Goblin Dependency
Chapter 330 - 174 Dangerous Holiday

Chapter 330: Chapter 174 Dangerous Holiday

Night.

Mist Forest, outskirts.

The flickering orange flames reflected the cold moonlight that filtered through the gaps in the treetops, with the air infused with the forest’s signature gray-white mist.

A pile of campfire, a few sleeping blankets, and four adventurers sitting in a circle, idly.

——An all-too-common adventurer team.

The explosive increase in the number of goblins during Hunting Day, along with their nearly doubled bounty, attracted countless adventurers eager to strike it rich.

Two or three months could be worth a whole year, or even several years, of income.

Even those retired, living a stable life in the town "old guys" sometimes found it hard to resist such temptation.

Over the years, every Hunting Day, they’d close shop and take leave, gather three or five trusted old friends, and head to River Valley Town for some extra income.

For retired adventurers living in the surrounding towns, it’s become a routine.

In a sense, if one overlooks the risks of the mission and the high-pressure environment in the forest.

Every once in a while, they could escape from the complex and trivial family and work life, drink heartily with friends and brothers who have faced life and death together in the tavern, and live for dozens of days without needing to consider anything else.

For the pillars of these families, fathers and husbands, men in their thirties and forties.

Hunting Day is like a dangerous holiday.

"This thing should be turquoise, how much is it worth?"

Illuminated by the firelight, with fingertips filled with dirt in the nail crevices, was a pale green translucent gemstone.

Ben squinted his eyes, his face filled with the joy of the harvest.

As a senior adventurer with many years of experience, he naturally knows the approximate price of such a small stone.

He asked now simply to introduce the topic to follow.

"Estimated sell price could be seven or eight Gold? If you explain to Kukunur’s store, maybe you could negotiate the price up a bit."

They are old friends, naturally aware of his little schemes, and a teammate chimed in.

As expected, as soon as the words fell, Ben instantly showed an extraordinarily proud expression, tightly clenched the turquoise in his palm, claiming credit:

"Told you, grabbing boxes, it’s got to be me!"

"Contributing so much at the card table to Her, [Lady Luck] should definitely favor me a bit more!"

They’ve gained quite a harvest from this adventure.

Not only did they successfully achieve the mission target, clearing a small goblin nest of fifteen goblins, but they also luckily found a small cash box that goblins didn’t know where they had snatched from during the battlefield cleanup.

Counting the mission reward and other miscellaneous loot, dividing among the four, each person would have around 10 Gold in income.

For an adventurer team of their caliber, it can be considered quite substantial.

Which made their mood pretty good on the way back.

Seeing they’ve gradually reached the edge of the forest outskirts, danger significantly reduced, the group finished setting up traps for vigilance but didn’t rush to rest in sleep immediately, instead, they sat around the fire chatting idly.

"Buck, after Hunting Day ends, take some time off, the few of us relax a bit in River Valley Town, treat it as a holiday."

"It’s a pity Full Bag of Gold seemed to be blown up by something recently, or I’d have indulged a bit."

Faced with the proposal from the old teammates, Buck, a robust middle-aged man, initially showed hesitation on his face, then shook his head firmly.

"You guys have fun, I have some matters to attend to at home, won’t delay too much."

All old acquaintances, even if they don’t live in the same city usually, during this period, they’ve more or less become aware of each other’s situations.

Knowing Buck’s business had recent troubles, owing a lot of external debt.

Seeing him refuse, the group didn’t insist, expressing understanding.

Looking at his simple leather armor stained with goblin blood, Ben carefully stored the turquoise in hand.

With a bit of concern in his eyes, he leaned closer and softly said:

"If you really need money, come find me once back in Neum."

"I have a few channels in hand, not saying how much you could earn, but for covering your household’s living expenses, it’s surely enough."

"Of course, regarding specifics... don’t dismiss it, doing what we do, besides taking tasks, to earn quick money, it’s about the only way."

The intention was just to hint slightly, not expecting the settled-down and stable-in-city opponent to agree.

Unexpectedly, Buck did not reject outright, hesitated for a moment, then imperceptibly nodded:

"I’ll consider it, and give you my reply after Hunting Day ends."

Feeling surprised internally, Ben speculated that the opponent’s life seemed far tougher currently than imagined.

For a group of middle-aged men, in their thirties and forties, usually lacking much entertainment.

Even if the conversation initially revolved around their adventure experiences, within just ten minutes, the topic quickly shifted to recent chaos among Neum City’s upper echelon, and matters concerning their children at home.

"Kids’ interests come quickly, leave quickly, is your boy at home still shouting about becoming an adventurer?"

"Sigh, he has been bugging me for nearly half a year now, won’t listen to reason, I plan to start teaching him some basics once back, and about the future... let’s see."