Chapter 587: Magic Cloak

Chapter 587 -586: Magic Cloak

Peter strode to the long table. THUMP, THUMP. He placed two gold bars on the tabletop and got straight to the point. “This is a thank-you gift. In addition, the Dire Wolf hides and the giants’ personal belongings will also be given to you, heroes.”

“Thank you for your generosity.” Colin stepped forward and accepted the gold bars.

He could tell at a glance that they were two standard gold bars, each worth two hundred and fifty Gold Coins, for a total of five hundred Gold Coins.

The group exchanged a few more pleasantries, and evening soon arrived.

Peter didn’t broach any deep topics with them, and the dishes served for dinner were typical Northern fare.

The Scouts and some of the soldiers who had come as reinforcements joined them in the great hall for dinner.

At the crowd’s request, Colin had to recount the story of his Dragon Slaying once again. It was always the first thing people asked about whenever he was recognized.

Unfortunately, Kase’s version of the story seemed to be more popular than his own, even though the guy hadn’t even witnessed the fight with the White Dragon. Plus, Colin found his telling rather tacky.

Overall, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

After finishing dinner at the manor, they spent a comfortable night in the guest rooms.

The loot from the giants was delivered sometime during the evening.

First were two Dire Wolf Hides coated in Antiseptic Oil, along with the Dire Wolf heads and other such items.

Then there were the items from the Hill Giants: a Dagger they had been using as a toothpick, a filthy silver platter, and not much else of note.

All told, these items were worth about one hundred Gold Coins.

Adding in the two gold bars they had just received, everyone would get a cut of over one hundred Gold Coins. It was a pretty good haul, especially since the job hadn’t been too difficult.

Colin took a moment to glance at his mission Panel.

Dealing with the Hill Giants had also been added to the mission, raising its rating by one level to Level 14.

Colin recalled his first trip to Torrent Bay. He had run into trouble caused by Hill Giants then, too, but at the time, all he could do was hole up in a tavern and listen to the owner spin yarns. Afterward, he’d been terrified by a passing Frost Giant.

‘I never thought we’d become a squad capable of handling a few giants so quickly,’ he thought, ‘even if they were only the weakest of them, the Hill Giants.’

The next morning, Colin and his team departed in a hurry, disregarding the Baron’s attempts to persuade them to stay.

The squad traveled to Holy Tear City without any issues and found a merchant ship at the docks heading for Thousand Masts City. Upon seeing Colin and his party, the ship’s captain generously waived their passage fees and the cost of stabling Big Hoof Treasure.

Colin felt that people like ship captains and carriage drivers respected powerful Adventurers more than others did. The clever—or perhaps foolish—Golden Dwarf they had met while crossing the Roaring Mountain Range must have been an exception.

「Three days later.」

Carrying their luggage, Colin and the others stood by the ship’s rail, watching Thousand Masts City slowly approach. The little owl was nestled obediently in Orelia’s arms. It felt like she was the Familiar’s master more than Colin was.

“How long have we been gone this time?” Dorn asked, stretching his arms. Colin leaned slightly to the side to avoid getting hit in the shoulder.

Kase answered, “About thirty-four days. I’ve been keeping track.”

“Finally, we can relax a bit. Are we heading to Horn Castle to report the mission now?”

“Where else would we go?” Ale said.

Once the ship docked, the group disembarked, stabled Big Hoof Treasure at their apartment’s stables, and then hurried over to Horn Castle.

When they pushed open the office door, they saw that, in addition to Edwin, Morel was also there—a rare sight.

“I heard from the other squad that your mission went quite smoothly, didn’t it?” Edwin said with a smile, looking up.

“It did. My ability was the key to entering the ruins…” Colin gave a rough summary of what happened after they entered the ruins. Edwin took out a sheet of white paper and jotted down a few key points.

When Colin finished, Edwin asked, “What about the antiques you brought out?”

“Er…” The question made Colin a bit awkward. “We sold them in a nearby city.”

“That’s my fault for not making it clear beforehand. If you had brought the antiques back, we would have bought them at a high price. That stuff is quite valuable.” Edwin stroked his chin. “Who did you sell them to?”

“We sold them in Sandock. The general store that bought them is called ‘Sneed’s Little Knick-Knack Shop’,” Colin answered honestly.

Just then, Morel walked over, carrying a tray with coffee.

Besides the coffee cups, there was also a small, crispy-looking roll on the tray.

Morel leaned one hand on Edwin’s desk, raised a coffee cup with the other, and took a sip. Then he asked, “What about the Spellbook you found in the ruins?”

“The book is with us right now.”

“That book of yours is very valuable. If you agree to donate it to the Great Dome at the Divine Hall of the God of Knowledge, you can choose one Tier Five Magic spell, and we’ll have someone teach you until you’ve completely mastered it. How about it? That’s a pretty good deal.”

After speaking, Morel picked up the small roll, dipped it in his coffee, and popped it into his mouth. He then closed his eyes in enjoyment and chewed a couple of times.

“I see no reason to refuse. The book is right here.” Colin set his backpack on the floor as he spoke and took out the tattered Spellbook.

“Let’s look at my side of things first. Based on the mission you completed, you have two options for your reward,” Edwin said, pulling a pure black cloak from a drawer.

The cloak looked rather thick, probably made of wool, but you could faintly see fine black fibers constantly shedding from its surface. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the fallen fibers would vanish, immediately followed by new ones shedding from the cloak.

[Shadow Cloak / Rare-Level Magical Item]

[Protection from Far: User gains +1 Defense against ranged attacks]

[Rapid Action: User’s movement Speed is increased by one-third, and their body becomes more coordinated for athletic actions like jumping and climbing.]

“This was left behind by a retired squad of Field Staff. The first option is this cloak,” Edwin said. “The second option is a direct payment in Gold Coins.”

“I’ll take the cloak,” Colin said without hesitation.

In this world, Magic Items were far more valuable than Gold Coins.

“I figured you’d choose that.” Edwin glanced at Morel, who was drinking his coffee, then took a sip of his own tea. “It’s a good thing I was there when the Gray Squad retired, otherwise this cloak would have ended up in storage.”

Colin asked curiously, “Why did the Gray Squad retire?”