"To survival!"
In the warm corner of Puki’s House, the four mbers of Vera’s Squad raised their glasses, the clinking of their glasses making a crisp sound.
Though Vera had shouted for their helper to leave alone, and the teammates tacitly agreed, it didn’t an they were ready to face death.
It was simply that losing four was better than losing five.
When everything settled, the trembling sensation from facing death needed alcohol for comfort. They drank heartily, letting the warmth dispel the cold in their hearts.
Of course, the rewards from such life-and-death situations were quite substantial.
The employer, Barton, was grateful they didn’t abandon him in the crucial mont and paid them a large additional gratitude bonus aside from the agreed remuneration.
Vera accepted this gesture straightforwardly, as it was earned by risking their lives.
In addition to this, the City Lord’s Mansion offered a bounty for assisting in eradicating the Cult.
Although the amount was much less than Barton’s gratitude bonus, it was still a decent sum.
As for why they chose to celebrate in Puki’s House?
"It’s the only place where we can still afford Elf Ice Wine..." Sirean’s tone carried a hint of relief.
So unusual events in the Elf Forest had recently halted the supply of the already rare Elf Ice Wine, causing its market price to skyrocket.
At Puki’s House, the price had increased slightly but was still within an acceptable range.
Vera speculated that perhaps the mysterious alchemist behind the shop also mastered winemaking, but Sirean denied this.
He explained, "The ingredients for Elf Ice Wine only grow in the Elf Forest and are very difficult to preserve. Brewing outside the forest would only increase the cost."
The group discussed in low voices and concluded that Dylan must have a special supply channel to maintain a steady supply of ice wine even in such tis.
What Sirean didn’t say was that he suspected Dylan or his supplier probably had so connections with a captain of a Forest Patrol team.
Of course, this was just idle speculation. He wasn’t a competitor of Puki’s House and wouldn’t put effort into figuring out such trivial matters.
Besides, he was happy to have more affordable ice wine to drink!
Although, saying it’s "affordable"...
Sirean looked at the light green liquid in his glass and said, "You know, back in Ishildorin, this wine is just a regular beverage for the elves’ daily als. Who would have thought that once it’s out of the forest, the price would inflate so much! A normal task reward only buys three bottles! It’s really..."
Vera curiously turned her head: "Ordinary drink? Are you saying there are even better wines among the elves?"
"Of course!" Sirean smacked his lips, "The best would be the royal special supply, made with Silver Dew Flowers blooming under the moonlight. Tastes like drinking morning dew, with an aftertaste as if starlight dances on the tongue... I definitely want to find a way to bring so for you guys to try!"
"Haha! You know so much? And want to bring so for us... you speak as if you’re a mber of the Elf royalty!" Fei Ling joked with a laugh, clinking her glass with his.
As they exchanged drinks, Bianca, dressed as a maid, led several other similarly dressed Puki to serve the dishes.
The girl’s steps were hesitant, sneaking glances at Sirean several tis while setting the dishes. Each ti their eyes t, she quickly looked away, her face turning bright red, retreating into the kitchen with the Puki almost as if fleeing.
In contrast, Sirean and Vera were used to this and didn’t pay it any mind.
From afar, Dylan observed all this, silently calculating the profits of Puki’s House, which far exceeded outsiders’ imaginations.
He’d figured it out—this little employee of his didn’t have any special affection for Norris or Sirean. She simply couldn’t resist looking at handso guys, and yet she always made herself blush beet red.
Heh, silly girl.
...
"By the way, Vera," after a few rounds of drinks, Fei Ling burped and asked, "Did you ask Sir Edin for the na of that lifesaver when you collected the bounty at the City Lord’s Mansion?"
"Lord Edin is a busy man, he wouldn’t personally handle the bounty distribution." Vera shrugged helplessly, "I couldn’t possibly have gone out of my way to bother him just to ask for a na, right?"
"But we can’t not know the na of our lifesaver, right?" Fei Ling gestured animatedly, "If he hadn’t acted in ti, I’d have a few more holes in !"
Vera nodded in agreent: "I’ll ask Lord Edin next ti I run into him. Besides, that person might be living in Mushroom City too!"
"That person looked younger than you but was just as powerful," Fei Yin interjected.
Vera smiled nonchalantly: "I’m not so peerless genius. Encountering soone with greater talent is only normal!"
-----------------
anwhile, in the Pujie Dungeon.
Due to official intervention, Norris’s vacation had to be cut short.
But he didn’t mind at all, since besides sunbathing in Mushroom City, he didn’t really have anything specific he wanted to do anyway.
Returning to the familiar environnt, Xiao Hai was the first to run up to him, sniffing him carefully and checking his body.
To prevent Xiao Hai from accidentally scratching off a few scales, Norris skillfully pulled two silver scales from his waist and pressed them into Xiao Hai’s paws.
After sending off the satisfied Xiao Hai, and exchanging brief pleasantries with the incoming Qiong, he didn’t head back to Mushroom Garden but instead went to a pool in the cave.
[Mimicry Level 9]
The scaly face reflected on the water began to slowly change, finally settling into the human appearance he used in Mushroom City.
He’d never deliberately altered this face. Except for hiding the scales, this should have been his original look.
He always thought his appearance hadn’t changed, but recalling Vera’s Squad mbers’ reactions, it seed this face had evolved quite a bit from before.
Or perhaps, Vera and Fei Ling never rembered his appearance from the start...
A faint sense of loss just began to rise in his heart, not yet forming when the uncontrollable laughter of the boss echoed in his mind.
Even more exaggeratedly, to vividly depict his rolling laughter, the boss conjured a Puki rolling around at Norris’s feet.
"Lizard big brother, why do you change into this form?" Little Elf Riel, holding a large Puki, appeared by the poolside at so point, asking curiously.
Riel had also connected to the Fungal Network, not through parasitism but by transforming into a Puki and directly connecting.
With seamless communication, her courage grew, and backed by the boss, she was thriving here, respected by all.
So much so that she thought Lizardn, Half-demons, the Mushroom Race—everyone was nice!
The rich materials in the dungeon allowed her to fully explore her alchemy skills, and Riel was very satisfied with her current life.
Only, due to the lack of [Cold Resistance], her activity was mainly confined within the Pujie Dungeon.
"This is my original appearance," Norris explained, pointing to the reflection.
"Original appearance?" Riel tilted her head, clearly not understanding.
She looked a few more tis and shared her thoughts: "It feels weak; it’s more handso with scales. If it had a tail then..."
The little elf suddenly fell silent, fearing that she might have reminded the lizard big brother of the sad mory of losing his tail.
But Norris was simply amused by her.
He looked at the silver-scaled face reflected in the water, tapping his claw on the hard scale, producing a crisp sound: "True, the scales are nice; they can even block attacks from Diamond Level masters!"
Recalling his brief skirmish with Gavin filled him with excitent!
The feeling of clashing with a powerful person he once only looked up to was exhilarating! It’s a pity, Jida wasn’t there, and he couldn’t battle in his strongest form!
He pondered, if he got stronger, maybe one day he wouldn’t need to use mimicry and could walk the streets of Mushroom City freely?
"Uh... seems hard..." With a self-deprecating chuckle, Norris stood up, no longer fixating on the reflection.
However, the boss, who was initially cheerful, suddenly stopped laughing: "Why did you figure it out so quickly this ti?"
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