Task Complete

The dead black tiger dropped a large pile of silver coins.

The priest hurried forward to keep Theodore barely alive.

To save Theodore now, they could only reach the quest destination as quickly as possible. The elves there could treat him.

Kurumi gathered the loot from the ground while a burly adventurer carried away the black tiger's corpse.

Only players could pick up non-quest loot. NPC leveling and equipment crafting could only follow real-world logic.

So Kurumi felt no burden about keeping the loot for herself.

As they headed toward their destination, she checked the drops.

Three gold coins, a piece of level 30 armor, and a rare item.

Dark Tide Leather Jacket (Rare)

Required Level: Lv.35

Type: Top

Effect: Defense +120, Dark Attribute Resistance +20

Effect: When attacked, there is a 10% chance of inflicting the attacker with Dark Attribute Erosion for 10 seconds.

It was a very ordinary piece of level 35 equipment.

Though it was labeled rare, it only had one more effect than ordinary equipment.

Still, it was better than nothing.

Kurumi then looked at the item's attributes.

The Polluted Necklace (Rare)

Type: Quest Item

Description: It seemed to be a necklace lost by a careless elf. If it could be returned to her, she would give a reward.

Having landed the final blow on the boss, Kurumi received the most experience, but she still did not level up.

Level 12 (Experience 99%)

She was stuck at that final sliver, and it nearly suffocated her.

After killing the boss, the rest of the journey went smoothly. In just over ten minutes, they reached the border city of the Elf Empire.

Wood Guard City, the border city where the Dawn Elf Empire bordered the Carron Empire.

The cities of the Elf race differed from those of humans.

Elves lived leisurely and enjoyed solitude. Their cities had no walls, ramparts, watchtowers, or gates—only wooden houses hanging from enormous trees.

The NPCs anxiously carried Theodore inside.

Kurumi followed them and watched for a while. After letting them know, she left to turn in the quest first.

She arrived at the Adventurer's Guild in Wood Guard City and handed over the Elemental Sprite.

With an indifferent expression, the attendant grabbed the Elemental Sprite floating beside Kurumi. After giving her a few instructions, he let her go, then said to Kurumi without even looking up, "This is your reward. Also, tell your teammates to come collect their quest rewards soon. I'm getting off work to eat."

Kurumi: "...Okay."

At the same time, Kurumi's system notification sounded.

"Congratulations on perfectly completing the escort quest. Your strength has been recognized by the Adventurer's Guild. You have obtained proof of authorization to act in Forest City. The Adventurer's Guild has also learned that you killed a large number of monsters. Quest rewards +50%."

"Congratulations! You successfully escorted the Elemental Sprite Axi home. Her favorability toward you +1. Current total favorability: 11 (Familiar)."

She had finally broken through to the second stage. Once she reached the third stage, she could try luring away a little elf.

Kurumi stared at the system prompt and pondered for a while.

Besides reputation and favorability rewards, there were also plenty of silver coins and experience.

Kurumi's level instantly rose to level 13.

Level 13 (Experience 56%)

This experience reward was exactly what Kurumi wanted most. The experience and silver coin rewards for a level 30 adventure quest were far greater than those for level 10 or level 20 quests.

She then asked the attendant whether there had recently been any quests about an elf losing a necklace.

The attendant coldly shook his head, seeming rather impatient.

Fine, perhaps this necklace was some kind of opportunity quest that could only be triggered at the right time.

Kurumi went back to check on Theodore. His face was still pale, but under the elves' magical treatment, he had recovered considerably and was already awake.

After bidding them farewell, Kurumi logged off.

There was still a little one at home who needed looking after. No matter how important the game was, Su Jiang had to squeeze out some time to take care of her.

It was just lunchtime when she logged off.

As soon as she stepped out of her room—

Su Jiang saw several broken bowls and plates on the floor, along with a few eggs that had been dropped and smashed.

Su Yu looked frightened and worried as she carefully cleaned up.

Su Jiang hurried over and asked, "Are you okay?"

Hearing his voice, Su Yu's little body tensed up, and she remained perfectly still.

Su Jiang took the mop from Su Yu's hands and cleaned up the trash and broken pieces.

"Xiao Yu wanted to eat eggs?" Su Jiang asked after he had finished cleaning.

Su Yu nervously twisted her fingers together and said, "I was hungry. Mom said I could eat vegetables and eggs, that they could fill me up... I couldn't reach them and accidentally dropped them."

Su Jiang was dumbfounded. "...You were going to eat them raw?"

Raw eggs mixed with raw vegetables? Even dogs wouldn't eat that.

After he said that, Su Yu lowered her head in fright. Tears dripped to the floor as she whispered, "I didn't mean to, Dad."

Su Jiang crouched down and asked, "Did you eat this every day when you were with your mom?"

"No, no. I only ate like this when Mom was busy. And Mom would also put in a noodle cake for me. It was really tasty... Usually, Mom ordered takeout."

That Lin Jing really was...

Although he had learned during his investigation into Lin Jing that Su Yu ate takeout every day, he had not expected Lin Jing to be so heartless as to feed instant noodles to a child.

What a terrible woman to have met!

Su Jiang cursed Lin Jing a few times in his heart, then said, "If you're hungry from now on, you can call Dad. Dad will make you something to eat."

Su Yu clutched the hem of her clothes. Her eyes were red, and her face still held a frightened expression as she softly asked, "Dad won't get angry? Mom said children have to be quiet, or they'll be thrown away..."

"Heh, your mom and I are different. I like it when Xiao Yu is noisy. Don't be afraid, Xiao Yu." Su Jiang sighed inwardly and pulled Su Yu's tense little body into his arms.

Su Jiang felt intensely guilty that he had taken so long to bring his daughter back.

If he had known Lin Jing was such an unreliable woman, he should have forcefully demanded a change in custody when Su Yu was two.

Unfortunately, it was too late to say any of that now.

Only then did Su Yu show emotions other than fear and inferiority. Looking aggrieved, she asked, "If I call Dad in the future, Dad won't think I'm annoying? You won't smash things?"

"Of course not! As long as Xiao Yu doesn't think Dad is annoying."

Su Yu hurriedly shook her head, crying so hard that snot ran out of her nose. "I won't think Dad is annoying."

"Mm, as long as Xiao Yu doesn't find Dad annoying."

Su Jiang lived alone, so there were very few vegetables and meats in the house. He could only take Su Yu downstairs to eat.

After Su Jiang seriously asked her several times, Su Yu hesitated for a long while before saying that she wanted fries and cola.

Although eating too much junk food really was bad for her, it was their first day together. To make Su Yu happier, Su Jiang let her have it.