Getting Serious

The party continued onward. At the end of the cavern, they finally found something.

Displayed on a rug pieced together from animal hides were several relatively new pieces of human equipment.

They included a breastplate torn more than halfway through, a fine steel longsword broken in two, and several fragments of armor.

They were stained with patches of blood. It was not hard to imagine what their owners had gone through.

"I recognize this sword. It was Rod's weapon..."

Gray crouched down and picked up the hilt, his voice unusually heavy.

Everyone fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

This was the life of an adventurer.

They could earn handsome rewards from mission after mission, but they could also end up dying without even a grave.

Killed by a group of Goblins like this... their final moments probably had not been pleasant.

"All right... keep looking. See if there are any other belongings," Marcus said.

The group began searching through the nest.

Gray found the bronze Adventurers' Association badges of three members of Rod's Party.

Zeliel found a pocket watch in a corner.

When he opened it, there was a portrait of a man and a woman inside. After asking Gray, he confirmed that the man was a ranger from Rod's Party.

Other than that, there were only a few scattered little items.

They found no bones. The Goblins had probably eaten them all long ago.

These were all the belongings left behind by Rod's Party. After packing them up, the group left the cave once more.

The sun hung in the west, faintly sinking behind the mountains. In a few more hours, it would be completely dark, so they began their journey home.

The forest was exceedingly quiet, broken only by the occasional birdcall.

"Say... have you ever imagined your own future?" Zeliel suddenly asked.

Vales silently shook his head.

"The future... probably means retiring to some quiet little town once I'm too old to keep adventuring," Marcus said.

It was a rather simple, unadorned wish.

"Assassins don't think about all that pointless stuff. Think too much, and your hand shakes when you kill," Hill said with a smile.

"Same as Marcus. I'll return to my hometown and spend my old age in peace," Gak said, grinning.

"You all have plenty of energy. You're planning to work until you're old before retiring."

Gray wore a carefree expression. "Once I've made enough money, I'll quit and take Marianne traveling all over."

"Are you serious? You really like that barmaid?" Vales frowned.

"Of course. Heaven and earth can bear witness to my true heart," Gray said with a grin.

Hill walked along, tossing a pebble into the air. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Something's moving." Hill fixed her gaze ahead.

The others immediately stopped talking and warily looked around.

"Monsters?" Marcus instinctively took off his shield.

"No... people. Six of them," Hill said.

"Fuck!"

Drake kicked a tree trunk, sending fallen leaves drifting down.

His face was full of irritation. "Where the hell is the place marked on the map? Did you even find the right spot?"

"It's here, Captain."

A short, skinny man with a monkeyish look immediately sidled up to Drake, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

His name was Richie. He was the party's assassin and mainly responsible for leading the way.

"Captain, I guarantee it—the place I found is definitely right!"

"Then where's the Tree Spirit?" Drake glared.

After Marcus's party took the Goblin extermination mission for Misty Cavern, Drake had no choice but to settle for less and pick up a new mission to kill a Tree Spirit.

The reward was lower, but it was still better than nothing.

Yet after wandering around Graywood Forest all afternoon, the party had not even caught sight of the Tree Spirit's shadow.

The longer they wandered, the more resentment Drake felt.

He had really been unlucky lately!

A high-reward mission had finally come up, only for someone else to snatch it away—and Hogan had personally assigned it to them!

What exactly made his party inferior to theirs?

What kind of lousy ranger and mage were they? Pah, he could take them down with one slash!

"Maybe the Tree Spirit went somewhere else... You know, Boss, monsters like that love wandering all over the place."

Richie suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He cocked his head to listen, and delight appeared on his face.

"Wait... Boss! There's something ahead!"

"Oh? Is it the Tree Spirit?" Drake immediately perked up.

"Not sure... but we'll know if we go take a look!"

The six-person party entered combat readiness and steadily advanced forward.

After passing through the bushes, they found a clearing in the woods ahead. However, when they saw the source of the disturbance, the members of Drake's Party could not help but freeze.

"Oh... I was wondering who it was. So it's you lot."

Drake came to his senses and let out a cold laugh.

"Isn't this the elite party that stole our mission at the Association?"

Marcus had not expected to run into Drake and the others. The situation suddenly became rather troublesome.

He had no desire to waste time here, so he said, "I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now. Goodbye."

With that, he prepared to lead his party around them.

"Hold it!"

Drake took a step sideways, blocking the path Marcus's party had to take.

His wolfish gaze swept repeatedly across them, full of scrutiny.

Their tired expressions, bloodstained armor and clothes, and bulging backpacks.

Yes, that was it...

They had already completed the extermination commission for the Goblin settlement in Misty Cavern!

"Looks like you've made quite a haul."

There was now another meaning in Drake's expression. "How much are you making this time? Fifty gold coins? Or sixty?"

At the mention of that enormous reward, Drake's teammates behind him visibly began breathing faster.

That was so much money!

The Tree Spirit mission Drake had taken this time paid only six gold coins in total. Split between them, each person would get just one gold coin.

"None of your business. Move aside!" Marcus barked.

"Ha! You think you're still at the Adventurers' Association? You think that old bastard Hogan is here to back you up?"

Drake could no longer be bothered to hide it. The expression on his face grew increasingly arrogant. "You won't be so lucky this time..."

Gak stepped forward and stood beside Marcus, looking fierce. "Can't you hear what our captain said? Move aside!"

The Intermediate Swordsman behind Drake also stepped forward, answering without the slightest weakness.

"This isn't your place to talk, you half-blood bastard!"

"What do you want?" Marcus's voice turned completely cold.

"What do I want?"

Drake drew the broad-bladed saber from his back and rested it on his shoulder. "If you hadn't stolen my mission, would I have wasted the whole afternoon for nothing?"

"Could you stop saying things that make you sound like an idiot?"

Gray mocked, "President Hogan assigned the mission. If you've got the guts, go make trouble for him. Besides, we're all adventurers—who hasn't come back empty-handed before?"