After crossing the White Water River, the scene in the Mist Forest became even more deep and mysterious.
The moisture in the air felt almost tangible, sticking to the skin like a viscous film.
Sunlight was a luxury here, with only the occasional faint ray managing to penetrate the thick canopy, casting a few dappled shadows on the moss-covered ground.
Under Balke’s lead, the team maintained high alert as they carefully made their way through the intricate maze of tree roots and underbrush.
About another two hours passed.
“Found it.”
Misi, the Ranger who had been scouting ahead, suddenly stopped at the foot of a damp, shaded cliff face.
Pointing at a cluster of plants in the rock crevices with faint blue fluorescent light and serrated leaves, he turned back and lowered his voice:
“Boss, the herbs are found. Good quality and growth years.”
“Excellent.”
Balke breathed a sigh of relief, returned the broad-blade greatsword to his back, and strode over.
“Misi, get the collection done carefully. Don’t damage the roots.”
“Leave it to me.”
Misi pulled out a specialized knife from his belt and began digging with practiced, extreme care.
Leo stood by, watching as Misi carefully stored the herbs into a special wooden box, then patted the dirt off his hands and stretched lazily.
Balke came over, glanced at the harvest in the box, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright, everyone, this escort and material collection mission is successfully completed. This damn forest is too humid. Let’s head back to the city for some ale.”
Leo’s eyes widened as he stared at Balke in disbelief.
“This… it’s over?”
“We went through all this trouble, crossing the forest, almost getting bitten in half by an armored crocodile, just to dig up a few weeds?”
In his fantasy, adventurer missions should involve slaying evil dragons lurking in the abyss, or exploring ancient ruins filled with deadly traps, and finally returning with treasure.
Not acting like a herb merchant, digging a few glowing plants in the mud.
“What else, young master?”
Balke looked at Leo’s utterly disappointed expression and burst into hearty laughter.
“Do you think being an adventurer is a daily life-and-death struggle with magical beasts? Or slaying dragons?”
Balke heavily patted Leo on the shoulder, his tone carrying the weathered realism of an experienced adventurer.
“Those travel novels are all lies. Ninety percent of real adventurer missions are these extremely dull resource gathering, caravan escort, or low-level magical beast exterminations.”
“The mission we took this time was originally to show you the ropes and earn some extra pocket money. You’re a rookie who hasn’t even stabilized at Tier 1. Do you expect me to immediately take you to clean out a high-level magical beast’s lair? That’s called suicide, not adventure.”
“If that were the case, the wall in the guild covered with obituaries would have run out of space long ago.”
Balke pointed at the various scars on his body and continued:
“Ninety percent of real adventurer life is like now: boring travel, carefully avoiding powerful magical beast territories, searching for herbs in swamps and bushes, or hunting a few low-level magical beasts for meager bounties.”
“Lady Elsa paid us handsomely precisely to bring you out and let you experience the wilderness survival environment.”
Balke looked at Leo earnestly.
“You’ve just gotten your black iron certificate. There’s no way I’ll send you to do great deeds like subjugating high-level magical beasts.”
“Taking a simple material collection mission this time, with safety as the top priority, is the most reasonable arrangement.”
Balke rubbed his bearded chin and muttered with some confusion:
“Today we encountered so many dangers on the way – not only running into a goblin patrol team but also an armored crocodile ambush at White Water River… That caught me off guard. We were just unlucky.”
Normally, when they took this route, nine times out of ten they wouldn’t even encounter a decent magical beast. But today, they all showed up.
After hearing Balke’s speech, although Leo still felt a bit disappointed, he gradually understood that reality wasn’t as beautiful as the travelogues.
He looked down at his mud-stained mage robe, recalled the life-or-death moment on the river, and clenched his fists.
“I understand, Uncle Balke.”
Leo took a deep breath, his gaze becoming resolute again.
“I won’t aim too high. I’ll start from the basics.”
“Good to have that awareness.”
Balke nodded approvingly.
Ailiya, who had been standing quietly in the background, saw Leo’s serious expression and a flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes.
‘This kid, though usually weak and loves to show off, adjusts his mindset pretty quickly.’
“But…”
Balke shifted the topic, his tone suddenly becoming relaxed.
“Since we’re here and finished the mission faster than expected, it would be a bit of a letdown to go straight back.”
He turned to Misi and Brenda with a grin.
“I remember there’s an abandoned shallow mine about two kilometers east of here, right?”
“Yes, boss.”
Misi immediately caught on.
“That mine has been thoroughly picked over by adventurers. There’s nothing inside, not even a rat. Very safe. Scavengers or rookie teams often go there to try their luck, occasionally digging up some low-level luminous stones or waste iron ore.”
“Hear that, young master?”
Balke raised an eyebrow at Leo.
“Since you’re so eager to experience the thrill of treasure hunting, we’ll make a detour to that mine. There might not be big finds, but with a bit of luck, we might stumble on something interesting.”
‘Since there was still time, taking the client to a completely safe “tourist spot” to experience the fun of mining would be exceeding service expectations.’
“Really?! What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Leo’s just-dimmed excitement instantly reignited, his eyes shining as he urged.
Ailiya, who had been quietly acting as a background figure, a faint glint flashed in her ice-blue eyes.
‘Her current blacksmithing auxiliary class was stuck at LV.2, and she urgently needed metal materials to practice on.’
‘Since there was a free material gathering point, she naturally wouldn’t object.’
Half an hour later.
The group pushed through a dense thicket and arrived before a moss-covered rocky cliff.
A huge, pitch-black mine entrance loomed before them.
Scattered around the entrance were some rusty iron picks and decayed wooden tracks, evidence of a once-thriving mining period.
Before they even got close to the entrance, they heard laughter and chatter from inside.
“Haha, Old John, you’re lucky today! You actually dug up a piece of copper ore!”
“Heh, it’s all thanks to this old bones holding out. Once we get back to Fengyue City, I have to go to Madame Sise’s place and have a couple of mugs of good ale!”
Amid the chatter, three adventurers dressed in worn leather armor, covered in dust, emerged from the mine.
They carried several heavy cloth bags, their faces glowing with the joy of a good haul.
“Oh! Isn’t this Captain Balke?”
The elderly adventurer called Old John, who was in front, immediately recognized the Wind and Moon Squad and greeted them warmly.
These three were regulars at the Adventurer Guild, low-powered loners who usually only picked up small leftover jobs.
“Old John, how was the haul today?”
Balke smiled and walked over.
“Not bad, not bad. Scraped together some small stuff, enough to splurge for a few days.”
Old John patted the cloth bag in his hand, then his gaze fell on Leo and Ailiya behind Balke, a bit surprised.
“Captain Balke, are you… showing newcomers the ropes?”
“Yeah, took a job to bring the young master out for some fresh air.”
Balke didn’t hide it.
“We were planning to go into the mine and see if we could try our luck too.”
Hearing that Balke was going into the mine, Old John’s smile faded a bit, and his expression turned serious.
“Captain Balke, if you just want to take this young master for a casual tour, I suggest you stick to the upper levels and don’t go deeper.”
“Oh? What’s up?”
Balke frowned.
“Is there something big in this broken cave?”
“Nothing big.”
Old John lowered his voice, pointing at the dark entrance.
“It’s just that a group of goblins has occupied the middle level of the mine and set up a nest there.”
Another, younger adventurer chimed in with lingering fear:
“The number isn’t large, maybe just over a dozen. But they’ve set up simple traps inside, and there are even a few goblin warriors wielding rusty iron swords.”
“If we hadn’t run fast, we would have been done for today.”
“Goblin warriors?”
Misi frowned.
“How did those green-skinned runts end up nesting in an abandoned mine?”
“Who knows.”
Old John sighed.
“It seems the city defense army’s cleanup of the forest perimeter is still insufficient. These rat-like creatures have gathered again. Anyway, be careful.”
After a brief chat, Old John and his party hurriedly bid farewell, eager to return to the city to sell their ore for ale.
“A goblin nest?”
Leo, upon hearing this, wasn’t scared at all; instead, his eyes shone even brighter, twirling his short wand in his hand.
“Uncle Balke! Let’s go in and clear them out! That’s ridding the people of a scourge!”
Balke rubbed his bearded chin, glanced at the eager Leo, then turned to look at the silent Ailiya.
A few goblins like that were nothing to the Wind and Moon Squad, not even a warm-up. It would be the perfect finishing touch for this training trip.
“Alright!”
Balke waved his hand.
“Since we ran into them, we’ll clean out those green-skinned runts who’ve come to shit in someone else’s home.”
“Sailin, light it up.”
“Understood.”
Mage Sailin raised his iron-wrapped wand and condensed a bright white orb of light at the tip.
The light spell instantly dispelled the darkness at the entrance, illuminating the damp passage stretching inward.
“Let’s go. Let’s see if this picked-over mine can still surprise us with anything.”
Balke drew his greatsword and took the lead, the group filing into the abandoned mine that exuded a cold, damp air.