Chapter 233 Splitting the Rewards

"What the hell was that about…?" Leo mumbled in a dazed voice as he watched Luna's tall and slender figure quickly disappear from his sight.

"As I figured, she's a vampire." Lilith said with a slight smile on her face.

"Should I be worried?" Leo asked.

"Not right now. She approached you thinking you're a vampire, and judging by her questions, she probably thinks you're following her or something. As long as you keep your distance, she won't seek you out. After all, she's disguised as a human for a reason."

Leo sighed, "Are most vampires like this?"

"Like what?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.

"Luna… She would make a great actor if she tried."

"Oh, so that's what you mean. Honestly, I have no idea. Even though I call myself a vampire, I never had much interaction with them." Lilith shrugged.

"Is that so…"

Leo glanced at her and sighed inwardly, 'I really hope you're not a good actor.'

Sometime later, Leo returned to the others and they began making their way back to Stellar City.

Once they returned to Stellar City, Khrome brought them back to the Adventurers' Guild to report their raid.

After that was done, Khrome and everyone there gathered in one of the private rooms and began splitting their share.

"We acquired 2,100 A-Grade mana cores during the raid. Since there are five of us, we would normally split it 20 percent for each person, but that wouldn't really be fair to Leon, who acquired half of the mana cores alone." Khrome said as he stared at the pile of mana cores before them.

"Since I barely did any work and only had to collect mana cores, I will give half of my share to Leon and settle with 10 percent." Trent suddenly said.

"I will also give 5 percent of my 20 percent to Lena, who killed twice as many Exploding Corpses as I did." Khrome said.

In the end, Leo received 30 percent of the mana cores for his effort, acquiring 630 A-Grade mana cores. Lia received 25 percent, acquiring 525 mana cores. Khrome received 15 percent, Trent received 10 percent, and Lydia, who was mostly on buffing and healing duty, received her full 20 percent.

Under normal circumstances, healers like Lydia would receive more than the others even if they didn't put in as much effort purely because of her role that is much more valued in general. However, she didn't try to haggle her reward and accepted it as it is.

Once everyone received their reward, Khrome said, "Why don't we all celebrate our victory tonight with dinner at the Stellar Manor?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Trent said.

"I will go as well." Lydia said.

"Sure." Leo nodded.

"I have something to do after this, so I won't be going." Lia said.

"We can go on another day if you're busy tonight. I don't want you to feel left out, after all." Khrome said.

"It's fine. I don't mind." Lia shook her head.

"I see… Then let's meet at 7 PM." Khrome said a moment later.

Sometime later, they went their separate way after leaving the Adventurers' Guild.

"Thanks again for tagging along, Lia." Leo said to her once they were alone.

"I'm just upholding my promise to you." She calmly said.

"What are you going to do now?" He then asked.

"The Labyrinth Examination will begin soon. You'll also be participating in that, right?"

"Yes, I will."

"Guess we'll be seeing each other again soon, huh?"

"It might happen sooner than you think." A mysterious smile suddenly appeared on her face that disappeared a split second later.

Sometime later, Leo returned to the academy.

"Welcome back, Leo. How was the raid?" Eve asked him when he entered her office.

"It went quite smoothly. I can handle A-Rank monsters with ease now." He said.

"I know— I was watching you through Luna Flores' stream." Eve smiled.

"Huh? You were watching her stream? What do you think of it?" Leo asked with anticipation in his eyes.

"Although most people won't notice it, your performance was brilliant. The way you move around in a carefree manner, the way you cast your spells— any expert could tell at glance that you're having the time of your life in that place. Though, it is a real pity that the Elite Monster's mana core was stolen. One could easily craft an S-Grade magic artifact with it."

"Speaking of crafting… Do you know any expert blacksmiths that can craft S-Grade magic artifacts?" Leo suddenly asked.

"Huh? Why do you want to know? Are you trying to craft something?" Eve raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just looking into it for now…" He said with a stiff smile.

"If you're just looking into it, why are you starting from the top? There are very few blacksmiths that can craft S-Grade magic artifacts in this world— less than 5 people."

"If I am going to craft something, I want it to come from the very best, after all."

Eve began pondering, and after a moment of silence, she spoke, "I know of two S-Rank blacksmiths, both with different expertise. One of them is an expert weapon blacksmith while the other is an expert armor blacksmith. What do you want to craft?"

Leo didn't immediately respond, as he didn't think this far yet.

'I already have an S-Grade sword. I should get some armor or accessories…' He thought to himself.

"The one who can craft armors. I'd like to know more about this person."

"I can set up a meeting for you, but with the Labyrinth Examination occurring in a few days, I will do so afterward." Eve said.

"Really? Thanks! Oh, I am going to eat dinner with some people later tonight as 'Leon'. Don't worry, I will be staying in the city." Leo said.

"Sure." She nodded.

After talking with Eve for a little longer, Leo left her office to meet with Camille.

"Miss Camille, I have some questions regarding vampires." Leo said.

"Vampires…?" Camille looked at him with raised eyebrows.