Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Demon Hunting Commission

"So this is the Adventurer’s Guild?"

Wang Xi stopped in front of a building.

He looked up at the center of the dome with its crimson tiles, where a flag fluttered in the wind, emblazoned with the image of a sword and shield.

On either side of the main gate, the beeswax-colored walls were covered in scroll-like murals depicting scenes of warriors fighting Demons. The images were thrilling and enough to make one’s blood boil.

The building was located in the center of the Royal Capital Daphne. Many Adventurers, clad in helmets and armor, with swords at their hips and bows on their backs, came and went.

Every one of their movements exuded an air of competence and strength. Their expressions were stern, their gazes sharp.

Wang Xi scanned the crowd. Many had reached the One Star standard, and a few were even Two Stars.

’Hm, they all seem quite spirited...’

he thought, striding through the guild’s main doors.

The moment he stepped into the spacious hall, the light dimmed. Several Bronze chandeliers hung from the high, vaulted ceiling, but since it was early morning, they were not lit.

The air was thick with the smells of ale, leather, and rust, mixed with a certain indescribable, rank odor.

The floor was covered in straw, caked with a thick layer of mud and cow dung. A few tables in the hall were occupied by people, most of them dressed in Leather Armor with weapons at their waists. As Wang Xi passed by, several sharp gazes swept over him before quickly looking away.

The reception desk was at the far end of the hall. A burly, brown-haired man stood behind it, wiping a wooden mug. His right eye was missing, covered by a patch, and his bare arms were covered in hideous scars.

Wang Xi also noticed that the man was missing a little finger.

[Demon Hunter · Colin (Yellow/Three Stars)]

In his vision, the brown-haired man’s title was framed by Bronze Patterns, marking him as an Elite unit, just like the Woodland Fairy.

’He’s a tough one,’ Wang Xi thought.

As he drew closer,

"A new face?" The brown-haired man’s voice was low and hoarse. "Accepting a commission or posting one?"

"Accepting," Wang Xi said succinctly.

The brown-haired man’s single eye sized him up for a moment before he set down the wooden mug.

"Second floor, fourth room on the right."

"Thanks."

Wang Xi nodded and turned to head upstairs.

The wooden staircase seemed a bit unsteady, creaking under his weight. The second floor was much quieter than the first, and the corridor was rather dim.

Wang Xi arrived at the room the man had indicated. The wooden door was ajar, and he pushed it open to enter.

The smell of parchment and ink hit him immediately. The room was piled high with scrolls and books, and an old man with round glasses was writing something with a quill pen behind a desk.

"Young man, tell me your name," the old man said without looking up.

[Guild Record Officer · Brown (Yellow)]

An ordinary person.

"Gai Farrell," Wang Xi said.

SCRITCH, SCRITCH...

The old man jotted down the name on a piece of parchment, then suddenly froze as if he’d just remembered something. He looked up in surprise.

"The Scarlet Warlock of Randall?"

He sized up the black-haired young man, amazed that he was even younger than the rumors suggested.

"The rumors say you like to eat your enemies’ brains..."

"A baseless rumor," Wang Xi said, his face impassive as he suppressed a wave of indignation. "I have no such hobby."

"Heh, understandable. Rumors are always exaggerated."

The old man chuckled and pointed to the side.

"However, if you really are the ’Scarlet Warlock,’ then you’re qualified to take on some higher-level commissions... The shelf on the far end against the wall. Please, feel free to choose for yourself, Gai."

"Thank you."

Wang Xi expressed his thanks and walked straight over.

There were four or five wooden shelves arranged against the wall, each neatly lined with parchment scrolls. The farther in he went, the fewer scrolls there were.

The difficulty was presumably higher as well.

Each scroll was tied with a red ribbon, from which hung a palm-sized square of paper with a brief description written in tiny script.

Wang Xi examined them carefully.

「A while later,」

his eyes lit up. He had found his target.

He pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. Written on the yellowed parchment was:

"Bounty: One fresh Petrified Lizard Heart. Minister Ando’s son, Ivo, was injured by a Petrifying Lizard while hunting. The poison has entered his system, petrifying his right leg. The Palace Pharmacist urgently requires this Demon Material to concoct an antidote Magic Potion."

"Reward: 100 Gold Coins. Also includes one ancestral Silver-Plated Longsword."

"Posted by: Dick Smo."

Wang Xi looked at the parchment, then turned his head to ask the old man:

"Excuse me... who is this Mr. Dick who posted the commission?"

The old man glanced over and pushed up his glasses.

"Dick Smo? Ah, he is the palace’s Coinage Officer, responsible for minting Silver Coins for Her Majesty the Queen... I’ve also heard he has a good relationship with Minister Ando."

’The palace Coinage Officer?’

’So, having an ancestral Silver-Plated Longsword is perfectly reasonable... Just slap some of your embezzled money onto a sword, make up a story, and it’s laundered.’

’Maybe he has dozens, or even hundreds, of these "ancestral" swords?’

Wang Xi speculated darkly.

"I’ll take this one." He rolled up the parchment, tied it, and nodded to the old man. "Please register it for me."

"Of course, Sir Gai."

The old man smiled and made a note of it.

"When the time comes, simply bring the bounty item and the commission scroll back to the Guild to turn them in. I wish you success in your Demon Hunting."

...

...

「The sun was high in the bright sky.」

A swift, reddish-brown horse galloped down a dusty road, weaving through the dense forest.

Wang Xi was on horseback, holding the reins in one hand and a map in the other. He glanced at it a few times before correcting his course.

「A short while later,」

He had left the Royal Capital far behind and was deep in the southern forest.

The horse slowed to a walk, treading a narrow path between the bushes.

’According to the information I gathered, the Petrifying Lizard is a rare Demon, almost like an endangered species,’ Wang Xi thought as he scanned his surroundings.

If that weren’t the case, the Minister’s son wouldn’t be in a situation where they couldn’t even gather the materials for an antidote and had to post a high-priced bounty.

Apparently, there used to be quite a lot of them, and they were often spotted by hunters.

As for why their numbers had plummeted...

Wang Xi had more or less figured it out on his way here, and the expression on his face was rather strange.

’Don’t tell me it’s because of environmental pollution?!’

He could hardly believe it.

On the outskirts of the Royal Capital, many workshops and strange, pillar-like structures had been built to the east and north, spewing black smoke. Wastewater flowed down the rivers directly into the forest, and not even the deeper reaches of the "Magic Forest" were spared.

Besides these so-called Magic Workshops, there were also numerous Silver Refining Workshops and sawmills scattered along the forest’s edge.

Lumberjacks shouted back and forth, "devouring" the green landscape like a plague of locusts, leaving vast areas of bare stumps and wasteland in their wake. The scene was a total mess.

Wang Xi knew just by thinking about it. Under the leadership of Prince Calvin, the Stag Kingdom had begun a vigorous technological revolution. Such a massive investment of manpower and resources would inevitably require a huge amount of wealth.

So, that raised a question.

What do you do when you don’t have enough money?

Simple!

Some "genius" in the palace must have had a brainwave. Since they were already felling trees on a massive scale for firewood, why not just refine silver and mint coins on the spot? Just print money to solve the problem.

And it just so happened that there were large silver mines north of Daphne. It was a case of absurdity opening the door for absurdity—it had become absurd beyond belief.

Wang Xi didn’t care about the rotten affairs of the palace or the Kingdom.

But could they please stop polluting the environment!

What was he supposed to do if the Demons went extinct!

It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford Magic Stones from the Main World, but the Demons from the Otherworld were just more cost-effective... If he couldn’t get Energy, how was Wang Xi supposed to draw cards and get stronger quickly?

’A bunch of coin-minting morons.’

Wang Xi cursed inwardly as he urged his horse forward.

...

...

CLANG!

SQUELCH—

A large wild boar, about a meter tall at the shoulder, went flying, spraying blood everywhere.

Half its head was sent airborne, trailing droplets of blood.

Wang Xi flicked his Longsword, splattering the blood on it onto the bushes and tree trunks, then sheathed the blade.

As he went deeper, the thorns and brambles grew thicker, making it difficult to ride. Wang Xi tied his horse to a towering tree and marked the spot.

Following the directions from his intel, he continued exploring on foot. But forget Petrifying Lizards, he hadn’t seen a single Demon.

He had, however, been attacked by ordinary beasts several times.

Wang Xi’s strength had increased significantly by now. There wasn’t much to say; ordinary beasts were basically just free kills for him.

He killed them the instant they showed their faces.

’This intel I bought for 5 Silver Coins really is unreliable. It’s all outdated leads from a few weeks ago...’

he thought, pushing aside the bushes to venture deeper.

After another arduous trek, hacking his way through the undergrowth, the path suddenly opened up.

Wang Xi stopped abruptly, crouching down like a cat and peering ahead with a look of utmost stealth—

He had actually found a goblin settlement!

In a clearing ahead, within a small village enclosed by a simple wooden stockade, a dozen or so green-skinned figures were bustling about.

To Wang Xi’s surprise, they had a clear division of labor. Some were grinding stones to make weapons, some were sewing furs into clothes, and others were washing wild vegetables and fruits. They were even raising a donkey, which two little goblins were chasing and roughhousing around...

If one ignored their green skin, long noses, and pointed ears, for a moment it looked like a small, idyllic human tribe, a paradise hidden from the world.

’Eh? How strange.’

The more Wang Xi watched, the more puzzled he became.

’Let’s watch a little longer...’

In his impression, goblins were Demons that lived in caves, possessing no signs of civilization and no different from wild beasts.

From the description of the "Goblin Mushroom" he’d seen before, he also knew that they reproduced simply through the natural growth of mushroom spores.

So, what was going on here...

Wang Xi held his breath and observed for a while longer.

The astonishment in his eyes grew deeper.

[Goblin King · Guruci (Pale Red/Three Stars)]

An old goblin with a white beard and thinning hair on his head sat on a log, draped in a bear skin. On his ugly face, his yellow, horizontal pupils actually held a trace of kindness.

Goblins with names!

Wang Xi shifted his gaze again, inspecting them with Kaos.

[Goblin Vanguard · Gurulu (Pale Red/Three Stars)]

This was a sturdy goblin with a muscular build, appearing to be over six feet tall. He wore a fur vest and was intently grinding a black stone dagger, occasionally lifting it to inspect his work with the focus of an artisan.

[Sunshine Goblin · Gurwin (Pale Red/Two Stars)]

A young goblin who looked like a human youth was playing with several smaller goblins, a gentle smile on his face.

Finally, Wang Xi’s pupils contracted.

He saw a young female goblin with pointed ears, sitting quietly on a rock in a daze. Her appearance was completely different from the other ugly creatures; her features were delicate, her skin was smooth, and her long, reddish-brown hair draped over her shoulders.

If you ignored her green skin, she could have been an Elf.

[Ugly Goblin · Gurusha (Pale Red/Two Stars)]

Ugly...

What part of her is ugly?

Wang Xi was stunned.

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