Chapter 240: Sea of Ten Thousand Forests (III)

Along the way, they encountered a carriage. Samimi stepped forward to ask, “Carriage Driver, can we catch a ride?”

“Commoners have no right to board this carriage.” The Carriage Driver glanced at them, barked a sharp rebuke, and continued driving.

The smile on Samimi’s face gradually vanished, but she didn’t say anything more. She and Niubao continued walking at a leisurely pace.

Then, they took a mountain path. Halfway through, they discovered that the luxury carriage from before was stuck by the roadside; its wheels had flown right off.

The Carriage Driver was anxious to repair the vehicle while the guests were standing by the side, grumbling and complaining.

“Heh.”

Samimi walked past them and let out a cold, mocking laugh.

This made the Carriage Driver’s face turn black with rage. However, his carriage could no longer be fixed; the axle was broken, looking as if it had been sabotaged or simply crushed by bad luck.

Samimi still remembered being kicked out of the Royal City and walking on the road, where she was also mocked by a carriage driver. At that time, she hadn’t been as tempered as she was now and had let him go, though they eventually reconciled.

But now, the Miworm’s temper was quite large. She didn’t understand what it meant to swallow one’s anger. While she wasn’t exactly arrogant or overbearing, she was someone who never left a grudge until the next day.

***

While traveling, Samimi continued to collect information.

The southern part of the Kingdom was not as peaceful as it appeared on the surface. The current calm was only because she had not yet entered the territory of the Forest of Devouring All Things; she was still just wandering around the safe zones.

The large towns like the one from before would soon disappear. Next, they would arrive at a rather unique kind of Human Race base.

After passing through this last patch of woods, the two of them arrived at a vast, boundless plain.

And on the opposite side of this plain was the [Forest of Devouring All Things].

It was a massive Sea of Trees composed of countless towering trees hundreds of meters high. These giant trees took root in the earth, stretching out endlessly; no one knew where it ended.

That was the true charm of the Otherworld—a sense of adventure that the modern world could never provide.

Because in the world she came from, humans had already explored every inch of the Earth’s surface.

If one wanted a sense of adventure, Earthlings could only go to outer space to find aliens, or otherwise start exploring the depths for subterranean people.

But people in the Otherworld didn’t need to go to such trouble. This was because everywhere—up, down, left, and right—was an unknown area. Aside from the Forest of Devouring All Things, there were three other equally strange and dangerous borderlands waiting to be explored.

However, a few hundred kilometers around the edge of the Forest of Devouring All Things were safe zones. Adventurers had established one [Pioneer Camp] after another within them.

These Pioneer Camps were managed entirely by the Adventurers Guild. They were like a spider web coiled within; inside, there wasn’t even a trace of Royal Power.

However, there were still Little Chapels within these Pioneer Camps.

Once she crossed this plain, she could enter the Forest of Devouring All Things and step into the true Pioneer territory.

On the plain, there were several dirt paths leading straight to the Forest of Devouring All Things, all of which were roads trodden out step by step by countless Adventurers.

Walking on these barren dirt paths, Samimi felt a sense of heavy history.

“Good morning, young ladies. Are you two also planning to head inside?”

As they walked, three young Knight brothers in shiny armor riding tall horses came up beside them to strike up a conversation.

Samimi turned her head and took a glance. Shiny armor, lecherous eyes, and weak bodies—one look was enough to know these were sons of wealthy merchants playing Knight house.

“Hmm.” Samimi gave a perfunctory response.

“We are too. Why don’t we form a Team together? That way we can look out for each other,” the wealthy Knight eagerly invited.

“No thanks, I have an appointment.” Samimi was still somewhat polite as she declined.

“Miss, aren’t you a Priestess? Our Team just happens to lack a Priestess. These days, a Priestess is a rare sight. I beg of you, please help us.” The wealthy Knight was still being persistent.

“Hey, right now large numbers of Magic Beasts in heat are appearing inside the Forest. The Pioneer Camps can’t continue building further in, and many camps have even encountered Magic Beast attacks. The Adventurers Association has detected several deep-level sources. The camps are currently recalling a large number of Adventurers to return and defend.” Another wealthy Knight explained.

“If that’s the case, you all should just turn around and leave. Looking at your equipment and gear, you’re clearly either rich or noble. There’s no need to go in and seek death. Just go home.” Samimi actually gave a kind word of advice.

“We have trained for a long time at Feitu Academy, and we are also registered Adventurers. We came here with hearts full of adventure; we won’t leave easily,” the wealthy Knight said resolutely.

“Then you should sell your horses first. You should know that inside that Sea of Trees, the ground is entirely made of uneven roots. If a horse goes in, it’ll break its legs in a minute.” Samimi taught them seriously, “That isn’t a place for you to play Knight games. It’s the territory of Adventurers. Go home.”

These words actually made their convictions waver a bit; they truly didn’t know that horses couldn’t go inside.

“What are you doing? Can’t you see the Priestess doesn’t want to bother with you?”

But at that moment, another group suddenly appeared and blocked the path, stopping both Samimi’s duo and the wealthy Knights.

Because there were quite a few people traveling on this grassland, visibility was good, and nothing could be hidden.

Samimi’s expression, however, showed a hint of displeasure.

The newcomers were a large Team of professional Adventurers, wearing similar clothing. It looked like the costumes of online game characters—specifically, wearing capes over light armor. In a word: cool.

Although they didn’t wear uniform Magic robes for every Academy Faction like the Magic Apprentices, their windproof cloaks all bore the exact same Guild emblem.

The Guild here didn’t refer to the Adventurers Guild, but was still called a Guild.

The Guilds here referred to private organizations formed by players—much like guilds in online games. In fact, they could be understood as Knight Orders.

A Knight Order has a Badge of Knighthood, and Adventurers have their own Guild emblems.

It was a bit confusing since the terms overlapped.

It seemed a clear distinction was needed: from this moment on, the “Adventurers Guild” was the Guild, and the “Adventurers Association” was the Association.

An Adventurer Guild could register within the Adventurers Association. In addition to individual Team rankings, there were also Guild Rankings. The Guilds with the highest strength would receive more resources and opportunities.

It felt familiar; the southern part of the continent felt like an online game everywhere.

Specifically, this Guild setting was exactly like a game, especially the Ranking System—it was simply a massive trap designed to lure people into grinding.

One could tell from this that the Adventurer Guilds and the Adventurer Association were not as wonderful as the propaganda made them out to be; they could only fool the young, wealthy Adventurers next to them.

“Hurry up and clear out. This is no place for you wealthy lambs.” A young Knight Captain who clearly thought he was very handsome stepped forward and shouted angrily.

The wealthy Knights recoiled a bit, stammering and looking extremely embarrassed.

“Priestess, I am a senior member of the [Seven Blades Guild]. My name is Mike. Please let me be your guide.” Mike volunteered himself.

His desire to excel was strong, his competitive psyche was heavy, and the competition between Guilds was intense.

Samimi could see that there was still a huge difference between an Adventurer Guild and a Knight Order.

Because Knight Orders didn’t have such strong competition. After all, Knight Orders were spread across the entire continent. Usually, everyone minded their own business, and it was better to avoid trouble and make many friends.

However, the Adventurer Guilds all gathered at the mouth of this Sea of Trees to earn a living. Stealing people, stealing business, and stealing the spotlight—these things were very common.

Joining a powerful Guild was the common goal of all novice Adventurers.

“What are you doing? They are my clients. Why are you blocking our path? Move aside, don’t interrupt us while we’re discussing business details.” Samimi didn’t give these Guild Adventurers any Face at all, rebuking them coldly.

Unfortunately, a Miworm’s logic couldn’t be analyzed by normal standards. She didn’t need logic to do things; she focused on doing whatever she wanted.

Furthermore, there was another issue: current Samimi was in her perfect form—a black-haired, dark-eyed, Priestess girl in white robes. No man could resist the temptation of this outfit. Therefore, a large number of “stinky bugs” gathered around her, and she couldn’t drive them all away.

The best way to get rid of stinky bugs was to keep a few specific stinky bugs around her. When others saw the flower already had a master, they naturally wouldn’t keep pestering her.

Following this logic, it was naturally better to find a few obedient and wealthy “little stinky bugs.” It was much better than those paupers who were lecherous and had a strong desire for control.

The members of the Seven Blades Guild were collectively stunned by her words, looking quite awkward.

“Rich brothers, let’s go.” Samimi waved her hand and led the wealthy Adventurers around them to continue walking.

The humiliated Mike’s face turned as dark as it could possibly be, his teeth gnashing in anger.

He would likely become a laughingstock for everyone for several months. This incident would spread through the entire Adventurer circle with the speed of lightning.

No, he had to get his Face back.

Adventurers and Knights were different. A Knight could wear a helmet; even if they were beaten, nobody would know who they were.

But Adventurers couldn’t do that. Everyone showed their faces, and Face was extremely important.

“Stop right there! Is this how you treat an Elder?!” Mike roared. Today, he had to let these greenhorns know the cruelty of the Adventurer World.

“And how do you distinguish between seniors and juniors? Don’t tell me it’s by age?” Samimi stopped and asked in return.

“How to distinguish… naturally it’s distinguished by strength!” Mike shouted.

“Strength?” Samimi reached into her bag and pulled out her Adventurer identification to show them. “I am a Platinum Adventurer. And you are?”

Although a Platinum Adventurer wasn’t incredibly high-ranked, it should be more than enough to deal with these ordinary Adventurers.

Sure enough, when Mike saw the large “Platinum” rank on the badge, his whole body stiffened as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

“I only look young, but I am not a novice. Don’t get in the way of my business,” Samimi said nonchalantly.

After speaking, she turned around gracefully. Her body language exuded a sense of disdain, completely ignoring the members of the Seven Blades Guild.