Chapter 605 - 604: Future Plans

Chapter 605: Chapter 604: Future Plans

The living room connected to two other rooms. It featured a fireplace with a spot for firewood next to it. In front of the hearth stood a long wooden table and six cushioned chairs, while armor and weapon racks occupied a corner of the room.

Colin walked through the living room and entered one of the inner rooms.

It was a quiet study. The room wasn’t large, and it contained a wide wooden desk and several bookshelves against the walls.

The other room was the bedroom. It housed a reinforced, single wooden bed topped with a dry, warm, coarse-cloth mattress and pure cotton bedding. In a corner stood a wardrobe and shelves for storing sundries.

Finally, there was the washroom connected to the bedroom.

The inside of the washroom was paved with smooth stone tiles. It was fully equipped with facilities like a washstand, bathtub, and toilet, all of which looked much newer than the ones in the Southern District.

From the slums to the Dock District, and then from the Southern District to the Trade District...

Seeing his living environment improve little by little, Colin was quite happy. At least living here, he wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough chairs when entertaining guests. Plus, he had his own study, which would make it more convenient when copying things into his Spellbook.

After inspecting his new surroundings, he walked out of the room.

Just as he pushed open the wooden door, he saw Ale emerge from the door across the hall.

Colin asked, "Are you living across from me again?"

Ale lowered her head slightly, staring at the floor, then nodded silently.

"That’s fine; I’m used to it by now," Colin said. "Let’s get everyone together. It’s a good time to distribute the items we got recently."

With that, Colin went downstairs and called everyone to Dorn’s room.

Once the others were seated around the long table, Colin laid out the Magic Equipment he had acquired a few days prior. The most valuable items were three bottles of [Healing Potion], the [Dimension Bag], the [Thief Gloves], and the [Iron Lock Net].

Sensing something was amiss, Kase spoke up, "What’s the deal with this equipment?"

"I was just about to tell you about that..."

Then, Colin explained that he had attended a gang banquet and been attacked by its members.

Kase frowned after hearing the story.

"Those guys dared to do that?" he said. "Should we make the first move?"

"Asvir doesn’t want to alert the potential mastermind behind this prematurely, so we’ll probably have to wait a while. The main reason I’m telling you this is so you’ll be careful in Thousand Masts City. I’ve already told everyone else."

Colin said, "However, we might be heading over to Albert’s for a mission soon, so we shouldn’t have to worry about this in the short term."

"Hmm. Are there any skilled fighters in those gangs?"

"No one special." Colin carefully recalled the gang banquet. "The five of us would be enough to take out an entire gang, not to mention we have people like Edwin and Asvir on our side."

Kase’s face fell with disappointment at his words.

He grumbled, "Then isn’t that just like running into goblins? How boring. I was hoping we’d run into a few skilled fighters."

"That’s why I said we just need to be a little careful. Of course, there might still be a few decent fighters in the mix," Colin continued. "Now, let’s distribute the equipment."

"Hang on, isn’t all this your loot?" Dorn tapped the table lightly. "If you’re going to distribute it to us, how many Gold Coins are you asking for?"

"I’m not planning on charging Gold Coins."

Colin continued, "Remember when we went to the ruins of the Ancient Empire? A lot of the Magic Equipment you find in places like that is only suitable for me. You guys wouldn’t get much besides the bounty. But there are many other ruins of the Ancient Empire in the world. I plan on making the Magic Equipment I find—the stuff you can use—your reward for exploring those ruins with me."

Dorn crossed his arms, thought for a moment, and said, "I have to admit, that logic is pretty hard to argue with."

"Mr. Colin is always right. We just have to do as Mr. Colin says," Orelia said with a nod.

"You know, you’re allowed to have your own opinions," Colin sighed, looking at Orelia’s expression. Then, he pushed the [Thief Gloves] in front of Dorn.

Dorn’s expression immediately turned awkward.

He seemed stunned for a moment, then reached out and took the gloves.

Colin deliberately teased, "Now that you’ve taken these gloves, you’d better put them to good use."

"As if I didn’t know that already," Dorn retorted immediately.

Judging by his expression, he was clearly much more relaxed.

Colin then pushed the [Iron Lock Net] in front of Kase and said, "This Magic Item is similar to your Capture Net. You just throw it at someone, and they’ll be bound by an iron net. But you can only use it once per day."

"Sounds pretty useful." Kase picked up the iron ball and tossed it in his hand.

Although he still carried the Fishing Nets he had snatched from the Sahuagin, those nets were no longer suitable for the team’s use.

They couldn’t be used against opponents that were too strong, and it was unnecessary to use them on opponents that were too weak. The [Iron Lock Net], however, was perfect to use as a more advanced Capture Net.

Colin continued, "Next is the matter of the mission. The Weston Clan wants to hire us to participate in the war against the Orcs. Our job will be to stay by Albert’s side and protect him. The payment for the mission is four thousand Gold Coins plus one Magic Item."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the others lit up.

"That means we each get eight hundred Gold Coins, right?" Orelia counted on her fingers. "And I’ll be able to write down a really prestigious mission on my evaluation sheet."

"So what are we still doing in this stupid apartment? Gold Coins and Magic Items are waving at us!" Dorn glanced at the others, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Colin said, "So when do you want to go see Edwin?"

"I wanna go right after we finish moving." "I can go anytime." "Whenever is fine, Mr. Colin." "It’s up to you, Colin."

"How about we go two days after we finish moving? Edwin said he’d give us a month, but I feel like we’re just sitting around doing nothing anyway," Colin said.

The others all nodded in agreement.

With the plan set, the group returned to their old apartment to start packing. Dorn, meanwhile, went back to his place in the sewers.

Looking at the pile of trinkets in his storage niche, Colin couldn’t help but marvel at how eventful his past year had been.

Just as he was packing, a set of footsteps sounded from outside the door, followed by Ale’s voice, "Colin, do you need any help?"