The female Warlock Shirley chatted with them for a while, mostly about recent happenings in Gray Rock Town and some dynamics of the Adventurer’s Guild.
After a while, she gracefully stood up, her flaming red hair swaying like fire as she left.
With the door closing again, the invisible pressure in the room seemed to dissipate.
Gauss and Aaliyah simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, then exchanged a smile.
"Didn’t expect to stumble upon an unexpected windfall," Gauss said.
"This time the luck is indeed good; since I became a bronze Adventurer, it’s the first time I’ve encountered such a situation," Aaliyah added.
"First time? Is it that rare?"
"Yes."
This somewhat dashed Gauss’s idea of earning a hefty bounty by searching for minions of the evil god.
But on second thought, if evidence of the evil god was everywhere, at 10 Gold Coins each, the Adventurer’s Guild would have been plucked bare long ago.
Moreover, the situation itself carries bigger dangers.
Not being able to continuously earn money from this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Leaving the reception room, at the counter in the mission hall, the two collected their rewards for the special information on the spot, 10 shiny gold coins, and split them equally as they did with the commission.
Entering the public rest area in the guild’s courtyard, Gauss noticed that today there were far more people gathered here than usual, and it was unusually quiet.
Many were holding a copy of the same kingdom’s urgent special edition.
The bold, eye-catching headline on the front page almost scorches the eyes.
Draw the Sword Trial! Who will be the next candidate for Sword Saint?
The two found an empty table to sit at and borrowed a copy from the newspaper section to read.
Such a sensational event in the human world, being completely unaware would indeed seem too outdated.
Gauss took the newspaper, with a strong ink scent that seemed to still carry the warmth of leaving the printing press, and his eyes were quickly drawn to its content.
This special edition, funded by the royal family, was urgently distributed free to Adventure Guilds nationwide, intended to disseminate this shocking news immediately, but its deeper intention is also evident.
If it could inspire adventurers from the nation to head to the imperial capital, should a lucky citizen of the nation draw that legendary holy sword, and then be cultivated, the kingdom might in the future possess its legendary powerhouse.
Of course, the newspaper’s content is quite practical, not merely inciting but also laying out the real challenges plainly.
First of all, the journey is far and the costs are self-borne.
To travel from Carlos Kingdom to the imperial capital Oridian, one must traverse the entire kingdom and then cross the vast southern territory of the empire, which is a nearly insurmountable distance for most adventurers, and the travel expenses are astronomical.
Secondly, adventurers must be prepared for the possibility of returning without any gains.
Because earning the holy sword’s recognition is a matter of uncertainty.
It doesn’t have fixed positions like Gauss’s previous world did, releasing them for others to compete for, but rather depends on the holy sword’s preference.
Perhaps tomorrow a boy sporting ragged linen clothes and dry residue of snot on his nose might pull it out.
It could also be that years pass, a decade, or even longer without anyone earning the holy sword’s recognition.
Legend has it that Sword Saint Roland was merely a rural peasant when he drew the holy sword.
The day he drew the holy sword just happened to be a public open day, and only on that day, common folks who passed preliminary reviews, even if not Professional, could approach the holy sword.
Apart from the hopeful gamblers who went for luck, the guards upholding order, and small merchants attempting to make a living, there weren’t even many ordinary bystanders witnessing the moment for the first time, as with many years passing without anyone earning the holy sword’s recognition, after the initial thrill wore off, few would think the holy sword would select a master among a crowd of rural villagers on an ordinary morning.
"Are you going to give it a try?" Aaliyah put down the newspaper and looked at Gauss, asking.
"What kind of fuss would I cause?" Gauss shook his head.
Let’s not mention the distance.
Moreover, it is rumored that the holy sword has a spirit and will choose the Adventurer most suitable for itself.
This time, most Professionals heading to Oridian are those who use melee weapons, such as Warriors.
"I’m a Caster."
If it were a holy staff, perhaps he would have a bit of possibility.
"I was just joking around." Aaliyah was amused by her own unrealistic thoughts; she couldn’t quite imagine the scene where the legendary holy sword would exclude tens of thousands of promising young Swordsmen and choose a completely unrelated Caster as its master.
Even though Casters can master some swordsmanship, they are still far from matching a true Professional Swordsman.
If that scene were to truly occur, it might become explosive news that would shock the entire human world.
Once Gauss satisfied his curiosity, he put down the newspaper.
The two are now just small level 1 Adventurers, and those grand narratives have no connection with them.
What he needs to do now is to continue developing steadily.
Expanding the bestiary, slaying monsters, and advancing to higher levels sooner.
As for other matters at hand, at least wait until he has acquired enough strength.
After leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, the two agreed to meet early the next day to sell off the Ratman loot.
Though they initially intended to dispose of them, after receiving a hefty reward for intelligence, these spoils suddenly seemed somewhat inconsequential.
Thus, they decided to each go back and rest first.
"This is my address; if you have urgent matters, you can come directly to this house to find me."
Before parting ways, Aaliyah pointed out her residence in the detailed Gray Rock Town map at the Adventurer’s Guild to Gauss.
Comparing it to the mental map, Gauss was surprised to find that the detached house she bought was quite close to the inn.
Just a few steps away.
"Let’s walk together; I also live nearby."
"What a coincidence?"
Despite several prior meetings arranged at the Adventurer’s Guild entrance, Gauss hadn’t noticed how close she lived.
"You know the inn by the street, with walls painted in pale yellow; that’s where I’m temporarily staying."
"Oh, I have an impression. Then let’s meet at the inn where you live tomorrow."
"Hmm."
After finishing their conversation, they descended the stairs to the first floor.
Gauss’s gaze glanced at the task wall, searched for a while, and returned with nothing, silently retracting his sight.
Walking out of the Adventurer’s Guild, the two continued along the street.
Finally, they arrived at the street where the inn was located.
"See you tomorrow."
"Mm, see you tomorrow." Gauss waved his hand, watching Aaliyah’s figure disappear into the alley.
From her brisk steps, it could be seen that she was in a very good mood at the moment.
Was it because she earned money?
Gauss was in a good mood too.
He now had 9 gold and 85 silver coins on him.
Even though he was carrying a debt of 20 gold coins, he only needed to pay it off within half a year, the financial pressure wasn’t too great.
He even asked Aaliyah on the way there whether there were any suitable vacant houses in the vicinity, wondering whether to rent one or buy one.
Buying one would provide another place to stay occasionally, which would be nice.
After all, a price around one gold coin wasn’t considered a particularly large expense for him.
Even without extra gains, relying on commission plus selling loot should grant each person a reward of about 0.7-1 gold coin per task.
With 1 to 2 tasks, one could buy a house in a relatively secluded area, the earning efficiency of Professionals could make many average people envious.
Of course, this is actually reasonable.
After all, high risk brings high reward, many bottom Adventurers have struggled for years to advance to a Profession, if they were earning bits and pieces, no one would be doing this job long ago.
...
Next day.
Gauss got up from the bed.
Eyelids heavy.
"Ha—"
He yawned.
He knew his current state was probably not very well.
For some reason, he had a rare nightmare last night.
Dreamt he couldn’t move, while a tall black shadow kept cutting off his limbs with a sword, growing back and cutting again, repeating endlessly.
Even though he didn’t feel much pain in the dream, witnessing himself being chopped into pieces over and over wasn’t a good feeling.
Luckily, it was just a dream.
In the second half of the night, he woke up once and then returned to normal.
But this still resulted in his poor sleep quality last night.
At the moment, he had rarely little energy.
"Could it be the influence of contact with that evil god’s item?" Gauss shook his head.
He couldn’t figure out what was happening.
But if the second half of the night returned to normal, it might just have been an accident, possibly with some minor psychological impact.
Let’s see.
Gauss yawned again.
Aside from not sleeping well and thus having little energy, he had no other adverse reactions.
"Morning."
"Morning."
Sofia was teaching the neighborhood girl Winnie some skills as a waitress.
Yes, the same girl Sofie had temporarily pulled over as a clerk the night Gauss was celebrating.
She has now been formally hired as a regular employee.
Because business in the store has been quite good lately.
Apparently, this situation might have something to do with Gauss.
Because he, the bronze Adventurer, occasionally hanging around, many dared not cause trouble.
And perhaps due to some intelligence circulating underground, even those occasional street-lurking social idlers intentionally avoid the inn.
Moreover, Gauss wasn’t someone with a bad temper, although he seemed to have a professional’s dignified air, the first impression didn’t suggest someone who bullied others at will.
Hence, some peace-loving tenants found the place safer and were more willing to stay longer.
Sofia had upgraded the menu, and now the inn’s dishes weren’t like when Gauss first crossed over.
Gauss heard she was considering hiring a chef lately.
Seeing her no longer slacking off, busying herself with the small inn business, Gauss felt happy for her.
"I’m not very spirited today."
"Didn’t sleep well." Gauss didn’t elaborate on his nightmare.
"You should rest more, maybe try slowing down the task frequency?" Sofia offered a suggestion.
"Mm." Gauss casually nodded; although she wasn’t clear about the specifics, her concern was genuine.
Next to her, the new staff Winnie was wiping the counter while constantly casting curious glances at Gauss.
Especially at the bronze badge hanging in front of him.
It was her first time seeing such a "big figure" up close, inevitably more curious, seemingly wanting to see whether Profession differs significantly from ordinary people.
She eventually drew a conclusion from observing.
There was.
Particularly good-looking.