My inventory is full of monster materials.

The guild's second-floor lobby.

Compared to Mark's nighttime visit with Felix two months ago, the second floor presents a completely different scene during the day.

The crystal chandelier was still dazzling and colorful, and the hall was still filled with melodious music, but the adventurers present were different!

At the service counter, an adventurer was talking quietly with the receptionist, while groups of adventurers were scattered in booths, some resting and some having private conversations.

Their weapons and equipment were completely different from the poor and crude cobbled-together items on the first floor. Without exception, they were all custom-made and of excellent quality, gleaming with a well-maintained luster.

There were warriors wearing runic armor and carrying greatswords on their shoulders; every breath they took carried a heavy, oppressive feeling, like that of a bull.

There was a dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing a helmet with deer antlers and his face painted with totem patterns. Beside him were three white wolves chasing and playing with each other.

There was also an old man wearing a pointed soft hat and holding a staff inlaid with dazzling sapphires, who was discussing the details of the mission in a low voice with his companion;

...

Each of them exuded the aura of a powerful figure, and some even gave Mark the feeling of Felix after his job change.

Compared to her, Henry is practically a little girl here.

"This way, please."

Vanessa's voice brought Henry and the others back to reality.

She didn't stay in the lobby for long. She just gave some instructions to the staff at the front desk, then smiled and led them through the side corridor to a heavy solid wood door.

Vanessa turned to the side and gestured.

"Please come in, everyone."

Henry gave a soft "hmm," stepped forward, turned the brass doorknob, and pushed the door open.

The quiet conversation inside the room abruptly stopped, and Henry paused almost imperceptibly when he saw the scene before him.

This is a conference room decorated in a solemn and luxurious style.

Facing you is a large, dark red solid wood oval table, with oil paintings depicting heroic epics hanging on the walls and a soft, thick gray carpet under your feet.

Although the invitation mentioned the importance of the meeting, Henry did not expect it to be of such a high standard.

In particular, at the head of the long table sat a blonde woman who looked like a guild steward.

This person was Madeleine Gwennaville.

At this moment, Madeline, without a smile, looked up at Henry at the door and casually gestured to her left.

"Come in and have a seat."

Immediately, the "White Eagle" team filed in and took their seats on the left side of the long table, while one person sat and another stood on the right side.

The person sitting in the seat was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his late thirties or forties and wore a simple dark robe.

His face was thin, but his eyes were focused, and he had the air of a scholar, as well as a faint smell of herbs.

Standing behind him was a young man with brown hair, wearing full steel armor, who stood upright against the wall, maintaining the solemnity of a knight.

But Mark keenly noticed that the young knight's armor seemed excessively shiny, with obvious signs of manual polishing, and that it had only been polished and not cast, resulting in armor plates as thin as paper.

As the "White Eagle" team quietly settled into their seats, Vanessa gently closed the door from the outside.

The heavy wooden door shut out all outside noise, and the room immediately fell into an extreme silence.

Madeline placed her hands on the table, glanced at the cautious Henry and the others, paused for a moment on Mark, and then spoke.

"I am Madeline Gwennaville, the steward of the Adventurers' Guild, and the host of this meeting. I invited your 'White Eagle' team to attend today because someone has made a special request to you."

Designated commission?

Mark, Emily, and Brady were a little confused, while Henry looked thoughtful.

Before they could react, Madeline continued her story.

"This commission was assigned to your 'White Eagle' team by Mr. Clyde Sharp, the chief pharmacist of 'Glowing Herbalist Shop'. I will witness whether you agree or not."

As soon as he finished speaking, Clyde, sitting on the right side of the long table, naturally picked up the conversation.

"Greetings, everyone from 'White Eagle.' You can call me Clyde. I believe you're not unfamiliar with me, after all, we've had two 'transactions' before."

"So you're that pharmacist."

Henry remembered that the team had previously taken on two missions to collect complete slime cores, and the requirement of "complete cores" was particularly important.

But before Henry could even gather his thoughts, Clyde impatiently asked the question first.

"Before we get to the main point, may I ask how you obtained the complete Slime Core?"

Henry was about to answer when Mark, who was sitting next to him, suddenly interrupted.

"Trade secrets".

"?"

Madeline frowned and glanced at Mark, whose expression was indifferent.

Clyde was equally puzzled, because Henry was listed as the captain in the records.

"Who are you?"

"mark."

"Mark! Oh, it's you."

Immediately, Clyde gave a knowing look and said...

"You're the adventurer who provided me with 'sufficient' materials twice?"

"Uh-huh..."

Mark and Clyde exchanged knowing glances, the scene resembling Andy Lau and Big Fool discussing "surrender and lose half the game".

They were referring to the fact that during both slime missions, Mark would sell extra complete cores directly to Clyde through Vanessa.

To some extent, this is direct sales from the manufacturer, bypassing middlemen and their markups.

Madeline, sitting in the main seat, shifted her gaze suspiciously between Mark and Clyde.

They've only just met, so why are they exchanging glances? Is this some kind of unspoken understanding between men?

After this little incident, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and Clyde tactfully remarked.

"I understand your trade secrets and am willing to pay for a 'Basic Life Potion,' how about it?"

Immediately afterwards, Madeline tapped the crystal ball next to her with her finger as a gesture.

"The entire meeting was recorded, and the guild can guarantee that."

"..."

Mark then fell silent.

The so-called trade secret is nothing more than obtaining the complete core of the slime through the "shattered ice" reaction.

But to say how valuable this intelligence is... not necessarily.

In reality, it's not that other spellcasters haven't discovered similar methods, but their status is already too high, so they don't need to specifically deal with low-level monsters like slimes.

Moreover, it's unlikely that you'll happen to encounter a situation like Clyde's, where a mission is issued in dire need of materials.

Therefore, it is a twist of fate that they are able to meet Clyde today.

Why not give them face and in return for a sincere cooperation?

Mark had a final draft in mind.

Henry, Emily, and Brady, standing nearby, all followed Mark's lead.

Mark then temporarily took over as captain and spoke out.

"It wasn't any special technique; I just happened to have mastered the level 0 spell 'Freezing Ray,' so I froze those slimes and then slowly chipped open the ice shells to extract their cores."

After saying that, Mark deliberately raised his right hand, and a ball of cold air gathered in his palm.

"I knew it. No wonder I always felt so cold when I collected the materials."

Clyde agreed with Mark's statement, and lifted a corner of his robe to pick out a berry-red test tube from the colorful array of potion belts, placing it on the table and pushing it forward.

Roll~ Roll~

Henry across from him gently pressed down with his large hand to stop the test tube from rolling. His throat was dry, and he swallowed with great difficulty.

10 gold coins, yours!