Chapter 121

"Mage!?"

Abi widened his eyes as he looked at Xia Nan beside him, his face filled with irrepressible astonishment.

The "Green Blood" squad had already left River Valley Town and was currently in the open wilderness between the town and the Mist Forest.

It was daytime, so it was still relatively safe, with basically no monsters appearing.

Along the way, one could occasionally see adventurers who had just finished their missions and were on their way back, their expressions weary and full of wariness toward the group.

During the last bit of relaxed time before entering the forest, the members of the squad chatted idly.

Xia Nan had no intention of hiding anything, nor did he think much of it; he just treated it as a topic to pass the time and took the opportunity to tell Adeline and the others about what he had seen at the Association.

——That high-level adventurer squad from the second floor of the Association, suspected to be composed of professionals.

"Is it really a mage?" Abi appeared exceptionally excited, leaning close to Xia Nan and curiously questioning him.

"Did he have a ball of light above his head?"

"I remember a bard who came to the village before performed it; it was the size of a fist and could light up the entire granary!"

Due to the extremely high requirements for talent and financial resources, "spellcasters" are not common on the Aifala Dalu.

Perhaps those who spend their time at the Adventurer Association year-round, or those whose strength has already reached the professional level, often see spellcasters because their environment is highly correlated with transcendental power, and thus they do not feel this.

But if this scope is expanded to the entire Aifala Dalu, especially for those civilians who have lived their whole lives in rural mountain gullies.

They cannot even distinguish the difference between a "warlock," a "priest," and a "mage," let alone school names like "evocation," "conjuration," or "enchantment."

Their only knowledge of spellcasters is probably just the white-bearded old man in stories who conjures fireballs while wearing a wide-brimmed pointed hat, or some shabby bard who accidentally passed through the village a dozen years ago.

To some extent, the original self before his transmigration, and the Abi before him, were both like this.

It was just that Xia Nan, because of the numerous anime and novels he had read in his modern life in his previous world, as well as that diary of a wild mage from before, had already disenchanted the profession of "mage."

He knew that those "great spellcasters" who sat high in mage towers and didn't even think much of the gods in the sky were only a tiny minority.

The vast majority of ordinary mages are actually no different from them; they also need to eat and sleep, will hesitate because of the high consumption of a certain restaurant, and even need to worry about their livelihood.

But after all, Abi was still a newcomer who had just entered the trade and could brag about cutting down a few Goblins.

Hearing from his teammate that a legendary "mage" was actually in the same room as him.

The excitement on his face was almost overflowing.

Not only did he pester Xia Nan to ask about the mage's appearance and attire, but he also frowned and concentrated, trying hard to recall the scene in the Association just now, attempting to find the other person's figure in his mind.

The result was naturally nothing.

But perhaps because he thought too much, Abi discovered a suspicious point:

"Professional... mage..."

"Would this level of adventurer also participate in the 'Hunting Day'?"

"I'm afraid they wouldn't even earn back their equipment maintenance fees, right?"

Abi could not imagine the scene of a noble mage, who contemplates mysteries and stars and controls magic particles, enduring the stench in the air like them, stepping on the muddy ground mixed with feces and urine to go deep into a lair, just for a few green-skinned Goblins.

"How do you know they are also going to exterminate Goblins like us?"

Beside them, Berg smiled and teased.

"There isn't only Goblin-related missions on the Association's mission wall."

"It's normal for the Hunting Day to last for a month or two; those professionals have to eat no matter how strong they are, so you don't allow others to go out and take other missions?"

"Hehe." Hearing Berg say this, Abi also knew he was being stubborn, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, but still stubbornly saying:

"Who knows, what if they have some special mission and just came to join the fun."

Adeline consciously ignored this scene that might appear a dozen times a day.

She just referred to Xia Nan's description and recalled the appearance and attire of those professionals.

After a moment, she shook her head and said:

"No impression, but the income from these 'Hunting Day' activities is indeed too low for them."

"They probably took some other mission."

It was just a casual mention, and hearing several teammates say so, Xia Nan stopped thinking about it.

He changed the subject and joined Abi and Berg in the discussion about the income of high-level adventurers.

The "Green Blood" squad's mission target this time was also a Goblin lair located on the outskirts of the Mist Forest.

It was just that the journey was longer than before, taking about four to five days to go back and forth.

More than twenty Goblins could be said to be relatively easy for their four-person squad.

Unless there were special circumstances, there would generally not be too much danger.

"Rest for a few minutes, then we'll speed up, and we should be able to arrive by this afternoon."

Slashing through the troublesome thorns blocking the way with one strike, Adeline straightened her body, her keen eyes alert to the surroundings, and said in a low voice.

The three people behind her nodded gently without speaking, just breathing quietly, each drinking water or taking out simple, easy-to-carry food to replenish energy.

Compared to the high spirits on the way here, the group was clearly much more cautious after entering the Mist Forest.

They didn't even talk unless necessary, just focusing on the journey.

Even the rookie Abi consciously shut his mouth under the shroud of mist in the air.

For a time, in the dim forest filled with pale mist, only the sound of insects and the "rustling" of swaying branches remained.

Her nostrils flared.

Mixed in the humid and cold air, Xia Nan suddenly smelled a faint stench of rot.

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Adeline at the front of the team also frowning and turning back.

The two looked at each other and nodded slightly, clearly having realized the same discovery.

They had no intention of causing trouble; there were all kinds of strange things in the forest, and minimizing curiosity about surrounding things was one of the survival rules for adventurers.

But strangely, this rotting scent became more and more intense as the squad moved forward.

As if it were blocking their path.

In the end, even Abi discovered the stench in the air.

"What is that?"

He wondered, his face not looking very good.

And just at this moment, Adeline at the front of the team suddenly stopped, simultaneously raising her left hand to signal everyone to be careful.

Xia Nan looked in the direction of her gaze.

What came into view was a mutilated corpse that had completely died and was lying quietly on the grass.

It should be an adventurer.

Wearing leather armor covered in mud and blood, the surface was pitted as if it had been violently smashed by some blunt weapon, and the leather on the chest and abdomen was completely split open, revealing the blue-grey skin underneath;

The right foot landed on the ground in an extremely twisted posture, and pale bone fragments piercing the skin could be seen at the break; the left leg was broken from the knee down, and the congealed blood stained the nearby grass brown-red.

A small scavenger beast was feasting on it, and upon hearing the movement made by the squad, it lowered its head, grabbed a severed limb, and "whooshed" into the dense grass nearby.

Nothing to be surprised about.

The entire "Green Blood" squad, including Abi, had no strong feelings about this corpse.

The Mist Forest is extremely dangerous, and even the relatively safe outskirts are filled with various ferocious monsters.

Adventurers getting injured or dying is the most normal thing.

They were long used to it.

By comparison, figuring out what this adventurer encountered before death and clarifying the specific cause of death.

In order to judge whether there were dangerous creatures nearby that could threaten the squad, was the most important thing.

Not possessing relevant skills and experience, Xia Nan consciously gave up his position and was responsible for guarding the surroundings with Abi.

Adeline and Berg stepped forward to examine the corpse.

Also suffering from severe blunt force trauma, the corpse's facial features were left with only blood and gore, and only the male identity could be determined;

The weapons, backpack, and the supply bag at the waist were all gone, clearly taken away as trophies by people or some other intelligent creatures;

There were jagged lacerations on the neck, as if bitten by a beast, and judging by the size, it shouldn't be that small scavenger beast just now...

"Strange." Berg looked confused.

"Judging by the blunt force wounds on his body and the missing equipment and supplies, he should have encountered adventurers like 'Scar'."

"But the fatal wound on the neck was caused by a beast's bite."

"So what did he encounter, a person or a monster?"

"Or... both?"

Adeline did not answer, just stood in place, looking at the corpse on the ground and pondering for a moment.

As if she had noticed something.

Her gaze suddenly looked at the slightly shorter grass beside the body.

She stepped forward quickly and pushed it aside.

With the help of the light spots falling faintly from the gaps in the lush canopy above, what appeared before her eyes was a string of deep footprints.

The tracks were about five to seven inches long, in a three-toed claw shape, with the two outer toes parallel and slightly expanded outward, while the middle one was longer, and the stride was about thirty percent wider than that of an ordinary human.

"This is..."

Touching a blind spot in his knowledge, Berg beside her was confused and could not analyze any effective information from it.

"It should be a humanoid creature."

Adeline, who keenly discovered the footprints, also shook her head, indicating that she didn't know more.

There are countless monsters in this world, and they are not experts in the biological field, nor have they received systematic training.

Judging the identity of the owner based on just a few footprints, unless it is a monster like a Goblin that they often come into contact with, is not something they can do.

"Can't tell anything, let's continue the mission first."

"Be careful to stay alert."

Signaling not to worry too much, Adeline reminded the people behind her.

In the Mist Forest, finding an adventurer's corpse is the most normal thing.

If they just gave up the mission and returned to the city because of this, they probably wouldn't earn a few copper coins all year round.

In fact, someone like Adeline, who still seriously checked the cause of death after finding a corpse, was already considered quite cautious among bottom-level adventurers.

The squad continued to move forward.

Although the entire team was more alert because of the adventurer's corpse found on the road, the speed of movement was much slower.

But it also avoided a few small dangers, making the overall progress still as Adeline had expected before.

In the afternoon, they arrived at their destination.

After so many days, several people had long since clarified their respective divisions of labor.

Xia Nan took Abi to roughly set up traps in the surrounding area, while also being alert for Goblins returning to the lair from hunting.

Adeline and Berg checked the traces at the entrance of the cave in detail to judge whether there were any unexpected situations.

Although the Association would roughly introduce information related to the target, it was not always accurate every time.

For the sake of safety, it is very important to check once before entering the cave.

This is also a piece of trivia not recorded in the 【Adventurer's Handbook】.

"Boss, something's wrong!"

Berg threw down the wet soil from the cave entrance he had picked up, his expression serious.

His gaze looked at the cave entrance, which was clearly several times larger in diameter than the Goblin lair their squad had cleared before.

"There might be... Hobgoblins inside!"

Adeline stood in front of the pitch-black tunnel, arms crossed over her chest, nodding silently.

Clearly, she had also noticed the existence of Hobgoblins.

"What should we do, are we retreating?" Abi came back after setting up the traps, and upon hearing Berg say this, an expression of excitement mixed with anxiety immediately appeared on his face.

"Of course we're retreating!"

Before Adeline could answer, Berg immediately snatched the response.

His tone was heavy, without the ease when joking with Abi before.

For a Goblin lair where Hobgoblins might exist, this "old hand" with rich adventure experience appeared unusually resistant.

Even exceeding ordinary caution, appearing a bit afraid of death.

Recalling the reason he revealed for staying in the squad during their chat at the Association before.

Xia Nan nodded thoughtfully.

At the same time, he also agreed with the other party's proposal to retreat.

The challenge rating of a Hobgoblin is as high as "1", and although the individual's actual combat power fluctuates, it is not something their squad can easily handle.

Even if his and Adeline's strength were already close to professionals, and Berg's long-range output was sufficient.

To take down an adult Hobgoblin in a normal state, it would also require the price of serious injury or even the loss of squad members.

This was absolutely unacceptable to any of them.

But Adeline seemed to have different thoughts.

She walked two steps into the tunnel, pressed her cheek against the surface of the stone wall, closed her eyes, and felt carefully.

After a long while, she turned around and walked toward the squad.

"The smell of blood is very heavy, far more intense than an ordinary Goblin lair."

"And you can't hear any roaring or screaming inside, just like... when you first encountered it."

Adeline paused suddenly, glancing at Xia Nan beside her.

Then she continued:

"The situation inside the cave should be the same as that time, discovered in advance by other adventurers, and all the Goblins inside were killed."

"But..." Berg opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but was interrupted by Adeline as soon as the first word came out.

"You and Abi stay outside the cave to respond, remember to signal if there's a situation."

"Xia Nan, come in with me."

(End of chapter)