Chapter 47: Processing the Spoils

Although the accommodation conditions of the inn were far inferior to the star-rated hotels of his past life, they were undoubtedly much better than sleeping out in the open wilderness.

At least he didn't have to worry about being shaken awake midway through the night by the companion on night watch, only to fight off a surprise monster attack with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes.

Xian Nan had a rare, good night's sleep.

Yet he did not oversleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he forced himself to crawl out of the covers by sheer willpower.

As an adventurer, the first day after completing a quest is usually the busiest.

Turning in quests, dealing with spoils, repairing equipment...

Countless urgent matters piled up and lined up in Xian Nan's mind like a checklist.

Even if it took the entire day to handle these affairs, he was more than willing.

For only in this way, after the end of a hard day's work, could he cradle a bulging coin pouch, filled with a deep sense of accomplishment, and enjoy the hard-earned "holiday" completely free of burdens.

After a brief wash, he left the tavern.

With his somewhat heavy backpack slung over his shoulders, Xian Nan arrived at the Valley Town Adventurers' Guild.

It was still that treehouse-style building with a distinct "Misty Forest" aesthetic, and it was just as busy as ever.

Even though he had woken up as early as possible, when he stepped onto the dark brown oak flooring at the entrance of the guild, his view was already crowded with adventurers of all descriptions.

Some, like him, carried bulging packs on their backs, looking as though they had risen early to submit quests; others gathered in small groups of three or five beneath the quest board, leaning in to whisper to one another.

Xian Nan even spotted an extremely burly, two-meter-tall half-orc carrying the gruesome head of a monster, sauntering leisurely down the distant street.

Traces of battle were clearly visible on his mud-stained body, and blood was still dripping from the severed neck of the head in his hand.

Clearly, he had just emerged from a fierce battle.

The thick smell of blood exuding from the fellow, coupled with the stench of someone who hadn't bathed in the wilderness for days, caused passing adventurers to frown and dodge out of the way.

Yet, as Xian Nan observed, facing the disgusted reactions of those around him, the half-orc showed not the slightest trace of anger.

Instead, he wore an expression of sheer comfort and enjoyment.

That unhurried posture was just like an angler who had finally reeled in a massive fish, dying to take a detour of a dozen streets on his way home just to let everyone in town know.

Xian Nan even suspected that if someone were to walk up right now and ask the half-orc the name of the monster or details of the battle, the fellow might just laugh so hard he'd swallow his own tusks.

In the end, the half-orc failed to enter the Adventurers' Guild.

Just as he reached the entrance, he was "politely" escorted out by a staff member who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, told to clean himself up before returning.

Yet the fellow still wore a blissful expression, clearly having already achieved his goal.

Recalling his gaze.

Xian Nan felt that the oppression in his mood, caused by spending a long time in the Misty Forest, had been somewhat eased by this comical scene.

"Jingle."

The crisp bell brought him back to reality, and he saw the adventurer who had been ahead of him leave the counter with a money pouch.

Pulling himself together, he walked up to the front desk.

It was the same listless, short-haired girl with lowered head who looked as though she might fall asleep at any second.

"Quest number?" A lifeless voice came from the girl.

"387H, the gathering quest for Glowing Garlic Vine."

Silence.

The girl did not reply; her hands merely operated beneath the counter for a moment.

Then she spoke slowly once more:

"Number: 387H. The quest has timed out. The client chose not to extend the bounty, and it has been removed."

As expected...

Although Xian Nan was mentally prepared, he still felt a faint sense of loss.

Normally, three days was more than enough time for him to make a round trip between Valley Town and the outskirts of the Misty Forest; the quest time had been very generous.

Yet who could have anticipated that he would encounter the half-elf party midway and accept their commission to venture deeper into the forest?

Though he had earned a hundred-gold reward and many spoils as a result, the initial quest to gather Glowing Garlic Vine had ultimately timed out.

He had rushed back to the town late last night partly to submit the quest in a hurry, but by the time he arrived, the guild had already closed, forcing him to wait until now.

"Understood. Thank you."

Xian Nan nodded slightly to the girl before him, preparing to leave.

Unexpectedly, she lifted her brows to glance at him and added:

"I heard that Madam Edwina's new formula of antidote potion has been quite effective, and she's preparing to produce a second batch."

"You can go check at her shop; you might still have a chance."

Hearing this, Xian Nan was slightly stunned, and then pondered inwardly:

From what he understood, Glowing Garlic Vine was not a common plant to begin with. Even if the client was no longer in urgent need and the high bounty price was gone, recycling it at market value should still fetch a decent sum.

The girl's reminder offered him a second option.

He thanked her gratefully:

"Thanks for the tip!"

Giving it some thought, he retrieved a silvery coin from his breast pocket, covered it with his fingertips, and slid it silently onto the counter.

Whoosh—

In the blink of an eye, the silver coin vanished from sight.

The girl, who had previously seemed rather listless, suddenly straightened up, pulling her half-closed eyelids up into the picture of a diligent and conscientious employee, as she muttered to herself:

"Madam Edwina usually likes to drink; the strong kind. I'll bring a couple of bottles over another day; maybe she'll give me a discount on my purchases."

His brow twitched slightly.

Xian Nan nodded silently and turned away from the counter.

...

"Clack."

His thick leather boots struck the stone-paved streets of Valley Town, producing a slightly muffled sound.

Xian Nan carried the bottle of strong liquor "Magma's Sigh," which he had just purchased for two silver coins from the White Ptarmigan Tavern.

Standing on the bustling street, he looked toward the herbalist shop ahead of him.

The shop was not large, only about the size of "Rock Hammer."

Yet its design was exceptionally delicate.

Seeming to imitate the Adventurers' Guild style that blended with the Misty Forest, the small cottage was also built from the dark oak of the forest, but it was adorned with a great abundance of vines and green plants around its exterior.

If the guild was a giant treehouse, then the shop before him resembled a large clump of bushes found everywhere in the forest.

A vertical sign stood in front of the door, featuring a simple drawing of a slightly tilted small iron pot being stirred with a wooden spoon containing green viscous liquid, alongside Common script reading—

The Green Crucible.

Organizing his words in his mind, Xian Nan cleared his throat.

He pushed the door open and entered.

"Ding-dong."

A light and pleasant chime rang in his ear.

A rich, slightly aromatic herbal scent rushed into his nasal cavity along with the warm indoor air.

The interior decoration was likewise small and exquisite.

A brownish wooden counter divided the space into two, and shelves on both sides held numerous bottles and jars.

The items for sale seemed similar to the alchemist shop in the guild, though the prices were much cheaper.

There were no healing potions, but there were many patches and tonics of unknown utility.

Behind the front desk, a slightly plump, curly-haired woman was intently stirring the crucible before her.

She occasionally pinched a small iron ladle to scoop up the potion, seemingly inspecting its hue.

Hearing the door open, she spoke unhurriedly, with gentle softness:

"Apologies, please wait a moment, I'll be right with you."

Xian Nan was in no rush; he simply placed the bottle of "Magma's Sigh" gently on the counter and waited patiently.

After another two minutes or so.

As the white smoke rising from the crucible grew thicker, the woman finally stopped her constant stirring, took out the ladle, and carefully placed the lid on the pot.

She wiped her hands with a handkerchief from her waist.

Edwina turned around, intending to greet her customer.

Only to spot the bottle of strong liquor bearing the White Ptarmigan Tavern label on the table.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Shifting her gaze to Xian Nan beside it, her tone softened even further as she asked:

"Welcome to The Green Crucible. Is there anything the customer needs?"

Having already rehearsed his lines, Xian Nan replied:

"Well, you see, I took on a Glowing Garlic Vine gathering bounty at the guild a few days ago, but by the time I rushed back to Valley Town, it had already exceeded the stipulated time limit of the quest."

"I heard from the staff at the guild that you might still have a need for Glowing Garlic Vine, so I thought I'd come try my luck."

As he spoke, his gaze glanced toward the "Magma's Sigh" on the counter.

"I happened to taste a rather fine liquor at the inn last night, and since I had the chance today, I brought a bottle over. I'm not sure if it's to your liking."

"Of course." Edwina smiled warmly, taking the bottle. "You are very thoughtful."

"I do indeed need an extra batch of Glowing Garlic Vine. I was planning to go trouble you folks at the Adventurers' Guild in a couple of days... If you have any to spare, I can buy them back at the bounty price."

Hearing this, Xian Nan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

He unbuckled the backpack containing the Glowing Garlic Vine from his back and handed it to her.

"Well... that makes thirty-two clusters of Glowing Garlic Vine in total, amounting to thirty-two gold coins. Please accept them."

Edwina handed a coin pouch stamped with the emblem of The Green Crucible into Xian Nan's hands.

Feeling the heavy weight in his palm, the corners of his mouth curved upward out of inner satisfaction.

Suddenly recalling something else, Xian Nan retrieved a small cloth pouch from his waist, its surface faintly stained with greenish liquid residue.

"This is..."

Edwina's rimless spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose glinted slightly under the sunlight shining through the window.

A look of mild surprise appeared on her rounded, plump face.

"Rust Monster? You went into the Underdark?"

She carefully pinched the deep purple venom gland, placing it under the sunlight to examine it closely.

Faced with the shopkeeper's doubt, Xian Nan did not answer, merely blinking silently at her.

"Oh, apologies." Realizing her slip of the tongue, Edwina gave an apologetic smile and placed the verified venom gland back into the pouch. "After all, these things are rather dangerous for ordinary adventurers, and they aren't common here either."

"Let's count it at market price, 6 gold each. Four venom glands make twenty-four gold in total. How does that sound?"

"Deal."

Unfamiliar with the exact market rates, but since the other party had offered it, Xian Nan didn't haggle and readily agreed.

His little treasury ballooned by another large margin.

...

With the quests completed, the time had already reached mid-morning.

The sunlight was fierce.

Xian Nan walked down the street with his backpack, pondering to himself:

"Next up, I should get rid of those odds and ends like compasses that I have on me."

Before encountering the half-elves and the others, he had fought a battle against two unfortunate adventurers in the clearing where he found the Glowing Garlic Vine.

Aside from their coin pouch containing 53 gold and 6 silver—which seemed to be all their savings—their other weapons and armor were too heavy to bring back naturally.

Yet there were still some small items that had vanished into his backpack upon collection.

They should fetch enough to pay for a few meals.

Unlike last time when he had malachite of unknown value that required appraisal, Xian Nan had acquired no spoils in this quest whose exact price couldn't be determined.

Therefore, compared to the meticulous yet harsh-pricing "Fairy's Breeze," he chose the more cost-effective "Kukunur's Sundry Shop."

The shop owner, "Kukunur," was a rather cheerful gnome, and the moment he entered the shop, the fellow enthusiastically introduced his services.

Just as mentioned in the [Adventurer's Handbook], his prices were quite fair.

Even though they were just scattered petty items, they added up to 3 gold and 7 silver—it had originally been 6 silver and 5 copper, but Kukunur rounded it up and wiped away the small change.

"No wonder his business acumen is mediocre yet he's still recorded in the handbook; he's truly honest."

Xian Nan thought to himself.

By this point, throughout the entire morning, the vast majority of the spoils he needed to sell had been completely processed.

His little treasury, which had drastically shrunk after purchasing equipment and weapons following his first quest, now swelled to an unprecedented degree.

From the adventurer duo—57 gold, 3 silver.

Glowing Garlic Vine and Rust Monster venom glands—56 gold.

Half-elf quest reward—100 gold.

Coupled with his original savings of over twenty gold, Xian Nan's total savings now reached a staggering—

236 gold, 2 silver, and 7 copper.

Though it was still only enough to buy the greater part of a bottle of [Radiant Resistance Potion], or one-seventh of a heavy plate armor set.

He was already immensely satisfied.

After all, this was the savings accumulated from merely two quests.

Xian Nan was even considering whether he should buy another full bottle of healing potion for unexpected emergencies.

"Right!"

Recalling the information he obtained from Wood and the half-elves during the previous quest.

After completing his transactions, Xian Nan did not leave the shop directly.

Instead, driven by a strong sense of purpose, he swept his gaze carefully across the shelves inside the sundry shop.

"Customer, is there something you need?"

Seeing this, Kukunur asked enthusiastically.

Hesitating slightly, Xian Nan turned his head to glance once more at the empty doorway.

He stepped closer, probing tentatively as he spoke:

"Do you sell 'Battle Techniques' in your shop?"

"Of course!"

As the words fell, the gnome, whose height barely reached Xian Nan's thigh, patted his chest proudly and proclaimed loudly.

He promptly ducked under the counter, producing the sound of heavy objects being shifted.

Then...

"Bang!"

A large cardboard box covered in dust was hoisted up on tiptoes by Kukunur and dropped heavily onto the counter.

"Cough... *cough*..."

Choked by the flying dust in the air, he coughed while speaking:

"Battle techniques, *cough*... they're all in there."

"1 pound for 3 copper; buy 10 pounds and I'll give you a thirty percent discount."