Adventure License Acquired

Bagwis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he was feeling a slight tingling sensation coursing all through out his body. The nightmare-looking mushrooms had been... surprisingly edible. Well, at least they hadn't killed him, which was the first thing he had worried about. The taste? A combination of old leather and swamp water, but when you're desperate, your standards drop.

He stood up and stretched, feeling the corrupted mana swirling more freely in his core now, like it had just had a hearty meal. His stomach was still growling, but the edge was off.

"Well," he muttered to himself, brushing off some residual mushroom goo from his hands, "if I don't die from food poisoning, this might actually be a good day."

As he walked away, Bagwis couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph. Sure, he had narrowly avoided death by giant batipede, and yes, he had consumed the most disgusting mushrooms known to mankind, but hey—he had survived. He couldn't help but think how lucky he was—he'd gotten out of there alive, managed to avoid the batipede, and didn't even have to fight for his life. In Bagwis' book, that counted as a massive win.

-Back at the Adventurer Agency-

Bagwis strolled into the Adventurer Agency with a confident spring in his step. He approached the reception desk, where the stern-looking lady was busy scribbling on a ledger, probably calculating how many souls she'd glare at today. She glanced up briefly, then did a double take when she saw him.

"Back so soon?" Her tone was flat but laced with disbelief. "Did you... give up the quest already?"

Bagwis grinned widely and pulled the vial of glowing spores from his pocket, placing it on the counter with a flourish. "Not at all. Behold—your precious rare spores."

The receptionist's eyes widened as she snatched the vial from the counter and examined it closely. Her normally composed demeanor cracked, and she let out a surprised yelp. "H-how can this be?" she stammered, turning the vial over in her hands, inspecting it like it might suddenly disappear. "These... these are the rare spores that were requested! And they're in impeccable condition!"

Bagwis feigned a humble shrug, crossing his arms. "Well, looking back, it wasn't that hard, you know?" After all he hadn't needed to fight anyone or anything for it. Although, there was that giant batipede that had nearly eaten him. Eh, minor detail.

The receptionist blinked, still processing. "Finishing the quest within the day... was something I didn't expect."

"If I hadn't had to travel all the way to that cave, I might've finished it even sooner." Bagwis sighed dramatically, as if he were truly disappointed by the inconvenience of his triumph.

The receptionist just stared at him, her brain clearly short-circuiting. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and then just closed it again with a sigh of resignation. After a moment of awkward silence, she reached under the desk and pulled out a small scroll tied with a ribbon.

"Congratulations on completing the quest," she said, a hint of forced cheer in her voice. "Here's your official adventurer license. This grants you the right to enter dungeons, do tasks and to be hired by clients."

Bagwis snatched the scroll and unfurled it with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Thank you!" he beamed, a smile so wide it could rival the sun. 

The receptionist gave him a flat look but managed to hold back her sigh this time. "Just remember to follow the rules of the agency. And please— do not do any shortcuts."

Bagwis gave a mock salute. "Shortcuts? Me? Never. I'm all about doing things the right way." He inncoently said and turned to leave before she could say anything else.

As he walked away, Bagwis could hear her muttering under her breath, "He's going to be trouble... I just know it."

He strolled out of the agency, twirling his adventurer license between his fingers. When he saw Alab leaning on one of the building pillars as if waiting for him.

"Well you finished quick," Alab lightly said with an impressed voice, "You actually survived the cave. You didn't run into anything.....unpleasant, did you?"

Bagwis' smirk wavered for a second, but he quickly recovered. "Oh, nothing I couldn't handle. Just a few mushrooms and some light batipede harassment. You know, the usual."

Alab raised an eyebrow. "Batipede?"

"Don't ask."

Alab shrugged. "Well, as long as you passed."

Bagwis couldn't help but grin wider, feeling like he had just pulled off the ultimate con. "Thanks, Alab. Now, how about we celebrate with a meal? I could eat a whole deer—again."

Alab chuckled. "You're always hungry."

"I told you it's because I'm a—"

"Growing man I know." Alab finished his sentence with an amused snort.

With his false aura of strength and his adventurer license in hand, Bagwis felt like he was on top of the world.