When everyone had assembled and it was confirmed that no one was absent, the carriage convoy slowly headed toward the North Gate of Red Pine City.
Rosily lifted the carriage window and glanced outside.
On the streets near the North Gate, people who relied on the Northern Mountains for their livelihood gathered. On both sides of the road were various armor and weapon shops, as well as some stalls selling potions.
The girl’s orange-red eyes scanned the individuals with unusual auras. Most of them wore well-made protective gear, though a few were more plainly dressed.
They were all adventurers who made a living near the Adventurers’ Guild.
“Originally, this place was very quiet. Ever since Lady Henna returned and the situation in Red Pine City stabilized, more and more adventurers have come, restoring the prosperity of the past.”
Elqi followed Rosily’s gaze and looked out at the street scene.
“In the future, this district should have more and more people, right?”
“But can they really make money by going into the mountains to hunt magical beasts?”
Rosily withdrew her gaze and looked curiously at Elqi, who was sitting across from her.
Elqi covered her mouth with her hand and said softly.
“Hunting magical beasts is very dangerous. Adventurers usually form teams with people they trust, using teamwork to increase their hunting success rate and reduce the chance of injury. Relatively speaking, although they have to split the rewards with their teammates, a team is definitely more efficient than an individual.”
The higher the success rate and efficiency, the higher the income. As long as they found the right balance, they wouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet.
“I see?”
Rosily looked as if she finally understood.
At that moment, Scarlett, who was sitting with her legs crossed, laughed.
Scarlett glanced at Elqi beside her and said teasingly.
“Miss Ophield, did your servants tell you that?”
“…”
Elqi had been feeling happy about Rosily’s expression, but Scarlett’s words made her very embarrassed.
As the eldest daughter of the Ophield family, Elqi had never lacked money or servants since childhood. Obviously, she had no way of understanding what an adventurer’s life was like.
What she had said was merely a repetition of what she had heard from the guards in her household who had once been adventurers, filtered through a girl’s innocent lens.
Scarlett leaned back against the carriage wall and let out a long sigh.
Rosily turned to look at her and asked.
“Scarlett, do you know what kind of life adventurers lead?”
“You want to know?”
“Yes.”
“You want to know, so I have to tell you?”
Scarlett raised an eyebrow.
Enya nodded.
“Mm.”
“…You really aren’t modest.”
Scarlett looked at Rosily’s expression, as if she was waiting to hear it, and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. She said a little helplessly.
“Among adventurers, information costs money to buy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
Rosily smiled at Scarlett.
She definitely understood what Scarlett meant, but she was deliberately pretending not to. If you want money, I’ll just play dumb!
Scarlett rolled her eyes at Rosily and continued.
“The gap between adventurers is also vast. Some people risk their lives for just a little money, while others become adventurers part-time just to obtain something important from the tasks they take on.”
“At the same time, there are some very shady individuals who pretend to look for companions, specifically targeting those who look wealthy and want to experience the adventurer life—young masters and misses.”
“In the Northern Mountains, there are no laws to restrain desire. The outside world is no longer a warm cradle, young ladies.”
Clop-clop—
The carriage jolted slightly, and the light outside the window dimmed. They had arrived at the city gate. Surrounding it were many soldiers in full armor, full of energy, guarding the gate.
Rosily sensed an aura of exceptional strength, almost comparable to that of Tristan, the Martial Magic Instructor.
After the carriage had traveled a hundred meters beyond the North Gate of Red Pine City, Scarlett continued from where she had left off.
“The Adventurers’ Guild has already suspended adventurer activities in advance, so there are basically no adventurers in the Northern Mountains right now. The reason there were so many people on the streets earlier is that they were all adventurers sizing us up.”
“…”
No one responded to her words, not even Rosily, who had been talking to her earlier. She was now staring out the window, quietly lost in thought.
What kind of life do adventurers lead?
This world is full of danger. If you’re not careful, you could lose your life outside. The proportion of adventurers who go missing or die is extremely high—thirty percent die, ten percent go missing, and another thirty percent are injured. Very few manage to shine in the adventuring business; most fade into obscurity in history.
Danger…
Ever since Phil said she had once been an adventurer, Rosily had become interested in them, wanting to try doing what her mother had done.
Maybe that’s a thought every child has about their parents?
After the convoy traveled for a while, it slowly came to a halt. Tristan got down from the front carriage, looked at the five carriages behind him, and gestured. Then the carriage at the front began to move.
Under the driver’s guidance, the carriage drove off along a road and disappeared.
Next came the following carriage.
However, the front and rear carriages did not go in the same direction. The five carriages, in order, were dispersed to different locations in the forest.
When the carriage carrying Rosily stopped again, the driver knocked on the door, and the five girls got out.
Elqi looked at the vast forest, full of primitive atmosphere, so close at hand. Her heartbeat noticeably quickened.
Rosily gazed at the lush forest made of huge trees, a joyful smile spreading across her face. This place looked huge, more than enough for her to run around freely.
The expressions of Scarlett, Simona, and Bella were also varied—calm, nervous, and somber—each showing on the three girls’ faces.
The carriage driver walked over carrying a package and handed it to Rosily, who was the team leader. At the same time, he explained the assessment task.
“Inside is a map with a location marked on it. You need to go to that area and find a magical beast. As for what that magical beast looks like… its picture is also inside. You can check it out for yourselves later.”
“Your task is to extract two liters of blood from that beast. The magic tool for drawing blood is also in the package.”
“Oh, and one reminder: as long as you obtain the blood, it counts as success, no matter the method. The assessment result only looks at the outcome.”
With that, the driver leaped onto his seat and drove the carriage away swiftly. The girls watched everything happen, then watched the carriage disappear into the forest shadows in the distance. Their attention shifted to the package in Rosily’s hand.
Rosily opened the package. Inside was a rolled parchment map and a cylindrical crystal tube about as thick as Rosily’s wrist—she could just barely grip it.
Looking at the bottom of the crystal tube was a dried, shriveled spike the size of her little finger. The spike was covered in wrinkled marks.
Rosily brought her finger closer, and the wrinkles on the black, dry spike split open into tiny mouths—numerous and dense. The sight made the team’s magic specialist, Elqi, and the healing support, Simona the Cleric, turn pale instantly, even stepping back half a step.
When Rosily moved her finger away, the tiny mouths that had been repeating their movements slowly stopped and eventually returned to normal.
“Interesting thing.”
Rosily looked at the transparent cylinder. It was solid inside. How did it absorb and store blood?
Elqi grabbed Rosily’s sleeve and looked at her with pleading eyes.
Rosily nodded and put away the magic syringe in her hand.
She swept her gaze over the others and said.
“Now that we’re here, there’s no reason to back out.”
Everyone nodded.
Rosily smiled. She opened the parchment map scroll, and inside was also a coarse sheet of paper, white with a hint of yellow.
Although the paper was poor, the magical beast depicted on it was lifelike.
When Elqi saw the drawing, she exclaimed.
“It’s actually an Earth Dragon…”
An Earth Dragon possessed a trace of dragon bloodline, making it much stronger than ordinary magical beasts. Common adventurers wouldn’t even think about messing with an Earth Dragon.
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