Chapter 77: Mission Completed!

“Wake up. We need to go to the Guild and turn in the task.”

Exasperated, Lorin dragged Pip out of bed.

The short fellow sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes stubbornly squeezed shut as he mumbled nonsense like “Pip dreamed of roast meat” and “you woke me up just as I was about to take a bite.”

Lorin stuffed the piece of bread he had bought that morning into his mouth. Pip chewed on it a couple of times with his eyes closed before finally waking up.

The two of them shoved the task proofs into their bags and went downstairs, where they saw Erin waiting in the lobby, having already changed into her burgundy Mage Robe.

“Let’s go.”

They left the tavern and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild next door. The hall was quieter than their previous visits. Only a few Adventurers stood in front of the notice board, looking up at the task slips and occasionally discussing them in hushed tones.

Behind the counter, Vanessa was resting her head on her hand, her eyes half-closed. Her round face was full of exhaustion; it was obvious she had stayed up late last night.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she looked up. When she saw Lorin and the others, her eyes instantly lit up.

“Mr. Lorin! Mr. Pip! Lady Erin is here too!”

Vanessa displayed great professionalism by quickly reciting their names. She greeted them warmly, “Good morning! Are the three of you here to turn in your task?”

Lorin nodded. He untied the cloth sack from his waist and placed it on the counter along with the folded task slip. “Goblin Camp extermination. One Bear Goblin’s head and fifteen left ears.”

“Understood, please wait a moment. I need to verify the number of proofs…”

Vanessa’s smile grew even brighter. She took the task slip and the sack, put on a pair of gloves, and then opened the bag.

A stench of blood and slightly rotting flesh assaulted her nose, but she didn’t bat an eye. She glanced inside, then reached in to take out the contents one by one, arranging them on a tray.

First was the Bear Goblin’s head. Having been frozen for a few days, it had become somewhat stiff, its expression still frozen in its final moment of ferocity. Vanessa turned the head over, inspecting the teeth and the shape of the skull to confirm everything was in order.

Then, she emptied the sack onto the counter. Over a dozen goblin left ears tumbled out with a CLATTER, a few of them still sporting crude bone earrings—some of the few possessions they had in life.

“One Bear Goblin head, fifteen goblin left ears. The quantity is confirmed correct.” She quickly jotted down a few notes in the register, tossed the task slip into a window behind her, and rang the bell on the counter. “Congratulations to the three of you! Please wait a moment.”

Vanessa closed the register, flashing a genuine smile.

Soon, a tall Guard emerged from the back compartment, carrying a tray full of coins. Vanessa took the tray, nodded at the Guard, and then arranged the coins neatly one by one on the counter.

“Thank you all for your contribution to regional stability. Here is the reward for the task, as well as the bounties for the Bear Goblin and the goblins. It totals 87 Gold Coins and 5 Silver Coins. Please verify.”

Lorin nodded and carefully divided the money into three piles. Each person received 29 Gold Coins, and they planned to spend the extra 5 Silver Coins at lunch.

He did the math in his head. “By these calculations… the bounty for the Bear Goblin is 45 Gold Coins? That’s not bad at all. It’s even higher than the task reward.”

It seemed that extermination tasks were a highly lucrative choice. Not only did they come with a base reward, but the bounties and loot were where the real money lay. Of course, they were also much more dangerous.

Vanessa’s gaze swept over the three of their faces before landing on Lorin, as if she had already figured out who called the shots.

This party had earned her quite a bit of commission right after they arrived, putting her in an excellent mood. She hurriedly seized the opportunity to ask, “Do you plan on taking another task?”

Lorin pocketed the Gold Coins into his pouch and shook his head. “Not for now. We still have some things to take care of.”

“Understood. You’re welcome to come back anytime.”

He now had a full 76 Gold Coins, 18 Silver Coins, and 8 copper coins, along with a pile of even more valuable loot that he had yet to fence. He was practically wealthy. It was time to convert these Gold Coins into actual strength.

“I’d like to look for Mr. Glen. Is he available right now?” Lorin asked.

Vanessa was still caught between the joy of earning a commission and the disappointment of them not taking another task. Hearing this, it took her a moment to react. “He’s available. Mr. Glen doesn’t have any Rating tasks at the moment, so you can go visit him directly.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Lorin thanked her politely, then looked at the two beside him. “I’m going to go learn some Combat Skills in a bit. What about you guys?”

“I’m taking a trip to the Divine Hall.” Erin gave them an indifferent glance, then raised an eyebrow toward a corner of the hall, signaling them to move somewhere quiet to talk.

Lorin quickly caught on. He gave the short fellow, who was still counting his Gold Coins, a light kick and dragged him over to the corner despite his bewildered expression.

“We need to inform Anya about Gary’s situation. It might come in handy for something else,” Erin said softly.

“Alright.” Lorin nodded and looked at the short fellow. “What about you?”

“Pip is going to look at houses!” The short fellow immediately perked up, bouncing over from the side with great enthusiasm. “Pip asked Gustav about it yesterday. There’s a real estate agent in the west of the city who specializes in finding houses for Adventurers.”

He proudly puffed out his chest and placed his hands on his hips. “Pip will go talk to him. Pip loves chatting the most.”

“Alright, so we’ll meet up at the tavern at noon?”

“Mhm.”

“You got it!”

Although Lorin rarely saw the short fellow haggle, he had complete confidence in his chatting abilities. This guy really could strike up a conversation with anyone.

He watched the two head for the door. Just as he was about to turn around and look for Glen, Erin suddenly turned her face toward him and said, “We still have to go buy clothes this afternoon, so don’t train too hard.”

She didn’t wait for Lorin’s reply. With a swish of her Magic Robe’s hem, she walked out the door.

He thought, “It really feels good to be cared for by someone.”

Lorin took a long look at her back until she disappeared from sight. Then, he turned and walked toward the wooden door deep inside the hall that led to the inner courtyard.

In the inner courtyard, Glen was sitting in a chair, holding a teacup and basking in the sun.

Hearing footsteps, he keenly glanced back. Seeing that the arrival was Lorin, he smiled and said, “Made up your mind?”

Lorin took out five Gold Coins from his pouch before they could even warm up in his pocket. With a pained expression, he held them forward and said, “I have. I want to learn that Sheathing the Sword you mentioned first.”

Glen didn’t take the money straight from his hand. Instead, he waved it off. “Let’s leave that for later. If you’re satisfied after learning it, I’ll take your money then.”