Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

When summer truly arrived in this world, one often realized it only after already being completely immersed within it.

By the time Lance returned from Copper Creek Forest, the town streets had already been blanketed in gentle orange-red twilight.

He did not head straight home. Instead, he first stopped by the Adventurers’ Guild to settle his commissions.

Today, he had accepted extermination missions for both Gnolls and Goblins.

After turning in both extermination quests, he had brought back proof of twenty Gnolls and thirty Goblins in total.

This trip alone earned him nearly thirty shining silver coins.

What surprised him was that after the three-person party led by Toby returned to town that afternoon, they had actually gone out of their way to report the detailed rescue process to the Guild.

With this solid battle report as proof, combined with the original extermination rewards, the Guild additionally settled around twenty to thirty Merit Points for Lance.

Listening to the amount of Merit Points, Lance silently calculated that after saving up a little more, he would head to the Guild’s Merit Exchange and trade for several special skill books.

When he had previously browsed through the Merit list, he had also taken interest in some practical equipment carrying special effects. Those items could further increase his monster-farming efficiency in the wilderness.

However, the true value of Merit Points would only fully reveal itself during the Underground Dungeon era. That was where Merit Points were truly consumed in massive quantities.

Thus, compared to money and Merit Points, the harvest of Skill Experience displayed on the panel brought him even greater joy.

The Gnolls in the outer forest were fairly powerful, each consistently contributing seven points of Skill Experience.

Including the Goblins, the total settlement today granted him a full 260 points of universal experience in one go.

For now, he planned to hoard all those experience points.

After obtaining new skills later, he wanted to properly enjoy the satisfying sensation of instantly maxing out proficiency and smashing out a rare Specialty in one shot.

After leaving the Guild, Lance first returned home to change into a comfortable set of casual clothes.

Then he walked to the tavern at the street corner and spent money on two large barrels of strong Dwarven ale, along with some spiced jerky suitable for drinking.

While passing by a butcher shop, he additionally spent a few copper coins to purchase a large bag of pure minced jerky completely free of any seasoning.

He hung the items from his waist and strode along the clear stream toward the Veterans’ Guild.

Tonight, he planned to visit a reliable elder who had always taken great care of him.

That elder’s name was Ryan, a retired veteran who had once served together with the original owner’s father in the Third Legion.

Ever since seeing that military emblem, Lance had already more or less formed a suspect in his heart.

Coincidentally, back when he still worked as a Scribe, Uncle Ryan had repeatedly told him to make time to visit him.

He said there was something important concerning Lance’s future that he needed to explain face-to-face.

Later, because Lance had been busy advancing into an Adventurer and training at intense levels every day, he ended up delaying the matter.

Today was the perfect opportunity to ask exactly what this important matter was while delivering the alcohol.

After early summer arrived, the temperature had clearly risen considerably.

Lance noticed that the moss-covered wooden posts along the streamside path were filled with all kinds of woven vine baskets.

Inside them were chilled gooseberries and cheap ale belonging to the town housewives.

As the cool stream continuously washed over the baskets, they produced faint and pleasant clinking sounds.

At shallow shoals where the stream flowed slowly, a few barefoot children could occasionally be seen.

They wore insect-repelling grass rings on their heads while happily splashing and playing in the water, sending crystal-clear sprays everywhere.

Without realizing it, Lance had already followed the streamside trail to the stone arch bridge bearing a huge old waterwheel.

Accompanied by the dull creaking sounds of the wooden waterwheel turning—

Lance stopped and skillfully walked beneath the bridge toward an abandoned half-body shrine.

He crouched down, placed his fingers in his mouth, and blew two soft whistles.

“Little Black, Doubao, I’m here.”

As the whistle faded, two filthy little puppies wagged their tails and crawled out from deep inside the shrine.

They happily ran to Lance’s feet and affectionately rubbed against the back of his hand.

These were stray dogs Lance had previously encountered on the streets.

Back then, he had originally considered adopting them, but at the time he had lived in an attic, and the environment truly was not suitable.

Later, after earning money through the panel, he had moved into a large house with a courtyard.

But he had already decided that once he became strong enough, he would leave Graystone Town to adventure in the broader world.

Ordinary household dogs like these simply were not suitable for following him on adventures.

Adopting them only to cruelly abandon them later was something Lance could not bring himself to do.

Thus, the thought of bringing them home gradually faded away.

If he was going to raise pets in the future, then he would need to capture special monsters capable of adapting to high-intensity combat.

Lance smiled and opened the bag, grabbing a large handful of minced jerky.

He poured the shredded meat into the crude dog bowl carved from scrap wood placed before the two puppies.

Next, he carefully folded the remaining large half-bag of minced jerky and securely stuffed it into a dry corner of the shrine.

That way, they would not go hungry tomorrow and would also have plenty of food to eat.

After setting down the food, Lance stood up, dusted the crumbs off his hands, picked up the ale barrels, and continued on his way.

The two puppies stopped eating.

Turning around, they barked twice toward Lance’s retreating figure.

Lance turned back and waved with a gentle smile before striding away.

Just as Lance had barely left the bridge tunnel—

A small agile figure suddenly flipped down from a dark corner above the stone arch bridge.

This was a mysterious person wrapped completely in a tattered oversized cloak.

The two puppies, who had been eating moments earlier, immediately whimpered pitifully in fright upon seeing the sudden figure descend. They did not even dare continue eating and obediently sat side by side on the ground.

A distinct swallowing sound came from beneath the hood.

The cloaked figure completely ignored the two trembling puppies.

She directly extended her arm into the depths of the shrine and pulled out the bag of minced jerky Lance had just hidden.

Seeing tomorrow’s food supply being stolen away, the two puppies whimpered softly in grievance, their eyes filled with reluctance toward the food.

The cloaked figure originally intended to take the entire bag of minced jerky away to fill her stomach.

However, after lowering her head, she happened to meet those two pairs of watery innocent eyes.

She struggled internally for a moment before ultimately sighing. Stretching out her pale hand, she grabbed a large handful of minced jerky from the bag and generously tossed it into the crude dog bowl.

“Eat.”

The cloaked figure muttered softly before casually squatting beside the two puppies and grabbing handfuls of jerky from the bag, stuffing them into her mouth in large bites.

From afar, the scene beneath the bridge looked just like two small stray dogs and one big stray dog squatting together.