Finally seeing the old man return, Ge Zheng breathed a sigh of relief: "How's the appraisal result?" Ge Zheng knew the result, but this question was just a formality.
The old man's white beard and eyebrows made his old face look even redder. With a "ding", the magic screen displayed "Task completed", and at the same time, 1,083,500 gold coins were deposited into Ge Zheng's account at the Adventurer's Guild.
"Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack" the old man stamped the adventurer badge with a metal stamp five times, then handed it over.
After doing all this, the old man, feeling ashamed, pulled down his hat to cover his face and left.
Ge Zheng shook his head, feeling that the old man needn't have done that.
He looked at the badge in his hand, the back displaying the amount of money in his account, with many zeros! On the front, there were five metal pentagrams arranged in a regular arc around the badge.
"What does this mean?" Ge Zheng still didn't understand this world and didn't know that these five pentagrams all had magical imprints, and adding them without permission was ineffective. He just felt that the circle of pentagrams looked quite neat and didn't make the badge look bad, so he casually put it in his storage space.
Within the city of Delson, a huge commotion had already begun.
In the Empire's Adventurer's Guild headquarters, the top ten positions on the adventurer ranking leaderboard were all occupied by five-star great adventurers. The adventurer's ranking was actually a stimulating strategy by the guild to incentivize adventurers to contribute more. Different levels of tasks had different points. Completing the task would earn these points, and based on the amount of points, one could gradually advance their adventurer level. High-level adventurers had priority and discounts when completing tasks or purchasing items from consignment shops.
These levels were distinct from professional levels, but were also a reflection of personal strength. The top ten adventurers in the Austa Empire were all five-star great adventurers, each having fought numerous battles to accumulate so many points, and within the entire Austa Empire, only these ten individuals had reached the level of a five-star great adventurer.
However, this morning, under the huge magic screen leaderboard, a name suddenly appeared: Code 68970, unknown race, unknown profession, unknown age, points 1,083,500.
This person had no name, only a code allocated by the Adventurer's Guild, and no one had seen him before. However, he had suddenly surged to become a five-star great adventurer overnight and had climbed to the eleventh position on the power ranking of the Empire's Adventurer's Guild!
Immediately, the entire guild hall was in an uproar; most of the adventurers had dreamed of overnight fame. Now, an actual example was right in front of them, how could they not be excited? Soon, someone found out that Code 68970 had registered this morning!
Surprise, skepticism, jealousy, curses... various emotions spread throughout the guild hall, and over forty percent of the adventurers refused to accept the guild's certification and demanded a thorough investigation to see if there was a problem with the guild's magical certification system.
Emotional adventurers gathered in the hall and refused to leave, and more and more people rushed over. The hall became more and more crowded, the noise permeated the building, and spread to several streets away.
On the streets, curious onlookers stuck their heads out, eager to know what was happening inside the guild. Soon the news spread, and many young children, upon hearing the news, dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the guild, much to the chagrin of their mothers. Even some of the ordinary citizens of Delson came to join in the excitement.
These citizens were purely there to spectate, surrounding the guild, wanting to see what the adventurers would stir up. Or perhaps, they wanted to see the Adventurer's Guild make a fool of themselves.
Ordinary adventurers toil hard, with life and death hanging in the balance, and even just gaining one or two stars is difficult. Those with three or more stars can boast in front of their peers, and those with four or more can become the guests of honor at a mercenary group. Those with five or more stars are truly skilled.
But a newcomer becoming a five-star great adventurer in less than two hours was the cause of much envy.
Inside the guild, the Imperial Branch Guild President, Mr. Roy, immediately summoned the guild's leaders: "Investigate immediately and see if there's a problem with the magical certification!"
It was obvious that President Roy also did not quite believe that a new adventurer could become a five-star great adventurer within two hours.
"Sir," the head of the Magic Appraisal Department, Streng, stood up, "There's no need to investigate. It's not a mistake." Roy was stunned, "Have you already checked?" Streng shook his head, "If a person completes an SS-level task alone, the points from that task are enough for them to rise to the rank of a five-star great adventurer. Master Hornby has already verified it; he wants to see for himself what kind of person the other party is."
"An SS-level task, completed alone? That's not possible. Even the Empire's top-ranked adventurer, Han Ti, can't complete an SS-level task alone!" President Roy didn't believe it.
Completing an SS-level task was extremely dangerous and was second only to the most dangerous SSS-level tasks within the Adventurer's Guild. Even a five-star great adventurer needed to be cautious when completing an SS-level task, making thorough preparations in advance and inviting friends to accompany them. As a result, the points and bonuses would be divided equally. If a mission was extremely perilous and one did happen to accomplish the SS-level task, even a five-star great adventurer would need to be accompanied by four or five others. If it were a lower-level adventurer, they would need to mobilize as many as a hundred people.
The point threshold for a five-star great adventurer was one million points.
Upon hearing this, they immediately opened the magic screen in the meeting room to search for the list of completed SS-level tasks. When the most recent completed SS-level task appeared before them, everyone understood: "He's an alchemist!" Streng nodded, "Yes, that's right. This item has been personally verified by Master Hornby; it's a genuine quasi-divine tool! It has already been sent to the client through our special channels and should be arriving soon."
The sound of people gasping could be heard from all around.
"Could it be Lord Peralchesus?" someone asked, as there was only one non-human craftsman who could refine quasi-divine tools.
Streng shook his head and said, "It's not certain yet, but according to the news from the Oba City Branch, the other party is a young person." At this moment, everyone was at a loss. These people were well-known throughout the Adventurer's Guild; every one of them was someone that made the guild tremble. But now, they were all at a loss.
The commotion from outside entered the room once again, and Roy thought for a moment, "Since Master Hornby has already verified it, that proves that our certification is correct. I will now personally go out and explain to all the adventurers."
In the guild hall, the door to the second-floor balcony opened, and President Roy walked out. Seeing him, everyone knew that the Adventurer's Guild was about to give an official explanation, so the noise gradually quieted down.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Roy cleared his throat, "after careful verification, it has been determined that the recent promotion of the five-star great adventurer is in accordance with the correct certification process!"
"Ah!" Everyone found it hard to believe, and someone immediately yelled, "This can't be!" "That's right, it can't be!" Roy smiled faintly. Despite the great commotion below, his voice carried clearly throughout the hall, "The Adventurer's Guild has always been known for its fairness. We won't deduct your points, nor will we casually award a million points to just anyone. Code 68970 is your role model; as long as you work hard, you can also achieve overnight fame like him!"
After uttering these words, Roy bowed slightly to the surroundings and then went back inside.
The noise in the hall suddenly subsided. They had been stirred up a moment ago, but now that the Adventurer's Guild had given an explanation, continuing to make a fuss would be pointless.
The adventurers gradually left the guild in twos and threes, but they had extreme attitudes: a part of them saw hope, believing that as long as they worked hard, they could eventually achieve overnight fame like Code 68970, while another part complained inwardly: a million points - except for someone with the good fortune of Code 68970, how long would it take to accumulate so many points!
Returning to the meeting room, the noise outside had subsided significantly, and Streng sighed with relief, "The storm has finally quieted down..." Roy's face, however, was not good, puzzling everyone, "President, is there something wrong?" Roy pointed at the magic screen, made a minor adjustment, and a bell sounded. The Imperial Adventurer Ranking appeared, with the top eleven people all marked with five gold pentagrams in the rank column. Roy sighed, "I hope I'm just overthinking it, but the top ten individuals have all worked in the Adventurer's Guild for more than ten years to achieve what they have today. But if they find out that someone has reached the same height in just two hours that took them ten years to achieve, what do you think they will feel?"
Streng's face immediately clouded over.
Feifei took it, apparently already knowing what was inside, and without opening it, she put it in the car.
The Duke turned to Ge Zheng on the side again, "Master, I'll rely on you on this journey!" Ge Zheng nodded slightly, "Duke, you're too kind."
The Duke nodded to the captain of the First Cavalry Regiment, Kudi, who drew his sword and held it up, "Depart!"
The banners fluttered, and the wheels rolled over the yellow earth, leaving behind creases which were soon smoothed by the hooves. The Duke of Maris watched the convoy turn into a small dot in the distance and then stopped waving, sighing and turning his horse back to the city.
The convoy was protected by three thousand knights of the First Cavalry Regiment of the National Guard on the perimeter. The four horses were quite unsatisfied with the speed and kept whinnying and jumping around, annoying Feifei as well.
There was nothing interesting on the road. Miss Feifei would not appear around Ge Zheng until it was time to eat, thanks to the delicious food of Dunke. The little genius witch still remembered her painful experience and vowed to regain her place, but there were no good opportunities recently, so she decided to let him be for a while.
Inside Ge Zheng's convoy was the liveliest, filled with laughter, bickering, and scolding. Feifei was bored listening inside her carriage. She felt a bit restless. Still, she reminded herself not to bow her head like that detestable home tutor.
Gronia rode up to Ge Zheng and, as a messenger of the Dark Temple, asked the Grand Duke to allow them to accompany the convoy back to the King's City of Delson, and naturally, the Grand Duke had no reason to refuse.
They managed lunch with dried rations, and in the evening, they set up camp. Solgevilun stood up, "I'm going to hunt some game, we'll have a barbecue." The enthusiastic response came not from someone else but from Princess Feifei, who had come to join the meal.
Solgevilun left the main force, turned a few corners, and disappeared into the overgrown wilderness.
"Wisdom, we need wisdom!" the most intelligent dragon delved into the bushes: "Where is it? I can smell it..."
Good food is just the appetizer; love brings happiness. Solgevilun enjoyed good food but would not hesitate to choose love over anything else.
Would he consider so much if he found a powerful opponent for Ge Zheng? He would only call upon his dragon. He chuckled a lascivious laugh, seeing the dawn of spring once again. The wise dragon was quite pleased with its intelligence, thinking it would be impossible for any other dragon to handle things this way if it weren't Solgevilun.
Being a dragon, Solgevilun had keen senses and could smell a powerful monster in the desolate wilderness. Of course, this monster was far from the road, but that didn't deter Solgevilun.
It was near now, and it smelled really bad. Thankfully, it wasn't meant for food that day.
"Pant, pant..." Solgevilun pushed aside a bunch of tall grass, and a gray swamp appeared, beneath clouds of purple mist, a crocodile-like monster of considerable size lay half asleep. Above its grotesque head, the purple mist was particularly thick. A blood-purple crystal orb moved with the crocodile's breath, in rhythm with its every rise and fall, harmonizing perfectly.
Had Ge Zheng been there, he would have exclaimed about the monster, "This is the 'Dan Entering Dream' realm of a spiritual beast, on the verge of initiating a heavenly disaster!"
Solgevilun didn't understand that, he just thought the beast's core was well-concentrated and strong, something he could use as a toy.
The crocodile monster only exposed the front half of its body, the back half hidden in a large hole next to the swamp. Solgevilun thought for a moment, then released his power. As he gradually released his energy, his aura continued to rise. However, he still restrained his dragon might. Anyone could tell that the crocodile was the king of the monsters in the whole wasteland. Upon releasing his power to the limit and creating a confrontational situation, a roar reverberated from the direction of the swamp, and the earth trembled as the giant emerged from its lair!
Solgevilun chuckled, his scheme had succeeded. He restrained his power, but always left a hint for the giant to follow him.
The dragon's speed was quite astonishing, and Solgevilun even slowed down occasionally to wait for the behemoth he had angered, further aggravating it. As it approached, it trampled over the wilderness, crushing everything in its wake.
Suddenly, Solgevilun felt uneasy and spread out a pair of wings from his back, launching into the sky. The pursuing giant also leaped and grabbed a thick vine, launching into the air, in pursuit. As it sailed across the wasteland, the foliage, grass, and stones were crushed by the massive creature.
Solgevilun realized the danger, as the giant suddenly spread its wings and took flight, constantly creating some distance. It wasn't easy to control such a colossal beast, and he didn't want to lead it back to his camp, as that might lead to disaster. The loss of human life and injury were of little consequence to Solgevilun, but he needed to win the favor of the giant's master. So, he changed his plan and ran on the ground, encouraging the monster to pursue him. He even rolled over on the ground, tearing his clothes and putting grass in his hair - all for love.
"Help!" Solgevilun shouted, and then began to play hide and seek with the crocodile in the grass. But the creature's sense of smell was strong, and it kept locating Solgevilun despite his best efforts. Meanwhile, the chefs had set up the barbecue and were ready to start, with all kinds of condiments lined up. The culinary culture of the Star Forging World was still quite backward, and Ge Zheng could hardly swallow the food here if it weren't for the talented chefs.
Gronia, the little princess, and Dinola, the three most enthusiastic eaters, had already sat down at the grill, ready to enjoy their meal. Ge Zheng muttered, "Why hasn't he returned yet? Sending him to hunt is not the same as sending him to challenge the king of the desert monsters."
As Ge Zheng's words fell, a desperate cry for help echoed around. Startled, everyone realized it was Solgevilun. The little princess immediately urged, "Captain Koudi, send the cavalry!" However, Dinola stopped her, "Your Highness, no need to be elated. Even though Solgevilun called for help, sending them there would be suicide." Miss Feifei was surprised, "Is that guy, who just knows how to steal food, so formidable?"
Dinola had raised doubts about Solgevilun several times due to her inability to gauge his strength. Gronia was even more confident than Dinola: "This person is very mysterious. As Dinola said, let's adults take a look. They should not go to their deaths." Cook Dunke was undoubtedly the most concerned. He urged, "Why are you all still here? Go fast!"
Solgevilun had almost lost his voice from shouting, and the crocodile had cornered him in its massive coils! Finally managing to escape back to Ge Zheng, Dinola sarcastically remarked, "Thanks for getting us such a large piece of barbecue meat!"
The Gold-Armor Treant wielded various weapons, some barehanded and others with different weapons, but none posed a threat to the crocodile. The treant's weapons were not sophisticated and relied solely on its brute strength, which was ineffective against the crocodile's hardened scales. The treant's weapons produced a cacophony of clanging sounds against the crocodile's body, to no avail. Frustrated, the treant made one last attempt and succeeded in breaking two of the crocodile's bone spikes along its back. In retaliation, the crocodile swatted the treant with immense force, knocking it down and rolling it over many times. Resiliently, the treant still prepared to counterattack.
Grania said in a low voice, "This python crocodile is at least a level 13 magical beast. The treant is no match for it."
As if to verify Grania's words, the treant, which had come back to attack again, was knocked down and rolled more than a hundred meters away by the python crocodile. After taking these heavy blows, the treant collapsed on the ground and was unable to get up for the time being. The python crocodile raised its body high, resembling a towering giant tree, and slowly turned its head in a different direction. Two fierce glints shot out of its small eyes, like spotlights shining towards the four people on the ground.
"Oh..." Dinora groaned, and her Zhan Tou Heng Dao behind her lunged forward like a golden dragon. Dinora leaped into the air, grabbed the large sword, and performed two consecutive dry pulls, then charged forward several tens of meters again. The Zhan Tou Heng Dao drew silver curves around her body, entangling and bursting, as if a silver lotus had bloomed.
Grania was a little surprised to see that Dinora was so formidable. Ge Zheng muttered, "This is the true ability of a warrior." Grania glanced at him, said nothing more, and opened her arms, chanting an ancient and obscure spell.
As each incomprehensible incantation fell, the withered grass on the ground began to grow crazily and soon turned into a forest of weeds. They seemed to be entwining the lower body of the python crocodile.
Ge Zheng glanced at Grania, noticing a layer of gray mist floating around her. Grania said, "I have a battle spirit, who was an outstanding Druid mage in her lifetime."
"Swish swish swish..." The flash of Dinora's sword shot out, pulling the air with silver threads and making a hissing sound like a poisonous snake. However, the python crocodile paid no attention to this eerie attack and charged with its eyes closed, aiming for Dinora.
Its skull was very hard, covered with a thick armor-like bone carapace. In the blink of an eye, Dinora had already launched more than thirty strikes on the python crocodile's head, making a series of iron-like sounds, but all in vain. The python crocodile was not being hindered in the slightest, and it charged towards her. Suddenly, it opened its blood-red jaws, intending to swallow Dinora whole.
Dinora was startled and shrank her body, falling from midair. The python crocodile missed, and its huge tusk barely scraped Dinora's clothes. With a "click", the giant jaws snapped shut, sending chills down Dinora's spine.
The python crocodile suddenly lashed its tail, causing the weeds on the ground to break. It writhed and effortlessly regained its freedom.
Dinora fell into the bushes, rolled a few times, and stood up without bothering to brush off the dry grass, then rolled on the spot. The place where she had just stood was bitten away by the python crocodile, creating a large pit.
"Ge Zheng, your lousy sword is no good. You must forge a better one for me later, or else, I won't let you off!" Dinora seized the opportunity to complain. Ge Zheng smiled bitterly. "You used to be so attached to this sword at the beginning, but after being with me for a long time, you've become a bit greedy."
But what Dinora said was reasonable, and Ge Zheng also felt that they should upgrade her equipment.
At the same time, a series of obscure sounds reverberated, and the ground grew countless wild grass. Compared to the previous ones, these wild grasses were much thicker, entwining the python crocodile like small snakes. Meanwhile, Grania suddenly exclaimed, shouting something that Ge Zheng couldn't hear clearly, likely another mysterious incantation. The gray water behind her suddenly exploded, and a gray figure emerged. It was a tall warrior from the magical race, two dwarven hammer men, two elven archers, and three mages.
Ge Zheng noticed that Grania's complexion had turned pale, and her body was unsteady. It seemed to be her limit. However, it also startled him: Grania alone could rival a fully equipped adventurer party!
Battle spirits were not ordinary undead. They lacked "residual resentment," so their combat power would not be reduced. Some professions could even gain extra bonuses after becoming battle spirits, such as undead mages.
The magical race warrior brandished his giant sword and joined the battle, flanking both Dinora and the magic race warrior. Surprisingly, the two dwarven hammer warriors had vanished underground, silently attacking the python crocodile's tail, landing dozens of blows within moments.
The archers guarded Grania, and their green poison arrows were aimed at the python crocodile's eyes. Unfortunately, the python crocodile's eyes were too small compared to its massive body, and its head kept swaying in the air, causing the battle spirit archers to miss repeatedly.
The three mages were undoubtedly capable warriors. A Druid mage struggled to contain the python crocodile, preventing it from fully exerting its strength. Meanwhile, the other two mages had been unobtrusive since their appearance. Battle spirit mages could silently chant spells, but Ge Zheng did not know this. He found it strange: why were these two just standing there, doing nothing?
In the meantime, he suddenly heard a noise from behind. Ge Zheng immediately turned around and saw beasts leaping out of the bushes. He was taken aback, but just as he was about to act, Grania's weak voice rang out, "Stop, they're the offspring of Antong."
"Offspring?" Ge Zheng questioned. Grania pointed at one of the mages, saying, "He's a summoning mage." Hundreds of different kinds of beasts were summoned, crawling at the feet of a battle spirit named Antong. With a wave of the battle spirit mage's hand, these beasts, who would normally not even dare to approach the python crocodile, charged at it like mad.
The python crocodile didn't find these little creatures worthy of attention. It easily disposed of over a dozen of them within moments, leaving Ge Zheng anxious, although Grania remained composed.