and greeted the group.

She had a neatly tied bright red hair and wore a simple yellow shirt and black pants. If not for her normal clothing, Noah would’ve thought of her as a cosplayer. She also smiled as if she had found the most important thing on her life, but then it quickly disappeared as the woman saw Noah. Giving a mental sigh, he ignored her disappointment and held out a hand.

“Hi, we’re the Purple-Cat group.” He said with a smile. “We accepted your quest.”

“Oh, hi.” The woman raised her chin in surprise. She shook his hand before speaking. “I’m Audrey. Please come in.”

The group entered her house and settled into the living room. Audrey served them food and drinks, which James took. Noah shook his head. The man still wasn’t full despite the meal earlier.

The woman settled on a seat opposite theirs before picking up a person’s portrait on the shelf behind her. She showed it to them.

“This is Eric.” Audrey said. “He’s my husband.”

Noah and the two shared a look.

“I haven’t seen him in the last two days, so I went to the police station. I filed a missing person’s report and told them where I last saw him. They said I would have to wait one or two days before they can get back at me.”

Her shoulders came down as she said. “I didn’t want to wait, so I registered a quest in the guil-”

“Miss Audrey.” Casa suddenly said, cutting her off. He twisted his lips as he spoke sternly. “You know missing person’s reports are strictly handled by the police. And it should only be handled by the police.”

“I know. I know. But..” Shaking her head, the woman said softly. “I just want you guys to investigate and collect more information about where he has been... Would that be fine?”

Casa stared at James, who didn’t show any reaction before looking at Noah. He signaled for him to speak his opinion. The latter just shrugged.

“Sure.” Noah said. “But we are only investigating him. We’ll report to you what we found, and that’s all. Is that alright?”

“Yes.” Audrey said cheerfully.

“So, is there anything else you want to tell us?”

“My husband works as a plumber. So, he comes home late most of the time. But this time, he hasn’t arrived in two days. I think something wrong had happened to him.” She said gently, then her voice turned clear, seemingly irritated. “I last saw him on the street near here with a woman.”

“I think she was his client. But I’m not sure.” Hearing this, an idea formed in Noah’s mind. Then he, with the other two, started sweating beads on their heads.

Audrey continued and spoke the words they had expected somehow. Her voice sharper. “If he’s cheating, I’m going to kill him.”

 

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