Sundown.
The evening glow dyed the sky orange.
The scene at the Black Stone Town checkpoint was the sa as always, with hunters and farrs lining up to pass through.
"Routine inspection."
The guard’s lazy voice rang out. "Na, origin, purpose. And your identification. Show them."
Just like before, Marcus, as the party leader, gave a brief statent, after which they all handed over their badges.
This ti, however, Zelir presented the badge issued by the Mage’s Guild, not the Iron Badge from the Adventurer’s Association.
The guard’s expression didn’t change upon seeing Marcus’s and Valles’s Copper Level badges.
But when his gaze swept over Zelir’s Magic Badge, a hint of surprise was evident in his eyes.
He quickly looked up at Zelir, as if trying to morize his face, and his movents were noticeably more polite as he returned their items.
"So you’re already a Magic Apprentice," Valles said, having also noticed Zelir’s badge.
"Yeah, I got it at the Mage’s Guild after we parted ways last ti."
A bit of curiosity suddenly struck Zelir. "By the way... how do you upgrade your Adventurer’s Association badge? I noticed yours are both copper."
"It goes Jade, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron. Iron is the easiest; you get it just for registering. After completing ten quests, you can be promoted to a Copper Level Adventurer."
Valles explained casually.
"Silver Level is a bit harder. A Copper Level Adventurer has to complete ten Junior quests to get promoted to Silver Level."
"And Junior quests usually have Difficulty-rated Demons. It also involves things like quest success rates. You’ll have to ask the receptionist, Eira, for the specific rules."
"Higher up from there are Gold Level Adventurers. Usually, only veteran Middle Level Professionals can reach that level."
"And there are even so Upper Level Professionals among them. I haven’t looked into how to get promoted... but I doubt there are many in the entire Black Stone Town branch, right?"
"I see..."
Zelir recalled the commission for their current quest.
It was marked as a normal quest, not yet at the level of a Junior quest.
He nodded thoughtfully. "So does this count as my second completed normal quest?"
"Yep. Just eight more errands and you’ll be Copper Level."
For once, Valles cracked a smile.
"But you don’t need to worry about that. A Mage’s Guild badge is way more useful than an Adventurer’s Association one... If I were you, I’d only ever show the Mage’s Guild one when I’m out."
Back at the Adventurer’s Association, Marcus went to the front desk to report the quest’s completion.
"These are the quest items from the abandoned cave. We cleared out a total of twenty-four Slis."
Marcus placed a bulging bag of Demon Cores on the counter. "Also, I need to report an anomaly that occurred during the quest."
Eira, who had just poured the Demon Cores onto a counting tray, couldn’t help but blink in confusion upon hearing this.
’Another unexpected situation?’
’On the last dire wolf quest, didn’t they run into a young Fog Demon?’
"What was it, specifically?" Eira asked.
"The Demon description in the quest was wrong. We found a Giant Sli deep inside the cave. It was the true source of the water contamination."
Marcus took another, much larger Demon Core from his pack, along with the piece of Gel.
"But we took care of that Giant Sli. Please report this anomaly to the Governnt Hall."
’A Difficulty-rated Giant Sli...’
Eira froze for a mont.
’That’s a pretty tough Demon to deal with.’
’It wouldn’t be strange for a full party to kill one, but Marcus’s group only had three people this ti.’
As she thought this, Eira’s gaze unconsciously fell upon the new Adventurer.
Zelir.
Back when she registered Zelir as an Adventurer, Eira had been surprised by his Mage profession.
Back then, Zelir had been green and inexperienced, looking every bit the rookie.
But for a rookie like him to have participated in killing both a Fog Demon and a Giant Sli back-to-back was truly surprising...
’How big of a role did he play in those two fights?’ Eira couldn’t help but wonder.
Amidst the throng of Adventurers coming and going, Zelir seed sowhat nonchalant.
He leaned casually against the counter and yawned.
Perhaps from using so much Magic Power, Zelir felt much more tired than usual. His lazy gaze swept across the room and happened to et Eira’s.
He gave a slight nod of acknowledgnt.
Eira, however, looked away, a little flustered.
"Right... I’ll report it to the Governnt Hall." Eira imdiately lowered her head and pulled out a paper docunt.
"Aren’t you going to count the Sli Demon Cores first?" Marcus asked, confused.
"Oh, right... I forgot."
Eira fumbled a bit as she picked up a counting pick and began to tally the number of Sli Demon Cores.
Twenty-four Slis, bounty of seventy-two Silver Coins.
Twenty-four Sli Demon Cores, buy-back price of forty-eight Silver Coins.
One Giant Sli Demon Core, buy-back price of four Gold Coins.
One high-quality Gel, buy-back price of two Gold Coins.
The total quest reward is seven Gold Coins and twenty Silver Coins.
As Marcus took the money and prepared to leave, Eira added sothing.
"By the way, since the quest information was incorrect, the Governnt Hall will issue additional compensation after they confirm the details. Please co back to collect it in three days."
"Alright."
After receiving the bounty, the group split the money at the entrance of the Adventurer’s Association.
"I won’t repeat my recruitnt offer. I know you like your freedom, but if you’re ever short a Vanguard for your next quest, just co find ."
Marcus handed Zelir his share of the money. "I’m staying at the Hongxu Inn."
In Marcus’s mind, Zelir’s importance was self-evident.
The money they’d earned from these last two quests was as much as he’d normally make in half a year of hard work, and Zelir’s contribution had been indispensable.
"Okay, I’ll be sure to look you up when I need to." Zelir accepted the pouch of money.
A total of two Gold and eighty-eight Silver Coins. It was a very handso reward.
Valles watched Zelir’s retreating back before retracting his gaze.
"Marcus, I’ve never seen you act so deferentially. He already turned down your invitation to join a permanent party last ti, and you’re still cozying up to him?"
"Well, that’s just how it is with Mages."
Marcus didn’t seem to mind. He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyone who can beco a Mage has a bit of pride, right? Of course they’re not going to be content with being tied down to a permanent team."
"But then again, prideful as they are, their lack of Physical Strength ans they’re bound to be wary of other Adventurers."
Marcus spoke with a relaxed confidence. "That’s when you just need to show your gentle and patient side. It doesn’t matter if you have to humble yourself a bit. You just have to let him know you’re reliable, and then he’ll definitely co looking for you to team up next ti."
The corner of Valles’s eye twitched slightly.
"I never realized you were so calculating..."
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