Chapter 145: Chapter 145

Night at the City Lord's Mansion. In the study, after a full day of work, Bessira Lavelle was still hunched over her desk.

Standing before her was a maid of about the same age, with long ivory hair and a dignified figure.

"How are the investigation results?"

Bessira lifted her head and rubbed her brow. The maid stepped behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.

"A total of eleven villages and towns were attacked by goblins at varying scales. In nine of those settlements, with help from local guards, militias, the city garrison and adventurers, there were no severe casualties. The remaining two villages... the death toll in both has already exceeded half."

Bessira inhaled deeply, her brow tightening.

"Arrange follow-up relief work, and continue recruiting more troops. Keep pursuing the policy of attracting adventurers from the inland regions."

"But the financial burden..."

"If it's really necessary, use my money to cover it."

"Then we must get through this difficulty first!"

"Understood, I will make the arrangements. Also, during the investigation and statistics work, we discovered another issue."

Bessira paused in the motion of returning to her work.

"During the battlefield cleanup in the affected areas, including the two heavily hit villages, a large number of household corpses went missing. The number of bones actually recovered is drastically inconsistent with the expected data!"

The maid's tone was very grave. She clearly understood this was no small matter.

If this had happened before, Bessira might have hesitated and wondered why. But recently, Silverstream City was already facing other troubles...

She immediately connected the two situations and sucked in a cold breath.

Missing corpses, necromancers, goblins...

"Could there be some connection among the three?"

Necromancers suddenly appearing in the deep parts of Roland Forest, connected to the spreading goblins?

Though she couldn't immediately understand the specifics, Bessira realized clearly that the matter might be far more complicated.

"This needs further investigation... By the way, where's Flora? I haven't seen her lately."

If Silverstream City truly fell into a crisis, Flora—now a tutor at Saint Antonius Academy and an elite mage—could significantly ease her burden.

"Miss Flora has been busy investigating matters related to Lawrence. Lately she's probably spent most of her time operating in Lawrence's territory. Do you want me to contact her?"

Bessira shook her head. "Not for now. Lawrence's side does need watching; it's better if someone keeps an eye on them."

She had a feeling everything here might be tangled with Lawrence in ways both thin and numerous.

Colluding with necromancers? Or... they were doing something even more terrifying.

"Tell the Adventurers' Association that the number of undead creatures may significantly increase in the coming period!"

The maid nodded, about to leave, but Bessira called after her.

"How is Finnie doing recently?"

"Miss Finnie went to the church today. She ate something when she returned at dusk and then slept. Sherfilia has been staying with her. Also, she told me that Miss Finnie's adventuring party plans to depart for a mission tomorrow."

"Apart from that Lin Mo and his half-orc little girlfriend, the rest of the teammates are the city's Azure Orchid Team."

Bessira nodded. She had heard of the Azure Orchid Team—one of the more dependable adventuring groups in the city. Their strength and character were solid.

More importantly, Sherfilia was accompanying them.

"With her around, there's no need to worry."

The maid gave a small smile. "Her talent is much stronger than mine was back then."

"After all, this world is fair; when you lose something, you usually gain something else..."

As Bessira spoke, she glanced unobtrusively at Melissa's chest.

Melissa showed a helpless look. "Miss, you still care about this after all this time."

It had been many years since her son-in-law's death. Beyond helplessness, there was mostly bitter reflection.

Only in these moments did the lady display something of her former self—a lively, carefree girl.

The next day arrived.

Early morning, Lin Mo opened his eyes and habitually pushed aside the weight on top of him.

He had chosen not to help Ellie grind levels last night because they were going on an adventure today; he needed to be in good shape.

So he woke early and felt full of energy.

He patted the little wolf-girl beside him. Ellie curled up coquettishly and nuzzled closer.

Lin Mo didn't hold back and gave her a light smack on the butt.

The little wolf-girl instinctively flinched, then raised her head high...

Lin Mo massaged his forehead. Fine, his bad.

He tugged at Ellie’s collar to rouse her, washed up, and went to the familiar dining hall. Finnie was there too, rubbing her sleepy eyes and stumbling in under Sherfilia's guidance.

Their gazes met naturally with the maid, giving off a kind of "a hero meets a hero" vibe.

Or perhaps it was more like commiserating with someone of the same plight...

After a simple breakfast, everyone who had been sluggish perked up. They headed together to the Adventurers' Association.

As usual, Sherfilia entered "shadow" mode.

After her last overt appearance made her identity known, she could no longer hide entirely. Finnie, however, did not mind—she was not a wilful child and knew safety came first.

Knowing Sherfilia would accompany her made her even happier. Having a childhood friend along made the journey feel livelier, and with Sherfilia watching over them, she needn't worry about teammates getting into danger.

When they arrived at the association, the Azure Orchid Team had just shown up as well. Surprisingly, their captain Landon still looked half-asleep, a stark contrast to his usual mature, reliable demeanor.

Sheila, the team's ranger, was the first to spot them and waved a greeting.

Huck and the others followed. Landon reacted last and gave a couple of "haha" chuckles.

Benny handed him a cup of iced barley tea. Landon gulped it down and grimaced from the cold. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel~fire~net

When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his usual self.

"About today's missions..."

Now fully alert, Landon switched into work mode. "According to the plan we discussed, we should take two E-rank tasks and one D-rank task."

"I already have a good choice for that D-rank task."

Lin Mo nodded. Landon was an experienced adventurer; it made sense for him to pick tasks. It saved everyone time and effort—one of the benefits of cooperating.

"So, what's the task?"

Ellie asked curiously.

Landon led the group to the job board, searched the D-rank area, and tore down a job sheet.

"This one. What do you think?"

[Eliminate Icy Rotted Corpse]

Client: Adventurers' Association

Proceed to the Deep Forest Area of Roland Forest. Eliminate a special undead individual among necromantic creatures—the Icy Rotted Corpse.

Note 1: Target threat level confirmed as Level 4. Please accept with caution!

Note 2: Numerous other undead may be present around the target. Thorough scouting required before undertaking!

Lin Mo froze for a moment. Hadn't he seen this task before?

He had considered taking it then, but chose the safer route and didn't accept it...

Glad he hadn't. He remembered the initial threat assessment had been "tentatively Level 3." After re-evaluation, it had been raised to Level 4.

Naturally, the reward was increased from 200 gold to 330 gold.

The payout was generous, and though rotted corpses were disgusting, they yielded useful materials.

The core bone of a rotted corpse contains abundant elemental energy and is a decent magical crafting material. It can be made into a bone ring or ground into an alternate kind of "magic stone" that amplifies mana.

These bone rings and magic stones occupy similar niches. They don't affect a staff's bonus, but their effects differ. Magic stones increase elemental affinity; these bone rings increase mana of the corresponding element.

In simple terms, they act as a mana amplifier for a specific element.

Lin Mo was quite interested. If the effect proved useful, he might choose to forgo some or all of the cash reward to obtain the material.

For ordinary mages, such items only function if the element matches their affinity—for example, Landon would need a wind-element bone ring. Lin Mo, however, was different...

Fire, ice, water, earth, lightning, even light—he aimed to master them all and progress deeply.

Even elements he had yet to learn would be filled in later.

"What do you all think of this task?"

"I have no objection."

Lin Mo was the first to speak.

No objections from him meant Ellie and Finnie naturally agreed. Benny, steady by nature, felt instinctively that the task might be dangerous, but seeing they weren't the only team going—Lin Mo and his crew were joining—he nodded in approval.

A Level 4 threat might be too much for Azure Orchid alone, but with Lin Mo at a similar caliber to their captain, things looked different.

The rest agreed, and the D-rank task was settled.

"Then for the E-rank tasks..."

Landon had already considered options yesterday and searched purposefully, soon tearing down two job sheets.

[Eliminate Flame Cat Demon]

Client: Adventurers' Association

Proceed to the Deep Forest Area of Roland Forest. Eliminate a mutated cat demon—a Flame Cat Demon.

Note: Threat level possibly 2–2.5. Large numbers of companions may be present. Proceed with caution.

Lin Mo recalled the cat demons and the rune-cat demons he'd encountered. The Flame Cat Demon appeared to be a more unusual mutated individual.

When he was still a novice, rune-cat demons had been formidable opponents, but now...

It wasn't that Lin Mo was careless; with his current attributes, a threat level of 2–2.5 posed little danger.

Still, among E-rank tasks, this would be on the challenging side, hence the high reward—near the top for E-rank payouts.

If that Flame Cat Demon were above Level 3, the task might've been D-rank.

As for the second E-rank task...

[Clear Goblin Settlement]

Client: Adventurers' Association

Reward: 20 gold + 4 silver per goblin, 1.5 gold per mutated goblin, 6 gold for adult specimens, 15 gold for quasi-Bronze goblins

Proceed to the Deep Forest Area of Roland Forest. Eradicate the newly discovered Goblin Settlement No. 117.

Note: The settlement is small to medium-sized; quasi-Bronze goblins may be present!

Sure enough, goblins were unavoidable when taking jobs!

These creatures are numerous and weak; the rewards are reasonable, making them a safe choice for most adventurers.

Landon, as a mage, loved taking goblin settlement jobs to bombard them with spells.

Taking such jobs and thinning goblin numbers helps ease pressure on Silverstream City and may reduce the chance of goblins forming larger forces.

Even if cleaning one or two settlements has limited effect, it's better than doing nothing.

With the three missions decided, the group headed to Lena's counter.

Landon's team had no special contacts at the association, so any counter would do. Lin Mo, however, wanted to do something nice for the cat-eared girl.

Since arriving in Silverstream City, Lena's income had increased and stabilized. Even without Lin Mo and Ellie's help, she was far better off than before.

But seeing her good friends grow closer to Lin Mo, imagining they might occasionally hold hands, hug, or even... possibly kiss, gave Lena mixed feelings.

Happy for her friends, yet a bit hollow inside.

She wanted to get closer to Mr. Lin Mo too—to try holding hands and hugging.

But if things continued this way, the distance between her, Lin Mo, and Ellie might gradually widen.

Even with the best care, if she couldn't help, she couldn't truly fit in.

So after her living pressure eased, Lena tried new things.

A person can't be totally useless, right?

She bought many books and used her off-hours to try forging, weaving, planting, and so on.

Unsurprisingly, forging didn't suit her at all, but weaving, planting, and cooking progressed well.

She had little money now, but when she saved enough she might buy special soil to grow high-energy vegetables or rare herbs—earning money and helping Mr. Lin Mo's team in a small way.

But that special soil cost a lot, and seeds for high-level produce or herbs were expensive. Later cultivation would need continuous investment.

Each day after work, the cat-eared girl counted coins with her fingers, calculating how long until she could afford such things. Progress was slow, but life felt fulfilling and hopeful.

Lena remained as cute as when they first met, and her workflow at the counter grew smoother. When she returned the team's insignia, Lin Mo was a bit surprised.

He'd recently been somewhat neglectful toward her...

Previously he hadn't been able to help much: Lena wouldn't comfortably accept handouts, which would burden her, and he himself wasn't flush with cash then. There had been many expenses.

Though he still needed money now, with his income rising and earning easier, he could start considering helping.

Lena hadn't told anyone about her book purchases, but Ellie—her roommate—had noticed and mentioned them. Lena even sold off the forging books she couldn't learn from.

Once this trip earned enough, Lena planned to buy a house with an estate... and under the pretense of investment, purchase rare seeds and soil.

Besides combat professions, life professions exist in this world too.

The most respected is the alchemist.

Others include blacksmiths, planters, and chefs.

These professions are not simple farming or cooking. A great blacksmith can craft legendary weapons; skilled planters can, as their craft and level improve, increase yields, accelerate growth, enhance crop effects, and even cultivate new advanced produce.

High-level crops can have effects similar to high-grade monster meat and command high prices.

Chefs are the same; through culinary techniques they can amplify ingredients' effects, sometimes producing dishes comparable to certain alchemical potions.

Lena wanted to develop along these lines—good for her. She might achieve great success someday.

As for the costly early stages of these trades, he could help offset some of it.

At the start, it was just experimentation and practice, so not too expensive. Later, Lena would earn her own money and he'd only need to subsidize a bit.

With these thoughts, he bid Lena farewell and left the association with the others.

Landon held a map and sketched on it with charcoal.

He was clever. When he first reached Silvermoon Town, he and Lin Mo had almost simultaneously noticed an area likely to be hit by goblins.

With ample adventuring experience, planning a route was easy for him.

Soon Landon had the plan and route ready.

The first target, unsurprisingly, was the goblin settlement.

It was closer. Although the Flame Cat Demon task was at a similar distance, it was better to dismantle the goblin settlement as early as possible.

Their last trip had shown Lin Mo how disastrous excessive goblin numbers could be.

And goblins were great for leveling up low-tier skills quickly!

Lin Mo listed his current skills.

He set aside advanced techniques and focused on leveling the newly learned level-1 skills that would improve rapidly.

Including his already level-4 Ice Spike and Earthen Shield, these two were top priorities and were close to evolving.

He made Ice Spike the primary upgrade target.

Earthen Shield wasn't urgent. With Earthen Shield plus Great Shield Charge, he could charge into goblin packs to level up quickly.

So when encountering stray monsters on the road, Ice Spike would be perfect.

They left Silverstream City and entered the forest.

Compared to when Lin Mo first came, the number of adventurers in the city had grown, so groups hunting goblins were commonly seen nearby.

Lin Mo reverted to his previous habit: "stealing kills."

The first time he struck, he startled Landon and the others, who hesitated about whether to stop him.

They were established adventurers; it felt wrong to bully newcomers.

Yet after Lin Mo used two Ice Spikes to kill four goblins, he simply patted his butt and walked off, leaving both the "stolen-from" rookie adventurers and Landon bewildered.

"I remember... I heard a rumor recently about some strange person in Roland Forest who only helps kill monsters but doesn't take materials. They called him the 'living angel.' That won't be you, will it?"

Huck, a lively fellow who frequented taverns, heard the most gossip.

Lin Mo felt awkward. He hadn't done it that many times—how had he become famous?

Mainly because his behavior was odd. When high-level adventurers meet low-level ones, the unscrupulous bully them and the decent ignore them. Suddenly a bizarre man would appear and pretend to bully a rookie. The rookie, resigned, would turn around and find that...

This man didn't take materials?

This strong contrast drew attention and made fodder for bards. Tales spread.

"So why do you do that?"

Huck asked curiously; he'd wanted to ask since hearing the rumor.

What was Lin Mo's motive?

Lin Mo could only force an explanation: "You could say hard work makes up for talent. I'm not a genius—I practice a lot..."

Landon's mouth twitched; he had no words.

Huck bluntly said, "Yeah right, I don't buy it!"

"Well, if you need it, next time you run into goblins on the road, you can have them all."

Lin Mo laughed inwardly—no need to specifically tell them anymore.