Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Chapter 112 In-Depth

Luca accepted Rena's sudden invitation to team up without much hesitation.

Firstly, based on his brief encounter with the team at Blackrock Mountain, he had a fairly good impression of them.

Secondly, although both sides have the same goal this time, there is still no conflict of interest.

Having more high-level professionals to help can help share the risks and improve efficiency.

Since the decision has been made to cooperate temporarily, there's no need for Luca to hitch a ride with the caravan.

Lena and Latour immediately went to the hall to hire a carriage.

Walking down the somewhat noisy corridor of the inn, the wanderer Latour quietly asked Rena, "Didn't you say that kid was dangerous? Why did you invite him along?"

"Times have changed."

Lena didn't turn her head, and the silver arm armor made a slight metallic scraping sound as she walked.

"I don't think this commission is that simple. Having a strong partner will provide more security."

"It's just an investigation commission, right? If there's a problem, we can just run away. What's so simple about it?"

Latour looked at Reina's profile with some suspicion: "Hey boss, that kid's really good-looking. You don't actually have a crush on him, do you?"

In the world of adventurers, besides fighting, killing, and treasure hunting, there's nothing to hide about matters of the heart.

As long as both parties find each other agreeable, it's still quite open-minded.

"You don't know anything!" Lena rolled her eyes. "That guy is clearly a lone wolf, and he seems to follow the rules. We can invite him to temporarily join the team to see his skills and character. If there's a chance, we'll recruit him!"

Lena's eyes were filled with hope and ambition.

She will start with an adventure team and gradually lead her subordinates to build a mercenary group, so that the "Unbreakable Greatsword" can be great again!

Seeing Lena's smug expression, Latour knew that his captain, whose ambition was extraordinary, was indulging in daydreams again.

If the other party is indeed, as previously speculated, a special professional who possesses both spellcasting and melee combat abilities.

That would be an extremely popular and sought-after item among adventurers.

If they want to find a team, it's uncertain whether their team will even be considered.

The high-ranking adventurer team was very generous; Lena directly hired a luxuriously decorated high-class carriage for their transportation.

The interior of the carriage was extremely spacious; even the burly orc warrior Akash did not feel cramped at all.

The interior walls of the carriage are covered with thick velvet, which has excellent sound insulation, and the soft, long deck chairs made of genuine leather allow you to sink right into them.

The axle has also been professionally damped, so even when driving on bumpy dirt roads, the experience inside the cabin is as smooth as driving on flat ground.

Compared to Luca, who was riding in such a luxurious suite for the first time.

The others acted very naturally, clearly having ridden this route frequently.

Adventurers are a profession with an extremely high mortality rate, and most of them live a life of living for the moment.

After all, they might die in the wilderness or in a dungeon any day, so saving money is a bad habit for them.

Their motto is to live for the moment.

However, while enjoying themselves, the necessary vigilance remained within the team.

The windows on both sides of the carriage were not completely closed, leaving gaps enough to observe the outside world, and they needed to keep a close eye on any movements outside.

At the same time, Kalan, being a warlock, cast a warning spell centered on the carriage.

To prevent the people inside from being unaware of what's happening when they are attacked by monsters or robbers.

The carriage soon left the protection of the tall city walls of Ryan and sped towards its destination.

With several high-level adventurers stationed there, there's no need to set up camp and keep watch like ordinary caravans.

Except for the occasional short break to rest and feed the two packhorses with special bloodlines, they traveled almost day and night.

Seid, the alchemy apprentice who was powerless, had been missing for several days, and Luke believed that he was likely in grave danger.

But arriving even a second earlier is a way to avoid missing that faint glimmer of hope.

Fortunately, the journey was very peaceful, and there were no delays.

Therefore, what would normally be a three-day journey, they completed in less than two days.

Youtai Village is not very large, but because it is close to the forest area, it is more spacious than Blackstone Village.

The surrounding area is full of rolling hills, making it difficult to cultivate large, continuous tracts of farmland.

Therefore, the villagers' livelihoods depend almost entirely on the specialty of the vast forest adjacent to the village: the luminous moss.

And to provide food, lodging, and tool repair services for adventurers and apprentices who flock here from other places to rest for the moss resources.

A simple freight station was even built at the entrance of the village, specifically to serve the merchant convoys that came to collect goods.

Therefore, the carriage did not stop outside the village and drove directly into Youtai Village.

After getting off the car, the group did not rush to the nearby forest.

Although every minute that the search for the missing Said takes longer increases the danger for the other side, gathering intelligence is also an important part of the process.

Lena decided to have everyone disperse temporarily to gather information as quickly as possible, and then meet at the village entrance in half an hour.

And the way to obtain information is also very simple.

Since the Adventurers' Guild has initiated an investigation, it means that the strange events happening in the forest have affected the stable ecosystem of this area.

Currently, the village is filled with adventurers and herbalists who are too afraid to enter the forest.

By spending a few silver coins to treat someone to a cup of cheap beer, or by making a purchase at the village shop and casually asking a few questions, one can get a general idea of ​​what has happened recently.

Soon, the group reunited after gathering their information and pieced together what they had learned.

First of all, the disappearance of Saide is not an isolated case.

Apart from a few outsiders who came into the forest to collect moss.

Even two local villagers who were very familiar with the forest environment have gone missing.

"According to the descriptions of the returning companions, those who went missing suddenly stood still in the forest, frozen for a moment, and then rushed into the depths of the forest without looking back, and could not be found again."

Lena sorted through the information and said to Luca, "Judging from the timing, this strange thing started happening around the two days after your friend went missing."

"Those who went missing seem to have simply vanished."

The wanderer Latour added, "Some people, emboldened by their courage, followed the footprints and broken branches left by their missing companions and tracked them deep into the forest."

The trails stopped abruptly after going a certain distance, as if the people running had simply vanished into thin air.

The forest behind Youtai Village, although densely vegetated, is not particularly large in area.

If someone has strong stamina, they can basically cross the entire area from the heartland in about two days.

Most importantly, this forest area is a low-risk zone.

Aside from the occasional low-level goblins that relocate due to territorial conflicts, there are only some small wild beasts.

It has never been associated with the word "danger".

Among those who suddenly ran into the depths of the forest, there were quite a few who had very good relationships with their companions.

After the incident, their companions also conducted a thorough search of the forest, but they could not find any trace of them.

That's a bit strange.

"Even a high-level monster should have some trace, but so far, apart from people constantly disappearing, no one has witnessed or heard of any huge monster appearing in the forest."

Karan analyzed, "Based on my understanding of the relevant information, there are two possibilities."

The first possibility is that there is some kind of terrifying, high-level monster that we don't understand, which uses magical spores or mind control to make these people run into the forest and be eaten by it, such as fairies or similar creatures.

But as I just said, it shouldn't leave no trace at all.

Therefore, I am more inclined to the second possibility: there exists a special folded space in the forest, and the reason these people disappeared is that they entered that hidden space, for example...

'

"A secret realm!"

Lena's eyes lit up.

If it's a secret realm, although there are certain dangers, there are also unimaginable opportunities.

She turned to Luke and asked, "What do you think?"

Luke paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it possible that both are true?"

A monster lurks in the forest, controlling its prey to reach hidden spaces accessible only through specific means, thus completing the hunt.

"After all, those who disappeared all behaved very strangely before they left."

Everyone present, except Akash, could understand Luke's concerns.

But as I said before, since we're already here, we should go in and take a look first.

The group left the village and followed the well-trodden path to the edge of the forest.

The outer edge of the forest in front of us looked perfectly normal, even exuding a sense of tranquility.

Unidentified birds were chirping in the treetops, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves together.

The recent spate of bizarre disappearances has caused the gatherers and villagers who used to roam the edge of the forest to vanish.

It appeared exceptionally empty and desolate.

Before officially entering the forest, Lena, as the captain, began to deploy tactics.

Although it was all just speculation before, it's possible that a monster with mind control abilities is lurking here.

So everyone should definitely make preparations in advance.

"Everyone stay put. Kalan is in charge of monitoring for any magical fluctuations that may appear in the vicinity. Based on the intelligence we received earlier, it seems that this special state only affects one person at a time."

Therefore, if anyone in the team exhibits abnormal behavior, the others must immediately take control to prevent them from taking any drastic actions. Then, abandon the mission and retreat immediately!

The four members of Lena's team were all at level 6 or above, and they were quite confident in their will immunity abilities.

After all, without talent and a resilient soul, it's impossible to become a high-level adventurer.

If there truly are bizarre abilities in the forest that even they cannot withstand, then there is no need to continue the investigation.

When the time comes, just hurry up and escape, then return to the Adventurers' Guild in Ryan City and report the truthfully.

Luke also had no objections.

Regardless of his willpower.

His professional feat alone, named "Miracle Gift," on the panel, already grants him immunity to most abnormal statuses.

This is also the source of his confidence to venture deep into the forest.

With everything ready, and with a crisp gesture from Lena, everyone immediately stepped into the forest according to their previously agreed positions.

The forward position is led by Akash, a heavily armored orc.

His massive body was like a bulldozer, responsible for clearing the way at the forefront and absorbing the first wave of potential physical damage.

Luca and Rena stood behind him, one on his left and one on his right.

Constantly observe the situation on both sides, and be responsible for helping Akash hold off the enemy during battle.

Warlock Kalan was firmly protected in the safest area in the very center of the group.

While maintaining the alert spell, he also took out something that looked like a compass.

It emitted a light blue glow, clearly indicating that it was some kind of magical equipment with special abilities.

Its specific function should be what Lena just mentioned: to detect some hidden magical particles.

Latour, who had unlocked the Wanderer subclass "Shadow Lurker," was at the very back of the group.

He was enveloped in the shadows of the forest, observing for possible ambushes from behind.

While covering the rear, they were also responsible for leaving some hidden markers along the way.

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the only sounds besides the clatter of their boots on damp, decaying leaves and broken branches were the chirping of birds and insects.

There seemed to be no danger; everything was so normal that it was unsettling.

Everyone remained on edge until the dense canopy of trees completely blocked out the last rays of the setting sun.

The light in the forest dimmed at a visible speed.

Apart from the occasional wild animal droppings or traces of human activity, nothing unusual was found. Visibility is severely limited in the forest after dark.

Even if a light spell can illuminate a certain area, it will ultimately affect the discovery of some details.

Coupled with maintaining this highly tense state for an extended period, everyone was starting to feel the strain.

Therefore, Lena decided that the team would temporarily set up camp and rest in a relatively open place.

However, just when everyone thought that today's exploration would end peacefully without any waves and that they could relax a little,

A sudden, bizarre cold snap, which shouldn't have occurred at all in this season.

It burst forth from the dark forest in the distance, sweeping towards the crowd.

The cold wind howled, penetrating the trees and instantly sweeping over everyone.

Even Akash, the orc with thick skin and a strong physique.

The moment I was hit head-on by this cold wind, I couldn't help but shiver violently.

At this moment, the campfire where the team was camping had been lit, and the flames were still rising and leaping.

But to everyone's surprise, their breaths produced a clear white frost!

The team's initial drowsiness, which had eased due to exhaustion, was completely shattered by this unusually cold wind.

Lena reacted very quickly; the next second, as the cold wind blew, she had already grabbed the heavy greatsword beside her.

A broad blade was held horizontally across his chest, his eyes filled with intense vigilance, as he shouted a low command to his companions, "All on alert!"