My inventory is full of monster materials.

"Hey! Brother Mark!"

A cheerful voice suddenly came from the window seat in the hotel lobby.

Mark looked up and saw Brady waving his hand high and shouting loudly.

"Over here! Over here!"

"Here you are."

Mark smiled and agreed, picked up the mead on the table, leaving a clump of breakfast, and quickly walked over.

As he approached the table, he noticed that there was another person sitting next to Brady.

Emily was doing her morning recitation.

Unlike her usual morning prayers with her hands clasped together, Emily now placed her fair, soft palms on a holy book with a gilded cover and the emblem of dawn, and silently recited the prayer, her expression devout and focused.

Mark turned his head to look at Brady again.

This red-haired kid still couldn't shake his habit of not dressing properly; his skinny body, covered in scars, was bound with an "X"-shaped belt.

The damaged insect-shell-like arm armor has been replaced with a gleaming steel arm armor, with each segment of the armor plate tightly connected, extending from the arm all the way to the palm, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, like a metal arm.

Mark understood, and a smile appeared on his lips.

He had earned a lot of gold coins from the last mission, so it was normal for everyone to upgrade their equipment. But what made him even happier was that the fragrant grilled sausages and buttered bread in front of them didn't cost him a penny.

Mark pulled up a chair and sat down, joking with a smile.

"Wow! Your new arm armor looks pretty impressive. Where did you get it?"

Brady scratched his head, a mixture of smugness and pain on his face:

"The blacksmith's shop had a rare item; I haggled for ages, but they wouldn't lower the price. It cost me a full 15 gold coins!"

Mark was somewhat surprised.

"The Forge Blacksmith Shop? Didn't you and Henry always frequent that... old blacksmith shop? Why did you change locations?"

"well--"

Brady sighed heavily, his eyes filled with regret.

"Don't even mention it, that shop went out of business. I don't know what happened, I can't find anyone here. My dad was always so good to me."

Mark nodded, not taking it too seriously, and changed the subject.

"Where's Henry? Why didn't I see him come today?"

"I don't know. When I ran into him this morning, he said he was going to pick something up somewhere far away."

Brady shrugged, then suddenly leaned close to Mark and made a shushing gesture.

"Let's not talk about that for now, brother. Calm down and listen carefully."

After saying that, Brady leaned back and listened attentively, gesturing for Mark to join him.

Mark was full of doubts, but he patiently did as he was told.

Then, the sound of two or three customers chatting away came from the next table.

"Have you heard? The dragon from the Golan Forest is returning for revenge!"

"Revenge my ass! My father told me that the dragon from thirty years ago was black, but this one is white; they're not the same dragon at all!"

"Maybe it's someone's spouse coming for revenge?"

...

Mark looked helpless, but inwardly he thought to himself, "So you red-haired kid have this kind of fetish?"

Seeing the doubt in Mark's eyes, Brady quickly waved his hand and silently pointed behind him, indicating that he should continue listening.

"Did you go see the Adventurers' Guild's triumphant return ceremony yesterday? It was absolutely breathtaking!"

"Of course they went! A bronze-level adventure team actually dared to hunt down ogres, and they actually succeeded! That adventure team was called... White Eagles? Yes, White Eagles!"

"Really? There aren't even any professionals doing this, how could it be possible?"

"Why would I lie to you! There are only four people in their team. Apart from the captain who looks a bit older, the other three are all under twenty. They're truly young heroes!"

"I'll let you in on a secret, I know that red-haired adventurer!"

"Really? Tell me quickly!"

"My uncle's son's friend owns a dog from his village. So, do you think I know him?"

...

Upon hearing this, Brady slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath as if he had inhaled a nitric acid pump, and his face instantly revealed an expression of extreme pleasure and comfort.

Mark looked at Brady's expression and didn't know what to say for a moment.

But upon closer reflection, they realized that they had unknowingly become the subject of boasting among passersby, and glory had suddenly become so concrete and vivid.

Ding-dong~

A tall figure pushed open the door and entered.

Henry looked around and immediately saw Mark and his two companions by the window. He smiled and greeted them familiarly.

"You're all here! Perfect, I need to talk to you about something!"

Henry strode to the table and sat down, slamming a stack of things carefully wrapped in oil paper onto the table.

Then, he carefully pulled out a white envelope with an eagle-shaped sealing wax print from the gap in his breastplate, waved it in his hand, and said with a delighted expression.

"Felix replied to us!"

Having learned from his previous experience, Henry did not rush to open the envelope this time. Instead, he placed it on the table and carefully removed the sealing wax.

The expected scene of the mouth turning into a paper mouth with a "pop" did not occur.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, but Mark took the initiative, picked up the envelope, unfolded it, and began to read aloud.

"My dearest friend, Henry. I'm sorry I didn't use phonograph paper, because it's too expensive. This time I can only use regular paper..."

As the contents of the letter were read aloud, everyone learned that Henry had sent it before accepting Clyde's mission.

Felix specially wrote a letter to encourage and support them. Although this sentiment came a little late, it warmed the hearts of everyone in the team.

After exchanging pleasantries, the letter abruptly changed the subject, bringing up another matter.

"The Anderson family has recently encountered a distressing situation, but it presents an opportunity for you. I have already spoken with the family..."

It turns out that the Anderson family's Drappell Estate originally had a shipment of high-end cherry wine destined for Reivaville, but it was robbed by a group of gnolls while passing through the Dragonspine Mountains.

This shipment is extremely valuable and cannot be lost. Felix's sister is assembling a mercenary team to wipe out the gnolls.

Upon learning the news, Felix immediately recommended Henry to his family and received a promise that the Anderson family would provide a 'War Emblem' if the mission was successfully completed.

Upon hearing this, Henry's pupils dilated suddenly, his hands clenched into fists, and his excitement was palpable.

But Mark noticed that Felix only mentioned Henry in the letter, not the "White Eagles" squad.

Mark suppressed his doubts and continued reading.

"...Talia and I are thinking of buying a skill book for each of the younger members of the team. Don't feel embarrassed, we earn and spend gold coins, a few skill books are nothing..."

As the last word was written, Mark slowly put down the letter in his hand.

Henry, Emily, and Brady all took a deep breath—letters from distant relatives and friends always brought them such warmth.

Brady couldn't contain himself any longer and quickly unwrapped the oil paper package on the table. Inside were three skill books with different colored covers, neatly stacked.

The red-haired kid has improved; he's not just thinking about himself anymore.

Instead, he first handed Mark a skill book with a blue cover, then handed Emily a skill book with a yellow cover, and finally picked up his own red-covered skill book, stroking the cover repeatedly.

Mark's fingers gently traced the cover of the blue skill book, on which were clearly printed:

Model and Ritual of the First Ring Spell - Frostbolt