Zelir whipped his head around, his eyes meeting Hill’s half-smiling gaze.

"I thought you weren’t coming," Zelir said, letting out a breath of relief.

At the same time, he felt a jolt of alarm, realizing he hadn’t sensed her approach at all.

’And here I was, on high alert...’

"You came to invite me personally. How could I refuse?"

Hill’s expression was playful. "But... what kind of important quest warrants an extra reward of Five Gold Coins?"

She leaned forward slightly, bringing her lips to Zelir’s ear. "Is it an assassination?"

"That won’t be necessary..."

Zelir instinctively took half a step back. "This quest is simple. We just have to accompany a rookie Adventurer on his first mission."

As he spoke, Zelir pointed to Lante, who was standing beside him.

"H-hello," Lante said, a little timidly.

The moment he saw Hill, he felt an inexplicable, instinctual fear.

It felt like the danger of being stared down by some ferocious beast.

Seeing Lante’s reaction, Hill got the gist of the situation.

She chuckled, and her sharp aura instantly vanished.

"Well, this is a rare one."

Hill stretched lazily, her Half-Length Cloak riding up to reveal her graceful waist. "Fine. Since you’re paying, I have nothing more to say."

With everyone gathered, the next step was to choose a quest.

A guild staff member had just posted the day’s new quests on the board, offering plenty of options.

Zelir was currently Level 7 (40/250), needing another 210 Experience Points to level up.

Considering a [Difficulty]-rated Demon provided around one hundred Experience Points...

This quest would require them to take down at least two [Difficulty]-rated Demons, or one [Difficulty]-rated Demon and a whole mob of its underlings, for him to level up.

That meant a quest of at least Junior Two-Star Level.

"A cleanup mission for Carrion Wolf Spiders... Exterminate the wild boars near the North Suburban Farm... Help Madam Zeli find her missing cat... Catch fresh Qing fish..."

Zelir’s gaze skipped over one mundane, ordinary quest after another, finding none of them interesting.

Suddenly, one quest notice caught his eye.

[Kobold Eradication Mission in Abandoned Mine No. 3]

Recently, a patrol discovered a small migrating Kobold colony in an abandoned mine east of Black Stone Town.

If left unchecked, they will eventually threaten the operational mining areas. We are now recruiting an Adventurer Squad to enter the abandoned mine and completely eradicate them.

Quest Level: Junior (Two Stars)

Quest Objective:

Completely eliminate all Kobolds within the abandoned mine.

Bounty:

Current intelligence indicates there are at least twenty ordinary Kobolds in the abandoned mine, as well as two [Giant Beast Dogmen].

Each [Giant Beast Dogman] has a bounty of Five Gold Coins; each ordinary Kobold has a bounty of Five Silver Coins.

Guild Notes:

Kobolds are known for their cunning and are especially skilled at digging traps. The interior of the abandoned mine is also quite complex. It is highly recommended that the party include an Assassin to scout ahead.

"How about this quest?" Zelir said, pulling the notice from the board.

It was perfect; they had a Middle Level Assassin in their party, who would have no trouble scouting and checking for traps.

Besides, the so-called Giant Beast Dogmen were actually similar to Beastman Goblins. Other than being larger and having more Power, they weren’t a particular threat.

For him and Valles, they were just living targets.

A four-person squad could probably complete this quest. Bringing Lante along would actually hold them back a bit.

But now, with Hill joining as their safety net, it was practically a sure thing.

"The Kobold eradication mission in the abandoned mine?"

Gray raised his eyebrows. "I have no objections."

Marcus thought for a moment, then nodded. "Works for me."

"What about you, Lante."

Zelir looked at Lante. "Are you brave enough for this quest?"

Lante nodded emphatically.

"I am!"

Before registering the squad members, Lante had one more thing to do.

He had to register as an Adventurer first.

Not long after giving his information to Eira, Lante received his own Adventurer’s Badge—a simple Iron Badge, just like Zelir’s.

But Lante turned it over and over in his hands, rubbing it as if he’d found some precious treasure, unable to hide his delight.

"Mr. Zelir, you’re really something, bringing another Mage to the guild," Eira said in admiration.

Zelir glanced at the excited Lante and gave a resigned smile.

"He’ll probably only be coming this one time."

After confirming the quest and the squad members, the group dispersed, agreeing to meet at the Black Stone Town gate the next morning.

...

「The next morning.」

Zelir got up early and finished his preparations, but when he arrived at the Black Stone Town gate, he found the others were already there.

Marcus, Gray, and Valles were leaning against a rented carriage, chatting idly. Hill was a short distance away, resting with her eyes closed.

’Why are they always here before me...’ Zelir wondered inwardly.

"Morning, everyone," Zelir said with a wave.

"Morning."

This time, Marcus had also rented a carriage. In the past, they would have most likely chosen to walk.

But the squad had earned a lot from bounties recently, so they didn’t mind the small expense. Saving time and Physical Strength was clearly more important.

Moreover, Zelir noticed that Marcus and Gray’s equipment had also been upgraded.

Marcus had replaced his Hard Leather Armor with more protective Scale Armor, reinforced with iron plates in key areas. His Composite Shield was newly repaired, and the Battle Saber at his waist had been swapped for one made of refined iron.

Gray’s change was also significant. He had acquired a set of Chain Armor woven from fine iron rings, which increased his defense without sacrificing flexibility.

Lante also arrived at the Black Stone Town gate at this moment.

However, his appearance stunned everyone.

He wore a masterfully tailored, sky-blue Magic Robe, its edges embroidered with complex and mysterious Magic Runes in silver thread. A single glance told you it was incredibly expensive.

Then there was the Magic Wand at his waist. Its shaft was perfectly straight and smooth, a work of superb craftsmanship, and its tip was embedded with a huge Sapphire. The whole thing was practically dripping with jewels.

Forget the passersby who kept turning their heads to stare; even Zelir and his group were dumbfounded.

"Good morning, everyone!" Lante greeted them enthusiastically.

"Morning..." Gray replied, stunned for a moment. He then turned to Zelir, his eyes scanning him from head to toe.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing... Just wondering why you don’t have a Magic Robe, and where the gem on your Magic Wand went," Gray asked curiously.

"Because I’m broke!" Zelir snapped.

Hill chuckled softly to the side.

Lante quickly walked up to Zelir and presented a handful of sparkling Crystal Stones he’d taken from his robes, like a hamster sharing food stored in its cheeks.

"Zelir! Look, I brought you some spare Source Energy Crystal Stones."

This scene left the squad members dumbfounded once again.

’Is he really this guileless...?’

"Hey, hey, have you never heard of not flaunting your wealth? Showing it off so brazenly... it makes me want to just snatch it all," Hill said, her eyes narrowing.

Marcus sighed.

"Lante, remember this. If you get another chance to go on a quest, never do this in front of other people... or you might not come back. Got it?"

"Oh... okay," Lante said, obediently putting the Source Energy Crystal Stones away.