The Great Crestmaster

Aldrich didn't know how to start, he went over what he planned to say before coming here but he still found himself unable to explain.

Deep inside he felt that he didn't want to involve Ayemon in every one of his problems, even if Ayemon could solve everything with a flick of his fingers.

That was not the problem. Aldrich didn't want Ayemon to think of him as incompetent, the kid that he had to take care of all day. He wanted to prove that he could take care of his own problems himself.

But an innocent life was on the line, not only innocent but one that he was highly indebted to, so realistically speaking he had to ask for help.

"What's wrong with you? You're early but I already have the quests of the exam ready. Take a look."

"It's here already?" Aldrich asked. Well, he could always ask after hearing about the exam. Because that might change how he responded to Irene's problem.

Ayemon took out an envelope from on of the drawers of his desk, it was not very big.

"The first part, has only one quest, which in your case, is this!" Ayemon pulled a small stack of stapled papers.

"In this quest you will be joining two random examinees and two guides."

"Guides?"

"Yeah, this is basically an educational quest, as long as you're not a half-wit you will pass it. Most people do."

"Well, out with it already." Aldrich demanded, feeling exasperated.

"Have some patience young man. There is a farm close by Voryhrm, it's owned by a family. The father and his son were filling up a dried out well when for some reason the father decided to go into the well but he didn't come back up."

"Then the son who waited for his father followed him in to check up on him after not hearing anything for a long time. He too, has not been heard of after that. The family demanded to find out what happened to them."

"Your mission in this quest is information gathering, find out what happened to the pair of father and son. And then report it to the guild."

"Information gathering? What if we face a monster there?"

"Do not engage. Just make sure to observe as many details about the monster and the place as you can. Remember your role is just that."

"I understand." Fine if they didn't want him to do anything else then so be it. That just meant that passing the exam was just easier for him.

"Next is the second part of the exam which consists of two quests, this time you get to choose your teammates.

In another village, there have been sightings of goblins in the outskirts of the village, your mission is to find the nest and exterminate the goblins there."

'That doesn't sound too bad.'

"Do you Understand what it is to exterminate? A goblin nest could have from fifty to a hundred goblins, you must make sure to kill them all. Goblins hold grudges, whether they be old or young."

"It's fine I don't care, I will make sure to kill them all. Back then I was kidnapped by a goblin tribe when we first met."

"Hmm, that's great. The last quest is even easier than that one. A trade caravan will pass by the Zurn woods, but bandits are known to have recently occupied the area and robbed many people. Your mission is to also, exterminate them all."

"Bandits? What are they?"

"Humans. Don't worry they're no more than thirty, along with the payment you will also get all the bandit's loot."

Thirty humans. Aldrich pursed his lips, he hadn't killed another human since that woman. In the past he did it for survival, for self protection.

But now he was going there himself with the express purpose to kill people for a quest. People he didn't know and had never crossed paths with before.

He remembered that night when he killed his first man with a stone by smashing his head in until it broke. He remembered the exact moment when the man died, it was when he hear a crack, a sound people hear when they open a boiled egg.

Cazmer told him that he was going to do more killing from that moment on. And he was right, Aldrich had no intention to refuse the quests or to beg Ayemon to change it.

This quest was probably Ayemon's true test, he wanted to see if Aldrich had what it took to get his hands dirty. If he lacked even this tiny amount of resolve then he should just kill himself.

What will Aldrich do if he found the True Saint's Folk? Hold hands and sing with them? Anyway he wasn't going to kill innocent people he was going to dispose of criminals, beasts in the skin of men, they had nothing to complain about.

"Fine. I accept two of those quests but I want you to change one of them."

Ayemon had a unreadable look on his face, "you can't kill a few people? What do you think they're innocent so-"

"No, not that one," Aldrich had to stop him before he misunderstood any further.

"I mean the goblin extermination quest."

Ayemon eyes showed a flash of surprise, "what for? Did you get traumatized after your last encounter with them? Trust me, this will help you get over it."

It looks like there was a reason why this quest was chosen too. Ayemon took into consideration Aldrich's past experiences to choose the most fitting quests for him.

"Actually it's not that. I really don't have a problem with that, I even take the quest after the exam. Well, I need to exorcise the ghost of my neighbor's grandfather and it's trapped at the top of a shut down lighthouse in her hometown."

He spilled the beans in such a way that covered the whole problem and also summarized it in a few short sentences. Aldrich felt a little proud of himself.

Ayemon, however did not look impressed at all, "start from the beginning, and slowly for god's sake."