Adventuring Party

There was no need to guess who it was...

"Yaya?" Mo Tan looked up at the girl who had leaped in front of him and smiled gently. "What's wrong?"

He had a fairly good impression of this seemingly innocent and adorable girl. Although she had caused him a little trouble earlier, Yaya clearly hadn't done it on purpose. After all, she looked every bit like someone who had barely experienced the world.

The girl rubbed her cheek against Mo Tan's shoulder. Her pointed animal ears drooped slightly backward, and her light-green eyes were full of grievance as she mumbled, "Quest... woof can't find... any woof can take... stomach so woof..."

Grrr~

The girl's stomach growled at exactly the right moment, as if translating for her.

Mo Tan understood about seventy percent of what she said, which was enough to grasp the general meaning. He was about to find a shop and buy Yaya something to eat when he took a step and remembered that his current character was utterly penniless. Though he had a few decent low-level pieces of equipment, he didn't have a single coin to his name...

"I happen to be going to the Adventurers' Guild. You can come with me." Mo Tan waved to Yaya. "It'd be best if there's a relatively easy quest. If not, I can still find a way to get you something to eat."

His solution was simple enough: sell the iron sword Mo had received when he first logged in. In theory, it should fetch at least a little money. After all, Mag had already given him a new set of equipment, including an excellent blacksteel longsword, so the initial weapon he had received was basically useless now. Selling it shouldn't be a problem.

"Woof!" Yaya nodded vigorously and hurried after Mo Tan, her furry tail wagging at lightning speed. "Thank you~"

The sweetness in her smile had at least eight plus signs!

Seven or eight minutes later, the two arrived in the Adventurers' Guild's first-floor hall. Just as Mo Tan was preparing to choose a quest, the young receptionist who had crossed paths with him twice before somehow emerged from nowhere and smacked him hard on the shoulder. "Hey, taking a quest is fine, but you can't let this girl participate."

Mo Tan blinked. "Why?"

Yaya also looked at the receptionist with watery eyes, and her stomach growled again.

"To avoid potential trouble." The receptionist shrugged, then somehow produced a bone club and handed it to Yaya. Crossing her arms, she shook her head. "She can't clearly explain why she suddenly went berserk and demolished a house, and we have no way to determine whether it'll happen again. So, for the time being, she can't accept solo quests."

Mo Tan understood. He had heard about Yaya's "great achievement" before. Although he couldn't imagine how someone who looked so harmless could possibly have done it, the branch's decision wasn't unreasonable. It was also a form of protection for Yaya.

She had been knocked unconscious after stepping on a stair while trying to tear down the home of a goblin couple, which was already bad enough. But what if she accidentally overturned the stall of some reclusive expert next time?

Like the sharp-beaked, thunder-god-faced man surnamed Sun who had achieved glorious results in his religious career before retiring into obscurity~

Or the white-bearded old man who had waited at the bottom of a cliff for several hundred years without meeting his destined love, then climbed out and changed careers to sell vegetables~

Or the Saiyan youth carrying alien blood who had fallen to Earth by chance, hit his head, and spent most of his time chopping wood and fishing in the mountains~

Although these examples seemed somehow off, the Continent of Innocence truly had many experts who kept a low profile. They fought against evil forces—or righteous ones—and preferred ordinary, peaceful lives...

If Yaya accidentally offended a few low-key sword saints or archmages, things would get very lively.

"How about you wait here for now?" Mo Tan looked at Yaya and spread his hands. "I'll go find a simple quest to do?"

It wasn't because Yaya was pretty, adorably dazed, and cute that he was taking such care of her. The main reason was that she was genuinely rather pitiful and seemed a little dim-witted. Another reason was his concern for wild animals and disabled—linguistically—and stubborn-headed young girls. He simply felt bad about leaving her unattended...

This had nothing to do with her race, gender, appearance, or background. It depended solely on whether Mo Tan felt he ought to lend a hand. Most of the time, the current version of him was willing to help anyone trapped in a difficult situation. Of course, the prerequisite was that the person deserved help, and there were actually far fewer such people than one might imagine—so few that they were practically rare...

Otherwise, Mo Tan wouldn't need to do anything else with his current personality.

"Hm?" Yaya was crunching through the last bit of food in her mouth. She froze, then looked up at Mo Tan for a moment. Suddenly, she pursed her lips pitifully and let out a whimper.

Was she worried that he was going to abandon her?

Mo Tan gave a bitter laugh. He and this girl had originally had nothing to do with each other. Where had this feeling of being treated as her owner come from?

"What kind of bizarre atavistic phenomenon is this?" The receptionist weakly covered her forehead and forced a laugh. "If this girl's other kin saw her, they might even want to beat her to death to preserve the average intelligence of the entire race."

Hey, that was a little harsh!

Mo Tan rubbed Yaya's head and asked the receptionist, "Does this mean she won't be able to take quests at all?"

"That's not necessarily true." The receptionist shook her head. "It's fine if she joins an adventurer party. We just need to know that someone will be watching her—and that person must be able to restrain her or be strong enough to take responsibility if something goes wrong. A temporary party is fine too, as long as it's registered. Are you saying...?"

Mo Tan nodded.

"No." Unexpectedly, the receptionist raised an index finger and wagged it. "Adventurer parties consist of three to five people. Even if you want to help her, there's nothing you can do. Besides, word of what she did has already spread. Finding a second idiot willing to form a party with her—" She coughed. "I mean, adventurer—is basically impossible."

Yaya squatted down despondently, hugging her legs. Her pointed ears drooped listlessly. "Mm, so many woofs avoid me."

"So, you should first learn how to speak properly, and then..." The receptionist suddenly stiffened. She abruptly looked up and shouted toward Mo Tan, "Don't come over!"

Mo Tan froze. Then he smelled an ominous burning odor coming from behind him. When he turned around, his calves immediately began to tremble.

The first thing that caught his eye was a staff constantly emitting wisps of black smoke. Honestly, if the thing had been called Mad Eye's Walking Stick, Mo Tan wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest... Adding a lightning orb or a Jigglypuff-like ball to the staff head would have made it even more fitting...

"Hi~ young man." The owner of the exploding walking stick—rather, the smoking staff—gently stroked his beard and smiled warmly at Mo Tan. "Perhaps we share the same troubles at this very moment. Want to form a party? I've been waiting here for two or three days."

Judging by his appearance, he had probably completely forgotten that he had nearly blown the young man in front of him to death.

He had apparently overheard their conversation by chance and enthusiastically come over.

"Jadeka!" The receptionist retreated several steps and assumed a defensive stance. "You're old enough that if that thing blows you up someday, it'll be proof that the heavens have eyes. But could you stop plotting to hurt other people?"

The old mage chuckled awkwardly. "No need to put it so harshly, Miss Chris. If I weren't unable to accept solo quests, I wouldn't have to camp out here every day."

Mo Tan finally understood. So this man had received the same treatment as Yaya. The difference was that Yaya simply didn't understand what she was doing, while in the branch's eyes, the old man could probably be described as "incorrigible." As expected...

"If you changed careers and became a warrior, I could not only remove all your restrictions, but also promote you directly to a higher-rank adventurer." Chris waved her hand like she was shooing away a fly. "So hurry up and throw away that unstable explosive in your hand."

The old mage's expression stiffened, and he gave a bitter smile. "That's a little unreasonable..."

"If you won't, get lost!" Chris glared at him viciously. "I don't negotiate!"

Jadeka, who possessed extraordinary warrior talent and an impressive physique—he would have died young otherwise—sighed. With a long, weary breath, he turned and walked outside, clutching the staff that kept spitting sparks as if he would rather die than let go.

"Um, please wait a moment..."

A somewhat helpless voice suddenly came from behind him. Jadeka looked back and saw the young Half-Dragon raising an arm toward him. "If you can guarantee that you won't blow us up... and, of course, won't interfere with the quest... we're waiting for a mage."

Jadeka froze. He couldn't remember how many years it had been since someone had sincerely called him a "mage," especially while knowing about his particular traits. Mo Tan's words nearly brought tears to the old man's eyes.

He placed his left hand on top of the unstable explosive. After failing to cast the spell twice, he covered it with a thin layer of frost. Then he slowly turned around and walked back, bowing slightly to Mo Tan and Yaya. "Would Beginner Mage Jadeka Ben Diesel be of service to you both?"

"Are you serious?" Chris looked at Mo Tan as if he were an ordinary-looking Zaku pilot announcing that he planned to challenge the God of Fighting to a duel—or perhaps as if she were staring at a grave overgrown with two yards of weeds. "You're planning to form a party with Jadeka?!"

Mo Tan nodded. "I think we can give it a try."

Although he knew he might be playing with fire—or, more accurately, lightning—Mo Tan still felt that this old man, who had persisted on the path of magic, deserved respect.

Everyone had dreams, and some were especially worthy of admiration...

People who lacked ability yet ultimately achieved success through hard work.

People who decisively abandoned their dreams for others, society, their country, or honor, taking another path and giving it everything they had.

And people who could see no hope yet still clung stubbornly to their original dreams, refusing to give up no matter how many setbacks they suffered.

Jadeka clearly belonged to the last group...

When they were young, countless people had pursued things that seemed almost laughable in hindsight: music, painting, basketball, science, becoming entertainers...

Yet in the end, most chose another future that was more realistic, though incompatible with their original aspirations.

That wasn't tragic. Life was full of helplessness and change, and everyone was born with different talents. But the dreams hidden deep within us had never truly vanished. They still stirred restlessly every moment; they were merely concealed more thoroughly as we aged, gained experience, and became increasingly realistic.

A football superstar might secretly spend an afternoon playing basketball at a street court so badly that even elementary school students couldn't bear to watch.

A world-famous financial tycoon might enjoy using his terrible, tone-deaf voice to produce pointless noise capable of making children cry whenever he was alone.

An entertainer or singer who often appeared on television might harbor the heart of a scientist, even if an experiment to produce oxygen could blow away half a desk.

Dreams had never truly died. Given another chance to choose, many people might take a more ordinary path—perhaps one that could even leave them starving—but one utterly different from their current road.

Jadeka, however, was different from most people. His dream had not only survived; it had nearly gotten quite a few people killed... Sorry, I'm getting distracted...

What I meant was that although he had absolutely, extremely, and utterly no talent for magic, he still persisted in that dream. Even after suffering countless scornful looks and criticisms, even with most of his body already in the grave, he remained without regret.

Mo Tan respected such people. He happened to have an opportunity to make this old man feel a little better, so he made a decision he would be endlessly grateful for in the future.

He acknowledged him and accepted him.

As long as he kept himself at full health, he probably wouldn't be blown up easily. Yaya looked rather slender, but she should be much stronger than she appeared. Mag had also said that Half-Orcs generally possessed excellent physiques.

"All right, all right~" Chris reluctantly nodded. "Since neither of you objects, I can register you and recommend a quest that isn't too difficult and shouldn't cause any trouble in theory. Come with me."

The three of them followed her to an empty display window.

After going around back, Chris quickly registered the three as a "temporary adventurer party" and entered the seemingly most reliable Mo Tan as party leader. Then she said gloomily, "Not far south of Anka Market is a farm. Its owner posted a time-sensitive quest this afternoon. The task is to watch over the farm for a day. Quest number 4414. No one has accepted it yet..."

The three nodded eagerly.

"I'll register you, then." Chris propped her chin in her hands and glared viciously at them. "This is the kind of quest anyone can handle. If you somehow manage to ruin this too..."

Mo Tan and the others all swallowed audibly.

"Then go die ten thousand times over!"

End