96 Alchemist Escort Quest

So... Apparently I'm the first twelve year old she's ever seen who has eight magic skills with three already at tier two.

Not to mention the fact that I was also proficient in close combat as well, something she claimed that it was most definitely not normal even if I was a Meslatar.

Mother was showing off a really smug look the entire time and I even overheard the principal mutter that she was glad they begged Mother to delay my admission two years ago.

In the end, I decided to just attend the branch school normally since I didn't want to move right away after having just gotten used to the life inside the capital city.

More importantly, Katsuki was still in the midst of her maid training so I would be leaving her behind if I had accepted to move. No way am I going to leave my cute Inugami maid behind!

It was thus agreed that I was to be put into their special class for gifted students, though there would be a separate entry test during the admission date itself but it was more of a formality than anything else.

Even if I failed it, I would still be admitted but just not in the special class. Mother openly scoffed at the idea, saying that if I failed the test, she would personally burn down the school herself.

I had to tell Mother off for that since the principal's face had turned as white as a sheet from that proclamation, probably already thinking if it would be a good idea if she just let me pass without the test.

Since I was still considered a minor, Mother was supposed to choose which classes I should attend but she naturally left it to me instead.

I wanted to take this chance to focus on my tier one magic skills so I chose the classes to train me in the four basic elements of fire, water, earth and air while also adding in an additional class for Iatromancy.

I also picked some other miscellaneous classes like survival and combat training as well as alchemy too.

The principal suggested some theoretical courses like maths and language but Mother had proudly told her that I was already taught my numbers and letters before I was even half a year old.

That made the middle-aged woman stare at me with wide eyes for at least a minute before recovering her senses.

On the other hand, Katsuki was just absolutely thrilled about hearing whatever I was capable of. I swear if her tail wagged any faster, it might just come flying off.

Not wanting to torment the poor lady anymore, I finished up our business with the principal and went on our way.

There wasn't a uniform or anything like that since the school did have students of all ages there but we do get a blazer with the school crest to signify our status as students.

I then lamented that I had to wait for another week before the official start of my school life, so I decided to take out my frustrations by looking for some Mercenary work.

Though my Dungeoneer rank had risen to E thanks to completing that dungeon, my Mercenary rank was still at F since I haven't been doing any quests lately.

For today, I decided to visit the Guild branch that was located in the Merchant's district instead of the Noble's one just to see if there was anything interesting there.

It was more bustling than the one at the Noble's district for sure but I quickly realised that most of them were obviously Merchants instead of Mercenaries or Dungeoneers judging by the clothes they were wearing.

Looking at the quest board, I tried to find a quest that would not take too much time to complete and still worth my time to do.

Right now I have accumulated two thousand and three hundred Creas on my own, which is honestly quite a fortune so I'm not really pressed for money. This is meant to be my personal funds when I finally set out to journey on my own.

Oh, there's a F rank quest that's looking for an escort to the forest outside the city for a local Alchemist to gather herbs. This should take a day trip at most and the pay is also quite reasonable at two Creas with claims over any loot the escort may get from monsters and bandits on the way.

Yes, yes, what is two Creas when I have two thousand right?

But right now, money isn't really my priority since it's not like I was pressed for it considering my family's situation, this was more of getting experience to rise through the ranks than anything else.

Besides, there's no way a F rank quest would pay a lot in the first place anyway.

I took down the quest from the board and headed over to the receptionist to get myself registered for the quest.

I also realised that this would be my first escort quest so it would also be a new experience for me.

The receptionist went through the process of registering me for the quest quickly before handing me a parchment, explaining that it was the location of the client and a confirmation that I had accepted the quest which I would need to show the client.

One thing I noticed was that the receptionist seemed to grimace when he saw the quest but he didn't say anything else to me.

Following the directions on the parchment, I found myself at the second level of the commoner's district where a small potion shop was located in the corner of the street.

A sign was nailed above the door with the words 'Lisa's Pot Shop' painted on it.

I'm going to guess the 'pot' in this case is short for potions and not a specific kind of herb.

Pushing open the door, a small bell chimed upon my entry, prompting a feminine voice to call out from the back of the store.

"Welcome! Just give me a moment and I will be right with you!"

I waited for a moment before a female Mahun appeared from a doorway leading to the back.

"Good day young lady! Welcome to my humble potions store! Are you looking for some herbs? A potion perhaps? Or some remedies?" She greeted me cheerfully.

"Oh, umm... I'm here for the escort quest actually," I explained, showing her the quest confirmation parchment.

She gasped, "Oh my! That's perfect! Are you ready to go right now? Because I'm ready to go right now!"

Isn't she an excitable one?

I showed her my gear, which was my usual leather armour with the addition of the steel sword I received from the dungeon completion reward.

She clapped her hands together, "Alright, just give me a minute to close up shop and we can head out right away! Oh! Before I forget!"

I watched the alchemist rush out from behind the counter to stick her hand out towards me while flashing me a wide grin.

"Let me introduce myself! I'm Lisa the alchemist, nice to meet you!"

I checked her stats with my [Screen].

[Name: Lisa

Title: Owner of Lisa's Pot Shop

Race: Mahun

Stats:

23 Strength

13 Dexterity

15 Endurance

22 Magic

Skills:

Cooking (Tier 2), Alchemy (Tier 2), Martial Skill-(Dagger Proficiency (Tier 1))

Magic Skills:

Pyromancy (Tier 1)]

I took her hand and shook it gently, greeting her with the same enthusiasm, "Hello! I am Aster, F rank Mercenary and your escort for today!"

"You must be just starting out as a Mercenary huh, you can handle horned rabbits right?"

I grinned, "Yep! I have hunted them before!"

"Even better! It's a relatively safe place and those are the only things we need to worry about! Just leave the herb collecting to me and watch my back!"

She turned back and picked up a harvest sack she had left behind the counter, hefting it on her back while she packed a few things into a satchel.

"It's a good thing you showed up! I was running out of a few of my herbs and I was just starting to get worried that no one would take up my quest and I'll have to go there alone."

"Do most Mercenaries not accept this quest?" I asked.

"Oh, kind of, yeah. Even though there's not much risk involved, the rewards aren't really that great either since it's dependent on monsters showing up to get their parts to get better rewards."

I tilted my head, "Isn't two Creas quite a lot?"

"Ehehe~ Not when you have other quests around that give more, even though there's more risk involved of course. Did the receptionist recommend this quest for you?"

"Not really, I picked it myself. I'm just trying to get some experience to get my Mercenary rank up to E before I start attending the Academy next week."

She gasped, "Oh my gosh! You're a student there?! That is so cool! I've always wanted to study there too! I've heard of how wonderful that place is! Too bad I can't afford the fees and neither am I talented enough to get a scholarship though. You must be really talented then!"

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment, "Umm... Maybe just a little..."

"Ehehe~ Then I can rest easy with you escorting me, Miss Aster! Shall we?"

I have to admit, her enthusiasm is quite contagious and she seems like an interesting person.

At least this should be a relatively easy quest to complete.