65: Chapter 65 Advancing to Bronze and Druid

After returning to Blackwater City, the group headed straight for the Adventurers Guild, thinking they should submit their commission first.

The counter clerk at the Adventurers Guild took longer than usual when verifying their mission credentials.

This was mainly because the elf who had posted the commission was currently participating in an ancient artifact exhibition.

Morpheus carefully placed the Elven tactical tome on the counter; he had been reading it every day on the journey back.

Upon hearing the news that the ancient tome had been recovered, the elf rushed over and quickly confirmed that it was indeed the one she needed.

"Thank you, Adventurers, for bringing back this precious artifact. If I have need in the future, I will represent the Great Library and come find you again."

The clerk flipped through their files, looked at their mission records, and flashed a formulaic professional smile:

"Congratulations to Lord Richard, Lady Lia, and Lord Morpheus. You three have completed the required number of mission commissions for promotion. Your information will be re-registered, and here are your new Adventurer credentials; please keep them safe."

After a moment, he pushed three new bronze-colored badges and a leather pouch containing the mission reward across the counter.

Richard took the leather pouch, weighed it in his hand, and handed it to Cecilia to count.

He picked up his own bronze badge and flipped it over to the back, where his name, Adventurer ID, and a new line of embossed text were engraved: Bronze-rank.

"Finally promoted." He pinned the badge onto the bronze ring on the shoulder strap of his breastplate.

A Bronze-rank Adventurer meant more privileges.

They could accept intermediate missions and enjoy small discounts when purchasing supplies at the Adventurers Guild.

They could use the Bronze-rank exclusive training grounds and equipment storage services at any Adventurers Guild in any city-state.

Of course, the rewards and difficulty of intermediate missions were a tier higher than primary missions.

For example, a six-hundred-gold-coin mission like hunting a Manticore; even if he accepted such a commission, the few of them would find it very difficult to complete.

Soon, the group sold the two Displacer Beast pelts and some organ fragments at the Black Silk Chamber of Commerce, selling for a total of two hundred and thirty gold coins.

The main reason was that the technique for crafting magical cloaks from Displacer Beast pelts was extremely difficult; there were no suitable magic craftsmen even within Blackwater City.

Even if they went to the most prosperous Dark Gold City, they would have to wait years in line.

Otherwise, Richard would have considered keeping one pelt to make into equipment later.

In the end, he decided to just exchange it all for money.

The group split the money; excluding Jinbao, everyone else received 54 gold coins each.

Jinbao was allocated an extra twenty gold coins because his Revealing Powder had cost quite a bit.

"Captain, I know someone who I think will be helpful to you," Morpheus said, leaning his staff against his shoulder.

"Aren't you thinking about raising that little Displacer Beast? My friend can help."

Richard was indeed thinking about this; having a magical battle pet would be so cool.

On the way back from the watchtower ruins, the cub had been kept by Cecilia in a soft cloth pocket in her backpack, fed soaked dried minced meat every few hours.

Its eyes opened on the third day, and its little ears could rotate simultaneously to track the source of sounds.

The horny serrations on its tentacles began to harden; although they weren't yet sharp enough to hurt anyone, they could already hook onto fabric and hold on.

The little guy had memorized Richard and Cecilia's scent.

Every time Richard approached the backpack, it would let out a chirping sound, its little head would poke out of the pocket, and both ears would turn in unison toward his direction.

Richard had never raised a pet; in his past life, he hadn't even raised a cat.

He felt that since he had a dimensional bag, storing beast feed wouldn't take up any space anyway.

Moreover, Displacer Beasts grew very quickly; in the wild, they often became mature after four months, following their parents to learn combat techniques.

He had seen the strength of a Displacer Beast with his own eyes during combat.

Illusory displacement, lightning-fast pouncing speed, and the tentacles' ranged attack capabilities.

If he could tame it and coordinate in battle, it would be equivalent to having an extra, very reliable teammate.

"I know a Druid from the Circle of the Moon," Morpheus continued.

"Her name is Greenleaf Freshwind; I advise you not to use human pronunciation habits when speaking Elvish."

"In any case, she is an old acquaintance I met during my time at the magic academy. Her main field of study is Aberration Symbiosis and the behavioral research of large arachnids."

"If you really want to raise this cub into a battle beast, she is the most suitable choice within hundreds of miles of Blackwater City, and her fees aren't expensive."

"Alright, then let's go visit this Druid."

Richard agreed and then had the others return to the inn to rest.

Greenleaf Freshwind did not live in Blackwater City; she lived outside the city to the north, in a protected area designated as a Druid sacred grove.

Morpheus led Richard along forest paths for nearly several hours, stopping in the depths of the sacred grove before a giant oak tree that had been partially hollowed out but was still alive.

The diameter of the trunk was so large that it would take seven or eight people holding hands to encircle it.

The canopy blotted out the sky, and the tree roots rose from the soil, forming natural steps leading to a circular door woven from vines.

Hanging on the vine door was a small sign carved from tree bark, with the following written in both Elvish and Common:

"Residence of the Circle of the Moon. Visitors welcome, but please do not bring any flammable substances."

Morpheus knocked gently three times on the vine door.

The door was pushed open from the inside, but it was not a person who pushed it.

It was a wolf spider larger than a human, which scared Richard so much he almost drew his weapon.

This wolf spider was covered in dark brown fur, its eight thick legs braced against both sides of the doorframe.

Its shiny black eyes peered out from the crack in the door, examining Morpheus for a moment before slowly retreating.

Standing behind the wolf spider was a Wood Elf female who looked to be in her early twenties.

Her skin was a light olive color unique to Wood Elves, and her long, dark green hair was braided into several thick plaits that hung over her shoulders.

Woven into the braids were many vines and a few glowing fluorescent mushrooms that were still emitting a faint light.

Her eyes were amber, with pupils slightly larger than a human's, which would slightly contract into crescent shapes in dim light.

The female elf wore a short robe woven from a blend of tree bark fibers and spider silk, and her belt was hung with glass bottles of various sizes.

Each bottle contained a few living arthropods: beetles, scorpions, centipedes, and a finger-sized jumping spider that was cleaning its antennae with its front legs.

Perched on her shoulder was a finger-thick, emerald-green tree viper, lazily coiled into a ball.

"Welcome, Morpheus!" Greenleaf's voice was more cheerful than her appearance suggested.

"Hehe, I still remember clearly the last time you were scared by a spider and climbed onto a bookshelf. Who is this?"

"Hello, miss. I am Richard, currently the captain of the adventuring party Morpheus belongs to."

The female elf's gaze first fell on Richard, then landed on the small, furry head poking out of Richard's backpack.

Her amber pupils instantly dilated, and her face was filled with surprise and joy.

"Wow, how rare! It's actually a Displacer Beast cub!"

Greenleaf crouched down and, with her finger, extremely gently touched the tip of the cub's tentacle.

The cub let out a chirp and wrapped its tentacle around her finger.

That was the Displacer Beast cub's instinctual defensive reaction to an unfamiliar scent, but it didn't use any force at all.

"It looks less than two weeks old, its egg tooth has just fallen off. Did you bring it out from the nest?"

"Yes, it was an unexpected harvest from our mission this time. I want to raise it into my battle pet."

Richard carefully lifted the cub out of his backpack and placed it on the workbench Greenleaf had covered with soft moss.

The cub braced its body with its four legs, stood shakily for a moment, then lay back down and chirped twice.