A series of heavy thuds suddenly echoed, striking the wooden floor of the guild lobby.
Without any warning, and with an overly casual expression, Wolvin took out all the bodies of the bandits he had slaughtered in the forest and simply dumped them. Seven male corpses, their clothes covered in dried bloodstains, now lay piled in front of the counter desk, spreading a faint metallic scent that instantly filled the air.
"It is better if you evaluate and match their faces directly with the sketches yourself." the Night Wolf youth said in a flat tone, pointing at the pile of corpses on the floor.
A gripping silence immediately crept in and dominated the entire guild lobby. Milla, the receptionist, as well as all the adventurers passing through the room, spontaneously widened their eyes. Some people's breath even hitched upon seeing seven corpses abruptly appear out of thin air and lie on the building's floor.
"W-Where did those corpses come from?" Milla asked with a trembling tone.
"From my dimensional storage necklace." Wolvin answered casually, lightly tapping the gem pendant on his neck. "Hurry, Miss. Immediately match all the faces of these bandits with the fugitive sketches on your desk."
Hearing the request spoken so calmly, Milla took a deep breath, tried to cast away her fear, and immediately returned to a professional demeanor as a guild staff member.
The woman stepped out from behind her desk carrying several parchment sheets. With hands that were still slightly trembling, she leaned down and began to match the faces of all the bandits one by one.
The first few corpses were merely ordinary bandit members without high-level criminal records. However, when Milla turned over the bodies of the two corpses at the very bottom of the pile, the receptionist's movements halted completely.
Milla stared at the faces of the two corpses, then looked alternately at the two fugitive sketch posters she held. Her face grew increasingly pale.
They were the facial sketches of Silgard and Holvis. Two names that had recently become a real terror on the cross-regional trade routes. They were known as vicious robbers who were extremely brutal and unhesitatingly tortured and killed their victims. The two of them were even categorized as S-class fugitives by the city security forces because their blessings were terrifying and very difficult to overcome.
At that exact moment, Milla's gaze changed drastically as she looked at Eralio's group. She truly did not expect that two S-class fugitives, who had been slippery and uncatchable by any security force all this time, were now lying lifelessly like ordinary hunted animals on the guild lobby floor.
"T-This is truly the two of them..." Milla muttered in disbelief. She hurriedly stood up and looked at Eralio. "Each of them has a massive bounty value from the empire. Silgard has a bounty of 100,000 Lens, and Holvis, has a bounty of 120,000 Lens."
Milla steadied her breath before continuing her explanation to the group.
"Their bounties were set extremely high due to the threat level of the blessings they possess." Milla said, explaining the details of their reward. "So, the total reward you are entitled to receive from this hunt is around 220,000 Lens."
Hearing the nominal amount of money mentioned by the receptionist, Eralio, Calian, Wolvin, and especially the five members of the Black Axe party immediately widened their eyes.
For Eralio and Calian, the money might not be something that drove them crazy, but for the Black Axe party, the amount was completely absurd. The figure of 220,000 Lens was a wealth they would likely never be able to amass even if they had to risk their lives completing hundreds of missions over the next three years.
That is so much money! Robert said inwardly, staring blankly at the pile of corpses in front of him, then glancing at the profile of Calian's back. Is that youth truly going to give all of this insane reward to us as well? Even though the five of us had absolutely no contribution whatsoever in that battle!
"Please process everything immediately." Eralio said, taking over the conversation with the authority of a major merchant, breaking the awkwardness and shock of his escort party.
"Yes, Mr. Eralio, I will." Milla answered quickly. The woman then looked toward the seven armed youths standing behind the merchant. "Are these seven people the adventurers you hired?"
"Yes, the seven of them are the adventurers escorting my journey this time. And they are the ones who killed those bandits." Eralio answered firmly, fully adhering to the narrative and Calian's previous request to keep the true killers a secret. "Please immediately process the completion of our escort mission, as well as the reward disbursement process for handing over these bandit corpses."
Milla nodded in understanding. "Very well. In that case, please hand over your respective adventurer license cards, as well as the parchment for the escort mission, so I can stamp it as proof of completion."
Without saying much, Calian, Wolvin, and the five members of the Black Axe party immediately stepped forward and placed their metal adventurer license cards on the counter desk. Wolvin and Robert also handed over the parchment for the Eralio caravan escort mission to the receptionist.
Milla began processing the documents one by one. However, her hands paused once again as she touched two license cards among the others. The woman immediately widened her eyes upon reading Calian's and Wolvin's adventurer license cards.
The two of them are Rank A? Milla said inwardly, her breath hitching slightly. Her eyes secretly glanced at the two handsome youths standing casually in front of her. I truly did not expect that these two youths with such calm and inconspicuous appearances were top-class adventurers. Just how strong are they really, to have successfully reached Rank A at such a young age? No wonder those S-class fugitives died so miserably like this.
Even though she was greatly shocked and secretly felt very curious about the true limits of Calian's and Wolvin's power, the receptionist suppressed her ego. She remained professional, affixed the completion stamp on the parchment, and handled the administration of their escort mission to the end.
After being busy with stamps and documents for a while, the verification process was finally completed. Each of the two parties did not only receive the monetary reward from the initial mission but also another surprise.
"Black Axe Party!" Milla said while sliding their five license cards to the edge of the desk. "Based on the guild system's evaluation of the mission completion and your involvement in taking down this syndicate of S-class fugitives, the five of you have been promoted to Rank B."
"Rank B?" Robert repeated with a hoarse voice, blinking his eyes repeatedly to ensure his hearing was not mistaken.
"Yes, from this second, you are officially Rank B adventurers!" Milla replied firmly with a warm professional smile. "Congratulations to the five of you for your hard work! These are your newly updated license cards, please accept them."
Robert, Catrina, Nora, Esteban, and Alfred stepped forward and took their adventurer license cards, which now felt slightly heavier, with very mixed feelings.
As they read their license cards, the five of them had officially become Rank B adventurers, an achievement that was the dream of many adventurers in this empire.
Even though he should be happy, Robert turned and looked at Calian with a complicated facial expression, feeling unworthy of receiving this achievement. The man then looked back at the receptionist in front of him.
"What about the two of them?" Robert asked softly, pointing at Calian and Wolvin.
"The two of them are currently already at the Rank A level." Milla answered, explaining patiently. "For Rank A, the contribution points from this mission are merely added to their point accumulation. If the two of them wish to be promoted and reach Rank S, they cannot rely solely on mission points. They must apply for and take an official rank promotion test, which, of course, has the absolute requirement of dueling against another Rank S adventurer to prove the worthiness of their power."
Hearing the detailed explanation on how to become Rank S made Calian and Wolvin nod slowly. The two of them finally understood the system and mechanics established by the guild to be able to stand at the peak of glory as an adventurer.
On the other hand, the members of the Black Axe party gripped their new licenses, trying to accept the unexpected rank promotion with forced feelings of happiness. They were all very aware and knew perfectly well that they were able to become Rank B purely because of Calian's kindness and power.
"Is there anything else you would like to ask?" Milla asked to confirm, breaking the silence among the group.
"Nothing else!" Robert answered on behalf of his comrades in a slightly hushed voice.
"Very well then, I will go to the back room to prepare the reward for handing over the bandit corpses." Milla said politely as she bowed her head slightly.
The woman then turned around and walked quickly down the hall toward a highly secured room to retrieve the sum of money from there.
Right after the receptionist's back disappeared behind the door, Robert immediately closed the distance, approaching Calian. The man lowered his head and whispered softly in a tone laden with extraordinary reluctance.
"Calian... are you absolutely sure about your decision to give that massive portion of the reward to the five of us? We did not fight against those bandits at all."
Hearing the honest man's hesitation, Calian turned his head. He looked into Robert's eyes, then nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Wasn't that the agreement we made from the very beginning?" Calian replied in a very calm tone yet brokering no argument. "I am not the type of person who likes to take my words back. I don't want you to refuse everything we have agreed upon, Robert. Just accept it."
Hearing the absolute firmness coming from the youth's mouth, Eralio, who was standing not far from them, suddenly chuckled softly. The small laugh from the merchant spontaneously made Robert turn and look at him with a furrowed brow.
"Why are you chuckling like that at a time like this, Mr. Eralio?" Robert asked in bewilderment, feeling his ego and guilt as a party leader being tested.
"It is nothing, Robert." Eralio answered casually. He looked at Robert with a much wiser gaze. "I just find it amusing to see a veteran adventurer who is actually terrified of receiving payment. It is better that you discard that unnecessary pride of yours and just accept the money. Because from the very beginning, that was the agreement you all made."