To the northwest of Dundorma lay a dim, swampy region.
As a wetland environment, it was home to many high-quality mushrooms of all kinds.
Yet it was also shrouded in thick fog all year round.
At the same time, backed by the northern mountain range, the area contained many natural caves.
Large quantities of ore could be mined from those caves as well.
It could be said that Dundorma's early development could not have happened without this place's contributions.
Now, however, this swamp had become a hunting ground frequented by novice hunters below three stars.
It was also the main source of the precious mineral known as Grey Crystal Ore.
Every year, the Hunter's Guild received quite a few commissions targeting them.
Those commissions, in turn, became some of the tasks assigned to novice hunters.
For ease of management,
the Hunter's Guild usually assigned numbers to the important areas of each hunting ground.
Area Three of this marshland was covered with thick aquatic grass that rose above one's waist.
This made movement extremely inconvenient and impaired visibility to a certain extent.
Moreover, the terrain was flat and open, offering little cover.
Thus, novice hunters generally avoided this place.
Besides that,
the most dangerous figures could often be seen here.
However,
at this very moment, this grassy Area Three was unusually lively.
Children's laughter, monsters' roars, and explosions accompanied by flashes of fire filled the air.
[Boom—]
"Whoa!"
"It breathed fire again! Hahahaha!"
"Yamato, did you see that? That was so cool!"
Six-year-old Ace, around 1.2 meters tall, quickly dove forward into the water and rolled over, narrowly avoiding the wave of heat rushing at him from behind.
Yet his drenched face showed delight rather than fear.
He sat excitedly amid the dense water grass, his eyes shining as he watched