A single success from a high-level quest does not always… or even most of the time, guarantee a promotion to the next rank in the Adventurer's Guild.
Guild rankings exist for adventurer safety. If a party somehow clears a high-rank quest and reports it, it doesn't mean they will get a rank up or a pat on the back. On the contrary, they could be punished for violating guild rules, or worse, have their license revoked for recklessness. And even punishments.
However, that usually applies if a lower-rank adventurer takes a high-rank quest without permission, or memorizes the details and completes it secretly, thinking that proving their strength is a shortcut to promotion.
What Felt and Reinhard did was simpler, and fully within the rules the receptionist had explained to them.
The rule was clear: If adventurers come across a monster during their quest and eliminate it, they will receive a reward from the city for taking care of the threat. The Guild receives funding from the city specifically to cull monsters that wander too close to the walls. Adventurers can claim these bounties even without a specific quest or contract.
Felt had exploited this perfectly.
No sane person would go against a horde of monsters just to get a few extra coins, it was a suicide thinking by every means. But that logic only applied if you didn't have a member who was undeniably STRONG.
So the plan had been simple: accept a lowly Copper Plate escort quest, complete it, and then, while "searching for mushrooms" in the forest on the return trip, and then they get somehow stumble upon a nest of monsters which them minsters began to attack them and then they kill them.
Why?! Because they can.
Of course, no one would have believed them if they had just brought back body parts as proof. As the Guild staff had warned, they were unknown and new adventurers and that too Copper Plates rank who had joined only a few hours ago.
So they brought undeniable proof. They brought the whole damn thing.
And boom.
They jumped from Copper to Silver in just a few hours, the fastest promotion in the history of the Adventurer's Guild. Reinhard and Felt were now Silver Rank, jumping three ranks entirely if you include copper in that too.
….
While one team was getting promoted and celebrating, another new team was sitting in their rented inn room, the mood considerably heavier.
It had been a few hours, and the news of the new adventurer party jumping three ranks, and how they did it, was circulating through the Guild hall… Inns and every other places.
It had spread so effectively that Momon heard four adventurers talking about it downstairs in the inn while he was coming up to his room.
And for his luck, he already knew the party somewhat.
'Dragging fifteen Ogres like it was nothing...' Momon thought as he sat on the edge of the bed, recalling the conversation he had overheard.
Of course, he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. But so many others had witnessed it at the gate that it couldn't be a mere rumor.
Even though Ogres were low-level trash to him, probably around level 10 to 15, dragging and killing a horde of that size required physical stats and strength he hadn't seen in this world yet.
The most impressive thing he had seen so far was the summon from the knights at Carne Village, and that too was just a summon from an item not the knight himself that was strong but the summon.
With his cautious mind, still in the phase of gathering information at the starting level, his speculative conclusion led him to one dangerous possibility.
'Is he a Player?'
If someone did something he didn't expect, or showed power that broke the norm, his first thought would straight away lead him to suspecting the other party as a Player to a certain degree. And he was all for that paranoia. It was better to be over-prepared than to avoid considering that option, even if the evidence was vague.
Though, it was only a guess. He didn't know.
The only other thing that bothered him deeply was his own lack of foresight.
'Why didn't I think of that?!' he thought, frustrated. 'They could be doing some real adventures right now, not these low-level copper quests.'
He looked up at the woman standing silently by the wall.
"Nabe."
Narberal Gamma, looking ready to lay down her life at a moment's notice, responded instantly. "Yes... Momon."
He sighed yet again.
"I know that you are doing your best," he said, his voice deep and weary. "But you have to control yourself more around others. Like how you were about to pull your blade out when that kid bumped onto me."
Nabe flinched as if she had been physically struck. She looked down, clearly feeling like she had failed him.
"I apologize for my mistake, Ainz-sama."
He sighed again. Despite being an undead with suppressed emotions, the stress was real.
"There is no need for you to apologize. I know you are doing your best and all. But... just try to do better."
Nabe bowed deeply. "I will do so, Ainz-sama."
"I'm Momon," he corrected gently but firmly. "An adventurer in E-Rantel city. So you do not call me that when I'm Momon. It is somewhat alright when we are all alone, but in front of someone, it can put our mission at risk if they were to hear that."
Before she could spiral into another apology, he continued.
"No need to apologize again. Just remember it next time. Also, we have to keep an eye on the two we met recently."
Nabe looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are they a threat?!"
"Not for now… at least," Momon replied cautiously. "But we should be keeping an eye out for people, at least those who are noticeable. And even if not for that, we could gain information from them. Not to mention, if we can befriend them, we can gain some outside influence. As they seem to be noble, playing as adventurers… I suppose."
To Momon, they appeared to be nobles working as adventurers. In his calculations, keeping a friendly relation with local nobility was a solid strategic move for Nazarick by him aka Momon.
Momon paused, tapping his gauntlet against his knee. "So the question remains... how should we rank up faster?"
Nabe tilted her head in thought. "If I'm not wrong... can't we do as those ins… I mean, as those two did?"
Momon sighed internally. 'Damn, they really hate humans. She can't even complete the sentence without calling them insects. Though she is somewhat good now. I will have to go somewhat harder on her later. Maybe I should mention next time that if she keeps doing it, it will be a problem for Nazarick and for me. So even before lashing out again... she will think before acting out. But I have to keep in mind not to overdo it.'
"We can," Momon said aloud. "But wouldn't we just be a copycat who copied what those two did?"
Momon clenched his fist mentally. 'Damn. That was such a good idea. If we had done this at the start ourselves, we would have been getting some real fighting quests as of now with real big money involved.'
"Does it matter what others think?" Nabe asked, genuinely confused by his hesitation. "I do not know what plan you have for humans. But if ranking up is important... what those two did is the only way I can think of, other than threatening the Guild Master who oversees the ranks."
Momon looked at her from behind his helmet. 'Good, now she is on to threatening the Guild Master of the Adventurer Guild, huh. Damn it. Let's just do it. It is better to have small-time nicknames than picking herbs and finding lost items. We can just think of another reason later. Not to mention this is the only way we can rank up fast by showing how powerful we are.'
Momon stood up, his cape flowing behind him.
"You are right. It is not the time to be caring about nicknames or things like that. We can just endure that for a small time. Though when the Guild sees our strength, they will have no choice but to give us a higher rank. We will be doing that first thing tomorrow."
And just like that, Momon had made a decision. With no other plans or way to rank up fast... he will be using that same way.
"And then," he added, his voice carrying a hint of competitive spirit, "maybe fifty Ogres or other monsters would be good."
….
Meanwhile, Felt and Reinhard were in a much better mood.
After getting all the money, or at least a part of it for now, they had secured a room at a modest inn. It wasn't luxury, but it actually served food that tasted like food and not some trash found in a gutter.
Reinhard followed behind Felt, his ears picking up the murmurs of the high-ranking adventurers that were scattered around the inn's dining hall. They talked about the new duo, unaware they were sitting right there.
What Reinhard and Felt had done could be considered a record in the Adventurer Guild, jumping up three ranks in just a few hours. Most new adventurers took months, the best ones weeks, as there really isn't that much of a choice other than ranking diligently.
The news was all over the city, or at least most, if not all of it.
"That's him," a whisper floated from a nearby table.
"The one who dragged the Ogres?"
"Yeah. My cousin was at the gate. Said he pulled fifteen of them with one hand."
"Bullshit. He looks like a twig."
"I'm telling you! The Guild Master was there!"
Felt looked at Reinhard, a smug grin plastered on her face.
"It worked, didn't it?" she whispered. "Now we can take up some real quests in which we will get paid good and don't have to worry about staying and food."
Reinhard ignored the murmurs and talk from others as they discussed him. He replied to Felt, his tone slightly conflicted.
"Yes, Lady Felt. But didn't it feel like cheating, though?"
Felt sighed, rolling her eyes at his rigid morality.
"The lady herself said that we will get money for monsters we hunt near the city. We were just coming diligently after completing the quests. And not to mention we made the city safer for people. How is it cheating if we just got recognized for what we are worth by the Guild? It's like saying a fish shouldn't be in water or something."
Reinhard blinked. "Huh?! Well, if you put it like that... I can't complain."
He was, of course, pointing to the words about the city being safe. That part resonated with him.
"Let's just eat something for now," Felt said, rubbing her stomach. "You must be hungry. Because I for sure am. After all these things and all. I wanna eat some good food. Let's go."
"Ah. Yes," Reinhard said, as he walked dutifully behind her toward the smell of roasting meat.
….
A/N: Don't forget to comment and power stones…