As the sky gradually lit up, the flames in the camp slowly extinguished.

Arrow glanced at the ashes inside, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Brad, who was holding his hands.

"Show me the back of my hand."

Brad nodded, and passed it over the back of his hand.

I don't know if it's because there is too much hair on the back of this guy's hand or if the slime's strength is still a little weak after all, except for some redness and swelling on the back of his hand, there is no wound.

"Whew...... When you get back, apply cold water. Parfay, will you heal the magic? ”

Parfay's face flushed slightly and shook her head. But after shaking her head, she looked at Brad, her eyes full of worry and shame, and said, "Don't tell him I'm not very proficient in natural magic. ”

Arrow nodded, looked at Brad with a smile again, reached out and patted his arm, and smiled, "Okay! Now none of us are hurt, which is good. I also want to thank you for saving me just now. Let's see what we achieve. ”

After comforting Brad, Iero turned and walked into the salt land, examining the ashes in the rising sun.

Well, as expected.

Turning through the ashes, one after another can be seen as lifeless, shriveled as a piece of paper.

Arrow picks up the shriveled slimes, examines them, and rolls them up. But Brad in the back seemed to be a little afraid to look at it, and he was not reluctant, and picked it up by himself.

Seeing that Airo was not afraid to check Slimepi's appearance, Brad rubbed the back of his hand and finally walked in to help look through the ashes together. However, he still picked up a thick, long branch and held it in his hand, as if this would make him feel safer.

Rummaging through the area, he found a total of twenty-three complete Slimeskins. Arrow was pleased with the result, but just as he was about to turn over one last piece of ash and leave......

"Huh?"

His eyes lit up and he reached into the mound. In a few moments, a white crystal, about the size of a thumb, appeared in his palm.

"What is this? Gemstones? ”

Brad asked curiously, walking over to the slime skins on his shoulders.

"Hmph, this idiot really doesn't understand anything. …… President, what is this? ”

The corners of Arrow's mouth raised slightly, and he handed the crystals in his palms to the two of them: "This is the crystallization of the Demon Beast." Any monster has a certain chance of giving birth to this kind of crystallization in its body, and the more powerful the monster, the higher the chance of this kind of thing, and the greater the condensed crystal. In layman's terms, this is the crystallization of magic. ”

Brad only showed that clumsy appearance for the magic crystal, but Parfay was very excited, and even flew off Brad's shoulder and landed on Arrow's palm to look at the crystal carefully: "(Fairy language) Really? What's the use of that? It feels amazing! ”

"Ah...... Oh, yes. ”

Magic crystal, it's a good thing indeed.

It's a small piece, but it should be able to sell for a good price. If carved and paired with a beautiful box, it should be able to sell for a gold coin in the capital.

It's valuable, so Arrow's face looks happy.

But he didn't show another layer of emotion, and after a little muttering, he put the crystals in his coat pocket, looked carefully at the surrounding woods, and walked in the direction where the slimes had come in large numbers last night.

"(Elven whispering) President, what's wrong?"

"(Fairy words) Shhhh I want to confirm something. ”

After about five kilometers of walking along the slightly corroded trees, Arrow knew that he was now fully in the depths of the Shining Forest.

He lay down beside the somewhat rotting roots, looked up, and peeked into a rock hole that had risen from the surface in front of him.

It was about half a man tall, and there was a hole about knee-high, and it was pitch black, and I don't know what it was.

Brad and Parfay, who were in the back, didn't dare to speak, and they endured it until Arrow finished observing the retreat, and then tiptoed behind and left.

Along the way, Arrow finally left the Shining Forest with his two new members. Bathed in the sun again, he couldn't help but stretch. After the fierce battle last night, even now bathed in the scorching summer sun, she didn't feel so uncomfortable, but a little warm after the cold.

"That's the slime's lair."

Seeing that Brad and Parfay had always looked like they were holding back and didn't dare to speak, Arrow sneered and opened his mouth to explain-

"I've long wondered why so many slimes would attack human villages at night, and that the Shining Forest doesn't look like it's lacking food."

"After seeing that there are slimes that can give birth to magic crystals this time, I wonder if this is not just a coincidence, but that there are some more powerful monsters nearby, so that those slimes have to expand their territory?"

"Eventually, we found that. In my experience...... If that's right, there should be a King Slime in there. That thing should be the occupant of this forest. ”

As a flower fairy, Parfay knows very well how troublesome slimes really are. After listening to Arrow's explanation, she hurriedly said, "(Fairy language) King Slime? Is that terrible thing so close to it?! Let's go and set them on fire again! ”

In this regard, Arrow shook his head and smiled: "There is no need for this. Have you forgotten? You are now members of the Guild and must act in the interests of the Guild in everything you do. Has anyone now tasked us with destroying the slime's lair and slaying King Slime? ”

Brad and Parfay looked at each other, not sure what Arrow was trying to say.

Arrow raised a finger and pointed at the noses of the two of them, and smiled maliciously, "If there is no commission, the guild will not work." We killed King Slime and cleared the slime's lair for a few gold coins. You must know that keeping this nest will give us more work! Judging by the reproduction rate of slimes, the next time they grow big enough to attack villages, it should be harvest season. When the time comes, we can make another one. ”

"So...... We don't care? Brad and Parfay looked dumbfounded, as if they hadn't figured out what was going on.

But Arrow doesn't blame the two, they've just become members of their own, and it's not clear how they're supposed to work.

On the other hand, it's not a good idea to stock slimes and then take on a mission every other quarter to collect a few copper coins. Once or twice is fine, but too many times will arouse suspicion. And killing slimes can't make a lot of money, so it's better to find a way to make the people of Pelican Town realize the danger of King Slime, and give yourself a few silver coins at a time to kill it.

But then again, all things considered, it seems that the current lineup of his guild is not strong enough to take on the task of exterminating King Slime...... Sure enough, on the one hand, it was necessary to continue to gather men, and on the other hand, it was necessary to arm the warrior.

As he thought about walking, after arriving at the farm, Arrow knocked on the door, and Mai Yi was very happy to see the slime skin in Arrow's hand, and happily paid the remaining six copper coins. Arrow chatted with Mai Yi and his wife and children, and before leaving, he left them three slime skins and walked towards Pelican Town with their thanks.

- August 5, 1301, Reward for Mission: +6 Bronze. Mission Preparation: -3 Copper 5 Iron. The balance is 84 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze and 5 iron——

The door to the guild opened, and Arrow yawned and stepped inside.

As soon as the sun re-entered the guild, Napa floated up from the counter to greet Arrow.

When Brad and Parfay entered the guild, they were immediately struck by the spacious, neat-looking guild hall. They constantly looked around and were amazed by what they saw.

After seeing Napa, he became even more reserved.

After giving a brief introduction to both parties, Arrow said, "From today onwards, this is your home. Tired, right? Upstairs, except for the room by the window, which is mine, you can choose your own room. However, you will need to clean your room yourself before resting. ”

Brad nodded hurriedly: "Got it!" President, Vice President! I'll try to clean it! ”

As he spoke, he reached out and hugged Parfay and walked up the stairs quickly. After a while, I heard a crackling sound from above, and I didn't know if this guy was cleaning or demolishing his house.

Arrow exhaled, walked over to the bar and sat down, letting out a long breath.

"What did you accomplish? And also let you take in two members. ”

Napa poured a glass of water from the nearby tank, slid it on the bar, and delivered it to Arrow.

Arrow took out eight copper coins from his pocket and put them on the table, and said with a smile: "Before taking the task, I had 84 gold, 2 silver, and 7 bronze. In order to make the salt water potion, I spent 2 copper for salt, 1 copper for bottles, and 5 iron for food on the road. Now the mission has earned 8 copper coins, and to sum up, my current deposit is 84 gold coins, 3 silver coins, 1 copper coin, and 5 iron coins. ”

Napa landed on the cushion, her tail wagging slightly, and said in a languid tone, "Sounds like you're far from your 1,000 gold goal." ”

Arrow said with a smile: "I received a successful list at the first good start, which is already good." Not to mention the fact that I have additional gains. ”

"Bonus?"

Arrow knew very well that the cat was not curious, and it was probably because he didn't have anything to say.

However, Arrow still took out the magic crystal from his pocket and put it in front of Napa, and said, "How is it?" Magic crystal, surprised! I didn't even expect to find the Magic Crystal on my first mission! ”

Napa, who was still very lazy, saw the moment she saw the magic crystal, but her eyes, which had seemed indifferent, immediately became energetic! Its body lifted slightly, staring at the crystal.

Arrow pretended that he didn't see Napa's eyes, and continued to "show off" to himself: "Awesome, right? I'll tell you! This kind of magic crystal can be sold for at least 1 gold coin in the capital, and if you carve it and match it with a beautiful box, I can sell it for more than 5 gold coins! Hee-hee, so I've made a lot of money on this mission! ”

Hearing that Napa was going to sell the magic crystal, Napa looked a little sorry. Its eyes were still fixed on the crystal, but Arrow reached out and put the crystal back into his pocket.

"Hey! Ariel! ”

"Huh? What's wrong? ”

Arrow had a questioning expression.

Napa looked hesitant, adjusting her posture back and forth on the cushion several times, and finally as if she had made up her mind, she said, "Can you give me this crystal?" ”

"To you?"

Arrow believed that surprise must have been written all over his face. If he could, he would really like to take out the mirror and take a good look at his expression.

As if she had made up her mind, Napa nodded and said, "Give me the magic crystal." Although I can't give you gold...... But I really need this crystallization right now. If you're willing to give it to me, then I'll definitely repay you in other ways, how about it? ”

Arrow immediately shook his head, showing a very resolute attitude: "You're making too much of a joke, aren't you?" The magic crystals that I worked so hard to get all night, and you are going to pass with a word? It's not like you don't know that I'm short of money right now. ”

Napa was also a little anxious, it raised its paw and scratched in mid-air, as if thinking of a convincing enough reason, and after a long time, it held back a sentence: "It can restore a little of my strength!" You've seen my power, haven't you? If I regain my strength, your guild will be good too, won't it? ”

Arrow looked at Napa, and then at the magic crystal in his palm, and after struggling for a long time, he finally walked back to the counter with a frown, and placed the magic crystal in front of Napa.

"Okay, okay! You've said that, this magic crystal must be very important to you, right? Take it, take it! Just let me do a good deed! ”

Napa immediately nodded at Arrow, and at the same time quickly opened her mouth, took the magic crystal in her mouth, closed her eyes and lay down on the cushion, meditating.

Arrow yawned again, looked very sorry, went upstairs, and said a little to Brad and Parfay, who were still cleaning the room, and went back to his room.

Close the door, take off your hat, and loosen your hair.

Arrow slowly brushed his hair in front of the mirror, smothering his hair for a night in the damp and gloomy forest.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Arrow swept away the sad face just now, and a faint smile unconsciously floated on his face.

Magic crystals, of course, are good things.

But a good thing needs someone to bid for it to be a good thing.

Priceless treasures may seem prestigious, but from another point of view, they are no different from trash.

If it is in Chaohai City, the capital of the Blue Bay Empire, then of course it can be sold for one or two gold coins.

But in this remote Pelican Town, who would pay a gold coin to buy this thing?

The existential value of commodities lies in exchange, and if they cannot be exchanged, then the existential value of commodities will only continue to depreciate. If it is eventually damaged due to loss or fire, then this magic crystal brings you a completely negative value.

Rather than keeping it in your possession and not being able to exchange it, you might as well exchange it for something more useful.

Like what...... The cat's affection, and the guilt for himself.

These emotional investments may not seem to have an immediate economic impact, but they may have a much greater economic value in the long run.

After taking care of his hair, Arrow went to bed to catch up on sleep.

It's just that he still has a little pity, the economics faction of the old Tengshu Academy doesn't teach how to make a fortune, and now whether his theories can really bring economic value to himself can only be seen step by step.

————

After a good morning's rest, Arrow regained his energy, reorganized his hair, put on his hat and went downstairs.

First of all, I came to the gate and took a look...... There are still no requests for delegates on the task board.

"Hey, Ariel."

Arrow looked back to see that Napa was now sitting on a cushion looking at him. Its appearance didn't look like it had changed, but had the magic crystallization not changed much?

However, this suspicion only lasted for a short time, and was dispelled by the cat's words.

“…… You don't have a magical affinity, and depending on your physical fitness, you're not the material to be a warrior. ”

Solo knew that his investment was paying off.

At that moment, he spread out his hands and said helplessly: "Didn't you already know this?" ”

Napa tilted her head to look at Arrow, and then continued after a moment, "I saw you concoct your own salt water potion yesterday. Where did you learn this alchemy? ”

Ayrault: "The library of the old Tengshu School. ”

Napa: "The library is still open to economics students like you?" Let you have unconditional access to alchemy books? ”

Arrow sat down in the bar chair and said with a smile, "Not to mention alchemy books, combat books, magic books, you can read them as long as you want." The library is open to all students, and there are no forbidden areas or anything like that. ”

Napa: "Indiscriminate? Open to all students? So what if a student of the Warrior Department reads books from the Department of Magic all day long? If you economics students keep reading these books on alchemy, magic, and combat, why do you have such detailed factions in your school? ”

Arrow raised his finger and drew a circle in mid-air, saying, "First of all, I'm telling the truth. The library of the Old Tengshu Academy does not stand in the way of the students' factions. Not only the library, but even if an economics student wants to audit a magic class, or a magic student wants to learn tactics as a melee mage, there will be no one to stop it. Just apply for an audit, and the application is only for filing, and no one will obstruct it. ”

"Secondly, if the economics student really has the talent to become a warrior or a magician, just change departments! Why do you have to stay in the Department of Economics? Similarly, if you feel that you are better suited for the other two departments, then change departments. Old Teng Shu doesn't say that once you enter a certain department, you have to start from the beginning. If you think you can do it, then turn around. If you feel that you really don't fit into the other two departments and can't catch up with their courses and studies, then just stay in your own faction honestly. ”

"So, I can read some superficial magic books. I'm also good at superficial alchemy like salt water elixir. But I've also flipped through the more advanced magic books, and I can't understand them at all. Coupled with the fact that I don't have a magical affinity, I guess I'm insulated from magic in my life. ”

Napa silently waited for Arrow to finish, and after a moment of silence, finally spoke—

"So, do you want to learn alchemy systematically?"

Arrow still maintained the most basic smile expression, he seemed to be smiling happily, but when he looked closely, it seemed to be a mechanical reaction, which made Napa a little confused about what was going on in the girl's mind.

"I don't think I need to repeat it again, you should know I don't have a magical affinity, right?"

With a smile on his face, Arrow said in a nonchalant manner.

Napa shook her tail slightly and adjusted her position on the saddle—

"I know that very well. On a general level, alchemy is a branch of magical doctrine. It takes a magical affinity to be able to learn alchemy. The stronger the magic affinity, the more you will be able to use powerful alchemy. ”

This is no different from what Arrow knew.

To put it bluntly, magic is a gift, and some people are born with the ability to communicate with the various elements of nature, thus channeling their power to their own use. The ability to communicate with the elements of nature is called magical affinity.

Alchemy, on the other hand, perceives the number of magical elements in everything in the world through its own magical affinity, and combines these elements according to their own needs, so as to form the result that the magician hopes to combine. This is also the reason why alchemists are basically all famous magicians.

However, Arrow was not in a hurry to correct the topic with the cat, after all, it could say so, and I am afraid that there would be some reason.

"For an ordinary person like you, who doesn't have any magical affinity at all, alchemy should be insulated from you in the first place. But well...... To help you is to help myself, I will teach you another kind of alchemy. This kind of alchemy does not require magical affinity at all, only enough patience and perseverance. Of course, there may also be a lot of time for trial and error......"

At this, Napa's voice suddenly became softer. Arrow knew that the cat had finally understood the problem in his words.

Arrow exhaled, got up from the bar chair, crossed his hip with one hand, and said, "Sounds like a great alchemy." Then, if you are a person with a magical affinity to learn, will you be able to learn this alchemy of yours better? ”

The cat thought for a moment, and after a long time, he nodded compulsively in agreement: "It would be best if you had a magical affinity." Any alchemy is magical, and the higher the affinity, the stronger the ability. ”

"Okay, so how about I learn it later when I have time?"

Arrow looked at the cat's expression, watching it go from a confident face to a depressed look. He knew he had guessed right.

Napa's face must have been well aware of what was wrong with its alchemy, but it didn't seem to be too dead, and raised its head again and said, "Don't you want to try it?" As long as you work hard enough, it is not certain that a person like you who has no magic power can become a 'quasi-magician'! Moreover, the price of alchemy products is not cheap! ”

Arrow got up from his bar chair and walked towards the back kitchen. Napa also floated up and followed.

Entering the back kitchen, Arrow put on an apron, prepared the vegetables and meats he bought earlier, and began to process the ingredients for dinner.

He moves quickly and skillfully. Although Napa had always known that the girl was very neat, it was the first time she had seen Arrow cook, and it saw a lot of ingredients quickly turn into a beautiful meal.

"Who are you? is so skilled in cooking, no matter how you look at it, she doesn't look like a rich lady who will be qualified to enter the old Tengshu Academy to study. ”

There was a smile on the corner of Arrow's mouth, and with a flick of the kitchen knife in his hand, the meat pieces were sliced and put into the pot: "Napa, if I was born to run slower than others, now you tell me that as long as I practice hard, I will be able to run faster than others one day." Do you think I really should practice all the time? ”

Napadong looked around for a moment, seeing that there was no place for it to settle, and after hesitating for a moment, she simply landed on Arrow's hat and lay down, "Why not?" Strive, struggle, isn't that right? ”

"Hahahaha, that's not right."

Picking up a pot of food, Arrow began to thicken the soup stock while smiling, "I try to run, so why do I think that people who are already faster than me don't practice running just as hard?" If I can't outrun others, why can't I ride a horse, hitchhike, or take shortcuts to get to my destination before anyone who can run faster than me? Or to put it another way, why do I have to get there? Can't I run in the opposite direction? Who has stipulated that there is always only one destination in life, and no other goals are allowed? ”

"It's like I don't become a magician, but I can provide an inn and food for the magicians' food and lodging. Even if some magicians can create their own food and lodging through magic, what about the physical needs of their servants? What about the house they need to live in? Magic books need to be stapled, right? Pen and ink need to be made, right? I can totally reach the extreme on the other hand. ”

Napak had heard this for the first time, and for a moment she didn't seem to know how to react.

"Again, I, like many ordinary people, were born without a magical affinity. Why, then, do I have to work so my natural shortcomings to do what magicians can easily do? Well, if you work your own, you can achieve the same power as a magician, which sounds very inspiring. But it will take me far more time than a magician to learn alchemy, and it will take far more energy than a magician to get to this point. ”

"I believe that there may indeed be such people in this world."

"But since this kind of person can practice his shortcomings and other people's strengths, why don't people with this kind of perseverance use their efforts to their strengths?"

"I've practiced your alchemy hard, and I may one day be able to use a lot of cool magic like those magicians. But...... Is it possible for me to blindly chase after this, and surpass the magic of those magicians? ”

"If it's hard for me to surpass a normal mage at this point, then why shouldn't I put my time, energy, and perseverance into something else?"

As he spoke, four dishes and one soup were ready, and Arrow brought the food to the counter, re-ordered a pot of noodles, and brought it out to the table outside.

"Brad, Parfay, it's time for dinner!"

Arrow yelled upstairs, and Brad immediately ran out of the room happily. He still had a lot of dust on his shoulders, and his whole body looked dirty. Parfay flew down directly from the second floor, drooling as she looked at the plate of honey with green silk fruit on the table.

“…… I can't talk about you. ”

Napa looked depressed, and in a bad mood, it flew off Arrow's head and landed on the cushion on the bar again, wagging its tail.

Brad was scolded by Airo to wash his hands, but Parfay was surprised by Napa's emotions and asked, "What's wrong with (fairy language)?" ”

"(Fairy words) nothing."

Arrow placed a bowl of milk next to Napa's cushion and said with a grin—

"What do you really want to say...... All I can say is that I am a businessman, not a mere mechanic. ”

After eating, Arrow asked Brad and Parfay to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, while Napa continued to lie on the counter without saying a word.

Arrow didn't care, went back to his room and planned the next arrangements, counted his savings, turned off the light and went to sleep.

- August 5, 1301, food expenses: -1 copper and 5 iron. Balance: 84 gold and 3 silver -