Adventure Squad

The five-day introductory course allowed Sylutia to quickly grasp the common knowledge of this world, such as copper, silver, and gold coins, and how to determine their origin, age, and value based on the leaf patterns stamped upon them.

100~110 rotten copper coins = 1 silver leaf coin

100 silver leaf coins = 1 gold flower coin

"Most silver coins have a leaf pattern on the back. This is because the earliest silver coins were silver leaves taken from the World Tree by the elves as currency. Later, when various races began minting their own money, they adopted this design, mostly using leaves as motifs. Some also use noble family crests, such as the Marquis Warren in the east, who uses a wolf as his emblem."

"Although silver coins differ in their patterns, they share standardized sizes, weights, and silver content requirements, which are universal across the continent."

"Then there are the gold coins, also known as gold flower coins, because many of them feature floral patterns on the back, representing the royal family that minted them," Winnie explained.

"If other nobles—not the royal family, but just marquises or counts—cannot use flowers as a pattern on their silver coins?" Sylutia asked curiously.

"They cannot," Winnie shook her head quite directly.

"Only the royal family may use flowers as their emblem. This involves a very long history and the top-tier powers of the world."

After finishing the classification of currency, Winnie briefed Sylutia on the general situation of the current Regas Kingdom.

The current ruler of the Regas Kingdom is the 17th monarch, Asatis, who resides in White Cliff City. Due to its decline, Regas is no longer a kingdom but has been downgraded to a grand duchy, and its monarch is now referred to as the Grand Duke of Regas.

Every autumn, large merchant caravans depart from various regions to trade at the capital, White Cliff City, returning before the onset of winter.

This trade provides the reserves of supplies and grain for the entire winter. If certain territories lack sufficient food for the winter, they will spend huge sums during the trade to purchase the surplus grain from other territories to survive the difficult season.

"The country is dominated by three types of terrain: forests, mountains, and plains, with different outputs in each area. Where we are now, the Scorched Stone City region, is primarily forest. Therefore, every autumn, we dispatch caravans to purchase grain reserves to prevent food shortages during the winter."

"Of course, we also have our own specialties, such as cedar wood, tree resin, furs, smoked meat, and some pickled fruits."

Winnie then educated Sylutia on the approximate prices of various common daily necessities to prevent this sheltered young lady from being swindled.

Four days later, at Winnie's house.

"Congratulations, Miss Sylutia. You have completed all the lessons. You now know more about the local situation than 95% of the people on the street," Winnie closed the book and smiled to congratulate her.

The young girl recalled all the knowledge she had learned over these days: from the growth cycles of local crops and livestock management points, to the map and terrain distribution of the Regas Kingdom, the meanings and origins of various noble crests, and the general structure and functions of the many guilds. Winnie had truly provided her with a comprehensive overview of the local environment.

"Thank you, Teacher Winnie," she stood up and bowed.

"I am also very happy to have such an intelligent student," Winnie remarked with emotion. Sylutia's learning speed was the fastest she had ever seen. Many complex concepts did not require much explanation; once a term was mentioned, the girl could quickly grasp and understand it based on patterns and logic.

Talia would likely never catch up to this kind of talent in her entire life. Glancing at her younger sister, who was distracted, Winnie could only sigh and press her hand to her forehead.

"Let's stop here for today. You've learned a lot these past few days; it's time to go out and walk around."

"Talia," she called her sister's name, startling the daydreaming girl back to reality.

"I'm here, what is it, sister?"

"Go out for a walk with Miss Sylutia this afternoon," Winnie stated the task directly.

"Alright, no problem!" Talia was exceptionally happy to hear this; she finally didn't have to study anymore.

After lunch, Sylutia and Talia walked on the streets of Scorched Stone City. The day remained sunny, and the city was as bustling as ever.

Sylutia, wearing a red-brown cloak, stepped on the gray-black stone bricks, her hands resting naturally at her sides, her pace leisurely.

"By the way, can ordinary people visit the Adventurer's Guild?" she recalled the letter of introduction Frien had given her.

"Of course they can, but those adventurers are far stronger than the average person, so commoners don't really dare to get close to them."

"So that's how it is." Sylutia suddenly wanted to know what level the adventurers in the city were generally at.

"Let's go over and take a look."

"I want to go too!" Talia was actually quite interested in adventurers, but unfortunately, she lacked the strength, which was why she had previously suppressed the idea of becoming one.

The two soon arrived at the gates of the Adventurer's Guild. After sizing up the tall door frame, they walked inside.

The front hall was exceptionally spacious, large enough to serve as a tavern, though no alcohol was sold here; it merely provided plenty of empty seats for those who came to rest.

As far as the eye could see, adventurers and mercenaries carrying weapons were everywhere. Most wore leather armor, while a few were equipped with half-body chainmail. Unlike soldiers, these adventurers carried various tools on their persons, such as ropes, iron traps for capturing, nets, cages, lamp oil, and so on.

At this moment, some people were gathered under a notice board, looking at the bounties posted above.

"Monsters attacking caravans have appeared near Water Ditch Town, form unknown. Bounty: 60 silver coins."

"Acquiring teeth of Tier 1 beasts. 3 silver coins per single tooth, 20 silver for long tusks."

"Seeking 'Water Mist Orchid', 23 silver coins per stalk, three stalks needed in total."

"Kill the mutated otters upstream of Forest Creek Village. 2 silver coins per head, approximately twenty needed."

Under the notice board, a team that Sylutia found slightly familiar was also standing there, searching for bounties they could take on.

"Big Brother Jero, why don't we go take care of those otters? That looks easy," a boy wearing simple leather armor spoke up. His eyes were slightly elongated, giving his face a somewhat fierce look.

"Those otters aren't easy to deal with," the strong man known as Jero shook his head, his large palm pressing onto the boy's head, almost covering it entirely.

His rough fingers ruffled the boy's hair as the man grinned and explained: "If we want to take down otters, we have to go into the water. But once we're in the water, our combat effectiveness is far inferior to what it is on land."

"Those otters must be beasts tainted by the power of the Aspect. They are incredibly fast in the water and quite clever; if we take a boat, they'll bore holes right through the hull."

"I've seen plenty of adventurers suffer because of that before," he said, drawing on past experience.

"Ah, then how are we supposed to handle this quest? Do we need to hire a professional hunter to help?" the youth asked, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"Hahaha, that won't be necessary. I've got plenty of experience dealing with otters. Come on, let's accept the quest first, then we'll head over to the Alchemist Guild next door to pick up a few things." He patted the youth on the shoulder, then let his companion push through to the notice board to accept the bounty.

"We're taking this quest for our adventuring party."

"Very well, I'll register you. Per the rules, please pay a five-silver deposit first," the receptionist said, stepping forward at the sound of their voices.

"Heh, let's have a little appetizer first." With that, the group walked over to the side counter to register.

After they left, the area beneath the notice board quieted down, and the crowd began to whisper about other bounties.

"Sixty silver for the monster in Water Ditch Town—that looks pretty tempting."

"I reckon it's a First-Order beast; otherwise, the bounty wouldn't be that high."

"If it's a First-Order, then sixty silver is actually a bit low," one man said, shaking his head.

"It depends on the haul. If that First-Order beast has enough valuable parts, the hunting value alone would make up for the bounty."

"Look at Jero and his crew. When they hunted that Crimson Wolf last time, the bounty money was only a small fraction; the real profit came from the wolf pelt and its materials."

The sound of discussion kept the adventurer's hall buzzing. These people, who lived life on the edge of a blade, gazed at the bounties with fervent eyes.

Even though the process was fraught with danger, the tangible silver coins were simply too alluring. Taking down just one or two of these targets was worth a year of hard labor—a temptation that was impossible to resist.