There were many knives, swords, and axes on the wall; weapons of all kinds hung everywhere, their cold glints betraying a certain sharp lethality.
Bai Xuan’s gaze lingered on the various swords for a moment longer than the rest, and a thought suddenly took root in his mind.
He had always preferred the elegant and decisive nature of a sword. Now that his strength was steadily improving, perhaps it was time to try using one.
With his mind made up, Bai Xuan turned to the blacksmith and asked bluntly, “How are the swords here? I’d like to pick one.”
Hearing this, the blacksmith readily took several swords of different styles down from the wall.
He lined them up on the counter and introduced them. “I have slender and sharp rapiers, standard one-handed swords that handle well, and a few heavy swords made of thick, durable material. You can try any of them.”
Bai Xuan nodded and stepped forward, picking them up one by one to test their feel, carefully sensing the weight and center of gravity of each blade.
The first rapier was far too light; it felt like nothing in his hand, and swinging it felt flimsy. It didn't suit his combat habits at all, so Bai Xuan shook his head and placed it back where it belonged.
Next was the standard one-handed sword. The feel was decent, the weight moderate, and the blade thick enough to feel stable in his grip.
But then Bai Xuan considered his usual fighting style.
He was accustomed to smashing downward with everything he had. A slender one-handed sword like this likely wouldn't survive more than a few of his heavy strikes.
Finally, he picked up the thickest heavy sword.
The blade of this sword was nearly twice as wide as the others, and it was significantly heavier. Yet, in Bai Xuan’s hand, it felt just right, requiring no effort to hold.
He gripped the hilt and gave it a few light swings in the air. The blade sliced through the air with a low, powerful hum that sent a resonant vibration through his ears.
The handling wasn't exactly smooth, but it was fast enough. While it wasn't quite as heavy as he might have liked, it was definitely built to take a beating, which fit his combat style perfectly.
Bai Xuan nodded in satisfaction and looked up at the blacksmith. “How much for this one?”
“One gold coin,” the blacksmith replied with a smile, his tone confident. “The materials in this sword are solid—forged entirely from hard iron. It won’t snap easily and can handle plenty of abuse. It should suit you well.”
Bai Xuan didn't hesitate. He counted out a shiny gold coin from his pouch and placed it gently on the counter.
He hung the new sword at his waist, then picked up the twisted iron rod. After a moment of deliberation, he chose to put it away instead of discarding it.
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to throw it away. It was still usable, after all; it would be better to keep it for emergencies.
By the time he stepped out of the blacksmith shop, the sky had turned completely dark.
Lights flickered in the distant restaurants, and the faint sound of boisterous voices drifted over, dispelling some of the evening chill.
Bai Xuan turned into the small path leading to the inn, his steps light. It had been a very productive day.
The inn door was still half-ajar, with light spilling out through the crack.
Bai Xuan pushed the door open gently to find the thin innkeeper behind the counter, head down and writing. His quill slid quickly across the paper, leaving a scratching sound in its wake.
Hearing footsteps, the owner looked up and gave Bai Xuan a brief, neutral glance.
Bai Xuan gave him a slight nod as a greeting.
The owner nodded back without a word, then lowered his head again, returning his focus to the ledger in front of him.
Bai Xuan felt a slight stir of curiosity; the owner was usually not at the inn at this hour, so it was rare to see him in the shop today.
However, he didn't dwell on it. He went straight up the stairs, pushed open the door to his room, and stepped inside.
He closed the door behind him, walked to the bed, and sat down. Leaning casually against the headboard, he summoned his status panel with a thought.
He looked at the two rows of information representing today's gains:
【Class: Redeemer Lv. 4 (52%)】
【Current Pleasure: 224, Available Draws: 11】
Looking at the data on the panel, Bai Xuan nodded inwardly. His experience and Pleasure points were growing rapidly.
Combined with the reward he would receive from the guild tomorrow, today’s haul was truly substantial.
As expected of an Iron Rank commission, the rewards were far greater than those of ordinary quests.
Although he had consumed a lot of mana in the mine today, it hadn't caused him any substantial harm. To gain so much in return made the commission extremely worthwhile.
Bai Xuan thought to himself that teaming up for commissions sometimes really did have more benefits than drawbacks. Not only did it share the risk, but the rewards were also more significant than when working alone.
Currently, 224 Pleasure points were enough for eleven draws—exactly one ten-draw with one left over. He decided to just use them all at once.
Having made up his mind, Bai Xuan no longer hesitated and chose the ten-draw option.
Light flashed, and the results of the ten-draw were quickly revealed.
They were all experience cards, without a single other item.
Bai Xuan’s expression didn't change; he was already used to this. After all, his luck with draws had never been particularly good.
He didn't waste time and immediately used up the remaining draw. The result was exactly as expected.
More experience points, with no surprises.
Bai Xuan didn't delay any further and used all the experience cards he had drawn.
Among them, the Class EXP Cards raised his level experience from 52% to 55%, bringing him one step closer to Lv. 5.
As for the remaining Skill EXP Cards, he didn't hesitate for a second and poured them all into the Pain Empowerment skill.
The experience for this skill had already been halfway to the next level. After using all the cards, it was just enough to raise it to Level 2.
As the steady stream of experience poured in, the skill level on the panel changed accordingly.
The experience settled.
【Pain Empowerment Lv. 1 → Lv. 2! Current proficiency: 3%】
【Skill effect enhanced! Mana consumption increased: 25 → 30】
After the notification for the skill upgrade disappeared, a familiar sensation instantly washed over his body.
Bai Xuan looked down at the updated panel; his various attributes had increased again.
【Life: 810/810 → 830/830】
【Mana: 57/363 → 57/368】
With Pain Empowerment leveled up, its mana cost had risen from 25 to 30, making it the most expensive of all his skills.
However, while the cost had increased, the skill’s effect had also been significantly enhanced. Unfortunately, that troublesome side effect still remained.
He couldn't help but think of the scene in the mine, of the way Lily had been driven to madness by the side effects of Pain Empowerment.
The corner of Bai Xuan’s mouth twitched slightly. He felt inwardly fortunate that this distressing side effect had no impact on him whatsoever—that was the true benefit of this skill for him.
Whatever. He would put the matter of the side effects aside for now. His priority for tomorrow was to head to the Adventurer’s Guild to settle the rewards for this mission.
Once the rewards were settled, he would find a suitable commission to properly test out this new sword.
Now that his strength had increased, he could finally fulfill his long-held dream of being a swordsman.
...
Early the next morning, Bai Xuan pushed open the doors to the Adventurer’s Guild hall.
There weren't many people in the hall. A few adventurers sat scattered around the long tables chewing on wheat cakes, some were lingering in front of the bulletin board browsing commissions, and others were napping on the tables. The atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed.
Bai Xuan didn't stop, heading straight for the bulletin board. His gaze quickly swept over the commission slips posted there.
Bronze Rank, Iron Rank, Bronze Rank... most of them were ordinary commissions he had seen before, with nothing particularly eye-catching.
Just then, a familiar voice called out, “Bai Xuan.”
It was the young clerk at the front desk. He was waving at Bai Xuan, gesturing for him to come over.
Bai Xuan turned and walked over. The young man then pulled something from under the counter and placed it gently on the surface.
It was a brand-new metal badge. The edges were polished smooth and fine, and the surface was engraved with the clear mark of the guild. It was significantly more refined than the crude Paper Rank badge he had been carrying.
“You left in such a hurry yesterday that I forgot to give this to you,” the young man said with a smile. “A Bronze Rank badge. I’ve already got it ready for you.”
Bai Xuan reached out to take the badge, but the young man gently pressed his hand down on it, not letting go.
“I’m sorry, but the original Paper Rank badge must be recycled.”
Bai Xuan was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting this rule.
He slowly fished the crude, circular piece from his pocket. The edges had long since been worn rough, and the markings on it were blurred, almost unrecognizable from their original state.
“Is it mandatory to recycle it?” he asked softly, a hint of reluctance in his voice.
The young man nodded and explained patiently, “The badges are engraved with the mark of the Guild’s Holy Relic. A person can only hold one marked badge at a time; this is to prevent people from forging them.”
“The new badge can only be officially activated and used once the old one is returned.”
Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Your guild’s Holy Relic is kept here?”
“Of course not,” the young man said, waving his hand dismissively. “However, every guild branch has a magic circle that can communicate with the Holy Relic at the main branch. The mark on the badge is activated through that magic circle.”
Bai Xuan looked down at the old badge in his hand, his expression somewhat complex.
Since his narrow escape from the dungeon, this badge had been with him through every commission. It had accompanied him through his most difficult times, and he had grown somewhat attached to it.
He remained silent for a moment before finally placing the old badge on the counter and gently pushing it forward.
When his fingers left the edge of the badge, he instinctively lingered for a second longer before slowly pulling his hand back.
The young man took the old badge and then handed the new metal one to Bai Xuan.
As Bai Xuan gripped it, he felt the cool touch of the metal. It was slightly heavier than the old one, and the quality was far superior.
“Alright, the new badge is activated. You can use it normally now.” After saying this, the young man lowered his head and returned to his work.
Bai Xuan gripped the new badge tightly and walked back to the bulletin board.
His gaze swept over the commission slips once more, carefully examining the contents of each one.
Bronze Rank commissions were mostly basic tasks, such as gathering herbs, border patrols, or clearing out low-level monsters. The rewards weren't high, ranging from a few silver coins to a single gold coin, which wasn't very attractive.
The types of Iron Rank commissions were much more varied. Some were focused on academic research.
Tasks like “Investigating Ancient Ruin Entrances” or “Deciphering Ancient Rune Mysteries.” The rewards for these weren't high, and the danger seemed minimal.
There were also those for exploring deeper levels of the dungeon, such as the eighth floor. The rewards were very generous, but the difficulty was extreme, and ordinary adventure teams didn't dare to take them on.
Seeing the commission for the eighth floor, Bai Xuan couldn't help but think of the Silver Heart adventure team. Their captain, Kaylon, had mentioned before that they were going to conquer the eighth floor.
So many days had passed; he wondered if they had made it out safely.
Lately, he had been busy going into the dungeon every day to do commissions, so he hadn't seen them in the market. Perhaps they had just missed each other.
As Bai Xuan was lost in thought, the guild doors were suddenly pushed open.
Owen walked in.
He looked utterly exhausted, as if he hadn't closed his eyes all night. Heavy dark circles hung under his eyes, his face was ash-gray, his lips were cracked and peeling, and his messy hair was plastered to his forehead.
He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, stained with wet mud and dried, blackened blood. One could tell at a glance that he had had a grueling night.
After entering, Owen quickly scanned the hall. When his gaze landed on Bai Xuan in front of the bulletin board, his steps faltered for a moment before he slowly walked over.
“Mr. Bai Xuan,” he spoke, his voice incredibly raspy, like sandpaper rubbing together.
Bai Xuan nodded slightly in response. “Captain Owen.”
Owen stood beside him, his gaze also falling on the bulletin board, but he was clearly preoccupied, his eyes somewhat vacant.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke slowly. “The White family steward hasn't arrived yet. We’ll have to wait a little longer to settle the rewards.”
Bai Xuan gave a soft grunt of affirmation, asking no further questions.
Owen paused again before adding, “I’m going to take the magic cores we collected yesterday to the appraisal counter for a valuation. When the steward arrives, we’ll settle everything together. I won't short you a single coin of your share.”
“Alright,” Bai Xuan responded simply.
Owen said no more, turning and walking toward the appraisal counter.
Bai Xuan watched his back, noticing that his steps were heavy and his shoulders were slumped. The man looked as if he were being crushed by something, having lost all of his previous vitality.
It likely wasn't just because of Karl’s death; perhaps there was another situation, like that seed they had just obtained.
Owen reached the appraisal counter and spoke a few low words to the old appraiser. Then, he pulled the bag containing the magic cores from his coat and placed it gently on the counter, waiting for the appraiser’s valuation.
Bai Xuan withdrew his gaze and returned his attention to the commission slips on the bulletin board.
There would be a receipt after the appraisal; Owen wouldn't go so far as to conspire with the appraiser over such a small amount of money.
Besides, he had no interest in standing there watching the appraiser count magic cores one by one.
He saw such scenes every day and truly couldn't work up any interest.
He continued to focus on browsing the commissions on the board, his eyes carefully scanning every word.
There were a few combat-related Iron Rank commissions with decent rewards, but the listed requirements were troublesome.
They either required a team of three or more, or the presence of someone with professional scouting experience. In his current solo state, he couldn't take them.
Commissions above Iron Rank had all sorts of requirements. Only the exploration-type commissions had no major restrictions, but since he didn't have the corresponding skills, combat was still what suited him best.
Looking at those requirements, Bai Xuan thought to himself that once his strength grew a bit more, perhaps he could try to find an opportunity to form his own team.
Just as he was thinking this, the guild doors were pushed open once again.
Rate on N.U.
