Chapter 20: Firefly Garlic Vine

【Mission Number】: 26

【Type】: Bounty

【Reward】: 150,000 gold (negotiable in person)

【Mission Description】:

An extraordinary-tier Wildmarsh Druid (Spore Circle) has contaminated the water source of Neum’s Lower District, directly leading to the deaths of 153 civilians and a water outage in nearby neighborhoods lasting nearly two months.

Please contact association staff to inquire about specific information. Those who provide intelligence on the target’s location will receive a reward from the Meadow Church.

【Time Limit】: None

……

Looking at the massive string of zeros behind the reward column, Xia Nan’s brow couldn’t help but twitch.

Presently, he was standing right in front of the mission board in the hall of the Adventurers Association.

Having already made up his mind to persist on the path of an adventurer, he intended to find a few simple missions first to practice his skills and thoroughly familiarize himself with the entire process.

Then, harboring the simple, honest mindset of “even if I can’t afford it, there’s no harm in looking,” he stole a couple of glances at the very top of the mission board, where the missions with the highest rewards were listed.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Xia Nan smacked his lips, committing several terms from the mission information to memory, such as “extraordinary-tier” and “Wildmarsh Druid” whose exact meanings he didn’t yet understand but were clearly useful.

Subsequently, he shifted his gaze downward, arriving at the very end of the mission board.

……

【Mission Number】: 201D

【Type】: Investigation

【Reward】: 200 gold

【Mission Description】:

A merchant caravan setting out from Rivervale toward a nearby village went missing along the route from Kalanford, located on the eastern side of the Misty Forest, to Cuixi Village. The owner of the caravan suspects they may have encountered a raid by bandits or monsters and requires adventurers to go and investigate.

【Time Limit】: 15 days

【Additional Information】:

Recently, adventurers have discovered traces of “Thorn Devils” around Cuixi Village, which may be connected to the disappearance of the caravan.

……

“Wait a minute, what on earth is a Thorn Devil?”

Leaving aside the two place names mentioned in the description, which were completely unheard of in his predecessor’s memories, the mere words “Thorn Devil” couldn’t help but make him recall the painful memory of facing the bugbear inside the goblin cave.

“For monsters whose names I haven’t heard before, at least until I can buy a book like a ‘Monster Illustrated Index’ to figure out their specific strength and power levels, I will uniformly treat them as powerful monsters that I cannot handle alone.”

Furthermore, the uncertainty of this kind of investigation mission was too high. There was no guarantee that the mission difficulty wouldn’t skyrocket at any given moment to the level of those six-figure bounties above.

“As expected, I should still find an experienced party to stay with for a while,” Xia Nan thought to himself, rubbing his slightly aching brow.

Otherwise, relying solely on that thin Adventurer’s Handbook in his hand, he was afraid he wouldn’t even be able to figure out the names of the monsters he crossed paths with along the way.

His line of sight continued to slide downward.

Finally, after a lengthy search in the very corner of the mission board’s wooden plank, he discovered an option that his current abilities were fully capable of undertaking.

……

【Mission Number】: 387H

【Type】: Gathering

【Reward】: 1 gold / cluster

【Mission Description】:

Lady Edwina, the owner of “The Green Crucible” at Number 17 West Street, Rivervale, is currently preparing a batch of a new style of antitoxin potions and urgently requires a large amount of “Firefly Garlic Vine” (attached picture) that grows at the periphery of the Misty Forest.

【Time Limit】: 3 days

……

Cross-referencing the illustration and description displayed on the mission board, Xia Nan’s eyes lit up instantly.

He remembered very clearly that on his way back from the Misty Forest a few days ago, he had seen a massive cluster of this exact plant, which emitted a greenish-blue glimmer like fireflies at night.

He remembered that at the time, he had mistakenly assumed it to be some kind of monster that relied on light to attract prey, so he had bypassed it from a great distance and set up camp at another location.

Recalling the quantity of those Firefly Garlic Vines now…

“There are probably at least thirty clusters!”

And that would mean an income of over 30 gold coins!

One had to know that back when the bottom-of-the-barrel party fought tooth and nail, wiping out until he was the only temporary member left, the reward for their mission investigating the goblin infestation was barely 30 gold.

This money was practically being handed directly to his face; he would be a fool not to earn it!

“Could it be that my rookie luck is still continuing?” Xia Nan couldn’t help but think beautifully in his heart.

His body, however, had already turned around, walking toward the direction of the Adventurers Association’s exit.

Before heading out for the mission, he still needed to make some necessary preparations.

……

Xia Nan understood his own positioning clearly.

Even though he had mastered the combat skill 【Whirlwind Slash】 and raised it to its maximum level of LV5, and his physical attributes had improved through the acquisition of attribute points, he himself still resided within the ranks of the bottom-tier adventurers.

The tragedies of Erki and Gagu remained vivid in his mind. Even an experienced adventurer like Maji had ultimately met his end at the hands of a “green youth” like himself.

Being a bit more cautious and considering things a bit more could never go wrong.

Therefore, for his very first solo mission, Xia Nan referenced the suggestions given in the Adventurer’s Handbook and made preparations so thorough they were almost exaggerated:

Even though the round trip would only take a single day’s journey, on the premise of preserving storage space for the Firefly Garlic Vines, he brought along enough food and water to survive in the wild for five days—8 silver and 2 copper.

A medical toolkit containing bandages, ointments, and splints, sufficient for ten uses. Xia Nan even had the general store owner throw in twenty feet of hemp rope as a bonus—5 gold.

Essential living supplies such as a compass, a crude map, flint, a sleeping bag, a wool blanket, and a water canteen—6 gold and 2 silver.

It was worth mentioning that in order to avoid the awkward predicament of having to abandon his backpack and luggage during his adventure, thereby losing his entire net worth, Xia Nan had deposited most of the gold coins harvested from his last mission into the only bank inside Rivervale town. The interest was so low it was practically negligible, but it was exceptionally safe.

Although the prices of these adventure-related items seemed to belong to an entirely different dimension, he understood very well that this was an expense that must be paid to guarantee his own life and safety.

What was more, the route for this mission was very short. If things went smoothly, by this time tomorrow, he would already be back at the White Titmouse Tavern enjoying a grand feast with the thirty gold coins from the mission reward in his pocket.

The things he had prepared above would, at most, be one-tenth consumed. He could simply continue to use them for his next mission.

“Scribble!”

Crossing out the second-to-last essential item listed on the notepad in his hand, Xia Nan tightened the backpack behind him and let out a sigh of relief.

Thanks to the “one-stop shop” service of the street where the Adventurers Association was located, he had completed most of his preparations before departure in just a single afternoon.

Recalling how he had just been lugging large and small bundles around, one hand pinching a purchasing checklist as he threaded his way through the bizarrely shaped pedestrians, moving back and forth between various shops, Xia Nan suddenly had a sense of deja vu, like shopping in Diagon Alley before the start of a Hogwarts school term in a movie from his past life.

“Can’t go back anymore.”

Shaking his head with a smile, he looked toward the very last row on the checklist.

【Weapons & Equipment】

(End of Chapter)