"Could it be... some evil ritual?"
Aaliyah spoke slowly.
"Evil ritual? Is it related to an evil deity?" Gauss pressed on, fragments of memories about malevolent gods surfacing in his mind, those beings that stand in opposition to the righteous gods, representing chaos and evil.
"Yes." Aaliyah nodded solemnly. "But the name that ratman mentioned earlier, I’ve never heard of it."
Gauss understood.
If even Aaliyah wasn’t aware, then his original body’s limited knowledge as an ordinary person couldn’t be relied upon.
"Let’s take this back." Gauss’s gaze fell on a faded scale with slightly curled edges in the center of the dried-up pool. "The guild might know something."
The Adventurer’s Guild has regulations that reporting special information can also earn rewards.
"Be careful." Aaliyah softly reminded.
For ordinary people, anything involving an evil deity signifies misfortune.
"Alright."
Gauss wrapped the scale in cloth and cautiously placed it in his storage pouch.
He didn’t really believe that this group of weak ratmen could establish a deep connection with an evil deity.
The logic was simple: an evil deity’s gaze would likely favor more powerful individuals.
The two of them once again carefully checked the altar room to ensure nothing was overlooked, and quickly retreated.
The next task was to clean up the battlefield and inventory the spoils.
Other than the room completely burnt by oil, with embers still smoldering, the rest of the quiet rooms were filled with the ratmen’s living clutter and crude equipment.
Aaliyah moved swiftly, clearly more experienced than Gauss, perhaps also with a bit of a desire to prove her worth.
She sorted quickly.
Weapons covered in rust but still salvageable, pieces of armor, a small amount of uncontaminated ore, and some strange bones or shells that might be sold to an alchemist.
Useful items were packed and bundled, to be stored later in Gauss’s capacious storage pouch.
For adventurers, many times the mission commission is just the baseline; valuable spoils are often the main income, sometimes even far exceeding the commission itself.
Returning to the room where the fire initially started, the flames were nearly extinguished, only stubbornly burning on the charred remains of a dozen ratman corpses.
The fire consumed many things, but fortunately, some iron items withstood the heat, keeping losses within an acceptable range.
After thoroughly cleaning out the eerie cellar, the two hurriedly left the oppressive underground space.
Returning to the surface.
The two collected and packed up the still somewhat intact weapons and pieces of armor left behind on the battlefield above.
With everything handled, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This commission wasn’t particularly difficult, but incredibly dirty; now both were covered in blood and grime, exuding a strong stench.
"Magic Tricks!"
Gauss raised his hand and cast a few tricks on himself, invisible waves of magic power swept over him. The stains retreated like the tide, and the odor was largely neutralized.
He noticed Aaliyah’s gaze, her eyes contained a hint of expectation yet a touch of embarrassment.
She was also covered in grime and stickiness.
Gauss gestured for her to come over.
"It shouldn’t exhaust too much of your magic power, right? If it does, then never mind, I’m used to it anyway." Aaliyah’s voice was very soft.
"It’s alright." Gauss waved his hand. "My magic reserves... are a bit more abundant than the average caster. Besides, tricks don’t take much effort."
He would replenish that bit of magic with a few extra bites on the way.
"Then... please." Aaliyah approached.
Gauss repeated his previous actions. As the magic power flowed, the filth and stench on Aaliyah were peeled away layer by layer, leaving her feeling refreshed, so much that she couldn’t help but flex her muscles a bit, her body feeling a few pounds lighter.
"Much better." Aaliyah moved her limbs.
Gauss found a clean spot nearby to sit down, continuing to take out food and eat.
Aaliyah was no longer surprised.
She just thought he had a large appetite and got hungry quickly.
Sitting down beside Gauss.
"It seems so great being a mage, being able to learn so many useful tricks and spells." Aaliyah sincerely remarked.
In the past, she wouldn’t speak so personally with temporary mage teammates.
But she felt Gauss was different; he had a special kind of friendliness, and she wasn’t worried that an accidental slip would cause him to have negative thoughts about her.
"Can’t druids do the same?" Gauss asked curiously while chewing on his food and drinking water. "Didn’t I just see you casting a spell? Can’t you buy spellbooks to learn other magic?"
"No." Aaliyah nodded.
"The natural power within us is different from the magic power of mages; it only allows us to master specific tricks and spells."
"For instance, we can’t learn magic tricks."
"The similar trick we master is the Druid Trick, but its effects aren’t as comprehensive as magic tricks; it only has four effects: weather prediction, accelerating plant growth, mimicking minor natural phenomena, and controlling small flames."
"The spells we can use are more related to nature."
"I see." Gauss nodded.
He gained more understanding of the differences between casters and other professions capable of using spells.
"However, you can form a bond with an animal companion, and in the future, master shape-shifting and summoning spells; actually, your prospects are quite promising too."
He felt that every profession had its strengths and weaknesses.
Just like that big wolf, she had an attentive partner, and in battle, an extra support.
Aaliyah smiled without saying a word and rubbed the head of the big wolf that came up to her willingly.
"By the way, it’s called Ulfen, which means ’Wolf’s Heart’ in ancient language."
"Ulfen."
Gauss called out to the grey wolf, and the grey wolf quickly turned its attention to him, sticking out its tongue in a friendly manner.
He threw out a piece of dried meat.
The grey wolf, graciously, didn’t hesitate and ate it in one bite, then licked around its lips eagerly, showing obvious signs of flattery.
"Haha, so greedy." Gauss threw out a few more pieces of dried meat.
With the presence of the Storage Pouch, he could carry more food on regular days.
So for now, he’s not lacking in food, and during normal adventure journeys, he can also hunt some wild animals at any time, slaughter them and put them in the Storage Pouch, or collect some wild fruits, wild vegetables, and other greens to continuously replenish his food supplies.
The two rested under the shade of a tree for a while.
After Gauss finished replenishing.
They then headed towards the direction of the carriage driver.
The carriage driver was indeed waiting under the agreed oak tree.
At that moment, it was about four in the afternoon.
The two boarded the carriage and headed towards the estate.
This time the commission had an unexpected situation, they needed the estate’s caretaker to write a supplementary note for the commission.
Moreover, the rat corpses outside the chapel might also need the estate to organize manpower to burn them clean.
"Be cautious." Gauss gave Aaliyah a look before formally entering the estate.
Although it was unclear if there was a special connection between this estate a few kilometers away and the Ratmen at the chapel, it never hurts to be more vigilant.
The two arrived at the estate’s gate, and the guards let them through directly upon seeing them.
Not long after, the caretaker Hoven rushed over.
"Thank you both for your efforts; the servants have already prepared hot water for washing up, would you like to freshen up first?"
"No rush, there’s something to discuss with you, sir."
Gauss recounted the process of the commission just then.
He concealed the intelligence possibly related to the evil god, only mentioning that he killed all the Ratmen. The number did not match the mission, but indeed none were let go, and furthermore, the estate’s manpower would be needed later to handle the corpses of the other Ratmen, rats, and giant rats.
"I understand."
"I will send someone to check the situation near the chapel afterwards, and if it’s true, I will provide a supplementary note for you two." Hoven nodded.
Gauss watched him carefully throughout, not noticing any unusual expression, and heaved a slight sigh of relief.
After explaining the situation, the two also went separately to the bathhouse to wash their bodies and changed into clean clothes.
They spent a night in a guest room at the estate.
The night passed without incident.
Next day.
Hoven probably sent someone to check the condition around the abandoned chapel.
He promptly wrote a confirmation statement regarding the completion of this commission for the two.
Actually, the two could carry the Recording Crystal Stone provided by the guild, but most people don’t like to carry it after becoming bronze adventurers, feeling it poses privacy risks.
Anyway, the guild didn’t make it a mandatory requirement.
The merchant caravan they traveled with yesterday even waited for them an extra night, appearing to be specially coming to the estate for purchase. At that time, they could just take it as a free ride back to Grayrock Town.
"Rumble rumble—"
In the shaky ride.
The two returned to Grayrock Town once again.
Gauss got off the carriage ahead of time outside the town.
He noticed there seemed to be more vehicles and pedestrians waiting for inspection outside the town than before.
"Why is today’s inspection so slow?"
"Yeah, I’ve been waiting forever, and this line isn’t moving."
"Shh, after all, that incident just happened, sigh... stricter inspections aren’t necessarily a bad thing."
"What happened?" Gauss caught onto the murmurs of the pedestrians in line.
But he and Aaliyah did not have to queue like them.
At the gate, the guards saw the two, hesitated for a moment, exchanged some words in low tones with a companion, and eventually allowed them to pass through directly.
It seems something indeed happened...
Gauss noted this scene and thought.
Knowing that the last time he and Aaliyah came in, it wasn’t so laborious.
Aaliyah was also a bit puzzled, but like Gauss, she was unaware, as they both just finished a mission.
Entering the town’s main avenue.
The two overheard conversations in the shops and finally learned what had happened.
Recently, in the past two days, there was indeed a quite sensational piece of news for all humanity.
The nearly one hundred eighty-year-old Legendary Sword Saint quietly passed away in the capital of the Empire.
Though in recent years, this Legendary Sword Saint had been reclusive in the imperial capital, no longer appearing in public, his passing still caused a great commotion as he was considered the undisputed strongest force of humanity at his peak.
Even a remote border town like Grayrock Town, where Gauss was from, was affected.