Ch. 20
Chapter 20: Large-Scale Joint Extermination Commission
After some thought, he guessed that the difficulty of increasing attributes was related to his own base values.
When he had first transmigrated, both his Strength and Constitution were at 4 points.
At that time, just a bit of casual training made his attributes rise as if they were being handed out for free.
But the attribute related to archery was most likely Perception, and his Perception was already higher than the average person’s 5 points.
Simply reaching Mastery Level (LV2) might no longer grant any related attribute increases—he suspected that a higher level might be required.
In addition, he vaguely sensed an invisible ceiling.
It might be 10 points, or perhaps 12 points.
Once that threshold of mortal limits was reached, pure physical training would likely no longer bring any qualitative change.
To break through this bottleneck, the only path was probably the “class holder” system.
Only by completing a class advancement ceremony could one unlock the body’s limitations and continue climbing upward.
As for whether, after becoming a class holder, one could only grow stronger by increasing class levels or if there were other methods of enhancement—Lance currently knew nothing about this.
“Looks like I need to find a way to get some information.”
Relying solely on those common introductory books from bookstores was clearly not enough—he needed more core knowledge about class holders.
Even incomplete class information seemed to be something his panel could piece together.
Just as he was thinking about where to gather information—
Creaaak—
Behind him, the office door belonging to Grayson was pushed open.
Lance instinctively turned around.
He saw Nia struggling as she carried out a massive rolled parchment.
The scroll looked quite heavy, and combined with the boxes of thumbtacks in her arms, she walked somewhat unsteadily.
“Hey! Lance!”
The moment Nia looked up and saw Lance spacing out, she lit up like she had found a savior, happily waving one hand.
“Come help me out, this thing is too heavy!”
Lance smiled helplessly, stood up, and walked over, casually taking the large scroll from her.
It felt heavy in his hands—the thickness and texture of the parchment far exceeded ordinary commission sheets, and at the top was a striking guild wax seal.
“What is this?”
Lance asked as he followed Nia toward the most prominent notice board in the center of the hall.
“The latest guild announcement.”
Nia rubbed her slightly sore wrist and took out a thumbtack from the box.
“That old man of a guild master finally couldn’t sit still anymore—he’s planning something big.”
It was still early morning, and only a few early-rising Adventurers were in the hall organizing their equipment, with hardly anyone paying attention to this side.
Lance unrolled the parchment at the center of the board, helping Nia flatten the corners.
As the scroll spread open, its contents were clearly revealed before him.
The title was written in striking red pigment, exuding a sense of killing intent.
【Copper Creek Forest Region · Large-Scale Joint Extermination Commission】
Lance’s gaze quickly swept over the main text.
This was actually a call to arms directed at all registered Adventurers in the entire guild.
Moreover, unlike the scattered small-scale operations of the past, this time the guild had clearly divided combat zones and even established detailed advancement routes.
Lance was astonished—this was a localized war against the monsters of Copper Creek Forest.
Standing before the notice board, his eyes followed the red title downward as he carefully read through the entire notice.
It had to be said, that guild master—who usually seemed like he only cared about counting copper coins—had truly gone all out this time.
That shrewd old man had actually spared no expense, forcibly transferring a group of veteran class holders from the more profitable dungeons to serve as the main force.
Moreover, the notice clearly stated that all freelance Adventurers were required to register in the form of teams.
At that time, the guild would divide Copper Creek Forest into different combat zones, assigning teams to advance along designated routes, sweeping through the entire area like combing hair.
However, after carefully studying the advancement map, Lance noticed that the guild master was not arrogant enough to attempt a complete purge of the entire forest.
That would be unrealistic—that was something only a formal military legion could accomplish.
The objective of this operation was very clear:
to push the boundary of human activity five kilometers deeper toward the central region, focusing on eliminating monster nests and hidden caves that threatened the forest’s outskirts.
“This scale…”
Lance stroked his chin thoughtfully.
This cautious, step-by-step approach made him strongly suspect that the guild master had once served in the kingdom’s regular army.
As for this operation, Lance actually felt quite excited.
Once the extermination succeeded, the danger level in the outer region of Copper Creek Forest would drop sharply, and Environmental Stability would also improve.
At that point, whether gathering herbs or hunting isolated monsters, safety would increase significantly.
“I heard it’s because the guild master reached a cooperation agreement with Violet Academy.”
Nia stood beside him, casually speaking while organizing the thumbtacks.
“That old man is making such a big move this time—probably wants to clean up the area before those pampered students arrive.”
“After all, if those students die as soon as they get here, it’d be hard to explain to the academy.”
“Students?”
“Why cooperate with them?”
Lance asked, somewhat puzzled.
After all, he hadn’t been in the Adventurer circle for long and still didn’t fully understand many things.
“Did you forget what happened with the dungeon mana rampage a few months ago?”
Nia sighed and waved a finger in front of him.
“At that time, the ones who suffered the heaviest casualties were the Mages.”
Lance nodded. That disaster had occurred not long after he joined the guild, and he still remembered it vividly.
In an Adventurer Party, although Mages possessed powerful attack capabilities, they were the most fragile. Once sudden danger struck, their survival rate was often the lowest.
That wave of disaster had practically wiped out the local Mages of Graystone Town. Now, it was difficult to even find someone on the streets who could cast a basic fireball.
“But extermination missions can’t be done without Mages.”
Nia explained.
Lance paused, then immediately understood the implications.
In a standard Adventurer Party composition, the importance of Mages was irreplaceable.
Even apprentice Mages who had not yet officially taken a class possessed basic spells with area-of-effect power far beyond what physical classes could achieve.
Especially when facing monster hordes like Goblins that relied on numbers, a single ring of fire spell from a Mage was often more effective than three warriors swinging swords for half a day.
Not to mention specialized extermination tasks.
Destroying monster nests, purifying contaminated land, dispersing toxic gases in caves—
all of these dirty, exhausting jobs required spellcasters.