"*Sigh* Yes, we're dating. Any other questions?"

[You and Captain Helen?](Christine)

"Eh... why are you this surprised? She's a woman, and I'm a man."

[Oh, wow! I heard Aunty Raskya gossiping about it, but I wasn't expecting it to be true. You're awesome, man!](Aybdah)

[Isn't it strange with the level difference between you two?](Burt)

Seeing their curious looks and noticing that even Monk Bozan was interested in the answer, Michael rolled his eyes. The lack of entertainment in this world needs to be addressed as soon as possible!

"Wanderer stuff is Wanderer stuff. What does it have to do with the relationship? As long as two people are comfortable with each other, small things like levels are not a big deal. Also, in case you forgot, I was Level 6 before we started this Quest. Now, I'm already halfway through Level 9."

[Yes, yes! Who's to say that we won't catch up with the higher-level Wanderers!](Aybdah)

"What happened? I thought you'd stay out to meet with the rescue party."

Seeing Christine get embarrassed, Michael laughed and waved to show that it wasn't a big deal.

After all, everyone still had their wits about them. As for what could've made them return to the cave in such a hurry...

[We picked up the drops from the Boss and some Ghouls.](Christine)

"Oh? Anything good?"

[Well, let's start with gold coins because there are a LOT of those. We only cleared up the passage and gained 12,259 gold coins. There should be just as much or even more outside the passage, but as the cleanup was still ongoing, we didn't want to be too greedy and draw attention to ourselves.](Aybdah)

"That was the right decision. When alive, we still have more chances to gain wealth. If we let greed cloud our thoughts, we'll die before we have a chance to regret it."

Seeing the others nod, Aybdah quickly sent trade requests and tried to split the gold equally. As for whatever 'spare change' remained after, it could be called the finder's fee.

Unlike item boxes, which they could throw to one another, they go straight into the inventory after collecting the coins. So it was easier to transfer through a trade request.

"Nice. Now then, enough with the appetizer. What's the main course?"

[Hehe! To be honest, I was pretty surprised when I picked them up. We hit the motherload!](Aybdah)

Burt and Michael watched as Aybdah kneeled and placed four golden cubes on the ground.

"Golden color!? Rare items!?"

[Damn! Four of them as well!](Burt)

All four party members were drooling over the four golden-glowing items.

Fortunately, there were four of them, so unnecessary discord was unnecessary. Each member could get one!

"Haha! Great! What are you waiting for then!? Grab one each! I'll take the one that's left."

He heard from Martel that most Wanderers prefer to pick their item boxes so their luck would affect what comes out. That way, there's no need for arguments, as one has only their bad luck to blame if they get a trash item.

Hearing the prompt, Burt and Aybdah gestured for Christine to pick first. They still had to follow societal niceties, even outside in the wilderness. If not, what separated them from animals?

[Thank you.](Christine)

With a dazzling smile that made Burt's brain system crash once again, Christine picked up her box.

Then, seeing how the Shaman Warrior was stun-locked, Aybdah picked second, and only after did he pat Burt to grab his. Finally, just as Michael was grabbing the last cube, Helen returned with a stunningly dressed Mina.

"Miss Mina! A pleasure to see you again so soon."

[Michael! It's good that you're okay. Do you need any healing?](Mina)

"Nope. First, please help Monk Bozan over there. He's been suffering for quite a while now."

Fortunately, he managed to recover fast enough before Helen the tigress could catch him lacking.

More than her beauty, seeing a maiden dressed in a pure white dress on a battlefield filled with dead monsters... was visually shocking.

[Eh? Who tied the garotte above the wound?](Mina)

"I did. Did I make any mistakes?"

[No, no! It was brilliantly done! What Healing Potions can do is limited. Especially so for the low-level ones. Also, it was the correct decision not to set his bones back yourselves. If done poorly, sir here could limp for the rest of his life in the best case or lose his leg entirely in the worst.](Mina)

The party wiped their nonexistent sweat and were glad they didn't try to help the Monk rashly. Sometimes, a kind gesture can result in the worst possible outcome.

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Seeing her busy cleaning up the wound and feeding the Monk an anesthetic, Michael breathed in relief as he moved closer to Helen.

[Don't get too close! I'm covered in blood and gore from these disgusting Ghouls. Also, all four of you must give a detailed report on how exactly you got into this mess.](Helen)

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'm hoping there were no injuries among the Wanderers who came to our rescue, right?"

[Nope. These weaklings were only Level 10. It's more tiring to kill them than anything. Also, I saw you guys getting rid of the Boss. Impressive, I must admit. But also reckless!](Helen)

"Well, honestly, if we didn't have the narrow passage as a buffer to limit the number of Ghouls, we wouldn't have risked coming here in the first place. As for the Boss, it was unlucky to be so big. I considered that when attacking it. We're not stupid enough to throw away our lives for some items or gold."

Seeing how unrepenting Michael was, Helen rolled her eyes and gestured to the golden cube in his hands.

"We got lucky after killing the Boss. We got four rare item boxes total."

[Hmm? That's indeed a bit too lucky. Was it a named Boss? I couldn't get too close enough to identify it.](Helen)

"Mhm. I think it was called Rhaz'Al'Ghoul or something."

[Are you sure!?](Helen)

Hearing the suddenly severe tone of her voice, the entire party tensed up.

Michael looked at her worryingly and asked.

"I'm sure. Is there a problem?"

[A problem? Well... there was initially. Now that you killed it, we can say it's taken care of. No wonder you gained so much loot from it.](Helen)

Michael rolled his eyes at her, silently complaining about the unnecessary suspense.

[Remember your report about what you've seen in Nevesk? It seems that Lilith left several traps behind, all in an effort to hide her tracks from any possible pursuers. We've encountered many such Bosses that received Lilith's blessing. Because of it, they became much stronger after she infused them with demonic power.](Helen)

"And this Ghoul was one of them?"

[Yes. We call the leaders of these creatures that reached Boss-level either Field Bosses or Wild Bosses. We are aware of over fifteen different such Wild Bosses.](Helen)

[And we took out one!?](Aybdah)

[You were LUCKY to take one out.](Helen)

Hearing the Captain correct them in such an accusatory manner, the swelling pride quickly disappeared from the hearts of the party members.

It's true that they got lucky and that Ghouls generally are pushovers. If they would've met an Ice Clan goatman Boss, for example...

'Now that I'm thinking about it, from a safety standpoint, attacking the Boss was an idiotic call. Luckily, our party was strong enough, and the skills I got were good at controlling the enemy. Otherwise, this could've ended in disaster.'

[Are you not going to open it? The item box.](Helen)

"Actually, I wanted to ask you now that you're here. If I trade you this item box and you open it, would you get a rare item of your level?"

[Pfft! Dream on! Do you think the Sanctuary is foolish enough to leave such an obvious loophole behind?](Helen)

Smiling, Michael leaned closer and kissed her lips, taking both her and the remaining people in the cave by surprise.

Just as she pushed him away slightly after the kiss, Michael grinned and threw the item box in his inventory.

"I'll open it later. All I want now is to take a long bath and get enough sleep. I feel as if I'll fall asleep any second now."

[Mhm. We can leave as soon as Mina finishes treating Monk Bozan. The remaining guards outside have already taken down the flare and are in the process of cleaning the battlefield and calculating the loot.](Helen)

Thinking for a moment, Michael looked at his party members and then back at Helen.

"For the Ghouls we killed..."

[No worries. We'll hand over whatever was looted from kills other than our own. It's among the rules of how such searching parties work.](Helen)

"No, that's not what I meant. First, do they keep the gold from the loot that's considered their kills?"

[Nope. It all goes to the city garrison. Plus, there's a vast difference in levels between us and the Level 10 Ghouls we killed. It's already good enough if we can get a gold piece per kill.](Helen)

"What the gold coins looted from our kills?"

[They stay within normal ranges for your levels since you're the ones who killed them.](Helen)

"What if we want to give the remaining gold coins as a bonus to them? For saving us?"

[Hmm? Well... they certainly won't say no. But are you sure? Given your levels, you've killed a ridiculously massive amount of Ghouls.](Helen)

Michael didn't decide for the whole team since it was a pretty big decision to make alone. Plus, it affected the interests of his party members as well.

What if any of them had outstanding debts or places where they needed to spend that sort of money for specific reasons?

"What do you think?"

[Sure.](Christine)

[We already made a killing with what we collected, not to mention the rare item. Plus, we would be dead if they didn't come to save us. I'm all for it.](Burt)

[No problems here either.](Aybdah)

"So they say."

Seeing the newbies not get greedy even if outside were probably at least 20,000 gold coins waiting to be collected, Helen nodded and smiled.

[We'll do as you said. Instead of handing over the gold to them, though, I'll take care of it in a different manner so they don't complain. Due to their boredom, most guards usually like to gamble. It would be a shame if your donation would be used so shamefully.](Helen)

"Your call. You're the Captain."

About ten minutes later, Mina finished administering first aid. Well, to call it first aid after seeing the man moving his previously broken leg leisurely...

"I must say, you're amazing, Miss Mina. Such a terrifying wound and he's back on his feet already?"

[Hehe. I might be a Priest, but I'm a high-level one. It would be shameful if I can't heal this level of injuries.](Mina)

[Okay, okay! Enough flirting in front of me. Let's get going; the rest of the guards are waiting.](Helen)

Hearing her words, Michael and Mina rolled their eyes simultaneously, drawing laughter from the rest watching the play unfold.

The guards had indeed finished as they stood in formation by the entrance to the narrow passage, saluting as soon as Helen appeared.

[It looks like you lots are lucky today. Not only did we take care of a big one, but this newbie party also decided to donate the remaining loot to you.](Helen)

Cheering sounds immediately followed, loud enough to scare any possible threat nearby.

The party was also feeling overwhelmed, so they just stood there scratching their heads in embarrassment. After all, they needed saving, and these people arrived as fast as they could.

Not to be grateful would be inhumane.

[Hehe! I'm glad that you're happy. I'm sure that Sir Zivek will also be pleased that he doesn't need to repair your armor on credit anymore for a little while.](Helen)

The cheering immediately died down as the rescue party realized what she meant by that. As for Michael and the rest of his small party, they had no idea what was going on.

[What!? Any complaints!? You bastards! Do you know how embarrassing it's to go every time and pay your debts to the blacksmith!? If I hear any objections, I'll deal with you myself.](Helen)

Seeing the suddenly quiet and respectful group, Michael did his best not to laugh.

It seemed that this group was quite scared of his girlfriend.

[Now that that's out of the way, let's see. Mina and I are here voluntarily, but the twenty of you are on duty. So, all gold will go to Sir Zivek to make sure a certain amount of repairs will be free for those participating tonight. What's the total?](Helen)

[Captain, it's 32,627 gold coins total. No items.](?)

[What? That much!? How much did we gain, and how much is the donation?](Helen)

[We only gained about 4,832 coins from our own kills. It's surprisingly much, given the level disparity. As for the remaining 27,795, it seems to be the 'donation.'](?)

[Eh!? That seems much more than this level's standard gold reward per kill, right? Anything else you should mention?](Helen)

Seeing Helen turn and smile with a very authoritarian air around her, Michael swallowed hard and felt his fatigue dissipate.

[Not sure if it counts, but we received a mark and two blessings from the Sanctuary.](Christine)

Hearing Christine speak, Helen had a look of realization on her face and nodded.

[Thank you for the explanation, Miss Christine. It does count. Simply put, these weaklings were unfortunate.](Helen)

The twenty guards laughed uproariously, while even Mina smiled and shook her head.

Seeing Michael looking at her questioningly, she kindly explained.

[I'm assuming one of the blessings you received from the Sanctuary was a level reduction?](Mina)

"Yes."

[Well, it's usually applicable only to monsters and enemies with direct implications in your Quest. That would be the goatmen you killed. As for these Ghouls, they stupidly charged over and involved themselves in your Quest through brute force and suffered the consequences. The blessing also applied to them, reducing them to their current level.](Mina)