novelraw Chapter 281: Mission Gains and Rewards, Engagement Rings?
Chapter 281: Mission Gains and Rewards, Engagement Rings?
The gains from the battle just now can be divided into two parts. The first part is the rewards from killing that Frostwing Tiger.
The skill Lin Mo used to kill this magical creature was [Blazing Moon Sky Charge], which is a combination of [Blood Moon Sky Charge] and [Blazing Fire Spear]. Since [Blazing Fire Spear] was already a max-level skill, only [Blood Moon Sky Charge] received proficiency gains.
[Blood Moon Sky Charge] Proficiency +90
This skill's current proficiency progress has reached Lv4 (140/200).
The second part, which is the main event, is that suddenly appearing Unicorn Black Beetle.
This thing's level was actually one level higher than Lin Mo's previous estimate, not level 13, but level 14.
Lin Mo's current highest profession level, Mage, is level 12, which just triggered the effect of killing an enemy two levels higher, granting an additional 50% proficiency bonus.
And the strike that killed this guy just now was not the previously used combination skill [Demonic Lightning Piercing Kill].
Because one of the skills that makes up [Demonic Lightning Piercing Kill], [Lightning Strike], was already max level and had evolved into the new skill [Furious Thunder Spear]. Continuing to use the original skill would face the same problem as [Blazing Moon Sky Charge], where only one skill could gain proficiency.
To solve this, Lin Mo simply researched and adjusted, recombining skills. He used the evolved [Furious Thunder Spear] in combination with [Demonic Light Piercing Kill], forming the new [Furious Thunder Piercing Kill], which was even more powerful.Moreover, it also allowed both skills to gain proficiency, killing two birds with one stone.
[Demonic Light Piercing Kill] Proficiency +120 (+60)
[Furious Thunder Spear] Proficiency +120 (+60)
Including the extra reward for killing an enemy two levels higher, both skills received a full 180 points of proficiency increase!
[Demonic Light Piercing Kill] leveled up to 4.
"Skill [Demonic Light Piercing Kill] Lv3 (80/80) has leveled up!"
"Current skill [Demonic Light Piercing Kill] Lv4 (175/200)."
As for [Furious Thunder Spear], being a blue Exceptional-Grade skill, the proficiency required for leveling up was much lower. Plus, it was just obtained, so it directly leveled up four times in a row, jumping from level 1 straight to level 5.
"Skill [Furious Thunder Spear] Lv1 (10/10) has leveled up!"
...
"Current skill [Furious Thunder Spear] Lv5 (10/180)."
"Gained +3 base Mana attribute!"
Please choose evolution direction—
Evolution Route 1: Thunderclap I: The "Paralysis" effect applied after [Furious Thunder Spear] hits is increased by 30%!
Evolution Route 2: Swiftness II: [Furious Thunder Spear]'s flight speed is additionally increased by 30%.
Previously, Lin Mo had chosen Evolution Route 2, increasing flight speed by 20%. If chosen again, it would go from 20% to 30%, only a 10% increase.
Better to choose the paralysis effect. This effect is like a small control, capable of disrupting the enemy's movements and combat rhythm. If triggered, the benefits are quite good.
Incidentally, Lin Mo took another look at his current status panel.
Strength: 139 (+137=276)
Agility: 94 (+139=233)
Constitution: 78 (+107=185)
Spirit: 35 (+65=100)
Mana: 148 (+129=277)
The gap between Constitution and Agility, Strength, and Mana is still large.
There's no helping it. Although Lin Mo usually tries his best to use Ranger and Knight profession skills, when he really encounters troublesome opponents, he still has to rely on magic and sword to solve the problem.
And these high-level magical creatures just give so much proficiency...
One can only say, take it slow.
The proficiency of those status-type skills has also increased quite a bit.
The two newly acquired skills, [Constitution Increase] and [Agility Increase], have both reached level 2. [Light’s Inspiration] is already close to level 3, and the Ranger profession's [Swiftness] has reached level 5.
Of course, these are the gains from the entire trip, not just from the battle just now.
......
The night ultimately passed peacefully without any unexpected incidents.
Early in the morning, although they hadn't slept for very long, everyone still got up early, ate something, and set off on the return journey.
In this Silent Forest, you can't rest properly anyway, so it's better to go back early and lie comfortably in bed.
Since this mission was completed relatively smoothly, they could relax a bit before the Hunting Competition started and adjust their own condition.
Also, the incident of encountering that large beetle earlier needed to be reported to the academy.
With the Hunting Competition approaching, such a thing suddenly happening, who knows if it will have an impact? Hopefully, it's just an isolated case...
On the way back, they encountered some not-so-high-level magical creatures one after another. This was the perfect opportunity for Lin Mo to practice his Knight profession skills.
......
[Charging Shield]!
Lin Mo, holding the shield formed by his [Crystal Shield Technique], directly slammed into the magical creature in front of him, smashing it to pieces.
Although it's just a green Excellent-Grade skill, using this skill feels quite exhilarating. It truly gives a feeling of charging into battle, and the experience of directly knocking the magical creature flying is also very satisfying.
Simply put, it's a pretty fun skill.
[Charging Shield] Proficiency +8
[Charging Shield] Lv5 (164/180)
It's almost about to level up already?
Lin Mo was somewhat surprised. It seems he really encountered quite a few magical creatures along the way. After all, he didn't just use this one skill to kill them; there was also [Shield Riposte] and [Multiple Returning Arrow]. The gains from these two skills were also substantial.
Compared to when Lin Mo first arrived here, the frequency of encountering magical creatures in the Silent Forest has indeed increased.
If left unchecked, under intense competition, the magical creatures will soon start expanding their territories outside the forest, affecting the safety of nearby cities.
That's why regular cleanup is needed. Turning this cleanup operation into a competition among young people, one has to admit, the City Lord of Fargard City is a very shrewd person.
But now, compared to this Hunting Competition, Lin Mo has something more concerning on his mind.
Originally, his idea was probably just to participate in the Hunting Competition and win the top spot, securing the reward provided by the City Lord of Fargard City.
But now, compared to that, Lin Mo is more interested in that possibly existing Secret Realm.
Back when he was still in Roland Forest, he had entered a Secret Realm more than once and ultimately gained a lot from it. Not only did he obtain the Spatial Ring that made his adventuring life much more convenient, but he also acquired the very precious space magic—[Flash].
Besides that, there were many other valuable things.
To use an analogy, adventurers going out on adventures is like going to the wilderness to fight monsters in a game. Of course, there will be rewards, but it's obviously not comparable to a [Dungeon] specifically designed to provide rewards.
And Secret Realms are like individual dungeons.
Moreover, this "dungeon" before them is most likely larger than the one in Roland Forest back then, and the magical creatures inside are also stronger.
So, how bountiful should the corresponding rewards be?
Lin Mo is very much looking forward to this.
However, unfortunately, firstly, he doesn't know the specific entrance to the Secret Realm. Secondly, even if he did, without knowing the specific details of this Secret Realm, Lin Mo wouldn't choose to risk entering.
Although his strength has increased a lot now, Lin Mo hasn't forgotten to maintain a cautious heart.
Leaving the Silent Forest, the remaining journey back was very peaceful. They didn't encounter many magical creatures along the way, and those they did meet were very low-level ones. Lin Mo would always shoot some arrows at these times for amusement.
They arrived at the Royal Capital around noon the next day.
At this point, there were still about three days until the Hunting Competition started.
This was obviously not enough time to run another mission. There were no classes at the school either, so the time was very free.
Students preparing to participate in the Hunting Competition would probably choose to exchange the money and credits they had on hand for things that could improve their strength or margin for error, then rest a bit and adjust their condition.
With only a little over two days left, trying hard now wouldn't have much effect. It was better to relax, do some pre-competition preparations.
Like the tools, alchemical potions, and supplies to be used later.
The Hunting Competition doesn't prohibit the use of alchemical reagents, so well-equipped contestants would prepare some, as they might come in handy at critical moments.
Especially since this Hunting Competition is quite complex, with not only contestants from the Doria Kingdom itself but also geniuses from several other kingdoms participating, making the competition even more intense.
Of course, such intense competition also means opportunity.
If one can still achieve a good ranking under these circumstances, then the fame and rewards gained would inevitably be greater than originally!
And with other countries involved, competition for prestige between kingdoms naturally becomes unavoidable...
In short, the Hunting Competition, originally already a grand event, has now become even more complex and exciting.
After returning to the Royal Capital, the first thing to do was naturally to go to the Adventurers' Association to submit the previously accepted mission. The credits from the academy are also distributed based on the Association's receipt.
Today's Adventurers' Association was even more bustling than when they left a couple of days ago, with nearly double the number of people compared to usual.
Therefore, even during the relatively less crowded afternoon hours, the Association was still packed.
Many of these adventurers had come from various places to participate in the Hunting Competition.
There were also some adventurers who had exceeded the age limit. Although they couldn't compete, they still loved to join in the excitement.
The Association was very noisy. If you didn't speak loudly, you couldn't hear even someone right next to you.
There was no place to sit, so they could only go queue up together.
Fortunately, with the competition approaching, the number of adventurers accepting missions wasn't that high, so they queued for less than half an hour before it was their turn.
"Submitting a mission, number C43349. These are our materials..."
Lin Mo took out a large bag of stuff, all materials from magical creatures killed along the way. "Most of these are materials outside the mission requirements, but we'd like to sell them all to the Association as well."
Then, he carefully took out the preserved plants.
"Alright, please wait a moment..."
The Association's appraiser was right there and immediately began working.
"Level 2 magical creature, Ice Rabbit, value 80 gold coins; Level 4 magical creature Blazing Fire Fox, value 260 gold coins... Level 11 magical creature Frostwing Tiger, confirmed as mission-required material."
"Excluding the mission materials, the total buyback price for the remaining magical creature materials is 6,430 gold coins."
Then came the confirmation of the mission-required medicinal herbs. They basically had a few extra plants or more for each. In the end, they sold an additional roughly 2,000 gold coins.
Adding the mission's original reward of 7,000 gold coins and the 3,000 gold coin reward for the optional Purple Moon Cherry task, the total income from this mission was about 18,430 gold coins.
Finally, there was that Level 14 magical creature, the Unicorn Black Beetle. The students who contributed nothing naturally didn't dare claim credit. Lin Mo discussed it with Eve. Although she said she didn't do much and there was no need to ask her, Lin Mo still planned to give her 500 gold coins as payment for her help.
Of course, he guessed Eve wouldn't accept it, so he started by saying 1,000. Eve naturally frowned and shook her head. Lin Mo argued his case, and when they were at a stalemate, he took a step back and changed it to 500. As expected, Eve happily accepted.
This amount of money was very low compared to the value of the Unicorn Black Beetle.
Because of its relatively special function, the price of this thing could reach twice the general market price for a Level 14 magical creature, worth at least 5,000 gold coins.
The issue of mission profit distribution had been discussed before undertaking the mission.
As Flora said, these students mostly didn't care much about money, so they directly gave 80% of the profits to Lin Mo.
They understood clearly that without Lin Mo, they couldn't have accepted and completed this C-rank mission and gotten these credits.
The one share they got, which was over three thousand gold coins, they also tried to give more to Milun and the other two classmates with relatively difficult financial situations.
Eve only took a very small portion.
She came from a commoner family, her parents fell ill and passed away early, and her previous conditions weren't actually wealthy. However, after her strength and reputation increased, she naturally no longer faced financial difficulties.
Lin Mo received a total income of 14,744 gold coins.
Of that, 13,000 gold coins went into the team fund, and the remaining 1,744 gold coins were just casually split among everyone, with no one paying much attention.
The relationship within their team was different from ordinary teams, after all. No one was particularly concerned about monetary benefits.
It was other things that might indeed cause competition.
Although they made money, this over ten thousand gold coins wasn't actually a very large amount of funds for Lin Mo and the others right now.
Especially for Lin Mo. Spending this money could certainly bring some small improvements, like buying another bottle of elemental reagents, but overall, the improvement wasn't significant.
Lin Mo's most commonly used and most powerful ice, fire, and lightning elements had already consumed intermediate elemental reagents. Other elements were relatively less commonly used, so there was no rush to improve them for now.
It was better to slightly upgrade Sherfilia's and Ellie's equipment, save the rest of the money, and use it later.
As for Finnie... her equipment was already good enough, with nothing needing replacement for now.
Actually, Sherfilia was similar. Lady Bessie hadn't mistreated her daughter's personal maid. Her main equipment was all Exceptional-Grade.
Although mostly low-tier Exceptional-Grade, compared to her current strength, it was already very good equipment.
If there was anything lacking, it was accessory-type equipment.
Ellie was the same.
So Lin Mo planned to go to the Noren Trading Company to buy them a few accessories.
If buying low-tier Exceptional-Grade accessories, the price wouldn't be very expensive. Buying three or four would cost less than five thousand gold coins.
Thinking of it, he decided to do it. After making the decision, Lin Mo led everyone straight to the Noren Trading Company.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Royal Capital's Noren Trading Company, a pink-haired short girl leaned on a luxurious sofa, legs crossed, with an interested expression on her face.
Standing before her was a well-proportioned white-haired maid, meticulously reporting the situation.
"They've already returned?"
"Yes, respected Miss Noren. Just now, they submitted the mission at the Association."
"Quite efficient."
Noren smiled. "Xiliyasi, what do you think? About that man, and my useless older sister..."
The Xiliyasi before her thought seriously for a moment before speaking. "Judging by the time spent on their entire mission and their condition upon return, this mission wasn't easy for them... Among the Royal National Academy students cooperating with them, the one named Eve has good talent, possessing Level 10 strength and can briefly tangle with a Mid-Level Lord-Level magical creature, but it's still not enough to easily kill a creature of that level."
"From this, it can be judged that the man's strength is indeed as the currently collected information suggests, having reached the Elite Level, and in terms of combat power, he can easily overwhelm magical creatures with a threat level of 11."
"Hmm~"
Noren propped her chin with her hand. "Sounds impressive... Do the empire's geniuses have this level?"
"Judging from currently known information, his strength should surpass 90% of the Imperial Capital's geniuses."
"Really impressive~"
Noren clapped her hands, but the expression on her face clearly showed she wasn't surprised.
"In a few days, it seems a very interesting event will be held in Fargard City. Will they participate?"
"Based on current intelligence, there's a high probability they will participate."
"Then, let's go have some fun too..."
"Yes, respected Miss Noren."
"Customer, the items you need are right here."
Under the shop assistant's guidance, Lin Mo and the others arrived at the place in the Noren Trading Company where accessory-type equipment was stored.
Accessory-type equipment, as the name suggests, are all in the form of accessories.
Like rings, necklaces, and bracelets.
This type of equipment naturally easily reminds people of some other meanings.
Ellie always spoke her mind directly, never hiding her feelings. "Lin Mo, Lin Mo! Are you planning to buy us engagement rings?"
Lin Mo's hand, reaching for a ring, immediately froze. Then, he rubbed the wolf head that had come close to him with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "We're still so young, we have to continue adventuring ahead, how could we get married so soon? Besides, if it were for a proposal, something of this level would be too shabby..."
Although he said such things, in a way, it was also indirectly admitting the idea of marrying the little wolf in the future.
Ellie often had a wooden head, but at this moment, she was shrewd and immediately understood the meaning in Lin Mo's words, giggling happily. "It's okay... Even if it's just a ring made of withered grass, I'd still be very happy."
"I... I would too!"
Finnie, with courage from who-knows-where, suddenly chimed in, completely pushing the already delicate atmosphere in a strange direction.
It was still that calm, almost dull expression. But beneath the unperturbed exterior, Sherfilia's heart was clearly not as stable as it appeared on the surface.
Noticing Lin Mo's gaze directed at her, her eyes instinctively dodged away, then turned back the next second, boldly meeting his gaze, with a nearly imperceptible hint of blush on her face.
Lin Mo scratched his head, somewhat confused.
"Anyway, let's treat it as a small gift first..."
With things having reached this point, the equipment chosen next naturally leaned towards the ring form as much as possible.
Fortunately, the Noren Trading Company's equipment inventory was quite abundant, so finding suitable equipment wasn't too difficult.
Of course, Lin Mo didn't forget to bring one for the cat-eared girl at home either.
Although, because the time spent together was relatively short, she was the only one with whom nothing had happened yet... but based on Lin Mo's experience, it should be soon.
If he didn't make a move, Lena herself would probably get impatient.
This time was actually a good opportunity...
So he carefully selected a ring that could increase Mana.
Although Lena had no Mana talent, so she currently had no Mana, the "Planter" profession she engaged in, upon reaching a certain level, would inevitably require the use of Mana to advance further.
Without Mana, one could only stop at the threshold, remaining a semi-professional-level Planter.
Normally, this problem was actually very difficult to solve.
After all, giving someone without Mana talent the ability to have Mana sounds like a fantasy.
If this problem could be solved, then the Mage profession wouldn't be rare anymore.
Although Lin Mo couldn't solve this problem on a large scale, if it was just for his own cat-eared girl, perhaps it could be done.
That's right, by using the [Shared Cultivation] skill.
Now, Lena could barely be considered a semi-professional-level "Planter," so Lin Mo estimated that conducting [Shared Cultivation] now would most likely provide Lena with magic-related attributes.
He bought four rings in total, spending nearly six thousand gold coins, a bit more than expected. But he still managed to save 7,000 gold coins. Combined with the money earned from the last mission returning from the Royal Capital to Fargard City, the team had over ten thousand in savings.
Lin Mo planned to save a bit more money, so they could consider replacing their equipment with better ones later.
Those low-tier Exceptional-Grade equipment were meaningless to them, but mid-tier or even high-tier ones were different.
Although they couldn't compare to the Epic-Level equipment they had (Lin Mo currently has two pieces), replacing equipment in other slots could still bring improvements.
After buying the equipment, it was already afternoon. The journey back was relatively comfortable, and their carriage was quite cozy, so they actually got some rest.
So they weren't in a hurry to return to the academy now. Instead, they wandered around the streets of the Royal Capital for a while, accompanying the girls on a shopping trip.
Lin Mo, like the vast majority of men, didn't really like this activity, but since the girls at home liked it, he could only accompany them.
Thankfully, it was just eating, drinking, and buying some pretty or interesting little trinkets, so it wasn't too tiring.