Chapter 150: This Quest Reward is a Bit of a Scam
Chapter 150: This Quest Reward is a Bit of a Scam
The next morning, Albert woke up in his hospital bed and stretched. After a good night's rest, he felt much better, albeit a bit hungry and sore in the legs.
He sat up, yawned, and lazily stretched again before turning to look at the Weasley brothers in the adjacent beds. They were awake but still lying down, deep in thought.
"Are you two doing okay?" Albert asked with a hint of a smile.
"Not really. Still feeling a bit queasy," Fred mumbled.
This was a common after-effect of using the Portkeys—nausea and hysteria.
Fred and George weren't the only ones who had experienced this. Apparently, many students who had traveled to Hogwarts via the Portkeys placed all over the UK by the Ministry of Magic before the introduction of the Hogwarts Express had suffered from similar symptoms. As a result, the school hospital was always packed during the first few days of the term.
"You'll feel better tomorrow. I'm off to get some breakfast. You two can stay here if you want," Albert said as he got up to change and cast a quick Repairo on his clothes to fix the tears caused by the branches.
"Albert," Fred suddenly called out, stopping Albert in his tracks.
"What is it?" Albert turned to ask.
"Thanks for saving us," the twins said in unison.
"Don't mention it. We're friends, aren't we?" Albert waved his hand dismissively with a smile.
To be honest, Fred and George were almost moved to tears by his words.
If it weren't for Albert noticing their disappearance, guessing their whereabouts, and risking his life to rescue them when they were in dire straits, they would probably have been devoured by the giant spiders.
The twins exchanged a glance and watched Albert's departing back, murmuring softly, "Yes, friends!"
...
Albert missed breakfast as it was already close to noon, and the Great Hall no longer served breakfast. He headed straight for the kitchen, where the house-elves enthusiastically welcomed him and offered him freshly prepared food.
As he ate, he opened his task panel and casually completed the Spider Exterminator quest.
Last night, he had single-handedly taken down 94 Acromantulas, earning him 4,700 experience points—quite a substantial gain! Definitely worth it!
A profitable endeavor, indeed.
Albert was pleased with his haul. The previous night's adventure had certainly been worthwhile.
Speaking of which, what's this?
His eyes widened as he noticed a new quest.
Third Time's the Charm.
You have received a special contribution award from Hogwarts. Why not aim for more? Earn two more special contribution awards during your time at school and leave your mark on Hogwarts.
Current progress: 1/3
Reward: 6,000 experience points, one level 3 designated skill, Magic World Reputation +200.
"Holy cow! This quest is amazing!" Albert exclaimed, nearly dropping the sausage he had just picked up back onto his plate.
Who would've thought there would be such an awesome quest? Albert's eyes then fell on another quest that had appeared last night, and he hadn't noticed it until now.
The Secret Treasure of Gryffindor.
You have discovered a map leading to a secret treasure of Gryffindor. Although its credibility is still low, some claim that the treasure holds priceless artifacts. As an adventurer, you shouldn't miss out on this opportunity. Find the location of the secret treasure and enter the vault.
Reward: Unknown.
Unknown?
This was the first time Albert had come across a quest with an unknown reward.
Last night, he had lied to Professor McGonagall, telling her that he had thrown the map into the Forbidden Forest, when in fact, it was still in his pocket. Albert wasn't particularly interested in the so-called secret treasure that the twins had mentioned, and he had only kept the map to see if it would trigger a quest.
The quest had indeed been triggered, but... the quest prompt seemed a bit misleading! Albert took out the so-called treasure map from his pocket and examined the old piece of parchment. He noticed that it had indeed undergone some changes.
Behind the parchment was an additional sentence: "This is going to be a great adventure!" There was also a compass-like object included.
The needle seemed to point towards the secret treasure. Quite a convincing prop, no wonder Fred and George believed this to be a genuine treasure map.
However, this map was likely created by a wizard, otherwise, the quest prompt wouldn't mention its credibility still being low and that only some claimed to know of its existence.
The wizard who crafted this map probably found Gryffindor's so-called secret treasure, and left the map behind purely to boast of their achievement and let others relive their adventurous journey.
Of course, there's another possibility.
The creator of this map might not have found Gryffindor's secret treasure, and left it behind hoping someone would help find it, or it could simply be a prank.
The twins obviously believed the former, which led them on their adventure, only to get lost and stumble into the hunting grounds of the Acromantulas.
"Never mind, I'll think about this treasure business later!"
Albert temporarily set aside the idea of searching for the treasure himself, as the route might very well lead through the lair of the Acromantulas.
Those monsters were dangerous, and his success in the previous quest was largely due to luck. He needed to be realistic about his abilities.
However, Albert was still curious about the secret treasure mentioned by the four founders, even though the quest reward was a bit of a letdown.
If Gryffindor's secret treasure was hidden in the Forbidden Forest, it could be because Gryffindor enjoyed adventuring, and retrieving the treasure would require courage.
Then, would Ravenclaw have a secret treasure as well? And where would she hide it?
Hogwarts Castle, perhaps?
What about Hufflepuff's secret treasure? And as for Slytherin...hmm, I wonder if their secret treasure is hidden in the Chamber of Secrets?
No, that's unlikely. If Slytherin's secret treasure was in the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle would have found it. Even if it was there, he probably would have taken it by now! Unless...the secret treasure is referring to the Basilisk! Albert quickly shook off these bizarre thoughts and continued to claim the rewards for the rescue mission.
Seeing the 2 skill points awarded by the quest, Albert felt his mood brighten. This meant he could upgrade 2 skills to level 3, or even bring one skill to level 4.
The Spider Hunter title provided Albert with 10,000 experience points, and there was also a bottle of Acromantula venom. How would he receive that? The 25 galleons from the previous quest were sent to him via Truman.
Who would deliver it this time?
Professor Broad? Since it was mentioned in the quest, they probably wouldn't cheat him.
Albert didn't dwell on this further and quickly finished his meal before leaving the kitchen, intending to write a letter to order some dog food for Ya Ya.
Ya Ya had helped him a lot last night, and Albert wouldn't forget his furry companion's contribution.
Moreover, his gains this time were quite substantial.
However, just as he passed through the entrance hall, someone called out to him.
"Katrina, is something the matter?"
"Professor Broad is looking for you," Katrina said.
Here it comes! The bottle of Acromantula venom would indeed be delivered by Professor Broad.
"Thank you, I'll head there now," Albert nodded slightly to Katrina and turned towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts office on the second floor of the castle.
(End of Chapter)
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