Chương 9: Reward and Aspirations

After waiting in line for a bit, it was soon his turn.

"Good afternoon, Miss Celia." Kyle stepped up to the counter and placed a small pouch with slime condensate and a larger pouch oozing blood. Celia looked up, her expression brightening slightly.

"Good afternoon, Kyle. Back already?" Her gaze dropped to the two pouches.

"Let me see…" She opened the smaller one first, checking its contents.

"Ten slime condensates… That's good." She nodded in approval before setting it aside. Moving to the second pouch, her expression changed.

"Fifteen goblin ears, that many? You just accepted this quest this morning, and you're a solo adventurer…" Her gaze shifted to the bandages on his face and arms.

"Well, there were more than expected." Kyle scratched the back of his head as he recounted his encounter with the large team of goblins.

"15 goblins in a single team, that's very unusual." Celia's expression turned serious. For creatures like goblins, moving in such a large team would just make them a target for larger predators and make it harder to hunt smaller prey. Moreover, goblins were chaotic evil creatures; without a more powerful monster keeping them in check, conflict was an inevitability upon gathering in such large numbers.

Consequently, such a large number of goblins moving in a team usually indicated the presence of higher-level individuals behind them.

"We have received similar reports recently. There has been an unusual goblin activity within the outer range of the silverbark forest recently. Your experience further corroborates the strange behavior of goblins over the past month. I'll inform the guild master of this. Thank you for the information, Kyle." Celia confirmed and thanked.

"Fortunately, you returned safely." She added. Kyle just smiled at this. Celia heaved a sigh and straightened her posture.

"In any case, you've completed both quests exceptionally." Celia smiled as she registered both tasks as completed before tallying the coins for the quests and putting them in a small pouch.

"Here you go, 8 silver and 50 copper coins," she said as she handed him the small pouch. She paused briefly, then added,"Well done for your first hunt." Kyle picked up the pouch, weighing it lightly in his hand.

"Thank you." Kyle thanked her with a smile on his face before turning away. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"By the way, Kyle, although I've already reminded you once, I'll say it again. I recommend that you find a suitable party to join. If you were in a party, you might have avoided injury this time." Celia reminded him before he could walk away. Looking back, Kyle nodded.

"I know, Celia. If I find the right party, I'll naturally join." Kyle waved and left. As he walked through the streets, he looked at the sun slowly disappearing into the horizon.

'It's not that I don't want to join a party, I'm already at the peak of the apprentice class, and it's a matter of days before I reach the professional rank. So joining an apprentice class adventure party now would be a bad choice. I'll have to leave once I become a professional anyway, and professional parties wouldn't consider me for now…' Kyle's thoughts churned as he walked out of the adventure guild.

'It's best that I remain a solo adventurer for now. I'll consider joining a party after becoming a professional.' He decided. The first thing Kyle did upon reaching his room was take a bath. It took almost an hour of scrubbing and constantly changing the water before thoroughly cleaning himself. He packed the dirty clothes, deciding to take them for cleaning later. Sitting on his bed, Kyle carefully applied the herbal paste and bandages again to his hands.

"These injuries aren't deep. It shouldn't affect training much." Kyle clenched and unclenched his hands. Apart from a faint, dull ache, he didn't feel much pain. The wound should heal in a few days by itself.

"Thankfully, I don't have to seek a priest for healing. 3 silver coins saved, I guess." He traced the bandages on his face as he muttered. In this magical otherworld, disease isn't as much of an issue as the Middle Ages of his past life's world. In fact, there were not only priests who could heal most injuries and diseases here, but also magical healing potions that could even restore lost limbs and heal any injuries. The only issue was that they were expensive. Even priests demanded money for healing.

A normal [Heal] spell usually costs 3 silver coins, which could treat surface-level injuries and relieve most diseases. For a more serious injury, several [Heal] spells would be needed. Sometimes [Greater Heal], which could heal serious surface injuries and minor internal injuries, was necessary. A single [Greater Heal] costs 1 gold coin, or 100 silver coins. For other ailments, such as serious diseases and curses, other divine spells, such as [Purification] and [Dispel], would be needed, which also cost a lot.

However, that was still nothing compared to the price of alchemical potions. The most basic healing potion costed 30 silver coins, and it was only capable of treating surface injuries. The advanced potions go from one to hundreds of gold coins, an amount that most people couldn't earn in their lifetime. The most precious panaceas were priceless, with no market. Nevertheless, all of this was currently beyond the reach of Kyle. He couldn't even scrape the money for the most basic healing potion for now.

Even the 3 silver coins needed for a [Heal] were a burden on his financial situation for now. Putting the 8 silver and 50 copper coins in his money pouch, his net worth increased to 12 silver and 84 copper coins.

"Not much, but it's a step forward." Kyle closed the money pouch and hung it on his waist. Once he became a professional, he would take more valuable quests. At least he wouldn't be as money-strapped as he was now. Looking through the window, the streets had turned dark. The only sources of light in this small town, apart from the lights in various inns and taverns, were the expansive magic lamps in the central district.

The place where the adventure guild, the Church of the Goddess of Light, the administrative buildings, and the manors of the baron and other nobles were located.

'John said that Tarnfell, the closest city to us, shines brightly even at night. Almost every street has magic lamps, making it almost like modern cities from my past life. I have to go there in the future.' Kyle thought as he walked down the stairs. Naturally, he wouldn't always stay in this small town. Once he became strong enough, he would leave for other cities, traveling through the Eldrathia kingdom and even going to other kingdoms.

He would visit the habitats of various races and tread upon every corner of this continent step by step.

'Wouldn't my reincarnation into this world be meaningless otherwise?!' Kyle roared internally, his heart filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Well, the first step is filling my stomach," Kyle muttered, his voice tinged with amusement. He hardly had a good meal today after all.