Chương 29: Reunion Once More

The moment Zelier stepped into the Adventurer's Association, he collided with someone's embrace.

"Zelier! It's been half a month! I've missed you so much!" The person wrapped him in a passionate hug. A strong masculine scent rushed over him, leaving Zelier slightly dizzy. Grey was grinning from ear to ear, his excitement impossible to hide. He patted Zelier heavily on the shoulder, and even looked like he was about to lean in for a kiss.

"No, no, no... don't kiss my face." Zelier was still extremely resistant to this particular way of greeting people.

"Come on! Vaelis, let's hug too." Grey turned toward the half-elf ranger with a mischievous smile.

"Don't stand there like a toad trying to jump on someone. You're just disgusting." Vaelis looked utterly disgusted and took two or three steps backward.

"Pretty energetic, aren't you? How's the injury?" Marcus walked over and looked Grey up and down.

"I'm fine now." Grey punched himself in the chest with confidence.

"Good as new." Zelier stared in disbelief. He walked over, grabbed Grey's clothes, and carefully examined his shoulder. The place where the metal shard had pierced him before had already healed completely. Even the scab had fallen away, leaving behind only a faint white scar. Zelier then pressed against Grey's chest. The muscles beneath his fingers felt firm and powerful, and he could even feel the strong heartbeat beneath them. This recovery ability was honestly ridiculous.

It had only been around ten days, and Grey was already fully recovered. If this happened to an ordinary person back on Earth, wouldn't they have to stay in bed for at least a month?

"All warriors are like this. They're tough as nails." Seeing Zelier's shocked expression, Vaelis casually explained.

"After awakening the Heart of Qi, their recovery ability becomes far superior to ordinary people." The biggest difference between a Warrior Apprentice and a Low-tier Warrior was the Heart of Qi. A Warrior Apprentice was merely an ordinary person who had undergone training. Their body hadn't undergone any fundamental transformation. But once someone awakened the Heart of Qi and became a Low-tier Warrior, everything changed.

If measured using Zelier's attribute system, their Strength, Agility, and Constitution would all receive significant improvements, along with abilities like accelerated healing. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. As they continued their training, the Heart of Qi would also develop different advancement paths depending on the individual's strengths and combat style.

Generally speaking, warriors with high Constitution were better suited to become vanguards. Those with higher Agility and Strength had more options. They could pursue paths such as assassins, swordsmen, or rangers. These differences became especially obvious after reaching Upper-tier Warrior and choosing advanced classes. For example, a Guardian and a Sword Saint had completely different combat styles.

"Speaking of which... can mages awaken the Heart of Qi too?" Zelier suddenly remembered something. That kind of regeneration ability was something he wanted as well.

"In theory? Probably." Vaelis shrugged.

"But very few mages choose to do that."

"You can't split your focus. If you try to have everything, you'll end up mastering nothing. You won't get far down either the warrior path or the mage path." Everyone welcomed Grey's return. Although Vaelis clearly wasn't fond of the guy, he didn't object to him rejoining the team. And so, the original party reunited once again. When choosing their next quest, Marcus still asked for Zelier's opinion.

"Maybe we should try a Low-tier Task?" Zelier suggested. Zelier was currently Level 4 (27/175). He still needed 148 experience points to level up. Continuing to take small, ordinary quests would simply be too inefficient. Low-tier Tasks were also divided into ranks, from one-star to three-star. Most of them involved monsters rated as [Difficult], making them significantly more dangerous than Ordinary Tasks. Naturally, the rewards were also much higher. Marcus thought for a moment before nodding.

"Alright." After witnessing Flame Breath, his confidence in Zelier had grown even further. And now that Grey had returned to the team, it was indeed time to challenge more difficult quests. Adventurers sought adventure for a reason. Fortune always came with risk.

"As for Low-tier Tasks..." Marcus scanned the quest board until he found a suitable target. He reached out and pulled down a request sheet.

"How about this one?" 【Giant Winged Bat Subjugation Task】 The Giant Winged Bats residing in the western depths of the Ashwood Forest have recently entered their breeding season. Their temperament has become extremely aggressive, and their attacks have grown increasingly frequent. The Giant Winged Bats have already injured six people and killed one villager in the nearby Creekvalley Village. Their threat level is extremely high.

Task Rank: Low-tier Task (★) Objective: Eliminate the Giant Winged Bat and clear out the hatchlings inside its nest. Reward: Killing a Giant Winged Bat grants a bounty of 4 Gold Coins. Each hatchling eliminated grants an additional reward of 50 Silver Coins. Association Notes: Giant Winged Bats during their breeding season are exceptionally violent. Frontline fighters must prepare high-quality equipment capable of withstanding high-altitude dives.

It is recommended that the party include at least one ranged combatant capable of attacking airborne targets. Rangers and mages are both suitable.

"Giant Winged Bats, huh..." Grey leaned over to take a look.

"Shouldn't be a problem. I've killed one with another party before. They're just annoying because they keep flying around in the sky."

"As long as Marcus can keep the Giant Winged Bat occupied, Zelier and I should be able to knock it out of the air." Vaelis nodded.

"Yeah... shouldn't be too difficult." Zelier agreed. The Giant Winged Bat itself, plus its hatchlings, should provide roughly enough experience to earn him another level.

"Alright, we'll take this one." Marcus walked toward the front desk to complete the registration. While they waited, a deep and heavy voice suddenly came from beside Zelier.

"You're the mage who helped kill the Mistwraith and the Giant Slime?" Zelier turned his head. His memories quickly supplied the answer. It was the half-orc warrior he had seen in the Association last time. Zelier himself was not short. He stood at over 1. 8 meters tall. But the half-orc warrior was over two meters tall, towering above him by nearly two heads. Standing in front of him felt like facing a small mountain. The pressure was overwhelming.

"Yes... can I help you?" Zelier slightly raised his chin and met the half-orc's gaze.

"Nothing. I just think you're pretty impressive. Strong, too." The half-orc revealed what he clearly considered a friendly smile. It still looked rather intimidating.

"My name's Gark. If there's a chance, let's go on a quest together."

"Oh... I'm Zelier." Zelier awkwardly shook his hand.

"Sure. If there's an opportunity." After exchanging greetings, the half-orc Gark slung his broadaxe over his shoulder and swaggered out of the Adventurer's Association. After he left, Zelier discreetly glanced around. Sure enough, several people were intentionally or unintentionally looking in his direction. Looks like I'm becoming somewhat famous. Thinking about it, it made sense. Among all the adventurers here, Zelier was the only mage. And he had already participated in multiple monster subjugations.

Keeping a low profile was probably impossible now.