101 Chapter 101. Joining Hunters Association

The Hunters Association building was also huge, but the style was more traditional than the Adventurers Association. It had a thatched roof, though Jack doubted that the straw was real. Above its double door main entrance was an imposing sculpture of a monster head with two spears flanking it. Several NPCs freely came in and out of the building.

Jack entered into the foyer, a large hall with a few mummified monsters on display. Jack approached the receptionist booth directly opposite the main entrance and asked the girl behind it, "Good day, I would like to join the Hunters Association."

"Good day to you too, sir," she replied. She then checked his status and explained the process of joining, which was very similar to the Adventurers Association. He got a bronze-colored hunter badge at the end of the process. The carving on the badge was identical to the monster head sculpture at the main entrance. The grades here were the same as the Adventurers Association: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond.

Jack went to the Bronze hall and looked around. The hall set up was also the same as the Adventurers Association, with a row of counters along the wall, benches, and giant notice boards hanging from the ceiling.

'Then what's the difference that Peniel mentioned?' Jack wondered.

He browsed the quests on the notice boards.

Kill 50 Goblins

Difficulty: E

Rewards: 1 silver coin, 100 Experience points, 1 Hunter Points

Kill 100 Silver Wolves

Difficulty: E

Rewards: 1 silver coin, 150 Experience points, 2 Hunter Points

Kill 30 Cave Trolls

Difficulty: D

Rewards: 2 silver coins, 500 Experience points, 5 Hunter Points

'They're all monster-killing quests,' Jack said to Peniel in his mind.

'Yes, they're all hunting quests. That's why it's called Hunters Association,' Peniel replied.

'The coin reward is fine, but the experience reward is much lower than the Adventurers Association's quests. I might as well take the Adventurer quests.'

'Have you considered the experience you will also get from killing those monsters? The rewards from the quests here are just supplementary.

'Unlike the Adventurer quests, you can take a maximum of ten hunting quests at the same time. And many people can take the same quest at once, and everyone who finishes it will get the same reward, so you don't need to worry about someone else completing the quest first. Difficulty could arise in the field when you're competing for the same monsters, but you can always team up when that happens. A kill by a teammate is still considered a valid kill, and there is no time limit.'

'Really? Then this is a system I can make good use of! I can grind for experience and get hunter points at the same time. I'll need to plot out a good route so I don't end up hunting different monsters that are too far from each other.'

'There is a small library within each Hunters Association where you can look up which monsters inhabit which regions. But you don't need that; I have all that info in my head,' Peniel said.

'Ain't you a treasure!' Jack complimented. 'All right, which ten monsters do you suggest I hunt?'

'Let's see… The Silver Wolves and Goblins are the most common monsters around this region, so those two are no-brainers. The next most common ones would be Gremlins and Gnomes. Then you can get the Lizardman around the foot of mount Thenias in the south.'

'Lizardman? Would it be the same one with that Boss I killed when we first met?'

'That one was special. No worries; the ones here are common monsters, nowhere near as strong as that one. You know, though, with the level you've now reached, you are strong enough to go toe to toe with that Boss even without the Godly Might buff."

Jack breathed out in relief. Even though he was stronger now, he still had lingering jitters when he thought about his fight with that Lizardman Blood Guard.

"If you go that way, then you can also add Giant Ant and Giant Ant Warrior to the list. And on the same mountain, there are a bunch of caves where you can find Cave Trolls and sometimes Ogres; tough opponents, but not as hard as that Horned Ogre boss you fought. On the side of the mountain is a forest where you can find many Grey Sabrecats.

For your first foray, then, I would suggest you go for those ten monsters. You can start from Siren Hill and go South to Mount Thenias before heading back via the forest; one efficient trip for all ten quests."

'All right, let's do that,' Jack went over to a counter and applied for the quests. The process was the same as Adventurers Association, so he was already familiar with it.

'Before you leave, you can also sell all that trophy junk here,' Peniel informed him.

'Trophy junk?'

'That Wolf's Fur you got from the Silver wolves, remember?'

'Oh, okay. I can sell them here?' Jack said as he took out the Wolf's Fur.

'Yes, if you sell the Trophy Junk at a common market, you will only fetch ten copper at most, but you can get their maximum value here. Almost all monsters in Hunter Association quests drop Trophy Junk, so it's another way to get extra coins.'

'Sweet!' Jack said as he offered the Wolf's Fur to the girl at the counter.

The girl received them with a smile, and she paid Jack 50 coppers for each. Jack was thrilled; he was another five silver richer.

Not every wolf dropped Wolf's Fur, though. Based on experience, the probability was around 30%, so he could consider it as roughly 15 coppers per wolf.

'You are right,' Jack said. 'Joining this Hunter Association is really a good move.'

'Yeah, and since there is no time limit, you can also take an Adventurer quest that requires you to go to the region that has these monsters. You can kill two birds with one stone.'

Jack nodded.

'I need to inform Flame and Bowler about this,' Jack said.

'What's the point? They won't be able to join before they become advanced class,' Peniel countered.

'At least they won't throw away their Wolf's Fur. They can keep it for cashing in here when they join.'

Jack then opened up his Friend interface and sent the message. He soon got a reply from Bowler.

"Brother, why didn't you say that earlier. I have sold all of mine… sigh."

Flame, on the other hand, had kept hers. She replied, thanking Jack for the info.

'I might need to inform SilverWing and The Man as well,' Jack thought.

'Can you, please, not share everything you know with everyone you know?' Peniel said. 'It's not like you know them very well, anyway.'

After some thought, Jack nodded. He was, indeed, too generous. Those guys have many underlings, especially SilverWing; they can find out this info by themselves.

'Okay, let's see if there's a suitable quest at Adventurers Association before we go hunting,' he said after deciding that his business here was complete. He was just about to head to the Adventurers Association when he received a message.

"Speaking of the Devil," he said.

He opened the message from Silverwing, "Mister Storm Wind, remember when I said that we might need your assistance someday? Well, it happens that a matter has come up that requires help from an expert. If it is not too much trouble, shall we set up a meeting?"

'Darn, and I was just about to go on a hunting trip,' Jack scratched his head. He did owe the guy a favor for his help with the Death Associates; it wouldn't be polite to reject him.

"Let's hear what he has to say," Jack said as he sent a short message to Silverwing, "When and where?"

"Now, if you are available. I will be waiting in the Raven's Den. It's a tavern in the Business District; ask the NPCs if you don't know the way."