Chapter 120

Hegu Town,

Adventurer Association branch.

The "Hunting Day" had been going on for more than ten days, and the association lobby was still as crowded as ever.

Except for the stairs leading to the second floor, which were slightly quieter, hurried adventurers could be seen everywhere.

Some hadn't even cleaned the blood off their bodies; they stepped in mud, threw bags of blood-dripping loot onto the front desk in exchange for a stack of gold coins, and before they could even catch their breath, they ran back to the lobby to take the next mission.

It was as if they would earn a few less gold coins if they delayed for even a second.

They were incredibly busy.

Consequently, the White Tit Tavern, which was always filled with adventurers twenty-four hours a day, had also been much quieter in the last few days.

This allowed Xia Nan, who lived on the second floor of the tavern, to have a good night's sleep for the first time in a long while.

Compared to the other adventurers in town who seemed to want to earn a whole year's worth of drinking money during the "Hunting Day,"

the "Green Blood" squad, which was usually considered diligent and only rested in town for a day or two between missions, gave people the illusion of being "leisurely."

Adeline saw Green-skinned Goblins as sworn enemies and had only taken Goblin-related missions since entering the trade for many years; she was extremely paranoid.

But after so many years, being able to survive until now, and even making a name for herself in town, proved that she wasn't some kind of lunatic.

No matter how flexible a string is, if it is always kept taut, there will always be a day when it snaps.

The pressure of adventuring in the Mist Forest was immense, and resting after returning to the city was necessary.

Otherwise, being in a poor state, or even developing mental illness, would drag the entire team into the abyss.

Berg had no complaints at all; he acted like an old hand, following Adeline's commands.

If there was a mission, he would make full preparations and follow the team out of the city; if there was nothing to do, he could drink a little wine and sit in the tavern for a whole day.

To a certain extent, the fact that he remained in the "Green Blood" squad with his experience and level already indicated that he valued something else more than gold coins.

Xia Nan's thinking was the same as Adeline's.

Balance work and rest.

His memories and values from his modern life in his previous life made him fully realize the importance of this point.

There was no death warrant chasing him, and proficiency and the like couldn't be practiced in a day or two.

He was not in a hurry for success; he was cautious and moved forward steadily.

He had that patience.

In the entire team, only Abi had a little resentment.

Having just entered the trade, he had earned a huge sum of money in a few missions that he had never seen before.

It made him wish he could kill hundreds of Goblins every day and pick up money in sacks.

However, his words carried little weight.

And no one cared about the simple thoughts of this rookie.

He could only hide in a corner and sulk alone.

Now, after finishing their routine rest, the group had prepared their supplies again and arrived at the Adventurer Association.

"Isn't there any cheaper grocery store in town!"

Squatting in the corner of the lobby, Abi flipped through his backpack, checking for anything he might have missed, his face filled with irrepressible heartache.

"A set of sleeping bags for the wild, plus a few blankets, cost me two whole gold coins!"

"He wasn't even willing to give me a piece of flint; that boss is probably so stingy that even a Beholder couldn't see the opening of his wallet!"

After becoming an adventurer, he earned gold coins that would have taken him many years to save up, but the related expenses also exceeded his expectations.

Abi couldn't even imagine what it would be like when, one day in the future, he would follow Captain Adeline's suggestion and spend a huge sum of fifty gold coins to buy a finger-sized healing potion.

What kind of suffocating experience that would be.

"I'm afraid even my great-grandfather in the ancestral grave would have to crawl out of the ground to scold me for being a spendthrift."

Muttering in a low voice, Abi looked resentful.

Beside him, Berg smiled and patted him on the shoulder, as if he had long expected the other party's performance.

"It's the Hunting Day, it's like this every year."

"Everything in town is rising in price during this period; if you don't follow the rise, it's equivalent to losing money."

"It's just these two months, it'll pass."

As he spoke, he deliberately lowered his voice, leaned in, and gave a hint:

"You know Kukunuer, that famous grocery store owner."

"You should interact with him more often and build a better relationship."

"There's a discount..."

At this, Abi's eyes suddenly lit up.

He stood up abruptly and began to discuss it enthusiastically with the other party.

Xia Nan stood to the side of the two, his body leaning against the wall.

While pricking up his ears and silently remembering the content of their discussion in his heart;

he was also sizing up the adventurers passing by in front.

Taking a mission from the association only required one person; the entire squad didn't need to be present.

But for convenience, to avoid running to the hotel again,

they followed Adeline to the association lobby, and once she finished taking the mission, they would head straight out of town.

His gaze couldn't help but pause.

He saw Adeline in the crowd ahead, who seemed to have run into an acquaintance, talking to a man wearing silver-white arm guards and walking toward the group.

"'Iron Hand' George."

Beside him, Berg seemed to have sensed the doubt in Xia Nan's heart and introduced him at the right time.

Adeline had stayed in Hegu Town for many years, and her strength was considered very good among bottom-tier adventurers who hadn't yet gained professional levels.

Although she wasn't the type of person who was all-encompassing or good at socializing, she could be considered responsible as a leader.

Her reputation was good.

It was a pity that her paranoid personality, which only targeted Goblins, made the team's income far less than what it should have been given her strength.

The frequency of missions, outside of the Hunting Day, was far higher than other adventurer squads in town.

Lots of work, little money.

This meant that even though Adeline had a certain reputation, she couldn't keep people in her team at all.

Those newcomers often left the squad as soon as they gained a foothold to find another way out.

"Iron Hand" George was one of Adeline's earliest teammates.

Many years ago, he was also a member of the "Green Blood" squad.

After leaving, he formed his own team and made a name for himself in Hegu Town.

And the experience of being a former teammate also allowed him to maintain a good relationship with Adeline, which had continued to this day.

"Just a deserter, it's just that the boss doesn't care; if it were me, I wouldn't even pay him any mind!"

Abi's tone carried obvious indignation, as if he were standing up for Adeline and condemning George's behavior of leaving the team.

"Oh?" Berg glanced at him with some surprise, "Do you want to stay in this team for the rest of your life?"

"Of course!"

Abi answered without hesitation.

"The boss brought me into the trade, I will absolutely not betray her!"

To this, Berg only chuckled twice and did not answer.

Young adventurers always tend to overestimate their own character.

One day in the future, when he truly experiences the taste of money, tastes the fear of death, and the beauty of being able to breathe while alive,

his previously naive thoughts will naturally change along with it.

The laughter was particularly harsh; feeling that his will had been slighted, Abi frowned and glared seriously at Berg beside him.

His eyes turned, and he spoke with implication:

"What about you?"

"Thirty or forty years old, many people have retired, why are you still in the team?"

Hearing the other party ask this,

Xia Nan, who had not joined the conversation, couldn't help but feel a bit of interest.

It was indeed as Abi said.

Over a dozen days of contact, he could fully confirm that Berg was a veteran adventurer with many years of experience and decent strength.

According to the conventions of the "Green Blood" squad, he should have left the team long ago, instead of staying here to accompany them in cleaning up Goblins.

Somewhat surprisingly, thinking it was some kind of secret that couldn't be told to outsiders, Berg was exceptionally frank.

"Because I'm afraid of death."

He adjusted the strap of the quiver on his back and answered with a smile:

"I don't have to worry about running into an Owl Bear with cubs one day, nor will I accidentally wander into the lair of some dragon."

"Even if I only rely on the bounties of those green-skinned rats, the income is much higher than going out to work, and I can soak in the tavern every day."

"Safe, and money to be made."

"Isn't that good?"

Hearing this, Abi just curled his lips.

He agreed with Berg's statement in his heart, but subconsciously wanted to refute and be stubborn for a few words.

Just as he raised his head, Adeline had already brought "Iron Hand" George to the group.

He subconsciously shut his mouth and shrank behind the others.

Perhaps because of his relationship with Adeline, George was very enthusiastic toward the people on the field.

Even to Abi, who didn't talk much in front of outsiders, he gave pointers as a senior and taught some adventuring skills.

His gaze suddenly swept over the iron-grey Decapitation Longsword on Xia Nan's back.

George couldn't help but beam with an even kinder smile.

As if asking a question he already knew the answer to, he reached out his right hand, which was wearing metal arm guards, toward Xia Nan:

"This one must be 'Grey Sword', right?"

Forcing a stiff smile on his face, he shook hands with the other party.

Xia Nan felt awkward in his heart.

Before, when he heard nicknames like "Green Blood" and "Huoya," he had some expectations, hoping that he would also have a nickname that would circulate in the future.

But now, when someone actually read out his nickname in front of everyone...

One could only say that his mood was a bit subtle.

Speaking of which, the source of his "Grey Sword" nickname actually leaked out from their own side.

Although the "Huoya" squad was wiped out by them, they still had to deal with the equipment on their bodies, so the news couldn't be hidden at all.

Of course, there was no need to hide it.

Plus the classic adventurer post-drinking bragging session, his strength and battle record were slightly exaggerated by Abi and Berg while they were drunk, and his reputation gradually grew.

"Amazing, amazing."

"To be able to take out Huoya, I thought it was some old adventurer from another part of the continent."

"I didn't expect you to be so young."

"Huoya" Bennett, because of his vicious methods, could be said to be notorious in Hegu Town.

And Xia Nan, who killed him, was like stepping on a stepping stone made by him, invisibly gaining much more fame than usual.

"Let's cooperate if there's a chance in the future; our squad is just lacking fresh blood like you."

George said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

As he spoke, he also glanced at Adeline beside him.

She was long used to it.

She didn't mind, nor did she care about these things.

Even if Xia Nan accepted George's invitation on the spot, Adeline probably wouldn't try to keep him for even a second.

"There will be a chance." Having already decided to go all the way in "lone wolf" mode, Xia Nan nodded slightly toward the other party and politely declined.

Sensing the meaning implied in his words, and since it was just a casual question, George didn't feel offended.

His attitude was friendly and gentle; he chatted with the group for a while before saying goodbye and leaving under the urging of his teammates.

"Why did you stop talking?" Berg looked at George's back as he disappeared behind the association door and teased Abi beside him, "Didn't you just call him a traitor? Why didn't you dare to say a word when he was right in front of you?"

Provoked by him, Abi, who had been shrinking his head and hiding behind the crowd and only speaking cautiously, instantly blushed and argued irrationally:

"This... this person seems quite nice, maybe, maybe there was some other reason for him to leave the team at the time."

"What's more..."

Clap—

Adeline clapped her hands, interrupting the conversation between the two.

"Stop guessing, leaving the team is their own choice; as long as it's not in the middle of a mission, I don't mind."

"If you want to leave one day, just tell me directly."

"Supplies are all ready, right? Now, it's time to do the mission."

As she spoke, she also took the opportunity to display her rather cold sense of humor and added:

"No one wants to quit the team, right? Once we leave town, there's no turning back."

The effect was comparable to the cold wind of the North.

As soon as this sentence came out, even Berg, who had intended to tease Abi some more, unconsciously closed his mouth.

He turned and walked toward the exit of the Adventurer Association lobby.

Xia Nan fell to the back of the team, thinking of following.

The corner of his eye, however, suddenly flashed with an indigo figure.

He paused and looked back.

He saw four figures of different sizes walking down the stairs leading to the second floor of the association.

Walking at the very front was the man he had seen in the association a few days ago, the elegant man in an indigo light robe who looked like a university professor.

Compared to that time, he still wasn't carrying any luggage or equipment.

But in his hand, there was an extra wooden staff with a simple design.

He couldn't help but confirm his identity as a spellcaster.

And beside the elegant man, standing on the left and right, were two burly figures.

One was a half-orc with pale green skin, tusks protruding from his lower lip, bare-chested, wearing only a totem breastplate.

One was a red-haired, burly man with a serious expression, holding a metal helmet and wearing full heavy armor.

And at the end of the team, a tall male elf with golden long hair, walking lightly as if carrying the forest wind, with a thin sword hanging at his waist.

——A high-level adventurer squad composed of professionals, equipped with a mage.

They seemed to have sensed Xia Nan's gaze.

The elegant man looked over along the line of sight, met his eyes, showed a gentle smile on his face, and nodded slightly.

Not expecting the other party to pay attention to him, Xia Nan responded reluctantly and then quickly withdrew his gaze.

"Xia Nan, what are you doing, hurry up!"

"You kid, you don't really want to quit the team, do you?"

"Coming, coming."

His back, carrying two swords, disappeared into the crowd.

"Cornell, what's wrong?"

Beside his ear came the confused voice of a teammate.

The man with an elegant temperament smiled and shook his head, his staff tapping lightly on the steps.

"Nothing."

(End of chapter)