Gideon waited for Raam to park his motorbike so they could enter the Adventures Association building together. He did not wait for Raam out of courtesy, but out of respect for his age.
When they entered the building, Gideon immediately looked around, searching for someone, but his shoulders dropped in dejection as he couldn't find the person he searched for.
"Let's go kid. We can't be lurking around for long." Raam said tapping Gideon's shoulder forcing him out of his dejection and give a simple nod in response.
Raam also looked around and found Nila sitting at her usual receptionist desk taking care of the adventurers who come for new tasks or tasks completions.
Gideon went to the one of the digital boards that were around the floor to choose the hunting task at level-1 so he can go, but this time, not with Manav as he was unable to find him in the building. He would have to go alone with Raam.
He looked at all the flashing tasks slowly on the digital board for a few minutes, before choosing the task he wanted to take on and showed it to Raam who looked at him with a smile and just nodded, showing his approval for the task.
Gideon had to get approval from Raam, not just because he is his personal bodyguard and needs to know his whereabouts, but also since he is far more experienced in hunting monsters in the wild, or he would have never reached Tier-2, level-5.
With the approval from Raam, Gideon noted the Task ID and stood in line in front of the desk Nila was working along with Raam.
Nila already noticed them standing near the digital board and was waiting for them eagerly to know which task Gideon would choose this time. She knew with Raam close to him, he would be safe, but 'Would he be reckless to choose a task that would be dangerous for someone at Tier-1, level-1?' Was her question which she wanted an answer for.
They waited in the line patiently for another 15 minutes when they heard a commotion coming from the entrance of the building.
Gideon peaked at the entrance eagerly to know what the commotion was about and was surprised to see Ganim, a Tier-4, level-3 adventurer entering into the association building and the commotion was because the other lower tier adventures were pushing back to give him a clear path ahead so he could go where he wanted to go without anyone blocking him.
Ganim was one of the few people in Kamisk who had broken through the 1st limit and went ahead to Tier-up to 4. So, naturally he was given the respect he deserved which also included fear as some say that since they are battle hardened, their character might have turned hard and arrogant.
Ganim casually strode through the ground floor not even glancing at the numerous adventures around him and went to the lift which was emptied just for him.
Gideon saw this and was surprised at the respect the lower tier adventurers show to the adventurers who had broken past the 1st limit. He wished he could become one soon, but a wish can only be a wish if one doesn't work towards it.
Gideon sensed Ganim's power level and was terrified to feel that he was almost 15 times more powerful than how he was which gave him a desire unconsciously in his heart to become more powerful than Ganim.
After the lift door closed, everyone in the ground floor sighed in relief while a few were excited to see a powerful adventurer in person which is rarer than a rainy day in the middle of summer.
It took a few minutes for the commotion to stop and everyone to return to what they were doing prior to it.
"Gideon, it is your turn now." He heard a voice and turned to see there was no one standing in front of him in the line where there were supposed to be 10 people standing.
It was a good thing that Nila continued her work even in the middle of the commotion which reduced the line in front of Gideon by the time it ended and he came back to his senses.
Gideon smiled awkwardly and rushed to the reception desk and looked at Nila whose smile was more than her usual professional smile.
"I would like to take on the Task#14183, to hunt the Swift Tail Monkey near the Hanjaan mountain." Gideon said and gave his adventurer badge to her so she could note it in the scroll. But to his surprise, she entered it in the computer that was in front of her and not the scroll which she usually did.
"Ha .. We have changed from the hard copies to soft copy and electrical work from last week, kid. Don't be too surprised as it is already too late for our village to develop this far." Nila said, looking at Gideon's expression with a chuckle.
"Take good care of him, Raam" Nila said in a stern voice, staring at him as if she would kill him if he said no.
"I will definitely hon … Umm miss Nila." Raam said with embarrassment and looked at Gideon, which he completely ignored as he already realized their secret relationship, but didn't want to expose it until they wanted it to be announced.
It was because Gideon was not someone who would go poking into others' personal lives trying to find their personal relationships or who they have a crush on. He was someone who would wait until they were ready to expose it by themselves to him or to anyone. He would never force anyone to do something that they don't want to do.
After getting his adventurer badge back, he smiled at Nila with a nod and turned towards the entrance and walked past Raam who was trying to not look at Nila, but failing miserably at it.
"Thanks for not minding it." Raam said as soon as they came out of the Adventures Association to which Gideon just smiled and replied "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Which made Raam let out a big sigh of relief with a smile.
Raam went to get his motorbike quickly as they would have to go south of here to reach the Hinam mountain range, where the Hanjaan mountain is located.
Hinam mountain range has lots of mountains interconnected and the mountain that is closest to Kamisk is Hanjaan mountain where many wild monsters roam freely and Adventures Association often provide tasks to hunt few monsters to reduce their numbers.
The Task#14183 which Gideon took is a task that would appear once every 3 months to hunt the Swift Tail Monkeys which are not aggressive, but have a provocative nature. Leaving them to populate the mountain without any control would lead to a horde or swarm to attack nearby villages and towns which the Adventures Association tries to prevent.
Hence, they would give regular tasks to hunt wild monsters at regular intervals so their numbers in the wild can be controlled so as not to become a danger for villages and towns close by.
The task which Gideon took is not a task that has to clear a specific number of monsters, but he can hunt any number of Swift Tail Monkeys and he would get a commission for the task depending on the number of monkeys he kills in the wild, with 15 dallans for every monkey he kills.
Gideon closed his eyes and grasped Raam's shoulders tightly as he was riding his motorbike at 80 kmph in the road outside the defence wall as the road was almost empty with only one or two vehicles going to and from the village randomly and they had to reach the Hanjaan mountain that is located 120 km far from their village.
It is a mountain that is too high for anyone to view its peak which is hidden above the clouds that no one would be able to see even if it is a cloudless day.
It is covered by wild trees that are also houses for many wild and vicious monsters that could take the life of a lower tier adventurer if they are not careful.
Gideon was happy as Raam was with him or he would have not been allowed to take on this task without Manav and Meera joining in as a team or he should have been at least at Tier-2, level-1 to take on this task alone.
They reached a market that was established close to the Hanjaan mountain by 11:00 AM. This is the market where the adventurers who come to the mountain to hunt monsters can purchase or sell anything and is under direct control of the Adventures Association.
The buildings in the market are temporary buildings which can be dismantled within minutes if they are informed to, as they are close to a mountain range that is full of wild monsters that could at times wander out and attack the market if it is in group or if it is in a desperate state.