The four found a restaurant and had lunch together.
It was a simple way to build camaraderie.
Afterward, Haus gained a deeper understanding of the three.
The party leader, Pierce, possesses a thrusting skill that allows him to charge forward rapidly and deal significant damage to monsters; The spellcaster, Layla, has elemental enchantment, capable of imbuing weapons with elemental power; As for the archer, Sylvia, the two skills she masters are the first, [Precision Shot], which is the same as Jack’s, and the second, the unique Innate Skill of the forest elves: [Speak with Plants].
It allows her to listen to the voices of plants and use them to scout the surroundings.
All things have a voice, and elves are the messengers who listen to all things.
Sylvia said this to Haus.
It sounded a bit chuunibyou, but it fit perfectly in a fantasy world.
After understanding their abilities and roles, Haus proactively suggested that they need not rush out to adventure; instead, they could spend a day familiarizing themselves with each other’s tactics and coordination.
However, this prudent suggestion was immediately rejected by Pierce.
The reason was that the three of them, being acquaintances, had already practiced coordination during their usual training.
And Haus’s position in the party was that of a guardian, not involved in active combat; he only needed to protect Layla and Sylvia.
The rest could be left to him alone.
Hearing this somewhat arrogant and unreliable statement, Haus instinctively spoke up to remind them that hunting monsters is an extremely dangerous act.
Even the weakest, low-tier Goblins, with their cunning nature and ambush tactics, are enough to take an adventurer’s life.
Moreover, there are also powerful Goblin archers whose arrows can penetrate hardened leather armor worth 40 silver coins.
But when Haus mentioned this part, Pierce on the opposite side waved his hand dismissively and then showed Haus his equipment.
A fine steel longsword worth 5 gold coins, a set of sturdy scale armor covering his entire body, costing 5 gold coins, paired with durable leather bracers and reinforced iron boots, with a self-defense short dagger hanging at his waist.
Layla and Sylvia beside him also revealed their equipment one after another.
Apart from their main weapons, their overall configurations were quite similar; each person’s personal belongings and armor combined were worth over 10 gold coins.
Only Haus was short on funds, with his entire fortune adding up to less than 1 gold coin.
Pierce assured Haus that the arrows shot by Goblin archers would absolutely not penetrate the scale armor he wore, which cost 5 gold coins.
Moreover, even if by some chance he were injured, he carried a healing potion worth 1 gold coin.
Its powerful healing ability was no weaker than the healing spells cast by priests in the church.
Hearing such confident declarations, Haus said nothing more.
With the trio’s skill foundation and fine equipment, clearing out a small Goblin nest should be manageable as long as they were careful.
The last crisis was just an accident, after all.
Could accidents happen every day?
…
“Clip-clop, clip-clop.” In the carriage, Haus rested against his luggage, while Sylvia, sitting beside him, had already removed her wide-brimmed hat and sat quietly to avoid disturbing him.
On the opposite seat, Layla could hardly contain her excitement.
She curiously leaned her head out of the carriage window, watching the town gradually recede into the distance, her eyes filled with anticipation.
This was her first real adventure in life.
Beside her, Pierce was equally excited deep down.
But perhaps out of a man’s pride and competitive spirit, he didn’t show it too obviously in front of Haus.
Instead, he pretended to be composed, imitating Haus by leaning back in his seat and feigning deep thought.
A short while later, the carriage arrived at the edge of the Misty Forest.
Looking at the Misty Forest ahead, where a thin layer of mist lingered among the trees, Pierce swallowed nervously.
The forest was perpetually shrouded in a faint mist, which never dissipated even at high noon under the blazing sun.
This was why the Misty Forest was named “Misty”.
After getting off the carriage, at Haus’s reminder, Pierce, looking slightly tense, took out the mission map and slowly advanced toward the target area, checking it against the markings.
The other two did the same.
Watching the trio’s series of flustered and clumsy actions, Haus suddenly felt something was off.
He realized he had overlooked a key point earlier.
When forming a team at the adventurer’s hall, he had only noticed their fine equipment, likely solid skills, and good character, but he had overlooked the fact that they were still novices.
A group of inexperienced newcomers acting rashly could easily meet with misfortune if they weren’t careful.
However…
When it came to experience, he could make up for it.
This wasn’t blind arrogance but a well-founded confidence born from repeatedly analyzing dangerous situations, studying numerous adventure-related texts, and experiencing real combat adventures firsthand…
Alright, Haus had to admit to himself that he might have gotten a bit carried away.
After raising his [Slash] skill to lv3, the surge in power had given him a strong sense of confidence.
Now, he could unleash the [Slash] skill up to five times in a row.
A full five times!
Confidence came from strength.
Nowadays, Haus even felt strangely confident that, at his current level, if he were to face that fierce Goblin Warrior from before, he might be able to defeat it just like Garp did.
Of course, he’d probably get injured.
But he had [Slow Regeneration], so as long as the injuries weren’t too severe, he should be able to recover.
However, if he had to face a Goblin Warrior while also being surrounded and attacked by over twenty Goblins, the outcome was unquestionable; he would have no chance of survival.
So he needed teammates.
Whether it was for support and restraint, spellcasting assistance, drawing fire, or sharing pressure, having companions to watch each other’s backs was always safer than fighting alone.
The team ventured deep into the Misty Forest.
Before long, Layla, the weakest in terms of stamina, began to falter, her steps gradually slowing.
Her armor and backpack were simply too heavy.
Layla hadn’t expected the life of an adventurer to be this exhausting.
It was completely different from the adventurous life she had imagined.
She had once fantasized that adventure would be easy and romantic, never anticipating that real wilderness trekking would be so arduous.
The harsh reality was starkly different from what she had envisioned.
In response, Haus could only suggest they rest first.
Maintaining good condition was essential to calmly deal with the unknown dangers lurking in the forest.
The dangers hidden in the forest weren’t limited to Goblins.
Finding a suitable spot, just as everyone was about to set down their packs and start setting up a temporary camp, Haus seemed to remember something and signaled Sylvia to use her skill to scout the surrounding area.
Relying solely on sight and hearing wasn’t enough to fully survey the surroundings.
Since the team had a companion with special reconnaissance abilities, it was only natural to make use of them to prevent trouble before it arose.
Upon hearing this, Sylvia immediately closed her eyes and activated the perception skill known as [Speak with Plants].
But the moment the skill activated, she abruptly opened her eyes, her gaze toward Haus filled with terror.
“Get down!”