Commission

It was precisely because most mages acted so mild-mannered.

Mages seemed ridiculously versatile, but in reality, not many people chose to become one.

Lu Cang was still at the counter, rising slightly onto his toes as he spoke with Xili...

Before long, Lu Cang returned.

He was holding four commission slips.

"Xili said the last commission for a Tier 2 dungeon was just taken."

A commission couldn't be assigned to two parties at once.

Otherwise, there'd be no way to sort out the rewards when the job was completed.

Suppose one party explored a dungeon but turned back halfway through to restock.

Then another party happened to slip in and kill the final boss. There'd be no way to settle the commission.

So a commission was only given to one party. Whoever accepted it was the one who received the reward.

Even if someone else cleared the dungeon, as long as the commission was in your hands, the reward was yours.

If something like that happened, most adventurers would be delighted. It was basically getting paid without doing anything.

"Huh?"

Jidi, Zhou Er, and Gaiton were sitting together, waiting for Lu Cang's next job.

They'd already agreed on the way back that they'd earn another round of money with Lu Cang.

If there weren't any Tier 2 dungeon commissions, that'd be a problem.

After all, they were among the weaker adventurers at level 2.

They couldn't very well turn down work that paid so easily.

Lu Cang said, "Xili asked if I wanted to take a commission for a Tier 3 dungeon."

"Or try hunting some wanted monsters in the wild."

Gaiton said, "Hmm..."

"If it's a Tier 3 dungeon, we probably can't help you."

That was true...

If he was going to explore a Tier 3 dungeon, Lu Cang planned to recruit level 3 adventurers.

He'd recruited these people out of caution.

The monsters in a Tier 2 dungeon posed no real threat to Lu Cang, and their recent adventure had proven that.

The monsters could only be described as utterly helpless against him.

Lu Cang had hired them as a precaution.

He was worried about encountering some unknown danger, or failing to react in time and falling into a trap.

This was another world, and there was still plenty he didn't understand. Iz had also told him that monsters weren't the only thing to watch out for when exploring dungeons.

He also had to be wary of traps and ambushes. Even low-tier dungeons could contain things that absolutely must not be touched.

It wasn't unheard of for powerful adventurers to die in low-tier dungeons.

There were even rumors that a powerful elf saintess had stumbled and fallen in a Goblin Nest.

Lu Cang knew he wasn't an experienced adventurer yet, and couldn't guarantee he wouldn't come to grief through carelessness.

At any rate... hiring three teammates for 60 Silver Coins greatly improved his margin for error.

It was like paying 60 Silver Coins for a safety rope.

But if it was a Tier 3 dungeon...

Those three really weren't strong enough.

Lu Cang had hired them to ensure his safety, not just to have more mouths to feed.

Could a level 2 defender withstand Tier 3 monsters?

In Lu Cang's view, it was doubtful.

"I agree we should take it step by step, so I accepted commissions to hunt wanted monsters in the wild."

"Four in total."

Wanted monsters in the wild...

Monsters didn't only appear in dungeons. They could also be found outside towns. When someone spotted one and reported it to the guild, the guild would issue an "investigation" commission.

After the "investigation" confirmed the report, the guild would issue a "subjugation" commission.

Of course, if adventurers thought they could handle the monster while investigating, they could take care of the subjugation at the same time.

But sometimes the adventurer who took the "investigation" commission was alone and couldn't subjugate the monster. In that case, the commission would remain posted at the guild for other adventurers to accept.

Not every monster was marked for subjugation. The guild only put bounties on monsters considered to pose a significant threat at Tier 2 or higher.

If it was just a Slime on the side of the road...

There'd be no need to make such a fuss.

Everyone looked at the commission slips Lu Cang had spread across the table.

Zhou Er looked them over carefully. "Three are D-rank subjugation commissions, all for Tier 2 boss monsters."

"And one is a C-rank subjugation commission for a Tier 3 boss."

"They're all bosses."

That made sense. Given Lu Cang's incredible strength, it was understandable that he only took on boss monsters.

A level 2 adventuring party faced risks when challenging a Tier 2 boss.

It wasn't certain death, but it definitely wasn't safe. Subjugating three in one day would also create problems with recovery and supplies.

Most adventurers didn't recover from injuries in half a day. It depended on how skilled the party's healer was.

Lu Cang's youthful voice didn't sound like that of someone who planned to hunt monster bosses.

"Yeah, I want to give it a try."

"How do you think dungeon bosses compare in strength to bosses out in the wild?"

Zhou Er had the most experience, so he answered, "As for strength... dungeon bosses are a little stronger, but the difference isn't huge."

Lu Cang nodded at his answer.

"Then let's finish these remaining commissions today."

"I'll keep the spoils, and the three of you can split 48% of the commission rewards. How does that sound?"

Money wasn't really an issue. Whether he gave them 10 Silver Coins more or less didn't matter much.

The four commissions paid a total of 4 Gold Coins, with the Tier 3 monster accounting for half of that.

He could earn several Gold Coins from a single dungeon run, so a few dozen Silver Coins... weren't worth worrying about.

What Lu Cang really wanted was to learn how strong different monsters were.

Especially... that Tier 3 boss.

If he could beat it, that would prove he was strong enough to explore Tier 3 dungeons.

Lu Cang wasn't some reckless hothead. He didn't think that just because he had two God-Tier Talents,

he could explore a completely unfamiliar dungeon without knowing anything about it.

Safety always came first.

Proceeding cautiously before making a move was Lu Cang's rule.

"I... don't have a problem with it," Jidi replied.

After seeing Lu Cang's strength, Jidi was certain he could take down a Tier 3 boss.

Even though she'd never fought one herself.

The chubby defender beside her was nodding too.

The collector uncle scratched the back of his head. "Hmm... with the captain's strength, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Actually..."

The uncle glanced at the commission slips.

"Never mind."

He'd been about to ask if Lu Cang was giving them too much of the reward.

But then he thought, why complain about getting paid too much?

So be it.

Once everyone had agreed on the plan, Lu Cang smiled. "By the way, everyone..."

"I came here from a faraway country, so I'm not very familiar with the area. I hope you won't mind if I ask you about things I don't understand."

Lu Cang put on an innocent child's smile.

The uncle couldn't help but pause.

Oh, right... this powerful genius was still just a child.

After seeing Lu Cang's strength, he'd almost forgotten that he was a kid.

The round trip to hunt the monsters in Guishe Forest took less than two hours.

They'd set out at eight in the morning, and now they were heading out again at around half past ten.

This was the first time any of them had seen anyone clear dungeons this quickly.

The four of them set out again.

In the carriage, Lu Cang asked a few roundabout questions about things he'd read in his book of general knowledge but didn't fully understand...

And got their own unique answers.

As expected, there was quite a gap between what he'd read in books and what happened in real life.

That book of general knowledge was already twenty years old.

Over the past twenty years, dungeons had become considerably more dangerous.

The death rate for adventurers in dungeons of their own tier had reached 1%.

One percent might not sound like much, but most adventurers earned only 20 to 30 Silver Coins in a Tier 2 dungeon. Taking the cost of living into account,

it was about like risking a 1% chance of death for 6,000 yuan on Earth...

It really was a dangerous line of work.