Chapter 58: 65 The Rotten Willow Tavern is gone?

Inside the rebuilt Golden Sunwood Tavern.

"I'm telling you guys!

That big black mushroom-man back then, just one punch! One punch!

And it smashed a hole in the ground this—big!

It knocked all of us over."

The green-clad adventurer speaking tried hard to stretch out his arms to gesture the width of the pit so others would understand.

However, it was clear not everyone was buying it. A scruffy-bearded adventurer sneered and questioned:

"A large black mushroom is one thing; there’s a whole bunch of weird walking mushrooms down there now anyway, so it’s not impossible if one really exists.

But you said the sixth floor?

Who doesn't know that walking mushrooms only go up to the fifth floor?

Not to mention the power you described, which clearly exceeds the category of a sixth-floor monster.

I doubt even a tenth-floor monster could cause the kind of commotion you're talking about.

Can you be a bit more moderate with your bragging?

If it's too much, people will see right through it the moment they hear it."

The green-clad adventurer’s face flushed red from the retort. He stepped onto the table and said urgently:

"Everything I said is true, you can go ask my teammates.

If you run to the sixth floor now, you can still see that pit!

Do you dare to bet with me..."

Dylan dug at his ear, feeling that the big black mushroom described by the next table sounded somewhat familiar.

It couldn't be the one he was thinking of, could it?

Forget it, why worry about that.

He smacked his lips and drank the mellow-tasting fine wine in his hand; the flavor was countless times better than the swill at the Rotten Willow Tavern.

But... he really wasn't used to drinking it.

Dylan also felt that he seemed a bit cheap for thinking this way, but it wasn't something he could control.

It had already been three days since he came up.

And the reason he was sitting in the Golden Sunwood Tavern now, instead of the Rotten Willow Tavern, was because—

Cole, that idiot, actually managed to capsize in a gutter!

Someone reported him for stealing equipment from dead adventurers, though no one knew who.

Now the man had been arrested, and the shop was sealed.

Although everyone despised Cole's behavior, if you asked who was happiest, it should be the owner of the Golden Sunwood Tavern.

Dylan even wondered if perhaps he was the one who reported it.

Although the Rotten Willow Tavern was sealed, not everyone could afford long-term consumption at the Golden Sunwood Tavern.

For a time, the bottom-tier adventurers who had lost their place were full of complaints, which put quite a bit of pressure on those above.

It seemed they said they would send someone from the Guild to continue maintaining the Rotten Willow Tavern.

However, everyone didn't really trust that the Guild people could run a tavern well.

In fact, the Guild's reputation in Dumbwind Town had almost hit rock bottom.

Last time, they concealed the resonance, causing heavy casualties among the adventurers.

Although they gave generous compensation afterward, it still couldn't regain the adventurers' trust.

Not to mention, the person currently in charge of managing the Dumbwind Town branch was actually that culprit—Oberon!

Many people didn't understand what those lords in the headquarters were thinking.

Not only did they not lock this guy up, but they even restored him to his post?

For a time, all kinds of rumors spread among the adventurers.

Some said Oberon had a huge network of interests behind him that protected him.

Or perhaps Oberon sent a large piece of S-rank magic crystal to those above to escape the disaster.

And among these rumors, the most ridiculous but most widely spread one was:

Oberon sold his services to the lords at the headquarters for ten consecutive days before he managed to beg back his seat as branch manager through his superior skills.

From the rumors, one could see how much the adventurers disliked this branch manager now.

Dylan didn't care about the schemes above; he only knew that this time, he was afraid he had to compromise and buy wine from the Golden Sunwood Tavern.

After all, having some is better than having none, and he wasn't exactly short on money right now.

He had already sent the Boss's letter and the S-rank magic crystal through the mail network provided by the Guild.

He used the highest-spec red letter; just sending such a letter cost 3 gold coins.

Correspondingly, if the letter failed to reach the other party, the Guild would take full responsibility.

After completing the Boss's entrustment, Dylan went to find an information broker.

He paid a 10-silver deposit, requesting the other party to find out Bella's whereabouts.

Because the Boss gave high wages and paid bonuses frequently, he was actually close to saving up 100 gold again.

It was also time to send this money, which he didn't really need, to his precious daughter.

He had only inquired once before, confirming that his daughter had recovered.

Since then, he hadn't found an opportunity to learn about his daughter's recent situation; coming up this time, he just handled these matters along the way.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one around was paying attention, he quietly sipped a mana potion.

Dylan only hoped that those information brokers could act faster.

——

The reconstruction of the Dumbwind Town Adventurer Guild was a major project.

Even though the magic tide had passed for some time, the Guild had only been half rebuilt.

And this half that was built included the branch manager's office.

The office door was knocked on lightly.

"Enter—" Oberon's slurred voice sounded as if his entire throat had been soaked in a wine vat.

Mirabelle frowned as she looked at the branch manager who was dead drunk in broad daylight.

Oberon's body, which had been corroded by the three-headed snake venom, had long since fully recovered under the effect of the regeneration potion.

It was just that there was a clear color difference between the newly grown skin and the old skin, which looked very strange.

People had already started calling him Two-Face in private.

"Manager, this is the latest dungeon change report."

Mirabelle performed her duties as always.

Oberon glanced at it and asked with a hiccup: "What... what... change is it?"

"A report on the ecological changes caused by the Puji appearing in the first five floors."

"A... again with the Puji, got it! You... go."

Seeing Oberon's state, Mirabelle knew that if she left now, this report would have been written in vain.

"Manager," she deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of these two words, "do you intend to continue being this decadent? Shouldn't you make some achievements now to prove yourself again?"

Mirabelle thought this could persuade Oberon to pull himself together, but she clearly didn't know enough.

Oberon, as if poked in a sore spot, began to complain hysterically:

"Prove myself?

Do you... do you think that they let me return to this position because they still value me?

Think... I still have a chance to make a comeback?

Wrong!

I'm just here to be a target!

All the resentment during the reconstruction will be pushed onto me, and once order is restored here, I will be kicked out immediately!

Haha... Hahaha...

Most likely, I'll be thrown over to the archipelago...

And who knows, I might die in the mist one day.

I'm finished... my life is already over..."

After speaking, Oberon couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Mirabelle on the side anymore.

He gulped down strong liquor, numbing his nerves.

Mirabelle looked at him; he was indeed in a hopeless state.

She could only leave with her dissatisfaction.

As for that report?

Oberon never picked it up to take a look from beginning to end.

He didn't care at all anymore about what would happen to Dumbwind Town and the Amethyst Dungeon.

He just wanted to live a drunken life before being exiled to the archipelago.