Chapter 81: Chapter 78: Dividing the Fruits
"Thank you for bringing us back with you, seniors."
Standing at the edge of the circular platform in the academy plaza, Allen and his three companions stood beneath the Disciplinary Committee squad’s airship, offering their thanks.
"Don’t ntion it, Allen."
Elite Captain Ror had a smile on his face, showing a bit more warmth than Allen.
"If anything, we should be thanking you. That report was truly perfect."
Ror’s gaze went past Allen, sweeping over Baston, Bruno, and Lina before finally returning to Allen’s face.
His voice dropped low enough for only the two of them to hear. "If you ever run into any trouble at the academy that you can’t solve, you can co find
at the Disciplinary Committee."
The two parties exchanged a few more pleasantries with a tacit understanding, then parted ways in the plaza.
The pitch-black airship rose silently into the sky and soon disappeared behind the distant spires.
Only after the airship’s shadow had completely vanished did Baston rub the back of his head in relief, a simple, honest smile on his face.
"Heheh, who knew the Disciplinary Committee guys would be so easy to talk to? They’re actually pretty nice!"
The mont the words left his mouth, he was t with a united eye-roll from Bruno and Lina.
"Nice?"
Bruno’s expression was complicated. He muttered under his breath, ’I felt like the way they looked at that pile of Moonlight Moss, they wanted to swallow us whole, moss and all...’
He hesitated for a mont but couldn’t stop himself from looking at Allen and asking the question that had been burning inside him the entire way back:
"Captain... that Moonlight Moss habitat, did we... did we really just give it away like that?"
’That was a gold mine! A goose that lays golden eggs!’
Thinking of the moss that glimred with a silver-blue light in the darkness, Bruno’s heart ached as if it were bleeding.
"What else?"
Allen shot him a glance and retorted, "Do you think the four of us could have held on to that place?"
"A place that can even attract the attention of an Official Wizard... for us to occupy it would be courting death. Forget us, even Ror’s squad couldn’t swallow it whole. They had no choice but to report it to the Committee’s higher-ups."
Allen’s tone was indifferent as he stated an obvious fact.
"We traded a habitat we couldn’t take with us or defend. In return, we got the Disciplinary Committee’s ’help,’ a clean record, and we got to skip all the review processes. They even gave us a polite escort back. This is already the best possible outco."
"Our goal this ti was to complete the mandatory mission and make so quick money on the side. Managing a resource point long-term requires an investnt of manpower, resources, and ti that’s far beyond our current capabilities. Understand?"
Allen’s words completely extinguished the last embers of unrealistic fantasy in Bruno’s and Baston’s hearts.
Indeed, they were just four newly-promoted Advanced Apprentices. In the vast system of the academy, they weren’t even a ripple on the water.
To escape from such an incident in one piece, and with most of the ready-made harvest in hand, was already sothing of a miracle.
"Alright, stop worrying about what might have been. We already harvested nearly half of that Moonlight Moss anyway, and it was all pure profit to begin with."
Allen clapped his hands, pulling the trio’s attention back. "It’s ti for us to count our real earnings."
Hearing the word "earnings," the spirits of the three imdiately lifted.
The four of them headed directly for the academy’s apprentice trading area.
They wound their way through the streets, avoiding the large, glamorous shops, and finally found a small store in a remote alley with a wooden sign that read, "All Things Recyclable."
Draven was the one who had told Allen about this small shop. Inside, the light was dim, and the shelves were filled with all sorts of bizarre items.
A short, scrawny humanoid creature was hunched over the counter, using a magnifying glass to carefully examine an unknown ore. It looked like a house-elf from the world of Hogwarts.
Allen placed a heavy sack on the counter with a dull thud.
"Boss, take a look at our goods."
The old elf looked up, his small, beady green eyes scanning the four of them before finally landing on the sack.
He untied the rope. When he saw the mountain of Black-armored Marching Ant mandibles and limbs, as well as the few expertly cut pieces of Crystal Shell Burrowing Insect carapace, a greedy green light flared in his eyes.
"Ohoho! Good stuff!"
The next half hour was spent amidst the CLANG-CLANG of the old elf’s tapping and Bruno’s nervous haggling.
In the end, aside from the burrowing insect carapace needed for the mission submission and the Micro-Light Scale Armor Beast’s Rhombic Crystal that Allen had set aside, all the other collected materials were exchanged for glittering Low-Level Magic Stones.
Total: Five thousand three hundred and fifty Low-Level Magic Stones!
The four of them then rushed to the mission hall without stopping.
When Allen placed the Crystal Shell Burrowing Insect carapace, still emanating a frosty chill, on the mission window counter, the clerk in charge of registration froze on the spot.
The mandatory mission, [Hunt the Crystal Shell Burrowing Insect of the Silent Forest], which had been posted for several months, had actually been completed by a team led by a new student?
After the clerk repeatedly confird the mission information and team mbers several tis...
...they finally passed a black card out through the window.
Only then did it truly sink in for Baston, Bruno, and Lina—they had actually succeeded! Not only had they returned alive, but they had also brought back an unimaginable fortune!
The four found a quiet corner, and the atmosphere instantly beca heated with excitent.
5,350 Low-Level Magic Stones from the materials, plus the 800 Magic Stone mission reward, for a grand total of 6,150 Low-Level Magic Stones.
Allen didn’t drag it out. He took out his identification card and his personal terminal and prepared to transfer the funds.
"Alright, let’s split the money."
"The mission reward is 800 Magic Stones. According to our prior contract, we’ll split it evenly four ways, 200 for each of us."
Allen swiped his finger across the light screen, and the transfer was completed in an instant.
"The rest is the extra profit from this trip, totaling five thousand three hundred and fifty Magic Stones."
Allen continued, "As for how to split this portion, I’ll tell you my thoughts first."
He looked at the three of them without reservation. "I covered the cost of the grenades for this operation, and I also formulated the key tactics and did the commanding. Therefore, I propose I take forty percent of this profit, and the three of you each take twenty percent. Any objections?"
Twenty percent was 1,070 Low-Level Magic Stones.
Adding the previous 200, that ca to 1,270.
Bruno’s and Baston’s minds went completely blank. 1,270 Low-Level Magic Stones!
That sum was more than enough to cover their basic cultivation expenses for an entire year.
"No, no way!"
Baston was the first to react, waving his hands repeatedly. "Captain, that’s too much! If it weren’t for you, we would’ve died back in the forest, let alone be splitting any money. It’s good enough that we get to follow you; we can’t take this much."
"Yeah, Captain."
Bruno quickly chid in, "You provided the grenades, you made the plan, and in the end, you were the one who turned the tide. We just followed your lead and helped out. Twenty percent is really too much."
All three felt they hadn’t contributed enough to deserve it.
Allen didn’t say anything, rely performing another operation on his terminal.
"Also, that Rhombic Crystal from the Micro-Light Scale Armor Beast... I have a personal need for it. I’ll buy it from the team for six hundred Low-Level Magic Stones at market price, and you three can split the paynt."
This way, Allen’s forty percent was 2,140, plus the 200 from the mission reward, minus the 600, bringing his total earnings to 1,740.
This brought the total inco for Baston, Bruno, and Lina from this mission to 1,470 Low-Level Magic Stones each.
Allen quickly completed the transfers.
Staring at the number "1470" displayed on his personal terminal, Baston opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a single word.
That sa number was reflected in Lina’s azure eyes, which shimred with emotion.
Just as Baston and Bruno were about to say sothing more, Allen raised a hand to stop them.
He looked at the three of them, at the complex expressions of excitent and joy mixed on their faces. "Take it," he said, each word deliberate and heavy. "You earned this with your lives."
"Rember this feeling. And then, use it to get stronger."
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