Chapter 6: A Quest Upgrade and a New Mystery

After changing into clean clothes, Elara first led Hilvyn to the cafeteria for lunch before heading to the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Good afternoon, Miss Black Rose.”

“Hello, Serene.”

As Elara spoke, she pulled out the fangs of a demonic wolf from her storage pouch and placed them on the counter.

“Miss Black Rose is as formidable as ever.”

Serene immediately began counting the materials.

“Actually, we owe a lot to her this time.”

Elara subtly stepped aside, revealing Hilvyn, who was curiously looking around behind her.

“Eh! This…” Hilvyn, caught by their gaze, paused for a second before flashing a silly grin. “Hehehe…”

She had charmed her way through.

“Oh, little Hilvyn is truly impressive.”

Serene praised her aloud, yet her thoughts were on something entirely different.

She was more inclined to believe that Elara was simply looking out for her new companion. After all, just a few hours prior, Elara had purchased several skill scrolls at the guild.

Serene’s experience told her that a novice mage, even an elf, wouldn’t be of much help with a B-rank quest.

The primary reason for her conviction was Elara’s undisputed capability to complete B-rank quests alone; Serene had absolute faith in her strength.

Of course, Serene also held considerable expectations for Hilvyn’s current potential and future achievements.

“Would you be interested in more advanced magic scrolls?”

Serene submitted the completed quest and arranged for the reward to be delivered.

Then, she smoothly handed over four forms.

These were lists of magic scrolls corresponding to Elara and Hilvyn’s four respective attributes.

“It’s the usual: black text indicates scrolls currently in stock at the guild, while blue text signifies items that are out of stock…”

“Let’s set that aside for now.”

Elara interrupted Serene; something more urgent demanded her attention.

She then retrieved a circular, wooden tabletop-like board from her storage pouch.

Serene’s eyes subtly scanned left and right.

The board bore a grotesque, terrifying grinning face—it was the hide of the Grinning Treant.

“I’d like to apply for a quest upgrade.”

If the actual situation after a quest’s completion or failure didn’t match the quest’s initial description, an adventurer could apply for an upgrade.

This would increase the reward and record an ‘over-completion’ of the task.

Furthermore, to compensate the adventurer, no commission would be deducted from this particular quest.

“This is a treant hide!” Serene recognized it instantly. “I’ll inform the vice-guildmaster. May I take this material for testing?”

Testing the treant’s strength and the hide’s quality would also help determine the extent of the quest’s grade increase.

Serene took the hide and turned to leave.

“Please wait a moment, both of you.”

“Mm.” Elara nodded in response.

Quest upgrades were rare opportunities, significantly aiding both guild team and individual rank progression.

“How about it? The money from B-rank quests is substantial, right?”

From another receptionist’s window not far away, a familiar and irritating voice drifted over.

“This is far more than C-rank quests; one is worth two or three of those,” replied the speaker, who was a new member of the Hyena Squad.

The other man and woman in the squad also chimed in intermittently.

Elara glanced sideways, disinclined to look any further.

“Hilvyn.” Elara turned her head. “What level has your magic affinity reached?”

“How do I check?”

“Carefully sense the wind and ice elemental magic, then tell me your connection level with these two attributes.”

Hilvyn complied, relaying her sensations.

“Wind, 44%… no, 42%. Ice is 40%.”

Indeed.

Elara’s face clearly conveyed, ‘I knew it.’

Elves not only possessed an innate affinity for magic, starting at twenty or thirty percent, but their magic affinity growth rate also surpassed that of humans, with the exception of certain gifted individuals.

After a few more minutes, Serene returned with the announcement, having handled everything.

Elara put down the magic scroll list she had been using to pass the time.

“Miss Black Rose, the proposed solution is to upgrade the quest reward to A-rank and record it as an over-ranked quest completion.”

Serene returned the treant hide to Elara and then produced a map, continuing:

“If possible, please mark the treant’s location. The guild requires other parts of the treant as material, and you will be compensated based on their recovery value later.”

Elara readily agreed. After all, she already possessed the most valuable part—the hide.

The other parts required disassembly, transport, and processing, which she would leave to the professionals.

“Additionally, are you willing to sell this hide? The guild can offer compensation equivalent to its market value, or open up a selection of non-marketable items for bartering.”

Materials from wood-elemental monsters were more versatile when fresh. This particular hide, having been stripped within a day of the treant’s death, was in prime condition.

Elara flipped through the exchange list, already having made her selection.

“Yes, I’d like to exchange it for an Amplification Staff and the magic scrolls: ‘Shadow Arrow,’ ‘Shadow Silk Bind,’ ‘Listen to the Wind,’ and ‘Chase the Wind.'”

Shadow Arrow was a high-tier long-range attack spell, originally a non-marketable item at the guild, while Shadow Silk Bind was a mid-tier binding spell.

The recent encounter with the treant had made Elara realize the importance of restraint-type magic.

Listen to the Wind and Chase the Wind were both mid-tier spells—one for ultra-long-range reconnaissance and the other for increasing the user’s movement speed, intended for Hilvyn’s self-preservation.

Magic spells were categorized into Low-tier, Mid-tier, High-tier, Excellent, and Epic.

“No problem.”

Serene submitted the list of requested items to the warehouse administrator and took the hide.

“The remaining value is 3 gold and 31 silver, which will be delivered along with the quest reward shortly.”

Serene explained with a smile.

“As for the treant’s corpse, the results will be available in 2-3 days.”

Business concluded, Serene’s smile took on a different nuance.

“Miss Black Rose, don’t you find it a bit… implausible, how you just pulled such a huge piece of treant hide from that small, ordinary pouch?”

Serene even gestured with her hands, indicating her long-held suspicions about the matter.

Elara froze.

When Elara had performed the act, she had specifically checked if anyone else was watching.

This reminder also allowed Serene to witness Elara’s slightly embarrassed expression for the very first time.

Hilvyn observed, puzzled.

The ‘storage pouch’ on Elara’s waist was indeed just an ordinary leather satchel; the true spatial storage effect came from the space ring hidden within it.

However, being in a foreign land without kin or connections, it was only natural to adhere to the principle of not flaunting wealth.

Space rings, compared to storage pouches, could hold dozens of times more items and were incredibly convenient to carry and use, making them exceedingly rare.

Elara had merely taken advantage of a good deal, buying an ordinary satchel to disguise her space ring as a simple storage pouch.

“…Thank you for the reminder.”

Serene waved her hand, indicating it was a minor matter.

“Additionally, Hilvyn’s emblem will be delivered shortly. For the rank advancement assessment, the conditions and content require—”

Serene’s words trailed off mid-sentence, her voice rising in inflection, implicitly asking Elara: ‘Should you explain it privately, or should I?’

“I’ll tell her,” Elara understood.

But not right now.

“Serene, the items are here.”

The warehouse administrator delivered the reward, Hilvyn’s guild emblem, the scrolls, and the staff all at once.

Elara calculated the total: a staggering 213 gold coins and 31 silver coins.

A-rank quests truly were profitable.

Elara shifted her gaze to the side—Hilvyn’s eyes sparkled as she lovingly handled the staff, clearly treasuring it.

Appraisal.

[Name: Refined Amplification Staff]

[Effect: Slightly increases magic circulation speed, moderately increases magic damage.]

Not bad at all.

That afternoon, the two went to the forest’s edge to study and practice magic. In the evening, they returned to the city for dinner, then bathed separately and went to bed.

“Good night, Master.”

“Don’t call me Master.”

“Okay, Ma—” Hilvyn had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep.

Elara looked at the defenseless, pretty face, smiled indulgently, and then drifted off to sleep herself.

As the eastern sky lightened, Elara woke up at her usual early hour.

She glanced to her side.

^_^?

⊙▽⊙

‘Sister, who are you?’