"Tell me the details. If the risk isn’t too high, I can accept this mission."

"It’s not, it’s not! It’s not risky at all."

Lisi pulled a glass bottle from her pocket and said, "This is a Dawn Radiance Potion. After you drink it, your body will possess the Power of Faith from the Dawn Teachings."

"As long as you leave the cathedral grounds within an hour, you won’t be detected."

Wei’en took the glass bottle and examined it. Inside wasn’t a liquid, but a halo of light, shimmering brightly.

"Is this thing... reliable?"

"Of course. The Secret Investigation Department used to use it all the time to impersonate... AHEM, anyway, it’s very effective." Lisi almost let it slip, coughing. "If Marco and I weren’t on that damn list, we wouldn’t be asking you to take this risk."

When Marco saw the Magic Potion, his expression relaxed. "With this Magic Potion, the danger really isn’t that great. You just need to be careful not to exceed the potion’s time limit. I’ve used it before, too."

At this, a suggestive look appeared on his face as he reminisced, "Those beautiful girls who believe in the Dawn... they really are... broad-minded. A shame I could only use it once..."

"Is that so?"

’Since even Marco said so, this Magic Potion must be really effective.’

Wei’en thought for a moment, then pocketed the Magic Potion. "I have one last question."

’As long as the Dawn Church can’t detect that I’m an imposter, an hour is more than enough time for me to get in and out several times.’

"Go ahead, what is it?" Lisi asked while glaring at Marco, signaling him to shut up.

"For a mission like this, does our logistics department... um, offer any kind of reward?"

"A reward?" Lisi and Marco looked at each other. "That... that’s your question?"

Wei’en said awkwardly, "Well, it’s a special mission. The risks are high..."

’Gotta ask for more money. As long as the price is right, anything is negotiable.’

Hearing him mention the risk, Lisi nodded. "As long as you find the location of that forbidden item, the logistics department will commend you."

"Commend me? For instance?"

"For instance, gold pounds, some Era Relics, weapons, that sort of thing."

Wei’en’s eyes lit up. "Can I choose the reward I want?"

"Well," Lisi hesitated, "usually the rewards are fixed. If you want to choose your own, I can go ask Yegor for approval."

"No problem. In that case, I’ll take the mission."

He had originally planned to just ask for a reward in gold pounds, but hearing about Era Relics and weapons, the range of options became much wider.

’When the time comes, I’ll just pick whichever is most valuable.’

’Simply perfect!’

"Then... then it’s settled. Next, I’ll tell you how to pinpoint the forbidden item’s location."

With that, Lisi took a necklace out of a box and explained, "This is a piece of internal equipment from the Secret Investigation Department, specifically for detecting fluctuations from forbidden items. The way to use it is..."

"Uh-huh."

Looking at the necklace, Wei’en felt much more at ease.

’I have the Dawn Radiance Potion to perfectly impersonate a Dawn Believer, and this equipment to detect the forbidden item’s fluctuations from a distance.’

’All that’s left is to be careful and not get discovered.’

Finally, Lisi instructed, "It’s best if you go first thing tomorrow morning. It’ll be crowded then, so you can slip in unnoticed. Remember, you must look devout."

Wei’en patted his chest. "No problem. I’m the most devout person there is."

When it came to making money, he was always very devout!

-----------------

Just after four-thirty in the afternoon, Wei’en clocked out from the Secret Investigation Department and returned to Golden Street.

He even managed to snag a "work meal" on his way out.

To be honest, the honey bread tasted a lot better than black bread.

It made him marvel at the working conditions in this world. They were truly comfortable.

Start work at eleven in the morning, get off at four in the afternoon.

If there was a case, you investigated it. If not, you could eat snacks and read the newspaper.

Most importantly, overtime at night was strictly forbidden.

Even if there was a mission that required going out at night, the Secret Investigation Department had a complete set of procedures.

First, you had to prepare a lantern from the Dawn Church in advance. Second, you had to wear isolation gear to protect against the red moon’s contamination. Finally, the time limit was restricted to within two hours.

There were also strict requirements for the work location; entering places with few defensive measures, like the slums, was absolutely forbidden.

This was all to maximize the Investigators’ safety and protect them from the red moon’s contamination.

Wei’en returned to his residence and greeted the clinic doctor who was standing at his door, looking around. "Uncle Yuan, good afternoon."

"Wei’en, you’re back from work so early. How was your first day?"

"Not bad."

Wei’en rubbed his nose. That answer wasn’t entirely truthful.

’If I hadn’t seen that giant eyeball, or those three hundred-plus desiccated corpses, or run into Clelia from the Eternal Life Association...’

’...then this job would actually be pretty good.’

"As long as you like it," Yuan said, flashing a set of pearly white teeth. "But be careful. I hear the death rate in the logistics department is quite high."

"Well, thank you for that,"

Wei’en shot him a reproachful look, then glanced around and casually asked, "Hasn’t Sister Kali come back yet?"

"They said some big shot at the Cathedral wanted to see her," Yuan glared at him. "Wei’en, don’t keep your eyes on my Kali all the time."

Wei’en pouted. "I know... I’ll head back then."

Wei’en had wanted to ask about the Holy Favored, but then he remembered he was going to Krimms Cathedral first thing in the morning, so he wasn’t in such a hurry.

’I can just find someone and ask about it then.’

"Mm,"

Then Wei’en pushed the door open, entered his house, and deactivated the defensive Rune Array before locking the doors and windows and heading up to his bedroom.

"What a tiring day."

But the rewards were also great—he checked the information on his panel.

[You have been eroded by Nightmare Realm Power. Due to your Spirit level being greater than 25, the erosion by Nightmare Realm Power has failed! Reward: Survival Points +1.]

’I was eroded by Nightmare Realm Power again?’

’It seems I ran into it on the way back...’

After seeing the reward, Wei’en confirmed his suspicion—the rewards for encountering the same danger diminished over time.

Just like the first time he was eroded by Nightmare Realm Power, he had gained "Toughness Level +1." The second time, he only got "Survival Points +2."

This time was even more straightforward, with only a 1 Survival Point reward.

Also, there were no notifications on the panel related to the Bone-Eating Mother Worm or parasitic Bone-Eating Worms... ’Are there no more rewards, or did I just not encounter any?’

Next, Wei’en focused his attention on his Spirit level.

His Spirit level had already reached 29.54, less than one level away from the requirement to advance to an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice.

At the meditation speed of two Xiaoxis, he could reach level 30 in half a day.

In other words, he could be promoted to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice by tomorrow at the latest, meeting the minimum requirement to brand the Soul-Devouring Rune in the Secret Art Mage’s magic system.

Wei’en couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. ’Looks like it’s time to level up the Soul-Devouring Rune.’

He originally thought it would take some time to raise his Spirit level to 30. He hadn’t expected to gain so much from going out on a single mission today.

With this in mind, Wei’en no longer hesitated and directly chose to upgrade the Soul-Devouring Rune.

[Soul-Devouring Rune Lv. 1 (1/1), Upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Runic Knowledge: Soul-Devouring Rune has been upgraded to Lv. 2. Effect: The success rate for drawing this rune is 20%.]

[Soul-Devouring Rune Lv. 2 (1/2), Upgrade?]

As he continued to add points, Wei’en discovered that the cost to upgrade a single rune didn’t double with each level.

He previously thought that going from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 would cost two survival points. He had even been prepared to use up all his survival points.

’This is good too. I can use the remaining survival points to upgrade other things.’

A few moments later,

[Soul-Devouring Rune Lv. 9 (9/9), Upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Runic Knowledge: Soul-Devouring Rune has reached max level. Effect: The success rate for drawing this rune is 100%.]

[Congratulations on obtaining a max-level Runic Knowledge. Your promotion progress for Introductory Runic Studies has been unlocked: Master ten max-level Runic Knowledges to advance the skill.]

[Congratulations on obtaining a max-level Runic Knowledge. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

"Spirit Level +1?"

Wei’en opened his panel to check. His Spirit level had already risen to 30.58.

At the same time, under the Profession section, several large words shone brightly—[Profession: Wizard Apprentice (Intermediate)]

Most importantly, he could now start branding runes!