The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Lorraine stared in disbelief as a burly, short man tumbled and crawled down the tavern steps.

He was wearing a clearly altered leather vest, covered with pockets of all sizes, with a bundle almost as tall as him strapped to his back and a long hammer hanging from it. He swayed as he ran, looking incredibly strange.

The shorter man glanced at them, then ran up to Karl, stood on tiptoe, and stretched out his hand, saying:

"Are you the team leader? Hello, hello. May I ask if I could give Piper a job? You can decide on the pay, or you can just provide meals. Piper is very hardworking, really incredibly hardworking. Don't let my short stature fool you—"

"Stop!" Karl raised his hand to stop them, then asked in confusion, "Are you a dwarf?"

Although the guy in front of me looks a lot like a dwarf, he doesn't have the dwarf's signature beard, and his way of speaking is completely unrelated to dwarves.

Because he was just too polite.

Dwarves might mistake knowing profanity for knowing dwarven language, since if they didn't use profanity in their speech, then that speech must be nonsense.

"No, no, no, Piper is a halfling!" Piper explained.

"A halfling..." Karl rubbed his temples, glanced at the long hammer on the short man's back, and then reluctantly said, "Alright, but your salary will be the same as this young man's, five silver coins including food."

"Great, thank you! Let's go now!"

.....

The convoy slowly drove out of Frost Valley City.

The city walls, built of gray stone, stand loosely. The northern part of the Kingdom of Felmar is blocked by a mountain range that spans the continent, and since its founding, it has rarely encountered an invasion.

The two guards huddled in their watchtower, warming themselves by the fire. They glanced lazily at the convoy leaving the city, ignoring them completely.

Lorraine walked along the side of the truck, his feet sinking into the frozen tire tracks that crunched underfoot.

He was about to embark on his first adventure, and he was both nervous and excited. But when he saw the halfling humming a tune in the distance, he suddenly felt at a loss for words.

"Young man, my name is Soren, what's your name?" The middle-aged adventurer approached familiarly and greeted Lorraine.

"Lorraine".

He was a little puzzled; were all adventurers really this enthusiastic?

Soren sensed Lorraine's wariness, chuckled, and continued, "My two brothers and I just arrived in Frostvale. We might need to learn more from you later."

Lorraine raised an eyebrow. He had thought that this Sauron would be the kind of person who was ruthless and taciturn, but he didn't expect him to be so slippery.

"Of course, is this trip dangerous?" he inquired.

Before setting off, the merchant Karl told them their destination: a small town along the Blackwater River called Shallow Beach.

The caravan would unload its cargo there, then travel by boat south to the capital.

"The caravan only hired a few of us. Even with his guards, their fighting strength is questionable. Obviously, Karl thinks there won't be any danger on the road," Soren enthusiastically analyzed for him.

"However..." he changed the subject, "After all, we're still in the wild. It's more dangerous for you to be alone, young man. It's better if you come with us."

Lorraine nodded, neither confirming nor denying it.

He was still somewhat wary of this inexplicably enthusiastic Sauron.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Soren wisely didn't bother him any further and returned to chat with the two adventurers.

The convoy soon drove into a grove of trees along the road. The dense foliage blocked out the sunlight, leaving only many dappled patches of light.

The dim lighting dampened everyone's appetite for conversation, and the caravan quickly fell silent, with only the sound of branches rustling in the wind.

[Arrived in a new area – Misty Forest, current exploration progress 1%]

[Reward: 50 Exploration Experience Points]

Current balance: 141 exploration experience points

Lorraine calmly brought up the panel; his current exploration experience was enough for him to draw again.

With a thought, a milky-white die appeared in mid-air, rapidly bouncing and tumbling.

[Using 100 exploration experience points, you rolled 1 die]

The dice slowly came to a stop, revealing five dots.

[Reward: Strength +1]

[Strength: 11→12]

As the system text faded away, Lorraine felt a surge of power rapidly flowing through his limbs, and even the broken sword on his back felt lighter.

Not bad... at least it's more reliable than all that swearing all night.

He let out a soft breath, feeling even more confident about the adventure ahead.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the dappled sunlight in the forest dimmed.

The merchant leading the group, Karl, stopped his horse, took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and then gestured to the guard beside him.

The guards immediately understood and shouted to them, "Set up camp! Clear the area, we'll rest for the night before setting off again."

The group quickly dispersed, clearing a space around the carriage, and more than a dozen tents were quickly set up.

The drivers untied the horses from the carriage shafts and tied them to the side.

The wagons were pushed around the camp to form a simple barrier.

The three adventurers were clearly experienced, and even had time to set up several simple traps around the camp.

After finishing these tasks, the merchant Karl ordered his men to light a fire, set up several large black pots to boil water, and poured in several bags of dried beans and some dried meat.

The campfire crackled and popped, occasionally bursting into a string of tiny sparks.

The embers were swept up by the night wind, drifting aimlessly into the air, leaving fleeting streaks of light in the forest before disappearing into the darkness.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Lorraine was staring intently at the sparks when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, startling him.

Turning his head, he saw the halfling Piper taking two bowls of hot soup from the guard and plopping down next to him.

"Here you go, you seem like a good buddy, nice to meet you."

"Uh... thank you."

Lorraine paused for a moment, took the bowl from him, and took a sip.

The beans have a slightly salty taste, and you can occasionally chew on some dried meat shreds. The taste is really hard to praise, but the advantage is that you feel warm all over after drinking it.

Piper didn't think so. He picked up the bowl and sipped the water, occasionally humming a few lines while shaking his head, looking quite content.

Soren squatted a short distance away, sharpening his one-handed sword. Seemingly unable to bear the harassment any longer, he gritted his teeth and whispered, "Hey! Stop singing, the forest is dangerous at night."

"Oh...sorry, sorry," Piper apologized softly.

The guard beside him laughed loudly, "Hahaha! We've been through this place at least eighty or a hundred times, what could possibly happen! Don't worry..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

From then on, Lorraine avoided such remarks.

Because he saw with his own eyes an arrow pierce the back of the guard's head, the force of which pinned his skull to the ground, causing his entire body to buckle.

Another guard stood up in alarm and shouted:

"Enemy attack!!!"