Chapter 487 - 486: Post-War Review

Chapter 487: Chapter 486: Post-War Review

Mog scratched his head. "Five hundred Gold Coins... how much is that?"

"It’s about the same as those five gold nuggets you gave us," Colin explained.

"Five... how much is that?"

The Ogre’s question made Colin pause for a moment. He said quietly, "You’ll know when you see it."

"There’s one more thing." Albert smiled and looked at Colin. "I recall the dragon bones you acquired are already being processed, correct?"

Since Edwin had mentioned it to Colin before, he just gave a dry nod and said, "Yes."

"Colin, I know about your Dwarf friend. What I mean is, if you lack Refined Gold or other Magic Materials, you can look for my steward in Thousand Masts City. I can provide you with some connections," Albert said.

’That should make crafting the weapons and Armor quite a bit cheaper.’

Colin nodded slightly and said, "Thanks, Albert."

Hearing their conversation, Dorn blinked.

He looked like he wanted to say something but held back, ultimately saying nothing.

"Oh, that won’t be necessary. I have my own plans," Albert said as he sat down behind his desk. "Mikhailo, take our guests to their rooms. By the way, is there still enough food in Wolf Castle?"

"More than enough to last a year."

"Then prepare a celebratory banquet. Properly reward our hardworking soldiers," Albert ordered. "Afterward, remember to arrange for Rangers to patrol the surrounding area to prevent any resentful Orcs from making a comeback. That will be all for now."

Mikhailo nodded and said, "Understood, my lord."

After giving his instructions, Albert sat at his desk and began to work through the pile of documents on it.

He glanced back and nodded at Colin and the others.

The group then followed Mikhailo to the guest rooms on the third floor of the castle.

Because the reinforcements also needed to be housed, Colin and his companions were given three rooms. The six of them split into pairs, with two people to a room.

These rooms were quite luxurious. A single glance was enough to tell they were high-class guest rooms meant for distinguished visitors.

Each room contained two large, carved beds with bedposts. Tapestries and several wolf-head specimens hung on the walls, and the wardrobes and fireplaces were also adorned with exquisite carvings.

However, because of Mog’s enormous size, Mikhailo had to call in several soldiers to drag in another bed and place it next to the original one, lest the bed itself collapse under the Ogre’s weight.

To conserve space, Dorn was ultimately assigned to room with him.

After washing up in the bathroom, Colin, dressed in a castle-provided night robe, lay down comfortably on the bed.

He then quietly opened his quest Panel.

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[Quest: Escort Albert]

[Rating: 9 (Local Hero)]

[Reward: 600 Skill Level points, "Power Attack", "Cleave"]

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’Six hundred Skill Level points and two Specialties. Not a bad reward this time.’

Colin first looked at [Power Attack].

[Power Attack]: 1. Only beings with a Power greater than 13 can learn this Specialty. 2. You can increase Damage by reducing your hit rate. For every point of hit rate reduced, weapon Damage increases by one point. When wielding a weapon with two hands, for every point of hit rate reduced, Damage increases by two points. You can choose to reduce your hit rate by a maximum of four points.

At first glance, Colin felt this Specialty was similar to [Defense in Attack].

Both required lowering his hit rate; one increased attack Damage, while the other increased his own evasion ability.

This Specialty might not be very useful against elusive opponents like the Drow, but against big targets like Giant Dragons and Golems, or clumsy goblins, it could be extremely effective.

Colin glanced at his Skill Level.

Right now, the progress on his three Skills—Casting Ability, Swordsmanship, and Armor—was about the same. He was still more than eight hundred Skill Level points away from getting the next Specialty.

Then there was the Magic Artisan Skill.

Although it only needed around six hundred more Skill Level points to level up, considering the Gold Coins required to make use of this Skill, as well as the dragon bone equipment he was currently having made... Colin could only say that he had very complicated feelings about this Skill.

Being able to create some useful Magic Equipment was a good thing, of course, but it also cost far too much money.

’Perhaps this Skill will only come into its own after I’ve achieved complete financial freedom.’

Colin thought for a moment, then decided to put all the Skill Level points into Casting.

His Skill Levels now stood at: Casting (Expert) 3752/4000, Empowering Armor (Expert) 2152/4000, Silent Sword Skill (Expert) 2114/4000, and Magic Artisan (Apprentice) 639/1250.

In terms of gains, the journey had been quite fruitful.

In addition to new Magic and several hundred Skill Level points, he had also earned a good amount of Gold Coins. Now it all depended on how much of a cut he’d get after selling the spoils of war tomorrow.

CRACKLE—

The fire in the hearth let out a loud pop.

A gentle warmth spread through the room. Colin stared at the flickering shadows on the ceiling and let out a deep breath.

The only unpleasant part was how long the journey had been. Several months of sleeping in the rough and eating on the road were hard to get used to. By the time he got back, it would probably be almost time for this year’s Yule Festival.

’Time really flies.’

In his mind, Colin began to quietly review the earlier battle against the Orc Chief.

If you took any one of the Orcs present at the time, none of them were stronger than him. But those twenty-odd Orcs fighting side-by-side had still caused the party considerable trouble.

This was a kind of rock-paper-scissors relationship that existed in this world.

Although Adventurers were powerful, most Adventurer parties would find it hard to hold their own if suppressed by an elite army that far outnumbered them.

But when facing monsters, the situation was reversed.

Take Giant Dragons, for example.

Currently, mortal armies had no reliable way to interrupt abilities like a Giant Dragon’s breath attack. And given their numbers, it was impossible for an army to be as agile as Adventurers and dodge the breath.

No matter how elite an army was, taking a dragon’s breath head-on would absolutely result in significant losses. Even if they ultimately defeated the monster, it would be a losing proposition.

There was a subtle rock-paper-scissors relationship between armies, monsters, and Adventurers.

Of course, Legendary Figures among the Adventurers, or the Demigods who were even stronger than Legends, were exempt from this chain of counters.

Next, Colin recalled the feeling of drinking that bottle of [Healing Potion] during the battle.

Perhaps because his body had gotten tougher, the effects of both Potions and Divine Arts had become much weaker.

To use a game analogy, his total Life Value had increased, so healing methods that could once mend fatal wounds could now only recover from minor injuries at best.

’Looks like I’ll have to find some higher-quality Healing Potions later on.’

It was very difficult to find an opportunity to drink a potion in the middle of a fierce battle. The potion satchel only guaranteed a single chance.

Colin lay on the bed, his mind wandering, and drifted off to sleep before he knew it.