Sunset arrived.
Evening glow dyed the sky orange.
The scene at the Blackstone Town checkpoint gate was the same as always, with passing hunters and farmers lining up.
"Routine inspection," drawled a guard. "Name, origin, purpose, and identification—bring them all out."
No different from before, Marcus, as team leader, gave a brief explanation, and the three of them handed over their badges.
This time, however, Zelier handed over the badge issued by the Mages' Guild, not his iron badge from the Adventurers' Association.
Seeing Marcus and Vallis's copper badges, the guard's expression remained unchanged.
But when his gaze swept over Zelier's magic badge, a clear flicker of surprise showed in his eyes.
He looked up and shot a quick glance at Zelier, seemingly trying to memorize his face, and his gestures when returning the items grew noticeably more polite.
"So you're already a Magic Apprentice," Vallis remarked, having spotted Zelier's badge as well.
"Yeah. I went to the Mages' Guild and got it after we parted ways last time."
Curiosity suddenly struck Zelier. "By the way... how do you rank up badges at the Adventurers' Association? I noticed both of yours are copper."
"Jade, diamond, gold, silver, copper, iron. Iron is the simplest—you get it upon registration. After completing ten quests, you can advance to a copper-rank adventurer," Vallis explained casually.
"Silver is a bit tougher. A copper-rank adventurer has to complete ten low-rank quests to advance to silver, and low-rank quests usually involve monsters with a [Hard] threat rating. It also involves things like quest success rates. You'll have to ask Ella, the receptionist, about the specific rules.
"Above that is gold rank. Generally, only veteran intermediate practitioners reach that level, along with a few advanced practitioners. I never looked into how to get promoted there... but I'd guess there are barely any in the entire Blackstone Town branch."
"I see..."
Zelier recalled the commission paper for this quest.
It was labeled as an ordinary quest, not quite reaching the level of a low-rank quest.
He nodded thoughtfully. "So that counts as two ordinary quests completed for me?"
"Yeah. Just run eight more errands and you'll be copper rank." Vallis gave a rare smile.
"Not that you need to care about that. A Mages' Guild badge carries far more weight than one from the Adventurers' Association... If I were you, I'd definitely only flash the Mages' Guild badge out in public."
Returning to the Adventurers' Association, Marcus went up to the front desk to submit the quest.
"Here are the quest items from the abandoned cave. We cleared twenty-four slimes in total." Marcus placed a bulging bag of magic cores on the counter. "In addition, I need to report an anomaly that occurred during the quest."
Ella had just emptied the magic cores onto the counting tray, and hearing this, she couldn't help blinking in confusion.
Another unexpected situation?
During the wild wolf quest last time, didn't they encounter a juvenile Mist Demon?
"Could you tell me the specifics?" Ella asked.
"The quest description for the monsters was inaccurate. Deep inside the cave, we discovered a giant slime; it was the true source of the water contamination." Marcus retrieved another, much larger magic core from the pack on his back, along with the piece of gel. "However, we eliminated that giant slime. Please report this anomaly to the Town Hall."
A [Hard]-rated giant slime...
Ella was slightly taken aback.
That was considered quite a troublesome monster.
While it wouldn't be surprising for a full party to take one down, Marcus and his team had only three members this time.
With that thought, Ella's gaze unconsciously drifted toward the novice adventurer.
Zelier.
Back when she registered Zelier's adventurer status, Ella had been somewhat surprised by his mage class.
At that time, Zelier had been inexperienced and green, a complete novice in every way.
Yet such a novice had participated in slaying both a Mist Demon and a giant slime in quick succession. It was truly astonishing...
How big of a role did he play in those two battles? Ella couldn't help wondering.
Among the adventurers coming and going, Zelier seemed somewhat distracted.
He leaned casually against the counter and yawned.
Perhaps because he had expended a great deal of magic power, Zelier felt far more exhausted than usual. As his languid gaze swept past, his eyes happened to meet Ella's.
He gave a slight nod in greeting.
Ella, however, looked away somewhat self-consciously.
"Understood... I will report this to the Town Hall." Ella immediately looked down and pulled out a paper document.
"Aren't you going to count the slime magic cores first?" Marcus asked in puzzlement.
"Oh, right, right... I forgot." Flustered, Ella picked up a sorting paddle and began counting the slime magic cores.
Twenty-four slimes: a bounty of seventy-two silver coins.
Twenty-four slime magic cores: a purchase price of forty-eight silver coins.
Giant slime magic core: a purchase price of four gold coins.
High-grade gel: a purchase price of two gold coins.
The total quest payout came to seven gold and twenty silver coins.
As Marcus picked up the money and prepared to leave, Ella added, "By the way, because the commission info was inaccurate for this quest, the Town Hall will provide additional monetary compensation once they verify it. Please come collect it in three days."
"All right."
Having received the reward, the party members split the money outside the Adventurers' Association entrance.
"I won't try to recruit you again—I know you prefer your freedom. But next time you take a quest, if you need a vanguard, just come find me." Marcus handed over the coin pouch that belonged to Zelier. "I'm staying at the Red Beard Inn."
To Marcus, Zelier's value went without saying.
The money made across these two quests matched what he normally worked nearly half a year to earn, and Zelier had been indispensable.
"Sure. If I need one, I'll definitely look you up." Zelier took the coin pouch.
Two gold and eighty-eight silver in total—a remarkably handsome payout.
Watching Zelier's departing figure fade into the distance, Vallis pulled back his gaze.
"Marcus, I've never seen you act so humble. He turned down your offer to join a permanent party last time, yet you went out of your way to cater to him again today?"
"Mages, they're just like that." Marcus didn't seem to mind at all, waving a hand dismissively. "Who becomes a mage without a little pride in their bones? Of course they won't be tied down to a fixed party.
"Then again, pride aside, their physical strength is weak, so they're bound to harbor wariness toward other adventurers," Marcus continued smoothly. "In times like that, all you need to do is show a gentle, patient side. Lowering your stance a bit doesn't hurt. Once he knows you're dependable, he's guaranteed to come looking for you next time he needs a party."
The corner of Vallis's eye twitched slightly.
"How did I never realize before that you were this calculating...?"
Chapter 25