Regarding this task that lacks even the most basic information like "Task Briefing," "type," "number," etc., it seems exceptionally casual, as if it was just a randomly chosen pending request of similar difficulty, given to me as a threshold task for upgrading.
On the way from River Valley Town to Neum, Xia Nan was already contemplating in his heart.
The task itself has no time limit for completion and absolutely no penalty for failure.
No one even mentioned the possible rewards he might receive after completing it.
Compared to the bounties he had taken on before, it was extremely rudimentary.
This might have been due to a "makeshift" organization and the negligence of relevant personnel.
But recalling the Association’s attitude towards professionals as he remembered, and the words from that Association staff member when they handed him the small note with the task’s address:
Yes, it wasn’t the usual "handle," "clear," "kill" found in bounty information on the mission wall...
But rather the ambiguous "investigation."
To some extent, does this mean that he doesn’t necessarily need to kill the event’s core figure "Buck," but rather just needs to summarize the gathered exploration information and report it to the Association to complete the task?
Perhaps, the so-called upgrading task was just a formality?
There was a subtle feeling in Xia Nan’s heart.
Involving high-level professionals, Neum’s upper echelons, the Church, and that powerful and enigmatic golden-haired Elf, this was clearly an event beyond his current participation.
Therefore, after exiting the Secret Realm and returning to the real world.
Immediately upon calming his mood slightly, he dealt with the site with the most meticulous and serious attitude.
He erased the remaining traces of battle on the ground, even plucking out a single straw of bristle in the crevices of scattered stones and burned it to ashes.
To avoid others discovering he had contacted the golden-haired Elf and left unscathed, leading to a series of troubles later.
He even carelessly threw Buck’s corpse, which could have been proof of his completed task—reduced to bare bones, into the sewer’s rat swarm.
Watching with his own eyes as those hungry grey skinned rats swallowed the bone bits into their stomachs.
He only left the slum after thoroughly inspecting the scene again.
Otherwise, bringing the corpse back to River Valley Town, if someone asked why Buck’s head had become such a clean, bloodless bear skull, he would have difficulty explaining.
A total of four attribute points, plus a rare and formidable specialty.
Compared to the possible reward from the task, his gains were already substantial.
Even if, upon returning, things turned out contrary to his expectations and the upgrading task wasn’t completed.
He could just accept another one to complete it.
Several Battle Skills were all at an accumulation and improvement stage, so he wasn’t bothered by a few days’ delay.
Xia Nan has always been quite patient.
He also considered that he had already done everything he could think of in a short time.
If someone were to discover his traces in this incident at this point... he could only accept it and tell the truth.
But on the other hand, truly speaking, he had only become an adventurer for about half a year.
One task followed another, and during lulls, he basically stayed at the White Sparrow Tavern, with a clear and distinct growth path.
Moreover, as just a "novice" who had recently obtained a Professional Level, there was no way he could possibly get involved with entities of that level.
In the night, a sudden cat’s call from near his ear pulled Xia Nan’s attention back to reality.
His gaze followed the direction of the sound.
He saw an elegant, entirely black small cat.
Under the extremely bright moonlight of the "Moon Feast" night, he could even see the delicate fur on its body and the slight sway of its long tail.
Sitting well-behaved under the roadside eaves, watching him from afar.
Gazing at its pair of radiant yellow eyes glimmering in the darkness, for some reason, Xia Nan seemed to feel the vague emotions hidden beneath its dark exterior.
Fear, vigilance... and a bit of hunger?
Suddenly realizing in his heart.
It wasn’t due to awakening a "Druid" kind of natural talent.
The reason for such feelings was probably because after the Secret Realm attic encounter, now his six-dimensional attributes had reached the highest point, with a Perception attribute as high as "10."
As the embodiment of observation and insight abilities, and the degree of coordination with the surrounding environment in a data form.
"Perception," perhaps not as conveniently understood as "Strength" or "Agility."
But in fact, this attribute’s application in real life manifests in all aspects.
The simplest being, individuals with high perception can easily distinguish whether someone is lying through changes in actions and tone and discern their true thoughts and attitudes.
Or like a famous detective discovering subtle traces at a crime scene, detecting traps and hostility during tasks, or increasing alertness to the surrounding environment.
If paired with corresponding knowledge, it can also have applications in fields like "survival," "medicine," "beast taming," etc.
It also determines the casting strength for professions like "Ranger," "Priest," "Druid," etc.
According to the data on the attribute panel, on the Aifala Continent, the attributes of an ordinary adult should average around "5" points.
Even if individual differences cause specific values to fluctuate, they generally do not exceed one or two points.