Yoru Machi had accepted two A-rank missions: Slay Poisonous Beasts and Conquer the Underground Labyrinth.
The poisonous beast was said to be a giant lizard. The gas exhaled from the poison sacs on its body had already severely affected the surrounding villages, poisoning many people.
As for the underground labyrinth, it had only been discovered recently. Judging by the monsters appearing within it, the labyrinth itself was not particularly high-level, but the BOSS guarding its final stage was an extremely troublesome magical beast.
Since it feared only fire magic, the Guild Master had learned of Yoru Machi's Crimson Fire Cannon and assumed he was proficient in fire magic, so he had assigned the mission to him as well.
Whether it was Slay Poisonous Beasts or Conquer the Underground Labyrinth, neither was a mission that could be completed in a day or two. Distance alone made a same-day round trip impossible.
Yoru Machi did not want to keep eating unappetizing roasted beast meat, so food and fresh water were essential. As for equipment, he did not need armor, but he definitely needed a decent blade.
The bone knife Yoru Machi had previously used had been fashioned from the ribs of a magical beast he had killed. When he split apart the Crimson Fireball, it could not withstand his magic power, and it had already shattered into powder when he unleashed the slash Divine Severance.
Yoru Machi did not have a single coin to his name. Forget a suitable weapon—he could not even afford food or water. Left with no choice, he shamelessly borrowed another sum of money from Soya.
He was already living off a woman, so what did it matter whether he ate one bowl or two?
The long blade he bought from the weapon shop naturally could not compare to his own Zanpakuto, but it was far superior to his previous bone knife.
After purchasing a weapon and a large amount of food, Yoru Machi did not immediately set off. Instead, he first returned to the house Soya had temporarily lent him.
After tidying up his room a little and closing the door, Yoru Machi finally got fully equipped and prepared to leave.
Unfortunately, Yoru Machi did not run into the other beautiful and powerful female tenant Soya had mentioned. Otherwise, he would not have minded getting acquainted with her.
After all, they were living under the same roof. If she ever wanted to change a lampshade or unclog a drain, Yoru Machi would be more than happy to lend a hand.
Five days later, on a grassland several hundred kilometers south of the town, Yoru Machi held a map in his hand as he finally arrived at the habitat of the poisonous magical beast from the mission.
Over the past few days, Yoru Machi had first visited the so-called underground labyrinth. It had taken him less than half a day to effortlessly clear the labyrinth that was supposedly conquerable only by A-rank adventurers.
The magical beast BOSS guarding the bottom floor of the labyrinth was a massive Ice Python capable of releasing an extremely low-temperature breath attack.
When Yoru Machi arrived there, he saw quite a few adventurers frozen into ice sculptures, clearly devoid of life. They were obviously adventurers who had previously failed to conquer the labyrinth.
Being an adventurer could be highly profitable. With enough luck, one trip could sometimes bring in a fortune. But it was also a job where one risked one's life. One misstep could mean dying in the wilderness, and these adventurers frozen into ice sculptures were the best example.
Sensing the arrival of an intruder, the Ice Python immediately let out a threatening hiss at Yoru Machi.
Magical beasts possessed instincts far sharper than humans. The moment the Ice Python, acting as the stage guardian BOSS, saw Yoru Machi, it sensed that the human before it was not someone to be trifled with. He was on an entirely different level from the cannon fodder before, so it tried to scare him away this way.
Unfortunately, Yoru Machi remained unmoved by the Ice Python's threat and slowly drew the long blade at his waist.
The intense battle he had imagined never happened, because in Yoru Machi's eyes, the Ice Python was at most comparable to a Gillian from the Soul Reaper World.
Its icy breath attack had some merit, but not much. Under the bombardment of Yoru Machi's Kidō, Crimson Fire Cannon and Azure Flame Fall, the massive Ice Python lasted less than a minute before dying in resentment.
After collecting some rare materials from the Ice Python and finding proof that he had successfully conquered the labyrinth, Yoru Machi hurried to his next destination with the spoils.
After several more days of travel, when Yoru Machi reached the plain he was currently on and found the so-called poisonous magical beast, he was utterly dumbfounded.
Looking at the enormous creature snoring at the entrance of a cave, Yoru Machi was speechless. He had only been in the New World for a short time, but even he knew that the huge creature before him was absolutely not the "giant lizard" described in the intelligence.
"What the hell, this is a dragon from another world, isn't it?! No matter how you look at it, this thing has nothing to do with a lizard!
No, Western dragons do resemble giant lizards somewhat, sure, but what kind of damn lizard has horns and wings?!"
According to the information he had received from the Adventurer's Guild, the poisonous magical beast he was supposed to slay this time was a large lizard-type magical beast roughly three meters in size.
Its ability was to release various poisonous mists, and its strength was roughly at a level A-rank adventurers could handle.
But when Yoru Machi saw the real thing and then looked at the crudely drawn image on the mission document in his hand, he finally understood what it meant when they said, "The image is for reference only. Please refer to the actual product."
The intelligence claimed it was only five meters long, but the creature in Yoru Machi's eyes was at least fifteen meters in length!
And there was clearly a major discrepancy with the so-called "lizard-type magical beast." Even if it was not a pure dragon-type magical beast, it was at least a draconic subspecies.
No matter the world, dragons stood at the top of the food chain. The massive purple dragon-like creature before Yoru Machi could not possibly be merely A-rank!
"Damn it, either the intelligence is wrong, or I've been played!
Even if a five-meter lizard-type magical beast was pumped full of steroids, there's no way it could grow into this in just a few days!"
When Yoru Machi said he had been played, he was not referring to the Adventurer's Guild. He meant the local villagers or lord who had posted the mission.
This was nothing new. After all, the reward for slaying a five-meter, A-rank lizard magical beast and the reward for slaying a poisonous draconic subspecies over fifteen meters long were worlds apart!
By falsely reporting the mission difficulty, they could lower the payment accordingly. If the adventurer who came to slay it managed to kill it, they would undoubtedly make a huge profit.
If the subjugation failed, they could simply claim their previous assessment had been wrong, that the magical beast was far stronger than they had understood, then pay a little more and raise the mission rank to a safer level.
As for the adventurers who died, who would care? Wasn't that just the kind of profession adventurers had?
Seeing that reality differed so drastically from the intelligence, Yoru Machi naturally had no habit of letting others treat him like a sucker, so he turned to leave.
However, just as he was about to depart, he noticed an Elf Maiden with long orange hair and extraordinary beauty slowly approaching the Poisonous Demon Dragon with a sword in hand...
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