Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 47 A Special Commission

In an instant, the originally dark and chaotic world was deconstructed in Rhodes's vision.

The filthy garbage heap was covered with a dense array of translucent labels, most of which shimmered in a gray that signified worthlessness.

[Severe corrosion], [structural fracture], [irreparable], [organic contamination], [...]

……

These are genuine industrial wastes, utterly worthless.

Rhodes's gaze swept quickly over the gray scraps, as if he were reading a bill full of nonsense, searching for the profits hidden between the lines.

He walked through the garbage mountain.

Suddenly, deep within a pile of pipe wrecks corroded beyond recognition by acid, a twisted copper pipe caught Rhodes's attention.

Its surface was covered with a thick layer of dark green rust, and it was also covered with some kind of foul-smelling black slime, making it look like a drainpipe dug out from the deepest part of the sewer, which was disgusting.

But in Rhodes's view, several completely different light clusters were dancing above the dirty copper pipe.

[Abandoned Magic Conduction Tube (Third Generation)]

Status: Severely polluted

Entry:

[Magic Accumulation (Gray Inferior)]: The interior contains unstable waste magic, which can easily cause an explosion or backlash.

[Severe Corrosion (Gray Inferior Quality)]: The surface metal has been damaged by strong acid.

[High-purity mithril plating (white, ordinary)]: The inner wall contains a layer of mithril plating to increase conductivity. Although thin, it is extremely pure.

[Good Conductor (White Common)]: An excellent medium for transmitting magic power.

……

"Found it."

Rod crouched down, ignoring the sticky black sludge, his right hand fixed on the dirty copper pipe above it.

"Hey, are you crazy?" Chiba yelled behind him. "That's covered in black mud! And it's been soaked in strong acid; it'll burn your hands!"

Rhodes ignored him, his mental energy probing into the internal structure of the copper pipe, silently chanting, "Stripping."

Within the consciousness space, two gray-black orbs of light were forcibly pulled out of the concept of the copper pipe.

As the negative attributes [Magic Accumulation] and [Severe Corrosion] left the body, the copper pipe in his hand underwent a visible physical change.

The thick layer of black mud and stubborn rust seemed to lose their adhesion, peeling off like dried tree bark to reveal the metal tube underneath, which, although somewhat dim, was still structurally intact.

More importantly, as the dirt peeled off, the inner wall of the pipe shimmered with a pure, faint silver light in the dim light.

This piece of junk, which could only be sold as scrap copper for a few copper coins, was instantly transformed into a refining material worth at least 50 silver coins.

Rhodes stood up, casually pulled out a greasy rag, wiped the copper pipe, and then tossed it behind him.

"then."

Chiba instinctively reached out and caught it, looking down in confusion, then his fox-like eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait... this, this is mithril?!"

Ignoring the filth on it, she vigorously rubbed the inside of the tube with her finger, leaving a layer of fine silver powder on her fingertip.

As a professional appraiser, she is more sensitive to the smell of precious metals than to a freshly roasted chicken.

"Even though it's just a coating, the purity... it's at least alchemy-grade material!" Chiba stammered, "How did you do that? Just a moment ago it was a pile of... shit!"

The way she looked at Rhodes was as if she were looking at a walking money tree.

"A family heirloom of enchanting skills. Don't ask, it's a trade secret. If you were in that situation, would you tell others about your livelihood?" Rhodes dusted off his hands and continued deeper into the garbage mountain. "This is just an appetizer. Ivy, grab that bag and pack it up. This is our first gift for Torin."

"Yes, ma'am."

Avira took the copper tube from Chiba and carefully put it into her backpack.

For the next hour, Rod worked like a tireless precision sorting machine.

[Broken Precision Gear] → Peel off [Wear] → Obtain [Precision Machining (Blue)] material.

[Scrapped Golem Core] → Remove [Energy Depleted] → Obtain [Magic Circuit (White)] material.

【Cursed Dagger】→Remove [Wraith Attachment]→Obtain [Sharpness (White)] + [Cursed Essence (Gray)].

The baggage on Avira's back grew heavier and heavier, digging into the leather armor on her shoulders.

Chiba's mouth opened wider and wider until it was almost unable to close.

She watched as Rod transformed piles of worthless scrap metal into sought-after alchemical materials, as if by magic.

Her mind was racing: if this rate of return continued, the one silver coin entry fee would now have a return of over… two thousand times?!

"Is this some kind of divine magic?"

Chiba muttered to himself, looking at Rod's thin back with a newfound awe in his eyes—an absolute worship of the embodiment of money, of course.

"I am not a clergyman, I am just a hardworking porter."

Moreover, even divine magic couldn't achieve this level of skill.

Rod stopped and stood in front of a sorting table covered in oil stains.

His gaze passed over the rumbling garbage on the conveyor belt and landed on a parchment notice pasted on the wall next to him.

The parchment was new, but the edges were blackened by soot. It was stamped with the Gear Brotherhood's bright red gear seal and the Adventurers' Guild's black sword and shield emblem.

[Bounty: Deep-sea salvage]

[Target: A "prototype gear set" located in Zone C, basement level of the sewer ruins, which fell during transport due to a collapsed base.]

[Reward: 50 Orim + Brotherhood of Gear Friendship Medal (This medal entitles you to a 20% discount on shopping in Rustboro).]

[Challenge: Unidentified biological activity has been detected in this area recently, suspected to be an upwelling of underground organisms. Teams below Bronze level should proceed with caution.]

……

"50 Orim..." Rhodes murmured the number.

But that wasn't the main reason that attracted him; his gaze fell on the words "prototype gear set".

Tolin's workshop has recently hit a technical bottleneck: the forging press lacks high-strength transmission components, making it unable to process higher-grade enchanted metals.

The parts for these prototypes are typically made of high-strength alloys left over from previous civilizations.

That was an industrial miracle that is difficult to replicate with current technology.

and……

Rhodes touched the hardcover book "Basic Rune Analysis" in his arms.

The book mentions a rune array for "water element pressurization," but the following pages happen to be the missing ones.

If one could visit the ancient water conservancy facilities in the sewer ruins in person, it might fill in the missing part of the key structure in the book.

That's killing three birds with one stone.

"Chiba," Rod turned around and pointed to the notice, "go find out who else has taken on this mission. Also, I want all the rumors circulating in the sewers lately, whether they're true or false."

"Huh? Oh! Okay!" Chiba snapped out of her shock instantly, her professional instincts kicking in as she switched gears immediately. "A 50-orim order... if we pull this off, we can get a decent base and stop eating that pig feed all the time!"

She rubbed her hands excitedly, her tail wriggling restlessly inside her pants, creating a strange bulge in the pant leg.

"What are we waiting for? I'm going right now! I know all the 'rats' around here. If they have money, they'll tell me even what color underwear their own mothers wear!"

Watching Chiba disappear into the junkyard in a flash, Rod turned to look at Avira, who had been silently on guard.

"We're going underground," Rhodes' voice was deep, mixed with the roar of machinery, "There might be a battle."

"My sword is sharpened." Avira's eyes were resolute. "Neither monsters nor bandits can get past my shield."

"very good."

Rod looked up at the sky above, where the sun was obscured by smoke and dust.

Aside from being forcibly recruited into the team by Kyle von Hohenheim nearly two months ago to explore the Black Tooth Cave outside the city, this was the first time he had truly accepted a dungeon labyrinth commission.

"Then let's go and see what kind of monsters and demons are buried underground."