Time passed, and the sun had shifted westward.
The weather outside grew increasingly hot.
“Woohoo! We finally made it~”
Anise looked at the river not far away, took a few steps up a small hill, and excitedly spread her arms wide.
A breeze carrying moisture brushed against her face, while the sound of rushing river water flowed past her ears, creating a comfort beyond words.
“It actually took over two hours to get here…”
Xiali carried a bag full of cores in her hand.
These were from the Slimes and Forest Wolves that had attacked them along the way.
Altogether, it was almost 300 Bronze Coins.
She finally understood what it meant when they said the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish.
The monsters were rampant in Stanynburg; it was truly a great chance to make money.
On a normal day, there was no way they would get such high-paying commissions.
They had to seize the opportunity to make a hefty profit before the Purge Commissions ended!
“The Mist Rain Flower should be somewhere around here.”
Xiali looked around the riverbank; the concentration of mana here had clearly risen significantly, and the air was especially humid.
Monsters preferred environments saturated with mana like this.
Within sight, there were more than a dozen Slimes and a few Forest Wolves curled up on the grass or lowering their heads to drink at the riverbank.
Surprisingly, these monsters hadn’t violently attacked them.
At a glance, the scene looked quite peaceful.
It was somewhat like watching a wildlife documentary.
“Xiali, I found it! I found it!”
Anise ran up to Xiali, holding a handful of picked flowers. “I found these deep blue flowers in the cracks of the stones upstream. This must be the right one, right?”
“No.” Xiali took a quick glance and shook her head slightly.
The real Mist Rain Flower resembled a daffodil, with petals that appeared translucent.
What Anise had picked couldn’t be called close—it was completely unrelated.
“Eh… I thought the commission was done just like that.”
Anise sighed and casually put the flowers into the pocket in front of her chest. “But these flowers are pretty, at least. Sniff sniff… they smell quite nice too!”
Xiali smiled helplessly and started walking downstream along the riverbank.
She couldn’t use magic now, but she still possessed mana perception.
The water element naturally emitted when the Mist Rain Flowers bloom was coming from downstream.
As her steps deepened, a thin mist quietly spread around.
It was like a veil blurring her vision.
Xiali slowed down and entered the center of the mist.
The scene before her caused her expression to change drastically.
There was nothing!
Only a few withered flower roots remained in the soil, and some deep blue transparent petals were scattered nearby, lying inside a palm-sized footprint in the dirt.
Like shredded bills embedded in the ground.
No! My Silver Coins!
Xiali held her head in both hands, a sharp cry of grief echoing in her mind.
Which damn monster ate all the Mist Rain Flowers!
“The mist will dissipate once the Mist Rain Flowers wither. Looks like that beast hasn’t left long!”
Xiali gritted her teeth, drew her longsword, and was about to follow the footprints.
“Xiali, don’t get too excited yet!” Anise quickly grabbed her.
“The footprints are so big, it must be a tough opponent! Besides, the Mist Rain Flowers have already been eaten. Even if we catch it, there’s no use…”
“If we move fast enough, we can get them back before it digests.” Xiali clicked her tongue. “At worst, I can use that monster’s Core to make up for my losses!”
“But chasing after it so recklessly…”
“I can handle it.” Xiali stuffed the bag filled with cores into Anise’s hands. “Keep these safe, and stay back. Just use Blessing Magic to enhance my Physical Enhancement.”
“Guh… Are you sure this will be okay?” Anise asked nervously.
“Absolutely.” Xiali never fought battles she wasn’t confident in.
Judging from the size and shape of the footprints in the dirt, it was obviously a Junior Adventurer-level monster—a massive Iron Mane Brown Bear.
She was very familiar with this kind of monster.
Most importantly, the Iron Mane Brown Bear was priced at a full 5 Silver Coins on the Purge Commission.
Xiali quietly stepped out of the mist.
Not far away, a huge figure was slowly moving its bear paws, letting out a hungry roar that scared the Forest Wolves drinking at the riverbank into a hurried escape.
A few Slimes that approached were out of luck.
They hadn’t even jumped away when the Iron Mane Brown Bear grabbed them and tossed them into its mouth like jelly candies.
Facing this “old friend,” a faint smile tugged at the corner of Xiali’s lips.
In the game, the Advancement Quest from New Adventurer to Junior Adventurer was to slay this Iron Mane Brown Bear.
As its name suggested, the bear’s mane was as hard as steel, able to withstand most Junior Adventurer-level magic.
It stood a full five meters tall, and its brute strength was terrifying—one swipe could crush an ordinary person into pulp.
With Xiali’s fragile mage constitution in the game, a single hit meant the screen would go black, and the red word “Noob” would flash.
She had struggled with this stage for quite a long time back then.
But as the saying goes:
What was before is before; now is now.
With her rich gaming experience, enhanced Physical Enhancement, and Blessing Magic from her teammate, there was no reason to lose!
“Um, Xiali, are we going to fight here?” Anise’s face turned pale as she looked at the massive Iron Mane Brown Bear.
“No, there are too many monsters around.” Xiali shook her head.
A few Forest Wolves were observing from not far off.
These bloodthirsty monsters were waiting for a chance to strike.
Xiali wasn’t arrogant enough to face so many monsters at once.
She was even more worried they would attack Anise first.
“Iron Mane Brown Bears are solitary creatures. They don’t wander far from their dens. Once we get there, no other monsters will bother us.”
Xiali lowered her voice to avoid drawing the bear’s attention.
The Iron Mane Brown Bear treaded heavily and slowly left the riverbank, pawing through the bushes and disappearing inside.
Ahead was a large tree hollow, its entrance half-covered by thorny vines.
“Looks like this is its den.” Xiali gripped her sword tightly. “Anise, use every Blessing Magic you’ve learned.”
“O-okay!” Anise’s voice trembled as she chanted the spells, nearly biting her tongue in her nervousness, with the Iron Mane Brown Bear less than twenty meters away.
Thankfully, the magic was successfully cast.
Mana transformed into a holy white light that enveloped Xiali.
Warm mana flowed through her veins, filling her body with strength.
Her vision suddenly sharpened, and she could clearly see even the bits of grass stuck in the bear’s mane.
“Roar!”
The surge of mana startled the Iron Mane Brown Bear, which let out a roar and turned around.
At that moment, Xiali had already closed the distance and thrust her longsword deep into its left eye.
“Aooh—!”
The bear’s piercing roar shook the plants around.
Xiali gave it no time to react, twisting her wrist and pulling out the longsword, which was now covered in blood, then slashed toward its right eye.
Blood mixed with murky liquid dripped from the blade.
In just two strikes, the Iron Mane Brown Bear was left blind.
Xiali was about to finish it off in one swift motion when she saw the bear’s paw coming at her with a rushing wind.
“Almost forgot, monsters have strong mana perception and can detect the location of mana activated by magic.”
Xiali stepped back as the bear’s paw swept past her face.
The sword’s blade sliced across the Iron Mane Brown Bear’s belly toward its chest, sparking tiny flashes against its mane.
Her words were also a subtle warning to Anise.
At that moment, the Iron Mane Brown Bear realized the swordsman before it was a tough opponent and changed its target, charging into the bushes—
where Anise was maintaining the Blessing Magic.