Starting with the goblin extermination

The Ash Forest was shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning.

Elsa walked ahead to scout the way.

Her steps were light, and she made almost no sound except when she occasionally pushed aside the bushes that blocked her way.

Logan endured the pain and followed behind her, watching her back, and couldn't help but marvel at the effectiveness of the [Basic Healing Potion].

Just one night later, although Elsa's face was still pale, she had fully regained her mobility.

In contrast, Logan himself was in a rather disheveled state.

With each step he took, the broken bones rubbed against his chest cavity.

Although Elsa treated the bloodstains on his body caused by the thorns last night, they were ultimately just superficial wounds.

We still have to thank blacksmith Dalark for repairing the leather armor; if it hadn't withstood most of the impact, Logan's internal organs would probably have been kicked to pieces by now.

However, it is now riddled with wounds, with several places even being pierced through, rendering it completely unusable.

"It'll need major repairs when we get back, or we might as well just get a new one." Logan touched the crack in the leather armor; this would definitely be another significant expense.

However, putting aside the wear and tear on equipment and the physical pain, the four-day adventure was quite fruitful.

Not only did he upgrade [Thrust] to LV3, improving his strength and agility, but he also completed all the quests he received from the guild.

The bounties from all those missions add up to at least 5 gold coins.

Although he later gave up the opportunity to scavenge for supplies in the small goblin camp, and didn't even take the scarred orc's seemingly valuable greatsword, Logan didn't feel regretful.

Even if you have money, you still need to be alive to enjoy it.

not to mention......

Logan gently rubbed the Abyss Thorns ring on his hand with his thumb.

A magical artifact of unknown origin, capable of casting a first-level spell.

This is undoubtedly the biggest spoils of war.

Of course, there was also the gray figure walking ahead.

A reliable new teammate.

Perhaps this is the biggest gain from this trip.

......

The two left the Ash Forest unharmed.

As Logan caught sight of the towering spire of the Temple of Soma in the distance, he took off the ring from his hand and put it in his inner pocket.

It's always better to be careful.

After entering the town, the two headed straight for the Adventurers' Guild.

Logan received the mission reward as he wished, totaling 5 gold coins and 2 silver coins.

After settling the accounts, Logan didn't rush to leave.

"I want to register a squad," Logan said bluntly, pointing to Elsa beside him, "just the two of us."

"A wise choice, sir." The goblin Kruger quickly pulled out a piece of paper. "The process of creating a squad is very simple; just submit a 2-gold registration fee. Of course, as your loyal financial advisor, I must remind you that the subsequent maintenance costs are the real expense."

"Maintenance costs?"

"The guild will charge a management fee of 1 gold coin per month."

Logan frowned.

This guild's ability to drain blood is even more ruthless than yesterday's Abyss Thorns.

"Don't look at me like that, sir. This money is absolutely worth it."

Kruger's hands moved skillfully behind the counter.

"Once you form a formal team, you'll not only have your own team name and guild-certified insignia, but more importantly, you'll be eligible to take on quests that are only available to teams. The rewards for these quests are far greater than what you can get by soloing."

The goblin paused, then continued, "Furthermore, team members will receive a death benefit provided by the guild. In the unfortunate event that you were to die someday, at least your family will receive a decent funeral allowance."

Logan sneered. He didn't have any family. Who would he know who would get the money?

"And once you form a squad, you can cooperate with other squads on an equal footing," Kruger added. "For example, with Mr. Thorin's squad, you will no longer be temporary members, but equal collaborators."

"Deal." Logan didn't want to listen to Kruger anymore, so he readily pulled out two gold coins and slammed them on the table.

"Thank you for your generosity. So, what's the team name?" Kruger picked up his pen and dipped it in ink.

Logan turned and glanced at Elsa.

The girl simply shook her head.

"You're the captain, you decide."

Logan thought for a moment, then asked Kruger, "What's the registered name of Thorin's team?"

Kruger searched for a moment, then suppressed a laugh and replied, "The [Skull Crusher] Squad."

Logan's eye twitched.

Aside from Thorin, the old dwarf who wields a giant axe, who is worthy of the name, the name is actually quite amusing when you think of the chattering Papa and the shy Baron.

"If you haven't decided yet, we offer free name suggestions," Kruger enthusiastically promoted. "For example, names that haven't been registered yet for guilds: [Dragon Destroyer], [Dark Night Bloodblade], [Undying Star]... These sound both imposing and..."

"Stop." Logan felt a chill run down his spine.

These names were so cringeworthy that they reminded him of the online names he had in his past life.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Elsa's tattered gray-black cloak beside him, and his own leather armor stained with black blood.

For some reason, a name suddenly popped into my mind.

"Let's call it 'Black Beast'," Logan said casually.

"...Black Beast?" Kruger frowned in disgust. "Mr. Logan, if I may be so bold, that name sounds neither sacred nor imposing. Are you sure you don't want to consider 'Dragon Destroyer'..."

"Sure."

Elsa uttered two words from the side, silencing the goblin's incessant sales pitch.

A few minutes later, their adventurer name tags were handed back to them.

Below the name and number, a concise, generic phrase has been added:

Black Beast Squad

......

Without a word, Logan pulled out his money pouch as soon as he left the Adventurers' Guild.

"This is the money those three scumbags had yesterday: 6 gold coins, 3 silver coins, plus the badge and ring."

Before Logan could continue speaking, Elsa took a half step back and shook her head firmly.

"I do not want."

"Shared profits and shared risks, don't you remember?"

"I've already taken the badge. It's very important to me. The rest of the loot is yours."

"One thing at a time."

Logan frowned, pulled Elsa's hand away, and said, "You took the badge, so the ring is mine. We'll split the rest of the money."

After saying that, Logan forcefully shoved the coins into Elsa's hand.

Elsa bit her lip, but in the end she didn't refuse anymore and silently closed her fingers.

"There are still two days until the time we agreed upon with Thorin." Logan clutched his chest, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's rest for the next two days. See you in the guild hall in two days."

Elsa nodded slightly, then quickly disappeared from Logan's sight.

Next, Logan needs to solve his own problems.

He clenched his teeth tightly, sweat beading on his forehead.

It hurts too much.

He pulled out the Adventurer's Handbook and quickly browsed through the information about medical resources.

There aren't actually that many options.

Go to the clinic in town. It's cheap, maybe only 1 gold coin, and the treatment is pretty reliable according to the manual, since it's a place that specializes in treating adventurers.

But it takes time to see results; he will have to stay in bed for at least two to three weeks.

He could go to the Temple of Soma and pay a high price for a priest to perform a healing spell. The effect would be immediate, and it wouldn't even leave a scar, but the starting price would be dozens of gold coins, which he couldn't afford and didn't need to do.

There was only one compromise left – buying medicine.

If he were to stay in the clinic for half a month, given his current strength and earning efficiency, the loss would definitely be more than just a few gold coins.

Spend a little money, earn a lot of money.

"It's like paying money to buy time."

Logan calculated his current total assets.

After deducting the cost of registering the team, he now has a total of 11 gold coins and 9 silver coins.

If he buys a bottle of [Basic Healing Potion] for 5 gold coins, he will still have 6 gold coins left, enough for him to buy a new leather armor.

There's no need to nitpick about this.

Having made up his mind, Logan headed towards the [Bird in the Woods] herbal shop again.