Novel Full Chapter 81: Last Wish
Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Last Wish
Zelir still vividly remembered the gushing sword wound on Gak’s chest from their clash with Drake Squad.
If Valles hadn’t stopped the bleeding in time, Gak would’ve likely lost his life.
"It wasn’t that dramatic."
Marcus chuckled and waved his hand.
"But that’s just how a Half-Beastman’s Constitution is—much stronger than a human’s. Plus, Gak knows a little Fighting Qi, so the self-healing from his Heart of Qi is a bit stronger. It’s normal for him to recover quickly."
"Hey! Zelir, Marcus!"
Gak saw the two of them as well. He waved enthusiastically and then easily pushed through the crowd to walk over.
"How’s the body? Big guy." Zelir clapped Gak on the shoulder.
"Hahaha... I’ve been fine for a while. If I stayed in bed any longer, I’d start growing mold. I just can’t sit still."
Gak laughed heartily, "So, what do you say? Ready to take a quest together?"
"That’s what I was waiting to hear," Zelir said with a smile.
Before long, Gray and Valles also arrived at the Adventurer’s Association, one after the other.
They weren’t surprised by Gak’s recovery, but Gray started looking Zelir up and down.
"Zelir, I really don’t get you... Don’t you Mages need to use Meditation every day to increase your power?"
Gray scratched his head.
"I bet that in the entire Black Stone Town Adventurer’s Association, you’re definitely the Mage with the highest attendance rate."
"I’ve met some Mages before, but they basically earn a chunk of money and then hole up in their nests, not showing up for months at a time. Nothing like you."
"Sigh... I don’t have a choice. If I’m not diligent, how am I supposed to buy Scrolls, Magic Robes, and Magic Wands? A single Magic Wand costs at least a hundred Gold Coins, and Magic Robes are frighteningly expensive too. Everything costs money."
Zelir sighed, a look of distress on his face.
"Otherwise, where do you think I got all my new Magic from? I had to work hard and earn money to buy the Scrolls and learn them. Being a Mage isn’t as easy as you think."
"That’s true. Among Mages, you’re definitely one of the poorer ones," Gray said with a look of deep understanding.
He still remembered how Lante had been glittering that day.
The group’s eyes scanned back and forth across the quest board. For some reason, there were fewer and fewer suitable quests lately.
Most of them were simple commissions that even Apprentice Level Professionals could handle. The pay was low, and the work was a hassle.
Never mind Zelir; even Gray wasn’t interested.
In the past, they would have just taken them. After all, he had taken Zelir to clear out wild wolves before.
But a recent string of high-reward quests had earned the squad members a lot of money, and everyone’s standards had risen accordingly. They couldn’t help but turn up their noses at commissions like these.
"Speaking of which, aren’t there any higher-Level commissions? The highest I’ve seen here are quests involving [Difficulty] Level Demons."
Zelir asked, "Where are the quests for [Challenge]-rated Demons?"
"They exist, but you need to be a Silver Level Adventurer to accept them. We don’t qualify yet."
Gray shrugged, then pointed to the right side of the hall. "The board for higher-Level commissions is in there."
Zelir followed his gaze and saw a passageway on the right side of the hall leading to another area. A couple of guards stood watch beside it, their expressions stern.
"All right..."
The group picked through the options, and eventually, their eyes all settled on one particular request.
[Commission to Clear Out Tree Spirits in Western Gray Wood Forest]
Recently, signs of Tree Spirit activity have appeared in the ancient Forest Area in the west of Gray Wood Forest. They have an extremely strong drive to expand their territory, are highly aggressive, and have already injured several hunters and lumberjacks.
Now recruiting an Adventurer Squad to travel to the region and clear out the Tree Spirit Community.
Commission Level:
Junior (Two Stars)
Commission Objective:
Eliminate the community’s leader, the Tree Spirit, and investigate whether other trees have been infected. If so, please destroy them as well.
Bounty Amount:
According to current intelligence, this community contains around ten [Tree Monsters] and one [Tree Spirit] that commands them.
The bounty for each [Tree Monster] is twenty Silver Coins, and the bounty for the [Tree Spirit] is six Gold Coins.
Association Note:
Tree Monsters and Tree Spirits both fear fire. Mages who have mastered Fire Magic are their natural enemies.
If the squad has no Mage, carrying a sufficient number of Burning Bottles is also very effective.
"Clearing out a Tree Spirit Community... This one seems perfect. Doesn’t Zelir know Fire Magic?" Gray said, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem," Zelir nodded.
The first Magic he ever learned was the Fireball Skill, and his first Level Three Magic was also the Fire Element’s Flame Breath Skill.
It would be pretty useful against these wooden stumps.
"This quest... If I remember correctly, I think Drake Squad took it before," Valles said suddenly in a low voice.
Everyone in the squad froze for a moment, and the atmosphere grew tense.
They did indeed hear Drake say he took a quest and came up empty.
If it hadn’t been for this commission, they wouldn’t have run into Drake Squad that day...
After a moment, Zelir also lowered his voice. "The Association... has anyone investigated?"
"I’ve listened for rumors. The Association sent people, but they only briefly questioned a few Adventurers who were familiar with Drake Squad. They didn’t get any useful leads."
Marcus said impassively, "After that, it was just dropped. I haven’t heard anyone talk about it since."
It wasn’t uncommon for an Adventurer Squad to go missing at the Association. Either they met an unfortunate end with a Demon, or...
In short, if a body was found, that was one thing; the Association could send people to investigate and ask around.
But if there was no trace, it was just written off as bad luck.
After all, without conclusive evidence, no one would dig any deeper. They simply didn’t have the manpower to spare.
"That’s good..." Zelir nodded lightly.
"Well then, if there are no objections, we’ll take this quest," Marcus said, taking the commission request from the board.
"I guess you could say we’re fulfilling that bastard Drake’s last wish," Gray sneered.
...
「Western Gray Wood Forest.」
The trees here were sparser than in the dense forest area they had been in before. There were many clearings, and the view of the sky wasn’t completely blocked by the canopy.
The five members of the Marcus Squad were making their way through the tranquil forest.
Their footsteps were light, and they all tried their best to avoid making any unnecessary noise.
In this environment, even the crisp snap of a twig underfoot sounded exceptionally jarring.
After walking for some distance, Marcus stopped.
He looked down at the map provided by the Association, then carefully studied the orientation of the surrounding trees and the direction the moss was growing to get his bearings.