Chapter 162: Herman’s Great Achievement Conjecture

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Herman’s Great Achievement Conjecture

Lance returned to the washroom and washed his face again.

You eat a meal one bite at a time, and you walk a path one step at a time.

No matter how large a harem he planned on building for himself in this Otherworld, to achieve that goal, he first needed the strength to protect them all.

If he couldn’t even protect his own life, what was the point of talking about "assimilating to the local culture"?

He decided to set a small goal for himself first.

Lance wiped his face dry, his gaze once again resolute.

"I have to at least become a Legendary Level Adventurer first."

After tidying his appearance, Lance pushed open the door to his home and strode toward the Adventurer’s Guild.

The Guild hall was rather noisy today.

Many Adventurers were gathered in small groups, whispering about the red array of light that had appeared over Copper Creek Forest in the middle of the night.

A disturbance of that magnitude made them uneasy, as they all relied on low-level quests from Copper Creek Forest to make a living.

Unsure of the situation in the forest, many teams were even hesitating to accept any quests for the day.

Lance didn’t linger long in the first-floor hall.

He weaved through the crowd and, knowing the way, went up the stairs to the president’s office on the third floor.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Lance curled his fingers and knocked gently on the heavy oak door.

"Come in."

Upon receiving the old president’s permission, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, Lance saw that Necros’s large, solid wood desk was piled high with urgent official documents, all bearing wax seals.

"Have a seat, kid."

Seeing Lance, Necros paused his work with the quill and gestured to the chair across from his desk.

Once Lance was seated, the old president rummaged through a pile of documents.

He eventually pulled out a document bearing the distinctive purple wax seal of the Violet Academy.

"Regarding the unforeseen incident last night..."

The old president pushed the document across the desk to Lance and continued.

"The Violet Academy has deemed that this field internship encountered an unavoidable and unknown danger. To ensure the students’ safety, this session has been terminated ahead of schedule."

’The mission is over, which means it’s time to get paid.’

"I was the one who personally signed on as your guarantor for the employment quest, so I’ll be the one to settle your payment."

This was the main reason Lance had come to the Guild first thing in the morning.

According to the contract, the full reward was three gleaming Gold Coins.

For the current Lance, this was an absolute fortune.

"In addition to the Gold Coins you were promised in the contract..."

Necros said, pulling open the drawer at his side.

He pulled two bronze badges, each engraved with a pattern of crossed swords, from inside and casually placed them on the desk.

"These are the Guild’s internal tokens of merit. Each one can be exchanged for one hundred Merit."

The old president looked at Lance, his tone tinged with admiration.

"In light of your outstanding performance as a team leader, the Guild and the Academy have unanimously decided to grant you an additional bonus of two hundred Merit."

"An extra two hundred points?"

Hearing this, Lance didn’t immediately reach for the badges on the table. Instead, he frowned with a touch of caution.

’Since when were the Guild’s rewards so easy to come by?’

He didn’t believe there was any such thing as a free lunch.

"President."

Lance looked at the old man across from him and asked carefully.

"I was under the impression that the final payment for this type of employment quest would be issued strictly according to the amount specified in the contract."

"No need to sound me out like that."

Necros couldn’t help but chuckle at Lance’s wary posture, as if he were guarding against a thief.

"You’re receiving this extra Merit because you exceeded the quest objectives we had originally envisioned."

As he spoke, the old president gestured for Lance to open the document.

"See for yourself. This is the final internship report card that Cecilia submitted."

Full of suspicion, Lance took the parchment and looked down.

In the most prominent spot on the report card was the final evaluation.

[Overall Ranking: First]

"First place?"

Seeing this result, Lance was genuinely surprised.

He knew the Half-Elf Maiden was a diligent student, but he never expected her to actually take first place.

"On the evening before the incident, the Academy held a comprehensive written survival examination at White Oak Manor."

Necros slowly began to explain.

"During that exam, Cecilia turned in what could only be described as a perfect, full-score paper."

"Furthermore, did you think no one was aware of your team’s quest performance?"

"For every quest slip you submitted, the Guild made a copy and delivered it to the Team Leader Mage over at White Oak Manor."

"You were just a makeshift two-person team."

"But the number of quests you completed in the forest outskirts far surpassed that of well-equipped, full-sized teams of six or even seven."

Necros’s tone was filled with nothing but praise. It was also because of these results that his old colleague hadn’t blamed him for anything.

This impressive performance proved his choice hadn’t been a mistake.

"With a performance that put her in a league of her own, Cecilia has deservedly become this year’s top intern at the Violet Academy."

"And you, as her supervising instructor, have naturally basked in her reflected glory."

"These two hundred Merit points are a special bonus, arranged by the Violet Academy in cooperation with our Guild specifically to express their gratitude to you."

Hearing this perfectly reasonable explanation, Lance finally lowered his guard.

He reached out readily, pocketing the two Bronze Merit Badges with a clear conscience.

’Now I won’t have to worry about redeeming that new Skill.’

"Of course, aside from these material rewards, I have a special bonus for you that I think you’ll find suitable."

"Lance, if I’m not mistaken..."

The old president fixed the black-haired young man before him with a piercing gaze.

"Your current physical condition... you should be on the verge of breaking through to the Professional Level, shouldn’t you?"

"Yes."

Since the old president had seen it, Lance saw no reason to hide it and nodded frankly.

"My Basic Attributes and Combat Skills are all extremely close to the threshold."

"If all goes well, I should be preparing for my formal Profession ceremony within a week at the latest."

"Excellent."

Hearing this affirmative response, Necros smiled in satisfaction.

He then took out another, strangely shaped object.

It was a badge cast from a single piece of bronze. Its surface was engraved with the image of an open book, surrounded by intricate gear-like patterns.

"Take this."

Necros handed the Bronze Badge to Lance.

"From this day forward, you have unrestricted access to all Level 2 and below Knowledge documents in the Guild’s private library."

"As someone who’s walked this path before, and before you officially take on your Profession..."

The old president looked Lance in the eye and advised him seriously.

"I want you to go to the Guild library, find the book called ’Herman’s Great Achievement Conjecture,’ and read it carefully."

"Once you have finished reading that book from cover to cover, then you can decide when you should take that final step toward your Profession."