CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 297

"Who are those?" the receptionist asked.

He saw the badge on the boy and understood that he worked on patrol, but he had no idea about the ones that the boy caught.

There were no missions currently about hunting cultists in the base.

If they come across some cultist activities, one has to take action without the need to post a mission beforehand. If they are too strong, relay the information to the base, and a mission would be placed for the swift cleaning of the cultists.

Rock City was a place that was not considered an important place either strategically or resource-wise in the alliance, which made it easy for the receptionist. Still, its lack of importance also made it troublesome for him, as there were not many helpers who could help him with the administrative work.

So, he has to take care of everything, and that means he would have known if there were any missions regarding the capture of cultists or maybe other criminals.

Alliance used the bases to not only give missions regarding cultists but also to hunt other criminals as well.

Many of the criminals help the cultists, due to their greed or maybe for another reason, which makes it difficult for the alliance to keep up with the movements.

Aaron himself stumbled upon an incident like that once.

Slavers hired a group of bandits to kidnap villagers, who were going to sell the villagers to the Cultists.

He was sent by the Academy, although he was not entirely aware of the details. It was by chance that Aaron stumbled on the fact about the slavers. If they had taken away the villagers, Aaron and his group might have missed this detail, which could have saved those slavers and also other bandits in the nearby regions.

From the information he gathered from the bandits and the slavers, which the academy passed to the alliance, they cleaned out multiple bandit hideouts and even some slavers in the process.

This was something Aaron didn’t know, but he hoped that it would happen when he submitted the data recovered from the criminals, which caused losses to the Cults.

So, eliminating criminals is also a priority, even while eliminating cultists is the main priority.

---

The receptionist thought about that, but he couldn’t remember their faces from anywhere.

So, puzzled, he asked Aaron about them.

When Aaron detailed what happened, the receptionist was a bit surprised, but he nodded. Aaron told him that he had tracked them due to the use of a skill. There are many skills like that in the world.

Though not very common, many have tracking skills in their arsenal, especially those in the security department or those who are invested in adventuring.

Usually, when someone gets loot from a dungeon, the items that they gain are lower than what a real-world monster would give out. The amount would be very low. The reason they are in demand is that they provide continuous resources, even if they are lower in quality or quantity.

Also, unlike the significantly changing situations that prevail in the real world, the dungeons remain the same as they were at the beginning. Once the first team maps the dungeon completely, then that would be it.

There would be no changes in the dungeon, except for the loot drop. No one knows what drops where. Sure, the drops would remain the same, but the quantity and quality could change, which was said to be dependent on a person’s luck.

So, many tend to go out if they need resources in a short time. It means they might need tracking skills to track a particular monster or similar targets.

Aaron didn’t inform that he used ghosts, as he had never read anywhere that ghosts can be used like that.

When he first observed the side effect of communicating with his undead over large distances, and even used the undead as relays, he checked the books in the academy library, as this was something he found out in the months after he returned from Duskmist City.

If you are powerful, everything you discover or invent would be a reason for celebration. No one would show any ill intent towards you, even if they were burning inside, but weak people attract greedy eyes.

The greatest sin a weak person can commit is to have a treasure in their hands. Whether it truly belongs to them or not, it matters not, as being weak with a treasure would attract the vultures and snakes to their home.

So, he didn’t say anything about this to anyone. When he was strong, he decided that would be the time to relay this to a few of his trusted ones, especially Lyanna, who is also a Death Professional.

To others, whether he reveals it or not, it doesn’t change anything much anyway. He delayed the information because he didn’t trust her, but he felt that she might say something to someone who shouldn’t hear this.

In any world, one can’t be taken at face value.

---

The receptionist nodded as Aaron described how things went down. The receptionist didn’t question. It was not his place.

If the higher-ups find any problems with the report, then they would find the boy to clear up any inconsistencies. So, no need to check if the boy was telling the truth or not. It would be like adding new work for himself.

"Okay, then, I’ll take them in. Normally, when the imprisoned ones were either criminals or cultists, rewards would be issued. You should understand that this was not from any mission issued, and that means it must be verified before any rewards can be issued.", the receptionist said.

Aaron nodded his head, "I understand, but make sure to find that out. I feel that they have planned for something, and when they saw me, they ran. Whether they have already completed their work before or not, I am not sure", he said.

The receptionist was a bit sceptical about that, but he said, "I’ll note it down".

Aaron nodded and registered the arrests under his name and the temporary badge number. Once verified, he would be notified about the rewards he is eligible to collect.

After arranging everything, Aaron left and returned home.

His patrol time was over, and it was already his last round, when he found those five. It was their misfortune that they were caught in that situation. If they stay away for a few minutes, Aaron might have just left the area and returned home.

They could have completed their mission and earned the rewards promised to them, rather than now suffer in prison until they expire.