In order to have a productive day the person must create a schedule in which they know what they wish to accomplish; this was a basic tenet for Cornelius. A structured day was key to any form of production. It was with this that he was able to usually begin his day. This day, however, was not a usual day. Cornelius was in need of some sort of entertainment; having not arranged any sort of plans for the day he was rather lost. Having planned to spend the day out simply walking around town, performing a sort of memory exercise, he had decided this was not enough. Who was able to simply wander the town all day? It was not a task in which one could truly focus. There were too many outliers; too many things that were unaccounted for. It was with this in mind that he would begin by simply visiting a job board. Having looked over the jobs, only those that he was actually capable of doing, he would then simply pull off one which spoke of some errand. Letting out a slight sigh he prayed for the day that he would be above these sort of jobs. They held no challenge, no real reason to be completed. Simply doing the job of another for rewards that rarely paid for a night in an inn, if they were to receive a reward! People sure were stingy toward the lower ranks.


Simply folding the paper in half and tucking it into his back pocket he would begin his walk towards the little shop; these people were all the same. They all required something that was either annoying to get, rare, or toxic. It was only on very rare days that they happened to hold all three qualities to them. Today just happened to be one of those days. Simply listening to the words of caution the man preached, of the very poor description of the required item and the thanks he simply nodded and waved. There was no real reason to exchange pleasantries with these people, they couldn’t see his face anyway. Not being able to identify his voice was also important. Having no real identity was something he had learned rather quickly; it was better to have nothing known about you. No trace meant there was no way to ever make an accusation. This was the life that he had asked for, and he was appreciative for it. It may not seem like much, but it meant a great deal to him. The simply act of being able to go on this job was more than enough to make him happy; these emotions, however, were not something he would show. Being unseen, it was something that he was going to have to become very akin to. This was merely practice for the big league; yes, this is how he rationalized it.


A few minutes had past since he had left the shop and he was already at the edge of the town; he had no plan on how to find this mushroom, but he did know that he did not want to spend the entirety of the day on this meaningless task. While some would ask why take a job they did not enjoy? Why not look for something that they could really pour their soul into? Well, the answer was very obvious. A job is a job. All that mattered was the reward that one achieved at the end, and that is what he had come to believe.


Beginning to enter the forest he could already see the problem. The canopy limited the amount of light entering the forest; the grounds hidden in the night. In what little light there was the shadows of Cornelius, and what other little critters littered the woods, danced. It had been a simple task; find the mushroom that had a fluorescence. Well, there were quite a few that seemed to match the description that was given to him. Walking up to the base of a tree Cornelius would simply tear the mushroom out by its root, examining it as he was instructed to do so. “Nope.” He sighed, dropping it onto the ground. It was not what was requested, and as such, he could not give this to the man. What followed was the endless search for the very specific mushroom that was required. Perhaps if he had another set of eyes this would have been easier, alas, he had no such luck. He had to do this the one and only way a person was ever able to; search the damp place by hand. It had taken him something like an hour to find the one specific mushroom that was requested. He was not sure why this was needed, and why the man did not grow them in his own little plot, he would simply begin to pat himself off. Getting off what dirt he could he had begun to walk back the path he had taken to get this deep. Looking down he was unable to see his feet, and that is when he felt his face hit the ground. “Mother fucker.” He stood without another word, simply leave the forest; there was nothing else left for him.


Exiting the forest he had decided that he would not help this man retrieve a damned mushroom again. There was nothing worth this torment. Nothing worth him having to spend an hour digging through mud in order to get this simple ingredient. Not when a man could simply cultivate it if they needed it so badly. Also, why post something as simple as this on the board? Sure, at D rank there was not much to do… there had to be things better than this… Well, whether he had enjoyed it or not it was over. Arriving back at the store he simply let himself in. Handing the male the mushroom and taking the reward he would leave. He had no reason to stay. The hardest part of this job? Waiting for night to fall.