"Lynn! I've finished the exchange!"
With the staff member's desperate efforts, Ouka returned with several full money bags.
"A total of 460,000 Valis! An unprecedented harvest!"
"460,000... 460,000?!"
Mikoto's eyes widened, and she let out a cry of surprise.
Behind her, the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia also became excited and stepped forward.
"460,000? For real?!"
"Captain, let me see!"
"Don't push, don't push, let me see first!"
"Alright, everyone calm down!"
Seeing that everyone seemed a bit overexcited, Ouka quickly spoke to stabilize the situation.
"Although we earned 460,000, not all of it is ours. There's also Lynn's share."
"According to the 50/50 split we agreed on earlier, we only have 230,000 Valis."
"That's still a lot."
A look of satisfaction appeared on Mikoto's face.
Usually, when they explored the Dungeon, earning 100,000 Valis was considered a lot.
Harvesting 230,000 Valis this time meant that even after spending some on equipment maintenance, there would still be plenty left.
"If God Take-mikazuchi knew about this, he would definitely be very happy."
"I don't know if he'll be happy, but I know if you keep standing here, you'll be beaten to death."
Lynn's voice came from behind.
He stood in an open space several meters away, keeping his distance from the Take-Mikazuchi Familia while gesturing to the surroundings.
It was now the peak time for Adventurers to return from the Dungeon, and people were constantly arriving in the first-floor hall.
Just like the first batch of Adventurers in the hall, these newcomers were caught off guard and took a big whiff, immediately collapsing on the floor and retching.
In just a few minutes, the Take-Mikazuchi Familia had drawn a massive amount of hatred.
Some who were more emotional even drew their weapons, ready to have a go at the Take-Mikazuchi Familia.
"Lynn, wait here for a moment. We'll go to the second floor for a shower first.
Ouka and the others rushed toward the stairs.
For the convenience of Adventurers, the Adventurers Guild had established a Public Bathhouse on the second floor of The Babel.
Amidst a chorus of curses, Ouka and the others quickly finished cleaning themselves and, carrying a faint fragrance, met up with Lynn and the other person to return to the Take-Mikazuchi Familia.
"Here, Lynn. This is your money."
Ouka placed two divided money bags on the table.
"After deducting the agreed-upon hiring fee, it's a total of 130,000 Valis. You should count it."
"No need to count, I trust you."
Lynn picked up the two money bags, weighed them, and tossed the lighter one into Lili's hands.
"Lord Lynn, this is...?"
"The Supporter's hiring fee."
"Eh? So much?"
"It's not that much. Your performance today was much better than I expected; you deserve this reward."
Although only a Level 1, Lili's contribution today was not at all inferior to Ouka and the others.
Cleaning the battlefield, providing long-range support, observing the rear for any movement, and giving early warnings...
Everything a Supporter should do, she did to the extreme.
Thanks to her, Lynn could devote himself entirely to combat without worrying about those trivial matters.
"Take the money. If you think it's too much, then go pull monsters with Ouka and the others tomorrow."
"Please spare Lili from that."
Lili was so scared she didn't dare to be polite anymore and quickly tucked the money bag into her bosom.
After witnessing the tragic state of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia, she kept a respectful distance from Lynn's homemade bait.
Unless absolutely necessary, she never wanted to touch it in her life.
"Hmm? Is everyone back?"
A nearby door opened, and God Take-mikazuchi, who had stayed home all day, walked out.
After greeting everyone, he took out a notebook from his pocket.
"Lynn, you've come at the right time. The Breathing Technique you asked me to help with yesterday is done."
"So fast?"
A look of surprise appeared on Lynn's face.
"Your physical fitness is quite strong, so it wasn't hard to improve a Breathing Technique suitable for you."
"What's truly troublesome is the one for ordinary people to practice, which lowers the threshold. That will still take some time."
"It's fine, there's no rush for the public version of the Breathing Technique."
Lynn took the notebook and quickly scanned it.
There wasn't much content in the notebook; if one had to describe it, it was like an outline for a Breathing Technique.
Although the direction for improving Thunder Breathing was recorded, the specific details were not fully written out.
"Time was too short. To make it easier to understand, I made a simplified version for you to look at first."
God Take-mikazuchi walked over to Lynn: "What do you think? Is there anything else that needs to be improved?"
"It's very good, let's leave it at that."
Lynn replied, closing the notebook.
He wasn't the kind of client who made the contractor change things over and over, only to choose the first version in the end.
In his view, the Thunder Breathing improved by God Take-mikazuchi was already perfect.
By adjusting the breathing frequency and depth according to the other's method, the strengthening effect of Thunder Breathing would increase by thirty to forty percent on its original basis.
Considering the cultivation time, this was already the best choice at the moment.
"God Take-mikazuchi, are you free for the next two days?"
"I'm free. I've already resigned from the fried potato ball shop."
"Then take another commission from me."
Lynn tossed over the money bag that hadn't even gotten warm yet: "Rather than understanding it bit by bit through text, I think it's better to have you help me, God Take-mikazuchi."
"No problem, I'll guide you well."
God Take-mikazuchi caught the money bag, a smile appearing on his face.
Having been in the Lower World for so long, God Take-mikazuchi had seen many wealthy people.
But this was the first time he had met someone as generous with money as Lynn.
To satisfy his big benefactor, God Take-mikazuchi personally took down two Wooden Swords from a nearby rack.
"Let's go, let's head outside!"
...
At the same time, Soma Familia.
A man wearing glasses left the base and headed east.
"Is that... Zanis?"
In a corner not far away, Ryuu, who had been on watch for half the day, her eyes lit up, and she immediately followed.
Commissioned by Lynn, she needed to collect information and investigate Zanis's private sale of monsters.
But according to her investigation, Zanis usually stayed at the Familia base and rarely went out.
Ryuu had already prepared herself for a long game.
She hadn't expected luck to come so suddenly.
Following Zanis, Ryuu arrived at the southeast side of Orario, at the Soma Familia's Wine Cellar.
After patrolling the Wine Cellar for a round, Zanis continued east and arrived at Daedalus Street.
Daedalus Street is located on the east side of Orario and is known as the labyrinth on the surface; its terrain is extremely complex.
Upon arriving here, Zanis's pace suddenly quickened, winding through several small alleys.
Fortunately, as a Level 4, Ryuu's physical fitness was high enough to keep up with him without being exposed.
"Is this the place?"
Seeing Zanis walk into a two-story building at a corner, Ryuu used the cover of night to jump onto the roof.
After some observation, finding no one, she pried open a second-floor window and slipped into the house to investigate further.
...