Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Chapter 111 Moss Village and Rena's Squad

The alchemy shop where Saide worked was located on a relatively busy secondary road in the northern part of Lane City.

Neatly arranged two-story buildings made of stone bricks line both sides, and the air is filled with the faint aroma of baking bread.

And the lingering scent of herbs wafting from the various workshops.

Led by Lily, the two quickly found the shop.

For a well-established alchemy workshop, the loss of an apprentice would not have a substantial impact on its daily operations.

It is still in operation at this moment.

From the outside, the store doesn't look particularly large.

However, it is still more formal and impressive than most of the alchemy shops in Twilight Town.

The proportion of pure adventurers among the permanent residents of Ryan City may not be as exaggerated as in Twilight Town.

However, many alchemical products, such as insect repellent powder, refreshing peppermint oil, and mild hemostatic ointment, are not only useful for adventurers.

As a result, business at the shop was quite good.

Luke pushed open the door and went straight to the front desk: "Hello, I'm here to see someone."

According to information previously provided by Lily, she was in the group that went to the forest with Said at the time.

Apart from a coachman temporarily employed by the shop and two mercenaries responsible for security along the way, there were also three alchemy apprentices working in the shop.

Led somewhat nervously by the receptionist, they arrived at a spacious backyard behind the shop, used for drying and roughly processing herbs.

When the host explained that someone had come about Saide's matter, the two apprentices exchanged a glance.

An impatient look instinctively appeared on his face first.

"I've said it so many times! The guards from the local police station came to ask yesterday. That kid suddenly went crazy in the woods. What does it have to do with us?"

One of the tall apprentices rolled his eyes and complained loudly in a sarcastic tone.

However, his complaints stopped abruptly the next second.

Because Luke had slowly walked up to him.

In the bright sunlight of the backyard, the matte gray-black armor and the longsword on his back represented a silent threat.

The two apprentices immediately said that they would answer all their questions without reservation.

Luke did not question them directly in the courtyard, but instead led one of them outside the shop.

The meaning is self-evident.

If there are any discrepancies between what the two say later, he wouldn't mind using some less-than-civilized methods.

Soon, Luke learned more details of the incident from the apprentice.

This season is the harvest time for "Gloomy Moss," a low-level alchemy material that grows rapidly.

This type of moss is a basic ingredient in the production of certain low-grade medicines and night vision solutions.

So even though the trees are much taller, there are also more collectors who come to gather them for the money.

The nearby villagers, adventurers who knew the market, and the apprentices who used shop subsidies to pick the fruit.

They rushed in almost at the same time.

The area around Youtai Village has been practically plundered bare.

Fortunately, the growth cycle of the moss is very short; after one batch is harvested, a new batch will sprout up in three to five days.

They were just unlucky; they arrived just as the harvest was almost over.

Therefore, after wandering around in the woods for half a day, I didn't find much.

Faced with this situation of resource depletion, everyone originally planned to come back again after a while.

However, Saide claimed that he had made a discovery.

"Originally, everyone just collected some and planned to go back, but he seemed very enthusiastic, saying that he had read in some book that, based on the terrain there, there was definitely a place where a large amount of luminous moss would grow."

At this point, the apprentice complained, "That kid is always like this. After finishing his own job, he often stays behind to help the mentor wipe the crucibles, organize the literature, and do other odd jobs, which puts a lot of pressure on us."

It's clear that Saide, this kind of "street hustler," isn't very well-regarded by the apprentices.

But Luke understood that the other person's willingness to express his emotions in this way probably meant that it really had nothing to do with the disappearance of Seid.

Led by Said, they actually found a semi-hidden natural cave covered with glowing moss.

"Just before we were stuffing our backpacks full of moss and getting ready to leave, Syed suddenly stopped, muttered something we couldn't understand, then threw all his luggage on the ground and rushed into the depths of the forest without a care."

A hint of confusion appeared in the apprentice's eyes: "It's strange, Saed is usually very frail, but he was incredibly fast at that time. Even the two very strong guards couldn't catch up with him. After we put the moss we collected on the carriage, we went back into the forest and searched for a long time, but we couldn't find any trace of him, so we had to come back."

Luke listened without offering any comment, but instead turned and walked back into the courtyard, where he summoned another apprentice.

The descriptions obtained are largely accurate.

There's nothing wrong with the others choosing to abandon Saide and return directly.

It's not that others are heartless.

We're all just trying to make a living, so we don't really have much of a relationship.

Moreover, they are all adults. Since Saide insisted on leaving the team, he should naturally be responsible for his actions.

They were able to return to the city safely and then find Lily to explain the situation; that was more than enough.

Having obtained all the information, Luke did not leave, but instead asked curiously, "Weren't there four apprentices in total, including Seth? Where is the third one?"

"You mean Lao Ben? He got sick after he came back and took sick leave. He didn't come to work."

Are you sick?

Luke raised his eyebrows sharply.

After asking for Lauben's address, Luke turned and left the alchemy shop.

Only after he and Lily disappeared around the street corner did the two alchemy apprentices who remained behind finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Luke had deliberately not restrained his aura, and the oppressive force that a professional exerts on ordinary people made both of them feel weak in the knees, so naturally they didn't dare to say a single lie.

Luke originally planned to go to Lauben's place alone, but Lily insisted on coming along, so he did not refuse.

After passing through several dilapidated and narrow streets, they finally found Laoben's address in a somewhat old residential area on the very edge of the North District.

After knocking for a long time, the other party finally opened the door.

A pale-faced man, around thirty years old, with a scraggly beard, looked extremely unkempt.

"Hello, my name is Luca, and this is Lily. We're here about Seid."

Luke blocked the door gap with his body.

"Saide... oh... okay."

Upon hearing Luke's purpose, Lauben stood there for several seconds before he seemed to have just realized what was happening.

They mechanically ushered Luke and Lily into the house.

Before even entering the room, Luke's extraordinary sense of smell had already detected the stench emanating from it.

It smelled like a mixture of sweat, rotting food scraps, and urine—a strong, nauseating odor.

Lauben lives alone, and the mess inside his room is beyond the limits of a normal person.

Various changes of clothes and household garbage were piled together, just like a garbage dump.

After entering the room, Laoben sat down in a chair by himself, his eyes unfocused and wandering aimlessly.

Occasionally, it will even suck up any drool that accidentally spills out.

Lily was frightened by the other person's appearance and instinctively hid behind Luke.

Luke, unperturbed, sat down in the relatively clean chair opposite him and inquired about the circumstances of Saed's disappearance.

This time, however, Lauben gave a completely different answer than the previous two apprentices: "Said... was taken away by the gods!"

'

""

Seeing Luke remain silent, Lauben suddenly became excited: "It's true! I didn't see it, but I heard it! There's a voice talking to Said in the forest!"

What did they talk about?

Luke leaned forward slightly and pressed for an answer.

"I can't hear it... The voice is too great for mortal ears to understand, but I'm certain that the voice in the forest must be from a god!"

Lauben's timid and hesitant demeanor stirred up some unpleasant memories for Luke.

The hunter he had met in Yanan Village came to mind.

That is, the man in the cult village near Twilight Town who was nearly driven mad by a trace of evil god's aura.

It was after that incident that a mark was left on his wrist, a mark left by that god to spy on him.

Luke couldn't help but reassess the difficulty of this commission.

How come there are so many gods in this world, just like stray dogs on the street?

He would encounter things related to some deity every now and then, which left him speechless.

However, Lily secretly nudged Luca's arm, gesturing for him to look at the messy table beside him.

On the dirty tabletop, there remained a small patch of greasy ash left from the burning of something.

She lives with her husband, who is an alchemy apprentice, year-round.

Through constant exposure, Lily also learned some alchemy knowledge.

She leaned close to Luke's ear and explained in a very low voice.

On the table is a famous, or rather infamous, plant called "Mokoso leaf".

This plant, when burned, releases a small amount of mixed magical energy, which can be used to create alchemical items.

But its more widespread use is to burn it directly and then inhale the rising magical smoke.

Although these mixed magical particles cannot be converted into any useful spellcasting abilities, they do have a certain hallucinogenic effect and are highly addictive.

Once an ordinary person has used it a few times, they will become addicted and unable to extricate themselves.

To become a "drug addict".

Upon hearing this, Luke's lips twitched involuntarily.

It can only be said that he does have some PTSD in this area and was intimidated by the other person's rambling manner.

But after hearing Lily's explanation, and seeing Lauben's tearful face, he realized that...

This is clearly a case of "overexertion".

I asked a few more questions, and Lauben's answers were still rambling nonsense.

Luke's previously anxious heart finally relaxed.

You're scaring yourself.

However, although the other party's condition was not right, the disappearance of Saide was indeed somewhat strange.

Without delay, Luke decided to set off immediately and find the person first.

As an ordinary person, Lily would be a burden to follow along for such a long distance, so she consciously did not follow.

Before parting, Luke gave her some special instructions.

If you encounter any danger or problems that you cannot solve, go to the Dawn Church and find a pastor named Ir.

He himself went directly to the post station.

Now is the perfect time to collect Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

There were also caravans at the post station that went to Youtai Village to buy moss.

A long line of merchant caravans, pulled by heavy pack animals, was forming.

These caravans, which frequently travel in the wilderness, not only earn money but also provide rides for adventurers.

As always, the fare can be paid for with a temporary bodyguard job.

Just as Luca was asking a car fleet owner about the fare and departure time...

Several figures suddenly entered the entrance of the post station.

The moment these people appeared, the noise in the previously bustling and noisy inn hall instantly subsided.

These people were dressed in expensive and sophisticated equipment, and their every move exuded the composure and aura of powerful adventurers.

Luke recognized the four of them at a glance.

It was Reina's team, whom they had just met on Blackrock Mountain and even politely divided the carcass of a dragon together.

In fact, Lena and the others had just returned to the Adventurers' Guild in Ryan City this morning.

After completing the mission entrusted to Feilong, before he could even rest, he received a targeted honorary mission directly assigned by the association.

In order to gain points, and also to improve their squad's "Unbreakable Heavy Sword" privileges.

Lena and her teammates discussed it and then accepted the task.

Therefore, they rushed to the post station to hire a carriage for transportation.

Captain Reina, who was walking at the front, also ran into Luca's gaze in the chaotic crowd.

The two sides stared at each other across the crowd, and an eerie silence fell over the inn for a moment.

"What a coincidence?"

Lena spoke first, as always.

Luke nodded politely.

After exchanging polite pleasantries for a while, they learned that Luca's destination was Mossy Village.

Apart from Akash, the orc who was still munching on dry rations, the expressions on the faces of the others became somewhat subtle.

"To be honest, our destination on this trip is also Youtai Village."

Lena shrugged, gave a forced, relaxed smile, and continued, "Judging from your clothes, you don't seem like the kind of adventurer who would be out there chasing after some moss."

Luke naturally sensed the other party's probing, and without hiding anything, he stated his purpose directly.

When Luke said he was going to look for his friend who had gone missing in the forest, Lena's expression turned serious: "Your friend... is probably in danger."

After a moment's thought, she took out the report from her bosom and handed it to Luke:

Forest survey commissioned near Yutai Village

[Reward: To be discussed in person]

[Mission Description: High-level monsters have appeared in the forest near Ghostmoss Village. A few people have gone missing. Details to be discussed in person.]

"It seems we share the same goal."

Lena pointed to the commission report and extended a temporary team invitation: "Want to join?"