…This talk of ranks made me remember something .

I was currently F-Rank, but it seemed that I would soon be unable to accept the quests that I wanted with this rank, and so it would be good to raise it .

“How can I raise my rank?”

I asked the receptionist .

I had gone up from G to F by just reporting the completion of quests .

However, it hadn’t been raised after that, no matter how many quests I finished .

“Uh… Let me see here . ”

She said as she inspected my card .

And then she raised her voice in surprise .

“Wh-what kind of quest log is this!?”

“Is there something wrong with it?”

“It is wrong! It is all so wrong! …You should be notified if you meet the requirements for ranking up… I don’t know why you haven’t been able to…”

She said as she inspected the card .

And then—she let out another shout .

“AHAH! You haven’t done any quests near a watering-place!”

“A watering place?”

“Yes, the environment would be very unique, and so it is required that you finish at least one quest in such an area before moving on to E-Rank . …In your case, Mister Yuji, completing one quest in a watering place will raise your rank all the way up to D!”

I can go up 2 ranks then .

I would definitely accept such a quest .

“So, are there any quests in those locations now?”

“I’m not sure . Such places are rare around here… But I will go and check!”

She said as she began to wade through a mountain of papers .

After a while, she shouted while clutching a single sheet of paper .

“I found one! …But I wouldn’t exactly recommend it…”

“Why not?”

I said as I took a look at it .

It read, ‘Hunt the Maneater Ba.s.s . ’

“…Maneater Ba.s.s?”

“A river fish that eats people! A monster, really… It is known to be very dangerous and is not recommended for solo Adventurers . ”

“When you say dangerous…do you mean you could be eaten?”

“Yes . As it is underwater, you cannot reach it with magic . So you must use spears… And that’s when they bite you and drag you under the water, where you are drowned . And then you are eaten . ”

I see .

It was as dangerous as you might expect from a quest near water .

However, strictly speaking, I wasn’t solo .

I had slimes .

While I didn’t know if my magic would work in the water, I felt like there were other ways to fight .

Of course, fire magic and bullets would be useless . But Area Freeze seemed like it might work . And as a last resort, I could just evaporate the entire river with h.e.l.lfire of Death .

If it would help me get to D-Rank, it was worth a try .

“All right . I’ll accept this one . ”

“…You understand that it’s dangerous?”

“I’ll complete it while staying as far away from the water as possible . ”

I said as I had her complete the procedure .

But…it was already dark today .

It would be a disaster if I lost my footing out there . So I would do it tomorrow .

Thankfully, I had 3 days to complete it .

A little while after .

I left the guild and went to Gaiger’s armor shop for monsters .

This was so I could give him the gemstones from the Blue Lesser Fire Dragon .

“Are you still open?”

I called from outside .

In this world, a lot of places closed in the evening .

“Oh . You’re that F-Ranker from before!”

I heard a voice, and then Master Gaiger came out from the back .

He did not sound particularly hopeful as he asked me,

“So, did you get the Blue Lesser Fire Dragon gemstones?”

“Yeah . …Here they are . Can you use them?”

I said as I offered them to him .