Adventurers

Anyway, whether they were the sylphs or the members of the Voltilong Mercenary Group's Fourth Squad, they had already come to regard Mo Tan as the hero who had saved everyone that day. The hero himself, however, knew less about what had happened than practically any of the people involved...

But only these NPCs would think that way. Zephyr Saine, who had witnessed everything that day as well, might not agree. After all, he was a genuine player. Instantly killing hundreds of monsters on the first day after the servers opened was hardly realistic in a non-pay-to-win game. Unfortunately, Mo Tan had no way to ask him for confirmation at the moment. It wasn't that Saine had parted ways with the caravan early; he was probably just offline.

Mag said he hadn't seen that ever-elusive kid since last night.!

"Fine, I think I have a general idea now." Mo Tan casually glossed over the matter of apparently going on a killing spree. After stretching lazily, he asked Mag, "Where are we right now?"

"Anka Market." The dwarf gave Mo Tan a strange look. "The Sylph Caravan will rest here for a few days before continuing west to Sky Pillar Mountain. Is there a problem?"

Of course there was a problem. Mo Tan's head was practically filled with questions, but he couldn't ask them outright. He could only follow Mag's lead. "Then when are we setting out?"

"We?" Mag stared blankly for a long while before pointing somewhat uneasily at Mo Tan's head. "Wasn't your destination Anka Market? That kid Saine's was too..."

Right. Mo Tan finally understood. It turned out the system had arranged for him to come here from the start, as a traveler hitching a ride.

That explained why his question had sounded strange to Mag. Mag was probably already wondering whether Mo Tan had suffered a backlash from something called brain damage...

"After waking up, I seem to have forgotten quite a few things." Mo Tan smiled sheepishly. "My body is fine now, but a lot of my memories are still blurry."

Mag grinned and teased him. "That sounds just like those stage plays that are so popular among human nobles. I saw one once. It was hilarious~"

"Stage plays?" Mo Tan froze for a moment and asked instinctively, "What were they about? Were they really that interesting?"

"Extremely!" The dwarf gestured animatedly. "I hear romance plays are the most popular these days. Noble girl and poor boy, rich merchant's son and beggar girl—basically, they fall in love, and then something always happens. Maybe one of them gets hit by a rampaging land dragon and loses their memory, or gets diagnosed with an incurable disease that even the pope can't treat, or the rich family's heir suddenly gets robbed blind by a master thief and goes bankrupt, or discovers they're not actually their parents' child. They're all ridiculously funny!"

By the time Mo Tan heard this, sweat was already pouring down his face...

"That's not all!" Mag said excitedly. "The play I watched with Ironfist only had amnesia, an incurable disease, and an illegitimate child, but I heard that a few years ago there was a popular one about a noble young man who fell in love with a whole group of girls, only to discover that they were all his half-sisters on his father's side or his mother's side..."

Mo Tan had no intention of letting this broad-minded dwarf brother continue. He hurriedly nodded and interrupted him. "I understand, I understand! I came from a small place and wanted to travel around to broaden my horizons. That's why I came to Anka, too. Big Brother Mag, why don't you tell me about the local customs and culture..."

It wouldn't have mattered if he didn't explain anything, but at least Mo Tan didn't want to be drowned in melodrama while playing a game!

That was his anguished inner cry...

"A small place..." Mag suddenly looked at the tail behind Mo Tan and asked, "You aren't one of the reptilian Half-Orcs, are you?"

Mo Tan honestly shook his head. "I suppose I'm a Half-Dragon."

Mag fell silent for a while after hearing that. Then he sighed, patted Mo Tan on the shoulder, and muttered, "No wonder..."

But he didn't continue, as though he didn't want to dredge up any painful memories for Mo Tan. Instead, he took a somewhat battered notebook from his robes and handed it over.

"What is this...?" Mo Tan took the black notebook, which reeked of alcohol, and glanced down at it. He immediately lit up and asked Mag hopefully, "Can I borrow it?"

Mag's Adventure Journal

Quality: Unique Common

Use: Read

Note: The notebook of the dwarf warrior Mag Ironfist. It contains a large amount of adventuring knowledge and a simple map of the northwestern part of the continent, along with a small number of herbal recipes, edible parts of common monsters, and basic wilderness survival knowledge. Finally, for the physical and mental health of players, we strongly! Strongly! Strongly! Strongly advise the owner of this notebook not to open pages 77–82. Otherwise, the player will be responsible for all consequences.

Although some strange things seemed to have been mixed in, Mo Tan still understood the value this adventure journal held for a beginner player like him. It was irreplaceable—common sense!

Without any reliable information from the game's official channels, players could hardly take a step during the early stages of the game. No one knew which sentence might violate someone's taboo, or which action might be regarded as heretical. This was especially true in Innocent World, where the NPCs were all extremely intelligent. Quite a few careless people had already paid the price for various inappropriate actions.

Even in the real world, humans of the same race could beat each other senseless over all kinds of taboos, beliefs, and customs. People with the same skin color who spoke the same language could even burn or kill one another as heretics without batting an eye. Not to mention this game world, vast and rich, filled with countless strange things and a hundred competing races.

Many of the most basic basics might not have been recorded by Mag, but they were already precious enough to Mo Tan.

"I'm giving it to you." The dwarf smiled at Mo Tan, who had first been startled and then looked as though he wanted to refuse. "Don't rush to say no. I can practically recite everything in it, and I could rewrite another copy in a few minutes. Since you said you wanted to travel around and broaden your horizons, this journal should be able to help you a little. Consider it repayment for what you did before."

After hearing that, Mo Tan stopped being coy. He carefully put away Mag's Adventure Journal and said solemnly, "I'll take good care of it, my friend."

"Oh, right!" Mag's eyes suddenly brightened. He said to Mo Tan, "Would you be interested in becoming a mercenary?"

Ten minutes later, Mo Tan stood before the headquarters of the Adventurers' Guild in Anka Market. He wore a set of fine-quality white-iron chainmail and carried a blacksteel longsword enhanced with a basic enchantment. His smile was as bright as spring sunshine.

He could never forget the old priest by Daming Lake, who had forcibly sold him a prayer book at the "cost price" of twenty copper coins per copy.

He could never forget the sea of white turning into green whenever he played games involving opening chests or unpacking items.

He could never forget how the first card in his hand in every card game always seemed determined to oppose him.

He could never forget the countless times he had lost looting rights after disconnecting because his personality suddenly changed.

In short, whenever he played a game involving luck—even when he ignored the warning signs and played cards against someone—Mo Tan was always the deepest pit in the saying "one pit is deeper than the next," the unluckiest player of them all!

But now...

"Finally!" Mo Tan clenched his fists lightly, tears welling in his eyes as he exclaimed, "My luck has finally turned!!"

Mo, who was Lawful Good, had played for less than three hours in total, yet his luck was so incredible that it seemed as though he had buried his entire head beneath the skirt of the Goddess of Luck. Not only had he obtained an adventure journal that was extremely valuable to a beginner, but Mag had even forced an entire set of fine-quality equipment on him after learning that he wanted to become a mercenary. If his class level and various abilities weren't still so low, he might have received even more...

And that wasn't all!

Mag had also taught him two of his favorite combat techniques, known among players as skills.

Mad Dash

Weapon Active Skill

Requirement: Any weapon proficiency level 1, Strength 7

Cost/Restriction: 50 Stamina, must be wielding a melee weapon

Effect: Charge headfirst toward a designated location within 8–20 meters. Upon reaching the target location, deliver a heavy strike to the nearest enemy unit that is guaranteed to critically hit. Damage taken during the charge is increased by 20%, but the user is unaffected by slowing, immobilization, or stun effects. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

Note: A charge trailing sparks and lightning may look cool, but on the battlefield, nothing is more romantic than sprinting wildly as though you've forgotten who your own mother is. Whether attacking or retreating, always move with the mindset that "a goblin high-explosive rocket is chasing my ass"!

With this skill, together with Crashing Strike, which Mo Tan had learned after choosing the warrior class, his instantaneous mobility could even surpass that of rangers and rogues of the same level...

That was assuming there was actually a level-one ranger or rogue bored enough to race him.

In any case, Mo Tan could now proudly boast, "I'm fast~!"

And then there was the second one...

Crouching Devil

Passive Skill

Requirement: None

Cost/Restriction: None

Effect: While stationary—or while inside dense cover, in which case this condition is unnecessary—once you keep your absolute height below 1.5 meters for 10 seconds, you become harder to detect until you rise above that height, and your next attack deals 20% more damage. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Note: Hey! Is it cool standing so tall? You, the little deaf-and-blind one up ahead, eat my Avada Kedavra!

This was one of Mag's favorite techniques. Although it wasn't easy for Mo Tan to use, it was still an extremely practical passive skill. As Mag put it, if staying bent over was too tiring, Mo Tan could lie down, kneel, or even sprawl on the ground. He simply had to avoid doing it in crowded areas as much as possible. After all, getting stepped on hurt quite a bit...

In any case, since the person in charge on the Sylphs' side was temporarily absent and Mo Tan's physical condition seemed fine, Mag readily let him go out for a stroll.

The first thing Mo Tan did was register as an adventurer.

Anka Market was located in the northwest of the continent. Although it was called a market, its area was large enough to hold two places the size of Rockpile City. Thanks to its uniquely advantageous geographical position, Anka Market lay along a major transportation route and saw a constant flow of merchants, mercenaries, adventurers, and all kinds of people every day. In this era, when barter was still widespread, this ungoverned territory gradually developed into the commercial hub of the northwest. Over time, it became this large and influential "market."

The two major merchant guilds of the Continent of Innocence, numerous religious orders, and the ubiquitous mages' guilds, Adventurers' Guild, Mercenary Association, and others all had large branches here. The last two were the largest. The Anka branches of the Adventurers' Guild and Mercenary Association, which had always supported each other, could practically be called landmarks of the city.

That made it easy for Mo Tan to find his first destination...

Adventurers' Guild—Anka Branch

This building, occupying nearly one square kilometer and constructed entirely from blue-gray stone, stood in the northern district of Anka Market. The hexagonal structure looked like an ancient Roman arena. It lacked the luxury of a grand hall, the majesty of a castle, or the solemnity of a church, yet possessed a wild and uninhibited air. Although using the word "air" to describe a building seemed somewhat strange, it did not feel incongruous in the slightest...

Beside the guild's perpetually open Pioneer's Gate stood two enormous statues. One depicted a hunched, long-bearded Gnome mage. The other depicted a humanoid figure carrying a spear, greatsword, hunting bow, and heavy shield on its back, while holding a torch in one hand and a map in the other.

Mo Tan slowly walked to Pioneer's Gate and looked up...

The Gnome mage held an enormous book. A lifelike quill stood upright above it, seemingly writing something on its own. His other hand rested on a silver cane, whose magnified carvings shone with a multicolored glow. The light illuminated the face of its master, weathered by the winds of time and covered in wrinkles.

The pedestal bore a line of small writing: "To the great pioneer, Guildmaster Gary Ancheng, who sleeps eternally after setting out upon the journey to explore the endless unknown. The light of hope you kindled shall be passed down through the generations. Until every thorn in this world has been conquered by our pioneers, the Book of Returners shall never cease to be written."

"My respects..." Mo Tan looked at the colossus with its lowered eyes, as though it were contemplating something, and bowed slightly. He then walked beneath the other statue beside the gate.

This statue, which looked like a master of weapons, had no face. Its body appeared utterly exhausted, while the equipment cleverly concealed all the places that might reveal its gender or race. Many parts were adorned with dark-red "bloodstains," yet it still seemed stubbornly determined to take one more step...

My respects to all of you.

Only these seven brief words were written below, yet they surpassed a thousand words.

This was not a statue, but a mirror...

A mirror in which every adventurer could see themselves.

End of Chapter Eighteen