Mechanic Monsters (Please Bookmark and Follow!)

Lynn did not speak to the girl. The carriage was too cramped; even the quietest voice would be heard clearly by everyone around them.

Besides, they were unfamiliar with one another, so almost no one spoke during the journey.

Fortunately, the trip was not too long. Before long, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

"Large numbers of monsters have been spotted ahead. Passage is forbidden!"

There was actually a checkpoint here? Through the small front window, Lynn vaguely saw several guards in standard-issue armor stopping the carriage.

The Orc warrior assigned to protect them had already jumped down from the carriage and walked toward the guards.

"Mr. Gray? It's been a long time. What are you doing here?" The lead guard's expression immediately softened upon seeing the Orc warrior, and his tone became highly respectful.

"I'm escorting them on an emergency mission. Five people in total. Here is the mission document..." Gray pulled out a sheet of paper.

Along with the mission document, he handed over a metal badge.

Lynn happened to see the front of the badge. Three embossed stars, painted gold, stood out clearly on it.

A three-star Adventurer! Lynn was secretly astonished. This man was actually a three-star Adventurer.

At that level, he was already considered one of the strongest in Colin Town.

As for Lynn, he was merely a newly minted one-star Adventurer.

The Adventurer's Guild had actually specifically sent a three-star Adventurer to protect them... It seemed this mission was not as simple as it appeared.

Still, touching his empty coin pouch, Lynn decided to watch for now. He secretly resolved that the moment anything seemed wrong, he would immediately use [Blink Step] and run.

The guard captain took the mission document and quickly skimmed it. After folding it and handing it back to Gray, he ordered his men to remove the roadblock and leave enough room for the carriage to pass.

"No need," Gray said. "The road ahead is difficult. We'll leave the carriage here."

With that, he called for the people in the carriage to gather their things and get out.

No one objected. Most of them had not come to Whispering Forest for the first time and were fairly familiar with the place.

Under normal circumstances, they would never have luxuriously rented a carriage for a mission.

"Stay alert. Our target this time is the Crystal Monsters wandering around the outer region. They aren't very powerful, but they're fast. Try to clear them out in one go!"

Led by Gray, the team of mages advanced in an orderly fashion.

Lynn was quite familiar with Crystal Monsters. The original owner's greatest hobby had been reading, and he had even devoured the brick-thick Adventurer's Monster Bestiary published by the Adventurer's Guild.

Like Adventurers, monsters were graded from one to six stars. Crystal Monsters were two-star monsters.

That was only an overall rating. In Lynn's eyes, Crystal Monsters might actually be easier to deal with than one-star Magic Wolves or Goblins.

Their bodies were incredibly hard, and ordinary combat classes could not break through their defenses at all. However, they feared magical attacks. Even a zero-circle cantrip could effectively damage them.

That was why the Guild had specifically gathered a group of mages to exterminate them.

Lynn was looking forward to it. Apart from the ten silver coins awarded for accepting the mission, the Guild would also pay a ten-silver bonus for every Crystal Monster killed.

Moreover, after a two-star monster died, there was a certain chance it would leave behind special magical materials.

Maybe he could earn enough to buy a staff outright.

The currency system in this world was not complicated. One gold coin equaled one hundred silver coins, and one silver coin equaled one hundred copper coins. In terms of purchasing power, one copper coin was slightly less than one yuan in his previous life.

Of course, the productivity of the two worlds was vastly different, making direct comparisons much more complicated.

Lynn himself used magical items as his standard. The cheapest cedar staff cost thirty silver coins, while the most common first-circle spellbook cost at least three gold coins.

To reach the higher levels of magehood, the money required was simply an astronomical sum to him right now!

He really needed to make money...

Just then, the Orc warrior Gray suddenly stopped. After sweeping his gaze around, he said in a deep voice, "This is the place. Search for the targets and prepare to attack!"

Lynn immediately began observing the surroundings.

The trees on the outskirts of Whispering Forest were not particularly dense. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the branches and leaves, and something glittered in the distance.

He narrowed his eyes and finally saw clearly. A layer of transparent crystal covered the surface of a large tree, reflecting brilliant colors beneath the sunlight.

Lynn immediately recalled the descriptions of Crystal Monster habits.

Strictly speaking, they were parasitic monsters. They liked to invade weaker monsters or plants, splitting off part of their bodies and merging it into the host. They would slowly crystallize the host's body until they matured into a complete individual, thereby reproducing.

Quite a few trees around them were like this, their trunks covered in a layer of transparent crystals.

The five mages gradually spread out into a fan formation around Gray, strictly following their agreement not to move more than ten meters away from him.

Some had already raised their staffs, their attention fully focused as they prepared to chant spells at any moment.

As they drew closer, Lynn finally saw the miserable state of that large tree clearly.

Behind the side of its thick trunk, a mass of uneven crystalline matter clung tightly to it, pulsing with a breathing-like rhythm as though alive.

Sensing living creatures approaching, it immediately became alert. Its body suddenly burst open, clusters of crystals forming into sharp spikes.

From the corner of his eye, Lynn saw the half-elf girl beside him stiffen, as though she had been startled.

Then, a male mage at the front of the group had already finished chanting. With a swing of his staff, a streak of fire shot straight at the Crystal Monster.

So fast! It was only a Fire Arrow cantrip, but this man's reaction was truly quick.

Before Lynn could clearly see what had happened in the distance, someone else summoned a Frost Ray and struck the Crystal Monster.

With a crack, half the Crystal Monster parasitizing the tree shattered, and glass-like crystals scattered across the ground.

Gray immediately announced, "One successfully killed. The reward will be split among those who participated in the kill."

Because of the elemental advantage, he would not take action himself this time. He was mainly acting as a bodyguard and referee.

The two mages who had attacked had no objections. This was the most common method of distribution among Adventurers.

The group continued onward. As they ventured deeper, more and more crystallized trees appeared around them.

The mages kept attacking, and for a time, fire, frost, lightning, and all kinds of magic blossomed explosively through the forest.

But now that they had become wary, some Crystal Monsters had already pulled their bodies away from their hosts. They looked bizarre and grotesque, yet moved faster than an ordinary person could run.

Many magical attacks struck empty air.

Lynn silently shook his head. That was a mage's weakness. No matter how powerful an attack was, it had to hit first!

Just as he was watching the show intently, the half-elf girl quietly walked over to his side.

"Aren't you going to attack? Those monsters should be worth quite a bit of money each, right?" she asked softly, blinking her emerald-green eyes.

Lynn found it rather strange. She clearly had no intention of attacking either.

He answered casually, "No rush. At their rate of killing, they won't be able to wipe out so many monsters anytime soon."

Watching the mages miss another round of spells, Lynn felt rather sorry for them.

Mana was a mage's most precious resource!

Yet beneath the half-elf girl's scrutinizing gaze, Lynn actually felt a little guilty.

As a transmigrator, although he had the original owner's extremely limited combat experience as a foundation, the truth was that he had never properly used magic before...

Urgent, waiting online. What should I do if I'm a little nervous about being a mage for the first time?