Free Web NovelChapter 52: Chapter 52: Harvest
"Next time, we’ll offer a higher price. We have to see if we can recruit that Mage!"
"The count is complete. Everything’s here."
Eira looked up, her gaze sweeping over the people behind Marcus.
Swordsman Gray, Assassin Hill, Ranger Valles...
’Wait a second.’
’Where’s Zelir?’
’He always came with them to turn in quests before. Why isn’t he here this time?’
’Besides, Marcus and the others looked like they’d been through a tough battle.’
’Broken Armor, exhausted expressions, and bloodstains all over them. Could it be...’
"Mr. Marcus, were there any casualties on this mission?"
Eira felt a sudden pang of anxiety and couldn’t help but ask, "I don’t see Zelir."
"He’s injured. He’s at the clinic right now," Marcus replied.
Hearing that Zelir was only injured, Eira relaxed slightly and let out a sigh of relief.
Gray, however, perked up with interest. "Our team’s big guy, Gak, isn’t here either. How come you didn’t ask about him?"
"Oh... How is Gak? Is he injured too?" Eira asked, playing along.
"Yes, he’s injured too," Gray said with a laugh.
Eira felt a little uncomfortable under Gray’s smiling gaze.
"Mr. Gray, please don’t look at me and laugh like that..."
"I’m just looking at a girl who makes a special point of remembering Zelir."
The smile on Gray’s face didn’t fade. "You’re very concerned about him, aren’t you?"
"Mr. Gray!"
Eira’s face flushed red. "Please don’t make jokes like that!"
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you." Gray raised his hands in surrender.
Eira placed a heavy pouch into Marcus’s hands. The JINGLE JANGLE from inside announced the generous reward.
"This is your reward for the mission. Please take it."
"Thank you." Marcus took the pouch, his expression finally relaxing a bit.
’Fifty-three gold coins and fifty silver coins—an absolute fortune!’
「At the guild entrance.」
"Well, that concludes this mission."
Marcus handed out the pre-divided money pouches to the others. "I hope we have the chance to fight side-by-side again."
"Of course. It was a pleasure working with you." Hill pulled up his hood, and his figure vanished around a corner without a trace.
...
「Early morning.」
Zelir opened his eyes.
He hadn’t slept well. The throbbing pain from the wound on his calf had bothered him all night.
Besides the physical injury, there were also the aftereffects of nearly depleting his Magic Power. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Normally, Zelir could cast three Arcane Missiles at most. freewebnøvel.coɱ
But in the Gray Wood Forest, not only did he cast three Arcane Missiles, but he also used some Level Two Magic on top of that.
Even after a night’s sleep, the Magic Power in his sea of consciousness hadn’t fully recovered.
His dreams all night had been fragmented and bizarre.
After returning to town yesterday, Zelir had gone straight to the clinic.
But the doctor had only reapplied some new medicinal powder, changed his bandages to clean gauze, and reminded him not to engage in any strenuous activity for a while.
Other than that, there wasn’t much else they could do.
His eyes flickered, and the Attributes panel appeared.
Power: 65
Agility: 61
Constitution: 68
Spirit: 71
Intelligence: 82
Perception: 30
Charm: 49
Lucky: 41
The analysis progress for the Great Creation Skill was still stuck at an immovable 0%, but the Evil Words Skill was at 20%.
Zelir estimated that at this rate, the Evil Words Skill was probably also Level Two Magic.
’A Control Magic from the Spirit Magic System... I’m actually looking forward to it a little.’
Zelir sighed, propped himself up with his arms, and sat up in bed. Then he picked up the simple crutch leaning nearby and limped downstairs.
"Good morning, Zelir."
Aurora’s energetic voice called out from behind the counter.
"Good morning..."
Zelir scratched his head. He was a little surprised to see Aurora. "Shouldn’t you be off duty and resting?"
"It’s the first day of the month! I switch shifts on the first and fifteenth of every month. I’m on the day shift now."
"The start of the month..." Zelir murmured thoughtfully.
The calendar on the Candia Continent was more or less the same as in his previous life, with twelve months in a year. The only difference was that the months’ names were mostly derived from the seasons and agriculture.
For example, there was the "Budding Moon" in spring, the "Hot Wind Moon" in summer, and the current month was the "Harvest Moon."
’Since it’s the beginning of the month, I need to find time to visit the Mage’s Guild today.’
’I have to pick up my Mage stipend and complete a mandatory commission.’
’I wonder what kind of mission they’ll assign me... Maybe they’ll see that I’m injured and just waive it?’ Zelir muttered to himself.
Aurora thoughtfully helped Zelir down the stairs and sat him down in a warm spot by the fireplace.
"Look at you. You were careless, weren’t you?"
Aurora crouched down and poked Zelir’s calf, then looked up at him. "Is your injury any better?"
"It’s so-so. It’ll just have to heal slowly," Zelir said with a pout.
"I told you to be careful."
Aurora’s brows furrowed slightly. "Were those goblins really that hard to deal with?"
’The goblins were fine. It was the people who were hard to deal with. That damn Drake Squad,’ Zelir complained silently.
But he lied smoothly.
"Yeah, those little green-skins were darting all over the place. It was annoying to watch, and I got cut when I wasn’t paying attention."
’Having an injured leg was a huge hassle. But thankfully, the Arrow had only grazed his calf instead of piercing it. That would have been much more trouble.’
’Besides, compared to wiping out a squad with three Middle Level Professionals without losing anyone from our own side, this little injury is nothing.’
’41 points of Lucky, please keep showing me your divine power!’ Zelir prayed in his heart.
Aurora quickly brought him breakfast.
A bowl of steaming hot congee, a few slices of freshly toasted, fluffy bread, and a bowl of vegetable soup.
The Night Flower Inn was quiet in the early morning. In the dawn light streaming through the window, dust motes danced randomly.
Zelir was quietly enjoying his breakfast, but he had barely taken two bites when the door to the Night Flower Inn was pushed open.
The newcomer was Marcus. He walked straight over and sat down in front of Zelir.
"Have you had breakfast?" Zelir greeted him.
"Uh... not yet," Marcus answered honestly.
"Aurora, another one of the same!" Zelir called, waving towards the counter.
"You got it!" Aurora replied cheerfully.
"Thanks... Oh, right, this is your payment."
Marcus handed a cloth pouch to Zelir. "The mission reward was twelve gold coins, plus the money we found on them, it’s sixteen gold coins in total."
"As for the money from selling the items, we’ll have to wait another two days. Offloading so much equipment at once would arouse suspicion," Marcus added.
"No problem, I’m not in a hurry." Zelir took the money, his mood improving considerably.
’My personal fortune is now over twenty gold coins!’
’Hard work always pays off.’
