Big Money

Wearing his mask, Du Pont entered the tavern. The mage's badge on his chest granted him unobstructed passage. Even the fat proprietor beamed when he saw Du Pont. Upon learning that Du Pont wanted to take on a job, he brought out a mug of ale and pushed it across the table. "Esteemed Mage, this one's on the house. Let's discuss it upstairs."

Du Pont shook his head at the mug. As if suddenly realizing something, the tavern owner replaced it with a bottle of apple juice, smiling apologetically. "Look at my memory—I even forgot a mage's taboos."

"We can talk here." Du Pont's face remained cold. The tavern owner acted as though he had not noticed and lowered his voice. "Esteemed Mage, unfortunately, the job of scouting the goblin camp has already been taken." As he spoke, he pointed toward a young man and woman in the corner of the tavern, stuffing themselves with food and drink. "Those siblings accepted it just now. They're probably planning to raid those goblins tonight."

Du Pont inwardly grumbled upon hearing this. He had not expected someone to snatch a job before he could even take it. The tavern owner smiled broadly. "If you're interested, you could investigate that graveyard instead. If you're skilled enough, you might be able to resolve the job without even fighting. The reward is quite generous—eight hundred silver coins, a full three hundred more than the five hundred silver for wiping out the goblin camp."

Eight hundred silver coins was by no means a small sum for a village, and even to Du Pont, it was substantial. Still, he believed in one saying.

The buyer was never as shrewd as the seller.

"Eight hundred? That isn't a low price around here." Du Pont spoke lightly, as though it were nothing worth his attention, then got straight to the point. "So it must not be a minor problem."

"Yes, the place is genuinely haunted. The village's acolyte nearly got scared out of his wits when he went there. I heard they've even written to the priests in town and invited them to come perform an exorcism. Of course, it would also be fine if adventurers helped." The tavern owner pointed toward the church. "If you're willing to take this contract, remember to report to the church and bring a shrine with you. Then, find the place with the strongest undead aura and purify it. If there are undead creatures, you can bring back their heads as well. The church will give additional rewards based on how troublesome those undead were."

"I see." Du Pont thought for two seconds. "The matter itself doesn't sound too troublesome, but I have some things to deal with lately. How long is this contract valid for?"

The tavern owner's expression shifted slightly at those words, though his smile remained unchanged. "Once you accept the contract, you must finish it within three days. Otherwise, if you keep failing to complete it, wouldn't it be better to find someone else to solve the problem?"

"Such a trivial matter... Forget it. I'll come take another look in a couple of days. If no one has resolved it by then, I can deal with it."

Under the tavern owner's hesitant gaze, Du Pont picked up the juice and left.

It would take him at least a day to learn Magic Missile. His left arm was still injured as well, making it truly inconvenient to take on such a difficult job.

Besides, based on the information the owner had given him, this matter was no ordinary nuisance.

An acolyte was simply another term for a low-ranking priest, much like how an apprentice was a low-ranking mage. When it came to dealing with the undead, priests of most Gods could be considered specialists. They possessed a divine ability called Turn Undead, specifically meant for handling those undead monsters.

Once Turn Undead was used, at best it would suppress undead creatures until they were too weak to act and could only take hits passively. At worst, it would turn them directly into ashes. It was far more effective than any random spell.

If even a priest of the same rank could not resolve the matter, Du Pont would most likely be utterly lost if he went. On top of that, the undead were tenacious and relentless. Without specific intelligence and before his injury had healed, he absolutely could not take this job for the sake of his own safety.

It could only wait for another day.

Still, he would be volunteering at the academy's church tomorrow. He could ask the priests there about the situation then. If he got lucky, it would naturally be best if he could get some Holy Water or something similar for free.

Then, after he learned Magic Missile and recovered from his injury, he could try to complete this job.

However, just as Du Pont left the tavern and prepared to return to the academy, he was suddenly stopped by a sharp-looking man in his twenties.

He was one of the two adventurers who had accepted the job and were eating in the tavern earlier.

"Greetings, esteemed Mage." Du Pont merely remained silent. The adventurer looked somewhat restrained. "It's like this. My sister and I are planning to take the goblin-clearing job to gain some experience—"

"I don't form parties." Du Pont firmly remembered what Boulderstone had told him before.

It was fine to party up with low-level adventurers, but he could not bring women. Besides, these two also seemed to be newcomers. They definitely counted as an amateur team.

"Huh? Ah..." The man was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the other party to anticipate what he wanted to say. Seeing Du Pont's cold eyes beneath the uncovered part of his mask, he became even more reserved. "Haha, then that really is unfortunate."

"...Is there anything else?"

"Um, esteemed Mage, do you sell mage scrolls?" The man gestured as he spoke. "My sister studied magic before. She only knows a cantrip, and her understanding of magical devices isn't that deep, but she can still activate first-circle scrolls. We mean well—we want to help this remote little mountain village eliminate its future troubles. Could you sell us two at a slightly cheaper price?"

Du Pont fell silent. Just as the man's expression became increasingly awkward and he prepared to excuse himself, Du Pont spoke. "Would Flame Hand work?"

"Yes, yes!" The man immediately became excited. This was exactly the kind of area-of-effect spell he wanted. "How about this, sir? I'll pay nine gold coins per scroll. Does that price work for you?"

Huh? Nine gold coins??

Du Pont's pupils contracted sharply. Seeing that Du Pont did not speak, the man said somewhat nervously, "I know that price is a little low, but we really don't have much money on us. We still need to prepare food, traps, and other things before going to the goblin camp, so our funds are rather tight right now..."

"...Considering how dedicated you are, I'll let it go this time." As Du Pont spoke, he took out two scrolls from his pouch and stepped back two paces. "Give me the money first."

The man was overjoyed upon hearing this. He quickly took out a money pouch from inside his clothes, then removed fifteen gold coins and thirty silver coins. The once fairly full pouch immediately deflated.

"Would you like to count them, sir?"

Du Pont summoned Mage Hand to take the coins. With a few rubs of his fingers, he quickly confirmed that every gold coin was genuine.

He calmly put the coins into his own money pouch, then had Mage Hand hand over the two scrolls.

The man inspected the magical markings after receiving them. Once he confirmed there was no issue, he was likewise overjoyed. Just as he was about to leave after expressing his thanks again, Du Pont spoke. "By the way, this transaction doesn't match the market price. If word gets out, it could cause me trouble. Just use them yourself. Don't spread it around."

"Huh? That could happen?" The man looked confused, while Du Pont cursed inwardly. He truly wanted nothing more than to blow that damned academy to pieces.

How much profit had the academy skimmed off in all this buying and selling?

The man quickly understood. "But don't worry, sir. Since we got such a bargain, why would we tell everyone about it? After finishing this job, we'll also be visiting other villages, so we won't be staying here long."

Du Pont nodded upon hearing that. Just as the man prepared to bid farewell, the mysterious mage before him spoke again. "...You two are considerate. There really aren't many adventurers like you left who are willing to help places this remote. If you still need more, you can come wait for me at this village's tavern next Saturday. I'll sell you a few more then."

The man was utterly delighted. "That would be wonderful. Oh, right, sir, my name is Thomas. How should I address you?"

"Wind-swept and desolate, a face worn by hardship. You may call me Xiao Se."

"Xiao... Se?" Thomas rolled those unfathomable words around in his mouth, assuming they were some obscure language or nickname. Mages really do love showing off with pretentious words. "Lord Xiao Se, then shall we meet next Saturday afternoon?"

"We'll see. If I haven't arrived by dark, don't wait for me." Du Pont did not give him a definite answer.

"It's fine. Mages are busy, I understand." Thomas smiled flatteringly, while Du Pont merely nodded and turned to leave.

Watching Du Pont's retreating back, Thomas could not help feeling moved.

Judging by his voice, the other party should not have been very old, yet he was composed and wealthy. Thomas had not even managed to discern what level of strength he possessed.

What a mysterious and arrogant profession.