My inventory is full of monster materials.

"Henry, are you really not going to reconsider? I'm a ranger, and Cole is a thief; we can make up for your team's lack of damage output."

Jeremy, dressed in a soft leather coat and carrying a longbow, enthusiastically persuaded them, while patting his companion, who was less than a meter away and whose face was hidden under a black hood.

Cole, the hooded man, had his shadowy eyes glued to the gold badge in Emily's hand, his thin face etched with greed.

Henry reclined in his chair, looking at the two "familiar faces" with disdain, and snorted.

"Hmph! Jeremy the parasite, Cole the three-handed. Don't think I don't know that those who 'teamed up' with you never came back."

Jeremy, exposed to his own accusations, showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he raised his voice and shouted.

"What adventure is without its surprises? Besides, who else would dare team up with you 'White Eagles' these days, besides us?"

Jeremy glanced around and deliberately drew out his words.

"What did everyone say again? A white eagle that has landed—is no match for a rooster! Hahaha!"

After saying that, Jeremy burst into exaggerated laughter.

The adventurers watching the commotion in the hall joined in the laughter, whistling and booing.

Emily was startled by this scene and instinctively shrank back behind Henry.

Henry's face was grim, like an enraged bull.

His matte armor clattered as he slowly rose from his seat, his imposing figure casting a shadow that almost completely enveloped Jeremy, as he growled.

"Jerry, you asked for this."

The laughter stopped abruptly, and the onlookers, sensing something was wrong, quickly retreated.

Jeremy, however, had a sudden inspiration and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the door.

"Someone's being assaulted! Guards! Someone's going to beat someone up here!"

The two lightly armored guards on duty at the entrance exchanged a glance, and then one of them, holding a halberd, walked inside.

While everyone's attention was drawn to Jeremy, Henry, and the guards, the hooded man Cole, who had started the conversation, had quietly blended into the crowd and was quickly approaching Emily.

The world of adventurers is governed by the law of the jungle: the strong prey on the weak.

From the moment they learned of the "White Eagle" squad's weakness, countless eyes were secretly eyeing this juicy prey.

As for the Adventurers' Guild...

There is never a truly safe place. As long as things appear to be going well on the surface, and as long as you're not caught red-handed, the guild won't get involved.

Cole slowly moved toward Emily from the edge of the crowd. When they were only a meter apart, his hand shot out like a ghost, pointing directly at the badge in Emily's hand.

飕~

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of thin air and gripped Cole's wrist tightly like an iron clamp.

"A halfling?"

Mark looked down at the small man who was trying to steal from his companion.

A look of surprise flashed across Cole's face, then his eyes turned fierce as he slid a dark dagger from his sleeve and stabbed it towards Mark's waist and abdomen like a venomous snake!

However, Mark's other hand was already waiting there, accurately seizing his wrist during his second sneak attack.

Both hands were simultaneously controlled!

Cole was completely dumbfounded.

His pride in his agility was a joke in front of his opponent.

But before he could think, a cold, azure light suddenly flashed from Mark's right hand.

Bang!

"Ugh—!"

Cole screamed as he was blasted away by a cold, viscous impact, landing awkwardly on the floor, half of his body covered in frost.

Cole cried for help, his teeth chattering.

"Jeremy! Help, help me..."

hiss--

The onlookers gasped.

"Freezing rays!"

"Instant cast with no casting time!!"

...

Jeremy, who was vividly describing to the guards how he had been threatened with death by Henry, turned around and saw his companion's miserable state. He was stunned at first, but then his eyes flashed and he immediately changed the target of his accusations.

"Sir Guard! You saw it with your own eyes! He openly used offensive spells in the guild hall, a serious violation of security protocols! Arrest him immediately!"

The guard's sharp gaze instantly locked onto Mark.

Henry's face also turned very ugly.

Emily, however, was still somewhat at a loss.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Mark calmly shook the lingering chill from his palms, then raised his hand to remove a shimmering white crystal from his collar, revealing a half-smile.

"I did use an offensive spell. Do you want to know why?"

Soon, some knowledgeable people in the crowd whispered their opinions.

"Echo Crystal, a tool used by receptionists for keeping work records!"

Jeremy and Cole turned deathly pale instantly.

They were able to succeed repeatedly because they knew the victims had no evidence and the guild didn't want to get involved.

Now that they knew they were in the wrong, they didn't dare utter a single harsh word. They hurriedly pushed through the crowd and slunk away.

Seeing this, the guard was happy to avoid another troublesome matter and turned back to his post at the door.

The crowd that had been watching the spectacle dispersed to attend to their own business, but when they occasionally glanced at the three "White Eagles," a hint of barely perceptible caution appeared on their faces.

After the conflict ended, Mark went to Henry and greeted Emily.

"Are you all alright?"

Henry spat out a mouthful of saliva.

"Adventurers are all like this; the moment you show weakness, everyone wants to take a bite out of you."

"really."

"By the way, when did you learn magic?"

"Ha, me? Uh, I just took a nap a couple of days ago and learned it when I woke up."

Henry didn't press Mark's flawed explanation and even nodded in agreement repeatedly, which was surprising but not shocking.

A lucky few who are favored by the gods may awaken magic unexpectedly. Since Mark doesn't bring it up, there's no need to pry. Everyone has their own secrets.

In contrast, Mark, in an attempt to change the subject, looked at Emily with a serious expression and spoke in a reprimanding tone.

"Don't take out such a big piece of gold so easily. Doing so will easily attract evil thoughts from those around you, don't you know that!"

"I see."

Like a child who had done something wrong, Emily lowered her head and carefully tucked the gold badge into the innermost pocket of her body.

"Ahem, let's get down to business now. I just assigned a new mission to the team."

Mark then went to the wooden table and spread out a piece of parchment.

"This is our current task. What are your thoughts?"

Henry and Emily leaned closer to examine the contents of the document.

"Collect 15 slime cores within 7 days. Reward: 10 silver coins per core, 12 points per person. Cores must be intact. Commissioner: 'Apothecary Clyde Sharp'..."

Within minutes, Henry's expression became increasingly strange, even bordering on accusatory.

"Wait a minute. Mark, you don't know how difficult slimes are to deal with, do you? And to extract the core intact, how is that even possible?"

Slimes are one of the most common monsters in the Golan Forest.

Its physiological structure is similar to that of a monocyte, with a transparent mucous membrane on the surface and an acidic tissue fluid inside. Its weakness is a dark-colored core, and it is also known as slime gel.

Due to the colloidal properties of slimes, they are difficult to damage with blunt or sharp objects; only by destroying their core can they be completely killed.

Therefore, the slime cores that adventurers usually collect are damaged, and it is twice as difficult to extract the complete core.

Mark had studied the "Golan Forest Monster Encyclopedia - General Edition" and knew that slimes were immune to some physical attacks and were even more troublesome monsters than goblins.

But he had already thought of a way to complete the task without lifting a finger.

"Captain Henry, I have a unique way to easily solve this, but it's not a good place to talk here. I'll explain to you when we get outside."

"What we need most now is to know where we can find a lot of slimes."

Seeing Mark's confident demeanor, Henry didn't say much, only recalling his past adventures.

"I remember there was a shallow area in the Golan Forest where there were quite a few slimes."

"Okay, it's settled then."

Mark made the decision on the spot.

Henry and Emily were inspired by his confidence, and their spirits lifted instantly.

Just then, a red-haired, short-haired young man carrying a finely forged longsword rushed into the hall, his eyes quickly scanning the crowd.

Suddenly he saw the burly Henry and immediately shouted.

"Uncle Henry!!"

"???"