[Quest]
[Main Quest]
[Collect 500 gold in a month!]
[Reward: Medium-Tier Random Skills Book x1]
[Duration: 29 days and 23 hours]
"Collect 500 gold in a month? Is the goddess insane?" I couldn't stop myself from yelling.
"Even after working like a horse for an entire year in Apel City, I could barely make 50 gold, and that was already counting all the tips I got from rich customers. Now, in Putih City, where I rarely get a single client, I'd be lucky to scrape together ten gold in a year. And she wants me to come up with five hundred in a month? Why doesn't she just tell me to go straight rob a bank instead?!"
I almost lost my mind just trying to figure out where the hell I was supposed to get such a big amount of money.
And honestly, what did she even need it for? She's a goddess, for fuck's sake. Can't she just snap her fingers and make gold appear out of thin air? Or steal it herself if she wants? Or was this her way of testing my capability? To see if I was truly worthy to be her saint?
If so, then congratulations, she had basically set the difficulty to hell mode.
After a moment, I sighed.
It was a sigh of resignation, knowing I didn't have a choice in the first place.
Once again, I was reminded just how insignificant I really was.
After a moment, I shook my head to clear away the useless thoughts and kept on reading.
Maybe the next quest is much easier to accomplish?
[Side Quest]
[Destroy the Five Rings of the West Borough]
[Reward: Medium-Tier Skill Book x1]
[Completion: 0/5]
"..."
If there were a table in front of me, I'd flip it without hesitation.
"Was she drunk when she came up with this quest? I haven't met the Five Rings in person, but just hearing the rumors is enough to know they're not the kind of people someone like me can mess with. If they existed on Earth, they would probably be on the same level as Yakuza or Triad, and what, the goddess told me to destroy them? Hell nah. I would probably be dead the second I think about doing it."
"This quest definitely isn't any easier than collecting five hundred gold in a month."
I sighed, already pessimistic about the next quest.
[Sleep with Priestess]
[Reward: Permanent Stat Upgrader x1]
I went completely speechless.
Sure, this wasn't as outright dangerous as destroying gangs or robbing the bank, but I couldn't exactly call it easy either.
In this kingdom, priestesses were about as common as rare animals. You only ever saw them at official ceremonies, city festivals, or other formal occasions. The rest of the time, they were hidden away in monasteries.
How exactly was I supposed to sleep with a priestess if I couldn't even meet one outside an event?
And even if I did manage to find one, how was I supposed to convince her to sleep with me? I couldn't even hold a girl's hand back on Earth, let alone seduce a priestess.
It was like asking a fish to fly.
Maybe it wasn't quite hell difficulty, but it was definitely nightmare level.
...
[Cure ten people]
[Reward: A rare potion recipe]
[Completion: 0/10]
'Finally, a quest that actually makes sense!'
Though, that didn't mean I'd be able to complete it anytime soon. I wasn't a pharmacist. How was I supposed to treat people? My so-called "modern medical knowledge" was limited to using a first aid kit.
With nothing else left to read, I finally closed the system window.
"Phew. Alright, let's just put all these ridiculous quests aside for now."
I took a deep breath. "Time to focus on what I should actually do first. Should I go back to the city and resume the life the original Aiden Edwards had…or just start over somewhere far, far away?"
Just as I was about to start thinking it through, I noticed something important.
I was still standing in the middle of the dump site.
"This is definitely not the place to make life-changing decisions," I chuckled to myself.
Before I walked away, I grabbed a piece of dirty cloth from the site and carefully wrapped up all the gifts I received from Althea. I tied it tight to make sure nothing would fall out.
Then I set off, following the sound of running water I'd been hearing in the distance.
A few minutes later, I spotted a small stream winding through the forest.
For someone who was slowly dying of thirst, the clear water looked more tempting than anything I'd ever seen.
I picked up my pace, starting from jogging, then sprinting, like I had just spotted a naked woman beckoning me over.
The second I reached the bank, I dropped to my knees, shoved my face into the stream, and opened my mouth wide and start sucking everything like kirby.
Shortly after, I pulled my face and took a long deep breath.
"So refreshing," I muttered, feeling a little more alive.
Even though I knew drinking untreated water could give me the runs, I couldn't resist. Some risks were worth it.
"Phew. I can definitely think better now that I've had a drink and cooled my head."
I sat down on the grass by the stream, savoring the rare moment of peace, and started going over my options out loud.
"If I go back to the city, back to my so-called home, I'd probably be hunted down by the same bastards who killed me the first time." I rubbed my face and let out a hollow laugh. "Actually, it's not even a 'probably.' It's a guarantee."
There was no way they'd let me walk around alive after seeing me crawl out of the grave.
"They'll want answers. How did I survive? How did I come back? They would think of me as a monster at first. But once they see me acting normal, their fear would turn into curiosity. Everyone's afraid of death; if they think I have some secret way to cheat it, they won't be able to resist trying to find out how."
"And even if they somehow managed to hold back their curiosity or decided not to hunt me outright, they could still pull the same trick they used before. They'd set me up, lure me into a trap, and hand me over to the priest again. And this time, I don't know if my transmigration left any traces. What if, during the interrogation, the divine power they used resonates with my transmigration traces and produces some kind of anomaly? That'd be a disaster. That's a risk I'm not willing to take."
I stared at the stream, watching the water ripple over the rocks. I picked up a pebble and tossed it into the current, watching it disappear.
"If I start over somewhere else, that means I'll have to leave with nothing but the tiny bit of savings I have left. If I remember right, I only had one gold coin after all my money got eaten up by city fines."
I sighed, feeling my chest tighten.
"I can't take too many of my things either. If I make it obvious I'm packing up, the gang that killed me will definitely notice. Since they clearly targeted me for a reason, it's not a stretch to assume they're already keeping an eye on my house."
"Damn it… No matter how hard I think about it, I still can't figure out why they targeted me in the first place. Why kill me? I'm just a low-class citizen, just like pretty much everyone else in the West Borough. There's no reason to single me out. Did I somehow piss them off without realizing it? But I don't remember doing anything provoking these recent days."
"And if I really plan to finish the main quest, leaving the city doesn't sound like a smart move. As dangerous as staying here is, there's just as much opportunity to actually earn money. The chances are way better than running off somewhere else. After all, there aren't many cities that can compare to Putih City in many ways."
"If I go back to Apel City, the trip alone will take me at least ten days, that's ten days wasted. And if I decide to settle in some random place, it'll be even worse. The range of jobs I'd have access to would be so limited that at that point…it might actually be better to become a bandit."
"If only that gang hadn't existed… I could've just gone back to my old life and focused on growing my massage business further with my new skill."
"If only they could just…disappear from the world…"
"I could go back to the city without living like a rat, always having to watch my back…"
Disappear…didn't exist… eliminate...
For some reason, the words stuck in my mind, echoing over and over.
Then my eyes fell on the dirty cloth bundle where I had stored all the gifts from Althea, including the temporary stat enhancer pill.
...
"Friday 13th. I finally arrived in Apel City with my mom. As expected, the people here look a lot fairer and more delicate compared to the folks back home. Especially the ladies, whew. I just can't get enough of them. Their thin and slender waist. Their soft and bouncy-looking ass. Their smooth, tempting cleavage. My dick's been saluting ever since we got here."
"If I had to make a comparison, the ladies here look like cute little hamsters, while the women back home were more like brown bears."
"Haha, is this what heaven is supposed to look like, and they're the angels?"
"Saturday 14th. I hired the local prostitute."
"Screw you!"
Sadis abruptly threw the book across the room. It smacked Peter right in the head.
Squeak!
"M-my lord, is there something wrong?" Peter stammered, dropping to his knees immediately.
"What kind of garbage did you bring me? This book is so full of shit I couldn't even get past the first page!"
"I-I'm sorry, my lord! But like I said, I can't read, so I didn't know what was written in it…"
"So, it's my fault you're illiterate?"
"No! It's my fault for not working harder as your subordinate!"
Sadis drummed his fingers on the armrest.
"Search his house again. This time, don't come back until you find the map. Understand?"
"Yes, my lord. I'll go right now."
"Of course you will. I'm about one second away from kicking your ass if you don't move."
Peter hurried out of the building.
Sadis leaned back in his chair, his eye gleaming with greed.
"If only every move I made wasn't being watched…and the second I raided Aiden's house, those four bastards didn't get a report about it. I'd have already turned that place upside down myself." He clicked his tongue. "Damn it. I can't risk that map falling into anyone else's hands, especially those four guys."
His lips curled into a grin.
"That treasure map leads to the lost civilization of the dwarves. I'm sure there's enough loot there to change everything. If I get my hands on it, there won't be Five Rings anymore. It's going to be only me, Sadis, controlling the entire West Borough."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahahaha!"