Ascending the Five Towers
Vol. 2 - Ch. 30 - Venus' Mansion

Bidding farewell to Leo, Ash and Clara entered Venus' Mansion.

They could tell from looking at it from the outside, but the inside of the mansion proved to be even more spacious than the Consignment Store.

Various woods were utilized, with plants strategically placed throughout.

Despite its brick construction, the building's interior emanated a warm ambiance, thanks to these features.

Reception desks adorned the entrance, just like the Consignment Store.

There were three desks, with Milmas behind them, that constantly handled incoming challengers.

On either side of the reception area, stairs led to the second floor, both guarded by a single Milma.

It was worthy enough to be called Venus' Mansion.

Ash figured that the stairs most likely led to the mansion's owner.

"It's so magnificent, so overwhelming."

"Clara, let's go."

Urging the spaced out Clara, Ash headed for the vacant reception desk at one end.

When they reached, they both sat down on the stools placed in front of the desk.

They observed the Milma receptionist who was deeply engrossed in her work, oblivious to their presence.

(Why does her twin-tail hairstyle look so familiar...) Ash couldn't help but wonder.

"Uru, is that you?" he asked.

"Huh? What? Sir Ash?!"

The Milma raised her head, showing that it was in fact Uru.

She seemed terribly surprised, her eyes unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Y-You scared the life out of Uru..." Uru exclaimed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you."

Ash apologized, seeing as Uru placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down.

As Ash observed her, a question suddenly came to him.

"Say, I've been wondering this for a while now, but Uru, are you like, totally free?"

"T-That's rude! Uru isn't free!"

"Then why are you here?"

"That's..."

Uru instantly turned her head down and began to speak in hushed tones, her mouth agape, "If there aren't any newcomers there's nothing for Uru to do... So, Uru ends up helping out here and there!"

"So you're doing chores?" Ash chuckled.

"That may be so, but please don't say it so bluntl--"

Uru, who had puffed out her cheeks in a threatening manner, suddenly stopped mid-sentence when she caught sight of Clara.

"U-Uru forgot her greetings. Welcome, Lady Clara."

"Hello..."

It wasn't the first time they had met, but Clara still felt as shy as ever. It seemed like Clara would still need time to get used to Uru.

Putting that aside, Ash decided to get straight to the point.

"I heard that I can receive Quests here, is that right?" he asked.

"That is correct."

"Is there any good Quest that I can take up?" 

"Let Uru check..."

Uru began rummaging around under the desk.

"Given that you've just arrived Sir Ash, Uru's assuming a Grade 1 Quest should be good."

"No need, I've already reached Grade 2 in the Red and Green Towers."

As soon as Ash answered that, Uru looked up vigorously.

"That's amazing! Most people would be stuck on the 10th Floor for close to a month!"

"There are some people that took almost a year..." Clara said with a look of despair.

Deciding not to pay her any heed, Ash continued the earlier topic.

"Though, I'm currently stuck on the 11th Floor on both. Are there any Quests around that area?"

"In that case... How about this one? It's a task to subjugate the numerous Bomb Mushrooms on the Green Tower's 12th Floor."

Uru said as she placed a book on the desk that had the number <2> written on its cover. She turned the pages till she reached a page with an enormous mushroom with a purple umbrella.

"Bomb Mushroom... This is the first I'm hearing of such a monster."

"They aren't that strong, however, there are Skeletons and Crawlers in the area which are the main issue."

(Yea, Skeletons really are an issue.)

Perhaps because of yesterday's loss, Clara asked, "Ash, can we do it?" with a frightened expression.

"By the way, what's the reward?" Ash asked.

"You'll get 100 Duri for every 10 monsters. If you manage to kill a 100, you will additionally receive 2000 Duri and a Green Attribute Stone."

As soon as Uru said that, Clara's eyes lit up.

"Ash, let's do it! That's a load of money!" she exclaimed.

"It really is."

(It certainly is an attractive offer, and I'd love to accept it, but I'd be lying to myself if I said it didn't carry any risk. I'm planning on using that Grade 2 Exchange Stone to make an axe,

and that should increase the speed with which we deal with the Skeletons, but still...)

As Ash was wondering what to do, somebody interrupted their conversation.

"Phew! A Bomb Mushroom hunt."

"Ah!"

Clara jumped back in surprise.

Seeing her act like that, the intruder chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Long silver bangs, and a hexagram ornament hanging from his ears - from these characteristics, it was immediately apparent that the intruder was Luna.

Unlike yesterday, he carried a white narrow bow, the Marihaba's signature weapon.

"You sure came out of nowhere." Ash remarked.

"And despite that you don't seem the least surprised."

"I could smell the forest."

"So you felt Marihaba's smell huh." Luna said somewhat proudly and then chuckled, "Still, we haven't met since yesterday!"

"I never thought we'd get to meet again so soon." Ash remarked.

"I'm off from team activities today. I had some free time, so I thought I'd come and take on a Quest." Luna said, glancing away.

His eyes were aimed straight at the Quest book.

"Truth be told, I happened to overhear the quest you were talking about right now, and I'm actually quite curious about it. Would you mind if I tag along?"

"No issues on my end. Rather, I'd be glad." Ash said, fully understanding that they didn't have the necessary strength.

He then glanced at Clara, who was still recovering from the shock.

"What do you say, Clara?"

"I-I'm fine with it as long as you are, Ash."

Having gotten that out of the way, there was one more thing Ash was concerned about.

"However, this is a Grade 2 Quest. Can you take it?"

"My floors are Red (19), Blue (19), Green (19), White (9), Black (9). It should be fine, no?"

"I'm shocked. I thought you'd be higher." Ash remarked.

"That's what I'm capable of."

Ash had gotten the impression that Luna was a skilled warrior.

As such, he had assumed that Luna would have been amidst the top challengers, thus he was surprised to learn that Luna wasn't all that ahead of him.

"In that case, that's perfect. We'd love to have you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Luna said, shaking Ash's hand.

Luna's fingers were thinner and longer than Ash had expected.

Furthermore, the skin on his fingertips had callused due to his bow use, however, the remaining part of his hand was soft.

Touching Luna's hand, made Ash feel somewhat comfortable. However, the moment Ash realized that he quickly pulled his hand away.

He looked away from Luna, who tilted his head in confusion, and proceeded to talk about the quest.

"How will we prove how many we've killed? They disappear once we kill them, don't they?" Ash asked.

"If you place your left hand on this contract, and then stamp the seal, a counter will appear on the back of your hand. It can be easily removed afterwards, so please go ahead and try it."

Upon Uru's prompt, Ash placed his left palm on the contract.

He then stamped the seal with his right thumb using the provided red inkpad.

Immediately afterwards the number <0> formed of light appeared on the back of Ash's left hand.

It appeared to work just like the Mark of Passage, and it didn't take long for the number to become invisible.

"This is really convenient."

"It's all thanks to Lord Aitiel." Uru said with pride, as if it were her own doing.

"Hey! I want to try it too!"

Following Clara, who cheerfully came forward, Luna also stamped his seal on the contract.

In the midst of this, Uru continued to explain, "One more thing. This Quest is considered as a Repeatable Quest. Just note that after the second completion, the Attribute Stone will be removed from the additional rewards."

"It would've been too good to be true if we could get them infinitely." Ash remarked.

Luckily for them, they could earn Duri infinitely, so it wasn't a bad deal. Given the situation, they could complete it as many times as they needed.

As the explanation came to a close, Luna appeared to have completed signing the contract as well.

After Uru finalized the contract, she gave everyone a wide smile.

"All done. Everyone, good luck on your Quest."

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