Chapter 8: The Hero
"Mr.Hero, have you decided on what quest to take?" Said the Receptionist at the Guild house. The Hero looked over to the receptionist, She was wearing a uniform consisting of a blouse and a skirt with the guilds colors which were white and green.
"No, actually Could you help me? I'm looking for something local and easy but at the sametime pays well." The Hero was equipped with full plate mytril steel armor and had a long sword made of the strongest holy silver the human kingdom had to offer.
"Well in that case why don't you join a rat extermination expedition heading into the city's sewers. The commissioner is some rich merchant who's paying very handsomely, you see he recently lost his daughter who wanted to be an adventurer to a pack of Black Rats. The merchant was overcome with grief and is now setting up an extermination party to wipe them out!" she explained vehemently.
"Hey you're right this does pay well, 15,000 gold coins upfront and 25,000 after. And all i have to do is kill some rats? This is just what I needed!" said the hero excited.
"And that's not all Black Rats, unlike all other types of rats have the tendency to hoard gold coins and magical gems at the center of their colony! I have no doubt there will be lots of loot to go around. The Expedition is being held at the merchants estate on the other side of the city, you should head there with your party as soon as you can." The Receptionist explained.
"Thanks I will." The hero said. his heavy armor was making noise as he walked away.
He headed over to a table that had three girls sitting at it. They were his party members. Alta a cat beast-kin that uses a spear to fight, Benica an elf that can use nature and healing magic, and Calindra a human mage with Powerful water and ice magic. The Hero sat down and explained the plan to them.
"Awww I don't really feel like diving into the sewers!" said Calindra
"Same, the smell might stick to my fur but that is a lot of gold, It's exactly what we need. Plus hunting Rats is pretty fun, I used to do it all the time as a kid. You gotta look out for their bite though, if one manages to bite you there's a chance you might get sick." said Alta
"I'll be really dark down there. We should bring along some lanterns and as for healing items I'm sure my healing magic will be enough to heal whatever injuries we get while on the expedition." Said Benica
"Ok then it settled we'll get some lanterns and then head over to the merchants estate" Said The Hero.
After doing just that the party went to the merchant's estate where they saw two guards outside the main gate. The mansion was huge; it was hard to believe it was all paid for in simple general goods.
"Please state your purpose." said one of the guards.
" We're here about the rat extermination quest your boss put out. Tell him it's the Hero." said the hero arrogantly. The guard went inside the house and after a while came out.
"Please follow me," said the guard. Party was then escorted inside the house. They reached the main hall where there were a couple of chairs the party was instructed to sit down. After waiting for a while a man in luxurious clothes and a young man in leather armor equipped with an iron sword came into the room and sat down.
"Mr.Hero i'm thankful that you and your party have decided to join in the expedition I'm setting up. As you have heard I've lost my daughter to the vile monsters that are black rats. Some scouts I've hired have estimated the area in which the rats are nested. The day after tomorrow you'll come back here to the estate before setting off for the sewers. I have one special request, But before that let me direct your attention towards this lad right here." The merchant signaled towards the novice swordsmen. His face had a hint of anxiety.
" We were out hunting for goblins when we encountered black rats. Their red beady eyes are still burned into my memory. That wasn't a normal pack of black rats, usually packs are led by a Scavenger Rat but this one was led by a bruiser. It took all I had to keep it at bay and I entrusted the subjugation of the small rats to the fire mage who is the duke's daughter and the merchant's daughter who was a ranger. After firing a fire bomb arrow at the rats killing one and injuring another, the one that was injured had this look in it's eye that looked like extreme anger.
If you didn't know, it's almost unheard of for an unevolved black rat has the mental capacity to feel emotions. But that's not all, this rat then used its tail to throw rocks at us. one of them hit the duke's daughter right on the head! She's still recovering at the clinic. The merchant's daughter volunteered to stay behind and hold the rats back while I carried the Duke's daughter back to get some help. The Ranger was armed with a mythril dagger and the merchant wants you to retrieve it as it was a valuable family heirloom."
The Swordsmen was finished with his story and directed the Hero's attention to the merchant.
"That brings me to my special request Sir.Hero." The merchant handed a small sphere to the hero.
"So, what's this?" Asked the hero. It was a blue spherical gem that glowed softly.
"It is an orb of conviction. Feeding Mana into it will help you find someone who is guilty of a crime. This orb has been tuned specifically to find the one who killed my daughter." explained the Merchant.
"So you mean you want me to kill the Rat that murdered your daughter?" asked the hero. The Merchant shook his head.
"No, I want you to bring that vile vermin to me, alive."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
The_Oddfellow
The_Oddfellow Not even a week alive and Rat boy is already a wanted criminal. Thank ya'll for waiting patiently i hope you enjoy this chapter. be sure to comment to tell me what you think.
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