Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Sanji took a big gulp of beer and let out a satisfied burp.

Then, lowering his voice, he leaned mysteriously against Luca's side and said:

"There seems to be new progress regarding the appearance of demonic creatures in Sunset Forest; someone has discovered the source of these demons!"

The existence of the Abyss Demon in Sunset Forest was already common knowledge in Twilight Town.

After all, the Adventurers' Guild had made quite a stir and hadn't deliberately hidden anything.

Anyone with a brain would know, after asking around, that there's big trouble deep in the forest.

Sangji learned this news from two drunken high-ranking adventurers.

From the conversation, I learned that after many powerful adventurers ventured deep into Sunset Forest to explore and investigate,

Finally, they discovered a space where a bottomless abyss and a forest overlapped.

Those demonic creatures came from the Abyss plane through that folded spatial rift.

Moreover, as the rift widens, the demonic creatures that can "smuggle" across from there become increasingly stronger.

Sunset Forest holds extraordinary significance for the Adventurers' Guild, the Kingdom, and even the continent of Rildran.

Sunset Forest is considered one of the most important resource treasures in the entire Northeast Province.

This place produces a large amount of extremely rare monster materials, magical plants, and ores year-round.

In some ancient underground ruins deep in the forest, one can occasionally unearth many unknown artifacts from forgotten civilizations.

This had an immeasurable impetus on the development of alchemy and magic research in the kingdom.

At the same time, this vast forest is also a huge "reservoir".

It can accommodate a large number of unruly adventurers armed with sharp weapons, allowing them to unleash their energy and maintaining the stability of the nearby cities.

Whether for economic development considerations or for social harmony and stability.

Sunset Forest must never fall into the hands of demons.

Therefore, the Adventurers' Guild decided to organize a group of top-tier adventurers.

We're going to fix that crack in one fell swoop.

"The exact location, I think it's called something like 'Pond'?"

"Rotten Leaf Pond?"

"Yes, yes, it's Rotten Leaf Pond!"

Sunset Forest is vast, and even with a map, it's easy to get lost without landmarks to mark your way.

Every year, the number of adventurers who die from starvation after getting lost or from accidentally entering a poisonous swamp is no less than those who die from monster attacks.

The Rotten Leaf Pond was an extremely dangerous, landmark area that Luca had seen on the map he bought from the Adventurers' Guild.

Located deep within the Sunset Forest, it is shrouded in highly poisonous miasma year-round and is home to a large number of high-level monsters.

Even without the invasion of the abyss demons, that kind of place is definitely not a place he can explore now.

However, Sanji's information also reminded Luca.

He touched the letter of introduction from the priest of the Dawn Church in Ryan City in his pocket.

"I need to hurry up and go to the Adventurers' Guild to see Wyatt's mage friend."

Luke was secretly making plans in his mind.

The other party was invited to Twilight Town by the Adventurers' Guild.

This high-level mage will likely also participate in this operation to clear the abyssal rift.

If I arrive late, the other party may have already followed the main group deep into the Rotten Leaf Pond.

However, the Adventurers' Guild is definitely closed now, so there's no use in worrying.

Looking at the tempting roast meat and soup served in front of him, Luca rubbed his hands together.

Let's eat first...

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

A damp, chilly mist still hung over the streets of Twilight Town, and Luca arrived at the Adventurers' Guild early.

Compared to Ryan City, this place is much more lively.

Luke didn't linger in the lobby; he took the envelope and went straight up to the second floor of the association.

"Is Mr. Murphy Lorrian at the Association right now? I was introduced by Priest Wyatt of the Dawn Church in Ryan City, and I have a very important personal matter I would like to ask her for help with."

Paul, the staff member specifically responsible for receiving Luke, accepted the letter of introduction.

He led Luke to a private lounge, gestured for him to wait a moment, and then hurriedly took the letter to the back office to check the files.

After a while, Paul strode in.

Holding several of the latest action logs, Luke was brought back two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

First, the bad news.

Just as Luke had feared in the tavern last night, he was too late.

The wizard is not currently in Twilight Town.

I went to Sunset Forest with a small team just two days ago.

The good news is that the team will stay on the outskirts for a while before venturing deeper into the forest.

Wyatt's letter of introduction seemed to be of a high level, and the hunting operation itself was not classified information.

So Paul simply revealed the other party's action plan to Luke.

The mage and the rest of the team prepared to first investigate the whereabouts of a banshee of terror on the outskirts.

The Banshee of Terror is also a demonic creature from the bottomless abyss, and its numbers are extremely rare.

It is born with unique abilities of [Mind Shock] and [Fear Scream], which are extremely deadly to creatures without magical defenses.

At the same time, this monster also has extremely high research value.

Whether it's vocal cords capable of emitting shrieks or a demonic heart filled with negative emotions.

These are all top-tier materials for alchemy and magic research.

For spellcasters who specialize in bewitching and control magic, this is undoubtedly extremely attractive.

This is why the team was willing to spend several days prioritizing finding the Banshee of Terror.

"If you really need to find her urgently, you can try your luck at the abandoned quarry on the outskirts of the forest."

Paul produced a task assignment report:

"Before setting off, this team had the association help them find reliable adventurers. They plan to leave the corpse of the banshee they hunted there. If you arrive early, you might be able to wait for them."

If the corpses of demonic creatures are not treated specially in time, their bodies will quickly rot as their souls return to the bottomless abyss.

This team will then head deeper into the forest to handle some serious business.

Therefore, they needed someone to transport the body of the Banshee of Terror back in advance for proper preservation.

In the association's view, although Luke's professional rank is not very high, judging from the degree to which he completes each commission, he is indeed a very reliable and suitable candidate.

Since Luke happens to be looking for the other person as well, entrusting this task to him would be a win-win situation.

Luke would certainly refuse if asked to venture deep into the forest to find this magician named Murphy.

But Luke felt that there shouldn't be any problem if they were just moving around on the outskirts of the forest.

He tucked the letter of introduction back into his pocket and took the commission report at the same time.

Luke nodded:

"Okay, I'll take this commission."