Rescue Adventuring Party

After resting well for the entire night, Yang Yu arrived at the Adventurers' Guild. The emergency mission was still active, and the adventurers who had vanished in the Goblin Forest were still missing, their fates unknown. Yet the atmosphere in the tavern was not as suffocating as he had imagined.

The board for accepting missions was packed with people. In the middle of the crowd, a burly man paid no heed to the stares around him as he showed off his impressive muscles. His deep, resonant voice was full of warmth and vigor.

"As the saying goes, rely on your parents at home and your friends when you travel. Whether we came here to make a living, grow stronger, or protect the people, we gathered here as adventurers—and as friends.

"Most of you may have already heard that, over the past two days, adventurer parties that entered the Goblin Forest have gone missing. Our friends are in danger.

"Imagine this: while you and your party are carrying out a mission in the forest, disaster suddenly strikes. With no one coming to rescue you, what kind of despair would you fall into? If we extend a hand to them now, they will surely extend one to us when we are in danger.

"Some of you may think we should wait for higher-ranked adventurers to arrive, but I can tell you clearly that if we simply wait, it will be too late. We will lose many, many friends.

"Now, the Adventurers' Guild is organizing a temporary adventuring party to enter the forest and carry out a rescue operation. Every one of you is free to choose. We will not force any of you to join, but we truly need your help."

The mission to form a temporary adventuring party had been posted, and Andeno was giving a mobilization speech. A new mission also popped up on Yang Yu's panel.

[Emergency Mission: Rapid Rescue.

No one knew what exactly had happened in the depths of the forest. The disappearance of multiple adventurer parties had left the Adventurers' Guild deeply uneasy. For humanitarian reasons, and to prevent the situation from worsening and causing some unforeseeable horror, the Adventurers' Guild planned to organize an adventuring party to investigate the depths of the forest and rescue those trapped within.

Mission Requirement: Join the adventuring party and, under Andeno's leadership, help rescue at least 10 missing adventurers.

Reward: 2000G or one skill with a skill point cost of 100 or below (choice available), 8000 experience, three lottery draws.]

The generous rewards, far beyond his current level, indirectly showed just how difficult this mission would be.

Eight thousand experience was enough for Yang Yu to level up twice. Although his luck was terrible every time he drew the lottery, making three draws seem rather insignificant, as long as he had enough attempts, he would eventually draw something other than junk. Besides, junk was not necessarily truly useless.

However, what Yang Yu valued most was the chance to obtain a skill.

The method of acquiring skill points was still unclear. Learning each advanced skill required quite a few skill points, making them an even more precious resource than free attribute points. Getting a skill for free would also ease the shortage of skill points.

Even more enticing was the fact that he could choose the skill. What did that mean? It meant he would not need any luck at all—he could take whatever he wanted.

How could Yang Yu possibly let a mission with such rich rewards slip away? Besides, this game's freedom was terrifyingly high. If he really could not win or encountered any danger, he could simply turn around and run without a word.

"Hey—"

Yang Yu stretched out his hand and scooped Bai Jin up from beside him.

Bai Jin was startled by Yang Yu's sudden action. It was the first time a boy had carried her like this. Her face turned bright red, but she did not struggle.

"Casually putting your hands on a girl like this is not gentlemanly at all. I am a Curse Mage. If you do not put me down right now, I will curse you. Hehehe, I can already see your tragic future."

Perhaps because of her Frailty, Bai Jin was far lighter than Yang Yu had imagined. He could lift her without the slightest effort.

After weighing her in his arms, Yang Yu set Bai Jin down. "No problem. At that weight, I can carry you away like an empty sack."

"Carry me away??? Are you serious?"

"Of course."

Bai Jin stared at him in stunned silence. She had thought Yang Yu was only joking when he said that in the forest, but she had never expected that guy to mean it.

Just thinking about being slung over someone's shoulder like a sack left Bai Jin unsure what expression to make.

"Am I a burden?"

"What are you thinking? You are the main combat power on my side. Retreating is also about preserving our strength so we can make a comeback. If I made you angry just now, I apologize."

After confirming Bai Jin's weight, Yang Yu looked completely relaxed. Carrying her was much easier than hauling water and fertilizing fields, so there was no mental burden at all. As for He Meng, when she was not in the bag, she hung from him like an accessory, so there was no fear of her getting lost.

Thus, Yang Yu quickly signed up for the adventuring party.

Andeno truly deserved to be called the warriors' instructor. He was passionate as fire, and many warriors who had received his instruction shared his love for fitness. Brimming with energy, covered in bulging muscles, and overflowing with righteousness, they joined the adventuring party without hesitation.

As for the other classes, they did not share such a close bond with the warriors' instructor. Most of them joined the adventuring party out of a sense of justice.

The Adventurers' Guild had been pessimistic about this rescue, believing that recruiting forty or fifty people would already be the limit. They had never expected the number of participants to reach one hundred and ten.

Yang Yu deserved some credit for that too. When others saw him, they thought, Huh? Even that rookie adventurer joined. I absolutely cannot lose to him, and then they signed up as well.

Once recruitment was complete, Andeno thanked everyone heading into the forest on behalf of the Adventurers' Guild. He then explained a series of precautions and deliberately left some time afterward for the members to get to know one another.

Quite a few people came over to greet Yang Yu. He responded casually. One person's energy was limited, and he simply did not have time to greet everyone there. To ensure the mission went smoothly, he only sought out high-level people to chat with.

However, the person he most wanted to speak with was Andeno, the adventurer instructor who was as high as level 42.

Andeno was the true leader of this team. His decisions would largely determine whether the mission could be completed successfully. Whispering in his ear and helping him make the right decisions was also one possible route.

But Andeno had been busy the entire time, constantly negotiating with the Adventurers' Guild. Yang Yu could not get a word in and could only let the matter go.

The time for everyone to mingle soon passed. Time was pressing, and once the route had been decided, Andeno immediately led the hastily assembled Rescue Corps toward the Goblin Forest.

When he had personally watched that battered adventurer collapse yesterday, he had wanted to rush into the Goblin Forest without regard for anything else. In the end, reason told him that going alone would only be throwing his life away and accomplish nothing. So he could only apply to the Adventurers' Guild for the Emergency Countermeasure Act, running around to make arrangements until they finally set off now.

Every second wasted meant the missing adventurers would hover once more on the edge between life and death. He had decided that he would not allow such a thing to happen.