Chapter 977: 304. Wealth Co-creation

Eternal Lightning Ravine is located in the central-western part of the Kashel Continent, a land of lofty mountains and rolling hills, a true hilly area.

This mountainous region is known as “Thousand Peak Ridge” by the Ulnas Circle.

The exact location of the Eternal Lightning Ravine is at the farthest west of Thousand Peak Ridge.

Noland Lee Jarvis did not teleport directly to the Eternal Lightning Ravine.

He and Denise Green appeared in a place called “Barren Stone Quarry”.

This place was a hundred kilometers east of the Eternal Lightning Ravine, a treasure trove that abundantly produced “Barren Stone”.

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“Barren Stone” was a high-concentration Magic Stone rich with rock and soil mana, named for its desert earth-like tan color.

The one responsible for guiding the two of them was Louisa Garwick, the Sixth Ring Silent Witch.

The Silent Witch wore dark gray Magic Metal Armor and sported a half Metal Mask on her face that covered her lower half.

She was bald with a long braid, her eyes sharp and brimming with a heroic air.

Upon receiving Noland’s letter, Louisa used a Flight Spell and left the quarry far behind.

In these scarcely inhabited lands, she performed Teleportation Magic, using herself as a Transfer Beacon to bring Noland and Denise over. noveldrama

She had heard from Professor Erica about Noland Lee Jarvis, aware that he was currently the only person to become a Silent Mage while maintaining a male identity.

She did not conceal her gaze and took a good look at Noland being embraced by the Resurrection Witch before she nodded slightly and said,

“Nice to meet you, Jarvis. I’ve heard a lot about you, and now I finally see you in person.”

“Hello, Louisa. Thank you for helping me open the Teleportation Gate.” Noland lightly patted Denise’s hand back,

“This is my Companion Witch, Denise.”

“Hello.” Louisa greeted Denise briefly.

Taking the opportunity, Noland observed their surroundings.

They were on top of a high mountain with a vast sea of clouds and mountain peaks emerging from the mist all around them.

This was an unfamiliar place, one that Noland had never visited before.

He checked the “Tracking Mark” he had left on Island 33.

Good.

All the marks were functioning normally, with none experiencing any interruptions.

Noland activated the Tracking Mark for Underground Layer 2 and sent a message of safety to Nolin and Nicolette waiting there.

This action took no delay, no stumbles, as simple as drinking water.

Reassured, Noland withdrew his gaze from the sea of clouds and looked at Louisa in front of him,

“Is there anything I can help with? The professor asked me to take some of the pressure off you as a way to thank you for opening the Teleportation Gate for us.”

Louisa stared at the three white lines on the collar of Noland’s clothing, hesitating slightly,

“Uh… The professor told me that although you have the strength of just Three Circles openly, you are actually no less capable than a Sixth Ring Battle Wizard in combat, and you have exceptional investigative skills, right?”

“Yes,” Noland nodded once.

Seeing Noland’s calm demeanor, Louisa decided to believe what the professor had said.

She raised her hand and pointed in a direction,

“That there is Barren Stone Quarry, which is rich in rock soil magic stones and Rock and Soil Crystal Nucleus. Its caverns are extremely complex, extending at least three thousand meters underground. The wizard force controlling the quarry is ‘Crawling City,’ a city-state wizard force specializing in mining Magic Stones in the Underground Depths.

“About half a month ago, Crawling City encountered strong Underground Demons in the depths of Barren Stone Quarry. Crawling City issued a reward order, hiring witches from all walks to investigate underground and kill the demons.”

Louisa spread her hands,

“I thought this would be a rather easy task. But to my surprise, none of the wizards who took the Bounty task, myself included, were able to see the demons’ true faces. Every time it killed a mining wizard, it would leave with the corpse before we arrived at the scene. We tried setting a bait, waiting for the demon to take it, but it was no use. The demon seemed to know it was a Trap, and it never ‘bit’.”

“It sounds like there’s a demon’s spy hidden within the quarry’s mining team…” Noland mused.

Louisa shrugged,

“I thought the same, but Crawling City won’t let us investigate the mining and Guard team of the quarry. If you’re free, you can come with me to take a look. After completing the Bounty task, I can give you a third of the Reward. That’s my limit… After all, I’ve put a lot of magic materials into tracking the demon.”

Noland asked thoughtfully,

“How much is the Bounty?”

Louisa responded,

“Capturing a demon alive has a Reward of 600,000 Gold Coins. Killing a demon and bringing back its corpse has a Reward of 300,000 Gold Coins.”

Noland gave Denise a look.

Denise responded intuitively.

She reached into her Money Bags, took out a small package, and handed it to Noland.

Noland accepted the package and threw it to Louisa,

“Here, this is 200,000 Gold Coins, as my thanks for opening the Teleportation Gate for us. Consider it catching a demon for you.”

With the package in hand, Louisa opened it to check and was slightly stunned,

“Uh… you… you…”

Noland smiled,

“Time is Money, Louisa. It seems Professor Erica only mentioned my combat strength and investigative skills to you, not my financial capabilities. To me, this type of uncertain Bounty task isn’t worth the time spent. I suggest you take this money and find another Bounty task quickly; there’s something fishy about that quarry itself.”

Louisa took a deep breath, hesitated for half a second, and pocketed the coins,