“One, one, one hundred gold coins?!”
Keven cried out in alarm.
Who could give such an astronomical number?!
“Indeed, a hundred gold coins. If you can’t produce them, then die here.”
The unidentified archer responded emotionlessly.
“W-wait! Let me think! My father is the mayor! He’s very wealthy!”
Regardless of whether he could actually produce a hundred gold coins, Keven’s priority was to buy time.
Although he himself lacked strength, his family’s wealth and influence had granted him exposure to many second and third-tier experts.
Due to his thugs obstructing his view earlier, Keven hadn’t seen how the blue flame had been unleashed.
Nevertheless, he surmised it must be magic.
With just a single spell, the archer(or mage?!) had killed two second-tier Professional Mercenaries and seriously injured three others. Such power could only be attributed to third-tier magic.
Anyone capable of wielding third-tier magic so proficiently must be, if not a third-tier mage, then at least a top-tier second-tier mage.
Considering Keven’s resources and his father Mayor Gideon’s contacts, they couldn’t find a match for this “archer” in the short term.
Fortunately, the man had named his price, and if it was a matter of money, Keven would find a solution.
“Well…to gather that many gold coins, I’d have to return home,” Keven feigned.
In reality, his household didn’t even possess ten gold coins, let alone a hundred.
“Don’t bother going home. Give me the money here,” the archer rejected the proposal.
“If I can’t go home, then I only have a few dozen silver coins on me… Sir, think about it, who would carry a hundred gold coins around?!”
“Don’t you have any hidden treasury outside?”
“I-I don’t have any hidden treasury… Sir, please believe me! My father is Mayor Gideon of Sunny Town; we can definitely gather a hundred gold coins for you!”
As the archer continued to press, Keven’s fear gradually faded, and his rogue nature began to surface. He cursed the archer’s cautiousness inwardly.
However, Keven did have a few hidden treasuries.
In the warehouses of the west district and the basement of his residence in the north district, he had stashed two gold coins each for emergencies.
He now considered luring the archer to one of these locations.
Once inside the town, he could find a way to escape.
“Oh, I see,” the archer suddenly said, for reasons unknown.
Then, with his next words, he pulled the hopeful Keven back to reality.
“Since you can’t pay a hundred gold coins, you can die.”
Hearing this, Keven hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, begging for mercy with his head lowered.
“Don’t, don’t kill me!” 𝒩𝞸𝓋𝗅𝐞xt.𝔠𝔬𝔪
But the archer had already raised his black sword, his murderous intent resolute.
Keven had experienced killing before, and he immediately understood that further pleading was useless.
Instead, he roared, trying to intimidate and stop the archer.
“Listen, I don’t care who you are!”
“Do you know the consequences of killing the mayor’s son?!”
“If you kill me, my father will never let…!”
Keven’s words were cut short as his head fell to the ground.
His brain and nerves, still functioning, allowed him to utter his last two words.
“…go of you…!”
The archer swung his black sword through the air, shaking off the blood, before finally responding to Keven.
“Don’t worry, the mayor, right? I won’t let him off the hook either.”
.
The battle concluded, and Tyler searched the bodies of several individuals, amassing a total of 79 silver coins and 32 copper coins.
Aside from Keven, the others were all destitute.
Then, drawing from his previous experience hunting at night, Tyler lured a pack of wolves to feast on the remains.
Through this fight, Tyler validated the worth of the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed.
As a fully leveled first-tier Junior Assassin, he effortlessly eliminated five second-tier Professional Mercenaries, all thanks to the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed.
Although these five mercenaries were only in their twenties in terms of level, their vitality, when compared horizontally with other combat professions, could be considered rough and resilient.
From this, Tyler deduced that as long as he had the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed, he could even stand a chance against fully leveled second-tier or early third-tier foes.
However, the Shadow Sword Blaze Steed’s magic energy consumption was immense.
If Tyler hadn’t persisted in improving his skill proficiency for some time, he would not have been able to unleash even a single “Blue Blaze Steed.”
Increasing his maximum magic energy remained an important issue for Tyler’s future.
·
Upon returning to Sunny Town, Tyler immediately collected Keven’s hidden savings from two urban districts, amounting to four gold coins.
For a while, he would not face any financial difficulties.
Subsequently, Tyler verified from a distance that The Quest Guild was operating normally. Moreover, nobody in Sunny Town was searching for Keven and his companions yet.
It seemed that Keven and the others’ “disappearance” would only gradually be noticed by Mayor Gideon’s forces the day after tomorrow.
Tyler returned to the inn and continued to improve his “Calculation Boost” skill proficiency while also concocting antidotes.
His success rate was stable at 50%, earning one point of ‘Pharmacist’ experience for each successful potion. Crafting 200 antidotes per day, Tyler could gain 100 Pharmacist experience points daily.
Upon completion, Tyler would sell the prepared antidotes.
Deducting the cost, he could profit two copper coins per bottle, amassing two silver coins per day, which was enough to cover his daily expenses with a surplus.
During this time, “Calculation Boost” was smoothly raised to level 5.
<Click paragraph comment for details of “Calculation Boost”>
Tyler would maintain this routine until he challenged the advanced trials.
·
That evening, Tyler invited Emilia to the Cat Girl Restaurant for dinner, as a gesture of consolation and celebration.
Although Emilia currently only served as the temporary branch chief of The Quest Guild, she had been busy all day and didn’t have the energy to cook at home, so she accepted Banning’s invitation.
Upon arriving at the Cat Girl Restaurant, they coincidentally met Granny Kasi.
Banning merely intended to greet her, but it turned out Emilia and Granny Kasi were acquainted.
“Aha, it’s been a while, dear Emilia!” Granny Kasi said cheerfully.
“Hello, Granny Kasi. I’m delighted to see you.”
Listening to their conversation, Tyler learned that the two were old acquaintances who had lost touch due to their divergent work paths.
After greeting Emilia, Granny Kasi immediately started teasing Tyler.
“Well, well, Banning, what has it been, just a few days? You’ve sure got a way with the ladies~”
With astute eyes, Granny Kasi noticed the subtle intimacy between Banning and Emilia.
Tyler remained silent, and Emilia, in an attempt to ease the awkward atmosphere, invited Granny Kasi to join them for dinner.
“Oh, my dear Emilia~ you’ve learned to take care of your ‘friend’ now, haven’t you?”
“Granny Kasi, what are you talking about…!”
Amid the jovial ambiance, the three sat down together.
As Tyler observed Emilia and Granny Kasi enthusiastically reminiscing about the past, a thought suddenly struck him.
Tonight’s circumstances presented a rare opportunity.
(It’s time… to learn more about Granny Kasi.)