Just as agreed, we went to the next level while I stayed a bit behind them with my arrows ready. Soon enough, four eyeball bats showed up while screeching. The first two barely got within range to attack… they got arrows in their eyes.
The last two had the chance to flap their wings and launch their wind blades, but the boy and the girl blocked the attack with their weapons with ease. That had been enough time for me to finish the beasts.
You received 03 experience points.
You received 03 experience points.
You received 03 experience points.
You received 03 experience points.
That wasn't half bad… sixty percent of the experience at the cost of ending the battle in four seconds and having the chance to attack freely. Those two quickly got the mana cores while I got my arrows and cleaned them with my knife. After sharpening them, they could last like that for at least ten shots.
“Let's keep it up.”
We nodded after the boy said that and then headed to the first mining point. It didn't take us long to reach there and soon he began to dig on the walls. He seemed pretty skilled, so he probably had the mining class. In less than ten minutes, he cleaned that spot and filled one of their backpacks.
“The client said that they wanted at least fifteen kilograms, but this one already has ten… I guess we are lucky. We will finish this in no time.”
The girl was in a good mood, so she began to eat more jerky meat. I had the feeling that she had jinxed us. We headed to the seventh floor and explored the place, but after two hours, we got nothing. Carrying all the ore was quite difficult… even if we took turns doing that.
‘We have been here for close to twenty hours and it has been a while since she ate anything… I guess her supply of food is gone. With some luck, we can finish the job at the next point, but it will be hard to find it since we haven't mapped this area yet.’
After thinking for a while, I had this idea… and then asked the girl to hand me over their maps of the current floor and the previous one. She looked suspicious of it since drawing a map was hard work and that kind of information was valuable. Still, she saw me just comparing the maps.
“Let's focus on exploring the Southern side of this floor. We will keep moving left and South.”
The twins took some time to understand my words, but soon they realized my intentions… that area would be right below the area of the previous floor where we found the mining spot. It made sense, naturally. Even if there were multiple mining spots before the dungeon emerged, it would be logical to think that the dungeon would replicate them close to each other.
It took a bit to reach the place, but soon we found a mining spot and it was enough to fill another backpack. Without wasting time, we dashed toward the exit of the dungeon avoiding as many fights as we could. Despite that when we left the dungeon, it was around midnight, and we spent a day and a half inside the dungeon.
“We should head for a restaurant and eat and drink until morning. That way, we can be sure that we will do things the right way and there won't be any doubts.”
The girl had a point, but we were all too tired… Unfortunately, the client's home was closed. That was a good chance to test things.
“You guys can keep the materials, we can meet tomorrow morning here.”
Those two looked at each other in silence. It seemed that they could guess what I was thinking despite the fact that I tried to mask my actions followed by a large yawn. I was really tired, though. Besides, I had obtained a lot of experience, so even if they tried to scam me a bit, it would be a bit acceptable. I was too tired to care anyway.
“All right. We will meet here tomorrow at seven.”
The girl said and the boy nodded. After that, we went our separate ways. I headed straight to my inn just in time for dinner and then filled my belly before tossing myself into bed.
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Although I had prepared myself for this life for four years, it seemed that I wasn't still used to it yet. Preparation was always the key, but my body was still a nine-year-old boy. Working for more than a day in a row would be too difficult without the right parameters unlocked. I probably could think of some workarounds for that, but it was better not to do anything that hindered my growth or harmed me.
After breakfast, we met at the client's house and then delivered the ores. Once we got the confirmation card, we returned to the guild to get our rewards. In the end, we got nine Terra coins for the quest and eleven for the mana cores. Thanks to that, I got four Terra coins as promised.
The reward for nearly two days of work seemed meager. However, the quest increased my mana core points by five hundred and then the mana cores by more seven hundred. Since we got that as a party, we got all that instead of splitting it.
‘I guess working as a party is better to increase ranks… they even have silver guild cards…’
“Food and drinks are on me, today! Let's celebrate a job well done!”
The girl looked really excited about a party… but that much money wasn't enough to make someone party. The boy facepalmed, but he didn't try to stop the girl… it seemed that this was a normal occurrence and only the boy knew the importance of saving money.
“All right, best regards.”
“Hey, aren't you going to party with us?”
“No, it is a bit too early for parties and I don't drink either. I just had breakfast too.”
They offered beer in the inn, but I drank just enough to relax a little. My body was a bit tall for my age, but I wasn't planning to let it get used to booze since that would make me consider drinking now and then. Thanks to that, the girl looked really dejected, I wondered the reason why since we didn't know each other's names.
“How about after lunch then?”
She was on a dangerous road to becoming a drunkard at her age, so I couldn't help but furrow my eyebrows. I guess that is what happens when kids aren't monitored enough and raised too freely.
“I am planning to prepare for work tomorrow. I am out of arrows too, so I will have to refuse. See ya.”
I had other things to do as well… while working in a group was a good way to increase my rank in the guild, I wasn't in a hurry for that. I wanted that Identification skill book in order to avoid trouble.
In the end, I bought some wood for cheap in a shop after asking the woodworker to chop the parts into a bunch of smaller pieces. Finding wood in the forest would take time, after all.
Once I returned to the inn, I froze after approaching the entrance… something got in the corner of my field of vision. I ignored it at first, but I soon recognized what it was… it was a poster with my face.
‘Did they find out that I escaped? They didn't write this like I am a criminal…’
It was a missing poster instead of a wanted one. They even offered five Ignis coins for any information about me… Rayner shouldn't have known about the incident yet unless there was some sort of magic implement that could pass messages over long distances.
‘I thought that I would have some extra time, but I guessed that isn't true… in any case, I keep my hood most of the time thanks to the weather in the area, so few people can recognize me.’
Those who could be the guests in the inn I was using and the people at the guild. They were essentially the same group of people and they all wanted money, so I could be in a bind.
My portrait was quite accurate aside from the yellow hair, but even that one soon would become obvious to confirm that it was fake since my hair was growing… I didn't wash my hair that much to keep the color.
‘I guess I will shave my hair, but that will be suspicious if I do it right now…’
I headed to my room and considered what I should do… even if I wanted to speed things up, I wouldn't be able to reach the last floor of the dungeon in a single run. I didn't have enough arrows and I would need food too since bats and golems couldn't be eaten.
The next two classes I could get in the dungeon would be very important for my plans… in my next stop, I could lay low for a while, but I would need some skills. Skills that those classes granted.
‘Shit… I suppose it can't be helped.’
… …
Klaus and Fran were heading to the inn that Regulus was using the next morning. Fran was holding her head with both hands while groaning. She knew that she shouldn't drink too much, but she couldn't help it. Unless she was at the dungeon or drinking, her thoughts would keep bothering her.
“Do you really think that he will join us even though we didn't even ask his name the other day?”
Klaus looked uncertain about that… forming a party was something complicated. Unless you had friends who started as adventurers alongside you, it would be difficult for bigger parties to form. It would need time and they had been working as adventurers for half a year already and they didn't find anyone that seemed trustworthy. Those at their age already had their own party filled with their friends.
“He didn't ask ours either. So, it is fine… he might be skilled with a bow, but he will never reach the bottom of the dungeon by himself. Even if he ignores all the materials and mana cores along the way.”
They reached the inn, it was time for breakfast, but they didn't see him there eating with the others, so they decided to wait outside.
As they waited, they kept looking at the poster on the side of the entrance… they found one in the guild as well and they also stared at it for a while when it was put on the guild the previous afternoon.
“It isn't him…”
Fran said after she crossed her arms. She was certain of it thanks to the hair color and the nose. Everything else was similar, but those were different. Regulus' nose was a bit thicker… unnaturally thicker like it had been smashed once or twice and broken. Still, Klaus didn't look so certain of it.
“Stop wasting time while looking at it!”
“... But what if it is him?”
“So what? Do you want to get him in trouble because of money? Do you think that we will be able to keep working here if we sell out one of our own?”
Some people had already noticed some similarities between the poster and Regulus. The promise of money was tempting, but even if they gain that money, they will attract unwanted attention. Their neighbors will never trust them again and bandits might even target them. Living in Kiana will no longer be an option.
“Still, with this much money, we can free her…”
“Would she want that? Know that you sold a friend and sentenced him to who knows what kind of life for it? She will never forgive herself if she knows that.
“She doesn't have to…”
After hearing that, Fran went silent. That was bad… Klaus was usually her voice of reason and was someone who kept her on the line and prevented her from doing stupid things. She wasn't good at doing the same for him…