Adventure: My Skills Evolve Infinitely

"Hello, I’m here to turn in a quest."

Alton walked up to his daughter, a proud look on his face as he pulled the mostly intact bear pelt from his pack.

Bena looked him up and down, and only after confirming he wasn’t injured did she take the pelt, moving it behind the counter with another staff member.

"Quest number?"

"E673."

Bena checked the records, and the staff member in the back in charge of appraisal handed her the results.

"For extermination quest E673, the material you submitted exceeds the quest’s requirements. We need to contact the client to renegotiate the price."

As Bena spoke, she entered the quest completion information into the records.

"The Association has already sent someone to contact Mr. Edgar. Please wait a moment..."

"Don’t be so serious, Bena."

Alton propped his chin on his elbow, leaning closer to the young woman before him.

Bena gave him a cool glance, completely unmoved. "Sir, it’s working hours right now."

Upon hearing this, Alton looked as if he’d been petrified, an expression of hurt on his face. "Sigh, my daughter’s all grown up and starting to look down on her dad..."

Solan, standing behind him, covered his mouth and chuckled, not forgetting to shoot Bena a flirtatious wink.

Bena rolled her eyes in response, but the corner of her mouth lifted into a slight smile.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo and Ali were also at Lena’s counter to turn in their quests.

"Quest numbers E1102 and E1339 are confirmed complete. Just a moment, meow~"

Although not many Adventurers came to her counter, Lena was very proficient at her job. She finished entering the information in no time.

"All set, meow. The total quest rewards are 19 Gold Coins. You also have 153 Goblin ears, 3 sub-adult Goblin ears, 2 pairs of Cat Demon’s Claws, 1 Bloodthirsty Wolf skeleton, and some other miscellaneous materials... These materials add up to a total of 21 gold and 73 silver coins."

The most valuable of these materials was the Bloodthirsty Wolf skeleton. Since it was from a sub-adult, it was worth around 16 to 17 gold. An adult’s would have been worth over 25 gold coins.

Their haul came to a total of 40 gold and 73 silver coins. As for Alton’s side...

After a short wait, a panting Edgar burst into the Association.

"The Earth Bear pelt, where is it?!"

’This kid really has no resistance to precious Demon materials.’

"Over here, Mr. Edgar."

An Association staff member led the way, taking Edgar to get a good look at the enormous bear pelt.

"It’s definitely bigger than a typical adult... There are some holes, but they won’t really affect the crafting of Leather Armor. The overall integrity is quite good."

Edgar carefully examined every detail of the bear pelt. After more than ten minutes, he stood up, looked at Alton, and held up five fingers. "I can offer 50 Gold Coins for this pelt!"

The original quest reward was 25-40 gold depending on the pelt’s integrity, so Edgar had already prepaid 40 Gold Coins to the Association. He pulled another ten gold coins from his pocket and handed them to Alton.

"That brings the total income for this trip to 90 gold and 73 silver coins."

Lin Mo walked over. ’As expected of a veteran Adventurer Squad,’ he thought, ’their income is truly impressive.’

Of course, even the Bull Run Squad didn’t make this much every time. This was a special case; they had landed a big job.

Besides, if Lin Mo hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been able to complete this quest at all.

Only then did Edgar notice Lin Mo. He walked up and playfully punched him in the side, saying with surprise, "You’re here too, kid?"

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to punch his chest; he just couldn’t reach.

Lin Mo clapped him on the shoulder just as familiarly. "I’ve temporarily joined Mr. Alton’s ’Bull Run’ Squad."

Edgar winced in pain, rubbing his shoulder as he spoke. "Come by my shop later. I’ve got something good to show you."

With that, he waved his hand and eagerly had his men carry the bear pelt away.

Alton was a bit curious as to why he and Edgar were so familiar with each other, but it was a personal matter, so it wasn’t his place to ask.

Too lazy to go anywhere else, the group took a seat in the Association’s main hall and ordered a roast chicken, half a rack of roast lamb, and some staples and side dishes.

While waiting for the food, they decided to divide the earnings from the quest.

The Association had no strict rules for how an Adventurer Squad divided its profits. Some, like Bain’s squad, who were closer, kept most of the money as team funds. Others, like Alton’s Bull Run Squad, settled their accounts after each quest.

The former was a rare case, so the latter was the choice for most squads.

The specific percentages of the split were also up for negotiation between the captain and the members. Generally, it was based on skill and contribution.

Alton thought for a moment before speaking. "For this reward, I’ll take twenty-five percent, Ali will take fifteen percent, Rick, Solan, and Carson will each take ten percent, and Lin Mo will take thirty percent. How does that sound?"

During their earlier sparring match, he had offered Lin Mo the same cut as himself. But after the quest, Lin Mo’s contribution had been so immense that Alton, even as the captain, felt too embarrassed to take the same share as him.

"I have no objections."

"Me neither."

"Whatever the captain says."

The three, Solan included, naturally had no objections. Lin Mo’s contributions during the quest were plain for all to see. Thirty percent wasn’t just fair; even forty percent wouldn’t have been out of line.

Ali also nodded. She usually kept quiet at times like this, but Alton and the other members were decent people and would never use it as an excuse to lower her rightful share of the reward.

With everyone in agreement, the distribution was quickly completed.

Lin Mo’s share came out to 27 gold, 21 silver, and 90 copper coins. Alton didn’t bother with the copper, giving him 27 gold and 22 silver coins directly.

Adding this to his previous savings, his total assets now amounted to 80 gold, 64 silver, and 58 copper coins—a very respectable sum.

’But what can I even use this money for?’

Lin Mo fell into deep thought.

’My weapon doesn’t need replacing for now; the Wolf Bone Sword is working just fine.’

’The new Leather Armor Edgar is making from the bear pelt will take some time, so there’s no rush to replace my armor either.’

’As for other things... I still have an unused Life Potion, and I can’t afford other expensive Potions, nor do I need them at the moment.’

’A Skill Scroll... Don’t even think about it. I’m nowhere near rich enough for that.’

For a moment, he found himself in the awkward predicament of having money he couldn’t spend.

’Oh, right. Edgar told me to come to his shop earlier. The dagger made from the Curse Patterned Cat Demon’s Claw must be finished, right?’

’I should go check it out later.’

Lin Mo looked at Alton across the table and spoke up. "Mr. Alton, do you happen to know any Professionals?"

"I do. Why do you ask?"

"There’s something I’d like to ask for their help with..."

...

After lunch, the squad temporarily disbanded, each member heading back to rest. According to Alton’s plan, they would take their next quest in five days.

’Five days should be enough time.’