Firefly Garlic Vine

[Quest ID]: 26

[Type]: Bounty

[Reward]: 150,000 gold (negotiable)

[Quest Summary]:

A Transcendent-rank Wasteland Druid (Spore Society) contaminated the water supply of Newm's Lower City District, directly causing the deaths of 153 civilians and leaving nearby neighborhoods without water for nearly two months.

For further information, please contact Association staff. Those who provide location intelligence will receive a reward from the Meadow Church.

[Time Limit]: None

Xia Nan's brow twitched as he stared at the long string of zeroes after the [Reward] field.

He was currently standing before the quest board in the Adventurers Association lobby.

Having already made up his mind to continue down the path of an "adventurer," he planned to start with a few simple quests to get some practice and familiarize himself with the entire process.

Then, with the simple mindset of I may not be able to afford it, but I can still look, he glanced at the quests at the very top of the board, the ones with the highest rewards.

"Tut, tut."

Xia Nan smacked his lips and committed several terms from the quest description to memory—things like "Transcendent rank" and "Wasteland Druid." He did not yet understand what they meant, but they were clearly important.

His gaze then moved downward, reaching the bottom of the board.

[Quest ID]: 201D

[Type]: Investigation

[Reward]: 200 gold

[Quest Summary]:

A merchant caravan traveling from River Valley Town to a nearby village disappeared on the road from Kalanfu'er, east of Thin Mist Forest, to Emerald Creek Village. The caravan's owner suspects they may have been attacked by bandits or monsters and requires adventurers to investigate.

[Time Limit]: 15 days

[Additional Information]:

Adventurers have recently discovered traces of a "Thorn Demon" around Emerald Creek Village. It may be connected to the caravan's disappearance.

"No, what the hell is a Thorn Demon?"

Leaving aside the two place names in the quest summary, which he had never heard of even in the previous owner's memories, the words "Thorn Demon" alone brought back painful memories of facing the Bear Goblin in the Goblin Cave.

"Any monster whose name I haven't heard before is to be treated as a powerful monster I can't handle alone, at least until I buy something like a Monster Bestiary and figure out exactly how strong it is."

Besides, Investigation Quests were far too uncertain. There was no guarantee the difficulty would not suddenly soar to the level of those six-figure bounties.

"I really should find an experienced party to stick with for a while first," Xia Nan thought, rubbing his aching brow.

Otherwise, with only that thin Adventurer's Manual in hand, he feared he would not even know the names of the monsters he encountered along the way.

His gaze continued downward.

At last, after a long search, he found a choice in the corner of the wooden quest board that was entirely within his current capabilities.

[Quest ID]: 387H

[Type]: Gathering

[Reward]: 1 gold/bush

[Quest Summary]:

The owner of Green Grass Crucible at 17 West Street, River Valley Town, The Lady Edwina, is preparing a new batch of antidotes and urgently needs a large quantity of "Firefly Garlic Vine" (illustration attached), which grows on the outskirts of Thin Mist Forest.

[Time Limit]: 3 days

Comparing the illustration and description displayed on the quest board, Xia Nan's eyes immediately lit up.

He remembered very clearly that he had seen a huge patch of this plant—which gave off a bluish-green glow like fireflies at night—on his way back from Thin Mist Forest a few days ago.

At the time, he had mistaken it for some sort of monster that used its glow to lure prey closer, so he had given it a wide berth and camped elsewhere.

Thinking back on it now, the number of those Firefly Garlic Vines...

"There must have been at least thirty bushes!"

And that meant an income of over thirty gold coins!

Back when the Stinky Fish Rotten Shrimp party had fought desperately and been wiped out until only he, a temporary member, remained, the reward for their quest to investigate goblin sightings had only barely reached thirty gold.

The money was practically being handed to him. It would be stupid not to take it!

"Could my newbie luck still be going?"

Xia Nan could not help thinking happily.

Yet his body had already turned toward the exit of the Adventurers Association.

Before heading out on the quest, he still needed to make some necessary preparations.

Xia Nan knew exactly where he stood.

Even though he had mastered the Combat Skill [Whirlwind Slash], which had already reached the maximum Level 5, and his physical abilities had improved from gaining Attribute Points...

He was still among the lowest-ranking adventurers.

The tragedies of Elki and Ga Gu remained vivid in his mind.

Even a seasoned adventurer like Maji had fallen at the hands of a "snot-nosed brat" like him.

There was nothing wrong with being more cautious and thinking things through more carefully.

Therefore, for his first solo quest, Xia Nan followed the recommendations in the Adventurer's Manual and made preparations so thorough they were almost excessive:

The round trip would take only a day, but while leaving enough space to store the Firefly Garlic Vine, he brought enough food and water to survive five days in the wilderness—8 silver and 2 copper;

A Medical Tool Kit containing bandages, ointment, and splints, enough for ten uses. Xia Nan had even asked the General Store owner to throw in twenty feet of hemp rope—5 gold;

Essential supplies such as a compass, a simple map, flint, a sleeping bag, a blanket, and a canteen—6 gold and 2 silver.

It was worth mentioning that, to avoid being forced to abandon his backpack and luggage during an adventure and lose his entire fortune, Xia Nan had deposited most of the gold coins from his previous quest in the only bank in River Valley Town—the interest was so low as to be almost negligible, but it was very safe.

Although the prices of these adventuring supplies seemed to exist in an entirely different dimension...

He understood very well that these were necessary expenses to ensure his own safety.

Besides, this quest was a short one. If all went smoothly, by this time tomorrow, he would be back at the White Tit Tavern with the thirty gold coins from the quest reward in his pocket, enjoying a feast.

Of all the things he had prepared, at most a tenth would be used.

He could continue using them on his next quest.

"Rip!"

He crossed off the second-to-last essential item on the note in his hand.

Xia Nan tightened the backpack on his back and let out a breath.

Thanks to the one-stop services along the street where the Adventurers Association was located, he had completed most of his preparations in just one afternoon.

Thinking back to how he had just been carrying bags in both hands, clutching a shopping list in one hand, weaving through bizarrely dressed pedestrians and running from store to store...

Xia Nan suddenly felt as though he were shopping in Diagon Alley before Hogwarts started in a movie from his Previous Life.

"No going back now."

Shaking his head with a smile, he looked at the final entry on the list.

[Weapons and Equipment]