Phi-Fic Chapter 60: Settlement of Gains
Chapter 60: Settlement of Gains
Cecilia, hiding in the grass, stared wide-eyed.
She had never imagined that killing monsters could be so simple—almost like chopping vegetables—yet carried such a steady rhythm.
“S-so… amazing.”
Lying prone in the grass, the girl murmured unconsciously.
The battle continued.
As time passed, this kind of high-intensity repetitive combat placed terrifying strain on stamina.
Yet Lance was like a tireless perpetual machine—his precision did not drop in the slightest.
Until the final Stone-Shell River Crab twitched and died beneath his blade, the riverbank finally returned to silence.
Aside from the scattered shells and severed limbs on the ground, the number of monsters slain by Lance had reached twenty-three.
Lance stepped out from the rock crevice, shaking his slightly sore arm and letting out a long breath.He summoned the system panel.
The first thing that caught his eye was the improvement in swordsmanship.
【Castro Swordsmanship LV4 (26/400)】
In just this one battle, proficiency had surged by 26 points—combat gains far exceeded the dullness of training.
Next came the greatest reward of this trip.
【System Notification: Stone-Shell River Crab Research Progress +22】
【Biological Research Level Up: LV1 → LV2】
【Unlocked Racial Trait: Weakness Insight (Stone-Shell River Crab)】
Lance glanced at the corpses on the ground, and red markers immediately appeared within his field of vision.
Beyond the eyestalks and joints, even the seams along the abdominal shell were highlighted.
However, what disappointed him slightly was the commission settlement.
【Commission Completed: Exterminate Stone Crab Shoals (15/15)】
【Reward Gained: Skill Experience 90】
“As expected, there’s a cap…”
Lance rubbed his chin.
Even though he had killed twenty-three, the reward only counted the required fifteen.
The extra eight kills provided no additional skill experience—only sword proficiency and materials.
“Looks like in the future, I should pick extermination tasks with higher quotas to make it worthwhile.”
Lance mentally noted this rule.
He also realized that while fighting alone was stable, efficiency was ultimately limited by his attack speed.
If he wanted to fully utilize multiple commissions, he needed to quickly train the rookie crouching in the bushes.
Only when two people worked simultaneously would monster-clearing efficiency truly double.
“This week’s extermination tasks will all be focused on Stone Crab Shoals.”
Looking at the chaotic battlefield around him, Lance quickly made his decision.
This was just a small stretch of shoal at the edge of Copper Creek Forest, yet it already had such a dense concentration of monsters.
Along the entire riverbank, there were dozens of similar rocky shoals suitable for crab habitation.
More than enough for him to farm to his heart’s content.
He took one last look at the Biological Research panel.
【Current Research Progress: LV 2 (3/50)】
At this pace, a week was more than sufficient. He could definitely complete LV3, reach LV4, and then extract the racial talent of the Stone-Shell River Crab.
Lance nodded in satisfaction, preparing to wrap up.
By now, the sun overhead had begun to tilt westward. Golden-red afterglow spilled across the riverbank, casting a faintly melancholic beauty over the messy battlefield.
He still needed to hurry and finish the remaining two gathering tasks—and also process the valuable materials from these corpses.
At that moment, a set of light footsteps approached from behind.
“Senior!”
Cecilia emerged from her hiding spot, carrying large and small packs.
A rosy flush filled her face.
“You’re amazing!”
Although she hadn’t fought just now, merely observing Lance’s combat rhythm and his precise grasp of monster weaknesses had benefited her greatly.
Lance sheathed his short sword and glanced back.
Cecilia had come at just the right time. She jogged over, the tool bag on her back bouncing with each step.
“Senior, here!”
Slightly out of breath, the girl handed over the tool bag.
Lance took it and casually pulled out a sharp skinning knife and a coarse-toothed hand saw.
“Perfect timing.”
Crouching beside the massive crab corpse, Lance began dissecting with practiced movements while continuing to speak.
“Stone-Shell River Crabs are our main target this week.”
“Watch carefully. I’ll only demonstrate their dissection once.”
“Understood!”
Hearing this, Cecilia immediately switched into attentive learning mode.
The small knife in Lance’s hand slid precisely into the seam along the crab shell’s edge. With a sharp twist of his wrist—
“Crack.”
The heavy back shell was pried open.
A strong fishy stench rushed out.
Lance paid it no mind. He reached into the still-twitching crab meat, rummaged briefly, and quickly pulled out a thumb-sized, murky yellow irregular lump.
“This is a crab bezoar.”
He rinsed it in the river water and showed it to Cecilia.
“This has no medicinal or alchemical value. It’s purely used by the guild as proof of subjugation.”
“This mission requires fifteen, so we’ll need to process at least most of these corpses.”
Cecilia nodded, committing it to memory: yellow lump, useless, mission token.
Next, Lance lifted the massive back shell he had removed and tapped it with his knuckles, producing a dull, stone-like sound.
“This back shell is the most valuable basic material on them.”
Weighing it in his hand, he continued:
“It’s moderately heavy and naturally resistant to moisture and corrosion—an excellent material for crafting certain standard shields and light armor.”
“If it’s intact, the recycling price in the Craftsman District is about 30 copper coins per piece.”
Setting the shell down, Lance picked up the crab’s thick, menacing forelimbs.
“And these pincers.”
“Using a saw, you can cut off the sharp tip intact.”
“This part is extremely hard. Through alchemy, it can be refined into specialized armor-piercing arrowheads. It’s quite sought after on the black market—about 15 copper coins per pair.”
“However…”
Lance looked at the pile of corpses with slight regret.
“We don’t have transport tools or large processing equipment, so we can only take the most valuable parts selectively.”
He calculated everything methodically, accounting for every single copper coin.
Beside him, a trace of confusion flashed through Cecilia’s red eyes.
30 copper coins? 15 copper coins?
Was that… a high price?
In her understanding, her family always conducted transactions in gold coins. Pricing at the level of copper coins was something entirely unfamiliar to her.
But she secretly glanced at her senior’s serious expression.
At a moment like this, if she asked “what can copper coins buy,” she’d probably be seen as an ignorant fool lacking basic knowledge.
The girl pressed her lips together, wisely choosing to stay silent. She put on an expression of “I fully understand and find this reasonable,” and nodded solemnly.
This must be basic knowledge every Adventurer needed—she would have to study it properly when she got back.