Chapter 300 Three Tasks

The outskirts of Rivervale Town.

An inconspicuous, old single-story house.

"Tap, tap."

A fingertip absentmindedly tapped against the map spread across the table.

The faint yet distinct sound echoed lazily through the dust and wood shavings drifting in the air.

Her dark-gold hair was woven into a practical, neat braid and tied tightly at the back of her head, ensuring not a single stray strand would obstruct her vision or movements, even in the thick of combat.

Her skin bore a healthy wheat complexion from years of exposure to the wind and sun. Beneath her sharp, slender eyebrows, her calm, composed eyes were presently filled with deep contemplation.

Judging by the longsword leaning against the edge of the table beside her, as well as the polished, excellently maintained, and remarkably lightweight armor she wore, this heroic-looking woman was undoubtedly a veteran adventurer.

She did not speak. She simply sat by the only wooden table in the small house, staring at the map before her as she quietly waited.

The air was remarkably quiet, but she was not the only person in the room.

Sitting cautiously on the sofa beneath the windowsill was a thin young man wrapped entirely in a loose brown robe.

He looked to have only just reached adulthood. His nervous, timid face still retained a bit of boyish innocence, and his skin possessed a pallor rarely seen among the commoners of this world.

His eyes were large, but the unease, hesitation, and faint panic flickering within them—along with his wavering, unsettled gaze and slightly furrowed brows—ruined whatever charm those gentle, pale-blue eyes might have had.

Was he a freshly graduated student who had yet to experience the cruel outside society? Or perhaps a noble scion born with a silver spoon, raised safely under careful protection, lacking a clear understanding of the world?

The answer could perhaps be found in the object clutched tightly in his hands: a classic staff made of oak and dark crystal.

And if one observed a bit more carefully, a faint, slow breathing sound revealed the presence of a third figure in the room.

He stood in the corner of the room, hidden within the shadows untouched by the sunlight outside the window.

A lanky silhouette that practically blended into the darkness stood there indistinctly.

His face was gaunt with high cheekbones, looking bitter and paranoid.

A pair of cold eyes hidden deep in the shadows gazed out the window toward the sunlight with undisguised mockery. A half-smile hung on his lips, as if he were already thrilled by the sarcastic remarks about to leave his mouth.

The man wore a dark, soft, and nearly non-reflective skintight outfit. Slight bulges at his chest, shoulders, and elbows indicated the protective metal armor worn underneath.

His right hand, covered in calluses and scars, deftly played with an incredibly sharp dagger.

Chilling glints of light flashed intermittently through the room. The razor-sharp tip, capable of effortlessly slicing a hair, flowed with silky smoothness between his palm, knuckles, and wrist under his manipulation, leaving not a single scratch.

A Swordsman, a Spellcaster, and a Rogue.

These were the only three people in the room.

But evidently, this was not their entire party.

For a professional-grade adventurer squad, such a role distribution among its members was undoubtedly unbalanced.

The Spellcaster bore the responsibility for crowd control and backline damage.

The Rogue roamed the perimeter looking for opportunities, while the Swordsman handled the frontal assault.

From a tactical standpoint, their adventurer squad still lacked a defensive role—someone who could stand at the very front, draw enemy aggression, and buy time for their teammates.

Adventurers of this classification were not hard to find.

In fact, one could practically pick any half-orc out of the crowds coming and going through the Association, and they would generally be capable of fulfilling this duty.

Of course, since they were a veteran adventurer squad composed entirely of Class Holders, their selection of a teammate could not be so frivolous.

They did indeed have a trustworthy teammate—one proven in combat, reliable, and willing to entrust his back to the others.

"Clack, clack."

Heavy, steady, yet somewhat hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door, accompanied by the faint clinking of metal chains.

Bang—

The fragile, thin wooden door, which hadn't been locked in the first place, was forcefully pushed open. The massive noise made the skinny Spellcaster on the sofa jolt in fright.

"Alright, alright, I'm here! I'm not too late, am I!" boomed the straightforward dwarf named Thordin. His thunderous voice echoed through the room as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, the metal flail and Faceted Hammer hanging at his waist clashing together. He had just rushed over from the trading room on the Association Second Floor.

"Oh? 'Not too late'?" As if it had been brewing for a long time, the moment Thordin finished speaking, a cold and distinctly sarcastic voice rang out from the shadows in the corner of the room.

"You were just buying a toy for your naive, cute little nephew, yet you made the three of us wait so long for you..." The skinny man purposely drew out his words, speaking slowly in a mocking tone as the Short Dagger spun and twirled in his hand. "Is this the so-called "Forge Code" you dwarves are always prattling about?"

"We didn't actually wait that long..." the youthful Spellcaster muttered under his breath from the sofa. He had always been on good terms with Thordin and felt the Rogue's words were too harsh.

But halfway through his sentence, the Spellcaster instinctively shut his mouth after being swept by a single glance from those cold, mocking eyes. Like a startled quail, he shrank back into the sofa, tuning out the scene unfolding before him.

"Shut your stinking mouth, Goldensand!" The dwarf was enraged almost instantly by the highly targeted sarcasm that so sharply hit his sore spot. A fiery red flush indicative of his fury surged up his neck and spread across most of his face as he shouted his retort.

"It's not a toy, it's a top-quality flail! The craftsmanship is countless times better than that shady leather armor you wear! One swing could smash your entire head to pieces!"

Saying so, Thordin slapped the flail at his waist even harder. His thick palm collided with the weapon with a dull thud, as if that alone could prove its worth.

"Oh, what touching family affection." The Rogue, Goldensand, sneered and rolled his eyes. The thrill of their verbal sparring caused the dagger in his hand to spin even faster.

"I just hope that by the time your little nephew swings his hilarious toy, we haven't already been torn to shreds by the devils in the forest because of the time wasted on your pathetic sentiments."

"Speaking of which, can that thing even be useful in real combat? I thought it was a tool for those mud-legged peasants in the fields to thresh grain."

"Will it end up only being good for killing a few trash-tier goblins?"

"It's still better than you, who only knows how to hide in the shadows and stab people in the back!" Thordin countered, practically roaring.

"At least when I'm stabbing people, I don't make the entire team wait while I go buy presents for some nephew," Goldensand retorted, unwilling to show weakness.

Just as their clash grew increasingly heated, gradually escalating into personal attacks and racial insults...

A clear, calm, and unquestionable voice cut through the argument.

"Enough."

At some point, the finger that had been rhythmically tapping the table had stopped.

Her stern, focused gaze withdrew from the map and looked toward the two interrupted men in the room.

As the captain of the Oathkeeper Blackwood squad, the Swordsman Margaret possessed absolute prestige and authority.

Even the habitually caustic Rogue Goldensand and the furious dwarf Thordin could only lower their heads in frustration at her cold tone, not daring to meet her eyes.

Rising slowly in a smooth, efficient manner without a single wasted movement, she stowed the map on the table back into her pack, picked up the longsword leaning beside her, and strapped it back on.

Without looking at the two, she bluntly reprimanded her team members just as she usually did.

"Goldensand, put away your bitterness. Our team needs cooperation, not internal friction."

"Thordin, since we were all prepared, your personal matters shouldn't have interfered with the team's mission. I expect you to handle them either beforehand or afterward in the future."

It was unclear how she had established such prestige, but this woman, who wasn't particularly tall, held incredible authority within the squad.

Even someone with an obviously difficult personality like Goldensand didn't dare to talk back to her reprimand. He merely clicked his tongue at a volume only he could hear and turned his head away.

Thordin's anger dissipated completely at her words. He muttered somewhat sheepishly, stroked his braided beard, and quickly nodded. "Yes, Captain, you're right. I definitely won't do it again!"

He then hurriedly packed up the belongings he had left in the room earlier, making his final preparations before they headed out for the mission.

"Joshua, what about you?" The sudden female voice made the young Spellcaster shrinking deep into the sofa jolt like a student called upon by a teacher. "Are the spells you were told to memorize all prepared?"

"They're memo... memorized, Captain Margaret," Joshua answered with a stutter. "Including Blade Ward, Protection from Good and Evil, and some special spells for emergencies..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter until he sounded more like he was muttering to himself.

Hearing the guilt in the Spellcaster's words, the Rogue in the corner let out a very soft, disdainful snort. However, restrained by the captain's earlier warning, he didn't say anything nasty, at most silently mocking him with his mouth behind her back.

Ignoring Goldensand's petty actions, Margaret was exceptionally lenient toward the precious Spellcaster in her party. Her tone softened, carrying a special hint of encouragement.

"Good. Make sure to stick close to the team when the time comes. We will all protect you. You just need to focus on casting your spells and not worry about anything else; we'll handle the rest."

After comforting him softly and seeing the young man before her relax a little, his demeanor easing...

Margaret took two steps forward, turned around to face everyone, and clapped her hands twice.

The crisp, loud sound drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Her stern, steady gaze swept across the three faces as her clear, loud voice rang out.

"Although we've gone over this many times the past two days, I must remind you all once again before we set out."

"First, you must understand that the type of quest we are undertaking is not our usual "bounty" or "hunt", but an "investigation"."

"This requires everyone to carefully observe and analyze the information gathered during the quest. Use your brains. Don't think only with your muscles like those half-orcs. Be flexible."

"And there is a time limit. If we exceed it by even a single second, the points and gold coins are gone. You must keep track of the time. I would rather we earn a bit less than let all our previous efforts go to waste, so absolutely do not squander a single second."

As she said this, she glanced in Thordin's direction, causing the dwarf to lower his head in embarrassment.

"Second, the quest requirements given by the Association are strictly for investigation."

"If it really is as the commission details suspect, and there is a high-level devil or a fiend noble... I will lead our retreat. Don't foolishly risk your lives; it's not worth it."

With that, her gaze shifted to Joshua, the Spellcaster beside them.

"Remember to prepare a Longstrider spell for yourself. In a critical situation, you won't be left entirely defenseless; at the very least, you'll have a chance to escape."

"Understood, Captain," Joshua replied, nodding heavily as he clutched his staff tightly.

Margaret withdrew her gaze and turned her head to look out the window at the sky.

"Time is tight. Since we are all prepared, we depart now."

...

...

With the goal of earning a massive amount of gold coins in a short time to cover the deficit from his reforging costs...

Xia Nan, with Molly's help, had skimmed through nearly all the recent commissions located around Rivervale Town.

Excluding the goblin extermination quests that refreshed in bulk every week and were favored by common adventurers, as well as the material-gathering commissions that paid pennies...

There were exactly three that offered relatively high rewards and suited his current situation.

...

[Quest ID]: D-7693

[Type]: Exploration

[Reward]: 500-1,000 Gold / 15-30 Points / Negotiable

[Quest Summary]:

Currently recruiting adventurers with relevant experience and the qualities of meticulousness and bravery to head to a certain basin on the southwestern edge of the Misty Forest for precise surveying. Requirements include drawing a detailed topographic map, marking major resource points (such as water sources, signs of mineral veins, monster distribution, etc.), and recording any potential dangers or suspicious circumstances.

A complete regional map and an exploration log must be submitted upon conclusion.

[Additional Information]:

1. The primary goal of this quest is exploration and documentation, not combat; therefore, avoiding danger is encouraged.

2. The adventurer squad should ideally have members familiar with wilderness survival, possessing a good sense of direction, or map-making skills.

3. For specific details, please contact Mr. Kukunur, the owner of Kukunur's General Store.

...

[Quest ID]: E-10257

[Type]: Hunt / Investigation

[Reward]: 30-300 Gold / 1-10 Points

[Quest Summary]:

Over the past three months, at least six small adventurer squads have completely lost contact near the Rotten Root Mire in the core region of the Misty Forest.

Currently recruiting teams/individuals with perceptive and adaptive capabilities to investigate the cause of the missing adventurers in this area, search for any relevant clues, and assess the region's current threat level.

[Additional Information]:

1. The ground around the Rotten Root Mire is soft and muddy, and the dense trees make the light extremely dim. Adventurers are advised to make adequate preparations in advance.

2. A panicked gatherer (the last person to successfully return from the vicinity) mentioned seeing "a massive, moving object resembling a pile of sludge and branches," but no signs of large-scale combat or typical lairs of large predators were found.

3. The area may contain hidden dangers, including but not limited to: powerful magical traps, secretive and dangerous monsters, or hazardous environmental conditions. Adventurers accepting this quest are advised to remain vigilant (investigation is a priority; combat should be avoided if possible).

...

[Quest ID]: E-9368

[Type]: Bounty

[Reward]: 30-300 Gold / 1-10 Points

[Quest Summary]:

A previously eradicated super-giant goblin settlement left behind some lairs in the core region of the forest. These lairs are suspected to have been occupied by a newly formed goblin tribe led by hobgoblins. Please proceed there and exterminate them.

[Additional Information]:

The lair's terrain is complex, making it easy to get lost. Adventurers taking this quest are advised to leave markers and maintain their sense of direction at all times.

[Time Limit]: 25 days