I walk out from the dungeon hub square, and the early morning sun shines down on Solara.
The guard outside gives me a nod, followed by a weird look as he doesn't recognize me. It's not unusual for hunters to stay overnight in dungeons. It's easy to assume I entered when he wasn't on his shift. He shrugs and continues on with his day.
With this, I look out at the city with a brand new disguise but still keep my red hood covering my face.
My muscles are pretty sore, but I manage to still walk down the streets at a moderate pace without signs of any limp or slowness. If I were to jump back into battle right now, it would be a bit more painful, but I'd be able to fight at 90% power without much problem.
Although I may feel a bit better, it doesn't mean I'm not exhausted for the time being. I drink some water and left over food in my item storage on the way. It perks me up a bit.
Minutes later, I walk through the front doors of the bar and see the same middle-aged bartender talking to a few lower-level hunters at the side table he mentioned to me a few days back.
The bar, once crowded with almost a hundred hunters and tables full of multicolored cocktails and drinks with flashing lights and full of laughs, is now completely empty.
As I walk closer, the man and woman turn away from the bartender at the side tables with a few handfuls of silver each and smiles across their faces as they pass me. A voice sounds out in the calmness of the morning.
"I recognize that quality of red cloak you've got there, son. You're the hunter that wanted to make his way to Valor City a few days back. I knew you were just messing with me when you said you'd show back up the next day with all the quests completed."
He lets out a chuckle, and I play along while reaching under my cloak to grab the quest papers.
"Yeah, something came up. However, I do have them all completed for you now. Three days wasted is still better than taking the train."
I smirk and place the pile of papers onto the counter.
His eyes widen with surprise, then tighten with suspicion. The battle-seasoned bartender sifts through each of the papers one by one, reading them and doing math in his head.
"Yeah right... These are quests for thousands of the highest-tier beasts in the city. It would take a team of our best fighters months to finish all these. There's no way-"
*THUD*
I begin pulling out the Minotaur horns first, stacking the black and red shimmering high-grade items in a pile on the bar's wooden floor.
It begins to creak under the pressure, and my thin smile grows the longer he's left speechless.
The man keeps his mouth open in shock, but doesn't say a word until I turn and start pulling out piles of rat claws and turtle shells next.
I can hear wood splintering under the weight, and he puts his hands up.
"H-Hold on a moment, let me get some item boxes from the back. We can store and count these for you in a moment."
The bartender runs into a backroom and comes out a few minutes later with a handful of small item boxes along with a kid no more than 16 years old wearing an apron. The dishwasher came out to help with the extra work.
We begin going through every quest from top to bottom. The highest paying ones like the Minotaur horns and bulk mana crystals pay out a few dozen gold each, while the middle-ranged quests pay tens of silver to a few gold coins, and lastly, some smaller ones are just a few silver.
Both the bartender and the dishwasher can't believe their eyes as I continue pulling more and more items from my cloak to match with every single quest paper.
It takes over 2 hours to sort and count everything, but finally, I'm given a total for everything by the man.
"That's the final one right there, your total after the 2% Solara Government tax on large payouts is 138 gold and 42 silver."
I nod, and the corner of my lips curls up as he starts stacking gold out from a silver safe with the Solaran Government logo on it.
This brings my total gold to just about 150, counting the leftover I had stored away from previous quests and missions back in the Vice Region. It's over half way up to where I was before spending it all on those soulstones. This time around, there's no emergency so I'll be sure to save and spend it wisely after purchasing the transport crystal.
Also, the fact that I'm capable of clearing out the quests in any city I go to and make a hundred gold a day if I please fills me with confidence. Maybe I'll do the same at the Capital in Sector 1.
"Great. Which way is the Solaran Government office?"
I grab stacks of the coins and put them under my cloak and into my storage as the man responds, giving me directions.
With that, I turn around and raise a hand in the air to wave.
"Appreciate it. Maybe I'll come back soon for some more quests."
Then, I walk out the door.
Both the bartender and the dishwasher lean back against the wall with looks of awe, but also nervousness on their faces.
I hear the kid speak under his breath as I turn the corner.
"Hey boss, that was all the high-grade quests the capital had to offer this month. The hunters aren't going to be happy about this. Who is that guy?"
He replies, but I only hear his last remark.
"Doesn't matter. Whoever hands in the quests, we'll get the same commission. It's better not to question the actions of a man who can pull something like this off in just 3 days."
I smirk and chuckle to myself. If only they knew I finished everything in a matter of hours.
If there's any backlash from me clearing all these quests, I'll be out of here before they even catch wind of it. Considering all the trouble this city has brought me, I hope I leave them with a little chaos.
With a single coin being twirled around my fingers, I finally make it to the government office and walk up the long rows of marble steps before walking through the front blue glass doors that slide open.
Chatter fills my senses as I'm met with the blinding whiteness of mana shielding on the floor and walls.
Cityfolk stand in lines behind 4 separate workers sat behind a curved white marble counter at the back of the room to look like a semicircle. Each worker has a small booth with the same clear blue glass as the door, covering their upper bodies above the counter.
Upon closer inspection, it's filled with mana too, similar to the walls, ceiling, and floor. Everything is protected by shielding in this office.
*Ding*
A green light pops up above one of the booths and a line moves forward. Once someone steps up to be helped, it changes to red just like the other three.
I cross my arms and wait my turn.
"How can I help you today, Sir?"
After less than 10 minutes of waiting, a young woman greets me at her booth with a smile. I reply.
"I'd like to purchase a transport crystal to Sector 1. Valor City, to be exact."
Her eyes widen, then her mouth opens but no words come out. She swallows, raises a finger, then looks down at a small silver tablet before tapping it a few times and looking up at me again.
"Of course. It's not every day someone comes here to buy one, but we still have a few left in stock. Usually, people just take the train."
She looks down at her silver tablet and taps it a few more times before turning it to me to show bold black numbers.
"The current going price is 24 gold and 11 silver."
I reach into my storage and place the requested amount on the white marble table without hesitating for a moment.
"That's perfect. I'll take one."
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