I'm a Immortal Tavernkeeper, But My S-Rank Daughter Doesn't Know That!

In Agocester Village, the Hunters’ Association building was a large, sturdy building made of stone, which was already very different from the modest branch of the Association in Serenity Village.

Victor looked at the building with admiration as he stood in front of it, because the last time he had been to this place, more than twenty-five years ago, Agocester had still been a small village where the residents had to go down the mountain to fetch water from the streams, but now most of the houses seemed to have at least one artesian well.

"This village has developed faster than most. Being part of the trade route between Kozáni and Klento must have helped." Victor thought aloud, took a few steps and pushed open the door of the establishment to enter.

Inside the Hunters’ Association building, Victor was embraced by the warmth of the large fireplace. He was relieved, because it was very cold outside.

To the left of the entrance, there was a waiting room with a few sofas. There was only one person in this room, a small mage with her staff resting next to her and a book in her delicate hands. She didn’t look at Victor, she seemed very focused on what she was reading.

To the right was the board of quests available to the hunters. Glancing quickly, Victor realized that at least this hadn’t changed in recent years. It was just a place where papers detailing the missions, the ranks required and their rewards were displayed.

Victor made his way to the front, where the service desk was, and a young receptionist answered him with a polite smile and said:

"Good morning, sir...?"

"Victor Shieldman."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shieldman. My name is Ruby, how can I help you?"

"Is the mission with the highest active reward over there?" asked Victor, pointing to the board just behind him. He knew that it was normal for some branches of the association not to display all the missions on the board, especially the more dangerous ones, because many missions were offered to specific groups of hunters or guilds.

The woman was a little surprised by the question and denied it. "Actually, the mission with the highest reward was picked up about two years ago by a trio of local hunters. If I’m not mistaken, it concerned an evil spirit in the forest, paid one gold coin and required at least Rank-C. At the moment, we have another Rank-C active, but this one pays a little less."

"Can I take a look at that last mission you mentioned?"

"Sure, here it is." She took a piece of paper from the pile in front of her and passed it across the counter to Victor.

[~Mission Contract~

Contractor: Mr. Eadric, Priest of the Church of the Dawn in Agocester.

Mission description: To hunt down and eliminate the Blights, corrupt creatures made of plants, who have been plaguing the surroundings of Evergreen Forest. The Blights have been spotted by some people in the south of the village of Agocester, causing damage to workers and threatening the safety of residents.

Reward: One silver coin per Blight eliminated. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Mission level: Rank-C].

The reward for eliminating these creatures was modest compared to the difficulty of the job, but it was better to take this mission than some Rank-E or D mission about a goblin lair or giant hornet’s nest.

After reading the contract, Victor looked at the receptionist Ruby and said:

"I accept the Blights’ mission," he said, handing the paper back to the receptionist.

Ruby’s eyebrows arched and she was about to ask Victor’s rank when he placed a necklace on the table, a necklace whose insignia was gold, indicating that he was a Rank-B Hunter. At that moment, her demeanor quickly changed and she began to act more hurriedly.

"All right, sir, you’re not a local, so I’ll help you with the location." Ruby picked up a map of the region that had been left out on the counter and marked an area with a red circle. "They’ve been seen in this area, but the forest goes even further south and into the mountains. The ground is full of roots and very treacherous. You should be careful getting around there," Ruby warned, handing Victor the map.

Victor looked at the map and memorized it. "I see, and is there anything else you know and can share? Or even something you’ve heard? The Blights are different depending on the region and the season, and I’ve never killed Blights in this area, so it would be good to have some extra information."

"Ah, I see. Well, you can talk to whoever saw them."

"You mean the man mentioned in the mission document? Father Eadric?"

"Oh, no, no. The priest is only the one who pays for the missions that are of interest to the local community. You’ll need to talk to Mr. Clovis, he’s one of the woodcutters in the village and he was also the first to be attacked."

"And where can I find him?"

"As far as I know, Clovis has breakfast every morning at the tavern in the back street. If you’re lucky and quick, he might still be there."

Victor thanked Ruby for the information and left the Hunters’ Association. He headed towards the tavern in the back street. It was still early, around nine o’clock in the morning, and the streets were quiet, with only a few locals starting to leave their homes to start the day.

When he arrived at the tavern, Victor noticed that it wasn’t very busy yet. He entered and spotted a single robust middle-aged man sitting at one of the tables near the fireplace.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Clovis?" asked Victor, approaching the man.

Clovis looked away, surprised that a stranger knew him by name. "Yes, it’s me. Can I help you?"

"My name is Victor Shieldman, I’m a Hunter. I’m here to investigate the Blight attacks in the region. Ruby, from the Hunters’ Association, told me you might have more information."

Clovis indicated the empty chair opposite him. "Have a seat, I’d be happy to help."

Victor sat down and listened as Clovis began to share what he knew.

"It’s good to see someone concerned about the safety of our village. The Blights have been a real problem for me and the other woodcutters lately. With winter coming, we can’t afford not to work on that side of the forest."

"All right, and what did the Blights you saw look like?" Victor asked.

"Oh, I only saw one, but he was thin, very thin, and fast, really fast. The first time I saw that, it was in the morning and there was a thick fog. At first, I thought it was a zombie, because it was moaning and walking slowly between the trees. And since I can deal with a zombie if I have my ax, I went towards it, because a zombie could come up to the village and hurt someone. However, when I got just a little closer, that thing got furious and started running at the same time as screaming shrilly and throwing thorns at me."

"Thorns?"

"Yes, thorns! All the size of daggers! One of them went right through my face and nearly ripped my nose off, look at that." Clovis pointed to a shallow cut on the right cheekbone. "For some reason, after I ran around a lot, it disappeared and the fog went away."

"Strange. Listen, Blights usually hide in the shadows and attack suddenly, to surprise their victim, and when they don’t get a surprise attack, they go back to their place, but I’ve never heard of a Blight running after its prey."

"No, but this one was different, he ran a lot. Listen to what I’m saying, that really scares me, like I’ve never been scared before."

Victor thanked him for the valuable information and got up to leave. "I’ll investigate the area and see what I can do. Thank you for sharing what you know, Mr. Clovis."

"You’re welcome, and I hope you’ll be able to deal with it so that I can get back to getting wood from that region. There’s no better wood than this for the festival."