Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Inside Edgar's forge, the young dwarf owner handed Lin Mo the repaired weapon and leather armor with a broad smile.

"Looks like the forging went smoothly yesterday?"

Seeing his goofy, pleased expression, Lin Mo couldn't help teasing him.

Edgar said as he stroked his relatively short beard, his pride obvious and impossible to hide.

"My forging skills have improved a little. In a couple of days you'll be able to see the finished product."

He must have been referring to the dagger made from the rune-marked cat demon's fang?

The minotaur's horns were to be used in bow-making and required a period of special treatment, and those two great axes were, after all, just ordinary iron work—so the only thing that could make Edgar this happy was that dagger.

"That's something to look forward to."

After changing into the leather armor and skipping any further small talk, Lin Mo waved and turned to leave.

"If you go out on missions, remember to bring me back some materials..."

Even after walking dozens of meters away, Edgar's shouting still carried clearly. Lin Mo glanced back and thought he saw the old woman next door stepping out with a broom.

That old woman wasn't simple—she'd apparently been an adventurer in her youth, saved enough money to retire, and then opened a general store in town.

Good luck to Edgar...

On the way, Lin Mo bought some necessary supplies and a bigger, sturdier backpack made entirely of leather for five silver coins.

Wearing the new pack made him look a bit bulky from a distance; the craftsmanship was only passable.

But most adventurers clearly didn't care about appearances—practicality mattered most. If he had this pack earlier, Lin Mo could have even skinned those two minotaurs and carried the hides.

Although less valuable than the horns, the hides could still fetch around ten silver coins, enough for lodging and daily supplies.

There were two important things to take care of today.

Lin Mo went straight to the Adventurers' Association. The moment he stepped in, he habitually looked toward the corner.

The catgirl wearing a beret was waving at him.

Lin Mo smiled and headed for the quest board.

Time to pick the next mission.

Because of his increased strength, F-rank missions no longer caught his eye. After a quick scan and confirming there were no unusual missions like the previous 100-gold rescue job, Lin Mo focused mainly on the E-rank section.

In theory, now that he was a professional, he could consider D-rank missions, but unless he had a full professional team behind him, D-rank tasks were still quite high even for professionals.

He didn't intend to rush into self-challenges—he preferred steady growth.

After all, it was because he didn't have reliable teammates...

[CONDENSATE! CONDENSATE!]

Type: Hunt/Material Collection

Go to Roland Forest, find and kill 1 Large Slime, collect its condensate.

Note: The target is for alchemical research. Please handle with care to avoid damage!

Richard... Lin Mo remembered the name. He had issued the slime-hunting task Lin Mo had done before.

A Large Slime is a special type among slimes, comparable to Mutated Goblins and rune-marked cat demons—an elite-class monster.

Theoretically, such a creature is actually easier than the rune-marked cat demon; overall difficulty is about the same as a Mutated Goblin, but Lin Mo didn't want to take this task.

He really disliked slimes. They degraded weapons, requiring coating afterward, and the process of collecting condensate after killing them was disgusting.

If there was another choice, Lin Mo definitely would not take this job.

Type: Hunt/Material Collection

Go to Roland Forest, hunt an adult earth bear, bring back the hide. Minimize damage to the fur during combat; when skinning, keep the hide as intact as possible!

It was Edgar who posted this task.

Looks like he planned to make a set of leather armor from an earth bear's pelt?

The armor Lin Mo wore was made by Edgar from a black swamp crocodile; it was good quality, but an earth bear's pelt would undoubtedly offer stronger protection. Once Edgar finished it, Lin Mo might consider switching.

This quest went into the candidate list...

Lin Mo continued scanning and finally narrowed his focus to two tasks.

One was Edgar's earth bear job; the other was a caravan escort mission.

Roland Town's recent situation was indeed bad, causing most small merchant guilds to suspend normal trade. But larger, wealthier merchant houses could still find ways—such as paying for strong adventurers to provide escort.

This escort's destination was Lania City, the regional capital Roland Town belonged to. The distance was a bit far but acceptable—and he could take the chance to visit the city...

Shaking his head because he couldn't decide yet, Lin Mo went to the counter and greeted Lena behind it.

"Hello, Mr. Lin Mo. Would you like to accept a quest, meow?"

Lin Mo nodded. "I'll decide on a quest later. Before that, can the guild post recruitment notices for teammates?"

"You're recruiting teammates?"

"Yes. A few friends got injured on the last mission, so they have to rest for a while..."

"It's possible, but if you're trying to start an adventurer team from scratch, it could take a long time." Follow current novels on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Lena explained a bit, and Lin Mo quickly understood the difficulty.

The reason was simple: most lone adventurers preferred to join established teams. Lin Mo was alone and not famous; starting from zero had no appeal.

Unless he flaunted his professional status, but that would attract many lazy hangers-on, and screening them out would be a hassle.

In short, it would take several days at least.

Lin Mo didn't want to wait that long, and he didn't have to form a team himself, so he asked, "Are there any reliable adventurer teams recruiting recently?"

"Of course. There are recruitment notices on that board, and you can leave your information here. I can post it for you—if a team leader is interested, they'll contact you."

That sounded time-consuming—maybe he was just impatient.

He sighed. With no better option, that was the only way.

Just as Lin Mo was about to fill out his information, Lena suddenly remembered something and became a little excited. "Oh, I have a friend. Her team is recruiting lately. If you're willing..."