Chapter 194: Chapter 193: A Simple Task
"Hey, Colin, my friend," he yelled. "Quick, come leave your handprint."
"Is this... a piece from the Ancestor Stone?"
Having seen it many times along their journey, Colin recognized it at once.
"That’s right. And don’t forget Pointy-tail and Ice-face," Kase said. "Our tribe plans to place the stone with your handprints at the very top. Your story will be passed down from generation to generation."
’Is that so?’
The thought of a legend about him appearing in this land made Colin hesitate for a moment, but on second thought, it was a heartfelt gesture from the Orcs.
The three of them then dipped their palms in some dye, one after another, and pressed their handprints onto the stone’s surface.
Colin looked at the three handprints on it—one large and two small—and recalled the Ancestor Stone he had seen before, finding it all a bit comical.
’The Orc handprints on that one were two sizes bigger than theirs. In comparison, our handprints look like a child’s.’
Finally, Kase also pressed his handprint onto the stone.
"This way, our story will be passed down forever," he said with a goofy grin.
Colin smiled and said, "Well, we’ll be heading back to Thousand Masts City then."
Just then, a few Orc children came up to them.
They each stuffed a small Ancestor Stone, marked with a handprint, into the hands of Colin and his companions.
The group put away the stones and turned to board the Super Long-Distance Explorer. Only then did they notice the Orcs who had already disembarked, standing not far away and watching them in silence.
Colin waved, signaling for the Orcs to go on ahead.
But the Orcs remained on the shore, watching the Super Long-Distance Explorer sail away, until it was completely out of sight.
After the better part of a day had passed, the bustling port of Thousand Masts City once again came into view. Busy porters, mysterious Elves, Halflings buying fish... It was as if time had stopped while they were away, only to resume its flow now that they were back.
Colin walked down the gangplank once more and took a deep breath of the familiar air.
"See you next time, Colin, my friend!" the captain called out cheerfully from behind him.
The man had a whole ship full of furs, which were sure to make him a fortune right now.
"We’ll be on our way, then."
Colin replied, then led the other two away from the docks and into the streets of the Dock District.
’Finally back,’ Colin thought. ’This trip took over a month, I think, though I can’t remember the exact number of days. Thankfully, the landlord is nice and even gave me a discount on the rent. Otherwise, this would’ve been a real loss.’
’If I didn’t need to stay in Thousand Masts City for long periods, it would be better to just live in an inn.’
Colin pushed these mundane worries to the back of his mind.
He looked at Ale and said, "What should we do with our spoils? Should we just give you a quarter of it?"
"What have you two done in the past?"
"We sell it all together and then split the money."
"Then let’s do that for my share, too. We can meet somewhere in a few days, and you can just give me the money then."
"You’re very easy to cheat, you know," Colin said with a sigh. "But fine. How about this: three days from now, at lunchtime, meet me at the Black Heart Tavern in the slums outside the city?"
"’Black Heart’ Tavern? Does that mean the owner is unscrupulous?" Ale asked, rubbing her chin. "But that works. Goodbye for now, Mr. Colin. It was a pleasure spending this time with you all."
With that, the Half-Elf turned and left, decisively and without another word.
’Yeah, a real pleasure. So much so that I don’t think I saw you smile once this whole time,’ Colin thought, ’except for that time you nearly died in the avalanche.’
"Ale..." Orelia murmured, watching the Half-Elf’s retreating back wistfully. "Will we be able to see her again, Mr. Colin?"
"That’s hard to say. I’m going to report to Mr. Helder in a bit. Do you want to come with me to Horn Castle?"
"Okay, let’s go together."
After that, the two of them first dropped off their luggage at the Church of Morninglord since it was on the way, then strode toward Horn Castle.
When he arrived this time, Colin noticed that the Guard on duty at the entrance to Horn Castle was the same one he had chatted with a few times before.
This time, however, the man kept shaking his head at him.
’What’s going on? He looks like a hostage trying to send a secret signal. Could someone really dare to take a Guard hostage right at the entrance of Horn Castle?’ Colin wondered, pausing to take a closer look.
Before he could make sense of it, an officer in Chest Armor came striding toward him menacingly.
’So I was being watched...’
Pretending not to notice, Colin walked into the castle grounds and led Orelia to Edwin’s office.
The Paladin was currently standing by the office fireplace, placing a piece of a broken tea brick into a white cloth for brewing.
"Your timing is perfect. Magic really is precise, isn’t it?"
Edwin smiled, then brought a teapot and teacups to his desk and poured them both a cup of tea.
"Magic? You used Magic to track our location?" Colin and Orelia asked as they expertly pulled up chairs to the desk.
"Remember that annoying Mage you met during your first interview here? Ever since he saw what you could do, he’s been using Prophetic Magic every day to find out when you’re coming so he can run off and hide somewhere else beforehand."
Edwin chuckled. "But to be honest, he’s not a bad person at heart, just a bit annoying."
"Perhaps," Colin said. "Regarding our trip, I have a few things to report, Mr. Helder."
Then, over tea, he recounted the arduous journey bit by bit, including the details about the Skeleton Legion and Ale.
"Silver Star Court? They sent people too?" Edwin took a sip of tea. "That means this matter is indeed worth paying attention to, especially with the large-scale resurgence of the Undead... I wonder if the people of Snow Deer Ridge should..."
"Is there anything else?"
"There is one more thing I need to talk to you about, regarding your next job," Edwin said. "I’ve recommended you to the Black Tower Academy. They need a Mage with extensive practical experience to teach a training class for their apprentices."
"Huh? What?" Colin was stunned.
As the top Magic Academy in Thousand Masts City, the Black Tower was quite possibly the best Mage Academy in all of the Northern Lands. They only accepted true geniuses, and many of their graduates were Legendary figures whose names went down in history.
’Me? A self-taught, unorthodox Mage, teaching students at the Black Tower?’
"Even at the Black Tower, there are many Magic Apprentices. At most, those apprentices can only cast Tier One Magic, and the majority of them have no practical combat experience."
Edwin said, "I think you are more than capable of handling this job. Besides, one class is only about an afternoon, and the pay is... around thirty Gold Coins."
