The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life! - Episode 24: Gold Rank

Episode 24: Gold Rank 

Upon arriving in the town of Colibri, the first place we headed to was the “Silver Crescent Moon Inn”. We had to inform the proprietress that we had returned and secure our room. 

We were behind schedule. So there was a chance that our room might not be available. 

“Madam, we’re back. Here, this is a souvenir for you.” 

Saying that, I handed her a famous baked confection from the commercial city of Everan. 

“Oh, it’s you, Fel-san. Thank you. Your room is still available. You’re planning to use it, right?” 

“Yes, that’s the plan. Thank you very much.” 

“Don’t mention it. A delay of a day or two is nothing unusual. But I’d recommend planning for a few extra days next time.” 

She was absolutely right. All I could do was smile wryly. I’ll keep that in mind from now on. We then headed up to our room on the second floor. 

When I opened the window, the familiar view stretched out before me. 

“Ahh, it finally feels like I’m home.” 

“Wait a second, Fel. You’re not planning to stay here forever, are you? Aim higher! One day, we’ll get our own home!” 

“Yeah, you’re right about that.” 

It seemed Lilia really wanted her own house. It was a dream of mine too. But making that dream a reality would take some time. 

Since we weren’t planning to take on any quests today, we didn’t go to the Adventurers’ Guild. We’ll start working again tomorrow. 

— 

The next day. 

We headed to the Adventurers’ Guild. Of course, we avoided the crowded morning rush. After all, they say “there’s luck in leftovers.” Plus, we could still make money from permanent quests like gathering medicinal herbs or collecting magic stones. 

“Hey, Fel! You finally made it back.” 

“What’s the matter, Guild Master? Did something happen?” 

Lilia and I exchanged glances. We tilted our heads in confusion. We had no idea what this was about. 

“I’ve heard about your bandit extermination. And since you also completed the escort request, you’re being promoted to Gold Rank.” 

“You did it, Fel! If you hadn’t gotten Gold Rank, I was ready to beat up this old man!” 

Lilia playfully threw a few punches in the air. And the Guild Master looked at her with a stiff expression. Surely, he didn’t think she was serious, right? Lilia talks big, but she’s actually a kind person. I hope he doesn’t misunderstand. 

When I handed my adventurer’s card to Fran-san at the reception desk, she quickly processed the promotion. When she returned the card, it was now gold-colored. I analyzed it and found out it was coated with actual gold. It looked quite luxurious. 

“Congratulations, Fel-san! You’re officially Gold Rank now. There are some Gold Rank quests here in Colibri. But if you’re aiming for Platinum Rank, you might want to take requests from the Adventurers’ Guild in the royal capital. They have more Gold Rank quests than we do.” 

“I’ll think about it.” 

That being said, the royal capital was quite far. From what I’d heard, the fastest, easiest, and safest way to get there was by taking a scheduled boat from Everan. The river near Everan flows straight to the capital, which is situated on the plains near the river’s mouth. 

A boat, huh? I’d like to ride one someday. Maybe I should take a guard request for a journey to the capital. But for now, I should take on my first Gold Rank quest. 

“The available quests right now… One is a Harpy extermination at the eastern rocky cliffs. There’s a large number of them, and there’s a possibility of higher-ranked variants appearing… Lilia, what do you think about this one?” 

“Hmm, if it’s just Harpies, I can probably wipe them out in one go with magic. I don’t know much about their higher-ranked versions, but we should be able to handle it. I’ll help, of course!” 

“In that case, let’s take this quest as a way to celebrate my Gold Rank promotion.” 

Carefully removing the quest notice from the board, I took it to the reception counter. 

The eastern rocky cliffs were the ones we saw when we first arrived in Colibri. If I remembered correctly, they were steep and sheer. Apparently, that made them an ideal nesting ground for Harpies. 

I guess being in a cliffside nest keeps them safe from predators. Now that I think about it, both Goblins and Harpies make homes for themselves… but do they reproduce like we do? I’ve never heard of that. Monsters turn into magic stones when they die. So I can’t imagine them multiplying the same way we do.

I asked Lilia. But she didn’t know either. Since monsters are mysterious creatures, I decided not to dwell on it too much. Otherwise, I might not be able to sleep at night. 

The rocky area we were heading to was about a day’s journey away. That meant we would be camping out tonight. For food, I had prepared a simple meat dish that only needed to be grilled. 

As it started getting dark, we set up camp. Using magic, I leveled the ground and pitched our tent there. Then, I set up a barrier around the area to keep creatures away. 

This barrier didn’t just repel monsters—it kept all living things at bay. Naturally, that included bandits as well. 

The dinner I made for the first time turned out delicious. Well, all I did was grill it on a wire rack. But I could do that thanks to my magic bag. 

The new sleeping bag I bought was amazing. It was expensive, but definitely worth the price. Lilia seemed happy with it too. 

I got a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed. After eating the leftover food for breakfast, we set out again and arrived at our destination before noon. 

Looking closely, I could see creatures that looked like Harpies flying around the rocky area. We hadn’t seen them the last time we passed through. So they must have settled here recently. 

Since a highway ran nearby, and there were towns along the road, it made sense to exterminate them before they caused any harm. Harpies were flying monsters. It naturally made them difficult to hunt. 

“Now, how should we take them down? Lightning magic is flashy, and it’s loud. So it might cause a commotion in the nearby towns and villages.” 

“We could create a tornado to gather all the Harpies in one place and wipe them out….. But the area is too small to do it effectively.” 

Lilia crossed her arms in thought. If noise weren’t an issue, we could use wide-range lightning magic. I was sure Lilia had considered that too. But the problem was that this place was closer to the town than we had expected. 

Alright, let’s take them down steadily using arrow-type magic. If we used auto-target magic, it would take time. But we should be able to manage. 

“Lilia, I think we should go with Homing Arrow.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s get started.” 

We nodded to each other and moved closer to the rocky area. With the Camouflage spell active, we should be nearly invisible to the Harpies. To them, we probably just looked like part of the grass. 

I connected nearly invisible strands of magic to the Harpies we were targeting. Once that was done, our arrows would follow the threads and hit their marks. 

The hardest part was setting up these magic threads. It was delicate work that required intense focus. But after much effort, I managed to link them all. 

“That’s it. To avoid causing collateral damage, I’ll use Wind Arrow.” 

“Good idea. I don’t see any higher-ranked variants, but I’ll stay alert.” 

“Got it. Homing Wind Arrow!” 

Countless Wind Arrows tore through the Harpies. Even when they tried to flee, the arrows relentlessly pursued them. Within minutes, the Harpies were wiped out. 

Some Harpies that had been hiding among the rocks emerged. But they were already linked to my magic threads. 

I took care of them with another round of Wind Arrows. Then, a particularly large Harpy appeared from a different direction—it must have been out somewhere. It was furious, but it didn’t realize where we were. 

The moment it exposed its back to us, Lilia finished it off in one strike with Wind Lance. 

After that, we collected the Harpies’ magic stones and took down any returning Harpies one by one. 

The operation took about half a day. And we gathered a huge number of magic stones. 

I wonder how much they’ll sell for. I’m already looking forward to our reward.