CHAPTER 70: 070 ACTIVE THOUGHTS

In Orario, all magic stones brought out from the underground city must be exchanged for money at the guild.

As the city’s administrator, the guild directly monopolized the production of magic stones and used processed magic stone products to sell around the world, amassing a great deal of money for itself and the city.

Therefore, magic stones can only be exchanged for money at the guild and cannot be sold anywhere else, or it would result in being banned by the guild.

However, dropped items are different.

Dropped items are mainly used as materials for manufacturing weapons, armor, and even medicines. Although they can also be exchanged for money at the guild, one can only get the fixed market price, which is the lowest value.

The guild only monopolized magic stones, not the trade of dropped items. Thus, for many powerful families, it’s more profitable to sell dropped items to commercial clans than to exchange them at the guild.

Especially for those confident in their negotiation skills, carrying valuable dropped items to bargain with commercial clans is not impossible to sell at a price far above the market value.

However, selling items on one’s own carries the risk of being deceived. Many novice adventurers were conned, aiming to sell at a high price but ended up being bought off at a low price. In the end, they did not earn but might have even suffered losses, ending up worse off than before.

Of course, such risks are unlikely to happen to well-known families with significant reputations in Orario.

After all, no one would want to offend a major family, especially those that can retrieve precious resources from deeper levels. Many merchants, shop owners, and commercial clans are actually very afraid of offending them, fearing being blacklisted as non-tradable entities, which would be a considerable loss for those needing deep-level resources to create high-level weapons, armor, medicines, and items.

In such circumstances, as one of the largest factions among exploration clans, Loki Familia didn’t need to worry about being cheated. Apart from leaders like Finn exchanging magic stones at the guild for money, other members were free to form their own small groups and act separately.

Reiger and his party also headed to the northwest main street, walking on this adventurer street toward their destination—the Diaketer Familia.

"A major pharmaceutical family?"

Reiger murmured thoughtfully.

"Yes," Rephia said softly, not holding her magic wand for once as she walked beside Reiger, "Diaketer Familia is a major family in healing and pharmaceuticals. Their main activities include selling spiritual medicines they developed and offering professional healing services and special items."

This family’s reputation in Orario was not small; they not only sold advanced medicines and items that other shops and families did not have, but they also provided healing services of a higher level than those established by the guild, widely praised by adventurers.

Many adventurers with injuries that even spiritual medicine couldn’t heal had received treatment from Diaketer Familia and had mostly recovered. Some even regained their sight after having lost it, and others with severed limbs installed prosthetics there, allowing them to live normal lives without daily hindrances.

Therefore, even though Diaketer Familia’s goods and services were of very high level, which meant they were also very costly, many adventurers without much money were deterred. However, for those affluent and capable families, it was still a fine establishment worth frequenting.

"The ones who commissioned us to collect Cadmus Spring Water from the 51st floor were from Diaketer Familia," Theone grumbled, "To dump such a bothersome quest on us, I definitely need to have a word with Amide."

"Don’t make trouble, Theone," Theona pouted, "Amide is such a nice person; it was definitely her wicked God that came up with this idea. If you offend Amide, be careful next time she might not offer you healing services, okay?"

"I don’t need to be healed by Amide," Theone’s tone shifted slightly, "But indeed, if we anger the ’Battlefield Saintess,’ the captain would also be troubled. For the captain’s sake, I’ll bear it."

"Pfft," Theona stuck her tongue out at Theone, "Silly, Theone. It’s obvious that Finn doesn’t care for you."

"Who says!?" Theone retorted as if a sore spot had been hit, "The captain clearly loves me!"

"Ew," Theona immediately distanced herself from Theone with disdain, which irked Theone to no end.

Ais and Rephia watched as the Amazon twins frolicked about, one showing a confused expression, the other smiling sheepishly, as they followed behind the pair and continued forward.

Only Reiger squinted his eyes.

"Battlefield Saintess..."

He remembered.

That was a major character in the original work.

How major?

Anyway, as Reiger recalled the abilities of the "Battlefield Saintess," his mind suddenly became active.

"If I could get that ability..."

Reiger murmured to himself in a low voice, his lips curling into a smile.

Before long, the group arrived in front of a majestic building.

It was constructed of pristine white stone.

Decorated on the building was a crest adorned with a sphere of light and a pattern of medicinal herbs.

That was the Deian Cate family crest, a symbol of the family similar to the Loki familia’s jester insignia.

"We’re here!"

Theona was always the first to act, and upon reaching their destination, she immediately pushed open the door.

Inside was a shop.

It appeared to be a place specializing in the sale of medicinal products, with shelves filled with medicines along the walls and also arrayed behind the service counter facing the entrance.

Many adventurers browsed around, each adorned with high-level equipment; one could tell at a glance that they were high-level adventurers.

The person manning the service counter smiled slightly and bowed as soon as Reiger and the others entered.

"It seems we have visitors from the Loki familia, welcome."

Greeting everyone in this manner, the attendant-like figure was a young human girl.

The girl had a delicate appearance, was under 150 centimeters tall with a petite frame, yet her long silver-white hair flowed softly down her back, and her large eyes were fringed with lengthy lashes. Wearing a uniform predominantly white in color, she instantly brought to mind the role of a "healer."

The moment Reiger saw the girl, he superimposed her image with that of the Priest who had once healed his wounds.

Ais and the others, quite familiarly, approached and greeted her.

"...It’s been a long time, Amide."

"It’s been a while, Miss Amide."

Ais and Rephia spoke out in turn to greet her.

"Miss Ais, Miss Rephia, it’s been a long time."

The girl responded with a sincere smile.

"Is she Amide Teysanare?"

Reiger scrutinized the other party carefully.

Amide Teysanare, that name was not something unknown in Orario.

She was not only the face of the Dianketo Familia but also a Level 2 healer with extremely advanced and rare healing magic, to the extent that she was regarded as a ’Saintess’ by gods and adventurers alike.

Rephia was valued by the Familia and noticed by the gods for her firepower, which far exceeded her own level; likewise, this human girl possessed special-effect magic that far surpassed her level, and although she was only a Level 2, third-tier adventurer, her very existence, role, and value were greater than those of Level 5, first-tier adventurers.

In light of this, when facing this human girl, Ais and the others conversed with her as equals.

"Hello."

Reiger casually nodded to her as a greeting as well.

"You are...?"

Amide looked at Reiger with a hint of curiosity.

It wasn’t Reiger who answered that question but Theone.

"This is the monster newcomer who recently joined our Familia."

Theone’s words made Amide blink her eyes.

"I see," Amide watched Reiger, then after a moment, she nodded and said, "You are Reiger Brillhaut, aren’t you?"

Reiger raised an eyebrow, "You know me?"

"Reiger is jesting," Amide said with a slight smile, "Now, in Orario, it’s rare for someone not to know you."

After all, he was the monster newcomer who had risen from Level 1 to Level 5 in just over three months.

The news of Reiger reaching Level 5 was still causing a sensation.

The proof was the adventurers shopping around who, upon hearing the conversation here, immediately turned their gazes to Reiger.

"Is that Reiger Brillhaut?"

"The Deceptive Swordsman?"

"The monster newcomer from the Loki Familia..."

Those adventurers, whose levels were obviously not low, looked at Reiger with scrutinizing gazes.

Reiger paid no mind to those gazes, merely smiled at Amide, and then fell silent again.

Although Amide was curious about Reiger, she didn’t show it.

"You’re here today for the adventurer’s quest, right?"

Amide decided to discuss the matter at hand first.

"That’s right," Theone replied, "We have brought the water from Cadmus Spring; please verify it."

Saying that, Theone took off the backpack she had been carrying with her all along and took out bottles of spring water from it.

It was the spring water collected by Finn and the others.

When collecting the spring water, Reiger’s party, having sensed danger prematurely, did not complete the collection task and left Cadmus Spring immediately, nearly causing the quest to fail.

Luckily, Finn’s party collected the spring water, and it seemed that the amount was sufficient.

Amide then picked up the water bottles one by one to verify them.

"This is indeed Cadmus Spring Water, and the quantity meets the standard," Amide said, "Thank you all, I have prepared your reward."

Amide took out a medicine chest from below the counter.

In the medicine chest, there were bottles of Spiritual Medicine.

"Spiritual Medicine?"

Reiger recognized these medicines.

"Yes," Amide nodded, "As per the agreement, the reward for completing this adventurer’s quest is twenty portions of the highest-quality Spiritual Medicine."

One portion of the highest-quality Spiritual Medicine sold for five hundred thousand Valis.

Twenty portions would then amount to a full ten million Valis.

"This haul isn’t too shabby at all."

Reiger thought of the spring water in that chamber.

If only he had known, he would have taken all that spring water with him.