Chapter 111: Does Senior Treat Me as a Child?
"My apologies. It’s just that I can’t help but get excited when I see an outstanding peer."
Valeria laughed heartily, showing her maturity as an adult.
"Our adventurer team is currently in dire need of a skilled melee fighter."
"If you have any plans to explore the Underground City in the future, please be sure to contact me first."
Faced with this enthusiastic invitation, a flicker of doubt arose in Lance’s mind.
She seemed absolutely certain that any Adventurer who wanted to explore the Underground City had to rely on a large team.
Although he found it a bit strange,
he didn’t voice his question then and there, instead swallowing it down.
Lance maintained a polite smile and gave Valeria a slight nod.
"I’m sure we’ll have the chance."
After receiving this polite, noncommittal promise, the smile on Valeria’s face grew even wider.
After their brief exchange, Lance turned his gaze back to Cecilia beside him.
"As we agreed."
He first handed her a pouch with her half of the money, then patted the one he’d tucked away for himself.
"We made a huge haul today, so we should find a good place to celebrate properly."
"Tonight, I’m treating you to the most famous barbecue in Gray Rock Town."
After saying this, Lance turned and looked at Yuna and Valeria, who were standing nearby, their eyes full of envy.
"Do you two have any plans tonight? Want to join us?"
Yuna was Cecilia’s roommate at the Violet Academy.
And Valeria was a Professional who possessed a lot of Knowledge he didn’t.
’Since we ran into them in the hall by chance today, I might as well invite them along.’
Hearing the words "join us," Yuna’s eyes instantly lit up.
She turned to Valeria, her expression a mix of anticipation and apprehension.
Valeria saw Yuna’s eagerness but still shook her head gently.
"Thank you for the kind offer."
"But our team has a meeting and needs to get our gear in order tonight, so I’m afraid I won’t have the time."
The Female Swordsman looked down and ruffled Yuna’s short, flax-colored hair.
"But you can go with them, Yuna. Just remember to eat my share of the barbecue for me."
These understanding words made Yuna so happy she nearly jumped for joy.
She nodded repeatedly without hesitation, enthusiastically agreeing.
This was the first time she’d been able to go out for a big meal with a good friend since arriving in Gray Rock Town.
After settling things with Yuna, Valeria looked back at Lance.
Lance immediately understood the meaning in her eyes and smiled.
"Don’t worry."
"I’ll be responsible for protecting both of them."
"After dinner, I’ll personally see them safely back to White Oak Manor."
Valeria smiled in satisfaction, then turned and followed her team out of the Guild hall.
Leaving Cecilia standing there, completely bewildered.
She glanced at Lance, who was now discussing barbecue flavors with Yuna, then back at the Guild’s main entrance.
’Why do I suddenly feel like a child who needs to be supervised by adults?’
The Half-Elf Maiden couldn’t help but puff out her fair cheeks.
’Does he see me as a child?’
...
In the office of the Gray Rock Town Adventurer’s Guild Master.
Necros sat behind a large wooden desk.
Sitting opposite him was the general supervisor for Violet Academy’s current internship program.
Sylvester Vane.
He possessed the distinct, refined air of a nobleman.
Gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.
Although he was a Level 11 Defense Mage, he sat as straight as a javelin—a habit from his time serving in an elite army unit.
"Shouldn’t the internship be entering its next phase?"
Necros was the first to speak.
"I recall our agreement included clearing out the Magic Power radiation points as a phase-based task."
Clearing the Magic Power radiation points wasn’t an extremely dangerous chore in itself.
Even a novice Junior Mage could complete the task, as long as they mastered the correct Magic Power regulation techniques.
However, the locations of these nodes were very awkward.
Most of them were hidden in the deeper parts of the outskirts of Copper Creek Forest.
A few nodes were even located completely beyond the relatively safe outer region.
In addition, regulating the Magic Power radiation points was a very time-consuming process for a Mage.
This meant that almost all the intern teams would have to camp overnight in the dangerous forest.
That was the true test for the students.
Previously, Necros had spared no expense in organizing veteran Adventurers to conduct a joint sweep.
This was all to ensure the safety of these students.
They had preemptively cleared out a low-intensity combat environment for these fledglings from the Ivory Tower.
This was also the core condition of the deal between the Guild and Violet Academy.
"A week has passed. How are the interns and our Adventurers getting along?"
Necros was very confident in his personnel assignments.
Sylvester raised his right hand.
He wore an exquisitely crafted, fingerless leather glove, its surface adorned with intricate Magic Runes.
Then, with great elegance, he snapped his fingers crisply.
A thick stack of internship reports materialized out of thin air in his palm.
Necros glanced at the glove; it was a Storage Glove, enchanted with a small pocket dimension.
For an Adventurer used to rolling around in the mud year-round, such equipment seemed flashy and impractical.
After all, a close-fitting glove could be easily damaged in intense melee combat.
But Necros had to admit to himself that the item was indeed convenient to use, and the casting motion looked very cool.
"Your Adventurer mentors all have a very high opinion of the students."
Sylvester handed the reports over.
"That’s rather surprising."
Necros took the stack of parchment.
He read only two lines before his expression instantly darkened.
In disbelief, he quickly flipped through a few more pages.
The entire stack was filled with nothing but wildly exaggerated words of praise.
Those boorish men, who on a normal day could barely hold a pen steady, had seemingly all transformed into silver-tongued flatterers.
Necros even saw the report Lance had submitted about Cecilia.
That sheet of parchment was also filled with words of praise.
Surrounded by a sea of ridiculously laudatory reports, Necros couldn’t help but feel that the kid, Lance, had also just jumped on the bandwagon to suck up.
This blatant brown-nosing made the old Guild Master feel like he was losing face.
Necros rubbed the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on.
He had to save some face for his subordinates.
"I’m sure they only wrote such glowing reports so that these interns could get good final grades."
Necros explained with a dry cough.
"It’s definitely not because they’re deliberately trying to suck up to them."
He barely managed to salvage a shred of dignity for his useless bunch.
"However, I can assure you, these are all elite men that I personally selected."
"They would never fudge things or hold back in an actual quest battle."
"I understand," Sylvester said, nodding in comprehension.
If anyone else had said such a thing, the supervisor would have certainly voiced his doubts on the spot.
But faced with the old man before him, he could only choose to believe.
Because this was Necros.
The Hero who had single-handedly suppressed the disastrous Underground City rampage.
That feat had long been recorded in the Kingdom’s annals of honor.
If this old man hadn’t voluntarily requested a transfer to this remote town, he would be enjoying endless reverence in the capital right now.