After my admission form had been completed, Richter insisted that we should do a Purple Hide level commission. It'd be faster for me to rank up if I helped him complete commissions above my level than if I went solo and completed them on my own time. Even if the completion credits were split evenly, it'd still be a greater gain than a solo-completion Black Ear commission.
"Do the two of you plan on taking a commission together?"
""Yes.""
"Alright. I'll designate Richter as the party leader and Nolval as the supplementary member. As for your commission, the both of you will be tasked with finding and retrieving a Rhino Tortoise."
"A what now?" I asked the lady.
"It's a creature often used by merchants to transport quantities of goods. They're usually docile, but under extreme circumstances, they'll panic and flee to safety."
"Is this Rhino Tortoise owned by the complaining man from earlier?"
"No, it belongs to a different merchant."
"Is there anything else you could tell us about this Rhino Tortoise? Like how I can identify it?"
I could make a few guesses, going by the merged naming sense of the animals, but it'd be best if I ask someone who lived knowing the existence of such creatures as fact, rather than someone who perceives them as something from fiction coming to life. After all, animals weren't the focus of my studies in my previous life.
...
From what the clerk told me, Rhino Tortoises have an immensely thick and tough hide that's more durable than the brick walls of most buildings. They're also poached for their hide, being used as materials for armor and weaponry. As such, it's not uncommon for there to be incidents of Rhino Tortoises ramming through buildings in a frenzied panic to escape their attackers.
Also, they're herbivores. That's as much as I could learn after she insisted multiple times that she wasn't an expert on the matter, before sending us on our way.
"Richter, you're the one with a higher ranking than me. Any ideas on how we should capture this animal?"
I turned to him, but he was oddly silent. In fact, I'm pretty sure he hasn't spoken a word since the commission was given, but I chalked up his silence as him coming up with his own plans to tackle the problem. Instead, he's just staring blankly at the ground.
I put a hand on his left shoulder with my right hand.
"Richter!"
"Ahh!"
He was startled, jumping away from me.
"You doing alright? You've been out of it after she gave the commission."
"Her name is Ikolees!" He spat back. "And I'm just thinking of plans to capture the Rhino Tortoise."
"Could you share those plans? It was your idea to confront this commission together to get me more completion credits after we split them."
"Well…"
Richter fidgeted as I waited for him to answer. He said nothing for 30 seconds. I counted mentally in the Mississippi measurement.
"I'll ask Ikolees about the person who posted the commission." I turned around to go back into the building.
Why didn't we ask for the person who commissioned this task?
I walked up to the counter, only to find a different clerk who wasn't Ikolees waiting.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
"Richter and I accepted a commission to look for and retrieve a Rhino Tortoise. I was wondering if you could tell us about the person who gave the commission."
"You were given a commission to find a Rhino Tortoise?"
"Yes. Purple Hide level. I believe a merchant wanted to look for the missing animal, as it was needed to transport their goods. Ikolees gave us this commission."
"I see, I'll go ask her about the commission."
The new clerk then went through a doorway.
I decided to wait at one of the empty tables. A moment later, Richter walked through the door.
"Why'd you go back in?"
"I wanted to get a grasp on the habits of the Rhino Tortoise. If the Rhino Tortoise panicking could cause destruction to nearby buildings, I'd want to ensure its emotional state is happy and calm instead of flustered and anxious. The best person to help us with that is the owner of Rhino Tortoise, so I'd thought we should find the owner before making a viable plan."
"We're mages, Nolval. Our abilities are more than enough to capture the thing. You've beaten Alicia in a duel during class; surely you can restrain the beast without help from its owner."
"Maybe."
Truth be told, all the applications of my power I can think of on the spot are destructive. If we're here to capture an animal, we need a more passive, less lethal approach. At best, going for the pacifist approach, I can make a few constructs with more durability than your average building to surround the Rhino Tortoise in an enclosure it can't easily break out of.
I could also make a cage shaped to its body to ensure maximum restriction, but that doesn't sound like an ethical way to treat a normally docile animal with building-destroying capabilities.
"What do you think about Rhino Tortoises, Richter?"
"Huh, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Just thought I should take your opinions into account when implementing our approach."
"They're big and scary, and if you don't treat them right, they'll ruin your life!" He crossed his arms, but didn't meet my eyes when he spoke.
"Sounds like you've got a vendetta against them."
"Well, what do you know. You can't even read or write!"
"True, but ever since this Rhino Tortoise commission was given to us, you've been acting a bit odd."
"You barely know a thing about me."
"Also true, but in the little time I've known you, my impression of you is someone who doesn't back down so easily. So either I'm wrong about you and should rethink my impression, or I'm right, and something about the Rhino Tortoise has traumatized you enough to act like this."
We stared down each other, his glare meeting my analyzing gaze.
He sighed.
"Looks like I was wrong about you."
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" The voice of the new clerk reached my ears.
"Apologies, but I didn't get your name."
"Nolval."
"Last name?"
"Don't have one."
"I see. Well, this is the address of the inn of the person who commissioned the search and capture of the Rhino Tortoise you're looking for. He said he'll be here for 3 days."
The clerk handed me the paper holding the address, and I immediately gave it to Richter.
"It's not too far. It should take us 20 minutes if we walk." Richter commented, reading the address.
"Is that everything you'll need?"
"Yes, thank you very much," I answered the clerk.
"The Adventurer's Guild wishes for your success." The new clerk bowed before returning to her station.
...
"The address of the place wasn't the only thing the paper provides, right?"
"Name, appearance, age. All we need to do is find him."
Both of us entered the inn and were greeted by a man in his early 20s. The moment he saw us, he perked up.
"Welcome to Tirja's Tavern and Inn. Is there anything I can help you with, gentlemen?"
Richter spoke first.
"We're looking for a man named Byclaes Anzer. The Adventurer's guild told us he'd be here."
"Ah, he just booked a room with us 2 days ago. I'll let him know you're expecting him. Please wait here while I go get Mr. Anzer."
He then left to retrieve the man we came here for.
The walls and floor of the lobby were constructed with extremely dark, almost dark chocolate shades of wood. The accompanying chairs and tables looked to be made of the same material. It would've been difficult to tell there were chairs and tables at all if not for the lit lantern sconces placed near the ceiling. The only things I could see that weren't the same color as the wood were the clothes on both Richter and me, as well as the small office behind their bank teller window setup.
"So, what do you know about Rhino Tortoises?" I asked Richter, being the only other person in the lobby.
He stopped wandering the lobby.
"Pretty much whatever Ikolees told you. A destructive force of nature when provoked or agitated. They walk, their steps sounding like intermediate-level earth-attuned attacks. And when they run… they sound like timed explosions of advanced-level fire-attuned Proa."
He stared at a spot on the floor as he explained this.
Ikolees described it like a peaceful creature you shouldn't provoke, but Richter described it as if he were a veteran recounting a battle he'd fought during wartime.
"Was it scary?"
"About as terrifying as Sebastian on a bad day."
That's… certainly a comparison.
I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but the man from earlier spoke, announcing his presence.
"Gentlemen, I've brought Mr. Anzer. Mr. Anzer, these two asked about you." The man behind the bank-like window returned after greeting one party to the other.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Anzer." I offered a handshake.
"Thank you." He grabbed my hand and shook. "It means so much to me that you'll help find my poor Griesies."
Mr. Anzer cried while shaking my hand. He shook it for a little too long as he wept.