Chapter 212: The Fragrant Held Forest

Chapter 212

The Fragrant Held Forest

In front of the village’s walls, many people stopped working. It was lunchtime, and if they didn’t hurry inside to eat...they would have to spend a long time waiting in line. That’s because in about 20 minutes, the villagers and association’s workers would also line up to buy their food. So, the hunters who came to complete their missions needed to finish their business quickly.

Normally, before their midday break, the village would be quite peaceful. However, today was different. As soon as they entered, they saw a crowd gathered at the restaurant. Many hunters exchanged puzzled looks.

“What’s going on with the workers? Judging by their uniforms, they seem to be from the disassembly department.”

“Exactly. Isn’t it still 20 minutes before their break?”

“What are they looking at in the restaurant? Did something happen?” The mission takers were surprised by the unusual scene. They had never seen the workers leave early like this before, and they didn’t seem interested in lining up for food. So, what were they doing at the restaurant?

Prince Jason was also observing the situation. With his distinctive appearance, despite keeping his face covered, during missions, he only covered his eyes, revealing his lips and wealthy-looking skin. Many people, including some village women, noticed this and approached him.

“You’ve arrived, haven’t you?” The women swarmed around, eager to greet him. They did this every day, hoping to win his favor.

For them, lunchtime was the only chance to make an impression. During the day, this young man would go on dangerous missions. If they were easy missions, the women would have asked to accompany him instead of hiding in the village and waiting for his return.

Although it wasn’t the usual lunch break, some people had asked to leave work early, promising to make up the time in the evening. All of this effort was just to have a meal with the handsome young man who seemed quite well-off.

Jason was slightly annoyed by their behavior, but he had been taught to conduct himself properly. Whether they were young women or adventurers, they were all the people he would have to take care of in the future, and it wouldn’t be right to be rude to them. Usually, he would quicken his pace and walk past them without a word. However, today he wanted to understand the unusual situation, so he decided to ask the village women, thinking they would provide a proper answer.

"Why are there so many people at the restaurant today?" His deep voice elicited excited reactions from the women around him. Some even felt like crying because it was the first time this handsome young man had spoken to them.

"The workers from the disassembly hall are thanking the person who completed the corpse clean up mission, sir. They say it was done in just a short time."

"Corpse clean up mission?" Jason raised his eyebrows. He remembered this mission because it offered a great reward. However, after reviewing the actual task, he found it misleading. Despite being a cleanup mission, it required more time and risk than eliminating 10 beasts. Therefore, it was rarely taken up.

If no one had mentioned it, he might have forgotten about this dreadful mission entirely...

"Yes, sir. Look, there’s no more rotten corpse smell now, isn’t it? Once the wind blows away the remaining scent, it’ll be gone. The village can be peaceful again for a while."

"Mmm," Jason nodded. It was true; the foul odor that had repelled many hunters from this town was indeed gone. Though this was good news, Jason couldn’t shake a nagging feeling.

Actually, 2 days ago, he had seen a pile of corpses towering over his head, not to mention how deep the pit was and its width....This meant that whoever completed this mission did it in less than 3 days! What kind of person had such skills!?

Jason had a mission in mind. He wanted to gather capable people into his faction, so he couldn’t overlook someone who handled the corpse with such a unique method. He intended to investigate and identify the person responsible. However, he didn’t have to wait long; he saw a small figure emerge from the crowd, carrying a food box large enough to feed over 10 large hunters.

"That Luke..." Jason suddenly understood. He had initially expected someone to complete the mission in 3 days, but after seeing the strangers who had arrived in the past few days, only Luke had traveled with him by carriage. This indicated that Luke had handled the towering pile of corpses in just half a day.

"Do you know him, sir? That’s the one who handled the corpses. Despite his small size, he’s quite skilled. It seems he had his beast do the work, but you’d have to ask others for more details," the village woman explained excitedly. For them, seeing someone so capable and could also provide for them, that person was admirable, even if he was smaller than them...

As the young woman thought this, Jason felt like laughing. So, Luke really had such impressive abilities? He remembered hearing rumors that a new hunter had taken care of some thugs, and he had suspected it might be Luke. Additionally, Luke had also completed the mission of taking down 2 wild boars. It wasn’t surprising that someone with such skills had caught Jason’s interest even after a year.

Who would have thought that on his first mission of the year, Luke would stand out so prominently once again...?

"Damn, with you being like this...it makes me want you as a comrade even more," he chuckled to himself. One day, he would make sure Luke became his follower!

After Ellie successfully negotiated with the workers in the disassembly hall, they agreed to let her leave on the condition that she would take some food with her. Ellie explained that she had other missions to complete and didn’t want to waste too much time there. The workers didn’t understand the life of a hunter, so they didn’t stop her. As a result, Ellie left the village with a large meal in hand.

Prince Jason was at the entrance. He didn’t interfere, merely giving her a rather intimidating smile. Ellie decided staying in the village wasn’t a good idea, so she quickly headed into the forest.

Ellie’s remaining mission was to gather Black Grass herbs. The original target was the 1st floor Medicine Conservation Forest, where she planned to collect a large amount of herbs and store them in her dimension. However, after discovering that the little Apple could evolve by consuming many poisonous beasts, her target changed to the Fragrant Held Forest instead. Although it was a slight pity, gathering herbs didn’t compare to upgrading the little Apple.

The small figure of the girl under the cloak moved quickly, but her movement skills weren’t exceptional. It wasn’t surprising that others could easily keep up with her pace.

Many people performed missions in the Fragrant Held Forest. There were various important tasks, such as finding List Bees, searching for other poisonous insects, or even rare herbs. This area was full of poisonous creatures, and a lack of caution could be fatal. Despite the danger, the threat mentioned wasn’t significant for those with ample funds.

It wasn’t unusual to see many students taking on missions to the Fragrant Held Forest. These students had plenty of money to spend. Even though they encountered many poisonous beasts, they only needed low-level antidotes. There was no other cause for concern. Compared to fighting in the Green Forest, the Fragrant Held Forest was much less dangerous.

Ellie had her potions ready. As mentioned before, Ellie was like a walking pharmacy. Besides what the Setter family had given her, she already had more than enough potions of her own. So much so that if a swarm of bees attacked her, she could stand there and let them sting her without worry. She might feel a bit bloated from drinking so many potions, but other than that, no poison could harm her.

Once she entered the Fragrant Held Forest, Ellie paused for a moment, letting her spores spread around. Even though she knew she was safe from harm, she didn’t want to be careless.

Her spores worked in 2 ways: they could either take root in the ground or float weightlessly. Normally, Ellie let them root in the ground, but in the Fragrant Held Forest, many poisonous creatures lived above. Therefore, just checking the ground wasn’t enough.

"Hmm?" Ellie hummed, indicating she had detected something ahead. She exhaled as her spores inspected closer and confirmed what was in front of her.

It turned out the group ahead included the number 1 person Ellie least wanted to meet. While Wint was her number 2 and Prince Jason, currently disguised, was her number 3, so this person couldn’t be anyone else but “Nara,” the heroine of the story.

Previously, Ellie was sure she would be among the first to enter the Tower of Eternity while other students were still busy finding their mentors or adjusting to new classes. She hadn’t expected any other students to head to the tower so quickly. Even more surprising was that...the person was her naive heroine, Nara!

"Senior, huff-huff, we’ve come so far. Why haven’t we found any mission herbs yet? At this rate..."

"Quiet already! So annoying," snapped the senior, cutting Nara off mid-complaint. Frustrated from 2 days of unsuccessful mission attempts, the senior’s previously controlled demeanor turned irritable in response to Nara’s persistent questions.

".............." Nara flinched slightly. She could only purse her lips after seeing the senior’s fierce gaze, and hid her displeasure behind a feigned weak smile.

Well...who told her to have to rely on seniors from the Beast Training Branch? If the day came when she was strong enough not to need these women, Nara wouldn’t spare them any courtesy either!

But for now, she had no choice. Only these seniors could help her get through the second and third years. So, no matter how deeply she had to bury her anger...Nara had to endure.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just a bit too tired,” Nara laughed dryly, but the seniors didn’t join in her laughter.

“You should recognize your own abilities. And regarding this mission...you know that without us, you wouldn’t earn a single point. Bringing you along is like carrying a dead weight. Instead of each of us earning 4 points for every 2 herbs, we have to share and only get 3 points because we have to give you 1 point for nothing!” The senior snapped angrily. Nara remained silent, careful not to further irritate them.

“Calm down. After all, she’s a junior in our branch,” one senior tried to calm the situation. She was aware of the plans their mentor had for Nara, so it was best not to let conflict arise before they could exploit her.

“I’m trying to stay calm, but she keeps annoying me. Constantly asking when we’ll find the herbs. Does she think I don’t want to find them too? If she’s in such a hurry, why doesn’t she help search!? Her friend from the same village can do many things, but she can’t do anything!”

“Senior...you don’t need to bring her up.”

“Huh? Why not? If I want to talk about her, then why? Your friend can concoct potions and is even a disciple of Professor Nico, isn’t she? She’ll soon be able to create stratagems. Even though she’s not the Setter family’s people, she can still make a lot of money. Now she’s a “duchess” who rules the cities, earning a fortune just by opening the gates. And you?...Not only can you do nothing, but you’re also tarnishing our professor’s reputation.”

“Who would have thought a scholarship student like you would suddenly have your power level drop so strangely! Next year, will you be down to level 1, and by the fourth year, have no power left at all?” The senior’s irritation grew as she spoke. Nara clenched her fists tightly. She didn’t want to cause trouble, but this sharp-tongued senior was talking increasingly nonsensical!

Professor Lily’s close disciple felt a headache coming on. She tried to stop the quarrel, but then...suddenly a “buzzing” sound came from behind.

“Huh? What’s that sound?” The 4 girls turned and were shocked by what they saw.

“Th-That...isn’t that a Soft Ruby Beetle?” Seeing the pinkish-red wings of the insects, the experienced senior screamed, echoing through the forest. If asked what the most terrifying beast in the Fragrant Held Forest was, everyone would answer in unison that it was indeed these Soft Ruby Beetles!!