Who Says I'm Not a Proper Adventurer?

He thought about the scene he had witnessed in the Guild hall that morning.

Those students in Violet Academy uniforms had clearly already set out with their respective mentor teams.

’So why does this particular one need a separate commission posted just for her?’

Lance’s mind raced.

’Let’s look at this another way.’

’Perhaps this old fox had already unilaterally tied me to this unlucky intern the moment that guy Gareth submitted his report.’

’But for all his calculations, he never counted on me holing up in my attic for days to make ointments, not taking a single step outside.’

That directly resulted in the intern being left to her own devices until now.

’If this guess is correct...’

’...then the one who should be panicking right now isn’t me, but the seemingly unflappable President before me.’

Seeing Raven’s hand once again cover the commission form, Necros could finally breathe a little easier.

Lately, this Raven had been like a ghost, completely vanished into thin air.

The main contingent of Violet Academy students had already marched into the mountains today, yet the young lady with the most sensitive identity was still left all alone in town.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late.

However, just as Necros was about to hand him the pen, he was surprised to see the commission form being slowly pushed back.

"Is there something else you’re not satisfied with? You can speak freely."

Necros reached out a large hand, pressing down firmly on the other end of the commission form to stop it from sliding any further toward him.

’Just as I thought.’

Lance breathed a sigh of relief internally.

’I was right.’

’Since I have the upper hand now, it’s time to renegotiate the price.’

"President, the reward you’re offering is indeed generous and difficult to refuse."

Lance retracted his hand, his tone becoming unhurried.

"But I have one condition."

"While I’m serving as the intern’s mentor, I want the Guild to lift the restrictions on the quests I can accept."

"I need to be able to accept multiple quests in the same area simultaneously."

Previously, due to the Level restrictions on solo Adventurers, he could only take one quest each time he went into the mountains. The efficiency of a single trip was just too low.

Now that he had this opportunity, Lance planned to fully exploit his panel’s potential and max out his efficiency for both grinding monsters and making money.

Necros thought for a moment.

The request wasn’t excessive; it was even quite reasonable.

Official Adventurer parties already had the right to accept multiple quests. The kid just wanted to enjoy this privilege a little early.

"Done."

Necros nodded, agreeing readily.

"I’ll grant you the permissions of a special party, allowing you to accept one to three commissions at a time."

"If you receive an ’Excellent’ rating for this mentorship, you can retain this privilege permanently, even after the intern leaves."

Necros applied pressure with his palm, trying to push the commission form back.

Sure enough, it moved this time.

He finally relaxed. ’Looks like this kid is a pragmatist.’

But soon, the parchment stopped once again between the two of them.

"President, that three hundred Merit is very tempting... but my strength is currently at a bottleneck. I urgently need to increase my combat power to ensure the intern’s safety."

"So, I’d like to exchange this reward for something else."

Necros’s brow furrowed, his gaze turning more scrutinizing.

"That is the maximum Merit reward I can grant within my authority."

For a far-sighted Adventurer, the value of a hard currency like Merit was far greater than Gold Coins. It could even be exchanged for rare resources that money couldn’t buy.

’Is this kid short-sighted?’

"I want to cash in this reward right now for a Breathing Combat Technique."

Lance met the President’s gaze, his tone firm.

"In the upcoming mentorship, I will also do my utmost to help the intern learn how to be a proper Adventurer."

In terms of pure value, 300 Merit was worth more than a Breathing Combat Technique of an equivalent price.

But for Lance right now, something he could have immediately was more valuable than a future asset.

"Fine. I can give it to you right now."

Necros’s brow relaxed. For him, this was a simple enough task.

"If you have any specific requirements, tell me."

’Success!’

Lance rejoiced inwardly and immediately said:

"I need a Breathing Combat Technique with extremely high Burst Power."

"The more powerful, the better. It doesn’t matter if it consumes stamina at an extremely high rate, or even if it puts a heavy burden on the body."

Necros was taken aback by this strange request.

He rubbed the rough stubble on his chin, searching his memory.

He actually did have a Breathing Combat Technique just like that.

It was a special Breathing Combat Technique he and his old captain had found while exploring a goblin ruin.

Because practicing this Breathing Combat Technique was too dangerous and demanded an extremely high physical Talent, he had left it to collect dust in the Guild’s vault.

"Are you sure?"

Necros’s expression grew serious, his tone carrying a clear warning.

"Breathing Combat Techniques with immense Burst Power are often accompanied by huge risks in training."

"The one I have in mind places an enormous strain on one’s stamina and heart."

"During practice, if your stamina gives out or you lose the rhythm, it can cause permanent cardiopulmonary damage."

"This Breathing Combat Technique is very difficult to control, and it’s especially hard to stop voluntarily once activated."

"A prodigy from the Guild once tried it. He ran out of stamina, which led to heart failure. Afterward, he was never even able to take up a Profession."

"But it certainly fits your criteria. Its Burst Power is terrifying, even among Breathing Combat Techniques."

"Are you sure you want to gamble your future on it?"

Although Necros was eager to offload the quest, he didn’t want to see a promising talent ruin himself by coveting power.

However...

...what he didn’t know was that, to Lance’s ears, those words sounded all too sweet.

’Running out of stamina?’

’For me, with my Unlimited Stamina cheat, such a thing is simply impossible.’

"I’m sure, President."

Lance answered resolutely, his eyes glinting with confidence.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade him, Necros said no more.

Without any hesitation, Lance snatched the commission form and quickly signed his name.

And just like that, the special contract was sealed.

However, Lance soon noticed a small problem.

The quest notification for mentoring the intern hadn’t appeared in his system’s quest log.

’It seems this kind of special commission, the one with a training aspect, doesn’t fall under the category of regular quests as defined by the system panel.’

’But it doesn’t matter.’

’Whether the system recognizes it or not, the money and the Skill are real.’

With the privilege to take on multiple quests, his efficiency would multiply just by accepting a few clearing and gathering quests.

Besides, he was already scheming.

’Next, I can use the intern for a test. I’ll see if my own quest progress advances when a teammate completes a quest objective.’

’If it does...’

’...then the possibilities for future exploits are endless.’

Seeing Lance finally sign his name, Necros let out a long sigh of relief.

He had finally managed to pass on this hot potato.