I Have a Task Log

Due to the scarcity of Magic Equipment, many of the world’s noble houses preferred to offer Magic Items instead of money as rewards for bounties. These items held an absolute allure for Adventurers.

Colin swallowed.

Next, another Golden Elf walked up, also holding a tray.

She had a gentle and graceful air about her. She wore a pale gold robe, and her long golden hair was tied in a side ponytail that draped over her shoulder. Barely perceptible flecks of gold light shimmered among the strands.

The Golden Elf said to Colin, "Thank you, heroes. I’m truly, truly grateful to you all."

’This must be the Golden Dragon.’

Colin recalled the scene of the Golden Dragon locked in a fierce battle with the Black Dragon and was struck by a sense of dissonance that he couldn’t shake.

"This is my gift to you. Regrettably, my family suffered heavy losses in this incident, so I cannot offer anything too valuable," the Golden Elf said earnestly. "But remember, you will always be my friends."

"Thank you." Colin looked down at the tray in her hands.

Five agates with milky-white patterns rested on the velvet-lined tray. To Colin’s eye, it was clear that the stones held a faint Magic Radiance.

[Lucky Stone / Non-Ordinary Magical Item]

[Marvelous Luck: When you carry this item, anything you do will be more likely to succeed.]

The moment he saw the stone, Colin was completely certain of her identity.

He had read that Golden Dragons loved Gemstones and would even eat them like snacks.

After being carried by a Golden Dragon for a great length of time, some Gemstones could turn into [Lucky Stones]. This was why, it was said, most Golden Dragons had very good luck.

While Colin was lost in thought, he noticed a few nearby Elves blinking insistently, clearly trying to signal him with their eyes.

Seeing this, he quickly led the others forward to accept the tray.

And with that, the ceremony was concluded.

After that came the Elves’ celebratory banquet.

Colin felt there wasn’t much for him at a banquet like this. He hadn’t read much about Elven heraldry—the study of identifying noble crests and statuses—so he didn’t recognize most of the Elves around him.

However, as he seemed the most approachable member of the party, the Elves he didn’t know had no choice but to strike up conversations with him. He could only smile and give vague responses.

After a long while, Colin felt that none of the conversations had been particularly substantive.

As for Kase and the others, the banquet food consisted mostly of salads and nuts—fare favored by Elves—so there wasn’t much reason for them to linger.

When the banquet finally ended, the group dragged their weary bodies back to their treetop hut and laid out their newly acquired equipment on the table.

"Alright, time to divide the loot."

Colin perked up and continued, "Only I can use the Spellbook. The Longbow should go to Kase, the boots to Dorn, and as for the Gemstones, we’ll each take one."

Kase reached for the Longbow and ran a hand over the bowstring.

He squinted, examining the body of the bow, before admitting reluctantly, "Hmph. The long-ears really do make a fine bow."

"There’s probably no race in the world better at making Longbows than the Elves," Colin said. "Perhaps with the sole exception of the Angels in the heavens."

"Who would’ve thought we’d have a Half-Elf here who can’t even use a bow," Dorn chuckled.

"I’ll learn," Ale shot back immediately. "But no matter how much you practice, you’ll never be able to reach the top shelf without a stool."

"I can just knock them down with a rock," Dorn retorted stubbornly.

Orelia watched them bicker, unsure how to interject.

In the end, she could only pick up a [Lucky Stone] and murmur, "Oh, look... what a beautiful Gemstone."

This time, however, her attempt to change the subject actually worked.

Dorn looked at Colin and said, "Speaking of which, that Elf you were talking to earlier was the Golden Dragon from before, right? Do you think this city of pointy-ears has any other Golden Dragons?"

"Well... who knows." As Colin spoke, he instinctively glanced over at Ale.

"C’mon, take a guess. Where’s that clever little brain of yours?"

"I’m a little tired."

"Hmph. What a buzzkill."

Colin leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the items crowding the table.

In total, there were eight pieces of Non-Ordinary Magic Equipment.

Although five of them were Lucky Stones with somewhat nebulous-sounding effects, the sheer number of Magic Items was still astonishing.

It felt like they had just looted a young dragon’s hoard, and that wasn’t even counting the materials harvested from the Dragon Species, which still needed to be processed.

Once Donkexes was done processing them, they would likely get even more Magic Equipment.

After this whole ordeal, they had gotten a serious upgrade.

’It’s just...’ Colin glanced at his new Spellbook. ’It looks like I still have to copy all my learned spell formulas into the new book. How come Kase and the others get to use their new gear right away?’

The group chattered boisterously for a while longer.

Everyone was still buzzing with excitement from the grand ceremony, and they didn’t head to their separate rooms to rest until they were completely exhausted.

「The next morning.」

At the prompting of an Elven attendant, the group arrived at the large tree hollow where the Teleportation Array was drawn.

The great tree hollow was now completely empty, save for Colin’s party. The others likely had their own tasks to complete and would be returning later.

Colin led Kase and the others into the Teleportation Array once more.

The Elf beside the array began to slowly chant a Spell. As that familiar sensation washed over them, the surrounding scenery instantly blurred into streaks of light.

When the streaks of light converged, the group found themselves back in the Teleportation Hall of Thousand Masts City.

"Ugh..."

The moment the scene before them materialized, Kase silently squatted down. Dorn went over and patted his shoulder, while Orelia rubbed the Half-Orc’s back.

"Hey, I hear you all pulled off something incredible this time," said Morel, who was standing before the Array.

"It wasn’t anything major," Colin shrugged.

Morel said, "Alright, you’re free to go. Just remember to return the [Dimensional Hole] to me when you’re done with it."

"We’ll talk in a couple of days. See you, Lieutenant."

With that, Colin ignored Morel’s exasperated expression, gave a wave, and led the others away.

The group walked through the corridors and courtyards of Horn Castle, all the way to the main gate.

They looked up. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and a brilliant sun hung in the azure expanse.

The Black Tower of Thousand Masts City still stood tall at the heart of the city, flanked by densely packed houses. Down below, the streets were as bustling and lively as ever.

Colin gazed toward the dense cluster of small wooden shacks in the slums, trying to pick out the one he used to live in.

Of course, he couldn’t find it.

’More than half a year ago, I was still in one of those shacks, staring at this very Black Tower while counting out copper coins for rent.’

Colin marveled to himself. ’Who could have imagined back then that I would one day kill a real, honest-to-goodness Giant Dragon...’