Special Circumstances

At sunset.

The evening glow painted the sky orange.

The scene at Blackstone Town's checkpoint gate was much the same as usual, with passing hunters and farmers lining up.

"Routine inspection."

The guard's lazy voice rang out. "Name, origin, purpose, and identification. Hand them all over."

No different from before, Marcus, as the captain, gave a brief explanation, and the others handed over their badges.

This time, however, Zeliel presented a badge issued by the Mages' Guild rather than the Adventurers' Association's iron badge.

Seeing Marcus and Vales's bronze badges, the guard's expression did not change.

But when his gaze passed over Zeliel's magic badge, clear surprise appeared in his eyes.

He quickly looked up at Zeliel, seemingly trying to remember what he looked like. Even the way he returned their belongings became noticeably more courteous.

"So you're already a Magic Apprentice." Vales had noticed Zeliel's badge as well.

"Yes. I got it from the Mages' Guild after parting ways with you last time."

Zeliel suddenly grew curious. "By the way... how do Adventurers' Association badges get upgraded? I see yours are all bronze."

"Jade, diamond, gold, silver, bronze, iron. Iron is the easiest—you get it upon registration. After completing ten quests, you can advance to a bronze-ranked adventurer."

Vales explained casually.

"Silver is a bit more Difficult. Bronze-ranked adventurers must complete ten lower-tier quests before advancing to silver, and lower-tier quests generally involve monsters rated [Difficult]. Things like quest success rates are involved too. You'll have to ask receptionist Ella about the specific rules."

"Above that are gold-ranked adventurers. Usually, only seasoned intermediate-class professionals can reach that level, though there are also some advanced-class professionals. I haven't looked into how to advance... but I'd guess there aren't many in the entire Blackstone Town branch, right?"

"I see..."

Zeliel recalled the commission slip from this mission.

It had been marked as an ordinary quest, not yet at the level of a lower-tier quest.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Then this counts as completing two ordinary quests for me?"

"Yeah. Just run eight more errands and you'll become bronze-ranked."

Vales smiled, a rare sight.

"But you don't really need to care about that. A Mages' Guild badge carries far more weight than an Adventurers' Association badge... If I were you, I'd only show the Mages' Guild one when I was out."

After returning to the Adventurers' Association, Marcus went to the front desk to turn in the mission.

"These are the quest items from the Abandoned Cavern. We cleared out twenty-four Slimes in total."

Marcus placed a bulging bag of Magic Cores on the counter. "Also, I need to report an abnormal situation that occurred during the mission."

Ella had just poured the Magic Cores onto the counting tray. Hearing that, she blinked in confusion.

Another unexpected situation?

During the wolf mission last time, they seemed to have encountered a juvenile Mist Demon, hadn't they?

"May I ask what exactly happened?" Ella asked.

"The monster description in the mission was inaccurate. We found a Giant Slime deep in the cavern. It was the true source of the water contamination."

Marcus took out another, much larger Magic Core from the pack on his back, along with the gel.

"However, we killed the Giant Slime. Please report this abnormal incident to City Hall."

A Giant Slime rated [Difficult]...

Ella froze slightly.

That was quite a troublesome monster.

It would not have been strange for a fully staffed party to kill it, but Marcus's team only had three people this time.

With that thought, Ella's gaze unconsciously fell on the novice adventurer.

Zeliel.

When she had registered Zeliel as an adventurer, Ella had been somewhat surprised by his mage profession.

At the time, Zeliel had seemed young and inexperienced, the very picture of a rookie.

Yet such a rookie had participated in killing both a Mist Demon and a Giant Slime in succession. It was truly unexpected...

How much had he contributed in those two battles? Ella could not help wondering.

Among the adventurers coming and going, Zeliel seemed somewhat absentminded.

He casually leaned against the counter and yawned.

Perhaps because he had used so much magic power, Zeliel felt far more tired than usual. His languid gaze swept across the room and happened to meet Ella's.

He gave her a slight nod in greeting.

But Ella somewhat awkwardly looked away.

"All right... I'll report it to Government Hall." Ella immediately lowered her head and pulled out a paper document.

"Aren't you going to count the Slime Magic Cores first?" Marcus asked in confusion.

"Oh, right, right... I forgot."

Ella hurriedly picked up the counting tool and began tallying the Slime Magic Cores.

Twenty-four Slimes, bounty amount: seventy-two silver coins.

Twenty-four Slime Magic Cores, buyback price: forty-eight silver coins.

Giant Slime Magic Core, buyback price: four gold coins.

High-quality gel, buyback price: two gold coins.

The total mission reward came to seven gold coins and twenty silver coins.

As Marcus picked up the money and prepared to leave, Ella added another sentence.

"Oh, right. This mission involved inaccurate commission information. Once City Hall confirms it, you will receive additional monetary compensation. Please come collect it in three days."

"Got it."

After receiving the bounty, they divided the money outside the Adventurers' Association.

"I won't bring up recruiting you again. I know you like your freedom, but if you ever need a vanguard on your next mission, just come find me."

Marcus handed Zeliel his share of the money pouch. "I live at the Redbeard Inn."

In Marcus's heart, Zeliel's importance went without saying.

The money earned from these two missions matched what he usually struggled to earn in half a year. Zeliel deserved much of the credit.

"All right. I'll definitely come find you if I need anything." Zeliel accepted the money pouch.

It contained two gold coins and eighty-eight silver coins, a rather generous reward.

Watching Zeliel's retreating figure gradually disappear, Vales withdrew his gaze.

"Marcus, I've never seen you lower yourself like this before. He already turned down your invitation to form a permanent party last time, yet now you're taking the initiative to cling to him?"

"He's a mage. That's just how it is."

Marcus did not seem to mind. He waved his hand. "Which mage doesn't have some pride? Of course they're unwilling to be bound by a fixed party."

"But then again, pride aside, because their bodies are physically weak, they must be wary of other adventurers."

Marcus spoke with great confidence. "At times like this, you only need to show your gentle and patient side. It doesn't matter if you lower your stance a little. Let him know you're reliable, and next time, he'll definitely come looking for you to form a party again."

Vales's eye twitched slightly.

"How did I never notice you were this calculating before..."