Steve was examining the Hunter's Relic.
It looked like a broken dagger. There wasn't any description of what it did, but when he checked the crafting recipe, he realized—it was something that could be used on villagers.
By using different kinds of relics, villagers could unlock the Path of the Transcendent and ascend to a higher class.
Take Elina, for example. JEI displayed her appearance both before and after ascension.
Compared to her current form, the ascended version had noticeably more armor and accessories, and a glowing shortbow hung across her back.
So she becomes a combat type?
Steve kept scrolling and found her trade list after ascension—there were dozens of items, mostly scrolls and accessories.
[Ring of Swiftwind]: Increases attack and movement speed. Grants temporary flight during storms.
[Shadow Trap]: Tier-1 spell. Costs 10 mana, 1-second chant time. Creates a snare that restricts movement.
…
There weren't any prices listed—JEI only showed an overview. A villager's Trading Interface had limited slots anyway, and which ones appeared still depended on luck.
Still, Steve's eyes lit up.
These trades look pretty damn good.
Satisfied, he closed the window and casually opened the trade menus of the two guards standing by the door.
Both immediately tensed up. Luckily, Halls quickly realized what was happening and hurried to calm them down.
"You know what he's doing?" Halls turned to Elina. The girl's expression looked oddly calm, like she'd seen this before.
Elina shook her head. "Not really."
She did have a theory, though. The last two times she'd received items out of nowhere from this mysterious being, it had happened right after that strange force restrained her.
So she figured that might be a sign—his way of giving her something.
But just now, that same power had appeared again… and nothing happened. It made her doubt her own guess.
To be safe, she kept that thought to herself.
Halls looked a bit disappointed but quickly perked up again. He raised the two iron ingots in his hands and waved them in front of Steve.
"Hey, hey! What's your name? How'd you get iron this pure?
"Did you forge this yourself? Or was it your golem?
"Where do you live? C'mon, we should talk about this—"
Steve ignored the dwarf completely. He was too busy wondering why both guards had combat professions, yet their trades were so… ordinary.
Lilith, the guild's receptionist, frowned as she walked over. "Weren't we supposed to restrain it first?"
Her professional training told her to greet people with a smile—but after hearing that warrior's screams nonstop, she was done pretending. The fact that she wasn't scowling harder was already a miracle.
"Hey, Lilith, ease up. He hasn't done anything, right?" Halls patted her thigh, trying to comfort her.
That only made her expression darker. She was really regretting not wearing a long skirt today.
Steve opened Lilith's trade window.
[Lilith – Scribe – Veteran]
3 Emeralds → 1 Book
14 Emeralds → 1 Bronze Commission
10 Materials → 1 Emerald
1 Bronze Adventurer's Token + 23 Emeralds → Silver Commission
1 Gold Adventurer's Token + 1 Armor/Tool → 1 Curseword
3 Emeralds → 1 Bunny Girl Outfit
Just like Elina, she could recycle various items—but several of her trades were new to him.
Steve checked each recipe carefully.
Commissions worked like quests—complete one, and you'd get rewards.
Cursewords acted like enchantments; apply them to gear or tools for special effects. They seemed about as powerful as a level 30 enchantment.
The Bunny Girl Outfit had no crafting recipe or stats.
Three emeralds wasn't much, so he bought one out of curiosity. Turned out it was purely decorative. He lost interest instantly and tossed it out of his inventory.
Then he traded for a Bronze Commission, leaving himself with 14 emeralds.
When he used it, a Bronze Adventurer's Token appeared in his hand—and a glowing dotted line stretched from his feet toward the guild interior.
Intrigued, he followed it inside.
Lilith froze for a moment when that same strange force bound her again. Panic flashed across her face, but quickly gave way to confusion.
A pile of emeralds—more than a dozen—suddenly appeared in her hands. If she hadn't reacted fast enough, they would've spilled all over the floor.
Each emerald was nearly palm-sized and flawless—worth enough to make noble ladies claw each other's eyes out at auction.
And that wasn't all. A full outfit floated in midair before her, complete with a bunny-ear headband resting neatly on top.
Halls's eyes went wide. He grabbed the outfit, shook it open—and froze.
"Whoa. That's… a lotta skin."
For the first time, the humble dwarf truly grasped the diversity of human hobbies.
"Hey!" Lilith snapped out of it, clutching her emeralds as she hurried after Steve. "Wait, sir! By royal law, I need your registration info!"
Magical constructs weren't uncommon on the continent—any decent mage could make one.
But powerful constructs had to be registered at designated facilities before they were allowed to operate within the kingdom. Otherwise, their creators were marked as dangerous and tangled up in all sorts of legal trouble.
That's what Lilith was asking for now—the registration data.
With Halls vouching for him, she was willing to believe Steve meant no harm.
As Steve entered the guild hall, the restrained warrior outside suddenly stopped screaming. His eyes went wide with terror.
"I was wrong! I was wrong! Get me out of here! That demon's gonna kill me!"
He thrashed wildly, howling in panic. The two guards exchanged a look—both thinking the same thing:
He's lost it.
They dragged him away toward the back.
Meanwhile, Steve followed the glowing line to the Commission Board, where dozens of sheets were pinned up.
Clicking on them revealed different quests—one of them highlighted in gold, clearly linked to his Bronze rank.
Bending down slightly, he reached out and took it off the board. Then he followed the dotted line to the counter, leaned forward, and placed both the commission and the adventurer's token on the desk.
Lilith blinked, hesitated a moment, then stepped behind the counter to take a closer look.
[Adventurer's Token]
Name: Steve
Rank: Bronze Adventurer
Class: None
Completed Commissions: None
Issued by: Badley Town Adventurer's Guild
[Commission: Subjugation of the Spotted Serpent Pack]
A large number of spotted serpents have recently appeared near Fallenleaf Village, disrupting daily life. Adventurers are urgently requested to eliminate them.
As the serpents are classified as Rank-1 monsters, the guild has rated this a Bronze-level commission. Available to all Bronze or higher adventurers.
Lilith frowned slightly.
Issued here?
If that's true, how had she never seen anyone like him before? She should've remembered something this unusual.
But the seal was genuine. Maybe another receptionist had handled it before her?
Still, why was he only starting his first commission now?
When she looked up, she found Steve staring straight at her. She froze for a moment, then automatically slipped into her professional smile.
"Your adventurer rank is Bronze, so you're eligible for this commission. I'll process it for you right away."
If he already had a token, he probably wasn't dangerous.
Muttering to herself, Lilith set the emeralds aside and began filling out the paperwork.