Talent Awakening: I, the Weakest Awakened, Start with Dragonfire Spell

Chapter 500 501-Howard's Bounty

Indeed, upon seeing the badge, the middle-aged shopkeeper's irritation at being interrupted by Howard instantly vanished.

A level 3 magus, while not the most distinguished figure in Rodel City, held enough clout to deal decisively with a small clothing store owner without fear of repercussion.

Such is the nature of power and authority.

Without them, one is forever condemned to struggle at the bottom, searching for a way out.

With the badge's influence, Howard quickly obtained the information he sought and, without wasting a moment, hurried out of the clothing store with Vivia in tow.

Every moment of delay now meant potentially dozens of gold coins subtracted from his bounty.

Although Vivia didn't understand Howard's sudden urgency, her trust in him prevented her from asking questions.

Instead, she silently increased her pace, carefully noting any information Howard might miss, ready to fill him in when the opportunity arose.

Their next destination was Rodel City's largest restaurant, or tavern, as it could also be called.

On the Avala Continent, the line between taverns and restaurants is often blurred; by day, they serve as restaurants, and with the setting sun, they transform into taverns.

The Golden Briar Inn was the name of Nula's second stop and, consequently, Howard and Vivia's next target.

Unfamiliar with the streets of Rodel City, Howard took several wrong turns along the way.

What should have been a half-hour journey took nearly an hour.

Fortunately, they still arrived in time.

Howard intercepted Nula at the entrance of the tavern.

"You are… Howard?" Nula frowned, eyeing Howard, who was slightly out of breath and holding Vivia's hand.

"But I don't recall you looking like this. You woke up… How did you change like this?"

"It's a long story," Howard inhaled deeply, calming his breath before looking up at Nula.

"My bounty, where is it?"

"It's the same one Vivia gave you! You haven't spent it, have you?"

"How… How could I!" Nula stammered, her gaze drifting.

"I just… borrowed a bit."

"A bit!"

Howard's worst fears were confirmed; Nula had indeed dipped directly into his bounty.

"How much is a bit? Three hundred? Five hundred gold coins?"

That was the highest figure he could imagine.

"A bit more than that," Nula's evasive eyes finally met Howard's.

"Around nine hundred gold coins."

Silence.

An unsettling silence.

Howard looked at Nula, silent, his hands trembling slightly.

Nine hundred gold coins?

Nine hundred!

That amount could cover several months of lodging, yet Nula had spent it in less than two days!

Howard was incredulous, wondering how she could possibly have managed such a feat.

Thus, after the silence, Howard's first question was, "What, exactly, did you spend it on?"

"Ah? Oh!"

Nula blinked, quickly regaining her composure but scratching her face awkwardly.

"A few pieces of clothing, some small accessories, a piece of mana equipment, and then a few bottles of wine."

"Return them!" Howard's response was immediate and decisive.

"Return them! That's my money!"

"Can't you just consider it a loan from you? I really like those clothes, it took me forever to pick them out!"

"Those gold coins also took me forever to earn back!" Howard furrowed his brows, genuinely upset now.

Nula's actions were truly excessive.

It would have been one thing if she had mentioned it, perhaps then there could have been some control.

But she had spent the bounty without his consent, the very bounty Howard had planned as his startup capital for establishing himself in Sorona.

"Look, when we get to Sorona, I'll pay you back! Double!" Nula's eyes flickered, suddenly proposing, "You know I'm wealthy! It's just that this place bizarrely doesn't accept my gold coin card, and I had no choice but to use your bounty. As soon as we reach any place that does accept the card, I'll withdraw the gold coins and pay you back!"

"I didn't carry that much cash on me, who knows why they don't take gold coin cards here."

With Nula putting it that way, Howard found it hard to argue further.

The purchases had already been made, and it was clear Nula was not going to return them willingly.

He could only be thankful he had acted quickly.

Had he waited for Nula to satisfy her desires fully, who knows how little of his bounty would have remained!

"Give me the rest of the bounty," Howard extended his hand.

Nula hesitated for a second, then swiped at her belt, producing a noticeably deflated pouch in her hand.

"It's all here."

Holding the pouch, Nula handed it over to Howard.

"There's still a few hundred gold coins left, roughly. I'll pay you back the amount I spent as soon as we reach the next city."

Taking the pouch, Howard couldn't even bring himself to look inside, quickly stashing it in his Space Ring.

Out of sight, out of mind.

"Couldn't you have waited until the next city to shop? This place isn't exactly a commercial hub!" Howard sighed.

Nula just touched her nose, her gaze drifting aside.

"You've been unconscious for several days. Staying here got boring, so I thought I'd take a walk and look around, and then... well, my hands got itchy."

Though Howard didn't fully understand Nula's background, he could see that this level of shopping was merely a way for Nula to pass the time.

Being a level 2 magus herself, Nula was unlikely to be short of money due to luxury purchases.

For magi, the real financial black hole was the endless expenses on spell research.

Nine hundred gold coins? A drop in the bucket!

With another sigh, Howard flicked Nula's forehead.

"There won't be a next time. If this happens again, I'm done with the quest. Who knows what kind of characters are in your organization, it's only a matter of time before they bring disaster upon us."

One is a spendthrift heiress, who might the next one be? What if it's someone who naturally courts trouble? It's difficult for Howard to simply stand by, as he can't just watch a "partner" meet a grim fate.

Yet, intervening could mean he might not be able to protect himself.

Even with Two's assistance, not every situation can be managed by Two's intervention.

Moreover, what if Two falls into slumber again?

"There won't be a next time!" Nula's head shook like a bobblehead.

Although a shopaholic who can't control her spending impulses, Nula still knows there are lines that shouldn't be crossed.

This kind of behavior, even once, was already too much.

Had Howard not shown any signs of waking up, Nula wouldn't have resorted to using the bounty.

"Now that you're awake, should we start preparing to leave?" Nula glanced at Vivia, who was following behind Howard, and asked, "Have you decided to take her with you?"

"Of course," Howard nodded.

"Let's go back to the inn and talk."

With that, Howard, holding Vivia's hand, turned and walked away, with Nula pausing briefly before hurrying to follow them.

...

By the time they returned to the inn, nearly two hours had passed.

Rodel was neither particularly large nor small, but as a city with a population of over a hundred thousand, coupled with the fact that the adventurers' inn was located near the city's edge where land was cheaper, their journey back was not brief.

Upon returning, the first thing Howard did was to lock himself in his room and recount the gold coins he had, including the remaining bounty.

In total, he still had over seven hundred gold coins.

This was not an insignificant amount, yet it was still some distance from Howard's ideal figure.

Sorona was far from a stable place; not only were the prices steep, but the order within the city was also chaotic, to say nothing of the areas outside.

Without a solid footing in the city, one's fate outside its walls was likely grim.

But establishing oneself in the city required ample gold coins for various expenses, not to mention purchasing a place to live, as staying in an inn indefinitely was not an option.

He planned to stay in Sorona for quite some time, potentially even exceeding a year.

Before Howard could feel confident in his strength, he wouldn't leave Sorona, let alone venture towards Dragon Valley.

Because that would not be an adventure; it would be a death wish.

This meant Howard needed roughly two thousand gold coins as starting capital.

Of course, this isn't a game, and that number isn't fixed.

But the smaller the amount, the more troubles he would face later, and the higher and more numerous the positions he would have to secure.

After counting his gold coins, Howard reopened his room door to find Vivia standing right outside.

"Have you been waiting here all this time?" Howard asked, surprised.

"Sort of." Vivia peeked into the room, "What weird things were you doing in there?"

Howard's brow furrowed, his mind filled with exasperation, "What on earth is going on in your head?"

Vivia responded without hesitation, "My head is full of you!"

Looking at Vivia's charmingly cute expression, Howard mentally facepalmed.

"Alright, no more jokes." Howard raised his hand to pat Vivia's hair.

"What's up?"