I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 364: The Red Dragon Group

Gauss returned to Falim late at night.The biggest difference between a big city and a small place was the night. Falim's nights were also very lively, with lights, wine, and revelry everywhere.

Returning to the city, the dwarves who had experienced two days of heart-pounding terror finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone returned to the Adventurers Guild and settled the commission.

"Then this piece of Mithril is yours."

Gauss and the others received the reward for this commission.

He weighed it in his hand; it was about 20-something pounds, roughly 10 kilograms.

Albenia inspected it, confirmed the quality of the Mithril was fine, and with that, this commission for both parties was considered concluded.

Don't underestimate these 20-plus pounds of Mithril. According to Albenia, it should be enough to forge three sets of armor similar to Gauss's build, with some left over.

Mithril mixed into high-strength steel could increase the steel's defensive capabilities severalfold, enhance mana conductivity, improve magical protection, and offer many other performance benefits.

"We'll go with you."

Knowing Bruno and the others were also unfamiliar with the place, Gauss didn't mind temporarily teaming up with them in the city.

After all, they were generous spenders.

Being on good terms with them certainly couldn't hurt. Moreover, dwarves generally had little ill intent. As long as one could tolerate their straightforward, blunt tempers, most people should be able to feel relatively at ease befriending them.

"Drink!"

Inside the tavern, glasses clinked.

The dwarves, who had held a bit of awe towards Gauss, seemed to transform into different people after touching alcohol. Standing on chairs, faces flushed red, they slung their arms over Gauss's shoulders, waving their arms and speaking loudly.

"Gauss, I swear on my beard, you really need to eat more. You're as skinny as a twig right now; that won't attract women."

"Nonsense!"

Albenia beside them grabbed Bruno and lifted him up.

Albenia let his short limbs flail in the air.

"Lord Gauss, don't listen to this little dwarf's nonsense."

"You're just fine as you are."

Albenia was genuinely anxious. Although the possibility was low, she was truly afraid Gauss would take it to heart and end up becoming the broad-shouldered, thick-waisted figure these dwarves admired, then grow a beard so dense it looked like tumbleweed.

Just thinking about Lord Gauss turning into that image made her feel like her world was collapsing.

Gauss just sat to the side drinking, shaking his head with a light smile, not saying a word.

For his inhuman Constitution, ordinary alcohol now was no different from water. No matter how much he drank, it was impossible to feel the slightest bit drunk.

He wasn't sure why dwarves were so difficult to get drunk.

He guessed it was partly related to their physique, and partly to their inherent personality. Their straightforward, blunt nature might make them more susceptible to alcohol's amplifying effects.

As for aesthetics, he didn't take it to heart. His physique was very standard.

But Bruno's suggestion wasn't malicious either; it was just that dwarven perspectives differed greatly from humans'.

After getting drunk, several red-faced dwarves started dancing a tap dance in the hall.

It wasn't until late at night that Gauss escorted these dwarves back to their rooms.

He finally understood why they wanted to temporarily team up with them.

Presumably, they felt that with him around, they could safely vent their emotions and drink to their hearts' content.

.

The next day.

When everyone sobered up, the dwarves Toga and the others had toned down considerably.

"Drank too much again last night."

"Didn't I just want to see you happy?"

Dwarves Toga and Bruno were talking outside the room.

"Morning."

"Morning, Gauss."

The two greeted Gauss.

"Caused you trouble yesterday." Toga took the initiative to speak up.

"Minor thing."

Gauss waved his hand.

He knew this group of dwarves needed alcohol to dispel the depression and terror of the past few days.

The inn staff brought breakfast: roasted meat and tea.

"Gauss, you all are staying in Falim for a few more days, right?"

"Mm, we're waiting for the adventuring guild application to be approved."

"We also plan to stay here a few more days." Bruno said happily.

Gauss glanced at Toga beside him.

She seemed very calm in her reaction.

He had heard from Bruno why they had argued fiercely a few days ago.

The reason they set out from the Dwarf Main Kingdom, heading south all the way, besides gaining experience, was also to explore the monster nation in the south.

At least, that was the original plan.

But during the journey south, Toga and Bruno quickly developed a disagreement on this.

Bruno believed their group's strength was too weak; it wasn't suitable to enter the monster nation now. It would be better to gain experience in the border areas.

Toga, however, thought he had been scared out of his wits by the monsters encountered along the way.

Now it seemed this experience of being separated from the group and captured had also made Toga recognize her own strength.

Objectively speaking, her strength was indeed decent, enough to handle most enemies encountered. But the outside world was full of dangers; she clearly wasn't strong enough to handle everything.

From this perspective, this experience might not necessarily be a bad thing for her.

"Adventuring guild, what's that?" Another dwarf, Sean, asked.

"You don't even know this? Seems taking you out was indeed a good thing, saving you from just knowing how to forge iron at home all day." Bruno shook his head.

Bruno explained it to his companion.

Gauss watched this scene.

He could guess these few dwarves probably came from the same clan, and Bruno likely held a relatively high status.

Besides the Level 6 Toga, Bruno was Level 5, and the remaining three were Levels 3 and 4, all basically Warriors using greatswords or axes.

If the adventuring guild application was approved, he could also form other squads.

The Toga and others before him were a good choice.

They were not only Warriors but also blacksmiths.

Later, when the team base was established and the blacksmith shop and other logistics areas were built, the iron tools, weapons, and armor harvested from their usual monster clearing could be reforged, made into weapons or metal ingots to sell to others, instead of either discarding them or selling them cheaply as they did now.

Though he had this idea, Gauss didn't take the initiative to bring it up.

He felt that if he asked, it would seem like he was leveraging a favor to seek repayment.

Even though Bruno had already provided Mithril as payment, judging by their attitude towards him, they clearly still remembered his "life-saving grace."

Let it be as fate wills.

Gauss shook his head.

It would be best if the dwarves were willing to join on their own initiative. But if they had other ideas, he wouldn't force it.

Bruno's team was currently clearly in an awkward period of stagnation.

They recognized their insufficient strength, abandoned their original rash plan, but now seemed unsure where to go next.

For the next two days, Gauss and the others stayed in Falim without going out.

Albenia found a blacksmith shop, paid some money to temporarily borrow the space, and busied herself forging a set of daily-wear warrior's soft armor for Gauss.

She had been accumulating materials before; the Mithril obtained this time was the last missing material.

As for the others, they were all busy with their own matters.

Aria's Dreamland cooldown period had arrived.

So these two days, she had been wandering around the city's plant market, looking for suitable magical plants to transplant into her Dreamland.

However, magical plants weren't cheap. Those with rich magical aura generally cost dozens to over a hundred gold coins. Fortunately, this counted as a team expense. Since the magical fruits produced could be eaten by everyone daily, they used the squad's collective vault. Funds were still relatively ample.

Gauss also didn't idle away his time at the inn.

He picked some small commissions that were relatively close by and went out on several trips with Shadow.

Early morning.

Gauss gathered the other members of the squad to go to the Adventurers Guild together.

When submitting the commission yesterday afternoon, he had received a notification from the staff member that his application had been approved.

"So fast?"

Aria was somewhat surprised.

This speed was far faster than she had imagined.

"Yeah."

When he received the notification yesterday afternoon, Gauss was also very surprised.

After all, he had consulted with Sherry before, so he knew establishing an adventuring guild wasn't an easy task. Naturally, he had made ample mental preparation.

He had anticipated spending several weeks, half a year waiting for approval, or even not passing.

He hadn't expected things to proceed so smoothly.

Entering the Adventurers Guild, guided by a staff member to an office, Gauss submitted 100 gold coins as registration funds.

"Congratulations."

The staff member collected the gold coins.

"Thank you."

"You need to finalize the name of the adventuring guild now."

"Can we discuss it first?"

"Of course."

The Gauss squad sat together in a circle, their expressions turning serious.

The importance of a name was self-evident, especially for an organization like an adventuring guild that needed to recruit personnel.

First, it had to sound good. Second, it had to allow people to immediately connect the name with the guild leader, possessing its own uniqueness.

Before Gauss and the others set off for Falim, they had been discussing this.

Now this discussion was just for final confirmation.

"If no one has any objections, then it's settled as this."

The adventuring guild's name wasn't unchangeable, but generally, once determined, the owner wouldn't make changes.

Otherwise, after painstakingly accumulating some reputation, if changed, no one would know about it anymore.

Reputation was also a form of invisible wealth.

"Red Dragon Guild."

After the group's discussion, Gauss and the others ultimately didn't adopt those seemingly flashy, ornate names.

No matter how nice an adventuring guild's name sounded, if its strength was insufficient, it wouldn't be remembered.

So compared to being lofty and grand, it was more important to be catchy, simple, easy to remember, and have its own team's uniqueness.

The Red Dragon Guild was exactly that.

The Red Drake mount, compared to other adventuring guilds, was a unique feature others didn't have.

The Red Dragon was the leader of the Five Chromatic Evil Dragons. In the common people's perception, it was synonymous with power and destruction.

"Alright, then I'll register it for you here."

After confirming the name, the second step was to determine the adventuring guild's site.

This was also considered a benefit Falim offered to those whose adventuring guild applications were approved.

They could spend another 100 gold coins to purchase a plot of land in the city to establish their own base.

However, this was voluntary, not compulsory.

But considering this price compared to the surrounding land prices was already quite low, essentially half-sold half-given,

most adventuring guild owners would choose to purchase.

Gauss naturally did the same.

On the map, Gauss selected a relatively open plot of land near the city gate, not too far from the commercial street either.

Actually, there weren't many choices. Many plots in good locations had already been purchased by earlier established adventuring guilds.

What was left for them to choose from were the outer ring of land, which was specially reserved.

Afterwards, Gauss completed the remaining registration work for the adventuring guild.

Until he walked out of the Adventurers Guild's main door, he still felt somewhat dazed.

That was it?

He owned his own adventuring guild and even had a base in a big city like Falim?

Although the base was currently just a blank plot, it didn't stop him from beginning to imagine future scenes.

"Let's go take a look at that open plot first."

Everyone was very motivated about this.

That place would belong to their Red Dragon Guild from now on.

They hurried all the way to the base address.

This plot wasn't far from the South Gate, in an area slightly removed from the residential district.

Having been left idle for a long time, the ground had grown some weeds, looking slightly desolate.

However, every member of the Gauss squad looked at this land without disdain in their eyes.

"We should first build a fence, enclose the surroundings."

Albenia suggested.

"Also need to find professional construction mages to build houses, the blacksmith shop, and internal roads."

Everyone excitedly discussed.

Soon, everyone was assigned tasks and began to get busy.

Serlandul returned to the Adventurers Guild to commission the base's construction work.

The others started pulling weeds while planning the internal layout,

including the blacksmith shop responsible for forging, the logistics warehouse for handling supplies, member dormitories and living quarters, a reception room for meeting outsiders, defensive fence walls, the entrance direction, and the connection between internal and external roads.

Gauss counted his team's small vault.

Now only a little over twelve hundred gold coins remained.

It sounded like a lot, but building up an adventuring guild base was clearly a significant project.

Purchasing all kinds of building materials, supplies, and furniture would cost money.

"Lord Gauss, let's build the blacksmith shop first."

"I'll reforge the iron I saved up before into refined steel. Selling it should also bring in quite a bit of money."

Seeing Gauss counting gold coins, Albenia said thoughtfully.

The Gauss squad had also accumulated quite a few useful supplies.

Selling them directly would yield relatively low value, but if she reprocessed them, it would be different.

"Then I'll trouble you, Albenia."

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round.

Under the power of money, buildings quickly rose from the empty plot.

Several days later, the originally empty flat ground now stood an orderly, initially formed cluster of buildings.

The outer perimeter of the base was a nearly three-meter-high, sturdy fence constructed from thick logs and partially embedded iron strips.

At the only entrance stood two stone pillars carved with dragon scale decorations, with positions reserved at the top for placing an emblem.

Inside the fenced area, several clean gravel paths connected several core functional areas.

Closest to the entrance was the external reception affairs hall, a square single-story stone-wood hybrid building.

With good lighting and large windows on all four sides, the interior was already furnished with sturdy wooden counters, sofa chairs and tables, and a bulletin board frame.

Next was the training square, currently only equipped with some basic training equipment and weapon racks.

The core members' living area was a three-story luxurious building, not far from some dormitories, a cafeteria, and a transplanted silver-leaf sycamore grove.

The blacksmith shop and warehouse were adjacent, located in a corner of the entire base.

Currently, clanging sounds could still be heard from there.

Albenia was working diligently, remelting and reforging those damaged weapons and metal fragments.

On the open woodland area of the base, the released Silver Wolf, Raven, and Red Dragon were resting.

Outside the fence stood many curious children, looking from afar at the giant animal figures inside, pointing and muttering about something.

Gauss flew in the sky.

Looking down at this base from above, a strong sense of satisfaction and responsibility welled up in his heart.

This was the starting point of their "Red Dragon Guild."

He descended.

"Guild Leader, this is the sorted list of gifts from visitors who came to visit these past few days."

Two receptionists with beautiful voices and sweet tones saw him land and quickly handed him the list to check.

These two receptionists were locals, hired through a commission agency. Later, this base would also hire more ordinary employees to maintain operations.

"Thank you for your hard work."

These past few days, surrounding shops and caravans had heard about this Adventurers Guild base under bustling construction and specifically came to visit.

Even the refined steel ingots forged by Albenia were completely pre-ordered.

These shops' purchases also gave the Red Dragon Guild, which had invested heavily in building the base, a significant financial boost. Of course, this money was immediately spent on the base construction again.

"But for now, this is all we can build."

The account was left with only the last three hundred gold coins.

A considerable amount of money had been invested in the blacksmith shop and warehouse.

As the saying goes, a craftsman must sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well; the same applied to an adventuring guild.

Some money couldn't be saved.

The internal facilities and tools of the blacksmith shop, the warehouse's security, and several special compressed storage spaces were the major expenses.

Moreover, if more money was saved later, there was still much room for further upgrades.

For example, he originally wanted to purchase several golems responsible for transport, organizing, and cleaning for warehouse management. But seeing the high price of 300 gold coins per unit, he backed off.

"The task is arduous and the road is long."

Gauss thought to himself, while his desire to earn money grew increasingly strong.