Chapter 211 Prepare for Battle!!!

Before becoming a Class Holder, Xia Nan had gleaned some understanding of just how rare and expensive Magic Equipment with special effects could be by listening to the boastful chatter of adventurers in the tavern.

He only truly realized its value after his trip to Nym. Even after providing the main forging materials and using a portion of them to offset the crafting fees, he still had to spend over half his net worth—a massive sum of 500 gold—just to barely produce a piece of Fine (green) quality equipment.

Without a doubt, even the most ordinary piece of Magic Equipment would easily fetch a four-figure price on the open market.

If the enchantment effect was a bit better and the quality a few tiers higher, it would definitely hit five or even six figures.

Equipment of that tier, however, obviously wouldn't circulate on the open market.

Sometimes, Xia Nan would think back to when he had just transmigrated to this world. Before he even understood the concepts of "Class Holder" or "Adventurer," he had faced a barely adult Bugbear in a perfectly ordinary Goblin Lair.

And to think it had dropped a genuine green-quality accessory with a defensive, auto-recharging spell—the [Deathline] ring.

Wasn't his luck just a little too good?

But on second thought, transmigration itself was an event with a probability close to zero. Since he had already experienced that, having a bit of good luck was perfectly reasonable.

Plus, with that [Fate Coin] in his pocket, maybe the Goddess of Luck really was watching over him. There was no need to overthink it; he just needed to keep moving forward, one steady step at a time.

Meanwhile, the discussion about Magic Equipment seemed to have piqued Veris and Cash's interest. Right now, they were heatedly debating whether to buy an enchanted weapon first once they saved up enough money, or to assemble a set of high-level armor.

He had no intention of joining their conversation.

Xia Nan shifted his gaze, looking toward the other side of the campfire.

Mint was sitting alone in the corner, her knees drawn to her chest, her eyes staring blankly into space.

Her left hand gently stroked her pale-green, teardrop-shaped earring.

Noticing Xia Nan's gaze, she instantly snapped out of her daze. She casually lowered her left hand from her ear, letting it rest on her knee.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her tone.

"Nothing." Xia Nan shook his head, though his eyes remained fixed on the young girl's left ear. "That earring is beautiful. Did your mentor give it to you?"

Seemingly not expecting the question, Mint's expression blanked for a moment, and she fell silent.

Then she forced a smile and said, "No, it's from a very good friend of mine."

"An adventurer too?"

"Mhm." Mint reached up with her left hand again, lightly pinching the earring. "Once this mission is over, I'm going to go see her."

"That's nice."

He had only asked in passing. Once the mission was over, he would be parting ways with the group anyway. Having no intention of prying further, he didn't dwell on it and let the topic drop.

The night gradually deepened.

Although they had suffered an unusually high number of beast attacks along the way, once they set up camp, things seemed to return to normal for the Misty Forest's outer region.

For the entire first half of the night, Xia Nan slept very soundly.

Up until he was woken for his watch near dawn, they hadn't encountered a single attack.

The night was long, especially in an environment like this, bereft of entertainment and requiring constant vigilance against surrounding dangers.

Not to mention, thanks to his outstanding Constitution, a few hours of sleep had completely restored his stamina and left him brimming with energy.

He couldn't even nod off.

So he simply sat by the campfire, staring into the flames and letting his thoughts wander.

On the other side of the camp, the one keeping watch with Xia Nan for the second half of the night was Veris.

Ever since the night wolf mission, out of a secret wariness toward his strength, the others hadn't let Xia Nan keep watch alone.

Right now, this woman—who had the blood of both a Drow Elf and a human flowing through her veins—was standing near the edge of the camp. A look of amusement hung on her face as she stared at something.

It was an exquisite, tiny spiderweb spun between two branches.

The moment he realized what she was looking at, Xia Nan instantly withdrew his gaze.

Darkness, a Drow, a spiderweb...

When these elements came together, it was enough to make any creature on this continent with the slightest knowledge of the divine grow vigilant.

[Spider Queen], [Weaver of Chaos], [Lord of Greed], [Dark Mother of the Drow]...

The spider goddess from the Bottomless Abyss:

—"Lolth".

He could tell that the Drow half-blood in front of him was definitely no divine favored, nor was she a cleric or any related class. It was practically impossible for a few bottom-rung adventurers like them to attract the Goddess's attention.

But out of caution, Xia Nan remained highly rational and chose not to disturb Veris as she idly observed the spiderweb.

After all, he knew very well that catching the eye of this cruel and fickle Goddess—who loved conspiracies and weaving fates like a spiderweb—would, to some extent, be a very bad thing for him right now.

Just as Xia Nan was forcefully looking away and compelling himself to shift his focus, Veris's voice suddenly drifted into his ears.

"Have you ever been to the Underdark?"

Despite the slight aversion in his heart at the possibility of being noticed by the Goddess, he hesitated for a moment, licked his somewhat dry lips, and replied, "Not yet."

The Underdark was not a specific location like Rivervale Town, Nym City, or the Servia Kingdom.

It was the collective name for an entire subterranean ecosystem spanning the continent, made up of water-carved tunnels, limestone caves, and countless underground creatures.

From a certain perspective, the deep underground beneath the Misty Forest might very well hold tendrils of the Underdark; it was just that no adventurer had yet discovered a stable entrance to the subterranean world here.

And the vast majority of Drow Elves in this world lived within the Underdark.

"Hehe, that place really isn't a good spot for the likes of you."

She didn't turn around; her soft chuckle simply drifted into his ears.

"There's air to breathe and food is plentiful enough, but the people who live underground never see the sky for their entire lives."

"Many groups, including the clan I belong to, naturally despise creatures from above. They view surface dwellers as slaves—as expendable materials."

"They aren't nearly as easy to talk to as your big sister Veris."

She stared at the spiderweb in front of her. Her eyes, glowing faintly in the night, vaguely reflected the pure white silk and the little spider waiting in the corner for prey to take the bait.

"The spiders that live in the Underdark are much, much larger than the ones up here."

"They are cold and ruthless. Not even the strongest orcs can break free from the webs they weave."

Buzz—

Perhaps attracted by the nearby campfire, a small flying insect fluttered its wings and flew straight into the web.

The spiderweb trembled gently.

"And once the prey throws itself into the net, those huge, hairy things lurking in the shadows will slowly crawl over and inject venom into its body with their sharp, deadly fangs."

Tiny, bristle-covered legs stepped lightly across the web as the spider, no bigger than half a palm, shifted its body and gradually closed in on its prey.

"That venom doesn't just paralyze the body and strip away your ability to resist; it's also highly corrosive, melting organs and flesh into a puddle of thick sludge."

On the web, the tips of the small insect's wings vibrated spasmodically, but its bodily struggles gradually slowed.

"It doesn't take long. Maybe a few dozen minutes later, you might still look human on the outside, but beneath the skin and bones, you'll be completely hollowed out—nothing but an empty shell."

"At that point, the spider slurps up the liquified flesh inside like it's drinking soup."

Just as her words fell, Veris whipped her head around, her gaze locking onto Xia Nan by the fire.

It was as if she were trying to find some expression of terror on his face.

But all that met Veris was Xia Nan's utter bewilderment at his teammate's bizarre behavior.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Aren't you scared?" she said, curling her lips. "I described it in such detail, and it's night in the Misty Forest. Any normal person would have some kind of reaction, right?"

Xia Nan smiled and shook his head.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell Veris that the moment he heard the word "food," his mind had already begun to wander.

He was wondering if the mushrooms that grew in an environment like the Underdark tasted any better than the ones up here.

He'd heard there were strange creatures known as myconids, and he couldn't help but wonder if they were edible, too.

As for everything Veris said after that, he had only vaguely caught the gist of it.

He opened his mouth, just about to give a casual reply.

"Clang-thud!"

A sharp, ear-piercing noise suddenly echoed from the nearby forest.

It was the sound of an alert trap being triggered.

Having only just gone to sleep not long ago, Cash and Mint were jolted awake by the noise. Without needing Xia Nan to warn them, they shot up, instantly on high alert.

Swiftly and silently falling into formation, the group gathered in the brightly lit camp.

While keeping their eyes locked on the direction of the sound, they also kept a careful watch on the bushes and grass in all other directions.

Naturally, they weren't going to leave the radius illuminated by the fire to enter the dim woodland; doing so would only make the situation more dangerous.

They would hold their ground and wait. If the attacker didn't show up, they would figure out what to do next.

Rustle—

Accompanied by a flurry of hurried footsteps, the bushes shook violently, shrouded in the mist.

Everyone's nerves drew taut.

"Crash!"

Shattered leaves and snapped branches suddenly exploded outward.

What burst into view was a horned deer, as tall as an adult's chest and with long, slender legs.

Perhaps startled by the sudden flare of firelight before it, it dazedly stumbled two steps back on instinct.

An instant later, an untainted, non-poisoned small knife—normally used for butchering carcasses—thrust out from the shadows beside it.

Sharp and precise, it pierced straight into the deer's heart.

A fatal blow.

The force of the impact sent the deer's entire body crashing to the side. It had no time to struggle, let alone escape.

Its legs merely kicked a few times before it became a warm corpse.

Gripping the small knife, she wiped it a few times against the deer's fur to clean the residual blood off its surface.

Veris stepped over on her long legs, her pointed leather boots planting firmly on the corpse's head.