Revealing Reputation Two

As the orders placed by the butler at various shops began to arrive, materials piled up inside and outside the courtyard, and the thousands of Gold Sol allocated to Code were being spent like flowing water.

Although Donald was now quite wealthy, having won a large sum in bets from Sodo and his group, after setting aside the magic beast cores and Elemental Crystals that could not be sold, he had less than five thousand Gold Sol remaining. Previous expenses, such as purchasing the manor, had already exceeded two thousand Gold Sol, and the materials for constructing the small manor alone were estimated to cost at least one thousand two hundred, not to mention the vast, undeveloped large manor still waiting for him.

No matter how much money I have, it's never enough!

Therefore, Donald decided to head into the Green Cloak Forest once again to hunt magic beasts for their cores. This time, he planned to go alone. With magic beast cores worth thousands of gold coins and hundreds of Elemental Crystals in hand, plus the surge in confidence following his duel with the Snow Mage, his strength was more than a hundred times greater than when he had previously entered the forest relying only on low-level cores.

As for Clinton and the others, he left them under Code's command; without one or two subordinates, it was not prudent to handle affairs outside.

Donald had originally intended to head toward the more dangerous Cloud-Rising Mountain region to hunt for higher-quality magic beast cores. Firstly, he needed to stock up on higher-level cores, and secondly, the carcasses of magic beasts level three and above were extremely scarce on the market, often fetching dozens of Gold Sol each. Accumulating twenty or thirty of them would mean a source of income nearing a thousand Gold Sol!

If he could obtain several level four or five cores, Donald would no longer need to fear those with malicious intent. One must know that most of the enemies of House Merlinar from back then still existed, led by the greatest lord of North Shire, that Governor, the Viscount.

With such enemies, even if they could not strike openly, it was inevitable that some would resort to underhanded tactics behind his back.

While level three summoned creatures were powerful and could handle beasts with low intelligence, they were no match for higher-level human opponents. Level five cores, however, were entirely different; they could not only summon powerful troop types but also heroes and rare wild units.

Although they were not the full-state heroes or powerful creatures, they could easily exert strength far exceeding that of an average Bronze-ranked professional, and they possessed various magical skills derived from the game.

In North Shire, Bronze-ranked professionals were already among the top tier. As for Silver-ranked powerhouses, aside from his teacher and that Bishop in the suburbs of Giant Stone City, they were essentially as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Perhaps there were hidden experts, but he estimated they could be counted on one hand.

High-end professionals in the Kingdom of Selt were already scarcer than in the central and southern parts of the continent, and in North Shire—a remote area of the kingdom—the situation was naturally even worse.

For this hunting trip, Donald intended to target level four and five magic beasts primarily. Level one and two cores could be bought in bulk if one was willing to spend Gold Sol, so it was not worth his time now that he was wealthy.

However, Donald did not have a deep understanding of the interior of the Green Cloak Forest. He had only ever operated on the outskirts in the past. While he had a certain degree of confidence in his own safety, considering the efficiency of his goals, he still wanted to make cautious preparations, which was why he had come to the only tavern in Red Maple Town.

The Forest Tavern was the gathering place for adventurers in Red Maple Town, and it was the most comprehensive place to gather information.

In his memories from a few years ago, Donald, like the other commoner children in town, had yearned for the life of an adventurer and would sneak behind the tavern's back wall to eavesdrop, learning quite a bit about the world of adventurers.

This was his first time stepping through the front door of a tavern in this world, so Donald felt a fair amount of excitement.

Wearing the ordinary adventurer's clothes that Code had bought for him, Donald walked into the tavern like a drop of water falling into a pond, without causing the slightest ripple.

Though called adventurer's clothes, they were actually just a plain linen shirt, a half-body leather armor over his shoulders and chest, and a pair of leather bracers. The only thing that stood out was the wooden Elven longbow slung across his back. Although it looked simple, the performance of a bow crafted by Night Elves was not much worse than the iron-armed bows used by human armies.

With this attire and Donald's age, it was easy for those adventurers to mistake him for a fledgling young hunter.

Ignoring the teasing of a few streetwalkers soliciting business in the tavern, Donald went to a table in the corner, sat down, and ordered a mug of the cheapest barley ale. He felt the chaotic yet heated atmosphere of the tavern while simultaneously catching bits of information revealed in the loud conversations of the adventurers.

Before long, the waiter brought the barley ale. Donald took a sip; it was similar to the beer from his previous life, slightly foamy and less pure, but the taste was sweet with a hint of bitterness, which was not unpleasant.

Looking up to see the waiter had not yet left, Donald knew what was expected. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a Silver Moon, and under the gaze of the waiter's fawning smile, he retracted the coin back into his palm.

"Find me the person most familiar with the interior of the Green Cloak Forest, and this little thing is yours!"

A mug of barley ale cost only three Copper Horns, while a Silver Moon was equivalent to more than half a month's wages for the waiter. Driven by the power of money, the waiter soon returned with a burly man who was a full head taller than Donald, sporting a short, dark beard.

"This is the most powerful hunter in our Red Maple Town and the most experienced adventurer!"

Tossing the Silver Moon to the beaming waiter, Donald looked intently at the man who was called the most powerful hunter.

The man was dressed in neat leather gear with no unnecessary clutter. Since it was summer, aside from essential protective equipment, the burly man was actually only wearing linen shorts, exposing muscular arms that would make the girls on the street blush.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under the boy's gaze, the burly man sat down opposite Donald with a thud and grunted:

"Kid, are you the one looking for Master Aid?"

Donald took a sip of his barley ale, set the mug down gently, and said:

"I am looking for the person most familiar with the Green Cloak Forest!"

"What, brat, you don't trust Master Aid? Everyone here knows my skills. I once caught a level five magic beast, a Shadow Leopard, alive in the depths of the Green Cloak Forest! If you want to hear about the dangers of the Green Cloak Forest, I can tell you my own adventure stories. But if you want to enter the forest interior, with your scrawny build, you'd better stick to the outskirts and hunt some common beasts! Lest you run into a magic beast and lose your life!"

Hearing what the boorish Aid said, Donald did not get angry. Instead, he took another Gold Sol from his pocket, then quickly put it away again.

Watching the hunter Aid's eyes widen at the sight of the gleaming Gold Sol, Donald, having sufficiently whetted the man's appetite, said:

"This is not the place to talk. If you are interested, follow me!"

Donald then stood up and left the tavern, while the hunter Aid lingered for a moment before hurriedly chasing after him.