Chapter 257: Happy Task Rewards.

They would have to wait another week for further news, and no amount of worrying would make the results arrive any sooner.

Hopefully, Chris was safe and sound. They could only pray he hadn't gotten himself killed with his ridiculous antics.

At exactly one o'clock that afternoon, the Light Squad gathered in the Adventurers' Guild hall.

Shu Li took the Starba Grass everyone had collected out of his storage pouch and placed it on the assignment submission counter.

"Hello! I'm here to turn in an assignment. Five hundred stalks of Starba Grass, ready for inspection!" he announced cheerfully.

The attendant stared in surprise at the large bag of herbs on the counter. Nearby adventurers overheard Shu Li and turned to look.

"Is that really Starba Grass?"

"How did a mere Mage Apprentice manage to collect Starba Grass?"

"I heard two high-ranking adventuring parties were killed in Woba Grand Canyon yesterday. And these Mage Apprentices made it back alive?"

"You don't think they're trying to pass off fake herbs and swindle the reward money, do you?"

"If they want to continue working as adventurers, I doubt they'd ruin their own futures like that."

"Well, I refuse to believe a bunch of Mage Apprentices could enter that canyon and come out without a scratch."

"Maybe they just got lucky?"

"Exactly! Stop being so jealous!"

"Five thousand gold coins for the reward... Sigh. The price of Starba Grass is going to rise."

"If they made it back alive, that must mean the canyon isn't dangerous anymore. We should head out and explore it right away."

"No, we'd better wait until the Mages' Guild issues an official notice confirming it's safe."

"The Mages' Guild started investigating three years ago, and they still haven't solved the problem. How many adventurers have died for nothing in the meantime?"

"Enough. If you've got time to complain, you'd be better off improving your skills."

With their exceptionally sharp hearing, the Little Fairies caught most of the surrounding conversation.

Dixio folded his arms, lifted his chin, and muttered indignantly, "These people are disgusting."

Just because they couldn't complete the assignment themselves, they had the nerve to accuse others of cheating.

What rotten minds!

"They're just sour because they couldn't get their hands on the reward!" Angel said. "Ignore them."

The other members of the Light Squad held their heads high, calmly accepting the envious, jealous, and resentful looks directed their way.

Not only had they returned unharmed, but they had also exceeded the assignment requirements.

Besides the five hundred stalks of Starba Grass Shu Li was submitting, they had collected more than two hundred extra stalks, which they could sell separately for a handsome price.

Seriu had already found a buyer for the herbs. The man was trustworthy, offered reasonable prices, and treated every customer fairly.

After counting the Starba Grass and confirming that none of it was counterfeit, the attendant happily accepted the bag of herbs.

He took out a form, filled in the necessary information, and asked Shu Li, as the team's captain, to sign it.

Shu Li picked up a quill and wrote a graceful line of Elven script in the bottom-right corner.

"Huh? This is..." The attendant blinked at the Elven writing.

Shu Li glanced down, stuck out his tongue, and hurriedly signed his name again in the Continental Common Language.

"Sorry about that! I've been cramming Elven lately to learn magic incantations. Haha!"

He had been studying Elven for eighteen years. By now, it had long since become his first language in this world, and he instinctively wrote in Elven script before anything else.

As he watched the attendant stamp the Adventurers' Guild seal beside his signature, Shu Li silently reminded himself that success or failure often came down to the smallest details.

If he wanted to avoid exposing his Fairy identity again, he would have to be even more careful about everything he said and did.

"Could you please show me your adventuring team badges?" the attendant asked politely.

Shu Li immediately produced eleven badges and handed them over.

The attendant placed them inside an exquisitely crafted magical device.

A beam of light shone from the device onto the badges. Moments later, the white crystals embedded in them turned green.

All eleven adventurer badges had been upgraded.

The attendant smiled at Shu Li.

"Congratulations! Your team has advanced from Level Zero to Level One. Keep up the good work, and I hope you'll reach Level Nine soon!"

"Thank you!"

Shu Li collected the upgraded badges and distributed them to his teammates.

The members of the Light Squad couldn't stop admiring their new badges.

"And here's your reward."

The attendant opened a storage drawer behind him and took out a small storage pouch containing five thousand gold coins.

Shu Li accepted it with both hands, practically bursting with excitement.

This was the largest reward they had ever earned.

Each member would receive 450 gold coins, while the remaining 50 would go into the team's shared funds for emergencies and other expenses.

"Come on! Let's find somewhere to split the money!" Shu Li waved enthusiastically at his teammates.

"Follow me," Seriu said calmly.

Five thousand gold coins was no small sum.

Of the Light Squad's members, Seriu was the only one publicly known to be a Senior Mage. Everyone else appeared to be a Mage Apprentice.

To anyone with dishonest intentions, they were practically a flock of fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Although public security in the Central Court was generally good, there was no accounting for unscrupulous individuals.

The moment they stepped outside the Adventurers' Guild, someone would probably start following them.

Nobody objected to Seriu's suggestion, and the group quickly followed him out.

Seriu led them toward an inconspicuous carriage parked by the roadside and invited everyone inside.

Once they had all boarded, Halis, whom Seriu had recruited as a temporary coachman, flicked the reins.

The two horses broke into a gallop, swiftly turning into an alley. After a series of twists and turns, the carriage soon shook off several unwanted "tails."

Shu Li clutched the storage pouch hanging from his waist and exhaled.

"So collecting a reward is actually this dangerous?"

"Never underestimate how ugly human nature can be," Seriu said gravely.

Having lived in the Central Court for eighteen years, he knew adventurers all too well.

Some relied on their superior strength to take shortcuts, frequently robbing weaker adventuring parties to enrich themselves.

All-human adventuring parties were generally more restrained. Mixed-race parties, however, varied wildly in character, with members often harboring their own schemes. Dark Elves, goblins, and half-orcs in particular could be utterly devoid of moral restraint.

Ace nodded in agreement.

"Seriu is right. Sometimes the difference between good and evil is a single decision."

Hector clicked his tongue.

"Can't they be punished for their crimes?"

Seriu shook his head.

"There's no evidence."

Those who dared commit crimes in the Central Court were usually clever, cunning individuals who knew exactly how to avoid leaving evidence behind.

The adventuring parties whose rewards were stolen had little choice but to accept their misfortune.

The Light Squad had successfully collected five thousand gold coins on their very first assignment. Naturally, they had already attracted unwanted attention.

"You really thought of everything," Shu Li said admiringly.

He and his teammates had been far too simpleminded about the whole thing.

They had been so busy celebrating that they hadn't realized someone might try to steal the enormous reward they had worked so hard to earn.

Of course, if someone actually tried to rob him, he wouldn't be afraid.

Anyone who dared steal from a Senior Grand Mage had better think very carefully about whether they were strong enough to survive the attempt.

After twenty minutes, the carriage stopped before an ancient castle bearing the unmistakable marks of time.

The members of the Light Squad climbed down and lined up in front of the castle gates, gazing upward in amazement.

"What is this place?" Siti asked.

"Drabe Castle," Seriu explained. "It has the best restaurant in the Central Court. It's an entertainment complex combining dining, leisure, and shopping. It also has highly secure private rooms that block magical and perceptual surveillance. We'll reserve one, divide the reward, and then go to the top floor to sell our remaining Starba Grass."

"Sounds good to me," Shu Li replied.

The leftover Starba Grass would be sold according to how much each person had collected.

Those who gathered more would earn more, while those who gathered less would earn less.

Most importantly, the selling price was twenty gold coins per stalk, twice the rate offered by the assignment.

"Awesome!" Budno licked his lips. "I hope the food here doesn't disappoint."

Amanda rubbed his hands together.

"I want seafood."

He hadn't eaten seafood in almost half a month.

His stockpile in his storage ring was nearly exhausted, and lately he'd been eating nothing but meat from land animals. He was getting a little tired of it.

"Seafood? Did someone say there's seafood?"

Falm shot out of the Fire God's Mark on the back of Shu Li's hand, practically drooling with anticipation.

Shu Li looked at the three gluttons, all wearing equally ravenous expressions, and sighed with a hand pressed to his forehead.

With Seriu leading the way, the group entered the castle and requested a large private room that could accommodate more than ten people.

The room was elegantly designed and lavishly furnished. High-ranking magical formations covered the surrounding walls, perfectly shielding the interior from outside surveillance.

The eleven of them gathered around a long table.

As captain of the Light Squad, Shu Li occupied the seat at its head.

The humans, represented by Ace, sat to his left, while the Little Fairies and young dragon, represented by Kumandi, sat to his right.

Shu Li took out the storage pouch containing their reward, opened it, and tipped its contents onto the table.

Clatter, clatter, clatter—

Gleaming gold coins poured endlessly onto the tabletop, quickly forming a glittering little mountain.

"Whoa!"

The sight of so much gold instantly awakened Amanda's dragon instinct for hoarding treasure.

His pupils involuntarily narrowed into vertical slits.

Angel noticed and hurriedly reached over to cover his eyes.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

Amanda swallowed hard and struggled to suppress his desire.

He couldn't help it!

Dragons loved gold coins more than anything.

What could possibly be more wonderful than transforming into his dragon form and sleeping sprawled across a mountain of gold?

Back in his cave on Dragon Island, Amanda had a little mountain of gold coins large enough to serve as a bed.

Ever since entering the Human World, he hadn't enjoyed such intimate contact with his beloved treasure in ages.

Shu Li clapped his hands.

"Four hundred and fifty gold coins each! Everyone count out your own share!"

"No problem! Counting gold coins is my favorite thing!" Dixio declared enthusiastically.

"Let's see who can count the fastest!" Budno suggested.

Dixio rolled up his sleeves, brimming with competitive spirit.

"You're on!"

Before long, the only sound in the private room was the cheerful clatter of gold coins being counted.

Meanwhile, as the Light Squad happily divided its reward, Ilio sat elegantly on a sofa elsewhere, holding a cup of tea and sipping it at his leisure.

"...So thanks to Sperien and his teammates, the crisis in Woba Grand Canyon has essentially been resolved."

On the sofa opposite him, Mage Sovereign Danlov Girard fell into deep thought after hearing his account.

The danger lurking in Woba Grand Canyon had first been discovered three years ago.

Danlov had dispatched several Grand Mages to investigate, but they had suffered devastating casualties.

At the time, Danlov himself was still a Saint Mage, approaching the end of his lifespan. He simply hadn't possessed the strength or energy to resolve the canyon's problems.

So he had traveled to the Elven Kingdom to seek advice from his teacher, the Elven King.

If he could persuade two Elves of Mage Sovereign rank to accompany him into the canyon and investigate, that would have been even better.

However, the Elven King had refused his request.

Instead, he had told Danlov to wait.

Before long, the crisis in Woba Grand Canyon would resolve itself.

And today, Ilio had specifically visited the Magic Tower to inform him that Sperien's Light Squad had gone to the canyon yesterday on an herb-gathering assignment and, while they were there, happened to kill a Demon Lord from hell.

Danlov had been utterly astonished.

Had his teacher really foreseen this outcome three years ago?

Furthermore, the one who killed the Demon Lord hadn't been the Elven King disguised as a human.

It had been Sperien, the Little Fairy wielding the Sword of Viona!

Previously, Danlov hadn't understood why the Elven King would permit an underage Little Fairy to travel across the continent and gain experience.

Now, he was beginning to understand.

Perhaps Sperien was a Little Fairy favored by the God of Fate.

He was destined to accomplish great things in the future and bring light to the world.

Ilio finished the last of his tea, set down his cup, and rose to his feet with a leisurely stretch.

"Although the Demon Lord is dead, there must still be plenty of lesser monsters lurking in the canyon. You should send some mages to clear them out as soon as possible."

Danlov emerged from his thoughts.

"Don't worry. I will."

Countless rare natural treasures lay hidden in the depths of the grand canyon.

It was one of the favorite destinations of adventuring parties and mercenary groups, and they absolutely couldn't allow monsters to occupy it.

Ilio waved a hand.

"Well, I won't keep you from your work."

The documents piled on Danlov's desk were already stacked like a mountain.

If he didn't deal with them soon, the pile would only grow taller.

Apparently, [N O V E L I G H T] being the ruler of the Central Court was no easy job.

There was an endless amount of work to do every day.

In the mere half hour they had spent talking, five different mages had entered the office to deliver documents.

After Ilio departed, Danlov's expression turned solemn.

He immediately summoned all the Saint Mages to prepare for a meeting on how to conduct a thorough cleanup of Woba Grand Canyon.

By the time the Light Squad finished dividing their reward and selling the extra Starba Grass, everyone's pockets were considerably heavier.

At long last, they had earned back the money they had spent on teleportation arrays.

Nothing put the mind at ease quite like having a substantial sum of money in hand.

"Come on! Let's go shopping!" Shu Li declared with boundless enthusiasm.

There was a shopping street on the castle's top floor, selling all kinds of merchandise.

Perhaps if they wandered around for a while, they would find something they liked.

Hector was truly impressed by these Little Fairies.

They worked enthusiastically to earn money, then spent it with equal enthusiasm.

They really did live however they pleased!