As Soya watched Yoru Machi pull one piece of monster material after another from the tattered pack on his back and place them on the counter, her expression grew increasingly astonished until she was completely stunned.
Because Yoru Machi had caused such a huge commotion at the Adventurer's Guild before, he had become somewhat well-known within the guild.
So when they saw him taking out one piece of monster material after another, quite a few adventurers in the guild gathered around with curious expressions.
"Good grief, that's a Shadow Lizard's tail. Even B-rank adventurers could easily be ambushed to death by one if they let their guard down, yet there are more than ten of them here."
"What the hell does a Shadow Lizard matter? Look at those fangs giving off cold air—they're Ice Python frost fangs, the finest material for making daggers.
And Ice Pythons are boss-level monsters. Even an A-rank adventurer party might not be able to take one down easily."
As they looked at the trophies Yoru Machi had produced, gasps and exclamations rose one after another from the surrounding crowd. The monster materials he had brought out were all exceptionally high-grade. Those Ice Python fangs alone were valuable enough to let an ordinary person live without worry for ten years.
As more and more adventurers gathered to watch and the commotion grew louder, the Guild Master, who had been upstairs chatting about life with his little secretary, was disturbed yet again.
He came downstairs in a huff, but the moment he saw the huge pile of monster materials on the counter and Yoru Machi's travel-worn appearance, he immediately forced a smile onto his face.
"Soya, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and help Mr. Yoru Machi tally these monster materials and confirm the completion of his commission."
Hearing the Guild Master call out, Soya finally snapped back to her senses. She then picked up the monster materials on the counter and began appraising them.
For a guild receptionist, looks were secondary. What mattered most was having a sufficiently high appraisal skill level.
Otherwise, if adventurers submitted quest materials and the receptionist could not even tell genuine items from fakes, how could she determine whether the commission had been completed?
"Shadow Lizard tails, Vampire Bat wings, Gun-Legged Spider eyes... and Ice Python fangs and snakeskin. These are indeed materials from monsters in that underground labyrinth.
"Especially the boss-level Ice Python. Judging by the grade of these materials, there shouldn't be any problem."
Each time Soya picked up an item and appraised it, the astonishment on her face deepened. By the time she finished examining the materials from the Ice Python, she realized in shock that Yoru Machi had truly conquered that underground labyrinth by himself!
And even excluding the time spent traveling, he had done it in such a short time!
After appraising the materials for the first commission, "Conquer the Underground Labyrinth," Soya began picking up another small pile of black monster materials from the counter.
Judging by their color and aura, it was not difficult to tell that these materials had all come from the same monster.
However, when Soya picked up a piece that looked like a horn and used her appraisal skill on it, the composure she had only just managed to regain was once again replaced by shock.
Seeing Soya hold a black, horn-like piece of material without speaking for a long time, the curious adventurers around her quickly became impatient and hurriedly asked, "Soya, what monster material is it? Just tell us already!"
"Don't tell me it's monster material even higher-grade than an Ice Python's? Brother Yoru Machi is going to defy the heavens!"
The noisy voices around her finally pulled Soya out of her stunned state. She then looked seriously at Yoru Machi and the Guild Master. "The grade of these monster materials is too high. My appraisal skill level is insufficient, so I can't determine what monster they came from..."
Upon hearing Soya's words, every adventurer present, including the Guild Master, froze.
Soya was already the finest counter attendant in the Adventurer's Guild, and her appraisal skill was the highest. Logically speaking, even if the "Poisonous Giant Lizard" Yoru Machi had defeated for his second commission was powerful, it should not have been much stronger than an Ice Python.
"Give it to me. Let me appraise it."
After hearing Soya, the Guild Master reached out and took the material from her hand, preparing to appraise it himself.
Before becoming the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, he had also worked as a staff member, so his appraisal skill level was even higher.
However, when the Guild Master took the monster material from Soya and used his appraisal skill on it, the information that appeared nearly frightened him into dropping it.
"Poisonous... Demon Dragon... dragon horn?" The Guild Master stammered so badly that the people around him could not hear clearly, and they impatiently urged him to explain himself.
But after recovering from his shock, the Guild Master completely ignored these bored adventurers and turned to Yoru Machi with a serious expression. "Did you find this monster material, or...?"
"What do you mean, find it? I put quite a bit of effort into taking it down, you know.
"That thing was the Poisonous Giant Lizard from your commission, right? It really was a giant lizard—just a giant lizard that could fly."
Hearing Yoru Machi's words, the Guild Master fell silent. The way he looked at Yoru Machi was no longer mere admiration, but utter reverence.
The Poisonous Demon Dragon, a draconic subspecies, was a boss-level monster renowned even across the entire world. Yet the young man before him had actually killed it all alone!
This was no longer a question of whether he was impressive or not. It was simply absurd.
The Guild Master did not think Yoru Machi was lying either. The Poisonous Giant Lizard and the Poisonous Demon Dragon were monsters on entirely different levels. There was no reason for Yoru Machi to provoke the stronger, more dangerous Poisonous Demon Dragon just for an A-rank commission.
And although there were not many monster materials on the counter, nearly every part of a dragon's body was represented. Claiming he had simply found them by luck was far too implausible.
"Where are the other materials? If you really did slay the Poisonous Demon... that poisonous monster, there should have been more materials from its body than just these, right?"
The Poisonous Demon Dragon was a draconic subspecies. Every material from its body was a rare, high-grade resource. Although those items were Yoru Machi's private property, the guild could purchase them from him.
"That thing was too huge. Bringing the corpse back wasn't impossible, but it seemed like too much trouble, so I only took the materials that looked useful and threw everything else by the roadside."
Yoru Machi did not have spatial equipment, and the journey had already been long. He thought dragging around the Poisonous Demon Dragon's corpse would slow him down, so he had discarded it halfway back.
"What the hell?! You wasteful bastard! You actually threw away the Poisonous Demon Dragon you worked so hard to kill like it was garbage?!"
Before you continue