“That shot just now was beautiful! I'm Sierra.”
Matthew snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Sierra.
The young woman's face carried sincere admiration. She had a delicate face with a healthy, sun-kissed, wheat-colored complexion from years of outdoor activity. Her slender yet toned figure gave her a heroic and charming aura.
He responded politely, “Thank you, I'm Matthew. Your archery is also very precise. It's just that their scales are too hard.”
Sierra nodded. Her gaze lingered on Matthew's face for a moment, and she asked with a hint of curiosity, “You seemed a bit dazed just now. Were you thinking about something?”
Matthew realized that his action of checking his attribute panel might have caught her attention.
He quickly found an excuse, shifting his gaze to the corpse of the viper lizard on the ground. “Yeah, I was just thinking that I've never seen this kind of monster before. I don't know which parts of it are the most valuable.”
Sierra's eyes lit up at his words. She squatted down and expertly pointed out several key areas on the corrosive lizard's corpse with her pocketknife, explaining, “...There are only two valuable parts on a corrosive lizard: the venom sac and the carapace.”
She pointed her knife precisely at a dull-colored, pouch-like organ at the end of the viper lizard's tail, which was smaller than a palm.
“This is the venom sac. The corrosive venom stored inside is extremely dangerous, but if handled properly, it's highly valuable. Whether you sell it to the adventurer guild or use it to coat weapons, it's worth about fifty silver coins.”
Next, she tapped the back of her knife against the dark green, hard scales on the beast's back. “Then there's this carapace. It's ridiculously hard and makes great material for crafting armor. A palm-sized piece is worth five silver coins!”
“However, harvesting these scales is a real chore. They are tightly bound to the flesh, and the edges are razor-sharp, so you can easily cut your hands if you're not careful. Usually, you have to use a specialized skinning knife or a thick crowbar to pry them open along the seams bit by bit. It's very time-consuming.”
“So, don't just look at a single piece being worth five silver coins. If you want to harvest the entire carapace of an adult corrosive lizard intact, it takes a lot of skill and patience.”
Matthew listened quietly.
He didn't care about the “time-consuming and laborious” part Sierra mentioned. After all, back in Stone Mill Village, where else could he find such a good deal where he could earn five silver coins just by doing some manual labor?
Matthew quickly estimated the value of the lizard in his mind and murmured, “About eighty silver coins!”
No wonder so many people wanted to become adventurers.
Based on Matthew's harvest this time alone, with one beast worth eighty silver coins and him having killed three, that was two and a half gold coins!
It was enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for years.
Hearing this, a trace of lingering fear flashed in Sierra's eyes as if she had remembered something. “Yeah, eighty silver coins...”
“But if we didn't have Mr. Calm and Mr. Flynn, two Class holders, holding down the fort, what would have happened to us facing a sudden attack from over ten corrosive lizards?”
Matthew felt a chill in his heart at her words.
Following Sierra's gaze, he looked at the dark green corpses on the ground and the dense mist that had not yet fully dispersed. The excitement he felt from his harvest quickly quieted down.
Afterward, the two chatted while harvesting their respective spoils.
Through their conversation, Matthew also understood why Sierra was being so warm toward him.
During the battle just now, his arrow had not only helped Rayson but had also relieved the pressure on Sierra.
However, the battle had been too chaotic at the time, and Matthew's entire mind had been focused on his aim and the breathing technique, so he hadn't noticed the details on Sierra's side.
As the two were talking, not far away, the other three male members of Sierra's four-person adventurer squad were gathered together, processing the lizard they had killed together.
Their eyes darted from time to time toward Sierra, who was laughing and chatting with Matthew in perfect harmony, and their expressions were rather sour.
A tall, thin man spat and lowered his voice to say to the burly, bearded man beside him, “Brother Remy, Sierra is chatting so warmly with that kid. This country bumpkin really doesn't know his place.”
“Yeah, Brother Remy. Schefer is right. This kid doesn't know his place,” Alec chimed in.
Hearing his two lackeys' grumbling, the bearded Remy's face darkened, his eyes flickering.
He glanced at Sierra, who was crouching with Matthew to process their spoils, and quickly withdrew his gaze, rapidly calculating the pros and cons in his mind.
Sierra was a capable member of the squad, and she had always kept her distance from everyone, never crossing any lines.
Yet these two idiots had actually imagined some special relationship between him and Sierra.
To start a deadly feud with a young man of unknown potential and a possibly deep background just for her? Unless the profit was huge, it was absolutely not worth it.
Remy could naturally see that Matthew was not simple. The precision and power of that shot just now, as well as his calm demeanor during the battle, were definitely not something an ordinary country youth could possess.
More importantly, that Brass Rank Class holder clearly valued this kid. Going to cause trouble now would not only risk offending Matthew but would also likely offend that powerhouse.
But Schefer and Alec, those two fools, had already spoken up.
As the actual leader of the squad, if he didn't show some attitude now, it would not only disappoint his two subordinates but would also make him look weak. How could he maintain his authority in the squad in the future?
“You're right. This country kid really doesn't know his place, and Sierra too...”
“Once we get back to the village, we'll find an opportunity to teach him a lesson. Now? Now won't do.”
He gestured with his chin toward Instructor Calm and Flynn, lowering his voice even further with a knowing hint, “Those two big shots are watching.”
Hearing this, although Schefer and Alec still felt a bit resentful, seeing Remy sharing their anger and even planning for the future, their anger subsided a bit. They felt that their leader was on their side after all and was just biding his time.
They nodded, said no more, and silently went back to processing the lizard corpse, their movements becoming more forceful as if venting their anger on it.
Seeing this, Remy felt slightly relieved. He knew his words had stabilized the two idiots.
In Remy's calculations, Sierra's favor was far less important than actual gold coins in hand and completing the mission safely.
Right now, the most important thing was to successfully finish this request, get the handsome reward, and leave this dreadful place safely.
Everything else was secondary.
He stopped looking at Matthew and Sierra, burying his head in his work. However, out of the corner of his eye, he still kept watch on the surroundings, especially the movements of Calm, Flynn, and that young master Brody.
The dense mist flowed slowly through the forest, quietly masking everyone's thoughts and whispers.
Rate on N.U.
