Chapter 161 - 160: Bronze Adventurer

Chapter 161: Chapter 160: Bronze Adventurer

Hesia stood outside Buton’s small cabin, leaving the final moments to the father and daughter inside.

On the way here, he had been deliberating how to explain Tammy’s situation to Buton.

At first, he planned to relay everything himself and not let Tammy’s soul meet with Buton—after all, it was more like a programmed puppet, lacking true consciousness.

But in the end, he still gave Tammy a directive: say a proper goodbye, tell Buton she had been freed from the manor and would soon be at peace, and that she wished for him to live on and live well.

He decided to release this soul.

Taking advantage of the moment, Hesia calmed his mind and began to extract entries.

[You have consumed 20 Points to extract the following entry from the Ghost Soul—]

[Aura of Fear]: Your gaze exudes a frightening aura. When you look directly at a target, you can quietly amplify their inner fear. If their Will is not strong enough, they will lose the courage to face you and fall into a panic.

Hesia was wondering why there was only one entry when another prompt came from the ball of light in his mind:

[Next Stage Unlocked: Extract Target’s Own Entries]

[Obsession of the Living]: Skills the dead could not take with them become an unexpected gift for the living. You will acquire one skill or piece of knowledge that the Undead was proficient in during their life. (e.g., Sword Mastery, Lockpicking Skill, Poisoning Knowledge...)

Hesia pondered for a moment and understood. The other entries from the Ghost Soul might not have been applicable.

Previously, he had only extracted entries specific to a Race, but in the next stage, he could directly acquire unique abilities from a specific target.

’This is undoubtedly good news. The abilities possessed by certain powerful individuals are far more valuable than racial talents.’

For example, his teacher, Fevik.

Of course, the number of Points required by then would probably skyrocket.

As he finished his selection, the muffled sobs of an old man came from inside the cabin.

Hesia placed a bag of copper nails at the door, then turned and, with Zoya and Bruce, quietly melted into the town’s night.

Buton’s commission fee was his rightful reward, but a bag of copper nails might help the man start a new life more quickly.

...

Inside their room in Feipu Lane, Hesia watched with some exasperation as Bruce gnawed on a meat skewer.

He had just gone out to buy the skewers himself.

Lady Cassandra had been a little sad.

She had specially made two extra meat patties, but Bruce had stopped eating after just a couple of bites.

Back in the room, Bruce had stammered, "My head is full of running, baked meat patties... The feeling is terrifying! Can I have some more meat skewers today?"

’He’s just making excuses!’ Hesia thought.

Still, he had bought them for him, though he silently thought to himself, ’When Teacher gets back, with him here, I’ll try using this mirror myself. We’ll see what kind of excuse you have for extra meals then.’

He shifted his gaze to Vio Bell, who was kneeling on the floor. Before releasing Tammy, there were still a few things he needed to confirm with this piece of scum.

"The mirror’s origin."

"I swindled the mirror from an official’s wife. As for where she got it, I have no idea."

’Swindled...’ Hesia breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as he didn’t swindle it from the legendary Necromancer, Bedalin Quick, it’s fine.’

"So you didn’t know the mirror’s function before?"

"I only heard that this mirror could let people learn Magic."

"From the beginning. Tell me everything about the mirror in detail."

"Alright. I came across this mirror at an auction in the Royal Capital, where it was bought by a local official."

Vio Bell’s Spirit Body seemed to recall something he was proud of.

"So, I found a way to get close to his wife, a foolish woman with no resistance to art. I tricked her, making her believe that standing before that expensive mirror would let her enjoy the ultimate artistic experience. I even wore her fat husband’s robes, just to make her more... immersed in my interpretation of beauty."

The more Hesia listened, the more wrong it sounded. A vein throbbed on his temple as he quickly cut him off, "Get to the point!"

"Oh, milord, if we’re talking about her alluring... points of interest..."

"I’m talking about the part related to learning Magic!"

"Oh, oh!" Vio Bell’s expression finally turned serious. "Later, after I got the mirror, I discovered it possessed the evil power to devour souls and attach them to a designated body. So I had a brilliant idea! If I could take the souls of those blockheads with a talent for Magic and attach them to my own body, wouldn’t I also be able to become a great Caster?"

Hesia gestured for Bruce to pull Vio Bell’s soul back into the mirror.

’I have to admit,’ he thought, ’villains’ minds are always exceptionally "open."’

But regardless of whether this method was feasible, it would certainly be highly inefficient for Hesia.

The other soul in the mirror, besides Slag, also belonged to a child Vio Bell had killed.

Hesia had Bruce release him as well.

As the boy’s Spirit Body slowly dissipated into the air, the room finally fell silent.

In the fireplace, the firewood crackled and popped.

He no longer resisted the overwhelming wave of exhaustion, burying himself deep in his bed and slowly drifting off to sleep.

...

At noon the next day, Hesia once again stood before the counter at the Adventurer Guild.

Behind the counter was a young woman he didn’t recognize, with a few freckles dotting the sides of her nose.

"Alright, sir, let me see..." She took the parchment, glanced over it quickly, then shot Hesia a surprised look. "Oh! No problem, Lord Loris has already informed us about this."

She placed Hesia’s insignia on the Magic Stone Plate.

With a flash of light, information appeared on the plate. The girl’s head snapped up, her face filled with astonishment. "You... you’re Mr. Galen?!"

After subconsciously glancing around, she leaned in closer, her face alight with the excitement of sharing a secret, and whispered, "M-Miss Clara is on leave today!"

Hesia frowned, completely failing to see the connection. "And? Does she have to be present to submit a commission?"

"Aren’t you two...?" The girl seemed to realize she’d said too much. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks flushing red as she awkwardly tried to recover. "I-I mean, I heard you’re... very good friends!"

Hesia was baffled by this baseless gossip, but he had no intention of looking into it.

"We’re acquainted," he confirmed curtly, then changed the subject. "But that has nothing to do with her being on leave. Please complete this commission for me first."

"Oh! Right, of course!" The girl quickly lowered her head and got to work.

She confirmed the information on the plate again. "Mr. Galen! The Shadow Split Manor commission was Bronze-rank. Adding that to your previously accumulated rewards... Congratulations! You are now a Bronze IV Adventurer!"

"Alright, thank you."

Hesia accepted the heavy bag of Silver Scale Coins and the new insignia, which gleamed with a bronze luster.

Only then did he realize that the Shadow Split Manor commission had actually been a Bronze-rank quest.

According to custom, to advance from Black Iron to Bronze, one had to complete a designated promotion quest from the guild—one that wouldn’t be too dangerous, but also wouldn’t be too easy.

If your luck was bad, you might draw a time-consuming escort quest or a dead-end investigation, and a few months would go down the drain.

It seemed he had stumbled into it by accident, saving himself the trouble.

Besides, he had originally come to the Adventurer Guild today just to find a quest related to goblins.

First, he needed to "deliver a meal" to that Zor author on time. Second, after giving 20 Golden Shields to Fevik, his pockets were light; he was left with only a single Golden Shield and a few clinking Silver Scales.

’But things are better now,’ he thought, weighing the Bronze insignia in his hand. ’I’m qualified to pick some better jobs.’

He turned and walked toward the notice board in the main hall. Just as he was about to focus on finding a suitable quest, he vaguely sensed many eyes on him—perhaps it was his imagination, or perhaps his brand-new Bronze insignia was genuinely eye-catching.

Ignoring the faint, probing glances, he bypassed the low-paying Black Iron notices posted near the bottom and went straight for the middle section of the board.

That was where the quests for Bronze-rank Adventurers were hung.

[Repel]: The "Bullies" of Ximu Town Orchard

Details: Repel a group of "prickly bullies" that have taken over my orchard. They’re stealing my apples and puncturing my wineskins!

Note: They’re arrow-quilled porcupines, but please don’t hurt them. Just see them off safely.

Reward: 3 Silver Scales, plus three jars of my homemade apple cider.

[Investigation]: The "Ghostly Singing" of the Old Mineshaft

Details: Lately, terrifying singing has been heard coming from the old mineshaft east of the city at midnight. The workers are too scared to go near, severely affecting the project’s progress. Investigate and resolve the source of the singing.

Note: The singing is occasionally off-key and interspersed with shouts of "Another round!"

Reward: 5 Silver Scales.

...

[Retrieval]: Find the Millstone

Details: The bottom half of my mill’s stone grinder vanished last night! All that was found at the scene were a few clumps of sticky hair and a trail of slime leading to the river.

Note: The millstone weighs about three hundred pounds. Please, only strong-backed individuals capable of moving it should accept this commission. This is for the sake of your back and my millstone.

Reward: 3 Silver Scales and 50 copper nails.