The moment he stepped into the Adventurer’s Association, Zelir found himself pulled into someone’s embrace.

"Zelir! I haven’t seen you in, what, half a month? I missed you like crazy!"

His greeter gave Zelir a passionate hug, the strong, masculine scent overwhelming him and making him a bit dizzy.

Gray was beaming with excitement. He clapped Zelir hard on the shoulder and even leaned in as if to plant a kiss on him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... not on the face." Zelir was still very resistant to this particular form of greeting.

"Come on! Valles, let’s have a hug, too." Gray grinned and turned to the Half-Elf Ranger.

"Don’t be so disgusting. You’re not threatening, just revolting."

Valles’s face was a mask of disgust as he took two or three steps back.

"Full of energy, I see. How’s the injury?" Marcus walked over, looking Gray up and down.

"Nothing to worry about."

Gray pounded his chest. "All better."

Zelir was dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe.

He went up, pulled open Gray’s shirt, and took a close look at his shoulder.

The spot where the metal shard had pierced him was completely healed. Even the scab was gone, leaving only a faint white mark.

Zelir then pressed on Gray’s chest.

The muscle felt firm and powerful, and he could feel the strong heartbeat beneath.

’This healing ability is really something else. It’s only been about ten days, and he’s already recovered.’

’If this were an ordinary Blue Star Person, wouldn’t they be bedridden for at least a month?’

"Warriors are all like that—tough as nails."

Seeing Zelir’s surprise, Valles casually explained, "After awakening the Heart of Qi, their regenerative abilities become much stronger than an ordinary person’s."

The most important difference between a Warrior Apprentice and a Junior Warrior is the Heart of Qi.

A Warrior Apprentice is just a well-trained ordinary person without any major changes. A Junior Warrior who has awakened their Heart of Qi is a different story.

If you were to quantify it using Zelir’s status panel, their Strength and Agility Body would all receive a decent boost, and they’d also gain an additional rapid healing ability and so on.

In subsequent training, the Heart of Qi will also branch into various Advanced paths depending on an individual’s focus.

Generally speaking, those with high Constitution are suited to be the Vanguard.

If your agility and Power are high, you have more options; you could try being an Assassin, Swordsman, or Ranger.

This difference becomes especially apparent in the Reclassification paths available after becoming an Upper Level Warrior.

For example, the two Reclassification jobs, Guardian and Sword Saint, have completely different combat styles.

"By the way... can a Mage awaken a Heart of Qi?" Zelir suddenly remembered something.

’He wanted that healing ability too.’

"In theory, yes? It’s just that very few Mages do it."

Valles shrugged. "You can’t serve two masters. If you want everything, you’ll end up with nothing. You won’t get far on either the path of a Warrior or the path of a Mage."

Marcus and Zelir both welcomed Gray’s return.

Although Valles wasn’t exactly fond of the guy, he didn’t voice any objections.

And so, the original team members were reunited once more.

When it came to choosing a mission this time, Marcus again asked for Zelir’s opinion.

"Maybe we could try a Junior-rank mission?" Zelir said.

Right now, Zelir was Level 4 (27/175).

He was still 148 Experience Points away from leveling up, and doing those trivial, run-of-the-mill ordinary missions would be too inefficient.

Junior-rank missions also have their own rating system, ranging from one to three stars in ascending order. They almost always involve facing Demons with a [Difficulty] rating, making them significantly harder than ordinary missions, but the rewards were naturally much more generous.

Marcus thought for a moment before agreeing.

"Alright."

After witnessing the Flame Breath Skill, his confidence in Zelir had grown.

And now that Gray was back with the team, it was indeed time to Challenge missions of a higher difficulty.

An Adventurer is an adventurer, after all. It’s all about seeking fortune in the face of danger.

"As for Junior-rank missions..."

Marcus’s gaze scanned the request board until he found his target. He reached out and took down the request form.

"How about this one?"

[Giant Winged Bat Subjugation Mission]

The Giant Winged Bats occupying the dense western part of the Gray Wood Forest have recently entered their breeding and nursing period, causing them to become violent and extremely aggressive.

These Giant Winged Bats have already injured six people and killed one in the nearby Valley Village. The threat level is very high.

Mission Level:

Junior (one star)

Mission Objective:

Exterminate the Giant Winged Bat and clear out the young in its nest.

Bounty:

Killing the Giant Winged Bat will earn a bounty of Four Gold Coins. Additionally, each Giant Winged Bat young will grant an extra bounty of Fifty Silver Coins.

Association Notes:

Giant Winged Bats in their breeding and nursing period are exceptionally violent. Vanguards must be prepared with fine equipment sufficient to withstand high-altitude dives.

It is recommended that the party include at least one ranged class capable of anti-air combat. A Ranger or Mage would be suitable.

"Giant Winged Bats... should be no problem."

Gray leaned in for a look. "I’ve killed one before with another party. The only annoying part is that they’re always flying around in the sky."

"Marcus, as long as you can keep the Giant Winged Bat busy, Zelir and I can knock it out of the sky," Valles said.

"Mm... shouldn’t be too much of a problem," Zelir nodded.

’The main Giant Winged Bat, plus the young... I should be able to scrape together about 147 Experience Points.’

"Alright, let’s take this one, then." Marcus headed to the front desk to handle the paperwork.

While they were waiting, a deep, heavy voice came from beside Zelir.

"You’re the Mage who helped kill the Fog Demon and the Giant Slime?"

’It’s the Half-Beastman Warrior Zelir saw at the Association last time.’

Zelir wasn’t short by any means; he was almost six feet tall.

But this Half-Beastman Warrior was over two meters tall, nearly two heads taller than Zelir. Standing before him, he was like a small mountain, incredibly imposing.

"Yes... Is there something I can help you with?" Zelir lifted his chin slightly to meet the Half-Beastman’s gaze.

"Nothing, really. I just think you’re pretty good. Real strong."

The Half-Beastman cracked what he probably thought was a friendly smile, though it still looked quite intimidating.

"Name’s Gak. Hope we can go on a mission together sometime."

"Oh... I’m Zelir."

Zelir awkwardly shook Gak’s hand. "Sometime, for sure."

After the greeting, the Half-Beastman, Gak, swaggered out of the Adventurer’s Association with a Broad Axe on his back.

After he was gone, Zelir discreetly glanced around and noticed that some people were indeed casting intentional or unintentional looks in his direction.

’Looks like I’m starting to get a little famous.’

’It made sense, though. In a sea of Adventurers, Zelir was the only Mage, and he’d been involved in killing one Demon after another. It would be hard to keep a low profile.’