Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The four walked into the resting room. Lin Li was shocked when he clearly saw the sword hanging on the waist of the warrior in his twenties. It was a familiar sword. A month ago, when Lin Li had just moved to the Breezy Plains, he had forged four magical weapons for Kaman to help him as he wanted to earn some money quickly. This sword was one of the four weapons.
Lin Li remembered that the sword was forged from rune’s adamantine, and the mana power it held was comparable to that of a true Magic Shooter. He had also used Mana Sealing Skill during the forging process and repeatedly compressed and purified the mana power. Coupled with two alternating mageweaths, even Lin Li considered the rune’s adamantine sword the finest of masterpieces.
Right, Kaman had mentioned that the buyer of this sword was a guy named Jason. It seemed that this guy was the level-15 Warrior, Jason, that Kaman had been referring to. Not bad, it would make the trip to Syer Town’s ruins much safer if he had this level-15 Warrior come along.
“Mr Felic, many adventurers are interested in the mission you have just announced and want to know more details.”
“Alright, thanks for the trouble.”
After a simple introduction, the red-haired girl retreated and left the resting room to Lin Li and the three adventurers.
“Hello Mr Felic, I’m Jason.” Jason’s self-introduction was short unlike those of the other adventurers as he did not even mention his occupation. It was not necessary to him, as he stood at the top of all adventurers in Doland, and the name “Jason” alone was a brand of guarantee. Hence, levels and occupations were meaningless to him.
“Pleased to meet you, Mr Jason.”
“They’re my companions: Weathor, a Bandit, and Rotiah, a Priest. Oh, right, Mr Felic, I heard Ms Pannie say you need a level-15 Bandit?”
“Yes.”
“Weathor is a level-15 Bandit, and is the most outstanding Bandit amongst all the adventurers in Doland. He has accomplished many difficult missions alone, and is considered an authoritative figure in the areas of searching and infiltration. Weathor also contributed to creating more than half of the map that most adventurers in Doland use.”
“That’s great…” Lin Li nodded as his gaze fell upon the Bandit named Weathor. He had to admit that this guy did look like a Bandit. In Gerian’s words, the most important trait a Bandit should have was to look sly, and this Weathor guy was a born natural: with short stocky figure and beady eyes, he made people hold onto their wallets unknowingly.
“As for Priest Rotiah, she comes from the Brilliance Shrine in Ledin Kingdom.”
“Oh?” Lin Li paused when he heard the name “Brilliance Shrine”. Everybody knew that the Felan kingdom was a true kingdom of magic, and few people worked in shrines. Even the prosperous capital Alanna only had a single lonely church. Lin Li had been in Anril for about half a year, yet the only person he knew who was involved in holy work was the Archbishop Englos, who was also well-versed in pharmacy.
Lin Li had not thought that this dainty blonde beauty would turn out to be a level-15 Priest!
Not bad, a level-15 Warrior, a level-15 Bandit, and a level-15 Priest—it was a pretty strong team, and should be more than enough to deal with what they might find in the rubble of Syer Town…
“Very well, Mr Jason, this mission is yours.”
It all became easier once the three had been given their due recognition. Lin Li gave them a simple introduction of the mission, including the objective and possible hazards as well as division of loot and rewards. Lin Li had been pretty generous with the terms and rewards, and Jason agreed easily. Hence, the entire negotiation had only taken half an hour.
Lin Li was unusually easy going, and paid them a 10,000 gold coins deposit immediately after an agreement was made.
When the five emerged from the Adventurers Guild, Duke had already been waiting for some time on the carriage at the entrance.
It took about half a day to reach Roland City from Doland. As they were pressed for time, they left in the afternoon, and only reached Roland City around the evening. Roland City was completely different from the wretched Doland; it was prosperous and had abundant resources. Large fields and orchards could be seen nearby, and painted a picture of happiness.
When they reached the perimeters of Roland City, the bandit Weathor suggested that they go through the Dragon Mountains, which he said was the quickest way to the ruins of Syer Town. After passing through the Dragon Mountains, they would reach Syer Town in about an hour, and since he was the best at this, Lin Li naturally agreed with him. Hence, the six of them left the carriage at the foot of a mountain, and hiked up a rugged mountain path that evening.
Few people dared to enter the Dragon Mountains due to the presence of the Syer Bandits. Hence, the land around here slowly became filled with wilderness. It was an arduous journey for them as the winding paths were difficult to follow and beasts appeared at times too.
This was where Jason and the rest came in useful.
Quite honestly, the magical beasts they met were not too weak. There was a level-14 Velociraptor, a level-15 Scare Tiger, and a level-15 Evil Eye had also appeared suddenly when they were halfway up the mountain. However, they were all no match for Jason and the rest, and even the strongest of them, the Evil Eye, had lasted only 10 minutes before it fell under Jason’s rune’s adamantine sword.
Lin Li had to admit that Jason’s position amongst adventurers was well-earned as the ability he had showcased in these fights was well above what an average Warrior was capable of. Every attack and defense were birthed from life and death combat, and while they might not seem like much, they always served him unexpectedly well in fights. Even Lin Li was secretly in awe.
His other two companions were amazing as well. Weathor was very different in his way of fighting—it was unbelievably despicable, and his strikes were never lethal. He always made the ferocious magical beasts suffer by slicing their stomach or poisoning their eyes. Every time, he would escape unscathed, and left the magical beasts frustrated with him.
Rotiah’s magic played its part as well. The dainty beauty was a typical combat Priest, and her magic was targeted at strengthening while minimizing pain. Coupled with a heavenly attack, she held an important role in the fight. If not for her, Jason and Weathor might have fallen prey to the claws of the magical beasts no matter how good they were.
SInce he had spent 30,000 gold coins to hire them, Lin Li happily stood at the sidelines as he never once intervened even though they had encountered over a dozen magical beasts. The only thing he had done was to wave the flag and shout. While the rest did not view this highly, they could not do anything to him, as he had already paid them. Money was power these days, and for someone to spend 30,000 gold coins to hire people… They would have to accept it even if he messed up occasionally, much less expect him to help…
Their journey carried on just like that…
They spent almost half the night to get from the foot of the mountain to the midpoint. As they were about to enter a forest, Jason stopped.
“Mr Felic, it’s dark, and if we were to enter the forest now, we may run into some danger. Should we rest for the night?” The terrain in the Dragon Mountains was complicated, and it had all kinds of magical beasts as well. Coupled with the fact that this was where the boss of the Syer Bandits hid, it would be incredibly dangerous for them to continue at night. They were lucky to have arrived this far; no matter how brave Jason was, he did not dare to continue now.
Too bad he’d met such an employer… Lin Li was utterly useless in Jason’s opinion—this fellow and his servant did not help at all in the dozen or so fights they had been in. Besides cheering them on now and then, they had not done a single thing. It was no child’s play to bring an employer like that on this journey; if they ran into danger at night, it would be one thing to lose the 30,000 gold coins, but he might also lose his life. Wouldn’t that be too high a price to pay?
Hence, Jason refused to continue on into the forest…
Since Jason was not willing to do so, Lin Li could only nod his head and agree. “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”
Then, the six of them set up a few tents and lit a fire.
Nights in the Dragon Mountains were cold and quiet. Lin Li sat in his own tent, wrapped in thick blankets as he started his daily meditation…
