Chapter 237 The Primordial Roar From the Vault of Heaven

Luca's cooking skills were incredibly mediocre.

Xia Nan had been certain of this since the afternoon before they left Rivervale Town, right after taking his first bite of the man's "smoked meat stew."

The burly, honest-looking man didn't seem to have any experience handling ingredients.

A few potatoes were either left half-unpeeled or gouged so deeply that only half their normal size remained.

His seasoning was even more abstract. It was a mystery how he managed to force all the salt to the bottom of the pot.

The top tasted like plain water, while the bottom was so salty it burned the throat.

Any random street child who grew up doing chores could probably throw together something far more delicious with just a few minutes in the kitchen.

It seemed their escort squad wasn't quite as well-rounded as he'd imagined.

Of course, considering Xia Nan wasn't particularly skilled at cooking himself—and had no intention of taking over the squad's chef duties—it wasn't his place to say much.

Although his original body came from a common village, he had spent most of his days working the fields with his father and older brother. While his mother and sister would help out during the busy harvest, they usually headed back early to prepare meals, meaning dinner was always ready by the time the men got home. Thus, he had little experience prepping food.

As for his past self... well, wiping a hand across his rented apartment's kitchen counter would have left his palm covered in dust.

He had watched plenty of cooking videos, but the most he ever did was fry an egg to go with his instant noodles. Toiling under the stars and moon every day, he would collapse onto the couch upon returning home and pass out in seconds. He simply never had the time or energy to improve his culinary skills.

Faced with the squad's current predicament, there really was no good solution.

Fortunately, they were all adventurers out in the wild. Freed from "complex" kitchenware, the situation instantly improved.

They just needed to roast their food over the campfire and sprinkle on some spices. No matter what, it couldn't taste too terrible.

"Crunch."

The muscles in his cheeks and his arm tensed simultaneously as he forcibly bit off a piece of the dried meat in his hand.

Chewing vigorously, he felt the tough, salty texture on the tip of his tongue. Xia Nan's expression didn't waver, but he dipped the jerky a few extra times into the small jar of honey he carried with him.

His eyes glazed over slightly, as if trying to use the honey's unique sweetness to reminisce about the wonderful time he'd spent at the White Chickadee Tavern.

At the same time, he made a silent vow. If he ever got his hands on a spatial magic item that could store things freely, he would pack it full of professionally cooked meals before heading out.

Otherwise, even if he reached the Transcendent Tier or Legendary rank in the future, going out on an adventure would still mean boiling beans and gnawing on jerky. That wouldn't feel like much of a power upgrade at all.

Washing the jerky down with hot water boiled over the campfire, Xia Nan leaned back against a tree trunk. With half-closed eyes, he gazed at the flames. The Decapitating Longsword and the wooden sword [Green Pine] rested by his side, ready to be snatched up at a moment's notice.

By now, the escort squad had left Rivervale Town and was traveling across the desolate Wilderness near the edge of the Misty Forest.

They had to account for the possibility that Nym had already noticed Hai'an's disappearance and launched a pursuit.

Wood's chosen route largely avoided the main roads between towns, pushing deep into the wasteland instead. When necessary, they would even have to traverse the Misty Forest for a stretch.

They would only make brief stops at a few relatively safe villages when they needed to resupply mid-journey.

Fortunately, Rivervale Town was already a remote settlement near the edge of Cloudclimb Province, not too far from neighboring Abyssal Veil Province. Their destination, the Sticky-Tree Territory, was similarly situated on the border between the two provinces.

So the overall journey wasn't excessively long.

With the marching pace of a party consisting almost entirely of Class Grade adventurers, a month would be more than enough time.

As for why they didn't use a carriage or other transport... as previously mentioned, crossing hills and rivers made it impractical. Moreover, the likelihood of entering the Misty Forest, with its dense trees and monster threats, meant both horses and vehicles would be a massive hindrance.

Looking ahead, the entire camp was fully illuminated by the campfire.

Luca, the frontline Warrior and Wycliffe family guard, had just returned from setting up warning traps. He carried a thrashing hare in his hand, evidently snatched up along the way.

Unlike his clumsy performance in the kitchen, the honest-faced man was highly professional and cautious when adventuring.

Even out in the Wilderness, the chance of a monster attack was far lower than deep in the forest, and the immediate campsite was already protected by simple magical wards temporarily set up by the mage Verol.

Yet out of habit, he still set traps further out to serve as a double layer of security.

Luca lightly twisted the hare's neck with his calloused hands. The animal twitched and stopped struggling.

Xia Nan watched as the man tore open the hare's belly with his bare hands, yanking out its innards and tossing them into the fire.

After half-heartedly ripping off some fur, Luca found a wooden stick, skewered the whole rabbit, and mounted it over the flames.

Noticing Xia Nan's gaze, he gave an honest smile and lifted the stick skewering the hare's carcass, as if asking whether Xia Nan wanted a bite too.

Xia Nan's nostrils flared at the faint, acrid smell of burning hair drifting over.

He smiled and politely declined.

However, he couldn't resist stabbing his jerky into his honey jar a couple more times.

On the other side, the half-elf Hai'an was quietly discussing something with Wood. He held a map, tapping his finger against the parchment.

They were likely planning the rest of their route.

The dragonborn Sava sat quietly cross-legged by the fire, her eyes firmly shut, her tall frame relaxed.

She sat so close to the campfire that the surging flames almost licked her toes. Sparks from the crackling wood frequently showered over her.

Yet judging by her relaxed features and the fine scales quivering slightly across her skin, she was clearly enjoying it.

Her brass dragon lineage gave her an instinctual craving for warmth, even though she wasn't cold-blooded.

Xia Nan's gaze unconsciously swept over the thin sword resting by her leg, his curiosity piqued.

In his mind, thanks to their naturally robust physiques and innate bloodline magic, dragonborn were usually powerful Warriors or mighty, mysterious sorcerers.

But Sava wielded a relatively light rapier—a weapon more commonly favored by rangers and bards. And based on what the other teammates had revealed, she certainly wasn't a Spellcaster.

This made Xia Nan genuinely curious about her combat style.

He wondered how that lithe, explosive body maneuvered in a fight, and how she managed to draw more devastating power from that slender blade than from heavy, two-handed weapons.

'It can't be a purely dexterity-based style, can it?' Xia Nan guessed. 'That seems like a waste of her dragonborn racial talents.'

He shifted his gaze toward the last member of the squad, Verol, who sat in the center of the camp.

At the moment, the slender girl with a ponytail sat quietly on a velvet blanket.

Her eyes were also closed, but her face bore an expression of intense focus.

Xia Nan figured she was performing some sort of mental training akin to "meditation."

But strangely enough, it was as if she could feel his stare out of thin air.

The moment his gaze landed on her, Verol's body, wrapped in an off-white robe, instantly went stiff.

Beneath her tightly shut eyelids, the faint outline of rolling eyeballs became visible, as if she were about to break out of her concentration at any second.

Not wanting to disturb her, he looked away.

His confusion only deepened.

It had been like this since their first meeting. Whenever Verol interacted with him, she acted inexplicably cautious, giving off a vague sense of fear.

He had never met her before this job, and the mage girl chatted with the rest of the squad perfectly normally, so it clearly wasn't a personality quirk.

So why was it?

This perplexity reached its peak a few days ago, right when they left Rivervale Town and entered the Wilderness.

He remembered the six-person squad adjusting their formation under Wood's direction, organizing themselves based on their roles and combat styles.

Luca took the lead as the frontline Shield Warrior. Sava hung a few paces back to assist with strikes. Wood, as the Rogue, guarded the flank. Hai'an, their escort target and ranged archer, was secured in the center.

Verol positioned herself near the back, keeping her warning spells on standby.

Xia Nan was placed at the very rear to cover their backs.

He didn't mind the arrangement at all.

In fact, not having to worry about being stabbed in the back by an unfamiliar teammate was quite comforting.

But Verol, walking right in front of him, looked visibly uncomfortable.

Despite walking across an open plain with clear visibility, she remained entirely tense. Whenever his gaze swept past her, he frequently spotted goosebumps rising on the pale nape of her neck beneath her swaying ponytail.

He had even proactively asked if something was bothering her.

Verol had simply lowered her head, refusing to meet his eyes, and stammered out that the outside air was a bit cold, so she hadn't quite adjusted.

While it was certainly possible for a mage with an average Constitution attribute like hers to be affected by the ambient temperature...

Xia Nan's keen Perception told him she was hiding something from him.

Even if he didn't sense any hostility, they still had to spend nearly a month together. It was better to stay vigilant.

...

...

"Shhhk!"

Thick, barbed brambles tangled in the dense weeds were violently hacked apart by a heavily worn metal machete.

Panting heavily, sweat coated the bulging muscles straining beneath his skin.

A metal axe hung upside down at his waist, swaying violently with every exertion, while an iron-studded wooden shield rested on his back like a small turtle shell.

Luca forced his arms apart, tearing the severed brambles to both sides to clear a path for the rest of the squad.

More than ten days had passed since the escort squad left Rivervale Town.

They had started in the Wilderness outside the town, cut through a small patch of the Misty Forest back to the plains, and were now approaching the woodlands near the border of Cloudclimb Province.

Treading carefully, avoiding the main roads, and hiking over mountains and rivers was by no means an easy trek, even for Class Holders like them.

Fortunately, Wood had chosen a safe route. Along the way, they hadn't run into any pursuers from Nym, nor much in the way of other ambushes.

The most they'd encountered were two very small goblin tribes in the Misty Forest and, three days ago, a few unlucky, short-sighted bandits who looked like they had just taken up the trade.

The former had been reduced to fertilizer for the forest and a stress-relief outlet for a certain squad member, while the latter had their necks snapped on the spot by the Class Holders. Their corpses were probably rotting by now.

"Rest here. We move out in twenty minutes!"

Near the formation, a patch of tree shade suddenly blurred. Wood stepped out from the shadows, his eyes sweeping cautiously side to side, and called out softly to the group.

No one made any unnecessary noise. Even Verol, who had the poorest stamina in the squad, simply moved her lips to silently chant a couple of incantations, allowing the magical glow of a temporary, small-scale warning spell to envelop everyone.