I am the Enchantress!

The squad began a new round of cleaning up the battlefield.

"When I get back, I'll tell Martha that the mission information was wrong. These kobolds are all from area B.14, there are more than forty of them in total. Let's agree on the same story."

Cyrion gave his instructions.

"No problem!" Gru grinned. "With something like this, I couldn't be happier than running into another wave of kobolds!"

Wilder silently shook his head.

After the upgrade, he gained the ability to cast [Crown of Madness] instantly, but there was no difference in the mana cost between instant casting and slow casting.

He had used [Crown of Madness] twelve times in the battle just now, and he could clearly feel that his mana was running low.

With an Intelligence attribute of 17, how much magic power does one possess?

This is not easy to quantify.

The mana cost of each spell varies and is not indicated, making it difficult to estimate the maximum number of spells that can be used.

Let's ask Fina when we get back.

He thought to himself as he cut off the ear of a kobold with a crude dagger.

The battlefield was quickly cleaned up, and the team members found that the amount of luggage on their shoulders had doubled.

Even if they had plenty of magic power now, they couldn't summon kobolds anymore. If they kept killing them, they might collapse on the road from the weight of their luggage.

"Maybe next time I'll consider renting a carriage?" Wilde muttered.

"The carriage is too conspicuous and easily spotted. It's also very likely to be destroyed by monsters, and the reward might not even cover the damages."

Cyrion shrugged, dismissing the suggestion.

"That's true." Wilder nodded.

He couldn't help but recall the [secret technique] that his mentor, Hollen, had used.

If you learn that spell, you can move freely between the town and the border forest.

However, it seems to be a level four spell, and with his current abilities, whether he can learn it is another matter.

But with his current financial situation, it's certain that he can't afford a roll of paper.

The practice of a monk is truly difficult; while striving to improve his abilities, he also has to make money.

……

The team began its return journey for the second time.

They were already in Area A, not far from Ironweave Town, and fortunately, they did not encounter any more kobolds or other monsters along the way.

We returned to town just past noon.

The team headed straight for the Adventurers' Guild.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Three bundles of packages were placed on the counter.

The left ears of forty-three kobolds, the left and right ears of two kobold leaders, and a relative number of intact scales.

This time they didn't use fire, so the scales are in very good condition and should fetch a good price.

In addition, there was a large bag of loose, low-quality jewelry, animal bone necklaces, and other trinkets, all of which were taken from the kobolds.

"So many?"

Martha blinked. "Didn't your mission list only include twenty kobolds?"

"Oh... the intelligence was a bit off. There were actually more than forty of them, and we wiped them out in one go."

Cyrion was probably not good at lying; although his expression remained normal, his tone inevitably sounded somewhat insecure.

Martha smiled gently.

How old are you? You can't even learn to tell a lie!

but……

He's a good man, actually.

"Don't pretend with me."

She reached up and smoothed a strand of hair at her temple, saying with amusement, "You're not the only team that brought back more ears today, saying the intelligence was wrong. Don't think I don't know what happened."

"what……"

"Don't worry, the reward will be calculated at three silver coins."

She continued, "There are too many kobolds now, so starting today the association has canceled the fixed missions and switched to free hunting, with payment given per kill."

"Oh, that's great!"

Cyrion chuckled awkwardly. "Is the reward still three silver coins?"

"Well, it's three silver for a regular kobold, fifteen silver for one with wings, and I can't remember the others. There's a price list on the bulletin board, you can check it yourselves in a bit."

"OK."

Martha quickly calculated the fee.

"The fixed reward for a kobold is one gold and twenty-nine silver. The leader kobold is ten gold. The leader's scale armor is more expensive, so together it's two gold and fifty silver. Other small items are one gold."

Martha scribbled rapidly in the ledger, "A total of fourteen gold and seventy-nine silver, is that alright?"

"no problem."

Cyrion took the money bag and immediately divided it with his teammates.

Since the Kobolds are not very difficult, there is no question of who contributed more or less, so they split the reward equally this time.

Wilder won three gold medals and seventy silver medals.

Including the money he had, his savings had reached an unprecedented fifteen gold coins!

That's enough to buy three level-two spell scrolls!

Every time Wilder received his reward, he would calculate the price of the magical items to make himself acutely aware of his poverty.

We can't let our guard down.

"Let's rest tomorrow, and meet at the association the day after tomorrow," Cyrion said.

The mission was completed smoothly, so there was no need to take a special rest.

The so-called "rest" refers to Cyrion's appointment with Martha to go shopping tomorrow, Gru's plan to get drunk in a girl's bed tonight, and Lyle...

Lyle and Wilde had to wait for them.

The group left the association one after another, but Wilder stayed and went to the second floor of the association.

Fina's voice came through a knock on the door at the end of the second-floor corridor:

"Please come in."

Wilder entered the room and found that Hollen was also there today.

"Good afternoon, Professor Hollen and Miss Fina."

"Wild, it's you." Fina smiled and glanced at him. "You really know how to pick your time."

As she spoke, she placed the exquisite tray she was carrying on the table, then turned and went to a cabinet in the corner of the room to take out a teacup.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Fina."

Wilder then realized it was afternoon tea time.

"Don't be so polite, it makes me seem petty."

"Oh, oh." Wilder scratched his head.

"Please sit down."

Hollen sat in a chair by the window and gestured for him to sit opposite him.

Wilder took his seat.

"Professor Hollen, when did you get back?"

"This morning."

Hollen responded, looking Wilder up and down.

The staff is still made of oak, but it has been changed to crystal, and it looks like it belongs to a tree spirit, which is quite rare among mages.

His aura had increased, and the density of the magical network surrounding him had also increased considerably.

A sudden realization?

What have you been up to lately?

"Mentor Hollen, I've been doing missions for the association lately."

Wilder answered seriously, "I hunted down tree monsters, treants, burrowing worms, kobolds, and the kobold leader with the squad."

"good."

Hollen smiled, quite satisfied with his answer.

Indeed, abilities are improved through battle; this is the right path for a mage to advance!

At this moment, Fina walked over and placed a fine ceramic cup in front of Wilder's table.

A cup of freshly brewed silver leaf tea.

"Thank you," Wilder nodded in thanks.

"How's your reading of 'The Relationship Between Alchemy and Spells' going?" she asked.

"I've read a third of it, and it's quite difficult," Wilder replied humbly.

In fact, he had already read most of the book, and he was only reading it to pass the time between adventures.

"Kid!"

Hollen suddenly frowned. "Why are you starting to neglect your studies and start reading books too?"