In the early hours of the next morning, as the first light of dawn touched the horizon and illuminated the Mist, the update announcement at the main entrance slowly faded away.
This change startled the adventurers who had been waiting in line all night.
“The announcement is gone! The Mist is about to open!”
“Quick, pack up your sleeping bags! Keep your eyes peeled; don’t let anyone cut in line!”
“Everyone, look at me! I have an announcement to make—I’ll pay one gold coin for a spot near the front!”
“I’ll pay two!”
The entrance to Deya City instantly became as noisy as a marketplace.
At the same time, Anderson appeared at the city gate, dressed in the standard attire of a Second Rank Ranger.
Unlike other Rangers, he had never systematically studied the use of bows, nor had he researched the herbalism knowledge essential for his class.
Consequently, he could only use crossbows and pre-made potions. It could be said that he was merely a half-baked Ranger.
However, he was quite agile.
‘I hope this trip to the Mist goes smoothly. It would be a huge embarrassment to lose my reputation in there,’ Anderson muttered, looking at the significantly expanded Mist.
Lately, he had been hearing adventurers in taverns and the black market discussing the Mist.
Phrases like “one adventurer definitely can’t beat three wolves,” “you must hold up a shield at every corner,” and “seeing a bonfire is like going home” made it sound incredibly difficult.
However, the mortality rate in the Mist didn’t seem very high.
He heard there was a special mechanic called “Insurance of Life” that could save an adventurer’s life, and it could be triggered just by farming enough Sthums.
Anderson planned to get one for himself once he went inside.
‘Why hasn’t the Priestess arrived yet?’ Anderson scanned the young Priests in the vicinity, but he didn’t see Truth’s signature silver-white hair.
Even though she was small, her unique and outstanding appearance made her very conspicuous. Thus, Anderson began a focused search through the crowd for Truth’s figure.
‘Chin-length black hair… not Truth. Too tall… not Truth. Her chest is too big, not Truth… Huh? That one? Well, she has pink hair, so not Truth…’
Just then, Anderson noticed the pink-haired Priestess he had just glanced at was walking straight toward him, clutching a magic staff.
Her silver-white eyelashes framed an expressionless gaze directed right at him.
‘Whoa, she’s kind of cute. Her looks are on par with Truth.’ Despite wearing common green casual clothes and a light shawl, she couldn’t hide her innate cold temperament.
“Hello?” Anderson asked.
“Go. Lead the way to the Mist,” Truth said simply.
‘Oh? A Priest is taking the initiative to team up with me?! What’s the situation? Do I look that strong and reliable?’ Anderson wondered.
Ever since the Goddess of Life chose the Ninth Saintess, the Deya City Adventurers’ Association had begun giving all sorts of preferential treatment to young Priests.
For starters, having a Priest in a party could reduce the Association’s usual 40% commission to just 20%. Priests had become a hot commodity.
Being chosen by a Priest was considered very lucky, but unfortunately, Anderson had important business today and couldn’t go adventuring with the little pink-haired girl.
However, he could at least exchange contact information.
“Um, I’m sorry, I already have an appointment with a teammate today, so… it’s not that I’m rejecting you, but I really have something important to do. How about this? Let’s exchange contact information first…”
‘Huh? He didn’t recognize me?’ Truth frowned slightly.
‘I only changed my hair and eyelash color; it shouldn’t be that hard to recognize me, right? It seems Superman had a point about the glasses. In that case…’
Truth suddenly thought of a fun game. She interrupted Anderson’s speech to explain.
“I am Truth’s younger sister. She said you are reliable and could take me on an adventure in the Mist.”
“Truth’s sister… Huh?!”
Anderson was shocked by her statement. ‘Sister? That girl Truth actually has a sister?’
He hurried to look the pink-haired Priestess up and down. To be honest, the resemblance was striking.
“What’s… what’s your name?”
“Truth’s sister” didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her head in silence for a moment before looking up and replying seriously.
“Zhendi.”
It had taken Truth three seconds to come up with that name.
‘Zhendi? Hmm… those names really do make them sound like sisters,’ Anderson thought.
Then he asked, “When did you arrive in Deya City? And why have I never heard your sister mention you?”
‘Didn’t Truth say last night that she was going into the Mist with me? Why is it suddenly her sister today?’
“I just arrived three days ago. I heard from our father that my sister became the Goddess’s Saintess here, so I came to visit. But she’s been a bit impatient with me and sent me here to the Mist, saying I should get some experience inside.”
‘Oh, so the sisters don’t get along very well…’ Anderson nodded thoughtfully. He understood. The younger sister was probably too rowdy and disturbed the elder sister’s work, so the elder sister handed her off to him. That had to be it!
“Alright, since it’s Truth’s request, I’ll be your guide. I should introduce myself properly, even though you probably already know who I am.
“My name is Anderson, a Second Rank Ranger, and your sister’s… classmate! Before we enter the Mist, I need to ask what level you are and if you have any combat experience. Also, why did you only bring a common magic staff?”
Anderson glanced at the magic staff in Truth’s hand and noticed it was just a low-quality staff commonly found on the market.
It didn’t look like the equipment a Saintess’s sister should be using; at the very least, it should have been Rare grade.
“Second Rank. I’m stronger than my sister. As for my usual equipment, it’s a bit too eye-catching, and my sister won’t let me use it for fear of causing trouble. That’s why she only gave me this fire poker.” Truth shook the staff in her hand.
“Second Rank? Then you really are a bit stronger than your sister.” Anderson remembered that Truth was only First Rank.
“Alright, then let’s head off now to meet up with your other two teammates.”
“What teammates?”
“What do you mean, ‘what teammates’? Wait, don’t tell me your sister only told you to find me and did nothing else, including providing for your safety?!”
Anderson had assumed that a young lady like Zhendi would be accompanied by powerful guards— perhaps Eighth or Ninth Rank— who could sweep through the Mist, while he would simply act as a guide. It turned out he was the one who had to protect her.
‘Does Truth trust me that much?’
“No, no, no, this won’t do. I’m the same rank as you, and I’m not very good at fighting. I won’t be able to protect you in the Mist at all if something goes wrong…”
“Nothing will go wrong. Now, go find two teammates and form a four-person party!” Truth was getting a little impatient. Why was Anderson being so difficult?
“Alright, alright, I’ll go. I’m going.” Anderson felt that this young lady wasn’t very easy to get along with.
……
“It’s open! The Mist is finally open!”
Ten minutes later, with the opening of the main entrance on the eastern side of the Mist, a large number of adventurers swarmed in like locusts.
They passed the Fog Gate Plaza construction site where Tia was working and headed toward the dungeon area of the Mist.
In addition to challenging the dungeons, some First Rank adventurers chose to continue attempting to conquer the Deya Underground Labyrinth because of their levels, while others chose to scavenge for Second Rank materials in the Mist. Everyone was very busy.
“Good grief, the sheer number of people… it feels like half the First and Second Rank adventurers of the Dea Plateau are here.”
Anderson struggled through the crowd pouring toward the Mist entrance and reached the nearest recruitment point.
Adventurers needing to recruit teammates or join a party usually stayed at the recruitment points specially set up by the Adventurers’ Association.
Soon, Anderson spotted a very young couple.
The man was a standard Magic Warrior; the scars on his body indicated he had plenty of combat experience.
The woman was a rookie Mage, looking as though she hadn’t suffered much from the cruelty of monsters yet.
After carefully considering the party composition, Anderson stepped forward and spoke.
“Want to team up?”
The male Magic Warrior looked Anderson over without reservation and immediately saw that the latter was a half-baked Ranger.
“You look a bit unreliable.”
“Time is short, so I’ll be blunt. There’s a Second Rank Priest in my party. Do you want to join or not?” Anderson gave them a reason they couldn’t refuse.
“A Second Rank Priest?!”
The couple was instantly shocked. A few seconds later, the male Magic Warrior was the first to react, speaking flatteringly to Anderson.
“You really can’t judge a book by its cover! I didn’t expect you to be so reliable! Let me introduce myself. I’m Alton, a Level 18 Magic Warrior. This is my partner, Alice, a Level 16 Mage.”
Alice excitedly bowed to Anderson and asked, “Where is the Priest Predecessor? Is she not with you?”
“She’s waiting by the city gate. I’ll take you to her now.”
……
Soon, Anderson brought the two recruited teammates back to Truth.
The two strangers were shocked once again the moment they saw her. Alton pulled Anderson aside and whispered.
“Are you sure she’s a Second Rank Priest? Is she even an adult? She looks like a student from the Priest Academy who just enrolled this year and was tricked into adventuring by you.”
“What are you saying? Don’t you know you can’t judge people by their looks! She’s the real deal, a Second Rank. Though you could call her a sister based on her age, you have to call her Predecessor based on her level!” Anderson whispered back.
Alice, the Mage, didn’t think much of it. Her mind was entirely captivated by Truth’s appearance.
“So cute!”
Alice’s eyes sparkled as she stepped right up to Truth, attempting to touch her soft pink hair.
However, Truth immediately raised her magic staff to block the wandering hand, her expression cold.
“Show some respect to your Predecessor.”
“Ah, I almost forgot you were a Second Rank Predecessor!” Alice scrambled back and bowed again. “I’m sorry, Predecessor!”
“Hmph, just a bow?”
Truth’s voice remained icy and her expression indifferent, as if she intended to make things difficult for Alice.
However, this didn’t diminish her cuteness in the slightest.
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