Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Battle Axe Tavern was an ordinary bar located at the outermost end of the tavern district.

Like other bars on this street, it wasn't very busy during the day.

A few patrons occupied various corners of the bar, drinking quietly.

The bar's half-height wooden door creaked with a grating sound due to its age and disrepair when pushed open.

The door's movement caused the chime made of unknown exotic beast skulls near the entrance to ring out crisply, rousing the drowsy owner behind the counter. He rubbed his eyes and stood up.

A handsome young man walked in.

"Boss, I'm looking for the Black Gold Yew Squad."

The owner slumped back down without lifting his eyelids and pointed to a hooded figure drinking in one corner of the bar.

Lorant nodded in thanks, hesitated for a moment, then, looking at the grimy wooden mugs by the owner's hand, decided against ordering a drink.

The hygiene here didn't seem great; he didn't want to get sick and have to spend gold coins at Uncle Ain's or the Temple of Light.

The hooded figure sat in a corner by the window at the back of the bar. Despite Lorant and the owner speaking quietly, the figure clearly heard them.

The hood turned towards Lorant, indicating that the person was watching him.

"Hello, Black Gold Yew Squad." The hooded figure raised their mug in greeting to Lorant.

"Hello, um, you left a message at the Adventurer Guild saying you were willing to take the job, right?" Lorant tried to look serious to appear more mature.

However, his attempt was not particularly successful.

He distinctly heard a light laugh from the hooded woman opposite him.

"That's correct, but we left messages for several people. Who are you?"

The hooded figure removed their hood, revealing a face of exquisite beauty, catching Lorant's attention.

This was a woman who could be described as 'stunningly beautiful.'

Her elegant golden curls formed a beautiful arc on her shoulders.

Her bright red lips paired with smoky eye makeup exuded a fragrance strong enough to mask the bar's sweaty air.

Unique earrings accentuated her cheeks.

Her enchanting purple eyes had a mesmerizing quality that captivated anyone who met them.

Looking at the woman, a term came to Lorant's mind.

Sorceress.

Undoubtedly a sorceress.

Or rather, she was a noble mage.

Though Lorant hadn't met many true mages, he was certain of this.

Anyone who saw her would think the same.

"The task I posted is to acquire a live Brain-Eating Monkey."

After his initial surprise, Lorant quickly regained his composure and focused on the conversation.

"Oh, hello." The sorceress pushed her mug forward, showing keen interest: "I'm Stephanie from the Black Gold Yew Squad. You can call me that. I remember your commission; requests for live beasts are rare."

"Hello, Stephanie. My name is Lorant. I saw your message at the guild. You said you were willing to accept the job, with payment to be discussed. But how can I be sure you can complete the task?"

The sorceress named Stephanie smiled slightly, her crimson nails casually brushing her hair behind her ear.

She seemed to be unintentionally emitting a charm that could be called 'bewitching.'

"You don't need to be sure. If we can complete the commission, you'll get what you want."

"But if you can't give me confidence, I can't pay you the advance fee for the job."

The Adventurer Guild has clear regulations. Tasks are divided into multiple levels. Direct acquisition tasks are the most basic level, requiring only a simple agreement.

This was Lorant's preferred model.

Simple, convenient, and cheap.

However, if he accepted the squad's proposal to undertake the task in the Black Forest, it would change the nature of his basic level task to a level two task.

That meant he would need to pay a small deposit upfront, with the remainder paid upon completion.

If the squad failed to complete the task within the agreed time, they would need to refund part of the deposit and lose some adventure points.

To prevent fraud, only level three and above squads are eligible for level two tasks.

No level three squad would risk their reputation by doing such a thing.

Privately, Lorant was reluctant to use the level two task model. His current funds barely covered his expenses.

An advance fee would disrupt his plans.

And upgrading to a level two task would mean changing the amount, making his original reward insufficient.

But the Brain-Eating Monkey was crucial to him. The B-grade beast pet could provide significant help for his future Animal Pet Shop.

The sooner it's bred, the better.

And after such a long period without any response, Lorant had begun to realize that the difficulty and level of the task he had requested might not be well-aligned.

A task of this level might not be suitable for a Level One mode.

This was also why he decided to come to the Battle Axe Tavern.

"Ha ha ha, don't worry about it, handsome." Stephanie covered her mouth and laughed.

"We aren't planning to change the task mode; you just need to keep posting that Level One task."

Lorant frowned upon hearing this: "Then you should have handed over the Brain-Eating Monkey directly to me after catching it instead of leaving a message at the guild."

If they weren't after money, what else could they possibly want?

Stephanie remained unperturbed: "Don't rush, young man. We needed to confirm that your task wasn't a fake before considering whether to spend time searching for it."

"After all, we've never seen a task requiring a live exotic creature outside of the Congress of Magic."

"And wild wizards rarely live long. We saw that task months ago and were worried about the wild wizard who posted it," she said, making quotation marks with her fingers, still smiling: "perhaps already dead in some dangerous experiment."

"So we needed to confirm that the person posting the task is still alive and able to pay us. I believe you can understand that."

"After all, if you were dead, it would be hard to find another buyer willing to take a live Brain-Eating Monkey."

Lorant's heart sank. If their reason was as they stated, it would be one thing, but he felt there was more to it.

A 'wild wizard' could accumulate a substantial fortune enticing enough to make an adventuring party take risks.

"Well, now that you've confirmed I'm still alive and can pay you properly," Lorant tried to remain calm.

The aura of the witch across from him wasn't aggressive, but every word and action exuded the confidence of someone accustomed to being in control.

It was the kind of composure that came from having everything under control.

"Hmm, so now we can talk about the payment," Stephanie placed her slender finger on her lips and winked at Lorant.

"Regarding the payment, I don't know what your expectations are, but I can't afford to pay a Level Four team."

A Level Four adventuring team meant two possibilities.

Either they were large in scale, piling up numerous small tasks to reach their level.

Or they were exceptionally strong, completing high-difficulty tasks to achieve their current rank.

Either way, it meant they required a significant fee for their services.

A fee that Lorant clearly did not wish to pay.

"I will pay you ten to twenty gold coins based on the quality of the Brain-Eating Monkey you bring back."

Stephanie raised an eyebrow: "Ten gold coins? The Brain-Eating Monkey is a Level Two exotic creature, and even its corpse is worth more than ten gold coins."

Lorant perked up, counting on his fingers.

"You can't say that. First, the Brain-Eating Monkey, being a Level Two exotic creature, isn't in high demand. It usually ends up being bought cheaply by food processing departments."

"So, even though it's a Level Two creature, its actual value isn't very high."

"Moreover, I don't require a perfect specimen. As long as the gender is suitable, even if it's missing limbs, it won't significantly affect the price, which indirectly lowers your capture difficulty, right?"

"While what you say makes sense, capturing a Brain-Eating Monkey isn't difficult for our team. Lowering the difficulty doesn't attract us. And you're right; among all Level Two exotic creatures, the Brain-Eating Monkey has the lowest return rate."

Stephanie looked at Lorant with a hint of amusement: "So I think we should reconsider whether it's worth spending time specifically searching for it."

Lorant fell silent for a moment, then stood up decisively: "Well, sorry for the trouble. I hope we can work together in the future."

"Goodbye!"

Without waiting for the stunned Stephanie to reach out to stop him, he fled the tavern as if someone were chasing him.

Stephanie: "??"

Wait!

Normally, shouldn't we go through your disadvantages, emphasize my advantages, haggle a bit, and finally agree on a price we can both accept?

Why did he just walk away like that?

The witch's mouth hung open in disbelief, staring at Lorant's retreating figure as if she had seen a ghost.

She had never encountered such a peculiar individual before.

He didn't seem entirely uninterested in the deal, or else he wouldn't have come to the Battle Axe Tavern specifically to find her.

But he also didn't seem overly eager to complete the transaction, given that he walked away during the negotiation.

Stephanie drained the mug of ale on the table in one gulp, losing her mysterious witch demeanor.

Now she had to think about how to explain this to the others when they returned.

She hadn't even confirmed whether the young man had any talent worth recruiting...

Did she scare the kid away?

That would be a laughingstock for a year...

Sigh.

Lorant quickly made his way back to the main road after leaving the tavern, constantly turning around to see if anyone was following him.

He also realized that although the Brain-Eating Monkey was indeed important to him, there was no need to rush.

In at most a month, the Lapis Lazuli Ice Flame Hound would possess the strength close to that of a second or third-level anomalous beast. With twelve second-level anomalous beasts, it would be enough to deal with ordinary adventurer squads that only took missions from the Adventurer Guild.

Only by having the power to protect himself would he have the qualifications to explore a broader world.

Before then, staying home and raising his puppy wasn't such a bad idea.

Stephanie had brought too much pressure upon Lorant, even though she hadn’t done anything out of line from start to finish.

But her aura as a powerful individual deeply unsettled Lorant. If she decided to make a move, he believed he wouldn’t stand a chance to fight back.

Though he lacked both magical and warrior talents and wasn’t favored by the gods of any church, he was still the chosen one, albeit a useless one.

But he had his guidebook!

Thirty years east, thirty years west; never underestimate the poor youth!

Lorant clenched his fists in determination.

If Stephanie knew what Lorant was thinking, she would probably shout in protest.

Who ever underestimated the poor youth?!

I’ve been quite friendly, alright?!

After some self-reassurance, Lorant returned to the Adventurer Guild’s hall, canceled all his other acquisition missions for anomalous beasts, and went straight home with two large bags of crystal shards and herbs.