Of course, within this societal framework built upon swords and magic, wealth and risk were like a pair of twin brothers, forever tightly intertwined.
Those wealthy merchants renowned across the continent were often powerful professionals themselves.
Only by possessing sufficient strength to guard the vault did wealth truly belong to oneself.
Lance understood this principle deeply.
Therefore, he would never let slip any opportunity to strengthen himself within a controllable range.
It was yet another rest day.
Lance once again stood fully armed at the entrance of Copper Creek Forest.
This time, he had accepted a commission to gather Silverleaf Vine sap.
This was a basic material used to make "Grayleaf Tincture", which was the raw material for the most common antidote potions on the market.
This plant had harsh requirements regarding the humidity of its growing environment, and it usually only grew on ancient oak trees near Whispering Waterfall.
Due to the pharmacy's huge demand for this material, the guild would routinely send specialists every few days to clear the route leading to the gathering area.
In theory, that place was an absolute safe zone, and there was no need to worry about encountering monsters at all.
Yet that was only in theory.
Recently, a magic riot inside Copper Creek Forest had caused the outer environment to become volatile as well.
The originally most sought-after Coppercap Mushroom gathering quests had been snapped up early by others, and Lance, after weighing his options carefully, picked this option that looked the most secure from a pile of quests.
This was the optimal solution he had calculated after comparing seven or eight gathering quests.
After all, since he chose to be an adventurer, it was impossible to completely avoid all risks.
As long as this risk remained within a controllable range, it was worth a try.
After all, he still had that system cheat that could observe environmental stability.
However, the moment Lance's feet stepped into Copper Creek Forest, the entry popped out by the system gave him a harsh reality check.
[Current Area: Restless (Green) Outer Region of Copper Creek Forest]
[Restless (Green): The upper and lower fluctuation range of this area's environmental stability is adjusted to 5%, there is a 20% probability of obtaining extra harvest when gathering, and stamina consumption is increased by 10%]
[Current Commission: Gather Silverleaf Vine sap (0/10), Reward: Skill Experience 10, Knowledge Experience 10]
The increase in stamina consumption was directly ignored by Lance.
For him, who possessed [Hvergelmir's Boiling Surge], things like a stamina bar were roughly equivalent to infinity.
What truly made him feel uneasy was that fluctuation range.
The originally stable 1% variation amount had now directly turned into a large-scale jump of 5%.
This meant danger could descend without warning, and the reaction time left to him would be drastically shortened.
It seemed the reports circulating within the guild had not exaggerated.
Recently, the forest was in a period of magical turmoil; although produce had become more abundant, the activities of monsters had also grown increasingly frantic.
This also explained that horrifying previous incident where gnolls and goblins had cooperated in an attack.
Thinking of goblins, Lance's face revealed undisguised disgust.
This kind of monster was simply a tumor in the ecological chain.
According to the records in that "Copper Creek Forest Monster Manual", the goblin race relied on a horrifyingly astonishing reproductive rate to fight against natural enemies and harsh environments.
The pregnancy cycle of female goblins was ridiculously short, lasting merely two to three months, and each litter could produce about eight pups.
What was even more terrifying was that these pups only needed three years to reach adulthood and acquire reproductive capabilities.
In the pyramid of all intelligent species, this reproductive efficiency definitely sat at the top position.
The human reproduction rate looked like a turtle compared to theirs.
Adventurers often just wiped out a tribe, and within a year, a new clan would pop up like weeds in another dark corner.
Moreover, the largest gathering place of goblins was never the surface.
They lived in that underground, intricately rooted, labyrinth-like gloomy world.
All humans could do was regularly clean up the stragglers on the surface to prevent them from overflowing excessively.
"What a disgusting and troublesome race."
Lance cursed inwardly.
Not only that, the genetic stability of goblins was extremely poor, and they frequently mutated into some terrifying subspecies.
For instance, the immensely strong Big Goblin, the thick-skinned Bear Goblin, or even Goblin Spellcasters capable of casting magic.
These mutant bodies were definitely a fatal threat to ordinary adventurers.
Lance reviewed the knowledge he had crammed during this period in his mind while vigilantly observing his surroundings.
He casually gathered some low-value herbs encountered along the road, constantly keeping an eye on that jumping numerical value on his retina.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful.
By the time he rushed near the gathering point, the surroundings were deathly quiet.
Not many adventurers dared to venture deep here during this period, especially today; he hadn't even seen a ghost along the way.
Teams with a bit of strength had all gone to accept higher-paying subjugation quests to encircle and suppress that group of rioting monsters.
Lance stopped in front of an ancient oak tree that required three people to embrace.
Several thick, dark green vines wrapped tightly around the trunk like snakes, and on those unique heart-shaped leaves, the leaf veins flickered with a silver micro-light under the sunlight filtering through the canopy.
This was precisely the origin of the Silverleaf Vine's name.
Lance pulled out his short sword, gently cutting open the surface skin of the vines.
A slightly sticky, transparent sap slowly flowed out, and a faint, sour-rotten smell instantly permeated the air.
He immediately took out the prepared glass bottle to catch it.
While waiting for the sap to fill up, his eyes scanned the environmental stability every few seconds.
Good luck.
Until all ten small bottles were filled, no abnormal events occurred in the surroundings.
[Commission Completed: Gather Silverleaf Vine Sap (30/30)]
[Reward Obtained: Skill Experience 10, Knowledge Experience 10]
Lance carefully wrapped each glass bottle with cotton cloth to prevent collisions and shattering during vigorous movement.
Stuffing the spoils into the storage pouch at his waist, he didn't rush to leave.
Since he had already come, he might as well go take a look at the nearby waterfall.
On one hand, gathering sap left his hands sticky all over, and he needed to wash them.
On the other hand, because he remembered that a plant called "Blood-Clotting Moss" liked to grow on decaying wood around the waterfall the most.
He glanced at the numerical value.
72%.
Although not high, it was still considered a safety line in the restless area.
Lance walked briskly toward Whispering Waterfall.
Water vapor filled the air here, and quite a few moss-covered dead tree trunks lay scattered haphazardly along the banks.
He applied his newly learned botany knowledge to carefully distinguish the types of moss.
Very soon.
He discovered a patch of plant resembling red velvet on the shady side of a huge piece of decaying wood.
That thing felt sticky after being scraped off, its base connected to a fine, dense white mycelium network, and upon getting close, one could even smell a faint rust scent.
It was precisely the core material for making hemostatic ointment.
[Knowledge: Botany +1]
An unexpected harvest.
Indeed, practice was the best teacher.
Joy welled up in Lance's heart, and he prepared to loot extensively.
Yet just at this moment, he instinctively glanced at the corner of his retina.
The numerical value that had still been quite green had now jumped to 67% without warning.
Lance's gaze instantly changed.
He couldn't care about continuing to gather, grabbed the moss he had just scraped off and stuffed it into his bag, and turned to leave.
Greed was an adventurer's greatest original sin.
The moment this numerical value began to fluctuate, leaving was the only path to survival.
Yet he had only run a dozen meters back in the direction he came from.
Not only did that numerical value fail to rebound, it instead plummeted wildly like an out-of-control elevator.
62%.
57%.
52%.
Lance's footsteps stopped abruptly, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from his back.
If it were because he had barged into a dangerous area, then as long as he retreated, the numerical value should have rebounded.
Yet right now, no matter which direction he moved in, the numerical value continued to drop.
This could only explain one problem.
He hadn't run into danger.
Rather, danger was closing in on him.
He was surrounded.
Before you continue