Refining the Heavens (炼天)

B2, Chapter 35: To the Silent Lambs Empire

After burning the devil wolf's corpse, the group left the cave amidst terrible foul fumes wrought of decay and corruption. They were set off towards town to claim their bounty but on the way, they stopped by to visit the Grey Wolves' den. Without the corruption from the devil the forest started to heal. The very air itself seemed calm compared to before and the trees brighten in colour allowing light through the blanket-like canopy once again.

When they arrived outside of that rocky mound that the Greys called home, the Black Bat King, Silver Crow King, and Red Python King were waiting at a distance. They merrily greeted the boys as if to offer their thanks and a hopeful desire for peace.

They are thanking us Kairos.. Can I have...

"No," the boy cut that line of dangerous thought from her immediately. No more pets for his dragon. Just what is she going to do with so many animals? If all of them come to visit his manor, it would instantly fill up and turn into a great zoo.

Okay...

She replied disappointedly, but unseen by anyone, she crossed her claws. There is a playful delight that danced on her face, like a child that had knowingly decide to do something wrong.

"Won't they bear grudges for the deaths we caused?" Kairos suddenly asked.

Of course not! Hehe humans are so silly. Isn't it obvious what happened was inevitable and understandable that there will be deaths when we defended ourselves? Instead, they are grateful to us for saving their young.

"To be able to put down hatred and revenge... sometimes, I feel that animals are better than humans," the archer said with a strangely quiet voice, "if this had happened to Rutea, the villagers would turn illogical. Even if we save their children, not many will be grateful. This is why humans sometimes behave lesser than beasts."

No one spoke when they heard Edward. They know that these words came from somewhere deep within. Over the years, the boys found out a little about how Edward came to the village's orphanage. He was born a noble of the Alfonso house, a middle ranked aristocrat family that had quite a long lineage in the empire.

He refused to tell them what had happened but the Alfonso no longer exist. During his childhood something terrible must have happened for him to be the only survivor. Unfortunately, what happened to Edward is too common on Gaia. Even high ranked noble families and clans get wiped out if they offended someone they shouldn't.

When the Grey Wolves saw them returning, they howled with tremendous welcome. The boys helped them bury their dead and parted from this place for the last time. They returned to Tiny Town on the following day at a relaxed pace and went straight to collect their quest reward.

After a short queue they were brought in front of the attendant.

"You say that your mission is done, already? It's a C rank slaying mission, and you kids finished in a week?"

"Trainees," Kairos corrected, "I'm not sure how long a C ranked mission should take, but that should have no effect on our reward correct?"

"It actually does," the man answered patiently, but not before shooting Kairos with a baffled squint.

In of the adventurer's guild, the counter attendant continued his explanation with a sigh,

"It is to reward talented adventurers and encourage them to raise up the ranks."

Monster extermination quests are usually given out by governors, great clans, and faraway settlements. To properly determine the correct payment, the Adventurers Guild will properly monitor the difficulty of the quest and judge the proper mission duration according to the quest taker's rank.