Chapter 284 - 280: Farewell Drink, Part 2

Chapter 284: Chapter 280: Farewell Drink, Part 2

’They finished so quickly...’ Maki wiped the black fluid from his faceguard.

The pressure from the Mutated Slimes wasn’t very high to begin with.

Coupled with Zelir’s magical bombardment, the remaining Demons were quickly annihilated.

Level 27 (66/625) -> Level 28 (601/650), Level Up!

For annihilating the Evil Rot Slime and its horde of minions, Zelir gained a total of 1160 Experience Points!

After leveling up, he had six attribute points to allocate.

As usual, he added them all to Spirit.

Power: 102 -> 104 -> 107

Agility: 115 -> 117

Constitution: 102 -> 104

Spirit: 140 -> 146

Intelligence: 145

Perception: 32

Charm: 61

Lucky: 51

Talent Skills:

Technique Celestial Calculation

Magic Contract

A warm current surged through his entire body.

Within his sea of consciousness, every time the Spring Seed flickered, the Magic Power that surged forth was even greater!

Zelir was inwardly delighted as he observed the changes to the numbers on his panel.

’Good thing the panel didn’t swallow the remainder.’

Thanks to the milestone reward from the Great Creation Skill, he now received 6 attribute points for every level up.

The boost from Magic Contract to Power, Agility, and Constitution was 25% of his Spirit Attribute.

This meant that every four points in Spirit increased his Power, Agility, and Constitution by one point each.

With a six-point increase to Spirit, the 25% bonus amounted to 1.5.

However, the last time Zelir leveled up and added six points to Spirit at once, his Power, Agility, and Constitution hadn’t increased by 1.5; the panel had only shown a one-point gain.

Fortunately, it was made up for this time around.

Tsk, tsk...

Zelir couldn’t help but shake his head in amazement.

’My attribute points are increasing so quickly now.’

Besides boosting his Power, Agility, and Constitution by 25% of his Spirit Attribute, Magic Contract had another effect.

For every four points he invested in Spirit, he gained two attribute points that could be allocated to Power, Agility, or Constitution.

So now, by increasing his Spirit by six, he had naturally gained three attribute points to allocate among them.

It felt a bit like he was pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.

’I wonder what options I’ll have for my third Talent Skill...’ Zelir grew expectant.

As Zelir blasted the last Mutated Slime to pieces, the Crying Swamp finally returned to its deathly silence.

Only the occasional gust of cold wind brought with it the strange, wailing sounds reminiscent of howling ghosts and wolves.

Zelir withdrew his Magic Wand and brushed the snowflakes from his Magic Robe.

He closed his eyes to sense his remaining Magic Power reserves.

’Hmm... Not bad.’

’I still have about half left.’

’My sustainability issues are finally getting a little better.’

"Zelir, doesn’t all that Casting get tiring? Don’t overexert yourself again like last time."

Marcus showed his concern.

"You don’t have to handle all this yourself. We won’t cut your share of the reward for it when we divvy it up."

"It’s fine. I’m just practicing my Magic."

Zelir waved his hand dismissively. "I know my limits."

Gray, standing to the side, looked as if he hadn’t had his fill of the fight. With a flick of his blade to shake off the acid, he sheathed his sword.

"I was hoping to kill a few more..."

"Whew..."

Maki rolled his shoulders and slid his Heavy Sword back into its sheath on his back.

This was probably the easiest Middle Level mission he had ever taken on.

He didn’t have to fight a Challenge-rated Demon to the death. All he had to do was hold back the much less threatening Mutated Slimes to complete the job.

...

「Dusk. The Adventurer’s Association.」

"Eira, here’s the proof for the mission. Please count them."

Zelir placed a large bag of Demon Cores on the counter.

"Wow, Mr. Zelir."

Seeing it was Zelir, Eira gave a sweet smile. "Your team is so efficient!"

"Of course! I’m a Middle Level Swordsman now, after all." Gray propped an elbow on the counter and blew his bangs out of his eyes.

"And your Magic Robe is so magnificent! Your Magic Power must have grown stronger, too!" Eira’s gaze went past Gray as she continued to praise Zelir.

Zelir smiled.

"Thank you."

"Hey, hey! Why are you ignoring me?" Gray protested from the side.

"Oh, give it a rest." Maki rolled his eyes at Gray.

Soon, the spoils were tallied.

Zelir’s team had eliminated a total of ten Mutated Slimes, for a bounty of fifty Gold Coins.

The buyback price for each Mutated Slime Demon Core was One Gold Coin, for a total of Ten Gold Coins.

One Evil Rot Slime, for a bounty of seventy Gold Coins.

One Evil Rot Slime Demon Core, with a buyback price of twenty Gold Coins.

Incidentally, Evil Rot Slimes, unlike Giant Slimes, did not drop Gel Trophies.

Its entire body was contaminated by the mutation, rendering it completely useless.

"The total reward for this mission comes to one hundred and fifty Gold Coins. Please, take it." Eira handed over a heavy little pouch.

"Alright, thanks."

Zelir took the small cloth pouch.

During the subsequent division of the payment, Zelir took a total of seventy Gold Coins, which was nearly half the total share.

But everyone had long since tacitly accepted this arrangement.

After all, Zelir was the tactical core of the team. He dealt more than half of the damage and could also apply Gains to his teammates.

It was only right that he got a larger share.

...

The Drunk Wild Boar Tavern.

Night had fallen. A fierce wind, carrying flurries of snow, slammed against the wooden door, making it rattle with a BANG BANG.

But that did little to conceal the clamor within.

As winter set in, the tavern had become even livelier than before.

In the massive fireplace, pine logs crackled, and the firelight cast a rosy glow on everyone’s face.

The air was a mix of the charred aroma of sizzling, greasy roasted meat, the pungent sting of tobacco, and the thick, lingering scent of ale.

"Cheers!"

The team members raised their mugs in unison.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!!!"

Five mugs slammed together, sending amber liquid and foam splashing into the air.

With the weather so cold and nothing else to do at night, Zelir had simply accepted the invitation from Gray and the others to go drinking at the tavern.

"Hah..."

Maki was in high spirits, tilting his head back and downing his drink in one go.

GULP, GULP...

In no time, he had drained the entire mug of ale.

Slamming his mug on the table, Maki wiped his mouth and bellowed.

"Another!"

"Now that’s what I’m talking about! That’s why I liked teaming up with you in the first place."

Gray gave him a thumbs-up. "You can really hold your liquor!"

"We’re not going home sober tonight, and it’s on me!" Zelir said with a smile, raising his mug to Maki in a toast.

Maki didn’t hold back, downing three large mugs in quick succession before finally slowing his pace.

The heat of the alcohol coursed through his veins. Maki’s face was flushed, and his body swayed slightly even while sitting.

He let out a loud, boozy burp.

"Aaargh... This is the life."

Maki wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I really hope we can keep doing this in the future..."

Gray, who had been in the middle of devouring a skewer of roasted meat, paused at his words.

The others also caught the hidden meaning behind Maki’s words.

’In the future...?’

"Maki."

Gray swallowed the roasted meat in his mouth and asked, a little uncertainly.

"Are you saying... you’re leaving?"

"Yeah."

Maki laughed heartily.

"I told you before, didn’t I? I wasn’t going to stay in Black Stone Town for long... The winters here are too cold."

"To be honest, staying this long has already gone beyond my original plans... But this time has been unforgettable."

"We’ve made money together and risked our lives together. When I was out on missions with you all, I felt completely at ease."

"Getting to know you all in Black Stone Town was more than enough."

"Maki..." Gray wanted to say more.

"What’s with that sappy look on your face?"

Maki grinned. "Gonna miss me?"

"Get outta here! Who’s gonna miss a brute like you!"

Gray immediately shot back, "I was just thinking that now there’ll be no one to take a hit for me! The team’s losing its punching bag."

Though his words were harsh and his voice was loud,

But Gray lowered his head and took another big gulp from his mug.

But there was no mistaking the empty feeling in his heart.

’At first, I thought running into Maki was a bad thing, that it would just remind me of my unpleasant past.’

’But now that I’ve truly faced that past and moved on, I find myself feeling a bit attached after all.’

Zelir pursed his lips. He thought for a moment but didn’t say anything to try and make him stay.

’Maki was a good teammate. He was reliable, and they had been through life-and-death situations together.’

’But in the end, it was his freedom to come and go as he pleased.’

’There was no point in trying to change a decision that had already been made.’

"Safe travels."

Zelir raised his mug in a toast.

"Safe travels."

Maki raised his mug in return. "Zelir, you’re the best Mage I’ve ever met."