Mage

In the early morning, Lorraine Forest welcomed an uninvited guest.

A gorgeous dark purple robe wrapped around her slightly slender figure, its hem embroidered with golden patterns. Beneath the broad brim of her pointed hat was a delicate, pretty face. Her fiery red hair cascaded down her back, and an amethyst pendant hung from her slender, snow-white neck. Below her faintly visible collarbones was a full, ample chest.

Its scale was utterly at odds with her slender waist, like curves carved by a demon, carrying a fatal allure.

The silver badge pinned to her chest bore two Violet Petals, held prominently aloft.

The young girl walked with light steps through what the nearby people called the depths of Lorraine Forest, seemingly not worried in the slightest about the dangers lurking within this shadowy woodland.

Rustle—

A faint sound rose from the undergrowth. A Frost Shadow Wolf hid in the shadows, watching the "prey" before it.

These dangerous elite monsters were known as the nightmares of Awakened. Every year, many newly awakened adventurers were ambushed by these treacherous monsters, their newly begun paths cut short.

Even seasoned adventurers who had been awakened for years and possessed abundant experience were extremely reluctant to provoke such troublesome monsters, which were both swift and deadly.

The distance between them steadily closed.

A dangerous glint flashed in the wolf's dark green eyes. The next moment, a frigid aura gradually enveloped its body. A thin mist of frost shrouded it, while a layer of sharp Solid Ice covered its claws.

"Whoosh—!"

It suddenly sprang from the grass, its body like an afterimage as it charged at the girl before it, trailing a ghostly blue streak behind it.

The girl in purple robes looked at the monster that had suddenly appeared, but her eyes did not ripple in the slightest. She seemed neither surprised nor panicked.

She merely waited quietly for the monster to approach, slowly raising a hand as she murmured an incantation.

A crimson curtain of light enveloped her, and the scorching heat made the Frost Shadow Wolf's pupils contract.

But there was no turning back now. It could only steel itself and slash fiercely at the barrier.

The Solid Ice coating its claws melted almost instantly. Its snow-white fur promptly caught fire, and its entire paw seemed about to be cooked through. Yet not even the slightest crack appeared in the barrier before it.

The Frost Shadow Wolf let out a mournful howl, realizing that its opponent was far beyond anything it could contend with.

It quickly turned around and limped into the forest on its remaining three legs.

"Tch."

The girl parted her red lips and uttered several more lines of incantation. A fireball the size of a disk appeared in her hand.

There was no need to throw it. With just a gentle "push" of her magic, the fireball rapidly caught up with the fleeing Frost Shadow Wolf and struck its vulnerable waist and abdomen with precision.

Blazing flames burned a large hole through the monster's body. The Frost Shadow Wolf howled as it collapsed, the blood around its wound vaporized by the intense heat while its internal organs were gradually swallowed by the spreading flames...

"The local monsters have no manners."

She shook her head, turned around, and continued toward Roland Town.

"This is the last one."

Picking up the Slime Essence from the ground, Lin Mo counted the essence in his backpack. He had encountered and killed twenty-one Slimes today. Having learned from the previous two days' experience, he had become increasingly skilled today. He had not made a single mistake, and every Slime's essence had been preserved intact.

With the twenty-nine Slime Essences he had already deposited at the Association, the mission was now complete.

Since it was still early, he hurried back. After leaving the bounds of Lorraine Forest, Lin Mo focused his mind and looked at his status panel.

[Name]: Lin Mo

Class: None

Attributes:

Strength: 6

Agility: 8

Constitution: 4

...

Skills:

Stealth Lv3 (29/40)

Slash Lv4 (4/100)

That was right. After today's battles, Lin Mo's Slash skill had successfully reached Level 4. Compared with when it had been Level 2 two or three days ago, its power had improved considerably.

With his current attributes and skills, if he went back to that time and encountered the mutated Goblin again, even if he could not defeat it head-on, he could most likely hold it off and prevent the party from being wiped out.

Once the party members had escaped safely, he could leave whenever he wanted. He might even have been able to save Raine's younger sister...

If Raine were still alive, perhaps she would still have found the courage to keep living.

"...Sigh."

He sighed softly and shook off those tangled thoughts.

What had passed was already past. There was no point in dwelling on it. It was better to focus on the present and take each step well.

After returning to town, he headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.

This was the peak hour for adventurers returning to town, and logically, it should have been one of the Adventurer's Guild's busiest times aside from the morning.

Yet, as always, there was hardly anyone in front of Lena's counter. Only one person stood ahead of Lin Mo, and they were merely asking for information rather than accepting or submitting a mission. Still, Laina patiently answered their questions.

After waiting for around two minutes, the person left dejectedly, and Lin Mo stepped up to the counter.

"Mr. Lin Mo, are you depositing Slime Essence again today?"

The somewhat downcast Laina raised her head. When she saw Lin Mo, her brows visibly relaxed, and even her voice became softer and sweeter.

"No, I'm here to submit a mission today."

As he spoke, Lin Mo took out all twenty-one Slime Essences from his bag.

"So many..."

Laina opened her mouth in surprise, but her hands did not hesitate as she swiftly placed the essences into separate small packages to prevent damage.

"Adding the twenty-nine essences you deposited over the past two days, your mission is complete, meow!"

As she spoke, Laina took out five Gold Coins from beneath the counter and placed them on top.

"By the way, do you get a commission when I complete a mission?"

Lin Mo asked curiously as he pocketed the Gold Coins.

"I do, meow~"

Laina nodded. "When an employer posts a mission at the Association, aside from the mission reward itself, they also have to pay an additional commission equal to 1% of the reward. That portion is the Association's income, and us receptionists can receive a small share of it."

"For a mission like this, how much would you get?"

"About five Copper Coins."

So that's 1% of 1%, or one ten-thousandth of the mission reward?

It did not sound like much, but if many missions were posted every day—for example, at the busiest counter beside Laina's, where at least a hundred missions could be handed out each day—even if only thirty were ultimately completed, with an average reward of five Gold Coins per mission, the commission would still amount to a full one hundred and fifty Copper Coins.

Naturally, that amount was not worth mentioning to adventurers, but for ordinary people like guild receptionists, an income of one hundred and fifty Copper Coins a day was already quite considerable.

After all, even during the relatively peaceful days of the past, a low-level laborer earned only five to eight Copper Coins per day.

"That's pretty good, then. Does that mean Laina is considered wealthy?"

"Please don't tease me, meow~"

Laina smiled awkwardly. "It's only barely enough to get by. Usually, hardly anyone comes to my counter to accept missions. Over the past two whole months, I only earned one Silver Coin and fifty Copper Coins in commission..."

Just as they were chatting, a sudden commotion erupted behind them, followed by a wave of shocked exclamations.

Lin Mo turned to look, and his expression froze...