Vermoor recalled something he had read in Hyunwoo's book.
The quest to defeat the Witch of the Sewers had originally been part of a chain quest.
As Vermoor understood it, a chain quest was not a single, isolated mission but a series of interconnected tasks that continued one after another.
Originally, to find the Witch of the Sewers, one first had to locate someone bearing the witch's mark.
From there, one would discover that those carrying the marks were all drug addicts, then trace the source of the drugs and investigate the people behind their distribution.
During that investigation, one would discover that even the noble district within the Inner City had its share of drug addicts. Information obtained from one such individual would then lead to the next stage of the investigation.
That was how the quest was supposed to unfold.
"Anyway, I understand. If it's that kind of request, I imagine the payment will be generous."
"You won't be disappointed. The advance payment alone is this much……."
Elsie opened her palm and raised two fingers above it.
After all that buildup, there was no possibility she meant a mere twenty Gold Coins. She was offering two hundred.
It was an enormous sum.
And since she had called it an advance payment, that meant there would be an additional sum upon completion.
Considering the matter was connected to Helgor, the reward probably included hazard pay and compensation for maintaining confidentiality.
'Combined with what I've already saved, I could afford to stop working for a while.'
Perhaps he could devote that time to training.
Especially his magic training.
Vermoor still had not given up on receiving the knowledge of Bone Spear from the book.
Shiver.
Sensing an ominous future, the book concealed inside his clothing trembled violently.
Vermoor, however, paid no attention to its distress.
"Finish your preparations and come to the west gate in three days. Just to be safe, prepare enough supplies to camp outdoors for about a month. There's no telling what might happen in the mountains."
"Three days…… Understood."
"Oh, and Mr. Vermoor, this is an important request that the higher-ups are personally overseeing, so you won't be going alone. Other companions will be assigned to accompany you."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Companions.
It had been quite some time since Vermoor had traveled with anyone, not since his carriage journey to Sylvrant.
Three days later, the promised morning arrived.
Vermoor tightened the laces of his leather boots, which had been reinforced with sturdy iron plates.
They were the magical boots he had obtained from the Magic Tower, the Wind Wanderer's Boots.
They fit snugly around his feet and provided excellent footing.
Even setting aside their magical properties, they were exceptionally well-made boots.
He gathered his usual axe and throwing knives, tucked Hyunwoo's book inside his clothing, and secured his beloved sword beneath the belt at his waist.
The pack on his back contained a blanket, rope, basic cooking utensils, and as much food as he could stuff into it.
When he stepped outside the west gate, the lingering blue haze of dawn still blanketed the land.
The sky was gradually changing from deep indigo to pale crimson, while morning mist hung low beneath the city walls.
Three people were already waiting at the meeting place.
The first to catch his attention was a knight leaning against the wall.
He wore armor bearing the insignia of the lord's castle. With no helmet on his head and his hair carelessly swept back, he had a rather roguish appearance.
The knight had been lounging against the wall, but when he spotted Vermoor, his eyes widened and he let out a whistle.
"Whew! So you're that famous Barbarian everyone's been talking about?"
His gaze traveled from Vermoor's feet all the way to his head.
The knight himself was not particularly short, yet he still had to tilt his head back to look at the top of Vermoor's.
"The name's Geldin. I'm a knight serving at the lord's castle. Gathering herbs isn't exactly a knight's duty, but…… His Lordship gave such strict orders that I didn't have much choice."
Commoners generally admired knights almost as much as they admired nobles.
In reality, however, not every knight enjoyed a glorious life.
Some distinguished themselves through great military achievements, received territories as rewards, and rose into the ranks of the lesser nobility.
Others spent their entire lives struggling through military campaigns without ever earning any notable distinction.
The disparity in wealth was even crueler.
Some knights wielded gleaming swords of exceptional quality and wore magnificent plate armor, while others entrusted their lives to battered suits of armor hammered together from old sheets of iron.
And that was without even considering the quality of their warhorses.
Geldin clearly belonged to the latter category.
The joints of his armor creaked, and traces of rust were plainly visible across its surface.
He was a far cry from the dignified image of a knight that commoners so admired.
But Vermoor had little interest in his appearance.
'He's trained himself well.'
Whatever his appearance, the man was a knight.
Through their handshake, Vermoor could tell just how much grueling training Geldin had endured.
His manner of speaking might have been frivolous, but the years of hard work were etched into his palms.
Vermoor knew that the man was not nearly as lightweight as he appeared.
"That's Cassian over there. You can tell from his robes, right? He's a mage from the Tenever School."
The mage called Cassian glanced briefly at Vermoor before turning his attention back to the sky.
He seemed even less talkative than Vermoor.
He offered no greeting and barely turned his head, standing perfectly upright like an exquisitely carved statue.
Vermoor's gaze shifted to the final member of the group.
She was a woman wearing white priestly robes.
"Sorry, but we'll have to wait a little longer. Her esteemed holiness insists on offering her prayers at precisely this hour."
Despite undoubtedly hearing Geldin's sarcasm, the priestess continued kneeling in prayer toward the sun.
She was a priestess of the Sun and Moon Church.
The Sun and Moon Church was the largest religious denomination on the continent and the official religion of the Empire.
Its influence extended to virtually every corner of the continent.
Its followers revered both the sun and the moon, worshipping light and shadow together.
To them, the moment when night gave way to day was a sacred period more precious than anything else.
Her face concealed behind a veil, the priestess remained utterly motionless as she embraced that holy moment with her entire being.
"Shady bastards."
Geldin muttered quietly beside Vermoor.
Unlike his earlier remarks, he spoke softly enough that no one else should have heard him.
It was only because Vermoor possessed extraordinary hearing that the words reached his ears.
"My prayers are finished."
At that moment, the priestess's voice came from directly behind Geldin.
No one had noticed her approach.
"Whoa! You scared the life out of me! Sister, could you make a little noise when you walk? Nearly made my balls fall off!"
The priestess did not respond to the knight's vulgar joke.
Instead, her gaze remained fixed on Vermoor, examining him thoroughly.
Above her veil, her clear eyes shone calmly as she looked up at him.
"Vermoor the Barbarian. I've heard much about your reputation, Brother. I am Rania of the Sun and Moon Church."
"Vermoor."
Vermoor shook hands with his final companion.
He then looked over the people with whom he would be traveling for the foreseeable future.
Geldin was frowning deeply and grumbling under his breath, while Rania did not spare the knight so much as a glance.
Cassian, the mage, continued staring at the sky, completely absorbed in his own world.
It was an unusual group, with wildly different personalities, affiliations, and beliefs.
Looking at companions who showed not even the faintest hint of cooperation, Vermoor smiled with satisfaction.
"Hmm. I believe we'll make an excellent team."
It was a sentiment none of the others could possibly share.
He was the only person present who seemed so inexplicably optimistic.
There was no need to hire a separate guide.
The Magic Tower had already dispatched familiars to determine the location of the medicinal herbs.
Cassian, who had come from the Magic Tower, knew the route, so the group simply had to follow his directions.
Vermoor took the lead, clearing a path ahead of everyone else.
Unfortunately, many of the routes discovered by the familiars were narrow passages suited only for small creatures such as birds, squirrels, and rabbits.
Humans could not pass through them as they were.
Vermoor lifted fallen logs, shoved embedded boulders out of the way, and cleared a passage large enough for everyone to follow.
"Good grief. When someone's that strong, I can't even bring myself to feel jealous."
Geldin spoke with an almost helpless sigh.
When he had first seen Vermoor, he had felt a subtle sense of rivalry.
After all, they would both be fighting on the front lines.
But watching the Barbarian literally bulldoze his way through the forest had instantly extinguished any halfhearted thoughts of competition.
"Looks like all we'll need to worry about is fighting. Isn't that right, Mr. Mage?"
"……."
"What about you, Sister? Doesn't seeing this monstrous Barbarian in action impress you even a little?"
"……."
Despite Geldin's attempts to strike up a conversation, neither responded.
Cassian silently stared into the distance, while Rania kept her lips firmly sealed behind her veil.
"Come on, people. Can't we have a little conversation? Walking through these mountains listening to nothing but everyone's breathing is exhausting. Hey, Mr. Mage, is the food at the Magic Tower any good? And Sister, doesn't that veil get uncomfortable? Can't you take it off?"
Geldin continued chattering to himself for quite some time, but the only responses he received were echoes from the dense forest.
A conversation required participation from both sides.
After trying to speak to what might as well have been a pair of walls, Geldin eventually clicked his tongue and fell silent.
They continued deeper into the mountains.
After an unknown amount of time, Cassian finally spoke for the first time since their departure.
"From this point onward, we're entering the territory of magical beasts."
Just as he said, the atmosphere of the forest changed abruptly.
The familiar chirping of insects and singing of birds had somehow ceased entirely.
In their place came chilling, bestial noises.
The howling of wolves.
The beating of enormous wings.
And strange, rhythmic clicking sounds from something they could not identify.
SKREEEE!
Magical beasts burst from the darkness beneath the trees.
Their heads resembled those of wolves, but their bodies were covered in feathers rather than fur.
Despite their feathered bodies, they had no wings, and their claws curved into long, wicked hooks.
"Sister!"
At Geldin's shout, a gentle wave of light spread from Rania's fingertips.
The radiance she summoned dispersed the threatening aura of the magical beasts while filling her allies with a warm sense of courage.
As the holy light enveloped him, Geldin charged forward with a battle cry.
"Haaah!"
With fluid movements, he parried a beast's claws and severed its neck in a single swift motion.
A second creature lunged at an opening, but he drove it back with a blow from the pommel of his sword.
Meanwhile, Cassian recited a brief incantation.
A massive fireball swelled at the tip of his staff, roiling with flames before engulfing the pack of charging beasts.
"Phew."
Geldin wiped the sweat from his brow as he watched five magical beasts burn.
"Hey, Barbarian! How are things on your……?"
His words abruptly caught in his throat.
"Have you finished dealing with them?"
Vermoor was pulling his blood-soaked axe from the corpse of a magical beast that resembled a bear sprawled facedown on the ground.
Nearby lay at least twenty more magical beasts, each with a throwing knife embedded in the back of its neck.
Vermoor inspected the bodies one by one, carefully retrieving every knife he had used.
The sight was enough to make even Cassian break his silence.
"……He's not human."
When candidates were being considered for this mission, rumors had circulated that Turkan, the Head of the School, had strongly recommended the Barbarian despite considerable opposition.
Cassian had not believed those rumors.
After what he had just witnessed, however, he began to suspect that they were not entirely unfounded.
If the Head of the School had known about the Barbarian's true abilities, it was perfectly reasonable for him to have insisted on his inclusion.
"The wind carries an ominous scent."
Meanwhile, Vermoor had noticed something strange in the breeze blowing between the trees.
It was not merely a premonition.
It was something he could actually sense.
Mixed into the damp, earthy smell of the forest was an odor that had no business being there.
It was the scent of the snowy mountains.