Owen immediately focused, his expression serious. “Go ahead. We will do our best to cooperate.”
“First,” Bai Xuan said, looking him in the eye with a firm tone, “every monster’s killing blow must be given to me. I have my uses for them.”
Owen blinked, clearly not expecting this request.
However, he didn't ask further and simply nodded in response. “Understood. We just can't guarantee we can precisely control every monster to ensure the final blow is left for you.”
“A few misses don't matter.”
Bai Xuan’s tone remained flat as he continued, “Second, I can provide healing, buffs, and support. I can also dispel negative statuses like curses. Furthermore, my healing no longer has painful side effects.”
“Since this commission requires my abilities, I want seventy percent of the reward.”
“However, I don't care about guild points. You can have all of them. You get the reputation and the points; I only take the money.”
Owen’s brow twitched slightly. He subconsciously glanced at the corpse of the mutant crawler king on the ground, then looked at the crack-ridden short spear in Bai Xuan’s hand.
Having just witnessed Bai Xuan slaying such a powerful monster alone, he knew in his heart that these conditions were not unreasonable.
Before Owen could speak, Bai Xuan continued, “Third, I can fight for myself. I don't need your protection. Just don't get close to me during combat.”
“You saw it just now—I have enough strength to protect myself.”
Owen fell silent for a few seconds before looking back at his teammates. The three of them exchanged glances and offered no objections.
At that moment, Kieran couldn't help but speak up, his tone filled with excitement. “Sir, does your healing really have no painful side effects anymore?”
Bai Xuan didn't answer Kieran; he just watched Owen quietly.
Owen turned back and nodded solemnly. “I’ll need to go back and discuss these conditions with the rest of the team. But personally, I believe they are worth it.”
Bai Xuan nodded slightly and said no more.
Owen and his group tactfully did not overstay their welcome. After a brief farewell to Bai Xuan, the sound of their footsteps gradually faded into the depths of the mine tunnel.
Bai Xuan leaned against the rock wall for a long time, his mind replaying Owen’s words.
He would take a good look at the specific details of that commission when he went to the guild.
After resting for a few minutes and recovering some stamina, Bai Xuan began to collect his spoils, starting with the shells of the regular Black-Armored Crawlers.
He walked over to the mutant crawler king's corpse and carefully examined its dorsal plate.
It wasn't pure purple; instead, irregular black-purple patterns bled into a deep dark-green base. It was large enough for him to curl up inside.
He gripped his short spear and spent a long time laboriously prying along the edges of the shell before finally stripping the entire dorsal plate off intact.
Though he wasn't sure how much this special shell would sell for, he was certain it would be worth more than the six silver coins of a regular shell.
Next, he cut open the crawler king's abdomen and extracted a core that was a size larger than regular magic cores. The edges of the core emitted a faint dark-purple glow, and its texture far surpassed that of a normal Magic Core.
Finally, he removed several intact leg joints from the crawler king.
He remembered the intelligence mentioning that the legs of mutated monsters could also be sold as special materials.
However, with so many items, his Space Ring could no longer hold them all.
Left with no choice, Bai Xuan had to place the leather bags filled with regular shells inside the mutant crawler king's dorsal plate.
Then he found a flat stone slab, tied it beneath the dorsal plate with hemp rope, and used it as a makeshift sled to drag the loot.
Once everything was settled, he turned to look at the remainder of the nest.
The adults and the king were dead. The eggs and newly hatched larvae posed no threat and had no collection value. He didn't linger, turning to drag the stone slab out of the nest.
The air in the mine tunnel was much cleaner than in the nest, free of the pungent, acrid stench.
Bai Xuan looked down at the short spear in his hand. Wood splinters were peeling away, and the entire iron core inside was exposed. Though it hadn't snapped yet, it was at its absolute limit.
He remained silent for a moment, gently putting the short spear away before heading toward the dungeon exit.
Bai Xuan’s return journey this time was earlier than ever before.
He hadn't felt it during the fight, but now every step reminded him that the battle had been quite fierce.
Furthermore, since the materials he hunted couldn't fit into his storage ring, continuing deeper into the dungeon with such a burden would only increase his risk.
He hadn't been dragging the stone slab for long when he suddenly noticed something strange.
He hadn't encountered a single monster along the way.
Usually, while walking through the tunnels of the second and third floors, he would occasionally see the gray backs of Shadow Rats flashing past intersections or Multi-Headed Snakes poking their heads out of rock crevices, hissing with their tongues.
But today, the tunnels were unnaturally quiet, without a single trace of a monster.
Bai Xuan looked back at the purple-black shell on the stone slab.
Perhaps it was caused by the scent of the crawler king.
He couldn't smell anything special on himself, but even though the king was dead, its shell was still there. The pheromones it left behind likely hadn't completely dissipated yet.
This saved him a lot of trouble, as he didn't have to divide his attention to deal with monster harassment along the way.
He continued dragging the stone slab forward.
Occasionally passing side tunnels, he could see the heads of Shadow Rats flashing in the shadows, but they only stole a quick glance at him before immediately retreating. Not a single one dared to come out and block his path.
As he neared the first floor, he encountered several groups of adventurers heading down.
When one group brushed past him, the warrior at the end of the line suddenly paused and looked up at him.
The man's gaze first landed on Bai Xuan, then slowly moved down, fixing onto the shell on the stone slab behind him. He couldn't look away.
“Is that...”
His teammates beside him also stopped, following his gaze.
Bai Xuan didn't stop and continued forward.
The stone slab scraped against the rough rock floor, making a harsh grinding sound that was very conspicuous in the silent tunnel.
Those people didn't follow him, but Bai Xuan could clearly feel several gazes clinging to his back like spiderwebs.
Before he had gone far, he heard low conversations behind him. The words were blurry, but they carried an unmistakable sense of surprise.
At the intersection leading to the second floor, he encountered another group.
Three people wearing worn leather armor; their equipment was mediocre, but their eyes were sharp.
One of them caught sight of the shells Bai Xuan was dragging, and his eyes instantly lit up, clearly recognizing the value of these materials.
But that light was extinguished within two seconds.
The person in front of them wore a dusty surcoat and held a short spear covered in cracks—his appearance was unremarkable.
However, the pile of shells he was dragging was substantial, especially that massive purple-black piece at the bottom, which exuded an intimidating aura.
The man’s footsteps faltered, and he then nonchalantly stepped aside to clear the path, not even casting another glance.
As Bai Xuan walked past him, he saw from the corner of his eye that the man’s hand, which had been resting on his sword hilt, quietly moved away.
When he was almost at the fissure exit, he saw two adventurers resting against the rock wall, pointing and whispering about him.
The older one looked at the pile of shells, shook his head, and said something.
Bai Xuan completely ignored their gazes and whispers, dragging the stone slab straight out of the fissure.
The evening sunlight was blinding. He subconsciously squinted, adjusting to the brightness outside the dungeon.
The road to the market was crowded; it was the peak time for people finishing their work.
He dragged the stone slab through the crowd. The gazes cast his way were like disturbed ripples, spreading to both sides as he passed.
Some stared at the pile of shells, some focused intensely on the purple-black shell at the bottom, and others curiously observed Bai Xuan himself, their eyes filled with surprise.
Even a few men sitting outside a tavern drinking stopped their movements. The mugs in their hands froze in mid-air, forgotten.
Yet from beginning to end, not a single person dared to step forward to block his path, and no one even dared to strike up a conversation.
Bai Xuan dragged the stone slab all the way to the entrance of the Adventurer’s Guild, stopping below the steps.
He pushed the door open and entered the guild. The door hit some clutter in the corner with a sharp crack, breaking the peace inside the hall.
The people in the hall looked up one after another, but as soon as their gazes landed on Bai Xuan, they were immediately drawn to the pile of shells behind him, unable to look away.
The young man at the front desk was looking down, processing documents. Hearing the noise at the door, he casually glanced up, but as he was about to look back down and continue working, his neck suddenly stiffened.
He stood up, walked around the counter, and went to the door to look outside.
The pile of shells was stacked at the bottom of the steps. The purple-black shell at the very bottom had a color and texture different from the norm; its extraordinariness was obvious at a glance.
“...Is that a mutant individual of a Black-Armored Crawler?”
He turned back to look at Bai Xuan, his tone half-questioning and half-incredulous.
“Probably,” Bai Xuan said. “Does the commission mention collecting this?”
The clerk shook his head, his gaze still glued to the purple-black shell. His tone carried a hint of awe. “The commission didn't mention buying it.”
He paused, then added, “But you can leave it here for now. I’ll contact the client and ask; they will most likely be interested.”
Bai Xuan nodded. Leaving the stone slab at the door, he only carried the leather bag full of regular shells into the guild, walking straight to the familiar appraisal window.
He poured out all the shells inside.
The old appraiser took them and began to examine them one by one.
He tapped the shells to listen to the sound, held them up to the light to see the patterns, and repeatedly checked the quality of the edges. His movements were as slow as ever.
However, when it came to quoting prices, he was much faster than in previous days, likely having become familiar with the quality of the goods Bai Xuan brought in.
“Grade 2 shell, average condition, four silver and fifteen. Grade 3 shell, this one has prying damage, five silver and thirty. This one is good, six silver flat...”
After finishing his quotes, he looked up at Bai Xuan with a steady tone. “The regular shells plus the Magic Cores inside come to...”
As he spoke, he quickly wrote a few lines on a piece of magic paper and pushed it toward Bai Xuan. “A total of two gold and eighty-five silver.”
Then, his gaze swept over Bai Xuan’s waist, asking as if casually, “Where is the Magic Core of that mutant?”
Bai Xuan pulled out the dark-purple object and placed it on the counter.
The old appraiser picked up the Magic Core and held it close to the lamp, turning it over to examine it carefully.
He lightly scratched the surface of the core with his fingernail, then brought it to his nose to sniff, his nostrils twitching slightly as his expression gradually grew solemn.
“Lv. 5 Magic Core, extremely high quality.” He looked up at Bai Xuan, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “This thing is interesting. Did you kill it?”
Bai Xuan remained expressionless and did not answer.
The old appraiser didn't press him, looking down to continue recording on the magic paper. “One gold coin. That’s the guild’s buyback price. If you took it to the black market yourself, the price might be higher, but you’d have to bear the risk yourself.”
“This price is fine,” Bai Xuan said.
The old appraiser put the Magic Core into a small padded box, added another line to the magic paper, and pushed it toward Bai Xuan again.
“Total price: three gold and eighty-five silver. Regarding that mutant shell at the door, you can handle that with the front desk yourself.”
Bai Xuan took the appraisal receipt and walked back to the front desk.
The young clerk took the receipt, subconsciously glanced at the purple-black shell at the door again, shook his head slightly, and then looked down to begin the settlement.
As he counted the coins, he said, “Regular shells plus Magic Cores, a total of three gold and eighty-five silver. Regarding the guild points for the commission materials, with the extra kill of a mutant individual, I’ll record seven points for you this time.”
Bai Xuan stood quietly at the counter, waiting for him to finish all the procedures.
When the clerk pushed the coins over, Bai Xuan asked, “What is my total points now?”
The clerk flipped through the records at his side and looked up. “You had twenty-four points before. Plus the seven points from this time, that’s thirty-one points total. You’ve already met the requirements for a Bronze Rank adventurer.”
Bai Xuan was concise: “Promote my adventurer rank then.”
The clerk nodded, took the crude circular Paper Rank badge Bai Xuan handed over, and marked the upgrade on the registration form.
“Come pick up your Bronze Rank badge tomorrow morning. You can come straight to me then; no need to wait in line.”
As Bai Xuan was about to turn and leave, the clerk suddenly added, “By the way, after upgrading to Bronze Rank, you can accept Iron Rank commissions.”
“But whatever you do, don't accept Iron Rank commissions blindly. Although the rewards are much more generous than Bronze Rank, the difficulty also increases sharply. Many adventurers have met their end in Iron Rank commissions because they were too eager for success.”
Bai Xuan gave a faint “mm” and said no more, turning toward the guild’s notice board.
Iron Rank commissions were posted in the most prominent position on the notice board. Bai Xuan scanned the area and quickly found the one Owen had mentioned.
【Commission Rank: Iron Rank
Client: White family
Content: Abnormal undead activity has appeared in the Northwest Mining Area of the fourth floor (the White family’s exclusive extraction zone). It has been confirmed that these undead all originate from the seventh floor. Currently, multiple miners have exhibited symptoms such as fainting, mental abnormalities, and physical corruption. Adventurers are required to eliminate the source of the undead and thoroughly purify the contaminated area.
Risk: The aforementioned undead are estimated to have a challenge level of approximately Lv. 4–5.
Reward: 15 gold coins. The reward may be increased depending on the situation. The base deposit has been stored with the guild.
Note: Personnel from the Church have performed initial treatment with little effect. Seeking adventurers or teams with special purification abilities.
Priority will be given to teams with prior experience in handling the undead. Teams must submit a team qualification certificate to apply.】
Bai Xuan’s gaze lingered for a long time on the line: “Personnel from the Church have performed initial treatment with little effect.”
Even people from the Church had been there but couldn't solve the problem; only then was it the adventurers' turn to take over.
Rate on N.U.
