https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-301-The-Lion-Constellation-and-the-Archer-Constellation/12933080/
Chapter 302: The Perils of Novel Writing
Chapter 302: The Perils of Novel Writing
Rebi has always been interested in quests related to books.
However, a reward of 200,000 J for simply retrieving a book was already abnormally high, which was why Rebi hesitated for an entire day.
But today, she learned that someone else had taken the quest, and the reward had increased to 2 million.
This made Rebi feel a bit...relieved.
Although she was reluctant, quests with such high rewards were usually beyond her capabilities.
Accepting it rashly could have led to unpredictable consequences.
Mila encouraged her, "Let's find another suitable one."
Loki had already retreated to a corner, wiping away cold sweat. He quietly slipped away when no one was looking.
Lucy, a true Star Spirit Mage, was one thing, but why was Rod, the fake Star Spirit Mage, summoning the Gate of Leo?
The atmosphere in the guild was becoming unbearable.
"Over here, two beers!"
"Coming..." Rod delivered two drinks, "Makarov, your injuries haven't fully healed, and you're here drinking?"
"These injuries are nothing!"
"But you got hurt by Vulcan, and you still have the nerve to boast?" Wakaba blew out a puff of smoke and laughed, slapping the table, "Pathetic, Makarov!"
Rod glanced at him. When Makarov was missing, you had the gloomiest face, but now that he's back, you're the one mocking him the most?
"What did you say? 18 of them, I defeated 18!" Makarov stood up, leaning forward, "If it were you, maybe 17! No, 16!"
Wakaba also stood up, their foreheads touching, "I could take on at least 19, no, 20!"
"16!"
"20! Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're injured!"
"15! Don't think you can compare to me just because I'm injured!"
"21!"
"14!"
"Is this some new kind of auction?" Rod didn't bother with them, sensing that this argument wouldn't escalate today.
...
Three days passed in a flash.
"Partial Reception: Mountain Dragon Claw!"
Rod flexed his dragon claws to get a feel for them, then clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground, "Mountain Fist!"
Boom! A crack formed in the ground, extending from the center of the guild courtyard all the way to the entrance.
Rod wasn't satisfied and adjusted his force, punching again.
This time, the crack was shorter, but the effect was a spiderweb-like pattern around his fist, and the ground beneath was shattered.
"It feels a bit off, is this brute strength?"
Rod carefully inspected the walls; although they were intact, this type of technique was indeed unsuitable for practice in the courtyard.
"I'll fix the ground... Full Reception: Mountain Dragon!"
"Earth Magic... Sense the earth's magical power, the strength of the land, combine!"
The broken ground merged back together, but a small mound of dirt rose, as tall as a calf.
The initial crack also closed, forming another mound.
"I still tend to use too much force." Rod shook his head and released the Reception Magic; it was time to get to work.
Just this brief Full Reception wasn't too exhausting.
As Rod entered, he saw Lucy complaining to Mila about not receiving her payment, "Lucy, you're back? Where are Natsu and Happy?"
"Over there." Lucy pointed weakly; Natsu and Happy were causing a ruckus in the bar as if nothing had happened.
Lucy was a bit disheartened as this was her first official quest, and she hadn't received any payment.
"What happened?" Rod naturally sat down next to Mila.
Mila prepared a towel and water for him.
"Actually..." Lucy began, and proceeded to recount the details of their quest.
It turned out that the client, Kaby Monro, was the son of the renowned novelist Kaym Saroe (Renqua Monro).
This quest was to erase a stain from his father's writing career.
— Kaym Saroe had once been imprisoned by Duke Albear for three years and was forced to write a novel with the Duke as the protagonist.
He then wrote the book 'Dawnbreak'.
After being released, he claimed that he had written a terrible novel, cut off the hand he used to write, and soon after, passed away in despair.
Kaby believed that the existence of this book was an insult to his father, so he wanted to burn it.
But Lucy unlocked the magic hidden within the book, rearranging all the words, transforming 'Dawnbreak' into 'Dear Kaby'.
The content changed from a terrible story into a letter to his son, and Kaby accepted the book, considering it his father's best work.
"That's how it went. The client increased the reward and changed the request from 'retrieving the book' to 'destroying' it."
Then Natsu said that since the book wasn't destroyed, the quest wasn't completed, and considering the guild's reputation, we couldn't accept the reward."
Two million! Although Lucy could understand Natsu's decision, she still felt a pang of sadness.
"I've read one of Kaym Saroe's works. I never imagined he went through something like that."
While Rod had been filling in the gaps in his common knowledge, he also took the time to learn about literature. Although he hadn't read many books, he had read some works by famous authors.
"Being a novelist is indeed dangerous. You might end up locked up by your readers, demanding new chapters, and they won't even feed you if you can't deliver."
"That's an extreme case!" Lucy felt a sense of dread, as she had also been secretly writing a novel... Would she encounter such a crazy person in the future?
"Hopefully not." Rod asked again, "What about the Duke? Doesn't illegal imprisonment exceed the privileges granted to the nobility?"
"We helped Mr. Kaby gather some evidence, and the Hilo City Government plans to investigate him. And since he's a Mage, the Council Chamber will also get involved."
Lucy and Natsu did a great job wrapping up the matter.
However, Lucy felt a bit dejected, "My first job..."
Mira offered some comfort, "Although you didn't get the reward, Lucy got to read an amazing work first. Isn't that great?"
"That's true," Lucy agreed. Witnessing this great work filled with love was indeed an honor.
"But I was also looking forward to completing the quest and asking you, Mira, for the secret to Rod's strength."
"What secret?"
"The secret to how Rod became stronger. Happy said that Rod entrusted it to you."
Rod was perplexed, "I have a secret to my strength? How come I don't know about it?"
"Did they lie to me?!" Lucy wanted to confront them.
Mira thought for a moment, "If you insist, then yes, there is."
"What? What is it?"
"Wait a moment." Mira searched and produced three pieces of paper, "Here they are."
Lucy eagerly took them, "Push-ups, sit-ups, meditation, long-distance running, magic practice... What's this?"
"Rod's training schedule. The initial version, the extreme training version, and the later revised version are all here."
"But... The first one is still within the realm of hardship, but the second and third... Won't this intensity kill a person?"
(End of Chapter)
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