The receptionist behind the desk burst into laughter, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Everyone—even the other receptionists—turned their heads toward him, as if they had never seen him laugh before.
"Hahahaha! I've been here for thirty years, and the best part of this job is watching newbies overestimate themselves and pick quests they can't handle.
But I've never seen an idiot like you! Hahaha! Did you think that just because there's no requirement, you could take the 1000 gold reward?
I'm gonna cramp. My stomach's killing me, hahaha!"
Even Colt, who usually didn't care what others thought, felt this was a bit much.
The man looked sluggish and indifferent just moments ago, but now he was laughing like the most outgoing person in the building.
"Ahh! Boy, you made my day. So I'll help you. Here's some advice—don't be an idiot! That's the best advice you'll get. I don't need to say anything else."
"Old man, aren't you going too far?" the brawler cut in again, but the receptionist kept laughing.
"Haha! Just look at this! The kid wants to take the Kayden quest!"
This time, nearly half the guild broke into laughter.
Only the ones in line for A-grade and higher quests remained quiet. Their desk was separate.
An elven party from that line glanced over, then turned away like it had nothing to do with them.
Of course, even the strongest people here couldn't sense Colt's real strength, let alone match it.
That was probably why a party of four humans and a fhrem nodded to each other and walked over.
"Hey, newbie. Do you think you're the strongest one here? Even we, the Wise Lions, don't make that claim. Can't you see the real pros in that line over there?"
He pointed at the group waiting for the high-level quests.
"Even they wouldn't dare take on that quest, and you're saying you want it?"
The brawler stepped in again. "That's enough. He's obviously new and doesn't know how things work. You don't have to gang up on him."
"And who are you?" asked the guy from the Wise Lions—Lionel.
"None of your business. Just go back and worry about your own quest. Hey, boy," he turned to Colt, "that quest's impossible. Even the top hunter in Harton wouldn't take it. You should back off."
He was trying to help—more or less.
Colt turned his eyes back to the old receptionist. "Since there's no requirement, please proceed with assigning me the quest."
The man's smirk faded. "Boy, no need to be petty. If you go and die just because I laughed at you, I'll end up the bad guy."
Why is everyone calling me "boy"?
Colt knew the man didn't actually care, so he said nothing, just held his gaze.
After a few seconds of staring each other down, the man clicked his tongue. "Tch, your funeral," he muttered, then assigned the quest.
Normally, there was no need for a formal assignment. Bringing Kayden's head would have been enough.
But quests could be claimed in advance, both to let others know who had taken them and to allow teams to join in.
Plus, registering was mandatory for the first quest.
"Here's a bit of hope. If you complete that quest, you'll be promoted to C rank instantly. So, good luck."
The receptionist kept laughing even as he gave Colt his hunter's licence and went back to reading his newspaper.
Colt left the guild after that interaction.
Lionel and his group kept laughing behind him, but they didn't take things any further.
To them, he was just another newbie who had overestimated himself.
Colt thought the same. Since they hadn't done anything else, he had no reason to care about the laughter.
In his eyes, they were like ants. But they didn't know that.
After leaving the guild, he cast an invisibility spell and flew west.
He already knew where Kayden was.
---
Kayden wasn't strong at this point in time.
Even his top commanders were stronger than him.
He would suddenly gain strength in the future for reasons Colt still didn't know.
But for now, he was in his tower.
Well, it was called a tower, but it only had the shape of one.
There were just three floors—it was more like a house placed in the middle of a hunting ground.
And the hunting ground itself was low-level since it was in Harton.
The only reason Kayden hadn't been captured yet was that the tower was invisible.
Sometimes he came out and killed the Artean hunters or captured them to... let's say to make sure they were fresh.
Hence the reward on his head.
Colt didn't waste time. After just a minute of flying, he was already in front of the tower.
It was hidden, but a mid-low tier vision spell was enough for him to see it.
He definitely wasn't the strongest existence in Arte. He knew there were monsters stronger than him. But they roamed outside the country's borders.
There could also be Arteans stronger than him.
But before coming back in time, he had never seen or heard of an Artean who surpassed him.
And if there were any, they weren't inside any countries. Which meant, for all practical purposes, he was the strongest Artean.
So, this invisibility spell was nothing.
He dropped his own invisibility and knocked on the door.
A lizard-like woman opened it, eyeing him with a strange expression.
She was probably thinking, How did a human boy find the tower?
From Colt's perspective, she seemed like she was there for entertainment.
If he didn't know better, he might have mistaken her for a beastman instead of an alien.
He didn't attack first. He wasn't a hasty person, and the one in front of him was a sentient existence.
He would kill anyone who needed to be killed, but this woman might even be a slave.
So instead, he said, "I'm looking for Kayden."
The lizard woman was surprised again when she heard the name Colt mentioned.
At first, she thought the boy had stumbled upon the tower by accident. Maybe his perception was just unusually sharp.
But now she knew—he had come here on purpose.
She took a fighting stance, and her nails shifted into claws.
That was Colt's cue to decide her fate.
He pulled out a stone from his inventory and infused it with mana.
Then the stone shot from his hand and pierced the lizard's head.
She collapsed, lifeless.
Colt let himself in. There was no one else on the ground floor, just a living room.
He moved up to the second floor, climbing the stairs tucked into the corner of the tower.
When he reached the landing, he found a door.
Again, he knocked.
He didn't know why. He just did.
This time, the door was opened by someone who looked even more like a lizard.
He held a spear in one hand, a shield in the other.
Inside, ten other lizards like him stood ready.
Colt didn't hesitate this time. He killed them all the same way he had killed the woman.
Each one dropped silently, thanks to the magic Colt had cast.
He stepped inside to check for anything of interest, but aside from daily-use items, nothing caught his attention.
So, he moved on to the final floor.
This time, he didn't knock.
He already knew Kayden was inside. There was no need.
But he wished he'd knocked or, at least, checked with a spell before opening the door.
He saw something he hadn't wanted to.
There wasn't just one female lizard in the tower.
There was a full harem inside.