CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 128: ON THE HOUSE

Inside of the Adventurer’s Guild.

The Guild was buzzing with people chatting, filling out papers, and checking mission boards when suddenly the main doors swung open and silence spread like a wave as every eye turned to see a dirt-covered boy step inside, his cloak slightly torn, mud on his boots, scratches on his cheeks—and in his arms, a massive beast egg twice the size of a normal one, resting carefully on the counter in front of the wide-eyed receptionist.

A few adventurers gasped loudly, one even dropping their drink as the receptionist just stood frozen, her mouth half-open, not even reaching for her stamp, just staring at the egg .

Axelius leaned on the counter, completely ignoring the stares, and smiled innocently while brushing a leaf off his shoulder, "Hi. I’d like to report a successful quest."

The receptionist blinked twice, still unable to process anything, while the crowd behind started murmuring in shock.

"Is that a... no way, that’s a skyclaw egg?"

"Who the hell is this kid?"

"Look at his clothes... did he roll down a mountain to get it?"

"Alright, alright, I’m kinda busy so hurry up the form, please," Axelius said, waving his hand a little as he leaned on the counter again, the heavy grizzly egg still resting beside him like it was just some oversized rock he found on the way home.

The receptionist snapped out of her daze and stuttered quickly, grabbing the papers with shaky hands, "Y-Yes! O-One moment, young master,"

More murmurs rose from the nearby adventurers, their curiosity only growing as they watched.

"Wait... he’s back already?"

"It’s not even a full day since he left!"

"No way, man. He probably faked it. C’mon, he’s a noble, right? They can just throw money or people to do the work for them."

"Yeah, what do you think? You think a noble brat survived hordes of Fellfang Grizzlies alone?"

A few of them laughed, shook their heads, and turned back to their drinks or boards, deciding it wasn’t worth wasting time on some young noble trying to get attention.

But then Millie stepped forward. "Congratulations, young master. It seems you completed it without much trouble."

Axelius smiled and waved lazily, "Yup. Thanks, Millie."

The receptionist cleared her throat and returned with his card, holding it carefully between her fingers, "Uhm... t-this is your official guild card now, young master. Bronze rank issued."

Axelius frowned as he took the card, flipping it in his fingers, unimpressed. "Bronze?" he muttered, then raised a brow and tapped the gray bag that had been resting by his foot. "Why is this bronze? I also brought the grizzly tusks. All of them."

"H-Huh?" the receptionist blinked in confusion, then looked down and noticed the bag for the first time. She slowly pulled it closer, opening the flap—and immediately gasped.

Inside were dozens—no, hundreds—of large, curved tusks, each stained with faint blood and still warm with aura, all belonging to the Fellfang Grizzlies.

"T-This is... this is the whole horde’s tusks?!"

Axelius just grinned, leaning in with a slight tilt of his head, "Yup. So, just do the work, I’ll wait."

Millie gently chuckled behind him, while the murmurs in the guild started rising again—but this time, less disbelief and more... disbelief mixed with panic.

"He took the whole horde out?!"

"What kind of noble kid is this?!"

As the receptionist scurried off with his guild card to be processed, a tall man in dark armor approached the desk, the heavy clink of his boots echoing across the quieting hall. He stopped in front of the gray bag, looked at it, then at the grinning Axelius.

His brows drew low as he reached out, flipping the flap open slightly to peer inside. "...This many tusks," the man muttered. "There’s no mistake. It’s the whole horde."

Then his eyes narrowed sharply at Axelius. "You’re a manaless Dravenhart. How can this be?"

Axelius leaned forward slightly, one elbow on the counter, his grin widening just enough to show teeth. "Skills," he said simply,

Before the man could respond, the receptionist returned—this time with an older man, the examiner. His expression was unreadable as he made his way to the counter. The moment he reached the gray bag, he pulled on a thick glove and reached inside, pulling out one of the tusks.

A brief pulse flickered in the air, barely noticeable, but Axelius saw it. The man opened his eyes and stared at Axelius, his once neutral face now a hint more serious.

"It’s true," he said to the receptionist. "All of them hold his mark. He’s the one who took them down."

The receptionist blinked, startled, then nodded and rushed away to continue the card processing.

The armored man beside Axelius stepped back a little, unsure.

"...How did you do it, kid?" the examiner asked now, placing the tusk back in the bag carefully.

Axelius shrugged, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. "Mana isn’t everything," he replied. "That’s all you need to know."

The examiner narrowed his eyes but didn’t press further. "You also cleared another request listed on the board. The Fellfang territory was marked as a restricted zone, and now it’s cleared."

He stood up, signaling to two guild staff nearby. "You’ll be rewarded, Wait here. I’ll bring your bonus. And I’ll take the tusks."

He gestured to the receptionist to lift the gray bag—both of them grunting under the sheer weight—and then turned, walking away with the bag over his shoulder.

The crowd around the guild hall was silent.

All eyes were on Axelius,

the examiner returned, stepping back into the hall with the receptionist behind him. She walked straight to Axelius, hands respectfully extended as she offered the new guild card.

It gleamed in the torchlight. Gold Rank.

Axelius stared at it for a second, holding it up like he was checking if it was real gold or not, turning it left and right, then finally gave a satisfied nod. "Nice."

Then came the heavy pouch of reward coins—gold, packed and jingling. Axelius didn’t count them, just weighed it in his hand and smiled wider.

He turned to the receptionist, plucked a single gold coin, and slid it across the desk toward her.

"Let’s keep what happened here between us," he said with a wink. "No loudmouth reports. You know what I mean."

The receptionist’s face turned red, both from the wink and the coin. She nodded stiffly, unsure whether to speak or faint.

Then Axelius turned toward the examiner and tapped his fingers on the desk once. "I’m sure you get it."

Before the man could answer, Axelius casually flicked another gold coin into the air and caught it. He raised his voice as he turned to the room.

"ON THE HOUSE! Drinks for everyone! Eat, drink, and shut up about the manaless noble who cleared a Fellfang nest alone!"

A beat.

Then chaos.

Cheers erupted across the guild hall. Men and women jumped from their seats, slapping tables and raising mugs.

"Free drinks?!"

"YEEEAAAAAH!"

"LONG LIVE THE DRAVENHART!"

"DRINKS! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

"MORE BEER!"

Barrels were rolled out. Mugs were tossed into the air. The tavern side of the guild burst into full celebration like it was a festival night. Adventurers shouted orders, some patted each other on the back, and others looked at Axelius with a mix of fear, respect, and straight-up confusion.

Axelius just leaned back against the counter, arms crossed, looking around like he owned the place.