Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

"This...this is too valuable..." she whispered, her fingers hovering in mid-air, wanting to take it but hesitant. "A single scroll sells for at least ten gold coins on the market, and these three..."

"Take it if I give it to you." Lance curled his lip and shoved the scroll into her hand. "Otherwise, what if you get captured someday and they use you to threaten me into surrendering? Do you think I'll not save you, or not?"

Cielsa chuckled, "You're right, sir."

She gripped the reel tightly and nodded vigorously:

"Thank you, Lord Lance!"

"Alright, put it away." Lance waved his hand and put the remaining scrolls into his dimensional pocket.

He doesn't plan to sell it.

Thanks to the generous donations from various "good Samaritans" such as Baron Yordle, the Blood Wolf Gang, the Bone Shatterer Gang, and the Grey Rat Gang, Lance now has more than three thousand gold coins in reserves and will not be short of money in the short term.

Rather than selling the scrolls for money, it's better to keep them to enhance our own combat capabilities for unforeseen circumstances.

Moreover... one of the prerequisites for becoming a qualified mage is to carry at least a backpack full of spell scrolls.

For the next seven days, Lance lived an extremely regular life.

At night, he transforms into a scavenger in the shadows of Rield City, his experience points increasing rapidly and steadily—only torment the gang members entrenched in various locations.

In just seven days, another twenty-two small and medium-sized gangs disappeared from the city, their strongholds burned to the ground.

During the day, he buried himself in copying scrolls. One spell scroll after another was created: offensive spells like [Magic Missile] and [Burning Hand]; defensive spells like [Mage Armor] and [Shield]; support spells like [Grease] and [Invisibility]; escape spells like [Grease Your Feet] and [Feather Fall]...

The rolls in the other-dimensional pocket quickly became plentiful.

During this time, Lance also had to "feed" a certain little glutton—Celsa seemed to have a certain degree of addiction to close contact, and always found various reasons to rub against him.

Life is becoming more and more fulfilling.

……

[Killed 27 level 0 human, gained 135 experience point!]

[Slayed 1 Level 1 Human Wanderer, gained 25 experience points!]

[Killed 30 level 0 human, gained 150 experience point!]

[Killed 2 Level 1 Human Warrior! Gained 60 Experience Points!]

[Killed 20 level 0 humans! Gained 100 experience points!]

[Killed 1 Level 1 Human Warrior! Gained 30 Experience Points!]

On the seventh night, after Lance had wiped out three more gangs, a notification popped up on the panel:

[Phase 3 Mission: "Eliminate as many Rilder City gangs as possible within one week" has been completed!]

[Mission Progress: 24 gangs, totaling 1091 people]

[Task Rating: Excellent]

[Task Rewards: Based on your progress, you will receive the following rewards:]

Second-level spell - Intermediate Dimensional Pocket: Capacity increased to 5000 catties, volume not exceeding 5 cubic meters.

Second Circle Spell - Lesser Elemental Bomb: You channel life energy from within, creating and launching a shimmering ball of energy from your palm. Targets a creature within 120 meters and delivers a ranged spell attack to that target.

This attack is guaranteed to hit within range, dealing 32 points of force field damage to the target.

Lance's panel has now changed to:

Name: Lance

[Race: Half-elf]

[Faction: Chaotic Good]

【Occupation: Arcanist】

[Level: 3]

Experience points: 520/3000

[Arc: 25/25]

[HP: 36/36]

--property--

【Strength: 14】

[Agility: 15]

[Physical Fitness: 15]

【Intelligence: 19】

【Perception: 17】

【Charm: 19】

——Specialty——

[Copy Scroll] [Spellcasting Material-Free] [Arcane Echo]

[Fast Copying: Reduces copying time by half.]

—Spell—

[Zero-ring spells: Magic Trick, Fire Arrow, Tremor Shock, Preemptive Strike, Mana Burst, Tranquil Mist, Blade Burst, Aard Sign, Death Knell, Thunderclap...]

[First-level spells: Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Grease, Basic Dimensional Pocket, Invisibility, Slip Away from the Foot, Charm, Healing Mantra, Holy Slash, Featherfall...]

[Second-Circle Spells: Giant Growth/Shrinking, Magic Rope, Bear's Tenacity, Bull's Strength... Intermediate Dimensional Pocket, Lesser Spirit Bomb.]

After seven days of grinding, Lance successfully leveled up to level 3 and learned a large number of second-circle spells.

"Hmm—" Lance turned off the panel and stretched.

Come back home.

"Lord Lance!" Cielsa ran over, wearing... a rather peculiar maid outfit.

The dark black fabric was cut perfectly, with the hem only reaching the upper thigh. It was trimmed with white lace, and the neckline was much lower than that of a typical maid's outfit, revealing a patch of fair skin.

Her long, silver-gray hair was tied into pigtails, and her purple eyes shimmered under the light.

"You're back~" Cielsa twirled around, her skirt billowing in the air. "I bought this while shopping today, and then I altered it myself. Does it look good?"

Lance raised an eyebrow.

"It looks good," Lance said, pressing his thumb and forefinger against his chin, "but this style doesn't look like work clothes."

"Oh, it's not like they only have one set of clothes. They can wear something else for work, right?"

"Besides, this outfit wasn't originally designed for work."

Cielsa leaned closer and took Lance's arm. "What's it for? You're so clever, can't you figure it out, Master?"

Her fragrance wafted over, and Lance could feel the soft touch of her against his arm, as well as her slightly warm body temperature.

……

News of the successive destruction of twenty-five gangs, including the Blood Wolf Gang, the Shattered Bone Gang, and the Gray Rat Gang, spread rapidly throughout Rild City.

The residents of Rild City noticed that the thugs who used to extort protection money on the streets had disappeared, and the alleyways seemed safer at night.

But it's only "seemingly".

New gangs will always emerge; it's only a matter of time. But until then, the civilians here can at least catch their breath.

The city guards did not comment on this.

The sheriffs tacitly classified multiple family annihilation cases as "fire incidents caused by gang infighting," and wrote perfunctory reports.

Occasionally, when younger team members raise questions, the veterans will retort with a question like, "Do you want to investigate mages or nobles?"

……

The study in the Lord's mansion of Rield.

Graham Ironfist – Lord of Rield City, Level 12 Warrior, the only professional in the city to have entered the "Path of the Exemplary".

At that moment, he was reviewing recent security reports.

He was about fifty years old, with a towering, mountain-like physique. Even wearing a loose silk robe, he couldn't hide his bulging muscles.

His gray hair was cut very short, and he had a meticulously trimmed beard. His gray eyes were sharp as an eagle's.

"The gangs in the city are being wiped out repeatedly. Do you have any clues?" he asked without looking up.

"A paladin has arrived?"