Chapter 147 Bounty Quest

Ferren did not care about the trivial matters unfolding behind him. In his view, if Aluka could not even handle such a minor issue, she had no qualifications to travel with him. Since she had chosen to follow his side, she needed to learn how to adapt to trouble, accept trouble, and then resolve trouble.

He walked straight up to the bar and took a seat at an empty spot—the original occupant had already wisely slipped away.

"It seems your woman is quite good at attracting trouble, my guest."

The old man standing behind the bar wiped a glass while glancing at Ferren.

"However, I hope you won't bring trouble here... What would you like to have?"

"Generally speaking, trouble always comes to find me on its own, and I don't mind it either..."

As he spoke, Ferren reached out and produced a black ID card.

"Well then, I'm here simply to see if there are any jobs available."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing Ferren's words, a gleam of light crossed the old man's eyes. He reached out to take the ID card and ran a scan over it. The next instant, the old man's expression turned deathly pale. He raised his head, gazing at Ferren with terror, and then spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

"You are... 'The Doctor'?"

"Clatter!"

Hearing this name, several of the people nearby who had been curiously watching Ferren instantly put some distance between themselves and him. Over on the other side, amidst the wild revelry, many of the people who had been violently swaying and twisting their bodies suddenly froze, turning around in shock to stare in Ferren's direction. In the corner of the tavern, a man who had been pinning a woman against the wall and thrusting rhythmically let out a low gasp and slid right down off the woman's body.

For a moment, the entire tavern fell into an eerie, dead silence—though some oblivious individuals continued to dance frantically, and the crude, low-quality speakers still blared noisy music, the bizarre stillness underneath only made things feel stranger. Even the trembling elf girl looked around in bewilderment, not understanding why the atmosphere had suddenly shifted so drastically.

"Ah... It seems that even when I am away from the underworld, the legends of the underworld still persist. That makes me quite gratified."

Hearing the old man, Ferren merely reached up to adjust the brim of his hat and offered a faint smile.

"That being the case, I suppose communication between us will be quite convenient... Do you mind letting me see what big fish have turned up recently?"

"Of course, 'The Doctor'."

Seeing Ferren's smile, the old man swallowed hard. He then rapidly tapped a few times on the virtual screen before him, and lines of information soon materialized in front of him. After carefully reviewing the contents, he spoke up.

"Well... we do indeed have some high-difficulty bounty missions here... Currently, there are five A-rank missions, three S-rank missions, and one SS-rank mission..."

"Are there any missions related to Familiars?"

Before the old man could elaborate further, Ferren interrupted him and asked directly. Hearing the question, the old man was momentarily stunned before instinctively nodding.

"Ah, yes... We do have one mission related to a Familiar... It's an S-rank mission... Only, no one has ever managed to complete it."

"What are the details?"

Ferren was not surprised by this. When facing Familiars, the majority of humans were utterly powerless. Unless Ferren currently possessed two Familiars like Deling and Franka—especially with Franka being able to morph into any attribute at any time—even he would have to proceed with caution.

"Well... The objective of the mission is to expel a Familiar entrenched in a target location. The reason is that over the past few years, it has repeatedly attacked travelers and caravans, transforming those people into terrifying flesh-and-blood monsters, which severely threatens the safety of the settlement..."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Ferren raised an eyebrow. This was slightly beyond his expectations—not because Familiars wouldn't harm humans, but because, generally speaking, most Familiars avoided human proximity. The pumpkin monster he had encountered earlier at Apricot Blossom Village and the ghouls in the research facility fell into this category. These low-level Familiars lived relatively primitive lives driven by instinct.

Of course, some Familiars did attack humans, but that was usually because humans had strayed into their territory or encountered them by chance, resulting in an accidental conflict. However, if a Familiar launched attacks against humans year after year, it at least indicated that it, like Deling, was a high-ranking Familiar with self-awareness. Only a Familiar capable of independent thought and logical conclusion would persistently repeat the exact same action for so many years. Otherwise, given the unruly, child-like temperament of most Familiars, persisting for two or three months would already be an extreme limit; how could they possibly keep it up for years?

"Do you have any data on this Familiar?"

"Currently, it is only known to possess the necromantic attribute, and there is presumably only one. However, the humans it has transformed have all turned into crazed, blood-thirsty monsters, making it quite troublesome. Several teams have previously gone out to scout for information, but only a handful managed to return alive."

As he spoke, the old man glanced back at the intelligence on his screen.

"The current commission is to investigate the Familiar's activity range as thoroughly as possible, preferably to expel and eliminate it. Failing that, at the very least, gather a certain amount of valuable intelligence. We will offer rewards and compensation based on the value of the information."

"Then, how do you intend to verify whether the Familiar has actually been eliminated or driven away?"

Hearing this, Ferren maintained his smile as he raised another question. After all, Familiars could not truly be permanently destroyed; even if it were eradicated now, logically speaking, that Familiar would eventually resurrect after a certain period. Doing so would be entirely meaningless, which was why Ferren asked. In response to his inquiry, the old man simply shrugged.

"You don't need to worry about that. If your intention is to eliminate the Familiar, the client will personally send someone to accompany you. Once it is confirmed that you have truly destroyed the Familiar, the reward will be paid to you immediately."

"Now that is truly interesting..."

Facing the old man's reply, Ferren narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. Initially, he had assumed the commission was issued simply because the Familiar posed a hazard to the safety of surrounding settlements and needed to be driven out. But looking at it now... it seemed there was more to the story.

Lost in thought, Ferren glanced back at the trembling elf girl behind him.

Well... it was about time to give her a proper lesson.

With that thought, Ferren raised his head, flashed an elegant smile, and gave his reply.

"In that case, I'll take this mission."