"I won't join you for lunch today. You two go ahead—I need to leave the academy for a bit. Bye."

"Huh? Lord Leyang."

"Alright, since he's busy, let him go. We'll ignore him. Come on, Phoenix, I'll have the chef whip up some new dishes for you today."

Lumiere grabbed Phoenix's hand, her cute little face beaming with a bright smile.

"Uh... okay."

"Lord Leyang is always vanishing. What on earth is he up to?"

...

Leyang returned to his wooden cabin first. The juvenile Calamity Woe Beast instantly floated out, joyfully circling around him.

"So you're called Woe, one of the five world-ending demon beasts? Hard to believe."

Leyang stared at the mysterious black mist before him, his gaze deep and calm.

The black mist swayed left and right, as if responding.

"I heard you can curse others and bring them bad luck?"

The mist bobbed up and down like a nod.

"Legend says an adult Calamity Woe Beast nearly destroyed the Camila Empire a century ago. Now, its people despise a tiny thing like you. If I report you, I'd get a huge reward. Should I do it?"

Leyang stroked his chin, eyes teasing as he watched the juvenile beast.

Woe froze in terror, swaying frantically while its surface formed a pitiful, pleading expression.

"I won't report you if you work for me. Your ability might be useful."

At this, Woe darted into Leyang's clothes, poking a small part out from his shoulder with a flattering grin. Leyang couldn't fathom how such a tiny creature could one day destroy half the Camila Empire—it felt utterly unreal.

Woe's concealment was extreme; otherwise, it couldn't have hidden in Kamila Noble Academy this long undetected. Only Leyang's sharp intuition—and a clever trap—had lured it out. Otherwise, he'd never have noticed this terrifying entity lurking in his home.

Right now, with Woe clinging to him, no one but Leyang could sense its ghostly presence.

Raising Woe would yield a strong fighter later. Control wasn't a concern—if Leyang couldn't handle this scrap, he might as well slit his own throat.

Having tamed Woe, Leyang left Kamila Noble Academy immediately, changing into adventurer's gear.

He headed straight to the Adventurers Guild and found the receptionist, Lily.

"Hello, I'm here for the reward from my last commission."

Leyang tapped the desk lightly.

"Wow, you actually caught the underwear thief! Your reward's ready: ten Small Yala Coins. Here you go."

Since this bounty came from the Camila Empire—and the Adventurers Guild merely acted as its intermediary—no fees were deducted. Normally, the Guild took cuts: 20% for first-tier adventurers, 10% for second-tier, 5% for third-tier, and 1% for fourth-tier. Fifth-tier adventurers paid no fees but still posted deposits. If they succeeded, both reward and deposit were returned; if they failed, the deposit became compensation for the employer. Fifth-tiers were the Guild's prized assets—their presence brought too many benefits to nickel-and-dime them.

Commission-to-deposit ratios were usually 5:1. Some shady employers even posted impossible tasks or lied about details to claim compensation, getting adventurers killed. To counter this, the Guild now sent undercover agents to verify commissions. If discrepancies were found, they forced employers to pay. Commissions failing three times in a row required higher rewards and re-evaluation—or cancellation.

"You caught the thief. On behalf of all Camila's women, thank you—we can finally sleep soundly."

Lily clasped her hands before her and bowed gratefully.

"No need. Just doing a job—mutually beneficial."

Leyang waved off her thanks and returned to the commission board.

Finally, he could read more than a handful of notices. First and second-tier boards overflowed with tasks. First-tier ones were low-risk but tedious—mostly manual labor. Second-tier involved dangerous monsters with better pay. Third-tier had only twenty or thirty notices. Fourth-tier? Barely any. Fifth-tier? None.

Leyang now knew all basic characters. Skipping classes didn't matter—afternoon sessions for the next week covered noble etiquette, which he hated. He had free days. Maybe head out of the city?

He missed the Monster Woods' creatures. Since leaving Nebis Territory, he'd barely fought. The underwear thief went down with one punch—pathetically weak.

*Underwear thief: You tricked me, then blamed me for being weak? Unbelievable!*

"I'll take these two."

Second-tier commission—retrieve a Unihorn Wolf's horn. Reward: eight Small Yala Coins.

Second-tier commission—bring back Spotted Snake venom fangs. Must be delivered within seven days of extraction, or void. Reward: twelve Small Yala Coins.