Chapter 16: The Handbook

“Twenty goblins and one bugbear, the bounty is 17 gold and 4 silver.”

“Mission number 701, reward 30 gold coins.”

“That makes a total of 47 gold and 4 silver coins.”

The short-haired girl’s monotone voice reached his ears. Xia Nan weighed the heavy coin purse in his hand, a surge of deep, satisfying accomplishment welling up in his chest. He opened the purse slightly, caught a glimpse of the golden glint within, and felt the corners of his mouth curl upward involuntarily.

He didn’t count the coins on the spot. For one thing, the Adventurer’s Association was spread across the entire continent of Aifala and was, without question, a colossal entity; it was unlikely they would cheat him out of a few measly coins. Moreover, judging by the girl’s processing speed earlier, the collation of battle trophies was clearly not done by hand, so the probability of error was minimal.

For another, the hall was bustling with people, and he knew well the principle that “wealth should not be flaunted.” If he really felt uneasy, he could count them carefully once he was in a secure location.

Just as Xia Nan was pondering this, the girl’s listless voice sounded again:

“Do you want to cancel the squad badge?”

Xia Nan was unfamiliar with the nuances, so he asked with some confusion: “May I ask, what are the implications of canceling it for me?”

“The captain needs to pay a 20-gold annual squad fee.”

“Cancel it!”

It wasn’t that Xia Nan couldn’t bear the expense of 20 gold coins… well, okay, it was indeed a bit pricey. The main issue was that the “Stinky Fish and Rotten Shrimp Squad” was now down to just him, and as a rookie adventurer with absolutely no experience in solo field missions, there was no point in propping up the squad—and he couldn’t recruit anyone anyway.

What he truly needed to do now was find a squad suitable for his own growth, learn as a regular teammate about everything he needed to know about this world, or simply go solo and start from the safest, simplest missions, taking it one step at a time.

With that, Xia Nan decisively handed the black iron badge over to her.

He still had plenty of things to attend to. He stuffed the gold coins into his backpack and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and asked:

“Do you know where I can buy healing potions?”

Xia Nan still had a vivid memory of Maji’s healing potion from the bugbear fight—it was like a miracle drug. Minor wounds healed in an instant, and life could be sustained even in dying, critical conditions. Possessing a bottle of healing potion was equivalent to having an ace in the hole, an extra layer of protection for his life. If he could buy one with money, he naturally wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.

“Turn right and go to the very back,” the short-haired girl replied lazily, not even lifting her head.

Xia Nan’s eyes lit up. He thanked her hurriedly and left.

Sure enough, in the corner of the hall, a small shop bearing the sign “Alchemist Association” was nestled among the crowd. It maintained the natural aesthetic of the branch office—resembling the “Mist Forest”—but the shelves were filled with countless bottles and jars:

[Truth Serum]: 150 gold
[Poison Potion]: 200 gold
[Radiant Resistance Potion]: 300 gold
[…]

Xia Nan took one look at the price tags and felt faint.

“At these prices, the target demographic clearly isn’t a bottom-tier adventurer like me.”

For a moment, he even moved cautiously between the shelves, terrified that if he accidentally bumped into and shattered a single bottle, he would have to pay with his entire net worth. Finally, in the most prominent position in the shop, he found his goal:

[Healing Potion]: 50 gold

“Not bad.”

After the previous series of visual shocks, the price of the potion wasn’t as expensive as he had imagined. But if he considered that all the gold coins on his person added up to less than 50, the price of this potion was actually quite steep.

Seemingly sensing Xia Nan’s hesitation, the owner of the shop—a bald man in an off-white robe—strolled over with his hands behind his back.

“Rookie?” he asked casually.

Seeing Xia Nan nod, the man pointed to the shelf behind him and said:

“Healing potions aren’t very cost-effective, and you lot don’t use them often. By comparison, I’d actually recommend this.”

Xia Nan followed his gaze. In the corner of a shelf nearby, several leather pouches with classic herb markings were stacked haphazardly.

[Medical Kit]: 5 gold

It contained enough bandages, ointments, and splints for ten uses.

“I don’t have much stock here; nobody usually comes to my shop to buy these things—the sundries shops outside are full of them.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Xia Nan nodded gratefully, though his gaze returned to the healing potion. In his heart, the priority for life-saving miracle drugs like this was undoubtedly the highest. It was a bit expensive, but there was no rush right now. He still had plenty of loot to offload, and he hadn’t accepted his next adventure mission yet. Once he finished organizing his savings, it wouldn’t be too late to reconsider purchasing one.

“Are potions here always this expensive?” Seeing that the bald man was easy to talk to, Xia Nan couldn’t help but voice his confusion.

“You get what you pay for,” the man waved his hand dismissively. “They are all refined by professional alchemists in the Association; the quality is guaranteed.”

As he spoke, the bald man glanced toward the staircase at the back of the hall:

“Actually, the stuff here is just cheap swill. The truly top-tier items are all upstairs!”

“[Sharp-Eye Potion], [Gaseous Form], [Hill Giant Strength]… tsk tsk,” he nodded as he spoke, rattling them off as if he were an expert. “But that price… not something people like us can afford, eh.”

“Upstairs?” Being a newcomer, Xia Nan was completely ignorant of the ins and outs of the Association.

“The second floor of the hall is where the real adventurers with professional ranks go to accept missions. After all, you can’t expect those guys to spend their days struggling for scraps on the outskirts of the forest like you lot, can you?”

Knowing that the man didn’t mean to belittle him and was merely stating facts, Xia Nan didn’t feel any unnecessary resentment. Just as he wanted to use the opportunity to ask a few more questions, he heard a shout from the shop entrance:

“Is anyone there? Boss, checkout!”

“Coming.” The bald man ambled over with his hands behind his back, but before leaving, he offered Xia Nan one last piece of advice:

“There are handbooks for sale at the stalls near the entrance of the Association. If you’re a rookie, you might want to buy one and take a look; it should be helpful.”

His business concluded, and intending to leave the Association anyway, Xia Nan naturally followed the suggestion. He simply asked a vendor for directions, and he found the “handbook” the bald man had mentioned.

3 silver coins.

It wasn’t particularly expensive, so he gritted his teeth and bought it. The cover was quite exquisite, printed in a clean, professional font with two lines of large text:

[Adventurer’s Handbook]
(Riverbend Town Branch Exclusive Edition)

Below that was a line of small white text as a supplement:
“Revised Edition – 21st, Duskclaw Month (Chess), Arcane Calendar Year 1019”
(End of Chapter)