Chapter 7: Dealing with the Pursuing Bounty Hunter
Meanwhile, three conspicuous red character boxes appeared in the upper right corner of Dick's field of vision.
【World Mission】
'Former Terrifying Tales': Head to the Royal Capital Magic Academy and investigate the truth behind the seven campus mysteries. (Completion grants 3 levels and a colorful Blessing)
【Side Task】
'Strongest Newbie': Head to the Adventurers' Guild, register, and become a D-rank adventurer.
'First Pot of Gold': Earn the first ten thousand gold coins in your life. (Current progress: 23/10000)
'blood hand butcher': Kill the five thousandth Beast in your life. (Current progress: 56/5000)
Side Task?
It was the first time Dick had seen them. They seemed simple, but he didn't know what rewards he would get upon completion.
Soon, the System's voice sounded in Dick's mind, providing an explanation for the Side Tasks.
Unlike main quests, completing Side Tasks does not increase the Demon King level, but it grants Blessings.
The higher the difficulty of the Side Task, the more advanced the Blessing options you get upon completion!
Upon hearing about Blessing options, Dick became interested, as this was a way to directly increase his strength.
Currently, Dick had already seen silver Blessings and gold Blessings, and he wondered what the highest-level colorful Blessing would be like.
"Dick, someone's here!"
Mina, who was on alert, was extremely nervous because the newcomer meant trouble, clearly a villain pursuing Alice.
Dick turned his head to look. The person was a burly man wearing a white robe. In just an instant, his identity information appeared.
'Name': Entis Norren.
'Race': Human, male.
'Age': 37 years old.
'Profession': Mage, Level 34.
'Talents': Magic Array Mastery (Intermediate), Beast Taming Mastery (Intermediate).
'Recent Encounters': Received a mysterious commission in the underground black market, planning to do one last job before returning to his hometown to get married.
After seeing Entis's two talents, Dick immediately knew he was the villain who caused the Beast tide, and he was likely here to finish the job.
Generally speaking, for a professional bounty hunter like Entis, finishing the job is essential, especially when the target is a young lady with many hidden cards like Alice.
Entis spotted Alice at a glance, and quickly noticed that her injuries had improved somewhat. He immediately looked at Dick and Mina with an unfriendly expression.
"You two saved her?"
Hearing this, Dick pretended to be an honest person, nodding foolishly and saying, "Yeah, we were passing by collecting herbs, couldn't just leave her to die."
"Heh heh, how rare, it's truly uncommon to see Healers as kind-hearted as you two..."
Entis revealed a cruel smile, his magic power quietly circulating within him, and killing intent filled the cave.
Dick shook his head, revealing a hearty smile, and deliberately asked, "Uncle, do you know this young lady?"
"Know her, of course I know her. She's the second young lady of the Bison Family, and also the bounty target I need to kill!"
Saying this, a fireball condensed in Entis's right hand, and he looked at Dick and Mina with ill intentions.
At this time, Alice was wrapped in bandages all over, her injuries were still severe, she couldn't even stand up, and posed no threat.
Dick and Mina were the ones to be concerned about, but Entis wasn't worried. He believed everything was under his control.
After all, Healers are notoriously low in combat power, especially low-level Healers, who can't even beat a slightly stronger ordinary person.
Indeed, after seeing Entis condense the fireball, Dick immediately became fearful and uneasy.
"Th-This sir, we were just passing by. We will definitely keep today's matter a secret for you!"
Seeing Dick's terrified appearance, Entis completely lowered his guard, shaking his head and chuckling, "Only dead people can keep secrets!"
Buzz—
Suddenly, a profound magic array lit up beneath Entis's feet. The red light illuminated the cave, and also his frightened face.
"Hmm, you're right, only dead people can keep secrets."
Dick's expression turned cold, returning to his previous indifference, and then he snapped his fingers.
The next moment, a fiery red lotus bloomed beneath Entis's feet, instantly devouring him completely, without even a scream.
This was not magic that Dick could cast at his current stage, but a little leftover from the Crimson Lotus Tempering Magic Array.
Since he couldn't take it out anyway, Dick utilized it and subjected it to 'a tiny bit' of magical modification.
Ultimately, the Crimson Lotus Tempering Magic Array gained the ability to attack. Although it was one-time use, killing a person was effortless.
Looking at Entis, who had been burned to ashes, Dick nodded in satisfaction. If the array hadn't needed activation time, he wouldn't have bothered talking nonsense with him.
Beside him, Mina and Alice both had their mouths wide open. The scene just now left the two girls inexplicably shocked.
"Dick, you're so amazing..."
"You, you're actually a Mage? What was that magic array just now? Why didn't you need to chant a spell?"
Unlike Mina, who was impressed but didn't understand, Alice had gone to school, read books, and seen the world.
She was very clear about how outrageous Dick's move, 'Crimson Lotus Devour', was just now, and asked several questions in a row.
Dick didn't answer, as explaining was too troublesome. Instead, he instructed, "Mina, help Alice out. I'll be there shortly."
Before long, Dick found the melted gold coins in Entis's ashes. By weight, there were at least over a hundred.
Immediately after, Dick looked at the Side Task in the upper left corner of his field of vision.
'First Pot of Gold': (Current progress: 157/10000).
It seems it doesn't need to be reforged into gold coins. Any gold item can increase the progress, which is quite convenient.
Looking at the large lump of gold in his hand, Dick chuckled lightly, increasingly looking down on the previous 'Payday' Blessing.
In this world, honest people are hard to survive. Saving money peacefully is far less rewarding than killing, arson, and getting rich.
...
Near the cave entrance, Alice was being supported by Mina.
Although she was injured inside and out, and the immense pain never stopped, Alice didn't utter a single groan of pain, just gritting her teeth and enduring it.
"Hey, your name is Mina, right? Tell me Dick's exact identity. I order you as the young master of the Bison Family!"
Alice was full of curiosity about this master who had signed a soul contract with her, especially after witnessing Dick's abilities.
Medical skills, knowledge, courage, adaptability... all were praiseworthy.
However, for these qualities to appear in a 19-year-old young man was clearly too strange.
"No, I can't. I won't reveal any information. You can ask Dick yourself."
"Hmph, I'm the future Duke Byson. You're just a commoner, how dare you refuse me?"
After several threats, Mina quickly became flustered, but still muttered, "I, I only listen to Dick!"
Looking at the stubborn girl before her, Alice sighed. Just as she was about to say something more, Dick came out.
"Let's go."
Having said that, Dick walked forward on his own. To complete the task efficiently, he planned to leverage the power of the Bison Family.
Before long, Dick realized that the limping Alice was walking too slowly, so he simply walked ahead of Alice and squatted down.
"Come on up, I'll carry you on my back."
"Oh..."
Alice responded softly. Although close contact with the opposite sex made her resistant, now was not the time to be emotional.
And most importantly, with the existence of the soul contract, Alice was simply unable to disobey Dick.