Sunlight shone down on the streets of Luojie City, illuminating three particularly conspicuous figures walking along the thoroughfare.
CLANG! CLANG! A two-meter-tall figure clad in heavy armor strode forward like a moving fortress.
While such towering Warriors were not entirely unprecedented, they were relatively rare—even in Luojie City, where adventurers and Warriors made up the majority of the population. Street vendors and passing pedestrians couldn’t help but cast sideways glances at them.
Leading the way was Randall. Samael studied his retreating back.
Randall was a capable-looking young man with brown hair, chestnut eyes, and a small scar on his left forehead, partially hidden by his bangs. He wore light leather armor outfitted with a simple breastplate and shoulder guards. Three or four waist pouches bulging with items hung from his belt, alongside a short knife, a Longsword, and a quiver of arrows.
Particularly striking was the thick, rigid large bow slung across his back. The massive pitch-black bowstave was covered in gnarled wooden knots, and its bowstring—woven from three brown, rubber-band-like strands—was as thick as a pencil.
"Let me formally introduce myself. I am Randall Rysk, a Third-level Adventurer who was promoted last month. My classes are Longbowman and Hunter, and I specialize in high-draw-weight archery as well as both long and short Two-Handed Swordsmanship. My primary focus includes hunting, exploration, investigation, and other comprehensive missions," Randall explained earnestly to the two Knights as he led the way.
"I’m also the captain of the adventurer party known as... ’The Garbage Beasts of Luojie City’." Randall paused awkwardly upon mentioning the team’s name, his face flushing bright red. "Our party consists of myself, a second-level Heavy Swordsman, a fourth-level Assassin and cat burglar, a Second-Level Apprentice Mage, and a first-level Apprentice Alchemist."
Talia scoffed, laughing aloud from beneath her helmet.
"That team name is... very unique, Brother Randall," Samael said with utmost seriousness, not laughing at all.
"Sami... Samo, ’Garbage Beast’ is the colloquial term for the low-level Magical Beast known as a ’Dung Eater’," Talia explained in a low voice. "Dung Eaters are creatures that scavenge for trash; they are almost purely scavengers. They often tail other large Magical Beasts to survive, picking through their waste and eating their leftovers like janitors. When living alone in the wilderness, they also scavenge corpses, vomit, and... excrement."
In other words, the team name was essentially the equivalent of "The Scavengers," "The Super Dung Beetles," or "The Dung Eater Squad."
Samael was somewhat puzzled, wondering if the members of this adventurer party harbored some kind of grotesque fetish.
"I-I know it’s laughable," Randall coughed dryly, his ears flushing as red as his face.
"Brother Randall, why choose such a name?" Samael asked.
Divine Cultivators often addressed each other as brothers and sisters, which was relatively formal etiquette. However, Samael’s light and enthusiastic tone made the polite address feel much more intimate and friendly.
"It’s because... according to adventurer traditions, a new party is usually named based on the very first mission they complete together," Randall explained.
"After adventurers privately decide to form a party and register at the hall, they remain a temporary team identified only by a number.
"Only after completing their first mission and returning to the hall with a piece of loot can they transition into an official party. Their formal name and registration are then based on that loot from their first joint mission. This process prevents disharmony caused by rookies haphazardly grouping up; it requires at least one cooperative mission to serve as a trial run to build teamwork.
"For example, if the first mission involves hunting a crimson Red Dragon Vulture and bringing back a crimson Dragon Vulture Feather, the team could be called ’The Red Dragon Vultures of Luojie City’ or ’The Dragon Vulture Feathers of Luojie City’.
"If the first mission is to drive away a pack of giant-jawed desolate beasts and they return with a jar of dirt bearing their tracks, they could be named ’The Desolate Beast Footprints of Luojie City’ or ’The Beast-Expelling Soil of Luojie City’.
"Such traditions result in many novice adventurer teams treating their first mission with a heavy sense of ceremony. They carefully pick and choose their tasks, sometimes even actively provoking highly dangerous Demonized Beasts or taking on incredibly perilous missions just to secure a cool, awe-inspiring team name.
"Rookies often lack a complete understanding of their own strength. As a result, they frequently pay any price for a good name, punching above their weight class to take requests and challenge powerful creatures. Although countless novices die because of this and very few succeed, an awe-inspiring, domineering party name holds an irresistible allure for those just entering the trade. Thus, every year, a large number of brave newcomers continue to flock toward danger, forcing themselves to accept high-level missions for their very first request just for the sake of a cool name."
"But when my teammates and I formed our party, we were all probably... a bit timid." Randall hesitated. "At the time, I was only second-level, and the other three in the team—the Heavy Swordsman, the Mage, and the Alchemist—were all first-level. The Alchemist was even a complete novice still in her trailing and learning phase. I... simply didn’t have the courage to make such a team take on a massive risk just for a flashy title.
"Because of that, our party’s first accepted mission was to clear out the Dung Eaters attracted by the residential garbage and graveyards in and around Luojie City.
"Although Dung Eaters smell quite bad and can spit venom, as long as you avoid getting too close and control the engagement distance with ranged attacks, they can be safely eradicated without anyone getting injured or poisoned."