That's right, that's what adventure is like!

The red-haired waiter's answer was surprising.

According to him, although the empire is powerful, it is not harmonious internally. In addition to the Empress, who is in supreme power, there are two different factions, and they do not agree on this matter.

One side felt that the empire's power needed to be expanded and suggested that the troops be trained in the neighboring Kingdom of Kessel first to hone the army's morale.

This led to the outbreak of war.

The other side felt that training troops was acceptable, but for the sake of the empire's image, it was best not to destroy the Kingdom of Kessel all at once, but rather to give it a nominal "alliance" status.

This is the truth behind the king's escape.

When the two opinions were combined, it became clear that after the empire initially demonstrated its formidable strength, it did not rush to exterminate the king, but instead waited for his surrender.

But now... the kingdom has actually won a step!

What about the empire?

The two exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat subtle.

After giving the waiter another silver coin and sending him away, Roland gazed out the window into deep thought.

As things stand, the kingdom's demise is inevitable; the only difference is in name and the speed at which it will happen.

However, he dared not gamble his fate on a single thought of the Empress.

We must speed things up and strive to become formal professionals before the change of government in Duanyan Town, so that we can ensure a safe departure.

Having made up his mind, Roland put a piece of tree root into his mouth, feeling the growing power within him. He tidied up his belongings, walked down the stairs, and headed into the distance.

He still had over a hundred gold coins in his pocket. He originally wanted to save them up and try to buy more extraction items to take with him when he left Broken Rock Town.

But given the current situation, it would be better to directly convert it into combat power, try to create a more exciting story, and extract more powerful abilities.

……

……

The trading district, exclusively for the extraordinary, was not deserted. Even though it was drizzling, many adventurers who had just returned from their journeys came to process their spoils.

The streets were wide and winding, the ground already trampled into dark mud by countless boots smeared with soil and monster slime.

The air was filled with a complex mix of smells: the sweat of the crowd was masked by the spiciness of herbs, the ill-treated monster corpses emitted a faint stench, and the aroma of medicine wafted into the nostrils from who-knows-where.

Roland twisted his body to dodge several hands reaching for his bag. Looking at the various shops in front of him, his first thought was to adjust his equipment.

Although the leather armor was quite thick, it ultimately lacked any extraordinary effects. While the crossbow had decent firepower, its accuracy was so poor that it needed to be inscribed with the "precision" rune.

Following the guide's notes, he stopped in front of a shop with few customers.

Mithril Corridor

Pushing open the heavy metal door, the sounds of rain and noise from the outside world are quickly shut out, and the dry air is filled with a scent similar to sandalwood.

The interior is bright and softly lit. There are no swords or armor on public display, only two or three quiet rooms separated by heavy curtains.

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark gray robe walked out from the inner door. His face was calm, but his eyes had a penetrating insight.

"Welcome to the Mithril Corridor," he said, not rushing to greet us, but simply standing still, his voice soft and clear: "Are you seeking assistance on your adventure, or to assess your existing gains?"

Roland noticed that his gaze lingered for a moment on the seams of his leather armor and the wear on the hilt of his longsword, not as an assessment of his wealth, but rather as an evaluation of the items themselves.

He gave this shop, which was highly recommended in the guide, an even higher rating, and clearly stated his needs: "I want to upgrade my current gear, with a budget of about 100 gold coins."

This is the maximum amount of gold coins he can use after deducting other necessary expenses and reserve funds.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, not hesitating because of the low budget. He simply gestured for Roland to follow behind him and waited until Roland was seated in the quiet room before continuing to speak.

"Your longsword seems to suit you well. Perhaps you don't need to change your weapon, but simply inscribe some runes to make it more powerful?"

Roland nodded and handed the longsword to the other party to be taken to the back of the shop for inspection.

The middle-aged man, however, turned his attention to the protective gear he was wearing.

"Your leather armor looks like it needs replacing. Please tell me, were you primarily subjected to tearing attacks, blunt force trauma, or puncture wounds?"

"Anything is possible."

"Do you need to wear it frequently for climbing, stealth, or primarily for frontal parrying?"

"Face the attack head-on."

"Do you value the reliability of equipment in critical moments more, or its durability for long-term adventures?"

"reliability."

"Do you focus your adventures more on caves, wilderness, or some kind of man-made ruins with traps?"

"Anything is possible."

"Then you..."

The questioning lasted for more than twenty minutes, and Roland probably answered according to his own habits, since it was closely related to his adventure.

After listening, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment and then left the quiet room. A moment later, he returned with an assistant, carrying a tray with two items on it.

A seemingly simple dark brown leather armor with some kind of natural texture on the surface, priced at 75 gold coins.

The middle-aged man explained: "The main body is made of multiple layers of lizard belly skin, tanned with water that has been soaked in the heart of a special monster, giving it natural resistance to sharp weapon cuts and common acid corrosion."

"The enchantment employs a fixed 'balanced stance,' preventing arrows from being deflected, but significantly reducing blunt force and penetration depth. Additionally, it does not refract light under any lighting conditions."

Roland nodded and shifted his gaze to the next item.

It was a small roll of strangely colored, translucent silk threads that looked as if liquid was flowing inside, along with a few dull crystals with runes inside, priced at 18 gold coins.

"These are samples of crystal wires and 'flow guide' runes. Our runesmiths can engrave them into your crossbow arm in a specific structure to slightly correct the trajectory of your bolts and subtly enhance the stability of the arrows in flight."

Roland checked the attributes one by one and found that they were not much different from the middle-aged man's description. He then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where is my longsword?"

"We have carefully examined your longsword," the middle-aged man said, gesturing for his assistant to return the sword to Roland. His tone was calm. "Unfortunately, while it is sharp, its material is rather ordinary and cannot withstand higher-level runes."

"Now that you're familiar with its feel, I would suggest you reforge the blade. If the blacksmith is skilled enough, perhaps they can achieve both."

Roland understood. Although the sword had undergone two extractions to upgrade its item rank, it was originally from his great-uncle and the materials used were quite ordinary, making it difficult to improve further.

In that case, we might as well continue using it for now. Although it doesn't have any extraordinary abilities, it's enough for the time being. We can find an opportunity to rework it later.

Roland nodded slightly to the middle-aged man, readily paid the gold coins, put on the leather armor, and then left the expensive equipment shop.

Next, we need to work on the medication.

In the entire Broken Rock Town, only the shop that had sold him the substandard night vision solution sold the safe solution certified by the association.

That same girl is on duty again today.

"Two bottles of life potion, one bottle of night vision potion, one bottle of antidote, and one bottle of berserk potion."

The girl even prepared a standard set of leather bags for an adventurer's outing, priced at 10 gold coins, but only 8 were actually needed to take her away.

Just a moment before Roland left, she seemed to recognize the customer and quickly and precisely began her sales pitch.

"Dear guest, would you like to try one of our newest products?"

"This inferior luck potion, though it has a rather unique taste, is incredibly potent. After drinking it..."

Roland interrupted, then countered, "Has it been tested for safety by the association?"

"this……"

Shaking his head, Roland stopped waiting for an answer and moved on to his next goal.

Adventurers' Guild!