My Cell Prison

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 – Bounty Assignment

(Author’s note: Here to explain some of the questions raised from the last chapter. The probiotic fungi inside Han Dong’s body help ‘bridge’, ‘improve blood flow’, and other such auxiliary uses, thereby raising our MC’s body to that of a normal human being. It basically works like putting on an exoskeleton that strengthens the body. These things do not affect the Cell, and aren’t considered part of the body, so it would not increase the Load Value.)

Kaz actually had no ulterior intentions with his warm hospitality. With the Ghoul assignment last week, as the pair dove into the investigation and the target changed from a new-born ghoul to that of a matured ghoul, before turning into them uncovering a small Ghoul’s Nest… The difficulty of said assignment had increased to the point where there was no way that Kaz could have completed it alone. And it had all been due to the flexibility that Han Dong demonstrated that they had managed to deal with many crucial moments in the course of their investigation.

Furthermore, Han Dong had actually been able to kill a matured ghoul all by himself while Kaz was left in an injured state… That final scene of a powerful spirit appearing had left a deep impression in Kaz’s mind.

In his eyes, Han Dong must be a top apprentice from the Department of Mysticism, beholding endless potential.

After they finished with their small talk, Kaz continued to keep his arm around Han Dong’s shoulders as he turned to the members of his party.

“This is the genius Mystic that I’ve told you guys about, Alan Anders… He may only be 2-star, but he has already obtained a compatible Fate Weapon through a Hidden event. He possesses both the ability to throw out a Plague attack as well as summoning an evil spirit. It had all been due to Alan’s help here that I managed to complete that Ghoul Nest assignment the last time, otherwise, I might not even be here to meet with you guys.”

Kaz had given Han Dong a high evaluation. But that high praise, as well as the close relationship that he was showing with Han Dong made the girl sitting on the other side of Kaz, Sophia, even more jealous. It even started to kindle some sense of ‘hostility’ in her, the kind that could be seen between love rivals.

After being introduced, Han Dong had taken off his beak mask at the same time and faked a smile for them all.

Actually, Han Dong had thought that he would be meeting Kaz alone in the beginning, so he did not expect that there would be other Trainee Knights present.

Just from the current situation that he was in, Han Dong had already thought to himself: The reason you’ve called me here shouldn’t be just about the Bounty Assignment… There’s a very good chance that this is related to next week’s Space of Destiny. The purpose of doing a Bounty Assignment with me now is to get a better gauge of my abilities. Kaz trusts me, but that does not mean that the other members would have the same faith in me…

Kaz turned to his party, “Let me introduce you to these companions of mine who I’ve braved the Space of Destiny with.”

Kaz first pointed to the girl with long, flowing blonde hair.

From how she was dressed, what with her accessories as well as the flawless porcelain skin, Han Dong could tell that she was of an extraordinary upbringing, most likely a lady from a distinguished family.

“Sophia Kate, a 3-star ‘Library’ who specializes in Holy spells, able to cast plenty of healing spells… When up against monsters of the Dark species, she would be able to become the main combatant.”

Sophia maintained a look of haughtiness, her jealousy hard to shake off. She merely did a slight nod out of courtesy and then looked away.

Kaz then continued to introduce the other member of the party, “Koslin Arnold. A 3-star ‘Machinery’, a rare dual spec Knight! Koslin is not only good with machinery fabrication, but he is also very talented when it comes to long range sniping.”

Koslin was a lot more proactive, though his proactivity was not due to courtesy.

He did not come forth to shake Han Dong’s hand, but instead used the magnification implement of his protective goggles and earnestly examined Han Dong from head to toe.

“Plague Studies with the Department of Mysticism?”

Koslin seemed to have detected trace amounts of fungal residue from Han Dong’s body.

“That is correct.”

Koslin nodded, “Plague Studies isn’t bad… The other paths available to Trainee Knights in Mysticism aren’t too suited to do battle… Only Plague Studies belongs to the stronger of the offensive abilities available. If you have any items that need improving, you can come and contact me. I can do small items for free, and I would go with the internal going rates for large items. My craftsmanship can well reach a Knight’s standard, so don’t worry about handing the materials necessary to me.”

“Okay…”

Han Dong flashed him an awkward but polite smile. He had met plenty of eccentric men like Koslin in his previous life.

When he was in University before, there was a young professor from the College of Engineering that was similar. He paid no mind to etiquette at all, immediately approaching others to discuss very profound topics with them, while also bragging about himself at the same time.

Kaz seemed to be able to tell that this round of introductions had been slightly awkward, so he quickly changed the topic back onto the task at hand.

“Let’s first confirm our current Bounty Assignment.”

After Kaz had carefully picked out the specific Bounty writ, he placed it on the table. It was a high-difficulty assignment of the unknown variant, requiring at least a party of three before they could take on the job.

Bounty Assignment: London Street’s Specter Incident.

Location: 37 London Street

Details:

Two days ago, a gruesome murder occurred in the Baker’s Mansion, right by 37 London Street. Including the homeowner Macellus Baker (Once a Trainee Knight), his family of six was all killed in a single night.

Furthermore, the mark of a ‘curse’ has been discovered in the scene of the crime.

Local Security Officers had immediately honed in and captured the murderer, but that was not the end of this incident.

The next day, local Security Officer, [Lester Thorpe], was suddenly found dead in his home that night after being the one who did the inspection and clean-up for the place.

Additionally, there were plenty of residents who lived near Baker’s Mansion who claimed that they would occasionally see a ‘Specter’ drift around the place… It would mostly be active in the night, with some who had even heard the wails of a Specter.

This incident had not been designated by either the Knight Regiments or the Church.

It was first listed as a Bounty Assignment and publicly announced. The execution time period is 4 days.

If no Trainee Knight accepts, or if the Trainee Knight who picks it up ends up heavily injured or dead, the Knight Regiment shall then embark on an investigation.

Difficulty (Estimated): 3-star

Size (Estimated): Mid-sized (Recommended to gather a party with three or more members to resolve)

Time limit: 4 days (No need to ask for leave from the Departments for the duration of this assignment)

Completion criteria: Uncover the Specter’s essence and completely subdue it, then bring the relevant evidence back to the Adventurer’s Guild. (During the course of the investigation, if it was discovered that the nature of the task assigned exceeds the perimeters described in this Bounty writ, please gather the necessary evidence and immediately get in contact with either the local Church or Knight Regiment and voluntarily give up this assignment.)

Assignment reward:

500 copper coins (if the difficulty of the incident changes, there would be a maximum increase of 100% of the stated reward.)

Materiel reward (Choose between materials, crafted equipment or potions)

Knight Credit: each member will earn 3 points respectively.

Note: This incident has a high probability of becoming ‘contaminated’. Be sure to wear your [Protective Goggles] and head over to the local Church to perform a Holy Baptism before starting. Upon task completion, be sure to head to the local church, convent, or other legal corruption decompression sites and proceed to decompress.

At the end of the Bounty writ was an artificially drawn symbol of a ‘curse’, as well as a hand-drawn image of the Specter according to the description from the nearby residents.

It was fairly different from the average person’s impression of a Specter, depicting a humanoid figure dressed in a half translucent white cloth. From the shape of the figure, it looked to be feminine… At the same time, there seemed to be dead wood and what appeared to be like tentacles looming beneath the cloth.