By the time Nevreal left the room, the drowsiness that Lux felt earlier had disappeared.
The middle-aged dwarf had given him a token that was exclusive to the Kingdom's special agents, who handled matters concerning the stability of the Royal Family's rule.
The token came with a lot of perks, including access to places which were usually restricted from the common-folk and even high-ranking nobles. It could allow Lux to request for assistance from Dwarf guards and border patrols, especially when it came to certain things that he couldn't handle alone.
Nevreal also handed him another token which signified that Lux was now the Kingdom's Honorary Baronet, which was an upgrade from his Rank of Honorary Knight.
The defense of Leaf Village, in addition to the latest capture of the researchers who were planning to create a Mutant Army that could've threatened the Kingdom, had raised the red-headed teenager's importance in the eyes of the Dwarf King.
This was the reason why he gave the Half-Elf an honorary Baronet Rank, making him one of the nobles of the Dwarven Kingdom.
Since he was too sober to sleep, Lux decided to rummage through the things that he extorted from the researchers. He didn't have time to check them earlier since he was busy helping the mutated Dwarves, in addition to dealing with the members of the Adventurer's Guild who had come to help.
Just as Lux expected, the Alpha Lycan and the lesser Lycans were Dwarves that the researchers had captured.
To his surprise, the Alpha Lycan was a Grade B Apostle, who was also the ace adventurer in Oakwood Town. She went by the name Emma Hewitt, or just Emma for short.
After being reverted to her original form, the Dwarf recognized Lux as her benefactor, even going as far as to declare that she would become the Half-Elf's subordinate from that day onwards.
Lux, of course, rejected her offer, but Emma was too persistent, even going as far as begging on her knees to serve the red-headed teenager in order to return the favor. In the end, the Half-Elf reluctantly agreed, and now, Emma had officially become his first party member.
'Well, having a subordinate isn't a bad thing,' Lux thought. 'Emma seems like an honest person. I'm sure that it will work out… probably."
For the time being, Lux opened the storage rings of the researchers and checked all of their contents.
'How disappointing,' Lux thought. 'All their gold coins combined only amount to nearly a thousand. Is Twilight Rain a cheapskate organization?'
Of course, it was not only gold that Lux looted from the researchers but also weapons and artifacts. However, all of them were just Rare Items and, for the Half-Elf, he no longer thought highly of Rare Items since he was already using Mythical Items.
'Still, they will be useful for transmutation,' Lux mused as he stored the storage rings inside his own storage ring.
Originally, Lux thought of using the Transmutation [EX] skill to transfer abilities to his weapons, armors, and artifacts. However, after gaining Mythical Items, the Half-Elf was very reluctant to use his transmutation skill, thinking that he might find a better item.
For example, if he were to use the transmutation skill to transfer items to a Mythical Item, even if the item became a lot stronger, it was still nothing compared to a Legendary Item. For the Half-Elf, overgearing an item wasn't worth it, but only if its grade was low.
'At least a Legendary Item,' Lux thought. 'I won't mind dumping a lot of abilities on a Legendary Item that will be beneficial in the future. Now, time to check the rewards from the quest.'
Lux had set this matter aside as well and only remembered it after his meeting with Nevreal.
The red-headed teenager opened his Soul Book to see the rewards he gained and hoped that they would be a whole lot better than the scraps he got from the Dwarf researchers.
—---
< Lycan Mutation Project (Completed!) >
– Emergency Quest
– Difficulty Rating: B
– An unknown organization is conducting an experiment within the territory of Oakwood Town. Their goal is to create an army of mutated monsters in order to further their goals of overturning the peace in the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven.
< Quest Objective >
– Find their headquarters and look for documents about the experiments.
– Report this discovery to the Adventurer's Guild, so they can dispatch adventurers to weed out the remaining members of the unknown organization that are lurking within Oakwood Town.
< Optional Quest Objective >
– Find a cure for the mutated Lycans
—--
< Rewards >
1000 Oakwood Town Reputation Points
100 Kingdom of Gweliven Reputation Points
1000 Gold
Lycanthrophy Mutation Perfect Genes (1x)
< Lycanthrophy Mutation Perfect Genes >
– This gene can only be used by a foreigner.
– The Perfect Mutation Genes have no side-effects to the user, and will even strengthen their physical body, and add resistance bonuses.
– Upon consumption, the person will be able to transform into a Lycan at will, and return to their previous form at will.
– The transformed creature will gain certain bonuses including an increase in strength, speed, hearing, as well as raising their rank by one stage.
(Example if a Grade B Apostle were to transform into a Lycan, they would gain the strength of a Grade A Apostle).
—--
'If Emma has no problems transforming into a Lycan, I'll give this to her as a gift,' Lux thought as he looked at the description of the Lycanthropy Mutation Genes. 'Since the gene is safe to use and can even strengthen its user, as long as Emma hasn't developed a trauma from being forced to become a Lycan, this would be the perfect item for her.'
Lux wasn't stingy when it came to people on his side. The Half-Elf already had the Dragon's Blood in his body, so using the mutation gene on himself would be a waste.
The Half-Elf still had the Lycan Serums in his possession, as well as their antidotes. Although he didn't know if they would be useful for him in the future, he decided to keep them for now, not surrendering them to the authorities.
—--
The next day, Lux woke up a little earlier than usual. If not for the fact that Colette had started knocking on his door, even threatening to tear it down, the Half-Elf would have remained in bed for at least another half an hour.
Naturally, he couldn't let the adorable little Dwarf break down the door. Not only would that get them blacklisted by the inn owner, it would also bring down their reputation among the other inns in Oakwood Town.
With no alternative, Lux allowed Colette to drag him and Eiko to the tavern to eat.
To his surprise, Emma was there, waiting for him. The pretty Dwarf with dark-brown hair was happily chatting with Matty and the others while they ate breakfast.
Emma was of the same age as Lux. She was more of a Vagabond Adventurer that had no permanent party, so her rank wasn't that high. However, her experience when it came to fighting even surpassed that of Grade A Apostles, and, perhaps, even matched those of the Initiate Rank.
Lux believed that if Emma were to fight against people who were of the same Rank, all of them would be soundly defeated because of her rich battle experience.
"Sir Lux, good morning," Emma said with a smile as she waved at the Half-Elf who was being pulled in their direction by Colette.
"Good morning, Emma," Lux stated. "There is something important that I'd like to talk to you about later. For now, just enjoy your breakfast."
"Okay." Emma nodded her head before resuming her chat with Matty and the others.
Aside from the pretty dwarf calling him Sir Lux, Emma treated him in a friendly way, and not that of a Master and Servant relationship.
The Half-Elf preferred this type of relationship, rather than a strained one. For him, he wanted to become good friends with Emma, and not treat her as a slave who only followed his orders.
While eating, Colette asked Lux about his plans while he was in Oakwood Town. After being rescued by their Big Brother, the Dragonslayer Party weren't in a hurry to take on new quests for the time being.
"I plan to go to Whitebridge City tomorrow," Lux replied. "Do you remember Nevreal? He said that I need to meet a few people in Whitebridge City who are currently handling the cleanup operations for the organization that attacked you guys."
The mood on the table immediately became serious as they looked at Lux with their undivided attention. Even Emma was no longer smiling and stared at the Half-Elf with a determined look on her face.
"Big Brother, I think this is perfect," Colette said. "Since my sister is based in Whitebridge City, this is a good opportunity for the two of you to meet."
"Um, I can meet her when I'm done with my business in the city."
"Okay. I'll make sure to tell her later of our coming."
A few minutes later, the atmosphere returned to its previous merry state as everyone ate and chatted about random things.
Lux was quite curious about Whitebridge City because it was one of the biggest Dwarven cities in the Kingdom of Gweliven, aside from the Royal Capital.
Colette and Emma told him everything they knew about the Dwarven City, including the upcoming Guild Wars, which was held every two years.
According to the two of them, the winner would become Whitebridge City's number one Guild, which had the privilege of managing the city's defenses, in addition to acquiring leases to prime real estate that were located in the city's center.
These lands were perfect for setting up shops, and other establishments that could give the Guild high profits, which would cause all the major Guilds that were based in Whitebridge City to seek them out.
