Lin Mo checked his body. Because he had repeatedly used Blood Qi Blade, his skin had started to redden and a few spots were oozing blood.

But it wasn’t a serious problem.

He lifted a hand and cast Healing Art, and most of it was patched up instantly.

Needless to say, he chose Evolution Path 2 again, continuing to strengthen that skill’s power!

As a result, the already explosive Blood Qi Blade climbed in power from 110% to 125%!

Although the icy rotted corpse had been dealt with, the remaining undead creatures weren’t completely finished off yet. Lin Mo wasn’t about to waste valuable grind time, so he immediately used Rock Shield and surged toward the densest cluster of undead.

Great Shield Charge!

Compared to his previous King Shield technique, Rock Shield was clearly sturdier and covered a larger area—charging with it felt far more satisfying.

When Lin Mo slammed through, the terrifying force sent every undead in his path flying.

Whether it was ordinary skeletons or advanced soldiers or rotted corpses, in front of the heavy shield everyone was equal—smashed to pieces.

The proficiency for these two skills rose accordingly.

Rock Shield proficiency +18

Great Shield Charge proficiency +18

The reason he hadn’t used this move before was partly because he wanted to practice Ice Spike, and Ice Spike’s evolved form, Ice Crystal Fall, was ideal for handling groups of monsters. Also, in the earlier situation, recklessly charging out could have endangered him and his teammates.

Now, of course, that no longer mattered...

Lin Mo held the rock shield and weaved through the monster group again and again,

and prompts kept popping up in front of his eyes.

Rock Shield proficiency +21

Great Shield Charge proficiency +21

.....

Rock Shield had originally been stuck at level 1, but after Lin Mo’s chaotic rampage it jumped straight to level 3!

“Skill Rock Shield Lv2 (20/20) upgraded!”

“Current skill Rock Shield Lv3 (17/40).”

“Obtained attribute point: Mana +2!”

Having just reached level 3 as a mage not long ago, he gained two more mana points.

By then, the undead had basically all been cleared.

When the fight ended, everyone didn’t hurry to loot;

they all simply collapsed to the ground, utterly spent.

This battle had been no small thing—almost everyone had reached their limit.

Lin Mo himself was almost the same: his mana was nearly exhausted, his mind groggy from the mental strain, though his qi and blood were still around half.

That’s one advantage of a multi-class build—more systems and more options in combat. When mana runs out you can still use qi and blood, giving you far greater endurance in a fight.

Lin Mo cast Cleansing Flow on everyone, using up his last bit of mana.

Then he crawled over to Ellie and lay down on her fluffy big tail.

Because he had just used Cleansing Flow it felt a bit damp, but he didn’t care—he needed to rest.

After a while he slowly recovered, though his head still felt fuzzy and a little sore, so he sat cross-legged and entered meditation.

Primary Meditation Technique proficiency +1

When he opened his eyes, Huck and the others were already up tidying the battlefield, and Lin Mo joined in.

Most skeletons and skeleton soldiers didn’t carry valuable materials;

even ordinary rotted corpses’ core bones were just somewhat hardened material—useful but not much. The most valuable were the two elemental rotted corpses: one ice and one fire.

Lin Mo had already taken the ice one;

Huck went and retrieved the fire-element rotted corpse’s core bone.

Lin Mo glanced at it. The core bone’s elemental strength was a bit higher than the fire-element magic stone set in his mithril gloves, but not by much...

And that material needed processing before use;

during processing some elemental properties would be lost.

So the final effect might not be much stronger than the magic stone in his hand.

Not really worth switching—better to sell it.

But the ice rotted corpse’s core bone was different. Lin Mo intended to use part of his mission earnings to trade for it—that should be enough, and he could add more if needed. He’d decide details back in town...

Although it was getting late, they still had one very important task before leaving.

They gathered all the undead bodies together, then cut down nearby trees to make a big pile of firewood.

It was a big job and took a long time to complete.

When the preparations were finished, Lin Mo hurled a Fireball at the wood, igniting it.

Huge flames leapt up—more than ten meters high.

The felled trees and the undead bones charred together...

Undead are already-dead beings animated by necromancers’ magic. If their bodies aren’t properly disposed of after being slain, they become raw material for another wave of undead. So after killing undead, you must destroy their remains.

Felling the surrounding trees also created a blank zone to prevent the fire from spreading into the forest.

The group watched the roaring flames and felt the surrounding temperature rise in waves of heat.

“Let’s go.”

Landon checked and waved, and the group turned and left.

It was getting late, but they kept going for a long distance;

necromancers might be able to sense their created undead dying, so to be safe they needed to put some distance between themselves and the scene.

Only after night thickened and they had walked twenty to thirty kilometers from the battlefield did they stop and find a suitable spot to make camp.

Even though it was late and everyone was exhausted, standard preparations still couldn’t be skipped: checking for monsters nearby, setting traps, lighting a bonfire, sprinkling pest-repelling powder around...

As adventurers, you can never let your guard down in the wild, no matter how strong you are.

Once preparations were finished, everyone ate, arranged watch shifts, and went to sleep.

Lin Mo, like the night before, didn’t rush to sleep. He meditated first.

Primary Meditation Technique proficiency +1

After multiple tries, Lin Mo had begun to notice patterns in the Primary Meditation Technique. Whenever he entered meditation immediately after heavy magical use or mental fatigue, the early moments saw faster proficiency gains. As time passed and his spirit slowly recovered, proficiency growth slowed.

This skill also slightly restored mana and mental state, but the effect was tiny—practically unnoticeable unless you paid close attention. Expecting attribute boosts from meditation would take months, at least.

After a short meditation, his mind was clearer and relaxed. Lin Mo crawled into his sleeping bag and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, everyone woke up later than usual.

They packed, finished breakfast, then hurried toward Silverstream City—finally heading home...

Even for capable adventurers like them, every expedition was no small thing. After all, this was a job: relatively free, but grueling and often life-threatening. Only the rewards from completing missions could soothe their physical and mental exhaustion. Of course, the growth and experience from traveling were also a major draw for many adventurers.

Lin Mo liked this work, especially now that he had a Proficiency Panel. As long as you worked hard, you could improve and watch your progress bit by bit—something many people yearned for but couldn’t achieve.

Dew dripped from branches in the morning breeze, cooling his hair. Lin Mo brushed leaves off his shoulders, faced the rising sun, and set off.

“Did something happen, Cress?”

A well-preserved woman of about forty stood there—still bearing traces of youth and attractiveness, although fine wrinkles revealed her age.

Cress looked at the young man beside her—the handsome youth with an expressionless face—and said, “It’s nothing major... just that one pawn we set near Silverstream City seems to have been removed.”

“Of course, that’s just an insignificant pawn. It won’t affect our plan, my Lady Lawrence.”

Cress straightened his black hat. His arms were skinny and bony like a dried corpse, but his movements were elegant, and a false smile sat on his creased face.

“Bechi...” Viscountess Caroline Lawrence muttered the name with disdain and scorn in her eyes.

“A foolish man, renouncing his noble title and the supreme honor of Ostivis, coming to the poor backwater of the Doria Kingdom—how laughable...”

Cress’s expression turned serious. “I’ve never heard from you before that Silverstream City’s Lady Bechi once bore such a title.”

“Don’t worry, Cress.” Caroline waved a hand. “That’s all in the past. As I said, she gave up her honor and her name. Now she is simply Lavelle, a most ordinary viscount of the kingdom.”

Cress smiled faintly. “Perhaps you are right... but this Lavelle lady has lately been paying a lot of attention to our affairs?”

“Heh—probably because of that little girl from Saint Antonius Academy!” Caroline toyed with a bell in front of her, savoring his pained expression. “If not for that reckless student, our plans would proceed much more smoothly.”

Cress glanced again at the handsome youth whose face twisted in distress. “So, should we give them a small warning?”

“Our progress has slowed down a lot recently because we’ve been hiding from investigation.”

“Be patient, Cress.” Caroline seemed unhurried. “We’ve already done enough. Now we just wait for things to bloom and bear fruit...”

“Of course, if you’re bored I won’t stop you from finding some amusement—after all, we’re only partners.”

Cress shook his head. “I think instead of letting them investigate, we should throw out some bait and create trouble for them. With a bit of sacrifice, we can make them too busy to bother us.”

“Do as you wish.” Caroline waved. “Whether ordinary goblins or mutated goblins, their numbers are sufficient. The goblin population has entered a positive reproduction cycle. Aside from the high-quality materials, the low-grade ‘pigs’—whether they exist or not—really makes little difference.”

“All right, go do what you want, Cress. I’m going to dine.”

Cress smiled. “I won’t disturb you then.”

“Oh—” As he turned, he paused. “Be careful of that girl named Flora. Since she came from the royal capital, she probably won’t let things go lightly.”

Caroline didn’t seem to hear him. She loosened the bell and enjoyed the sight of the handsome youth’s terrified face twisting...

Cress shook his head—he had done enough as a partner. If she wouldn’t listen, that was her affair.

Before night fell, Silver Radiance Team and Azure Orchid Team returned to Silverstream City safely.

Walking into the familiar Adventurers’ Association felt like coming home to everyone.

Lin Mo opened his Proficiency Panel and checked the gains from the return.

Perhaps because they had rushed, they hadn’t encountered many monsters, but Lin Mo had still raised Wind Blade to level 3.

This skill had been learned back at the City Lord’s Mansion. As a basic-level spell akin to Fireball and Ice Spike, Wind Blade was somewhat awkward—less powerful or functional than other spells, and only useful in unimportant fights to grind proficiency.

Still, reaching level 3 increased Lin Mo’s mana a bit.

“Skill Wind Blade Lv2 (20/20) upgraded!”

“Current skill Wind Blade Lv3 (0/40)”

“Obtained attribute point: Mana +1!”

Also, the Ranger skill Lightness successfully reached level 2.

“Skill Lightness Lv1 (10/10) upgraded!”

“Current skill Lightness Lv2 (5/20)”

Other skills had gained some proficiency too, but none leveled up, so he skimmed over those.

When they walked into the association, Lena was preparing to leave for the day. Seeing familiar faces, she willingly stayed late to settle the mission.

“Task ID: E7748, Clear out goblin settlement. Collected: 208 ordinary goblin ears, 16 sub-adult mutated goblins, 6 adult mutated goblins, 1 quasi-bronze goblin...”

“According to the task: one ordinary goblin is 4 silver, mutated goblin 1.5 gold, adult mutated goblin 6 gold, quasi-bronze goblin 15 gold... plus base reward of 20 gold. Total: 103 gold 32 silver!”

Not bad.

With recent goblin rampages, these materials’ prices had been rising to quite crazy levels. The biggest increases were for ordinary goblins, and even at four silver each, the association and city lord’s office wouldn’t be under too much pressure.

“The second task was killing flame cat demons, ID E6647. Reward: 90 gold, plus material salvage... ordinary cat demon claws: 79 pairs at 30 silver each, totaling 23 gold 70 silver;

rune-marked cat demon claws: 11 pairs at 10 gold each, 110 gold;

adult rune-marked cat demon claws: 4 pairs at 18 gold each, totaling 72 gold;

dark rune cat demon claws: 3 pairs at 35 gold each, totaling 105 gold;

finally two pairs of flame cat demon claws... one threat level ~2.5, one level 3, valued at 70 gold and 80 gold respectively...”

“This task’s total reward is 550 gold 70 silver!”

As expected, missions that yielded materials paid far more.

Finally, the mission for killing the ice rotted corpse, ID D758. The base reward alone was 330 gold! Plus there were two elemental rotted corpse core bones.

Lena called over the association’s appraisal staff to estimate those two rarer materials. After careful observation, the appraiser said slowly: “Undead core bones can’t be used directly. They must undergo complex processing before they can function similarly to magic stones. The process requires additional materials and causes loss, so their actual value is much lower than a raw magic stone...”

“This fire-element bone is worth around 200–240 gold. The association can buy it at a middle price of 220. How about that?”

Lin Mo looked to Landon;

he had no experience with such transactions.

Landon thought briefly and nodded. “The association’s prices are usually fair.”

If you sold to a private buyer you might get more—240 or even 250 gold—but finding buyers is troublesome. Items of that value don’t sell easily;

it would take time and effort. Better to sell to the association—convenient and simple.

“And the ice-element one?”

This was what Lin Mo cared about most.

“Hmm...” The appraiser studied it. “This core bone’s elemental power is much stronger than the fire one. It likely came from at least a level 4 rotted corpse. Its value is around 350 gold.”

Not bad—not absurd.

Lin Mo nodded. “Sell the fire-element one. The ice-element one I want to keep—deduct its value from my share.”

“No problem.”

In the end, including the two core bones’ values, the expedition’s total earnings came to 1,554 gold 20 silver.

According to their prior agreement, Silver Radiance Team received 50%—777 gold 10 silver. Subtracting the ice core bone’s 350 gold that Lin Mo wanted to keep left him with 427 gold 10 silver.

After final accounting between the two teams, Landon and his troupe left first—probably to a tavern to split the proceeds. Lin Mo’s team had to settle their own shares.

Silver Radiance Team’s split had been decided earlier: Lin Mo 60%, the other two each 20%.

By that calculation, Lin Mo should get about 466 gold;

minus 350 gold for the ice core bone, he’d end up with only 116 gold.

However... there was Finnie’s additional reward.

Finnie had doubled the 777 gold, bringing it to 1,554 gold. In total, Lin Mo’s share would be 932 gold 40 silver, meaning his take-home would be 582 gold 40 silver!

The other two would each get 310 gold 80 silver.

“Isn’t it wrong for you to keep giving out money like this?” Lin Mo asked. Receiving so many extra rewards from Finnie had made him grateful, but as time passed and the amounts increased, he felt embarrassed.

“It’s fine.” Finnie shook her head. “Mr. Lin, don’t worry... I’ve saved a lot of money over the years and don’t know how to spend it.”

From her words, these doubled rewards were coming from Finnie’s own pocket, not her mother’s. After paying extra bonuses a few times she still had a lot left. That made it better.

Then they left Silverstream City. Lin Mo calculated in his head. If Finnie stayed on the team, it would be awkward to keep accepting her money.

“Not eating together tonight. Let’s return early and rest.”

Lin Mo finished speaking and Sherfilia pushed the door open to take Finnie back.

This time Lin Mo couldn’t accompany them. He and Ellie returned to the inn with Lena.

Although late, the inn still provided dinner. The food wasn’t as good as high-end restaurants, but it was decent and cheap.

After eating and preparing to return to their rooms, Ellie suddenly said, “Lena, I’ve been thinking about something for a long time and decided to say it...”

“What is it?” Lena looked nervous, tense.

“Let’s split up.”

Lena lowered her head and was silent for a long time. She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes... I don’t want to hold you back anymore...”

Tears fell.

“Lena?” Ellie was startled—just separate rooms, not a breakup, right?

“She must have misunderstood you.” Lin Mo shook his head and hurried over to the cat-eared girl, ruffling her head to comfort her. “Ellie meant open two single rooms—just separate sleeping arrangements.”

“Right. Because I plan to train late at night and don’t want to disturb you...” Ellie realized Lena had taken it the wrong way, thinking they were cutting her off and would stop contacting her. She hurriedly added, “We’re friends—don’t jump to conclusions. We won’t abandon you.”

Lena wiped her red eyes and said, aggrieved, “That’s good—I thought... sob sob—” She cried louder and looked genuinely worried.

Lin Mo gently stroked her hair, calming her.

“By the way, Lena, have you been studying planting and cooking lately?”

Lena dried her tears, puzzled. “How did you know, Mr. Lin?”

“You bought a lot of books on those subjects recently. Ellie told me after she found out.”

Lena gave a shy smile. “Just some basics... and I want to develop further, but that will cost money. I don’t have enough now—I’ll need to save.”

“Ellie and I have discussed it a lot.” Lin Mo and the little wolf-girl exchanged a look. “Ellie and I plan to invest and help you become a professional planter... but when you earn money later, we’ll take a little interest.”

Lin Mo thought this approach would be easier for Lena to accept.

“No, no...” Lena waved her hands. “I’ll save up slowly myself.”

“Why?” Ellie asked. “If you save yourself it’ll take ages. Lin Mo and I can help and save you a lot of time.”

Lena looked embarrassed. “I’m afraid I’ll do poorly and can’t repay you.”

“It’s fine.” Lin Mo casually reached to pat her ear. “Investing involves risk and reward. I believe in you—you’ll do great.”

“When you become a brilliant planter and cook, I won’t be polite. I’ll demand many powerful foods from you. So don’t be shy about our help.” Ellie chimed in encouragingly.

Hearing this, Lena seemed encouraged and finally made up her mind, nodding. “Okay, I’ll work hard!”

Lin Mo checked his coin. He had about 605 gold. Although he’d need money tomorrow, he could spare 100 gold.

“I’ll give you 100 gold now. If that’s not enough, tell me.”

“I’ll give 100 gold too.” Ellie offered. Over time she’d gained not just strength but savings. After replacing equipment earlier she still had several hundred gold—more than Lin Mo.

Lena was surprised and waved her hands. “You don’t need to give so much! Ten gold... no, five gold is enough.”

“Use it with confidence, Lena. You know our income—100 gold isn’t much. If you don’t use it all that’s fine;

keep it. What you should do now is not hoard money but use it to quickly improve. Once you’re a professional planter and cook that money won’t matter.”

Life professions can be profitable. Some life trades earn more than many adventurers—like alchemists. While planters and cooks can’t compare to an alchemist’s income, a top-level planter and cook can rival a blacksmith’s. Even leaving aside earnings, if Lena learns to cultivate powerful crops and make special-effect dishes, those will help them a lot.

Lena finally nodded, her gaze resolute.

At the front desk they exchanged their previous rooms for three adjacent single rooms, then returned to their own. They didn’t sleep immediately. Lena clutched her books and read them over and over. Of course, they were introductory materials;

without a teacher, many things would need to be figured out by practice.

In the next room, after bathing, Ellie came to Lin Mo’s room. One reason for switching rooms was to facilitate training. Of course, this couldn’t be permanent, so Lin Mo and Ellie discussed buying property.

“Buy a manor with a yard, so Lena can plant—though that kind of manor will be expensive, and we might not stay in Silverstream City long.”

For many adventurers like Alden, once they choose a place they don’t move often. Lin Mo was different—his strength rose fast, and Roland Forest would become a newbie area. When his power reached a certain point, the monsters here wouldn’t yield enough proficiency or suitable tasks, and he’d need to leave for tougher places.

“That’s fine—we can sell it later, maybe lose a bit... or ask Finnie if her family has any property we can rent.”

“Good idea!” Ellie brightened. “I didn’t think of that.”

There was much to do tomorrow. Lin Mo counted on his fingers. First, his mission quota had been met—he could go to the association to change his badge and become a Bronze-rank adventurer. Next, the ice-element rotted corpse core bone needed processing into a magic-stone-like item to be mounted into another mithril glove. The manor could wait for now—Lena should practice first and next time they could ask Finnie about rentals;

if none were available they’d buy.

As for the next mission, Lin Mo planned to rest, adjust his state, help Wenli improve, and ask Sherfilia to help train Fortitude—these were important tasks, not wasted time.

“Lin Mo...”

While he was thinking, Ellie suddenly snuggled close and spoke more coquettishly. Obviously she wanted to advance.

“I feel I’m close to being a level 2 warrior. Help me tonight—push me to break through in one go!”

“No problem.” Lin Mo wasn’t worried. He hadn’t used much energy that day and felt in good shape. They didn’t need to get up early tomorrow, so they had plenty of time.

A moment later, Lena in the next room heard faint sounds and thought, I knew Wenli wasn’t lying—she really does train at night, which is why she wanted a single room. Ellie trains so hard. I have to work harder too!

The cat-eared girl clenched her fists, feeling more motivated. But unlike Ellie, she still had to work, so she couldn’t stay up late. She planned to speak with the guild leader about taking two or three days off each week to have enough time for planting and cooking...