CHAPTER 828: CHAPTER 647: THE MYSTERIOUS MAGICIAN’S REQUEST

The morning had just passed, and a slight chill still lingered in the streets of Orario, prompting ordinary citizens to put on coats to keep warm, sometimes even exhaling visible puffs of breath.

Compared to the citizens, the adventurers slowly heading towards the central plaza where the Tower of Babel stood displayed a variety of styles in their attire. Some were fully armed, others lightly dressed, especially the passionate and flamboyant Amazons, most of whose skin was exposed to the air, seeming not to care about the morning chill at all.

Deep underground in the dungeon, within the misty tenth floor, Reiger and Ais were heading towards the entrance to the eleventh floor.

"Swish!"

A silver light flashed swiftly through the mist, and Ais sliced a small demon that suddenly rushed out from the side into two halves, not allowing it even to let out a scream. The body turned to dust mid-air, leaving only a small magic stone that fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Ais picked up the small magic stone and put it into a small pouch at her waist, causing Reiger beside her to blink.

"Even such a small magic stone needs to be collected?"

Reiger couldn’t help but ask.

The monsters on the tenth floor had very small magic stones, and even if sold, they wouldn’t fetch much money. To Reiger, picking up such small magic stones seemed unnecessary, as it would only consume space and add weight to his gear.

If Reiger were alone, it would be another matter, as he could just throw them into the dimensional cube’s storage space and not worry about them occupying carrying space or adding to his load.

But Ais was collecting these small magic stones that had little value to her, which seemed a bit tedious.

To this, Ais explained.

"Revilia said to collect them," Ais explained. "If magic stones are randomly discarded on the roadside, it might cause unnecessary conflicts."

For Reiger and Ais, the magic stones produced by the monsters on this floor didn’t hold much value, but for those low-level adventurers exploring this floor, it was their main source of income.

Seeing unclaimed magic stones everywhere might lead them to ideas of getting something for nothing, which could lead to issues such as uneven team distribution, fights over magic stones, or even brawling over mere scraps.

So, generally speaking, high-level adventurers are supposed to avoid hunting low-floor monsters when exploring the dungeon, leaving them for lower-level adventurers. If unavoidable, they should collect the magic stones and drop items, avoiding unnecessary follow-up issues.

This isn’t a guild regulation written in black and white, just a kind of tacit rule among adventurers.

"I see."

Reiger nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Inhale—Exhale—"

Ais, having pocketed the magic stone, returned to Reiger’s side, adjusting her breathing as she continued towards the eleventh floor.

Watching Ais like this, walking alongside her, Reiger could see that the girl was attempting to enhance the practice of her breathing technique, aiming to reach the state of Total Concentration Constant.

"Such insight is impressive, no wonder she set the shortest upgrade record before the protagonist appeared in the original story."

Reiger nodded secretly, suddenly feeling a hunch, and grabbed Ais.

"Hmm?"

Ais stopped in her tracks and looked at Reiger with puzzlement.

"...What’s wrong?"

Just as Ais voiced her question, she suddenly stiffened and turned sharply to look at the mist-shrouded front.

"Who?"

Ais raised her Sword of Despair, pointing it coldly into the empty mist.

"Come out," Reiger also said indifferently. "Although you hid well and concealed your presence perfectly, you may fool others but not us."

As soon as these words were spoken, an indescribable stillness fell over the mist before Reiger and Ais.

The next moment, the mist began to part, and a shadow emerged silently from it, entering the sight of Reiger and Ais.

"As expected of the most talented swordsman in the Loki Familia, your senses are sharper than I imagined."

An indistinguishable voice, gender unknown, came from the figure in the mist, echoing within it.

Reiger’s eyes gleamed briefly, while Ais became even more vigilant.

Only because the person before them exuded a strange and eerie aura.

The figure was draped entirely in a black robe, with a hood covering the face entirely, making it impossible to discern his appearance or even specific shape.

No part of the mysterious figure’s body was exposed, concealed by the tightly wrapped black robe. Gloves with intricate designs adorned the hands, and even the feet were hidden by the robe’s hem. Not to mention seeing the face, it was impossible to glimpse even a bit of skin.

The figure emitted an inexplicable presence, a bizarre feeling that made one question if they were even human. If not for the speech upon their appearance, Reiger aside, Ais would surely have mistaken the figure for an unknown monster and cut them down on the spot.

"...Who are you?"

Ais maintained her vigilance, keeping the sword tip of her drawn Sword of Despair aimed straight at the black-clad figure.

"Me?" The black-clad figure still uttered the gender-ambiguous voice, lowering their head and saying plainly, "I’m just an insignificant magician."

"Magician?"

Ais felt a slight stir in her heart.

In this world, a magician refers to a mentor who serves magic guides and magic swordsmen, those in magical professions among adventurers.

Unlike the weapons most commonly used by adventurers, such as knives, guns, swords, and halberds, magic wands and items specifically for Magic Guides or Magic Swordsmen are typically not available in general weapon stores.

Unlike weapons such as swords used for close combat, the nature of staffs, wands, and items that enhance "Magic Power" and boost magic effectiveness require creators proficient in magic. Thus, even Advanced Forgers with forging skills cannot produce such equipment.

The people who can create such equipment are magicians, individuals who specialize in crafting and selling magic-related items.

To put it simply, magicians are essentially blacksmiths who serve Magic Guides and Magic Swordsmen.

The weapons of Reiger, Ais, and others are forged by Forging Masters, while the equipment of Revilia and Rephia is crafted by magicians. The difference lies in the groups they serve.

The person before them is such an existence, a magician engaged in the magic-related manufacturing industry, akin to an alchemist or Magic Craftsman on the Akasha continent.

Of course...

"I know I seem suspicious, but could you hear my intentions before deciding to act?"

The mysterious magician said this, causing Ais to look at Reiger.

Reiger nodded to Ais.

Ais hesitated for a moment before sheathing the Sword of Despair and pointing the sword’s tip to the ground.

"Thank you."

The other party politely expressed gratitude, and though suspicious, their every move exuded an air of education and etiquette.

"Speak," Reiger said expressionlessly, "What do you want from us?"

The mysterious magician was silent for a moment before speaking.

"I want to ask you to accept my commission."

The other’s words made Ais look at Reiger again.

"A commission?" Reiger, without looking at Ais, seemed to see through the person’s intentions, smiled faintly, and said, "Are you referring to the anomaly on the 24th floor?"

The mysterious magician fell silent again upon hearing this.

"Anomaly?"

Not knowing about this, Ais was taken aback.

Seeing this, Reiger explained to Ais.

"Last night, I went to the guild headquarters’ exchange to exchange magic stones and overheard someone at the counter mention an anomaly.

"According to them, an event worse than the Monster Party seems to have occurred on the 24th floor, resulting in a surge of monsters and causing the deaths of many adventurers exploring that floor."

"I thought the guild would take action, but today, everything here is as usual."

"Clearly, the guild hasn’t acted or even reported it, or else adventurers entering the underground city wouldn’t be so calm."

With that, Reiger looked at the mysterious magician.

"I was puzzled why the guild would ignore adventurers’ casualties and this anomaly. Now it seems they can’t make it public for some reason but have to discreetly commission high-level adventurers to deal with the anomaly."

With Reiger’s explanation, Ais understood too.

"Are you from the guild?"

Ais looked at the mysterious magician.

"...A brilliant deduction." The mysterious magician seemed to smile wryly, then nodded and said, "Currently, I do indeed work for the guild."

Upon hearing this, Ais finally let down most of her guard.

Since the other party is with the guild, it indicates they don’t bear hostility and aren’t an enemy.

"My intention, as you’ve surmised, is to have you investigate the anomaly on the 24th floor and perhaps suppress the monster outbreak."

The mysterious magician took a deep look at Reiger and straightforwardly stated his purpose.

"Of course, I will prepare generous rewards for you both."

The credibility of this statement is quite high.

After all, the guild is the sole official entity handling magic stone goods in the city, wealthy beyond measure, lacking nothing but money.

Even if the guild lacked funds, this mysterious magician surely wouldn’t.

Magic-related items are expensive luxuries, more so than similar-level general weapons.

Magicians who engage in this business are generally not short of money people.

Such a person promising generous rewards indeed sounds enticing.

The problem is...

"Why choose us?"

Reiger raised this fundamental question.