Chapter 121 The Corpse and the Same Situation

"A Mage?!"

Abi's eyes went wide as he stared at Xia Nan, his face full of unrestrained shock.

The "Greenblood" squad had already left Rivervale Town and was currently crossing the open Wilderness between the town and the Misty Forest.

It was broad daylight and relatively safe, with almost no monsters roaming about.

From time to time, they spotted other adventurers on the road returning from completed quests, their faces tired and their eyes full of wariness toward the squad.

Enjoying this last stretch of easy travel before entering the forest, the squad members chatted casually.

Xia Nan had no intention of hiding anything. Thinking little of it, he used the opportunity to pass the time by telling Adeline and the others what he had seen at the Association.

He told them about the high-rank adventurer squad from the Association Second Floor, the one suspected to be entirely made up of Class Holders.

"Was it really a Mage?" Abi asked, practically buzzing with excitement as he leaned in close.

"Did he have an orb of light floating over his head?"

"I remember a bard who visited my village once put on a show. A light the size of a fist lit up the whole barn!"

Due to the extreme requirements for both innate talent and wealth, Spellcasters were not a common sight on the Aifala Continent.

Perhaps veterans who spent all year at the Adventurers' Association, or figures who had already reached the Class Holder level, wouldn't feel this rarity, since their environment was highly tied to transcendent power and brought them into frequent contact with Spellcasters.

But if one expanded the scope to the entire Aifala Continent—especially to the commoners who spent their entire lives living in rural valleys—it was a different story.

They couldn't even tell the difference between a Warlock, a Cleric, and a Mage, let alone name schools of magic like Evocation, Conjuration, or Enchantment.

Their only understanding of a Spellcaster was likely limited to the white-bearded old men from stories who wore wide, pointed hats and conjured fireballs, or some shabby bard who happened to pass through their village over a decade ago.

To some extent, Xia Nan's original body before his transmigration and the current Abi were exactly the same.

However, Xia Nan had consumed a vast amount of anime and novels in his past life's modern society, and combined with the hedge mage's diary he had found, he had long since been disillusioned of the mystique surrounding the Mage class.

He knew that those "Grand Spellcasters" who sat high up in their mage towers, looking down even on the gods in the sky, were an extreme minority.

The vast majority of ordinary Mages were really no different from anyone else. They still had to eat and sleep, they would balk at a restaurant's high prices, and they even had to worry about making a living.

But Abi was, after all, a rookie who had just entered the trade, the kind who would brag about merely chopping down a few goblins.

Hearing from his teammate that a legendary Mage had actually been in the very same room as him...

His excitement practically overflowed.

He not only pestered Xia Nan for details about the Mage's appearance and attire, but also frowned in concentration, struggling to recall the scene back at the Association to dig up the figure's silhouette from his memory.

Naturally, he came up empty-handed.

But perhaps because he thought about it too much, Abi found something suspicious.

"A Class Holder... a Mage..."

"Would an adventurer of that level even participate in a Hunting Day?"

"They probably wouldn't even earn enough to cover their equipment maintenance, right?"

Abi simply couldn't picture it. He couldn't imagine an esteemed Mage—someone who studied mysteries and stars, manipulating magical particles—enduring the stench of the air and trudging deep into a lair through mud mixed with feces and urine just for a few green-skinned goblins, exactly like they were doing.

"How do you know they're heading out to exterminate goblins like we are?"

Berg chuckled beside them, teasing the boy.

"The Association's quest board isn't just full of goblin-related tasks, after all."

"It's perfectly normal for a Hunting Day to last a month or two. No matter how strong those Class Holders are, they still need to eat. Are they not allowed to take on other quests?"

"Heh heh." Hearing Berg put it like that, Abi realized he had been tunnel-visioned. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, though he still muttered, "Who knows? What if they really do have some special quest and just came here to join in the fun?"

Adeline willfully ignored the scene unfolding before her, a scenario likely to play out over a dozen times a day.

She simply used Xia Nan's description to try to recall the appearances and outfits of those Class Holders.

After a moment, she shook her head and said, "I don't have any impression of them, but the income from these Hunting Day activities really is too low for them."

"They probably took on some other quest."

He had only brought it up casually to begin with. Hearing his teammates say this, Xia Nan didn't dwell on it anymore.

He changed the subject, joining Abi and Berg in their discussion about the incomes of high-rank adventurers.

The "Greenblood" squad's objective for this quest was also a goblin lair located on the outskirts of the Misty Forest.

The only difference was that the journey was longer than usual, taking about four to five days round-trip.

A group of twenty-odd goblins was a relatively easy target for their four-person squad.

Barring any special circumstances, there normally wouldn't be much danger.

"We'll rest for a few minutes, then pick up the pace. We should arrive by this afternoon."

Adeline said in a hushed voice as she slashed through a tangle of stubborn thorns blocking their path, standing straight and sweeping the area with a sharp, vigilant gaze.

The three behind her nodded slightly. Without speaking, they breathed quietly, drinking water or pulling out simple travel rations to replenish their energy.

Compared to their high spirits on the road here, the group was visibly much more cautious after entering the Misty Forest.

They hardly spoke unless absolutely necessary, focusing entirely on the trek.

Even the rookie Abi had the sense to keep his mouth shut beneath the shroud of mist in the air.

For a time, the only sounds in the dim woods—thick with pale fog—were the chirping of insects and the rustle of swaying branches.

His nose twitched.

Mixed into the damp, cold air, Xia Nan suddenly caught a faint whiff of rotting stench.

Just as he was about to speak up and ask, he saw Adeline at the front of the formation frown and look back at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance and gave slight nods, clearly realizing they had made the same discovery.

They had no intention of causing unnecessary complications. The forest was full of bizarre things, and minimizing curiosity about one's surroundings was one of the core survival rules for an adventurer.

But strangely, as the squad pressed forward, the rotting scent grew thicker and thicker.

It was as if its source was blocking their exact path.

Eventually, even Abi noticed the foul odor in the air.

"What is that?"

He looked confused, his face turning slightly pale.

Right at that moment, Adeline suddenly stopped at the front of the squad, raising her left hand to signal everyone to be careful.

Xia Nan followed her gaze.

In plain view was a mangled corpse, thoroughly dead and lying quietly on the grass.

It seemed to be an adventurer.

The body was clad in leather armor stained with mud and blood. Its surface was pitted and dented as if brutally battered by a blunt weapon, and the leather across the chest and abdomen had split completely open, revealing grayish-blue skin underneath.

The right leg rested on the ground at a highly unnatural angle, with pale bone fragments piercing through the skin at the break. The left leg was completely severed below the knee, and congealed blood had dyed the surrounding grass a dark crimson.

A small scavenger beast had been feasting beside it. Hearing the noise the squad made, it lowered its head, snatched up a piece of a severed limb, and darted into the thick surrounding brush with a rustle.

There was nothing to be surprised about.

The entire "Greenblood" squad, Abi included, felt no strong emotional reaction to this corpse.

The Misty Forest was exceedingly dangerous; even the relatively safe outskirts were teeming with all sorts of vicious monsters.

For adventurers to be injured or killed was the most normal thing in the world.

They were already used to it.

In comparison, figuring out what this adventurer had encountered and determining the exact cause of death—so they could judge whether any dangerous creatures capable of threatening the squad were nearby—was the most important thing.

Lacking the relevant skills and experience, Xia Nan consciously stepped aside, taking charge of securing the perimeter alongside Abi.

Adeline and Berg stepped forward to examine the corpse.

Also heavily battered by a blunt weapon, the corpse's facial features had been reduced to a bloody pulp; they could only tell that he was male.

His weapons, backpack, and the supply pouch at his waist were all missing, evidently taken as trophies by a person or some other intelligent creature.

There were jagged, torn wounds on his neck, looking as if they had been gnawed by a wild beast. Judging by the size, it definitely wasn't the little scavenger from a moment ago.

"This is strange," Berg said, looking confused.

"Judging by the blunt force trauma and his missing gear, he should have run into adventurers like Gap-Toothed."

"But the fatal wound on his neck was caused by an animal's bite."

"So what did he encounter? A human or a monster?"

"Or... both?"

Adeline didn't answer. She just stood there, staring at the corpse on the ground in deep thought for a moment.

As if noticing something, her gaze suddenly shifted to a patch of slightly shorter grass next to the body.

She quickly stepped over and pushed the grass aside.

By the faint dappled light filtering through the thick canopy above, a deep set of footprints appeared before her eyes.

The footprints were about five to seven inches long, shaped like three-toed claws. The outer two toes ran parallel and splayed outward slightly, while the middle toe was longer. The stride was about thirty percent wider than that of an average human.

"This is—"

Having hit a blind spot in his knowledge, Berg stood beside her in utter confusion, unable to glean any useful information from the prints.

"It should be some kind of humanoid creature."

Adeline, who had sharply spotted the tracks, also shook her head to indicate that she didn't know much more.

There were countless monsters in this world. They weren't biology experts, nor had they undergone any systematic training.

Unless it was a monster they encountered frequently, like a goblin, identifying it solely from a few footprints wasn't something they could pull off.

"We can't tell much. Let's just continue the quest for now."

"Stay on high alert."

Signaling for them not to worry too much, Adeline reminded the men behind her.

Finding an adventurer's corpse in the Misty Forest was all too normal.

If they abandoned a quest and returned to town just for that, they probably wouldn't earn more than a few coppers all year round.

In fact, taking the time to carefully inspect the cause of death after finding a corpse made Adeline one of the more cautious types among low-tier adventurers.

The squad pressed on.

Though the discovery of the dead adventurer had put the entire party on higher alert and slowed their pace considerably, it had also allowed them to avoid a few minor dangers, ensuring their overall progress remained exactly as Adeline had predicted.

By late afternoon, they arrived at their destination.

After working together for so many days, the group had long since nailed down their division of labor.

Xia Nan took Abi to roughly set up traps in the vicinity while keeping an eye out for any hunting goblins returning to the lair.

Adeline and Berg thoroughly checked for tracks at the cave entrance to determine if there were any unexpected complications. While the Association usually provided a rough briefing on a target, it wasn't always accurate.

For safety's sake, doing a preliminary sweep before entering the cave was incredibly important.

This was also a little tidbit of knowledge not recorded in the [Adventure Manual].

"Boss, something's wrong!"

Berg threw down a pinch of wet soil he had collected from the entrance, looking grim.

He stared at the cave entrance, whose diameter was visibly several sizes larger than the goblin lairs their squad had previously cleared.

"There might be a... Bugbear inside!"

Standing before the pitch-black tunnel with her arms crossed, Adeline nodded silently.

Evidently, she had also noticed the signs of a Bugbear.

"What do we do? Do we fall back?" Abi asked. Having just returned from setting traps, his face instantly filled with a mix of excitement and anxiety upon hearing Berg's words.

"Of course we fall back!"

Before Adeline could even answer, Berg immediately interjected.

His tone was heavy, completely stripped of the lightheartedness he'd had when joking with Abi earlier.

Faced with a goblin lair that might contain a Bugbear, this highly experienced veteran adventurer was showing immense resistance to the idea.

It went beyond ordinary caution; he seemed outright terrified for his life.

Recalling the reason Berg had given for staying in their squad during their earlier chats at the Association, Xia Nan nodded thoughtfully.

At the same time, he silently agreed with the man's suggestion to retreat.

A Bugbear's Challenge Rating was as high as "1". Even though individual combat strength fluctuated, it was definitely not something their squad could easily handle.

Even if he and Adeline were nearing the strength of a Class Holder and Berg had sufficient ranged damage output, taking down a healthy, adult Bugbear would still cost the squad heavy injuries or even lives.

That was an absolutely unacceptable outcome for any of them.

But Adeline seemed to have a different idea.

She took two steps down the tunnel, pressed her cheek against the stone wall, and closed her eyes to carefully feel it.

After a long while, she turned back and walked over to the squad.

"The smell of blood is heavy, far thicker than in a normal goblin lair."

"And there aren't any roars or shrieks coming from inside. It's just like... just like that time you first encountered them."

Adeline suddenly paused, glancing at Xia Nan beside her.

Then, she continued, "The situation inside the cave should be the same as last time. It was discovered early by other adventurers, and they killed all the goblins inside."

"But—" Berg opened his mouth, seeming like he wanted to say something, but he was cut off by Adeline after a single syllable.

"You and Abi stay outside the cave as backup. Remember to signal if anything happens."

"Xia Nan, you're coming in with me."