NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 23: Mission Rewards
Chapter 23: Mission Rewards
Sword One, Sword Two, and the four skeletons went aside to put on their equipment.
Wu Heng's gaze fell on the line of skeleton soldiers standing upright.
He selected five skeleton warriors with slightly higher experience and called them to the front.
Among them was the first skeleton he had transformed, the one holding an iron sword.
The sword-wielding skeleton was the only one that had leveled up to 2.
"Drop your weapons."
Clang, clatter!
The skeleton warriors dropped their weapons to the ground.
Wu Heng picked up a spear and handed it to one of the skeletons in front of him. "Take it."
The skeleton warrior took the spear and held it in its bony hands.
Wu Heng stepped back a couple of steps and pointed to a nearby iron cage. "Attack the iron cage."
The skeleton warrior raised the spear, making a thrusting motion forward.
The spearhead clanged against the iron cage.
Seeing that the skeleton could complete this action, Wu Heng felt relieved.
He was worried that the skeletons might swing the spears like they would with a kitchen knife or an iron sword.
Although these spears weren't expensive, it was good that the ordinary skeletons could use them properly.
Wu Heng then handed spears to the remaining skeletons.
He issued the same command to try attacking.
Each of them made a thrusting motion.
The results were satisfactory.
At this point, Sword One and the other skeletons, having donned their armor and weapons, returned.
Wu Heng glanced at the already dimming sky and said, "Don’t go out. Stay on standby upstairs."
The four skeletons nodded in unison.
Wu Heng didn’t linger any longer and returned to Blackstone Town with Skeleton Basen.
After a simple physical training session, he went to bed.
……
The next morning.
After breakfast, Wu Heng headed to the Adventurers' Guild alone.
According to Captain Ottoluck, he was to visit the guild this morning.
He made his way to the central district and walked into the guild hall.
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw a tall figure standing in front of the notice board, looking up at the posted missions.
"Kavina, you're here early," Wu Heng greeted.
Kavina turned at the sound, nodded, and said, "The captain told me to wait here for you, in case you couldn’t find the place."
"Oh, thanks!"
They walked through the corridor and stopped in front of a room.
Pushing the door open, they saw Captain Ottoluck sitting inside.
"Captain, Wu Heng is here," Kavina said.
Ottoluck nodded, motioning for them to sit before continuing, "Wu Heng, this is our team’s rest room in the guild. From now on, just come here directly."
"Got it, Captain."
Ottoluck then said, "At yesterday’s meeting, our team’s performance was praised by the deacon, especially yours, Wu Heng. The town hall even commended you individually."
After acknowledging their mission’s success,
Ottoluck handed them a file, "Blackstone Town has interrogated 'Achido,' and this is the record of his confession. Since we participated in the mission, we received a copy."
Kavina took a glance and then passed it to Wu Heng.
Wu Heng held it and read it carefully.
According to Achido’s confession,
What was taken from the mining village was a baby’s corpse.
Three years ago, his wife gave birth to a stillborn, which wasn’t unusual in this world. It would normally be buried and that would be the end of it.
However, before the burial, a passing scholar approached him, claiming he knew a way to keep the stillborn alive in another form, which would also benefit Achido’s business.
At the time, he believed the scholar and followed the instructions, placing the stillborn in a location within the mine. Sure enough, his mining business began to prosper.
But recently, when the villagers started going mad, he realized something was wrong. When he attempted to retrieve the corpse for burial, he found that the villagers had already gone insane, and his men couldn’t get in.
With Blackstone Town continuously sending investigation teams, he took the risk of setting up the trap the day before yesterday.
Since he couldn’t stop the second investigation team, he planned to have them lure the mad villagers away so they could retrieve the baby’s corpse.
The plan worked out fairly well.
Except for the part where Wu Heng came in.
A single person took out several members of the Wolfhead Mercenary Group.
This caused his entire plan to fail at the last step.
After Wu Heng finished reading, Ottoluck continued, "Blackstone Town believes that the scholar was a necromancer. The town has already begun investigating this person."
A necromancer.
Just a suggestion from him caused the death of an entire village.
No wonder this profession is so reviled.
"So, what made the villagers go mad was that baby’s corpse?" Wu Heng asked.
"According to the records, it became a wraith due to necromancy—specifically, the soul we saw, that baby wraith. Such wraiths are often more dangerous because they lack any sense of morality," Ottoluck explained.
A baby wraith? A spirit?
So it really was a ghost.
But then again, if skeletons can have soul flames, ghosts existing in this world isn’t that surprising.
At least souls seem more credible than skeletons walking around.
"Alright, this mission is over. Due to the erroneous intelligence, the guild and Blackstone Town have increased the mission rewards. The silver reward has been raised to 220 coins, and there’s also a mid-level item reward."
Hearing this, even Kavina, who hadn’t been very interested in the story, perked up.
At least this trip wasn’t in vain—the rewards were increased.
Wu Heng, on the other hand, was interested in the mid-level item reward.
He might be able to exchange it for a mid-level skill book. The acid spit didn’t feel all that useful—releasing it felt like spitting, which was hardly elegant.
"By the way, Wu Heng, there’s something you need to be aware of," the captain said, looking at him.
"Huh? What is it?"
"This incident affected an entire village and involved a necromancer. While the town hall acknowledges your contributions, they will also be keeping a closer eye on you."
Wu Heng’s expression tightened.
In other words, the aftermath of this necromancer's actions made the town hall view the profession as even more dangerous.
And he, as the town's resident necromancer, would now be under even greater scrutiny.
No, he had always been considered a dangerous individual, and now he was a top-priority dangerous individual.
"I understand, Captain."
Ottoluck handed them each a pouch of coins, then said, "That’s it for today. Kavina, take Wu Heng around the guild to get familiar with it."
"Sure!" Kavina placed her coin pouch in her bag and stood up to leave. "I’ll show you around the guild. If you have any questions, just ask me."
They left the room, with Kavina leading the way, her long legs drawing attention with each step.
"That over there is the training ground—a large space where the captain likes to train. He’s a training fanatic."
"That room over there is the alchemy lab, reserved for alchemists."
"That one is the meeting room…."
As they walked, Kavina pointed out a few key areas.
The Adventurers' Guild was clearly well-funded.
The entire building was large, with various facilities well-equipped.
"Do they serve meals here? Like breakfast or dinner?"
"Nope!"
"Oh!"
……
After the tour, Kavina left on her own.
Wu Heng went to the counter.
"I’d like to use my mid-level item reward to exchange for a skill book."
"Certainly, sir. Which profession’s skill would you like?"
"Mage!"
"Very well, sir. Currently, Blackstone Town has two mage skill books available."
With that, the attendant brought out two skill books.
【Grease Spell】【Fog Spell】.
The covers were old, showing signs of being flipped through many times.
【Grease Spell】
(Description: Turns a specified area into difficult terrain. Flammable.)
【Fog Spell】
(Description: Creates a thick fog that fills every corner.)