And so, we decided axe the job change plan. Instead we’ll focus on leveling up.
The thing is that Arleaf leveled up a lot in just a few days.
Though she’s still in her base class, Veno said she’s already as strong as the average Joe in an advanced one.
Oh, and according to Arleaf, it would normally take years of grinding high-leveled enemies to reach level 60 in a base class or something like that.
To do that in just a few days must be some kind of miracle.
That’s less EXP than I thought she’d get though… well, after all, the monsters down there were all just small fry. Maybe that’s why.
Still, fighting that many enemies at once would be difficult, no matter how tough they are.
It adds up quick… I think.
They’ve got a whole bunch of annoying abilities too, like causing abnormal status.
“Alright, should I hurry on over to the guildhall to make the report then?”
Veno prepped all the corpses so that I can prove we killed them.
All I have to do is to hand the proof over to them. Plus, it’s not like I want it to take longer than it should.
“Right. Will everything be… fine? We have exterminated all the monsters in the sewers, correct?”
“Gee, I dunno. Even if we did wipe them all out, there’s always the chance of them hiding somewhere and survived the ordeal.”
I haven’t ventured into the dungeon or cave inside the sewer either.
I’m sure I’ve weakened the monsters as a group though.
It’s probably a good thing that their ecosystem got reset, right?
I worriedly headed towards the guildhall.
It’s hard to say that things ended well at the guild either.
I thought it’d be too much of a shock to the guild clerk if I were to just plop down all of the evidence of kills, so I pulled out a seemingly unending amount of rat tails from my pack, one handful at a time. It wasn’t long before the clerk went to get his supervisor and I was led to a private room.
But, y’know, the first things I showed him were the valuable bounties—parts from the Boss Rat and the Crocogator.
He was all amazed, saying something like he didn’t think the legends were true, and then began calculating my pay.
It wasn’t until I had begun to take out the tails of the minion rats that his face turned pale.
We ended up bringing our business to an empty room. That’s where I somehow managed to laid everything out.
“Y-You managed to slay all these rats and monsters in the sewers?!”
“Yeah, I had an efficient way to do it. I used my girlfriend’s cooking to lure them out and then killed them all in one blow.”
‘Thou art telling naught but the truth, though the order of events is backwards.’
The guild employees couldn’t hear Veno’s quip.
And it’s true that I used Arleaf’s cooking at an effective location to kill them all.
“I see… I have heard talk of it, but to hear it in person is quite astonishing.”
“The Rat Boss was quite tough, so I flooded the sewers with a toxic gas. It would be a good idea that no one goes down there for the meantime.”
“The noise from underground has become rather quiet, so I think we can arrange that.”
‘And this, too. I am sure thou understandest that we have information that is better left untold.’
Veno makes the map of the sewers appear. I grab it and hand it over.
“T-This is…”
“Yes, I made this map while I was down there on my quest. Though I may not have been able to map out secret chambers or anything of the like, still, I hope this can be of use to you.”
“Thank you very much! This is wonderful. I would love to properly pay you for this, but… well, you have slain such a large amount of, uhh…”
Oh, you’re really gonna be like this, huh?
“It really wasn’t all that much trouble. I will be more than happy with whatever you are able to give me. It’s just that the guild wouldn’t want to be known for taking advantage of its adventurers, right?”
I’ll be extra polite in intimidating you bastards to see just how sincere you are.
This is a necessary skill to survive in a sweatshop. I still remember how to negotiate so that these guys don’t walk all over me.
It’s a powerful technique, but if you overdo it, you’ll end up with squat.
“As it stands right now, the map hasn’t been marked for where there’s dangerous toxic gas. That, and I’ve also discovered other things as well.”
No way I’m about to work for free.
Confidence is key, so why don’t we go all in?
Plus, this map isn’t much more than a rough sketch.
There’s nothing like where toxic gas is or even the direction which water flows.
If I don’t do this, they might just try to change the clauses or make absurd demands.
“I’ve also discovered many other things… you understand, don’t you?”
I’m not telling you unless you pay me.
I’d like you to show me your sincerity, even more so than money.
I then looked at the people from the guild.
“W-Why, of course. However… the amount of monsters you have slain for us is a bit out of our expectations. Do you think we could negotiate a little?”
I know you guys have more than enough money to pay me.
But it’s true that I’ve killed more monsters than what would normally be expected.
Well… no one would normally bring so many tails, even if they were a big group of adventurers.
“For sure. I’m not asking you to pay me in full. I’m just hoping that it’ll make life a little easier for me, even when I live in such a great town.”
“Right… the maximum I can pay you right now is… 450,000 lag.”
That’s quite a bit of money, eh?
That’s a few Elbatoxins’ worth of bounty.
“And… as for the greater monsters, we shall prepare a separate bounty for them. May we have your contact information, please?”
“Please can contact Wayne’s household then. Then… after I get the money, I’ll tell you all the important information that you should know.”
Rurika has been in contact with the guild, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.
“Understood. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us solve this problem that has been plaguing us for years.”
After sounding each other out, we’ve finally come to an agreement and finished this quest.
As an aside, the other adventurers have given us another weird nickname after our achievement. We’re now “The Ratbusters”. Well, it is what it is.
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