Mike nodded.

"That's more than enough for now," he said.

The bald man waved a hand. "You did well. Clean kills always pay better."

A worker handed Mike a small pouch with the coins. Mike checked it quickly, then tied it to his belt.

"If you hunt more, bring the bodies here," the man added. "Valor City always needs materials."

"I will," Mike replied.

He turned and left the appraisal hall.

Back in the main guild hall, Mike took a moment to think.

He now had money, a quest, and an evaluator watching him. The next step was preparation.

He walked out of the guild and headed into the market district.

The streets were packed with shops selling weapons, armor, potions, and basic supplies. Mike stopped at a general store and bought a few necessities—torches, a small shovel, cloth wraps, and an extra knife for harvesting.

He can't expose the stuff from his world as the visitors were not treated properly as in most of the cases they were discovered, the Orogin World people like to dissect them and learn their secrets, which Mike never want to happen to him.

After that, he found a cheap inn near the guild and rented a small room for the night. ALthough he called it cheap, it was by the standard of this big city as the room he booked was clean and come with kitchen and bathroom even.

It was the White Cat Inn, a small inn compared to the bigger ones in town, but it had existed even before Valor City became a proper city.

Inside the room, Mike sat on the bed and checked his gear one last time. His weapon was ready, his supplies were packed, and Emperor was back inside his body for the time being.

"We head out before sunset," Mike said, looking at the tattoo on his hand.

Emperor let out a quiet growl in response.

"For now, let's learn how to harvest the herbs," Mike muttered as he took out the book he had purchased earlier. He flipped to the Night Roses section and began reading carefully.

"They're mesmerizing," Mike murmured as he looked at the illustration of the beautiful velvet-violet roses.

But that wasn't all.

Another important note caught his attention—the flowers were highly poisonous. Anyone harvesting them had to coat their hands in mana or aura before touching them.

"Damn. No wonder this was classified as an E-rank quest while most herb-harvesting jobs are F-rank," Mike said, nodding as he memorized the details.

When the sun began to set, Mike left the city through the main gate, showing his temporary adventurer card to the guards.

The forest outside Valor City slowly grew darker.

Night was coming.

And with it, the Night Roses.

Mike waited by the agte as the receptionist said, his evaluator will arrive on time, which is 5 minutes from now.

As he was waiting, a woman arrived.

She was a hot, mature woman, wearing extremely revealing clothes—if they could even be called clothes. She wore a cowgirl-style outfit with a wide hat, gloves, and boots, but aside from that, she had on something like a bikini-style armor with an open long robe over it. From the back, her body was mostly covered, but from the front, almost everything was visible, with only her private parts properly protected.

As Mike was accidentally checking her out, she was also looking him over.

"Are you the one taking the evaluation?" she asked.

Mike nodded, quickly keeping his eyes on her face.

"Look at my breasts again and I'll kill you," she said flatly.

Mike wondered for a moment if she had some strange sense of humor. She was wearing something like a bikini and yet telling people not to look.

He simply nodded and turned away.

"Okay then. You can evaluate me however you want," he said.

He called out Emperor and mounted him smoothly.

"Do you need a ride?" Mike asked.

The woman looked at the wolf with interest.

"Hm, I've never seen this beast before. What kind is it?"

She stepped closer to Emperor.

"He's an alpha among Ether Fang Wolves," Mike replied simply.

She nodded in approval.

"My name is Katarina, by the way," she said. "I'm a veteran A-rank adventurer, and I'll be your evaluator—for the next month, or however long it takes you to finish your evaluation quests."

She then climbed onto Emperor and sat behind Mike.

"We can go now," Mike said, nodding.

He urged Emperor forward.

Their destination was the Velvet Valley, the place where Night Roses bloomed. It wasn't far from the city—about a fifteen-minute walk. During the day, it looked like an expensive garden where city people often walked, but at night, it became dangerous, as many poisonous flowers bloomed there.

Emperor moved at a steady pace, his steps quiet as they left the city lights behind.

Katarina sat casually behind Mike, one hand resting lightly on Emperor's fur.

"Relax," she said. "I won't interfere unless you mess up or do something stupid."

"That's fair," Mike replied.

As they entered Velvet Valley, the air changed. It felt heavier, and there was a faint, sharp smell mixed with sweet fragrance.

"This place looks different at night," Mike said.

"That's because it is," Katarina replied. "Many poisonous plants only bloom after sunset. That's why civilians stay away."

Mike slowed Emperor down and stopped near a cluster of old trees.

"I'll search on foot from here," Mike said.

He dismounted, and Katarina jumped down as well, crossing her arms as she watched.

"Go on," she said. "Show me what you've got."

Mike focused and coated his hands with mana, just like he had practiced earlier. The thin layer of aura covered his skin evenly.

He moved carefully, scanning the ground near damp soil and tree roots.

A few minutes passed.

Then he spotted a faint violet glow near a stone.

"Found one," Mike said.

He crouched down slowly. The Night Rose was fully bloomed, its petals dark violet and glowing softly.

Mike adjusted his mana flow and gently twisted the stem.

The flower came free without damage.

"One," he said, placing it into the container.

Katarina raised an eyebrow.

"Clean technique. You've studied."

Mike nodded and continued searching.

Not long after, he found a second Night Rose, then a third. Each time, he followed the same careful steps.

After the fourth one, Katarina spoke again.

"Most newbies rush and poison themselves by now," she said. "You're doing fine."

"Good to know," Mike replied.

Soon, he spotted the fifth Night Rose near a shallow pond.

He harvested it carefully and placed it into the container.

"Five," Mike said. "All intact."

Katarina walked over and inspected the flowers.

"No damage. No poison exposure," she said. "E-rank evaluation quest complete."

Mike let out a small breath of relief.

"One down," he said.

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