[Reward]: 150,000 gold (negotiable)
[Quest Summary]:
A Transcendent Tier Mire Druid of the Circle of Spores contaminated the water supply in Neum’s Lower District, directly causing the deaths of 153 commoners and leaving nearby neighborhoods without water for almost two months.
For detailed information, contact an Adventurers’ Association staff member.
Anyone who provides information on the target’s location will receive a reward from the Meadow Church.
…
Xia Nan stared at the long string of zeros in the reward field.
His eyebrow twitched.
He was standing in front of the quest board inside the Adventurers’ Association.
Now that he had decided to continue down the path of an adventurer, his plan was simple.
Take a few easy jobs.
Get some hands-on experience.
Learn how the entire process worked.
Naturally, before doing that, he had first indulged in the timeless human habit of looking at things he could never afford.
Or in this case, quests he could never survive.
[I may not be able to take them, but nobody said I can’t look.]
So Xia Nan had started at the very top of the board.
The highest-paying jobs.
The most dangerous targets.
The kind of rewards that made his hundred-plus gold coins look like loose change.
“Tsk, tsk.”
He stared at the bounty again.
150,000 gold.
Then he carefully committed several unfamiliar but obviously important terms to memory.
“Transcendent Tier.”
“Mire Druid.”
“Circle of Spores.”
He had no idea what any of them actually meant.
That only made them more worth remembering.
Then Xia Nan wisely moved his gaze downward.
Much farther downward.
…
[Reward]: 200 gold
[Quest Summary]:
A caravan that departed Rivervale Town for a nearby village disappeared while traveling from Kalanfor, east of the Misty Forest, toward Emerald Creek Village.
The caravan’s owner suspects an attack by bandits or monsters and is seeking adventurers to investigate.
: 15 days
[Additional Information]:
An adventurer recently discovered signs of a spined devil near Emerald Creek Village.
It may be connected to the caravan’s disappearance.
…
Xia Nan stared at the words.
“What even is a spined devil?”
Never mind the two place names in the quest description that his predecessor had never heard of.
Just seeing the name “spined devil” was enough to drag Xia Nan’s memories back to the goblin cave.
More specifically, to the bugbear.
That unpleasant experience had taught him a valuable rule.
[Until I get something like a monster compendium and actually learn how strong these things are, every monster I’ve never heard of counts as something I can’t fight alone.]
Simple.
Practical.
Much less likely to get him killed.
And investigation quests had another problem.
Uncertainty.
A gathering quest was straightforward. You went somewhere, gathered something, and came back.
An investigation?
That could begin with a missing caravan and end with discovering something that belonged on the six-figure bounty board above.
No, thank you.
[Looks like I really should join an experienced party for a while.]
Xia Nan rubbed between his brows.
With only the thin [Adventurer’s Handbook] to rely on, there was a very real chance he could run into a monster and not even know what it was called.
His gaze moved farther down.
He kept searching.
And searching.
Until, finally, tucked away in one corner of the wooden board, he found something that made his eyes light up.
…
[Reward]: 1 gold per cluster
[Quest Summary]:
Edwina, proprietor of “Verdant Crucible” at No. 17 West Street, Rivervale Town, is preparing a new batch of antidote and urgently requires large quantities of glowgarlic vine from the outskirts of the Misty Forest.
Illustration attached.
: 3 days
…
Xia Nan leaned closer.
He compared the illustration with the description.
Then his eyes widened.
He knew this plant.
A few days ago, while returning from the Misty Forest, he had passed a large patch of plants that gave off a faint green glow at night, almost like fireflies.
At the time, Xia Nan had assumed they were some kind of monster bait.
Maybe a predatory creature using light to lure prey closer.
So he had taken one look, decided survival mattered more than curiosity, and made a huge detour before setting up camp elsewhere.
Now…
He thought back to that glowing patch.
[There had to be at least thirty clusters.]
Thirty.
At one gold each.
More than 30 gold.
Xia Nan’s heartbeat quickened.
The Ragtag Party had nearly wiped itself out during the goblin investigation.
Elki had died.
Gagu had died.
Maji had died.
Xia Nan, who had only been a temporary member, had barely made it back alive.
And the official reward for that investigation had only been 30 gold.
This?
This was practically money lying on the ground waiting for him to pick it up.
[Is my beginner’s luck still going?]
A pleased smile tugged at his lips.
By the time the thought finished, Xia Nan had already turned away from the quest board and started toward the association’s exit.
Before heading out, however, he had preparations to make.
…
Xia Nan knew exactly where he stood.
Yes, [Spinning Slash] had reached its maximum level of Lv. 5.
Yes, his physical abilities had improved after he gained attribute points.
Neither fact changed the most important thing.
He was still a low-level adventurer.
The deaths of Elki and Gagu remained fresh in his mind.
And Maji had been an experienced adventurer, yet even he had ended up dead at the hands of someone as inexperienced as Xia Nan.
Strength mattered.
Experience mattered.
But so did caution.
Thinking one step further ahead could be the difference between returning alive and never returning at all.
So, for his first solo quest, Xia Nan followed the [Adventurer’s Handbook] almost religiously.
His preparations were thorough.
Possibly too thorough.
The entire round trip should only take a day.
Xia Nan packed enough food and water to survive five days in the wilderness anyway, while still leaving room in his backpack for the glowgarlic vines.
Cost: 8 silver and 2 copper.
Next came a medical kit with bandages, salves, and splints, enough for ten uses.
He even talked the general store owner into throwing in 20 feet of hemp rope for free.
Cost: 5 gold.
Then came the basic survival gear.
Compass.
Simple map.
Flint.
Sleeping bag.
Blanket.
Canteen.
And several other necessities.
Cost: 6 gold and 2 silver.
There was one other important matter.
Money.
The last thing Xia Nan wanted was to run into danger, be forced to abandon his backpack, and lose his entire fortune along with it.
So he had deposited most of the gold from his previous quest into the only bank in Rivervale Town.
The interest was laughably low.
Almost nonexistent.
But the bank was secure.
That was all Xia Nan cared about.
Adventuring equipment was absurdly expensive compared with normal goods.
It felt as though the moment the word “adventurer” became involved, every merchant collectively agreed to add another zero to the price.
Still, Xia Nan understood the logic.
These expenses bought safety.
Safety bought survival.
And survival was not something to save money on.
Besides, this quest was short.
If everything went smoothly, by this time tomorrow he would already be back at White Chickadee Tavern with 30 gold in his pocket and a good meal in front of him.
Most of the supplies would barely be touched.
He could use them again next time.
Scratch!
Xia Nan crossed out the second-to-last item on the note in his hand.
Then he tightened the straps of his backpack and exhaled.
Thanks to the convenient cluster of shops surrounding the Adventurers’ Association, he had finished almost all his preparations in a single afternoon.
Thinking back on it, the whole experience had been strangely familiar.
He had spent hours carrying bags and bundles, shopping list in hand, weaving through crowds of bizarre-looking people as he went from store to store.
For a moment, Xia Nan felt as though he had been dropped into some fantasy movie, shopping in Diagon Alley before the start of a new term at Hogwarts.
He smiled and shook his head.
[No going back now.]
Then his gaze dropped to the final item on the list.
[Weapons and Equipment]