Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 228 The Unexplained Passion of Violet
[Mission Number]: T-12031
[Type]: Collection
[Reward]: 50-300 gold

[Task Summary]:
We need items that are mind-polymer/emotional viscous or similar in nature. Specific payment will be discussed in person.
……

I sat in a corner of the White Sparrow Tavern's lobby.

Xia Nan leaned back in her chair, relaxed, stretched her legs, and yawned.

On the table in front of him, there were a few plates with only a few food scraps left, and the air above could be faintly smelled of sweet and fragrant cream.

But in his mind, he was thinking about what had happened in the testing room that afternoon.

Regarding the resonant relic in his possession, namely the broken yew staff from Mint, the appraiser "Downs" advised him to keep it for the time being and not to send it to the association or any other organization for consignment.

Just a few days ago, the Adventurers' Guild in River Valley received a request to collect similar items.

The resonance relic in Xia Nan's possession is very likely to meet the requirements of the mission.

According to Downs, given the scarcity of Resonance Relics and the rarity of similar Mind/Emotion Polymers, Xia Nan should be able to receive a good offer during the negotiation.

It's much more profitable than consigning to an association, and you don't have to wait indefinitely for a potential buyer; you can sell immediately.

After listening to the appraiser explain the pros and cons, Xia Nan considered the matter and agreed to the other party's proposal.

They agreed that three days later, when he went to the association to receive the reward for the investigation mission involving the beastmen, he would meet with the buyer.

The association also took advantage of these few days to contact the other party and make the necessary preparations.

"Speaking of which..."

The blissful feeling of fullness, along with the lingering aroma of creamy mushroom soup on her tongue, made Xia Nan squint her eyes.

The image of Towns appraising the items for me subconsciously flashed through my mind.

After all, not all magical equipment can be clearly distinguished from ordinary equipment in terms of appearance.

For example, the [Death Line] ring and [Bone Binding Iron Legs] on Xia Nan's body make it difficult to see obvious changes even when the ability is activated, let alone at other times.

As for weapons like the [Tidal Surge Lure Rod], which have strict usage conditions, it's possible that no one would discover its peculiar characteristics even after hundreds of years if they didn't have their own attribute panel.

In this situation, for ordinary people who do not possess appraisal magic, it naturally requires extensive and profound knowledge to perceive the special features of an object.

Just like those treasure appraisal masters in the past, they can make a comprehensive appraisal of an item based on its design style, the origin of its raw materials, and the characteristics of its craftsmanship with just one glance.

This also completely dispelled Xia Nan's idea of ​​using his attribute panel to impersonate an appraiser and make some quick money.

On the one hand, he himself does not possess the ability to cast spells, so naturally he cannot master the art of identification;
On the other hand, his understanding of the world and his accumulation of relevant knowledge are too lacking, making it easy for him to slip up and arouse suspicion.

If someone discovers something amiss, causing their cheat ability attribute panel to be exposed, that would be a million times more dangerous than having [Tears of Spring Breath] discovered.

There's no need to take such a big risk for some gold coins that you can earn anytime.

In this regard, it would be best for him to hold back a bit.

At this point, the loot from this mission has been mostly processed. It has no particular value, and everything that can be converted into cash has been exchanged for gold coins.

Aside from the [Tears of Spring Breath] that he kept on himself and didn't intend to sell, the [Tidal Surge Rod] has been left with the association awaiting consignment procedures, and the Broken Staff is also about to be sold.

Xia Nan's previously tense heart finally relaxed.

"Then let's rest for three days first."

"Once the rewards for the investigation mission come in and the Resonance Relic is sold, I'll decide, based on my current gold coin situation, whether to take a few more days to relax a bit or to make money as soon as possible to accumulate enough gold coins to upgrade my arm shield."

Having not had a proper rest for nearly two months since joining the Seathorn Squad, Xia Nan was thinking of using this spare time to cleanse the hidden dangers of the beastification disease on his body by removing the curse scroll.

Finding a few goblin lairs to relax is also a way to earn some extra money.

……

……

Eating, sleeping, training – a regular routine makes time fly by.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

A small meeting room on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild River Valley Town branch.

Xia Nan leaned back in the oak chair, her fingertips lightly touching the armrest.

His face didn't show any obvious changes in expression, but his relaxed sitting posture and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth suggested that he was in a good mood.

And this is indeed the case.

The rewards from the investigation mission involving the beastmen have all been deposited into his account.

Considering the expenses of the Serpent Scale Arm Shield and the magic scrolls, which required a large amount of cash, he did not choose to exchange some of it for points, but instead exchanged it all for gold coins.

A full 300 gold!
This caused his net worth to soar to 853 gold, 3 silver, and 7 bronze!
Buying a Curse Removal Scroll worth 500 gold is more than enough.

The 200g of Corrosion Steel from the mission reward was currently stored deep inside his backpack.

Today we can hand it over to Rockhammer Barn and begin the upgrade and forging of the Serpent Scale Armguard.

Xia Nan's biggest feeling about this was...

"Lone Wolf, you're making money really fast!"

You don't need to share money with your teammates, nor do you need to worry about whether others can adapt to your pace, and you don't need to be constantly on guard against backstabbing during combat.

A Rank E mission like this, if you collect all the rewards, will give you 300 gold coins, which is equivalent to many goblin nests.

If every adventure in the future yields similar results, his advancement speed will skyrocket, and he will soon be able to accumulate the points required for advanced combat skills.

Thinking of this, he began to look forward to his future, wishing he could rush into the forest right now and find a few goblins to vent his anger.

Of course, no matter how much my emotions fluctuate.

For now, he still has to sit here.

The meeting between Xia Nan and the association regarding the transaction of the yew wood staff was about to take place.

His gaze unconsciously drifted to the clock on the wall.

【9:29】

There was one minute left until the agreed meeting time of 9:30 a.m.

He was still the only one in the meeting room.

Thinking to myself, the buyer must be late.

It doesn't really matter, since I've just returned to town and don't have many important matters to attend to.

As long as the deal goes through and I get a few hundred more gold coins in my account, I'm willing to let him wait here all day.

Just one minute before the appointed time, the second hand of the clock had spun almost halfway around the clock face and landed on the mark symbolizing "11".

It was five seconds to nine:30.

Suddenly, a series of short yet strangely steady, light footsteps came from outside the door.

It was as if it was deliberately timed precisely to the agreed moment, not a second more, not a second less.

At the very moment the second hand reaches zero.

"Creak." The conference room door was gently pushed open from the outside.

It revealed a girl with an exceptionally young face, a slender figure, and wearing a long robe.

Her dark chestnut hair was casually tied up with a leather cord into a neat and lively high ponytail, but the strands of hair hanging down from her temples and the fluffy bangs on her forehead did not look messy at all, obviously she had taken care of it before going out.

Her clear, amber eyes sparkled and shone, revealing a depth and composure beyond what a girl her age should possess, while also subtly carrying a hint of deep-seated weariness.

The beige robe looked like it had been worn for a long time, with some parts even faded from washing, but the surface was spotless and clean. A practical dark brown cloak was draped over the shoulders.

"Mage?"

The heightened perception worked silently, and much information that ordinary people could not capture was gathered and entered Xia Nan's brain the moment he saw the girl in front of him.

From the hem of the robe hanging down, faintly visible through the sleeves were pale fingers stained with ink and bearing slight burn marks; magical particles in the air around him moved slightly with his body; and a small leather pouch at his waist, unlike those usually worn by adventurers…

Coupled with some credible intuition of unknown origin, he was convinced that the girl who pushed open the door was a legitimate spellcaster.

It is definitely not a fake like Mint that uses its own abilities and equipment effects to disguise itself.

Out of politeness and respect for the upcoming transaction, Xia Nan stood up and greeted the other party:
"Hello, I'm Xia Nan. You must be the one who commissioned the collection mission, right?"

"Hello, yes, I am..."

A soft female voice, tinged with weariness, came from ahead, as if she were about to introduce herself.

But before he could finish speaking, his fluent speech abruptly stopped, as if he had a choked pause.

Look away.

A girl with a dark chestnut-brown high ponytail was staring at him in a daze.

On her fair face with its delicate features, however, was a strange expression that Xia Nan had never seen since he transmigrated.

To give a somewhat inaccurate example, it's like an ordinary person in a past life who wasn't a big fan of celebrities, and only agreed to a blind date after much persuasion from relatives.

Upon arriving at the agreed-upon location, they were surprised to find that the person they were meeting across the table had a familiar face that frequently appeared on television screens.

That fleeting moment of surprise and bewilderment, that complex expression of astonishment mixed with doubt, is something that absolutely cannot be acted out.

After the initial shock, although the other person quickly concealed it, Xia Nan still keenly sensed the instinctive urge welling up from the depths of their eyes—

fear.

"What do you mean?" a question arose in his mind. "Does she know me?"

Xia Nan frowned slightly, searching through all the memories in his mind, but he still couldn't find a picture that resembled the other person's figure and face.

The pause was only momentary.

The young mage reacted very quickly, all her changes in expression vanishing in an instant, replaced by a polite yet approachable smile, and she continued:
"Hello, I heard from the association that you have a resonance relic?"

"To be honest, I've been needing some similar items to help with my experiments lately. I wonder if I could take a look?"

"Of course, I will definitely give you a quote that will satisfy you!"

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me."

“You can just call me ‘Virole,’ Mr. Xia Nan.”

Seeing the other party's enthusiasm, Xia Nan suppressed his doubts, nodded in response, and shook hands with Violet, who had taken the initiative to step forward.

My exceptional perception kicked in once again.

He clearly felt that the soft warmth in his palm stiffened slightly the moment it touched him, as if it had been electrocuted and wanted to pull away, but was forcibly restrained by the other person's will, and completed the handshake process with a slight tremor.

His gaze involuntarily shifted upwards, landing on the girl in front of him.

Then, Violet instinctively shrank her chin, hiding her vulnerable neck behind her jaw.

"That's strange, do I know her?"

The other party's strange behavior made Xia Nan even more confused, but he had already let go of the other party's hand, turned around and took out the yew wood staff from his backpack, and handed it to the table.

Knowing that her awkwardness had been noticed by the sharp-eyed black-haired youth in front of her, Violet dared not exchange any more pleasantries or say anything meaningless nonsense. She went straight to the point, took the staff, and began to examine it carefully.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Xia Nan."

She said it very politely.

About five minutes later, he nodded slightly.

A few light strokes of a slender, pale index finger were made in the air around the staff.

call--

A gentle breeze suddenly swept through the tightly closed meeting room.

With a light touch of the staff, a flash of magical light streaked across my fingertips.

Violet's amber-colored, crystalline eyes momentarily dazed.

The next second, everything returned to normal.

Smiling, he replied to Xia Nan:

"It is indeed a rare and precious relic of resonance. Mr. Xia Nan, do you have a price in mind? A higher price is fine, I can discuss it with you."

So sincere?

This is the first time I've seen a company willing to proactively raise prices.

Hearing the other party say this, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel resentful.

It's unclear whether this was simply the nature of the young mage named Violet, or if it was because...

Recalling the strange expression and actions of the other person when they first met.

After thinking for a moment, he didn't rush to finalize the deal.

Thinking of gathering some information, he then asked:
"I don't know if this is offensive, but before that, I have a question."

"You say."

"What you just cast on the yew staff, was... an Appraisal spell?"

“Yes, Mr. Xia Nan.” Violet smiled and nodded, patiently and politely explaining to him, “This is an improved variant of the Appraisal Technique, specifically designed for appraising materials like Resonance Relics. The casting process has also been greatly simplified.”

"But I'm very sorry, Mr. Xia Nan, due to the oath of the school, I'm afraid I cannot provide you with the corresponding spell model. If you are interested, I..."

"No, no, no."

Xia Nan waved his hands repeatedly.

After meeting, the mage girl was inexplicably enthusiastic, which made even herself a little unsure.

It couldn't possibly be some melodramatic story like "love at first sight." There must be a reason why the other person acted this way.

However, he had no recollection of Violet whatsoever, and was certain that neither the original Violet nor his transmigrated self had ever seen her.

Then... why is that?
(End of this chapter)