A/N: Correction: Patric teaching the sword techniques costs 10 silver, not 1 silver.

---

Chapter 599: Headed Towards Tilgarth

Tham!

Evan hammered on the table with his fist.

"Oh come on! Natalie's contribution was very important in this fight; of course, my split should be increased!"

"She is a slave!" the mage woman—Shreya—shouted back.

"So what?! She is my slave!" Evan shot back.

Patric, his party, and Evan were sitting around a table inside a bar. Natalie stood behind Evan, as expected of a slave.

There were also 40 Gold Coins lying at the centre of the table, the reward for completing a recent mission to hunt a Lone Peak 2-star Wolf bordering on Pseudo 3-star that had left its pack after losing a mating battle against another male.

The fight had been gruesome, with a total of 4 healing potions and 3 Strength Potions used on Patric and the shieldman—Liam, 6 Mana Potions used by Shreya, and 1 Stamina Potion used by the archer, scout, Patric, and Liam.

And just for appearances, Evan had consumed 1 Stamina Potion, 2 Strength Potions, and 1 Healing Potion; even Natalie had consumed 1 Mana Potion.

1 Healing Potion = 2 Gold Coins

1 Strength Potion = 1.5 Gold Coins

1 Mana Potion = 1.2 Gold Coins

1 Stamina Potion = 50 Silver Coins

In other words, the expense of the fight itself was 28.4 Gold Coins.

But there was always a 20% reservation from the reward money for utilities. In other words, out of the 40 Gold Coins, only 32 Gold Coins were available for distribution.

So, the 8 Gold reserve covered part of the consumable costs, leaving the remaining 20.4 Gold Coins to be borne by the individuals who had used those utilities. This also meant some were bound to fall into debt if the trend continued due to them consuming more utilities, like Patric and Liam.

One of the many ways adventurers ended up as slaves.

The new share rule was as follows, from the 32 distributable Gold Coins:

Evan and Natalie: 22.5% = 7.2 Gold Coins

Shreya (Mage): 27.5% = 8.8 Gold Coins

Patric: 20% = 6.4 Gold Coins

Liam (Guardian): 20% = 6.4 Gold Coins

Junni (Archer): 5% = 2.4 Gold Coins

Waisal (Scout): 5% = 2.4 Gold Coins

But this had been decided before Evan demanded an increase. Right now, he wanted an extra 2.5% from Shreya's share because Natalie had covered some of the work Shreya would otherwise have had to do.

Natalie's fireballs repeatedly struck the Wolf's open wounds, making up for the pressure Shreya had eased off to conserve Mana Potions. Even if hers were low-levelled, the burn on an open wound had great effects in making the beast troubled.

While Shreya kept insisting she had merely been avoiding the unnecessary expense of another Mana Potion, Evan argued that her cautiousness might have cost someone their life. Meanwhile, another person was quietly growing depressed.

Patric placed a hand on Liam's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Liam. I'll give part of my share so that you don't fall into debt."

Liam—being the guardian—had taken the brunt of the high-level wolf's attacks, forcing him to consume 2 Healing Potions, 2 Strength Potions, and 1 Stamina Potion, bringing his total expense to 7.5 Gold Coins, far more than his 6.4 Gold Coin share. And to make things worse, his shield had cracked badly, and a full repair would cost him nearly 2 Gold Coins.

Even Junni and Waisal joined Patric in helping Liam, but together they couldn't pool more than 1 Gold Coin. Because even the three of them were barely making the cut.

And meanwhile, the people receiving the highest shares among them were bickering.

"Bastard! You didn't even consume that many resources! Why do you need so much money?!" Shreya shouted into Evan's face.

"It's not the need I'm talking about; it's about my right!"

Shreya was right; Evan hadn't consumed much. With expenses totalling only 6.7 Gold Coins when Natalie's was included, his share of 7.2 Gold Coins left him with a profit of 500 Silver Coins. Even his sword wasn't damaged, nor did Natalie's new wand show any signs of wear. In other words, aside from a 50 Silver maintenance fee for his gear, nothing else had been consumed.

On the other hand, Shreya had consumed 7.2 Gold Coins' worth of Mana Potions, and with her wand worn out, repairs would cost no less than 0.5 Gold Coins, leaving her with a profit of 1.1 Gold Coins. She had just begun feeling pleased with that when Evan directly demanded 2.5% of her share, reducing her profit to just 300 Silver Coins. Still considerable, but she wanted to keep the original split.

"What right does a slave have?! That bitch has no right!"

"You are a bitch! Don't dare call her that. Insulting her is insulting me. Now pay up before I mess up that good face!"

Shreya gritted her teeth in frustration. Not even her party members were opposing Evan. In other words, they seemed to think he was justified in asking for it. As a matter of fact, Liam's shield had been damaged at the last moment because Shreya had hesitated, so they naturally didn't support her getting a larger share.

The others in the bar simply ignored their argument because such disputes were common. If anything, this was rather peaceful; some arguments escalated into outright brawls.

Amid all the bickering, they failed to notice another party of adventurers approaching their table. Or rather, Evan and Natalie merely acted as though they hadn't noticed. In reality, they had spotted this particular group observing Patric's party and Evan since the 2nd day of their joint missions, just after Evan had loudly talked about heading to Tilgarth to earn good money inside the adventurer guild.

And when Patric had also shown interest in going there—the reason Leo and Lily had stuck with the party—this particular group had begun trailing them.

Leo had even sensed someone hiding in stealth while watching their hunts and training sessions with Patric. Needless to say, that stealthy person belonged to this very group.

It seemed they had finally decided to make their move.

When they drew close enough, their presence became known, and Shreya and Evan immediately stopped arguing as the rest of the party grew alert.

"Hello, my dear fellow adventurers." A tall, thin man dressed in black spoke up. The way he carried himself made it obvious he was the leader of the 6-man party that had approached.

"I was wondering if your party has any interest in travelling to Tilgarth."