After teasing the little swan Hilda, Feld was in an exceptionally good mood, humming a song as he walked. The song was a rock song from his previous life, a favorite among wasteland mercenaries. Since he had hummed it many times, Qiqi would join in, sitting on his shoulder and bobbing its head along, looking adorable.
Before long, they arrived at the library. Feld wasn't sure if Holan was there, but he went with his gut feeling. And it turned out he was right. Holan was indeed in the library, and the librarian, upon seeing Feld, simply let him through without asking too many questions. Perhaps this was a privilege granted by Professor Holan? In any case, Feld enjoyed it without a care.
However, he found it strange that both the librarian and passing students looked at him with surprise. Was it because he looked handsome again?
Entering the library, he found the familiar private room. Holan, who had just finished class, was leisurely drinking tea. When she saw Feld walk in, she seemed to pause for a moment, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"What's wrong?" Feld asked, puzzled. "Why does everyone look like this when they see me? Is there something on my face?"
Holan laughed and shook her head. "No, your face is clean, and your upper body is clean too."
Feld looked down and realized. His upper body clothes had been torn apart by the wolf demon earlier, so he was completely naked from the waist up, displaying his perfectly sculpted muscles.
No wonder several female students had covered their faces and run away when they saw him...
Scratching his head, Feld chuckled awkwardly. "My clothes got ruined during the mission."
Holan nodded without suspicion, as Feld's bare upper body still bore scars. But after being promoted, Feld's recovery ability was somewhat terrifying. In just a short while, the terrifying scratches on his body had mostly healed, leaving only a few scabs less than a finger's width wide, making it look like he had only suffered minor injuries.
"You can't go to a candlelight dinner shirtless. The restaurant I picked won't let you in like this," Holan said with a smile.
This was when the charm of a mature woman showed. Faced with Feld's bare upper body, although her face was a little red, she didn't show the shy demeanor of a young girl. Instead, she openly admired him.
However, Feld shook his head and said, "Indeed, but I think tonight's candlelight dinner might be canceled."
Holan was taken aback, then a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she remained puzzled. "Why?"
Feld restrained his smile and said seriously, "Do you see these injuries on me? They're left by the wolf demon."
Instantly, Holan's brow furrowed. "You mean, you encountered a wolf demon again? Where?"
"Two hundred kilometers away from here, in the Norfaklason Great Forest. And it's not just one, but eight!" Feld said.
"Eight..." Holan's brow furrowed even tighter. "Do you have samples?"
"Yes, I brought them all back, they're all in the ring," Feld gestured to the ring on his hand.
"Follow me," Holan said, getting up and appearing somewhat urgent.
She also understood why Feld said the dinner was canceled. At this moment, she had no mood to eat any candlelight dinner!
Then, Feld followed Holan through the teaching area to a minimalist building. Most of the people walking towards them were wearing white coats, indicating that they were high-end talents.
When they saw Holan, they would nod in greeting.
However, Holan was very impatient, just making perfunctory replies, and hurriedly led Feld to her laboratory.
There was no one here. She opened a door and entered a spacious area, saying, "Take out all the wolf demon corpses, let me see."
"I need to confirm whether their samples match to determine if they come from the same bloodland. This is very important."
Feld nodded and took out all the wolf demon carcasses, pouring them onto the ground.
Suddenly, the smell of blood wafted over, and Holan widened her eyes, looking at one of the corpses.
"Raging Wolf Demon?!"
Holan covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief and conjured an ice spike in her hand as she approached the corpse of the ferocious wolf demon. Using the ice spike, she prodded at the demon's claws.
"Ferocious wolf demon? What's wrong?" Feld asked.
"If it were just regular wolf demons, they might have roamed from a distant place. But if ferocious wolf demons appear, it means that a bloodland has definitely emerged nearby!" Holan explained.
"Because ferocious wolf demons are the main force guarding bloodlands. They are the superior species of wolf demons, capable of commanding a certain number of wolf demons and possessing the ability to absorb blood to enhance themselves."
"Ah," Feld nodded, understanding. "When this wolf demon roared, red light flew out of the surrounding wolf demon corpses and entered its body, making it stronger."
"That's the power of blood absorption," Holan said. "An extremely violent and powerful force."
"It was indeed strong, almost defeating Hilda..." Feld nodded, murmuring.
Holan raised an eyebrow. "Hilda? Was she there too?"
"Technically, she killed these wolf demons, and when the ferocious wolf demon entered its second form, I happened to pass by and finished it off." Feld casually replied, his hands in his pockets.
Holan chuckled. This guy made the thrilling battle sound so casual.
"No wonder. I saw that these wolf demons were severed with a sharp weapon, and I thought you would use a sword." Holan said, then furrowed her brow.
She didn't ask too much about Hilda. Her focus now was on the bloodland.
"So it seems that a bloodland has indeed emerged nearby, most likely within the Norfaklason Great Forest."
"What do we do next? Should we investigate further?" Feld asked.
"Of course, that's necessary. Fortunately, it seems that the bloodland is only in its initial stage of formation and has not fully spread. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be ferocious wolf demons." Holan said.
"But we don't have much time. I'll immediately report to the Lord's Mansion, and all surrounding cities will need to be on high alert."
Feld nodded. "It seems like you'll be busy next."
"Yeah..." Holan sighed. "I need to accelerate the research progress and produce magical potions specifically targeting bloody creatures."
"And you might need to get involved too."
"How so?" Feld asked.
"By then, the Lord's Mansion will issue special commissions, targeting all adventurers and mercenaries. There will definitely be missions to investigate the Norfaklason Great Forest."
"These special commissions usually offer very generous rewards."
"And after confirming the location of the bloodland, there will be tasks to coordinate with the Imperial Army for encirclement, clearance, and even war missions."
"I see." Feld nodded.
For mercenaries, war spoils were the most profitable. However, unlike the war spoils obtained by merchants, mercenaries had to risk their lives and blood, often going to the front lines. This was why the "military" in mercenaries was emphasized.
Mercenaries were a group of soldiers without allegiance to any power. When necessary, the authorities would mobilize this force.
They might end up as cannon fodder at the forefront of regular army forces.
In short, the money was plentiful, but not easy to earn.
But for Feld, this was already familiar territory.
In his previous life's corporate wars, he had been very busy.
As for which side he belonged to, it depended entirely on who paid more.
Then Holan stood up and said to Feld, "Thank you for bringing back these samples, but... I may not be able to pay the commission immediately."
"We're good friends, so forget about the commission," Feld waved his hand generously, then grinned. "But I do need a teleportation disc, the kind that connects to the Heidis Academy. Can you get one for me?"
Holan chuckled. This guy sure knows how to be flexible. So she nodded and handed a disc to Feld. "I happen to have one."
Feld took the disc, examining it gleefully. This item wasn't cheap. A one-time teleportation scroll for a distance of two hundred kilometers cost eight hundred gold coins. The cost of a reusable disc like this was several thousand gold coins, and the finished product wouldn't be sold for less than ten thousand gold coins.
The disc Holan gave him was obviously more refined, with a series of numbers engraved on it indicating it could teleport up to one thousand kilometers and bind to three teleportation points. This meant that within a thousand kilometers of Heidis, Feld could activate the disc and teleport back. Plus, it had three teleportation points, conservatively valued at over thirty thousand gold!
And even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy one! Most discs available for purchase were below the one thousand kilometer range and could only bind to one teleportation point.
The other teleportation point on this disc was located eight hundred kilometers away in the city of Pedro, with one more point yet to be bound.
It could be said that Feld made a killing by exchanging those wolf demon carcasses for this teleportation disc. While the value of the seven wolf demons exceeded tens of thousands of gold, not to mention the ferocious wolf demon valued conservatively at over twenty thousand gold, Feld had essentially freeloaded the other seven wolf demons.
What a lucrative deal!
"This is my disc, consider it a gift. Just don't lose it," Holan said, watching Feld's enamored expression.
"Of course, I'll keep it close!" Feld immediately replied.
Close...
Holan's face turned red, and then she pushed Feld out. "Alright, I have a lot of things to do next. You go and do your thing."
"Wait, I have one more thing," Feld hastily said.
"What is it?" Holan asked, puzzled.
Then Feld waved his hand, and a beautiful bouquet of flowers and crystals appeared in his hand, arranged like a carefully crafted bouquet. In the center of the bouquet lay a fist-sized crystal.
Holan's eyes lit up with joy as she took it. She recognized it—it was the material for the task she had arranged, and the crystal was the core of a crystal demon snake!
"How do you like it? Do you like it?" Feld grinned.
Holan took it with a smile, her eyes crescents of happiness. But she still said, "Using the materials I arranged for the task to make me happy, you're something else."
Feld laughed heartily. "So, you like it?"
"Mm-hmm," Holan nodded, then tossed a small bag of task coins she got from Evelyn to Feld. "Keep up the good work. I still have plenty of tasks here for you in the future."
"Very happy to help!" Feld caught it, then waved his hand. "I'm off."
Watching Feld's departing figure and then looking at the bouquet of various herbs and crystal cores decorated as a bouquet in her arms, Holan smiled softly, humming a tune, and placed the bouquet in the most prominent place in the laboratory.
She planned to keep these materials for now and only use them when necessary.
As Feld left the academy with Qiqi, he drove his carriage straight to Heidu. He planned to use the task coins to complete his last task—Collecting Debt. This gold-level task wasn't much for Feld now. However, since he accepted it, he had to complete it—it was part of Feld's professional integrity.
And also, he planned to explore the inner city. He heard you could buy things there that you couldn't get in the outer city. He still had a lot of money in his pocket, and he wasn't in the habit of saving money. It felt uncomfortable to have so much money and not spend it.