Delivery jobs were definitely one of the most vital functions of modern society. Before the system, who could even live without getting stuff delivered to their house within a day of ordering it online? It was truly an impossibility, and the hard-working delivery workers were the ones who made that a reality.
Jake had spent a while in university working as a delivery driver to make some money and let’s just say he didn’t particularly enjoy the job. True, there was something zen and relaxing about having a route and a set number of packages every day to deliver, being entirely on his own throughout. At least it was zen until the quotas just got more and more unrealistic to the point it began to interfere with Jake’s studies, making him quit.
All of this is to say that Jake entered the Neverending Journey with a clear advantage over most other Nevermore Attendees as he had experience in the field. Surely, working as a package delivery driver for less than a year over a century ago would have led to translateable skills in a Challenge Dungeon within a World Wonder, right?
Jake’s thoughts on the description of the Challenge Dungeon were also pretty simple. The entire thing seemed straightforward from an initial assessment, but he got the feeling it wasn’t as so. Why did the Wyrmgod feel the need to warn so many times about people trying to take advantage of him? Especially the note about trusting no one set a kind of ominous tone of what was to come. One thing’s for sure: this wasn’t just going to be about going fast from A to B. Definitely still a part of it, but far from everything.
Still standing outside of the city, watching the crowd enter, he tried to get a better feeling for the people he would be dealing with. A few quick uses of Identify showed that the guards at the checkpoint were all around high to peak D-grade, with a single C-grade captain of sorts sitting inside of the guard building, reading something.
Seeing this, and considering he was meant to be a Courier, Jake didn’t sneak in but got in the queue to enter. He even went as far as to remove his mask, pull down his hood, and lowered his level to just over 200 using Shroud of the Primordial. At this early juncture, he saw no need to attract unnecessary attention.
After about ten minutes of queuing, it was Jake’s turn. He went up to the small booth with a bored-looking elven guard sitting on a stool within. ”Name, level, and occupation.”
”Jake, level 212, no formal work, but looking to become a Courier.”
The guard looked up and quickly gave Jake a scan. ”New around these parts? Where do you hail from?”
”Never been in this area before, no,” Jake answered, not answering the last part on purpose.Noticing this, the guard narrowed his eyes. ”I asked you where you’re from?”
”Nowhere,” Jake answered kind of truthfully. ”I’m a hunter. I just went wherever I wanted and always traveled before this.”
”Hmph,” the man let out a sound as he shook his head. Using some device that looked a bit like a typewriter, he wrote a few things before printing out a small credit card-looking thing and handing it to Jake.
”Here, hold onto that. It’s an identification card. If you are looking for Courier Jobs, check out the local Guild Hall,” he said after handing the card over. ”Oh yeah, and don’t cause any trouble.”
”Thank you. I’ll be on my best behavior,” Jake smiled and nodded as he headed into the city. Checking out the small card on the way, he quickly read what was on it. It was as basic as could be; just saying he was an early-tier level 212 C-grade, had set occupation as blank, and name as Jake. Besides that, there was a small magical seal down in the corner, probably functioning the same as a pre-system chip or watermark.
He had arrived during the day, and the city was positively buzzing. The streets were filled, and Jake guessed this place alone housed a few hundred thousand. Race-wise, he saw a lot of humans, but there were also plenty of other enlightened races. He even saw his fair share of beasts both in and out of humanoid form. Among them, the highest leveled one he saw was level 234, so still a bit low, but a good start considering he was currently in the easiest part of the Challenge Dungeon.
Walking down the well-paved streets with actual streetlights lining it, Jake didn’t at all feel like he was in a dungeon. The people there also weren’t merely window-dressing but acted entirely normal, so that was a good thing.
With his Pulse, he quickly managed to locate the Guild that the guard had mentioned. It was a massive building toward the center of the city, about six stories tall. It was also filled with people, with dozens exiting and entering every minute – some from the doors and some flying off the roof.
On that note, this city had sky-lanes. Marked areas in the air for people to fly, much akin to usual roads, just in the third dimension. It wasn’t something Jake hadn’t seen before, but in this city, it seemed especially well-managed, with colored beams of light directing people.
Entering the guild building, Jake quickly took in the atmosphere. It reminded him a bit of an old bar mixed with a bank, if that made sense. It didn’t quite give off the Adventure Guild vibe, but it seemed a lot more professionally organized. You even had to take a number while waiting your turn to talk to the employees.
Something Jake promptly did as he found an empty seat to wait. As he was sitting there, he began to scan the room more, including the people in it. There were very few present not in C-grade, with most organized into parties of sizes ranging between three and ten. What did genuinely surprise him was to see what made up these teams.
It was a mix of all races, even more extreme than on the streets. These parties included beasts and other kinds of monsters, many of which weren’t even in humanoid form, and no one batted an eye. Jake wasn’t really the one to talk, considering he was often seen with Sylphie, but he still thought it was weird to see a large wolf sitting at a table, eating from a plate with excellent table manners.
After waiting for a good ten minutes, Jake was called to one of the tills where a dwarf with a massive beard sat. ”So, how can I help you today? Oh, and can I have your identification card, please.”
”Looking for work,” Jake said as he also handed the dwarf the card.
The dwarf quickly took the card and scanned it under the desk before handing it back. After seeing the result, it was Jake’s turn to get a scan, and he felt the use of Identify on him as the dwarf nodded. ”You’re new around here, aren’t you? No affiliations? You give off that kind of vibe.”
”Right,” Jake confirmed, pretty damn sure this was scripted by the Wyrmgod. ”Heard you may be looking for a Courier?”
Jake hadn’t actually heard that; he just felt like this was how the conversation was going to go. This entire scenario reminded him a bit of that damn Test of Character at the moment as Jake had to play a role… but at least he could make that role entirely his own.
”Couldn’t be more right,” the dwarf gave him a big smile. ”Got a few jobs available. Check them out.”
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Just like that, three floating system messages appeared between Jake and the dwarf.
Courier Job 1 (Easy): Deliver a letter to the Merchant’s Union within the city.
Courier Job 1 (Medium): Transport a small shipment of ores to the Firesteel Blacksmith within the city.
Courier Job 1 (Hard): Deliver a Darkeye Diamond to Polsted in Polsted’s Jewelry Shop within the city.
Quickly skimming the three options, they all just seemed too damn easy. What’s more, they were all within the city. If he had to guess, this was just some kind of tutorial job.
”Can I accept all of them at once?” Jake tried to ask.
”Hah, only one at a time; it isn’t sure the client wants to keep waiting forever for you to finish other deliveries before getting to theirs,” the dwarf waved him off.
”I’ll take the job to deliver the Darkeye Diamond, then,” Jake said, naturally choosing the ”hard” option.
”Good, had trouble finding anyone to deliver that for the entire day,” the dwarf said with a smile as he quickly reached below the desk and took out a token before handing it to Jake. ”As you said you were looking for work, I assume you don’t have a Courier Medallion yet?”
”And you would be right,” Jake nodded.
”Take this, then,” the dwarf said as he handed a small metal token that looked like a big coin to Jake. ”Infuse some energy into it and bind it to you.”
Jake looked at the Courier Medallion for a bit as he used Identify, seeing its properties.
[Courier Medallion (Inferior)] – the lowest rarity of Courier Medallion for a novice in the field. This Medallion will hold information related to jobs and can give general directions to your destination if those are provided (may not be entirely reliable). Will automatically upgrade as Courier Jobs are completed and your reputation grows.
Requirements: Soulbound
Seeing no reason not to do as asked – and feeling pretty sure getting this Medallion was mandatory anyway - Jake infused some energy into the item, making it his own. As he did, the dwarf took out a piece of paper that turned into energy and flew into the token.
Courier Job accepted.
”Right, everything should be in the Medallion now,” the dwarf said with a courteous smile. ”Just two seconds while I go grab the diamond.”
Jake nodded as the dwarf left to a back room where he unlocked what looked like a magical safe. He did some magic stuff as a small jewelry box appeared in his hand, wrapped in some kind of cloth with runes on it. Likely a protective measure.
Returning to Jake, he carried the box carefully with both hands but stopped right before he put it down on the table.
”Just to make sure, you do have a spatial storage item yourself, right? Or will you need to borrow one?” the dwarf asked.
”I got my own,” Jake confirmed.
”Excellent!” the dwarf said as he put down the box. Jake instantly put it in his necklace, keeping it away from prying eyes.
”Also… before you go, just a bit of a warning,” the dwarf suddenly turned serious after Jake took the item. ”This diamond is quite valuable, and I heard there might be others out to get it themselves. So be careful, alright? Only give it to old Polsted personally. When the job is done, we will know, but still come back here if you need more work after.”
”I’ll be careful and definitely come back later,” Jake said, matching the same solemn energy of the dwarf.
”You know, I am getting a good feeling about you. With some good jobs under your belt, your Courier Medallion should upgrade quickly, and I can see you becoming a real known name in the game,” he said encouragingly.
”I bet you say that to every new Courier,” Jake said with a wink as he turned to leave. He wasn’t joking either; he was pretty sure the dwarf did indeed say that to everyone who entered this Challenge Dungeon. At least everyone who didn’t somehow fuck up this early introductory part.
The dwarf just shook his head behind Jake as he walked out of the Guild. He still had the Courier Medallion in his hand and quickly infused some energy according to the faint instinctive knowledge he got when first binding it. As he did, what looked like a compass appeared on its face, pointing toward what he assumed was his destination.
With a direction set, Jake made his way over there. The city was pretty big, yes, but it wasn’t that big, and with a brisk pace and maybe a few One Steps thrown in there, Jake reached the street where the jeweler was placed within minutes. Using the Medallion, he quickly confirmed which shop was this Polsted’s… not that the massive sign above the entrance didn’t also help.
Going toward the store, Jake saw that it looked closed. However, there was someone standing behind a desk inside, so Jake decided to knock on the door. The man behind the desk was a young-looking guy, and when he saw Jake knock, he quickly ran over and opened the door ajar.
”Yes, how can I help you?” he asked carefully. On his way over to the door, Jake noticed quite a few curious gazes from behind, primarily from two beastfolk across the street.
”Courier here. I am meant to deliver a package to Polsted,” Jake said, ignoring the onlookers.
”Ah, the diamond arrived!” the man said happily as he opened the door fully. ”Please come in right away.”
Jake entered the jewelry shop after the young man as they walked toward the large display case. It was filled with expensive-looking jewelry, most of it enchanted but with what Jake would consider pretty low quality enchantments. It was also all made for D-grades, with the properties all being shit. It was probably to not incentivise those doing the Challenge Dungeon to try and rob the store or something.
”Now, can I confirm the goods? I assume you have it with you,” the young man said as he stood behind the counter with a big smile on his lips.
Giving him a look, Jake raised an eyebrow. ”Supposed to deliver it to the owner of this shop, a guy called Polsted.”
”It’s fine. Polsted isn’t in today; that’s why we’re closed,” the young man smoothly explained.
”Oh, how come?” Jake asked. It wasn’t like sick days were a thing after the system arrived.
”He is working hard on a project at home, and I’m honestly not sure when he will be back,” the young man sighed.
”Guess I’ll have to stop by his place and deliver it then,” Jake shrugged.
”Polsted’s gonna be pissed if you disturb him,” the young man said with a slight hint of panic but quickly gathered himself. ”Please, man, don’t make this hard for me. The boss is gonna be up my ass if I let you go interrupt him, and even more pissed if he comes back and the Darkeye Diamond still isn’t here.”
”Sorry, got my orders,” Jake said. ”Now, where does Polsted live?”
The young man seemed to realize Jake wasn’t going to give up the goods and threw a look over Jake’s shoulder to someone outside. He clearly tried to do it subtly, but with Jake’s Perception, how could he possibly hide anything?
”Look, how about I send someone to try and get him?” the young man asked.
Jake didn’t answer right away as he sighed internally. Behind him, the two beastfolk he had seen looking curiously at him earlier entered the store, clearly both trying to be stealthy, considering the fact they both had stealth skills active.
”I think we both know that isn’t going to happen,” Jake sighed.
The young man’s animated smile faded as he sneered. Right as he did so, one of the beastfolk appeared right behind Jake and raised a spear before holding it to Jake’s throat.
”How about you’re just a good little Courier and leave the damn diamond here and fuck off?” the young man said in a pretty threatening tone.
Jake identified the beastfolk with the spear holding the spear, and, honestly, the level impressed him a bit. Level 243 was pretty high compared to most others around, that was for sure.
”Well, isn’t this fun,” Jake commentated out loud, ignoring the spear. ”How about doing this instead: you tell me where to find Polsted, and I don’t kill your two friends here? Alternatively, you can tell me after I kill them.”
The young man looked at Jake as if he was an idiot, and, fair enough, he did look like a level 212 human who had just threatened two people over level 240. So, to make his threat look less dumb, he unleashed some of his aura from his true level.
He did so with the intent to intimidate, but it got an instant reaction from the beastskin threatening him. The spear instantly went for Jake’s throat, making him react as a small layer of scales appeared and blocked the tip of the spear, the weapon utterly failing to penetrate.
”Bad move,” Jake said as he turned his head and looked at the spear wielder, his eyes glowing for a second as Primal Gaze activated. The man collapsed without a sound as Jake turned back to the young man behind the counter, trying to rob him. At least he tried to as the other beastfolk tried to attack Jake full of bloodlust, also earning him a quick look with Gaze as he also fell down like a marionette with its strings cut.
”Now, where were we? Oh yeah, where’s Polsted at?” Jake asked with a smile.
”You… they’re dead… how…”
”Chop chop,” Jake hurried him along. ”Polsted. Location. Now.”
”Al… alright, just please don’t…” the young man stuttered before quickly gathering himself and giving Jake some actual directions.
”See, that wasn’t so hard? Now clean up this place so poor old Polsted doesn’t get into work with two corpses in his store. Can’t be good for business, now can it?” Jake said in a casual tone as he turned and left the store.
As he left the store and headed toward Polsted’s place, Jake couldn’t help but think how this whole Courier thing was indeed incredibly similar to the job he had in university. Except this time around, he had a way better way to handle scammers.