Chapter 50: The Tavern Empties

Chapter 50: The Tavern Empties

He leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his ale before continuing. "As we all know, not all magical beasts have valuable parts. In fact, nearly eighty percent of 1st and 2nd Order beasts yield little to nothing when killed. However, I managed to take down a 3rd Order Common Beast along with a few other 2nd Order creatures, and fortunately, they were quite valuable."

"While there’s no guarantee that you’ll encounter low-level beasts with salvageable parts, even if you come across one that doesn’t offer much value, the mission reward is still there. You choose missions based on your strength and rank—complete the task and receive your payment without needing to share your earnings."

By this point, the tavern had fallen silent as all the warriors listened intently to Gregor. And what he was saying was true.

When they couldn’t afford the fees to enter a dungeon, their only option was to hunt magical beasts for their valuable parts to sell. Yet even that came with risks; not every beast was worth it.

Going on a hunt meant knowing full well that your chances of killing a beast with valuable parts were about fifty-fifty, while the risk of dying exceeded sixty percent.

That’s why most warriors avoided hunting magical beasts unless absolutely necessary; they’d rather pay dungeon fees than risk their lives for uncertain rewards.

Sure, entering a dungeon also carried risks and could lead to death, but at least there was certainty in earning something, albeit having to hand over ninety percent of their loot. That felt better than losing one’s life without any reward.

Gregor’s lips curled into a broad smile as he continued. "The Adventurer Guild is different; there’s a hundred percent chance of making money compared to entering dungeons or hunting beasts. As long as you complete a mission, you can earn no less than a hundred gold coins."

The warriors’ eyes widened at this revelation. Sharp breaths echoed through the tavern as murmurs and whispers spread among them, some were shocked while others buzzed with excitement.

"Hey... wait a minute! I think I’ve heard about this Adventurer Guild before," Caelis said suddenly, furrowing his brows as realization dawned on him while looking at Gregor.

"I remember now! Three days ago, rumors started circulating in the city that Cassian Thaumas,the Alchemist, went to this Adventurer Guild to post a mission that was completed in less than thirty minutes!"

"Yeah! Now that you’ve mentioned it, I recall hearing those rumors too," Leona chimed in eagerly. "Apparently Cassian himself claimed that the Adventurer Guild could change the social landscape of our entire city! He had quite high praise for it."

"Yeah! I think I’ve heard about this too..."

"Me too! But honestly? I didn’t take it seriously, I thought it was just some made-up story."

"I heard about it yesterday and thought it sounded like fiction too, but now I’m starting to believe it’s real."

"I heard you can post a task there for someone to complete, but I’m not sure if it’s true."

"Apparently, the Adventurer Guild has Warriors who take on those tasks," another voice chimed in.

Gregor’s lips curled into a wide grin as he lazily sipped his ale, leaning back in his chair while observing the excited crowd.

"Looks like my mission is halfway complete. As long as I can get them to the Adventurer Guild to register, I’ll be all set for those exclusive missions," he thought, narrowing his eyes into tiny slits.

His mind drifted back to the past few days spent running around the city, spreading and handing out flyers everywhere.

After returning home from selling beast parts and purchasing new equipment and magic potions, he felt a wave of relief when his sister took the Moonwell Elixir that healed her. With that worry behind him, he focused entirely on distributing flyers.

He had also caught wind of some rumors circulating throughout the city recently. Initially surprised and anxious, Gregor wondered if Sage might have gone back on his word since the rumors echoed the content of the flyers.

However, after some reflection, he decided to trust Sage; it didn’t seem likely that Sage would renege on their agreement.

Besides, if Sage were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have made such a deal knowing full well that similar information would spread across town.

Hearing that Cassian Thaumas had come to the Adventurer Guild to post missions eased Gregor’s concerns entirely.

He quickly realized that Sage was leveraging Cassian Thaumas’s reputation as a promotional tool for the Guild.

It made sense, if Sage had known Cassian was coming, he probably wouldn’t have bothered with Gregor or given him any flyers in the first place.

With this clarity came renewed determination; Gregor threw himself into spreading those flyers even more vigorously.

With rumors swirling and eye-catching flyers in circulation, people began to believe in what they saw.

All three parties stood to gain from this situation: Gregor would receive his exclusive missions; Pax would pocket ten gold coins; and Sage would profit immensely by attracting a large number of people looking to post missions or register as adventurers, all of whom would pay him for their services.

While it might seem like Sage was missing out at first glance, by day’s end, he’d be reaping greater rewards than anyone else.

Gregor sighed again as his gaze returned to the lively crowd before him. He shook his head slightly in relief. "Thank goodness I have a deal with the Guildmaster; otherwise, with so many people eager to register as adventurers, there could be a shortage of available missions."

He glanced over at Brutus and his companions with a hint of pity in his eyes.

"I hope they manage to snag some missions before they run out. But judging by their strength, they’ll likely be among the first ones tearing down those postings from the Mission Board."

Excitement buzzed through the tavern as patrons exchanged surprised glances and whispered among themselves. The news had clearly caught everyone off guard.

"Hey Gregor, does the Adventurer Guild still accept registrations?" Brutus’s rough voice cut through the chatter, instantly drawing everyone’s attention to Gregor, their eyes filled with eager anticipation.

Leaning back lazily in his chair, Gregor chuckled softly. "Yes, the Adventurer Guild is still accepting registrations. If you want, I can take you there."

Bang!

"What are you waiting for? Let’s go right now!" Brutus slammed his hand down on the table with such force that it splintered and collapsed under him.

Gregor’s lips twitched as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Alright then, follow me."

With that, he stood up and headed toward the entrance. Brutus, Calista, Caelis, Leona, and more than twenty Warriors from the tavern quickly followed him out into the bustling streets.