Chapter 224 Return, Quiet Changes

"Clink..."

The metal spoon scraped lightly against the side of the bowl.

The thick soup, garnished with emerald parsley leaves, churned and bubbled. The sweet, creamy aroma drifted into the air along with the warm white steam rising from the bowl.

He deliberately scooped up a few mushroom slices dripping with the rich, milky broth and brought the spoon to his mouth.

As the sweet, silky flavor bloomed on his tongue, Xia Nan narrowed his eyes in pure enjoyment.

Across the table, Abi sat stiffly. His darting gaze, combined with the way he leaned forward on the very edge of his chair, gave away his anxiety.

Even the flushed, drunken color on his face had faded, completely stripping away the classic "drunk Adventurer" act he had been putting on moments before.

"Where is Adeline? Why isn't she with you?" The sudden question made Abi stiffen.

He quickly replied, "Boss went to the general store to handle our loot—Kukunur's place. I didn't have anything to do, so I came to the tavern for a few drinks."

His gaze flicked over the claw marks gouged into Xia Nan's plate armor and immediately darted away. Not daring to stare or ask questions, he hurriedly added, "We only just got back to town ourselves."

Xia Nan nodded, remaining silent.

Since returning from Nym, Xia Nan had been busy running beast-clearing quests with the Sea Thorn Squad, but he hadn't completely lost touch with "Greenblood" Adeline and rookie Abi.

Whenever their schedules aligned between quests, they would meet up at the tavern for a meal and catch up.

He could sense the changes in both of them—especially in Abi.

The boy's green rookie edge was fading, slowly giving way to the bearing of a seasoned Adventurer.

With every completed quest, his gear had grown increasingly refined; he was clearly making decent money.

But at the same time, as Abi waded deeper into the Adventurer trade, the motley mix of fish and dragons in the tavern had inevitably rubbed off on him.

He was visibly assimilating, picking up the habits of the sly veterans at the drinking tables.

Adeline was fine. When Xia Nan first met her, she was already an established veteran in town with a fully matured worldview.

But Abi—the reckless yet brave, stubborn but obedient rookie—had slowly taken on an indescribable taint as his adventuring experience grew.

During their last few meetings, the boy hadn't even dared to look him in the eye.

Considering that Adeline's attitude toward him hadn't changed, Xia Nan didn't think he was the problem.

The spoon stirring his cream of mushroom soup paused. Xia Nan raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "Want another? I'll buy you a round."

"No, no!" Abi hurriedly waved his hands. The look on his face wasn't quite sheer panic, but it was close. "I've had enough... I already drank way too much earlier."

Xia Nan merely glanced at him.

Adventurers lived under immense pressure. In a way, every completed quest was a narrow escape from death—they were literally trading their lives for coin.

Using alcohol to vent that burden was perfectly normal, and Xia Nan completely understood it.

If they silently bottled up all that stress, they would turn into powder kegs; a single spark could set them off.

Sooner or later, it would cause massive problems.

But...

Thinking back to Abi's wild behavior at the tavern entrance just now, and the changes in him over this recent period...

Xia Nan opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

He would find a chance to talk to Adeline about it later.

"Boss is taking a while too. Why isn't she back yet?" Abi stood up. "You keep eating. I'll go outside and look for her, just in case she ran into trouble. I'm really sorry, Mr. Xia Nan. I'll treat you to a proper meal next time."

Abi delivered the lines flawlessly, barely pausing for breath, as if he had been rehearsing the excuse in his head for a long time.

Since things had reached this point, Xia Nan didn't press the issue. He gave a slight nod and said, "Let's leave it at that, then. Say hello to Adeline for me."

"Will do, will do! Goodbye, Mr. Xia Nan."

Immediately after, the sharp screech of a chair leg dragging across the floor rang out, followed by the sound of quickening, fading footsteps.

Shaking his head imperceptibly, Xia Nan fed himself another spoonful of cream of mushroom soup.

The journey back to Rivervale Town from the Misty Forest had been extremely smooth; he had barely run into any trouble.

He had to admit, even though his teammates had died unexpectedly and he was returning to town all alone...

...anyone with a bit of discernment and the slightest shred of adventuring experience wouldn't entertain any funny ideas upon seeing him on the road.

An Adventurer clearly fresh off a quest, yet walking the return path alone; someone who looked a bit battered, but upon closer inspection had no obvious injuries; his Fine-grade gear, his grim and ruthless aura, and the five terrifying claw marks on his chest that had nearly pierced right through his iron plating...

For anyone who knew the business, people like Xia Nan were the most troublesome and deeply intimidating sort.

Others would hide from him before they even thought of provoking him for no good reason.

Tapping his empty left hand lightly against the table, Xia Nan pushed down his stray thoughts and began to plan his next moves.

He had only come to the White Chickadee Tavern—and ordered the bowl of cream of mushroom soup sitting in front of him—because he happened to be passing by and decided on a whim to stop in.

He had only been here for ten minutes; this wasn't a formal meal.

His primary goal right now was to head to the Adventurers' Association, turn in the investigation quest, and secure his rewards.

After that, he needed to use the Association's channels to find a way to cure the Lycanthropy curse. Whether it cost gold coins or Points, he was already prepared for his stash to take a massive hit.

It was worth mentioning that the scratch on his right forearm from Mint had healed at an astonishing rate. After a few days of intensive treatment using the "Lesser Healing" spell from his [Tears of Spring Breath], it hadn't even left a scar.

As for the potentially infectious Lycanthropy, there were no signs of a flare-up.

Xia Nan paid close attention to his body. He was certain he hadn't heard any strange whispers or developed weird cravings for human flesh or raw meat, which were the known symptoms of Lycanthropy infection.

Of course, this didn't mean he had successfully fended off the disease.

It could be like those diseases from his past life with extremely long incubation periods. If he left things to chance and assumed he was fine, it might be too late once the symptoms actually hit.

To be safe, he had to take proper precautions. When it came to an ancient, terrifying disease like this, he couldn't be too careful.

Next on the list was dealing with the various spoils he had obtained during the quest.

This included, but wasn't limited to: Mint's snapped Yew Staff, Cash's [Tide-Surge Lure Pole], Veris's dual daggers, the poisons, and the eyeball item.

The items were a mixed bag. He would have to visit multiple shops around town, which would eat up a lot of time.

Finally, he needed to visit the Rockhammer Smithy to ask Barn if his Plate-Chain Composite Armor could still be repaired, and to discuss upgrading his [Snake-Scale Arm Shield].

With so much on his plate, Xia Nan downed the rest of his cream of mushroom soup in one gulp.

He called out a goodbye to Chapton, who was wiping glasses behind the counter, and left the White Chickadee Tavern with his two greatswords on his back.

...

...

Rivervale Town Adventurer Association Branch.

For the town's Adventurers, the recent beast riots in the Misty Forest were just a minor hiccup—the sort of thing that happened a few times a year.

After all, it was perfectly normal for a massive monster den like the forest to experience the occasional anomaly.

They also knew these beasts lacked the rapid breeding capabilities of goblins. The animals might be individually stronger, but their pelts, claws, and fangs fetched a decent price on the market.

Driven by greed, the Adventurers would inevitably slaughter the beasts and push them back into the Deep Forest sooner or later.

The results were exactly as they expected, perhaps even a bit faster. Lately, the number of beasts roaming the forest outskirts had plummeted, leaving only a few related bounties on the Association's quest board.

The moment a new quest was posted, quick-eyed Adventurers snatched it up.

The days when beast quests covered half the board were long gone.

This left many of the less experienced Adventurers—who had stocked up on specific supplies in hopes of making a fortune—taking a massive loss.

"Hello. The Association doesn't have any bounties for 'Blue-Striped Leopards.' You might want to ask the general store across the street; they might offer you a good price," Molly said weakly, slumped over the front desk in her Adventurers' Association uniform, her short blonde hair swaying gently as she spoke.

In front of her stood a burly half-orc. He was covered in blood and reeked horribly, looking like he hadn't bathed in days.

Ignoring the explanation Molly had already repeated three times, he aggressively unfurled the pale-blue spotted pelt in his hands, bits of gore still clinging to the skin.

Like a peddler aggressively pushing his wares on a customer, he stumbled through his words in a thick tribal accent, repeating a few crude words in Common. "Leopard skin... good... three gold coins... make clothes... warm..."

He had probably wasted too much time at the counter, making the Adventurers waiting in line behind him impatient.

A hot-tempered dwarf holding an iron hammer, his braided beard dangling to his chest, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Where did this greenskin come from? Don't you even know the rules? Stop wasting my time! Take your worthless piece of trash and get the hell out of here, Gro-lak!"

At first, the half-orc barely reacted to the fiery dwarf's insults.

Although he could sense the tone and the emotion behind the words, he was fresh out of his tribe and genuinely couldn't understand such a rapid-fire string of Common.

That was, until the dwarf spat out that final word:

—Gro-lak.

An Orcish phrase that roughly translated to "maggot shit."

Regardless of their professional skills, the Adventurers who spent all year lounging in taverns were absolute experts when it came to racial slurs.

Faced with a half-orc hogging the counter and wasting time, the dwarf naturally let the insult slip.

What happened next played out exactly as every bystander in the room expected.

Screaming curses in their respective languages—shoving each other—wrestling on the floor—and finally being thrown out the door by the Association's security staff.

Sitting at the front desk, Molly's expression didn't change; she was long used to this kind of garbage.

She pulled a rag from beneath the counter and wiped away a few drops of blood that had splattered onto the wood.

Sighing silently, she reached for the bell next to her. Just as she was about to press it...

...a familiar figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight.

The blonde girl's eyes lit up, and she instantly perked up. "Lina, cover me for another half-day shift! I'll pay you back all at once later!" she said, hopping to her feet. She pushed through the back door of the counter and trotted out with quick little steps.

...

A quiet, spacious small meeting room.

Molly snapped the file in her hands shut and looked earnestly at Xia Nan, who was sitting across from her. "Thank you once again for your contributions to the Association, Mr. Xia Nan! I have recorded your entire investigation report for quest 'E-20279' in the archives. If you need to, you can review it at any time. Once the Association finishes its verification, the corresponding rewards will be credited to your account. You can also come directly to me to claim any physical rewards when the time comes."

As she spoke, she placed a small cloth bag into a wooden box marked with the quest number and set it heavily on top of the document.

—Inside was Mint's left ear.

Xia Nan had no idea how the Association was going to verify his findings. After so many days, the corpses on the battlefield had likely been devoured by the forest beasts.

He didn't know what methods they would use to determine if he was lying.

He had simply dumped everything about his experience with the Sea Thorn Squad onto Molly—along with some subjective guesses—while omitting any information that might expose his own secrets.

"How many days will that take?" Xia Nan asked.

"Just three days, Mr. Xia Nan."

'That isn't a long wait,' Xia Nan thought.

Regardless, he had confirmed the identity of the Lycanthrope for the investigation quest and killed it; that should meet the requirements for completing the bounty to the highest possible degree.

Even if the payout wasn't maxed out, it should at least cover the materials he needed to upgrade his Arm Shield.

And of course, if there were any extra gold coins or Points rewarded on top of that, he wouldn't turn them down.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Molly asked, her proactive attitude making her desperation for commissions obvious. "Headquarters recently sent over a batch of excellent materials. They're up on the second floor; would you like me to show them to you? Also, the class quests on the second floor have been updated recently. A few of them have fantastic rewards. If you need a party, I can help you connect with one."

"There's no rush for that." Xia Nan shook his head, looking at the short-haired girl across the table. "I do have one thing I need you to look up for me. I want to know if the Association has any Purification Potions for curses like Lycanthropy, or any magic scrolls containing spells like 'Remove Curse.' Also, I'd like their rough prices and specific usage instructions."

"Right away, Mr. Xia Nan! I'll go ask right now!"