Chapter 27, Calm on the Eve of Destruction (Part 1)
"...Excuse me...are you Mr. Peter from the 'Sword of Darkness'? Please come here quickly! There is a task commission named for you!"
These words from the Adventurer's Guild poster girl quickly changed the surrounding atmosphere.
——For middle- and low-level adventurers, it is a very honorable thing to get a designated mission. Not only are the rewards for tasks usually higher, but it also proves that you have built a reputation, are no longer a newcomer, and have begun to have a fixed customer base.
Feeling the eyes around him filled with surprise, envy and jealousy, Captain Peter felt proud but also felt slightly uneasy. But he responded immediately and walked over with the team. Then he saw the white-haired old man in front of the counter, turned around and looked at his group.
Well, did he just come to the Adventurer's Guild to issue a mission and name himself as the employer of the adventure group?
At first glance, although this old man has a gray-haired appearance, it does not make people think of weakness. His muscular body can only make people feel capable and dangerous, as well as a spirit that will never succumb to age. Perseverance. Those sharp eyes with a firm will will immediately remind experienced adventurers of a powerful warrior, and the exquisite coat makes this old man appear to be of extraordinary status.
A noble old man with a martial temperament, his manners are quite elegant when moving forward or backward. Captain Peter made the above judgment in his heart.
In addition, there was a white cat with long fluff squatting on the old man's shoulder. It looked like the kind of pet that only nobles and wealthy people would keep. There were two other tabby cats at their feet, raising their heads and staring at the adventurers around them with curious eyes.
——This foreign world has never had the country "Persia", and naturally there is no concept of the term "Persian cat".
Then, the old man slowly opened his mouth, "...Hello, Mr. Peter, my name is Sebastian, you can call me Sebastian. I serve the great... uh, Great... The magician Ainz, Gong’s butler, is introduced to you and wants to negotiate a deal with you..."
——It turned out to be the strange magician who used a cat to pull a cart. The four members of the "Sword of Darkness" adventure group exchanged glances in understanding.
A moment later, holding a mission contract drafted by the Adventurer's Guild, Captain Peter couldn't help but frown.
The content of the mission is very simple and reasonable: the master served by Butler Sebastian in front of him, the traveling great magician Ainz, is planning to build a mage tower in the village of Karn. To do this, it is necessary to organize labor to cut down the forest and collect wood and stone for the construction of the mage tower. However, this may alarm the monsters in the forest, so I want to hire a team of adventurers to serve as guards to protect the safety of the logging team during the construction period.
But the problem is that the amount of remuneration agreed above is too small no matter how you look at it.
"...Although we are indeed very happy to receive the designated mission! However, you hired us four silver medal adventurers and only gave each of us one gold coin every month? And we have to take care of all the food and lodging ourselves? This Too stingy! ”
Captain Peter flicked the parchment with the contract written on it, his expression was quite distressed, "...This price really puts us in a bit of a dilemma!"
——In a fortress city where food cannot be self-sufficient and prices are relatively high. In Lantier, the average monthly income of ordinary citizens is around one gold coin. For adventurers who need to go through life and death, the psychological price they can bear must be higher.
In this regard, before Butler Sebas had time to speak, the long-haired white cat squatting on his shoulder spoke first: "...Hey, young man, you'd better look at things more carefully. I'll give you the reward." There’s more than one gold coin for each person! There’s also a gift behind!”
Eh eh eh? This cat can really talk? !
Not only the four members of the "Sword of Darkness" adventure group, but also the other adventurers in the guild gathered around curiously when they saw this.
However, although Captain Peter of the "Dark Sword" adventure group was also very curious, he still spent his main energy on negotiating the mission reward: "...Of course I saw this, but what exactly is this gift? Can you explain it to us first? ”
"...This gift is..." Political Commissar Guo, the white Persian cat scholar, paused, "...a magic cat!"
Gift is a magic? What does this mean? A string of question marks couldn't help but rise above the adventurers' heads.
If it's a foul language among adventurers, then "Give you a magic" often means throwing a fireball at you.
But the talking cat in front of him obviously does not have the above intention: this is not how threats are made by force!
"...Oh, I just want you to learn a magic cat!" Looking at a group of adventurers from another world who seemed completely clueless, the white cat political commissar had no choice but to sigh and stop being pretentious, "...no matter who they are, no matter you No matter what profession you are in, you can master at least one magic!"
Can anyone learn magic? Or a quickie?
After a moment of silence, the adventurers gathered in the guild were in an uproar.
Their first reaction to such an incredible statement was disbelief.
In this fantasy world that advocates force, being a magic chanter who possesses knowledge and can use mysterious power is a very decent and noble profession, but it is also a profession that requires money and qualifications. There are many children from rich families who have wasted many years and spent countless amounts of money in magic schools, but still gained little. There are also many poor people with amazing talents who are ultimately unable to pursue the path of magic because they cannot afford the tuition.
In general, even a low-level magic caster who only knows the first level of spells is enough to make people take a high look.
Moreover, even if someone has the qualifications to become a magic caster, learning magic is still a time-consuming, laborious and expensive chore. To master any magic, it takes a lot of time and energy, and there must be corresponding talent and understanding. Even the legendary standard top student needs about eight years of college education to become a basically qualified ordinary magician.
However, according to this cat, it is so easy to obtain magic? Easy enough to use as a gift or payment?
"...My master's cat has a skill that, if activated on someone, can instill a magic directly into your mind. As long as you have a little bit of magic value (MP or blue bar) in your body, Enough to sustain a magic release to cast this spell."
Seeing everyone talking, Sebas, the dragon steward, also explained, "...Of course, if your magic power is completely zero, then there is really nothing you can do. But you can transfer your opportunity to Others, and then ask them for something as compensation.”
"...Does it sound interesting? Mr. Cat, can you give me a magic first? Just think of it as a deposit! Don't worry, as long as I can really get a magic, even if a few other people in the group don't If you are willing to accept the mission, I will go to Karn Village to fulfill the contract myself”
While Captain Peter was still hesitating, Luke Lott, the scout archer of the "Dark Sword" adventure group, came up with a frivolous smile and reached out to touch the white cat political commissar's head, "...Please... Yo, kitty, please give me an [Eagle Eye]”
"...Ahem, first of all, what kind of magic you can get is completely randomly selected, meow. It depends on your luck. Secondly, you are not allowed to touch my head! Please respect the old man, meow!" The white cat political commissar jumped. He went to the counter and glared at him fiercely, but with its current cute posture, it did not show any intimidation at all. Instead, it made Luclotte laugh even more meanly, so the old white cat political commissar quickly Just gave up.
"...Okay, pay attention, young man, look into my eyes, meow!"
The white cat political commissar said this in an old-fashioned way, while widening his cute cat eyes. The next moment, he caught Luclot's gaze, then looked deep into his eyes, and activated his special skill as [Eruditionist] - [Mentor]!
This is a skill unique to the profession of [Erudition]. The effect is to teach a certain spell mastered by [Erudition] to teammates, and allow teammates to ignore the restrictions on the caster level and cast the spell taught by [Erudition]. Spells. Theoretically, as long as Lucrot has enough magic value, this guy should be able to use the tenth-level legendary magic taught to him by [Mentor].
But the problem is, first of all, as an ordinary person who has never practiced magic, the scout archer Luclott does not have that much magic value at all, and it is difficult to even release a second-level magic; secondly, Bai Bai The cat political commissar himself has not yet mastered such powerful magic.
——As for the claim that the magic taught is randomly selected and the results are uncontrollable, it is naturally the white cat political commissar who is making nonsense.
The main reason why he lied like this is because he was worried that someone would know that his magic value was pitifully low, but he wanted to obtain a certain high-level magic. As a result, even if he was taught the skill of [Mentor and Friend], he would not be able to use it. Eventually an argument broke out, making both sides look ugly.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to lie from the beginning that this thing is a lottery, and the winnings depend on personal luck.
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On the other side, Lucrot only saw a flash of golden light in the cat's eyes, and felt dizzy in his mind, as if something suddenly appeared, so he subconsciously used it: Then, he only heard a "bang" With a sound, Luclotte's entire body was shrouded in a cloud of smoke!
"...Ahem! It's so choking! Luclotte, you didn't burn yourself up!"
"...Ahem, it's okay, captain! It's just that there's smoke all over the body! Ahem..."
There was a strong smell of smoke that made Luclotte cough repeatedly. It also made the other adventurers around him cover their noses and disperse in a hurry. The white cat political commissar said in a nonchalant manner: "... Congratulations, you have obtained [Smoke Technique], you can use this trick when you escape in the future, meow!”
After confirming that the other party could really bestow magic, Captain Peter immediately made a decisive decision and signed the mission contract with a meager remuneration.
——As long as you can become a magician in one step, even if you only know a few of the weakest and most useless magics, it will be an extremely popular thing that ordinary people can't ask for! Not to mention the meager salary, it’s okay to work for free even if you don’t have any money!
The other two magic chanters in the "Sword of Darkness" adventure group are also very interested in any new spells that they have not yet mastered.
Although the other adventurers were equally enthusiastic, they were worried that the four members of the "Sword of Darkness" adventure group were "shills" invited by the other party to set up a scam, so they hesitated to speak first. However, the guild's waitress was very smart. Taking advantage of her first-come-first-served advantage, she stretched out her hand and touched the white cat political commissar on the counter with a smile. "...What an amazing little kitty! I can give my sister a magic trick to play with." ”
Political Commissar Guo, who had a Persian Cat account, yawned with a cat face, "...Little girl, I think I am much older than you...Also, why should I give you magic skills for free?" ? We don’t know each other, do you want to resign as an adventurer and work for us?”
"...Haha, don't underestimate me like this! I was once a famous adventurer! Until I got an arrow in my knee..."
The poster girl of the Adventurer's Guild stood up proudly, but soon collapsed again, "... Of course, I have been retired for a long time now, so it will still be very difficult for me to quit this job. But. ...Can I buy it from you, Mr. Cat? I really want magic!”
"...Hmm, okay, I'll charge you three gold coins at a time, but there's no guarantee of what kind of magic you'll get in the end, meow."
So, after paying three gold coins and "looking at each other affectionately" with the white cat political commissar for a while, the adventurer's guild's poster girl also obtained her magic: [Low-level Monster Summoning], and she immediately couldn't wait to put this The magic was worked.
Unfortunately, being able to summon a monster does not mean that you can also control it...especially if the caster is a weakling.
The next moment, she was trapped in a large translucent jelly-like monster. She was so tightly entangled by this abominable guy that she could hardly breathe. Then I was even more horrified to find that the clothes on my body were rapidly dissolving, exposing a large area of snow-white skin...
In front of her, there was a large group of lewd men, looking at her with surprise and amusement...
"...Help! This damn slime! Someone help me! Oh, these are the new clothes I just bought last month..." - It seems to be some kind of law of the universe, just like the cute magical girl Just like the slimy tentacle monsters that are always inseparable, heroic female adventurers always seem to encounter slimes, and they are always the kind that can dissolve clothes with acid without damaging the female body's skin. ……