My Magic Has No Upper Limit

"Finally done..."

Marcus let out a long sigh of relief and habitually handed it over to Zelir, intending for him to put it in his Storage Pouch.

"Let’s use a cloth bag," Zelir politely refused.

He had no desire to let something like that into his Storage Pouch.

He could just imagine waking up one day and peering inside with his mind.

Whoa, all tentacles.

After collecting their spoils, the squad members immediately left the field of gore.

By the river.

Clear stream water murmured as it flowed, washing over the pebbles on the bank.

Abruptly, threads of blood began to bloom and spread across the river’s surface.

The clothes the squad members had been wearing were all stripped off and tossed aside.

If they had tried to return in that state, the guards at the gates of Black Stone Town probably wouldn’t have let them in.

To be safe, Zelir even used his Flame Control Skill to incinerate them all.

This would prevent any passing animals from accidentally getting contaminated and subsequently infected and parasitized.

Beneath their outer clothes was a specially placed layer of waterproof fabric. This protective barrier had successfully blocked any filth from seeping through.

Marcus squatted by the river cleaning his weapon, with Gray and Maki beside him.

He meticulously scrubbed every crevice of his Shield with a stiff-bristled brush, clearing out the embedded scraps of flesh and blood.

Meanwhile, Maki had his Heavy Sword half-driven into the sand and mud of the riverbed, letting the swift current wash the blood from its blade.

Elsewhere, Valles took off his shirt.

He turned so Zelir could inspect the side of his lower back where the tentacle had lashed him, just to see if there was any issue.

"Hmm..."

Zelir inspected it carefully.

Aside from a red welt from the strike, there was nothing out of the ordinary—no signs of bleeding or anything of the sort.

"It’s nothing. You’re perfectly fine," Zelir said.

"That’s good." Valles relaxed.

"Of course you are. You’re a noble Elf, after all."

Gray snickered from the side. "How could a filthy Demon like the Life-Devouring Blood Boil possibly defile you?"

"That tentacle shouldn’t have hit my waist. It should’ve hit your mouth," Valles retorted coldly, putting his shirt back on.

Once they were dressed and packed, the squad set out on the road back to Black Stone Town.

...

「Adventurer’s Association」

A few idle Adventurers were gathered in twos and threes inside the main hall.

After a glance at the request board, most of them scoffed and gathered off to the side to grumble.

"For fuck’s sake, there are fewer and fewer quests these days."

A one-eyed Adventurer complained.

"The only things on the board are requests to find lost cats or dogs. The pay isn’t even enough to buy a decent jug of wine."

"Tell me about it! And what about that bullshit wood-chopping quest?"

His companion chimed in.

"A request that even my nephew back in the village could do gets posted at the Adventurer’s Association? That’s just insulting us!"

"Honestly, I’m starting to consider that quest to help repair a roof."

An Adventurer nearby chugged some ale. "Even if it’s only for three Silver Coins."

"What? Planning on a career change to a craftsman?" the one-eyed Adventurer shot him a sideways glance.

"Nah, I just heard the widow who posted the request has a great body."

The men erupted in a fit of coarse laughter.

"Still, when all’s said and done, I really miss summertime."

The one-eyed Adventurer sighed once the laughter died down.

"Back then, Demons in the Gray Wood Forest were as plentiful as rabbits. You could just take a stroll inside and come out with a bag of Gold Coins."

"You’re telling me. It’s all thanks to that so-called Monster Hunting event the Mage’s Guild ran a while back."

His companion chimed in, "They cleaned out the outer forest so thoroughly that there’s nothing left for us anymore..."

"Keep it down! You dare bad-mouth those high-and-mighty Mages?"

"I was just saying..."

The main door opened with a CREAK. It was the Marcus Squad.

As they entered, the Adventurers chatting idly in the hall immediately fell silent and backed away.

For one, the Marcus Squad was already a group they couldn’t afford to provoke, consisting of three Middle Level Professionals and a Mage.

Being overheard bad-mouthing them would not end well.

And for another... the smell coming off them was truly foul.

Even though they had removed their gore-stained clothes, the stench still clung to them, sharp and pungent.

"Good afternoon, Zelir..."

Even the ever-polite Eira couldn’t help but lean back slightly, as if recoiling from something.

Zelir sighed and placed the cloth bag of Demon Cores on the counter.

Eira carefully poured the Life-Devouring Blood Sore Demon Cores onto a tray and began to calculate the payment.

"Hmm..."

"Four Life-Devouring Blood Boils, thirty Gold Coins per kill, for a total of one hundred and twenty Gold Coins."

"Four Life-Devouring Blood Sore Demon Cores, Four Gold Coins each, for a total of sixteen Gold Coins."

The Demon Core of a Life-Devouring Blood Boil isn’t low Level and contains considerable Magic Power.

However, it is also highly contaminating. It must be purified before use; otherwise, it will corrode other materials.

Thus, its market price wasn’t particularly high.

A moment later, Eira pushed a heavy money pouch across the counter to Zelir.

"Please take this. This is your payment for the request, totaling one hundred and thirty-six Gold Coins."

As she spoke, Eira gave a slight bow.

"The Association also wishes to thank you for making such a great contribution to the Gray Wood Forest."

And it was true. A rapidly expanding Demon like the Life-Devouring Blood Boil was a great threat to the environment.

If left to spread, it could annihilate any small village it encountered in an instant.

Zelir bowed slightly in return.

According to Marcus’s distribution, Zelir’s share of the payment for this quest came to fifty-four Gold Coins and forty Silver Coins, a full forty percent.

A quest for a Demon with only a [Difficulty] rating actually paid more than their last subjugation of the [Challenge] rated Blood-Handed Demon Fish.

It made their dirty and exhausting trip to the forest well worth it.

With this new income, Zelir’s personal funds now exceeded two hundred and sixty-five Gold Coins.

"Aaaah..."

Gray tucked his money pouch away with a satisfied sigh and stretched. "Another quest in the bag. Let’s celebrate tonight! We can go for a drink..."

Before Gray could finish, Maki’s hand landed on his shoulder.

He wore a mischievous grin.

"Drinking is fine, just don’t be late tomorrow morning, or else..."

Gray’s expression stiffened, a look of indignation on his face.

"Hey, don’t you ever need a break? Are you made of iron or something?"

"I won’t be staying in Black Stone Town for much longer," Maki said.

"I’d rather you weren’t still a Junior Swordsman when I leave. It would be a stain on my reputation if word got out."