Chapter 348 - 310: The Path of a Commoner Mage (Part 2)

Chapter 348: Chapter 310: The Path of a Commoner Mage (Part 2)

"You’re stronger than me, so the road ahead should be much easier for you... But still, be careful. The world of an Adventurer is a cruel one. You have to be cautious above all else."

"Mm... I’ll keep that in mind." Zelir nodded earnestly at the veteran’s advice.

Adrian’s gaze discreetly swept over Zelir’s teammates behind him.

’Hmm... They all look pretty reliable.’

’Except for that blond Swordsman. He looks a little too laid-back.’

Just then, Hill rejoined the group.

Since there were no signs of a fight breaking out, there was no need for her to remain hidden nearby.

Adrian’s eyes met Hill’s.

The look in Hill’s eyes was cold and indifferent.

She leaned against a broken wall, the pad of her finger idly stroking the spine of her dagger as she looked back at Adrian.

’Is she preparing to strike...?’

For some reason, the simple action sent a chill down Adrian’s spine.

Adrian’s expression changed in an instant. He immediately grew wary, and his face looked a little unnatural.

Noticing Adrian’s expression, Zelir turned to see what he was looking at.

The indifference in Hill’s eyes vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.

She blinked pleasantly at Zelir and gave him a gentle smile.

’Seems like nothing’s wrong.’

"That’s our team’s Assassin. She’s pretty..."

Zelir suddenly found he couldn’t bring himself to say ’pretty nice,’ so he changed his wording.

"She’s pretty reliable, so don’t worry."

"Reliable, you say..."

Adrian wiped the sweat from his brow, looking a little shaken. "You should still be careful... In any case, I’d never dare team up with an Assassin."

While they talked, the Swordsman and Giant Axe Warrior on the other side finished clearing the battlefield, gathering up all the loot.

"Alright, it’s time for us to get back on the road!"

Redia clapped her hands.

She looked at Zelir, the adoring look in her eyes growing more intense.

It was like a little girl who couldn’t bear to part with her favorite toy.

"Say... how about you join our team, Zelir? Big Sis will take very good care of you."

"Poaching someone right in front of us is a bit much, don’t you think?" Marcus frowned.

"I’m just kidding, just kidding! I won’t poach your people... at least, not yet."

Redia burst out laughing.

"But maybe we’ll have a chance to work together in the future."

Redia moved closer to Zelir, leaning down slightly. He could feel her hot breath as she spoke by his ear.

"I’m staying at the Wisteria Inn. You can come find me if you need anything. Of course... you can come even if you don’t. You’re always welcome..."

"I understand..."

Zelir nodded lightly, his body tensing unconsciously as he leaned back a little.

’Redia’s attitude is just like her figure—a little too fiery.’

With their rest finished, it was time to plan their next move.

Marcus and Adrian simultaneously pulled out two nearly identical-looking booklets.

They both froze, looking at the booklets in each other’s hands with stunned expressions.

Then, they spoke in unison.

"You bought this from Wells, too?"

’Well then...’

’No wonder we just happened to run into each other in a ruin this massive. We’re both using the same map.’

According to the route map scouted by Wells, there were only two paths ahead.

One led left, the other right, both to different areas of the ruin.

The two squads would have to go their separate ways.

The map didn’t show what lay beyond these paths, so both routes were complete unknowns.

"You guys choose first?" Adrian offered.

"Let’s go left," Zelir said.

"Alright, we’ll go right then." Adrian agreed readily, having no objections.

Just as the two squads were about to part ways, Zelir suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a second, Adrian."

He swiped his hand over his Storage Pouch, and a fresh, flash-frozen slab of Minotaur Leg Meat appeared in his hands.

"What’s this...?" Adrian asked curiously.

"Minotaur Leg Meat. It’s delicious."

Zelir offered it with both hands. "You should try it when you make camp," he said earnestly. "It’s absolutely delicious!"

"Thanks!"

Adrian was quite happy to receive such a gift.

He’d been eating nothing but black bread and jerky since entering the ruins; his mouth had nearly lost all sense of taste.

"I hope you have a bountiful haul and a safe journey!"

"You too!"

After waving their goodbyes, the two squads each set off on their separate paths.

"That’s a rare sight..."

Watching the backs of the Adrian Squad gradually disappear, Marcus shook his head, looking thoughtful.

"That’s the first time I’ve ever seen such an amicable Adventurer Squad in the field."

"That’s because the two Mages had a mutual respect for one another."

Gray laughed. "They have a whole Mage’s Guild for networking. If I were a Mage, I’d be polite to other Mages too."

"Don’t Assassins have a guild, too?" Zelir chimed in.

"You’ve seen what happens when two Assassins meet in the wild, haven’t you?" said Valles.

’Oh, right.’

’During their last skirmish with the Drake Squad, the first person Hill killed was the other team’s Assassin.’

’A different kind of mutual appreciation, I guess.’

"Speaking of which... Hill."

Zelir remembered something and turned to Hill.

"Why did Adrian look so scared of you just now? What did you do to him?"

"Nothing at all."

A hint of malice touched Hill’s smile. "I just think it’s fun to scare Mages."

"..."

Zelir shot her a sideways glance.

...

The Central Courtyard Garden was far larger than any of them had imagined.

They had thought it would just be a cluster of buildings at most, but even after walking for hours, the expanse of gray-white ruins continued.

It was like being in a graveyard that stretched on endlessly.

Not only that, but the Corpse Flowers they had seen earlier were also everywhere.

The larger flowerbeds occupied areas hundreds of meters long and wide.

The smaller ones were still tens of meters across.

As far as the eye could see, they covered the landscape, as if the entire Central Courtyard Garden existed solely for their cultivation.

"RUSTLE... HEE HEE..."

The wind rustling through the sea of flowers sounded like fragmented, hushed laughter.

The miniature faces in the center of the flowers’ pistils swayed back and forth, a truly hair-raising sight.

Finally, Zelir couldn’t take it anymore. He used Vine Entanglement to capture a rabbit, then... he tossed it into the field of flowers.

"WHOOSH!"

From the gray-white soil, the petals of several Corpse Flowers suddenly stretched and expanded, growing to the size of washbasins.

The miniature, face-like features in the center of their pistils enlarged along with them.

Fleshy roots shot out tendrils, reaching for the rabbit.

The rabbit was caught in mid-air before it even hit the ground.

The tendrils wrapped tightly around it and pulled taut in all directions.

"SQUEAK!!!"

The rabbit only managed a single, short shriek before it was torn in half.

The faces in the center of the pistils opened their mouths wide, devouring the pieces in two bites before shrinking back to their original size and appearance.

Warm blood splattered onto the deathly-white petals, making them look even more grotesque.

"What in the world are these things..."

Watching the Corpse Flowers return to their placid state after devouring the rabbit, Zelir felt a wave of nausea.

’It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen if a person were to step in there.’

’If someone had deliberately planted these here, wouldn’t they have had to provide a constant supply of living things for fertilizer?’

Zelir raised Night Peace and blasted them with an Arcane Missile.

"BOOM!!!"

Magic Power detonated in the field of flowers!

Dirt and shredded leaves flew through the air, and a shallow, scorched crater was blasted into that small patch of the flower field.

Five or six Corpse Flowers were torn to shreds by the violent surge of Magic Power.

"SQUELCH, SQUELCH."

When the Corpse Flowers burst, it wasn’t ordinary plant sap that splattered out.

It was a grayish-white paste, like a mixture of pus, blood, and brain matter.

And it was incredibly foul-smelling.

Shattered petals littered the ground. They could even see half of a blasted-apart pistil-face twitching and spasming erratically.

On top of that, his experience bar hadn’t changed one bit.

Zelir was a little disappointed.

’If they gave experience, even just one point, that would have been something.’

’I would’ve just used a Flame Breath Skill to burn this whole place to cinders.’

As if sensing the death of their kin, the dense field of Corpse Flowers simultaneously stopped swaying. All at once, their pistils turned to face the squad.

The sight made Gray’s scalp tingle, and he gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Hey... Zelir, don’t tell me you just stirred up something you shouldn’t have?"