Frilian: The Adventure of the Hero

Adventurers' Guild (Lamir Region Headquarters)

The hall was spacious and bright, much more impressive than the small-town branch that Shane had seen before.

The layout is largely the same, with the potion and equipment sections filled with a dazzling array of goods, featuring more exquisite designs and a wider variety, and of course, at higher prices.

Wait, why are there people saying "GG" here?

Directly behind the lobby service desk, on the wall, hangs something resembling a banner:

A highly skilled mage is seeking teammates to conquer the "Upside-Down Land" dungeon. Those interested in joining, please contact us...

The way he used those words—you don't even need to guess—you know it must be that blond young master who's always getting angry.

Still not giving up? Tsk tsk, youth is just so impetuous.

Xia En went to the service desk.

Just then, an adventurer party came by selling their loot.

Their squad completed their patrol mission in a maze outside the city, and also collected some ores and herbs along the way. Each of them carried a full sack, a very fruitful haul.

Xia En looked at the spoils with envy, his mouth watering.

"Three portions of iron ore, plus two portions of hemostatic herbs, totaling 85 copper coins."

Well, actually I'm not that envious.

Xia En sighed, "Even scavenging has different levels. Those who pick up trash anywhere, big or small, and carry it all back, are the lowest level."

But he is different. He has always advocated "recycling and reuse" and selling enchantments is the right way.

The 【Maze Patrol Mission】 is a daily mission that is regularly issued by the Adventurers' Guild.

The main task is to entrust adventurer teams to patrol the surrounding dungeons that have already been conquered, to prevent monsters or other ferocious beasts from breeding in the dungeons again, and to check if anyone has encountered danger inside.

The rewards for the task are average, but the advantage is that it's long-term.

It will be released again after a period of time.

In the past, Xia En would always find the small teams that accepted this mission, claiming that he didn't want any reward and just wanted to see the world, and sneak into the maze to pick up trash.

Now that I have Frilian, I don't need to rely on other people's teams anymore; I can take on one myself.

I spent 1 copper coin to purchase the adventurer-only map of Zhang Gaostan City.

Shane began to pick and choose his targets.

The map information is very detailed. It not only marks the distribution locations of mazes, special ores, rare magical materials, etc., but also thoughtfully includes a danger level indicator and prominently displays warnings about the areas where some monsters may appear.

There are three dungeons near Gostan City marked as "low danger": the Howling Cave, the Misty Swamp, and the Ancient Dragon Temple. All three have been successfully conquered.

Unfortunately, no rare magical materials or special ores were found in or around the three mazes.

In this kind of maze, you can basically only scavenge for trash, find common ores or herbs, just like that small team from before, and earn a little money through hard work.

But for Xia En right now, this is just right.

The more trash in the maze, the greater his harvest will be.

In addition, another name caught Shaen's attention: [Upside-down Land].

The bright red skull symbol indicates its level of danger.

High risk!

It hasn't been conquered yet!

Furthermore, a note was added: "Due to the failure of the advance investigation team to return safely, the available information for this dungeon instance is 0."

What a terrifying note!

Even the advance investigation team sent by the city hall never returned, which means that everything in the maze is unknown.

"Is this the opportunity for fame that blond young master was talking about?"

Remembering the warning from the beautiful receptionist at the city hall, Shane shook his head.

Whether for fame or money, it's best not to provoke such a dangerous place, which is also listed as a forbidden area and sealed off.

After all, nothing is more important than life.

You can only have everything if you are alive.

"Hello, I would like to take on the patrol mission for the Ancient Dragon Temple."

"The reward for the patrol mission is 1 silver coin, with a time limit of 3 days. Would you like a maze map?"

"One, please."

……

By the time Xia En returned to the hotel, it was already noon.

Frillie had just started eating breakfast.

Watching Frillie drowsily drink her porridge, Shane inexplicably thought of something.

The elves are petite; could it be that they eat very little every day because of that?

If you sleep until noon, you might eat two meals a day; if you sleep until the afternoon, you might only eat one meal a day.

Ok……

Thinking about it this way, with its consistently low power consumption, it's no wonder it has such a long standby time and can last so long.

What are you laughing at?

"fine."

"Really……"

"Oh no, something's wrong. Here, take a look at this. We need to do some commission work tomorrow."

Shane handed over the list of tasks for the "Maze Patrol Mission".

Do you work?

Frillie unfolded the list in her hand—

1. Inspect the vegetation restoration status around the maze.

2. Explore the maze to see if there are any mineral resources and record their locations.

3. Check if there are any wild animals living in the maze.

4. Check for the emergence of low-level monsters.

……

The long list stretched as far as the eye could see, and consisted mostly of tasks such as inspections and records.

"So much work, it'll take so long to get around." There was a hint of resistance in her voice.

"It is said that this [Ancient Dragon Temple] is a place where the dwarves worshipped the golden dragon in ancient times. Legend has it that the golden dragon has a characteristic: it loves to collect treasures, especially magical tools," Shane coaxed patiently.

The words "magical tools" piqued Frillie's interest. She immediately changed her tune, saying, "Since it's work, we should treat it well."

Xia En nodded.

well.

When it comes to mastering elves, if he says he's second, who dares to claim first?

The two of them went shopping together in the afternoon in preparation for the mission.

Although the 3-day trip is short, you will still have to stay overnight, so you still need to prepare the necessary items.

of course.

"We don't need to prepare this, do we?"

Shane followed closely behind Frillian, carrying a large bag in his arms, panting heavily.

Now, Frilian is standing in a shop selling earthenware jars, looking hesitantly at a round earthenware jar on the shelf used to hold wine.

The pottery jar, decorated with famille rose and gold enamels, is indeed a fine household item.

But obviously, it's not suitable for use in a maze.

"It's common sense to bring a gift when visiting a dragon's house," Frilian said confidently.

"Visiting? Giving a gift? Do you want to hear what you're saying...?" Xia En frowned.

"Or, would you like to send them gold coins?"

"..."

"So, let's go with the jar."

I don't understand, but oh well, it's just a jar.

Xia En resignedly took out his money pouch.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next morning.

It took Shane a great deal of effort to drag Frilian out of the hotel.

The white-haired elf walked slowly in the dawn, eyes closed, staff in hand, swaying unsteadily.

The two walked one after the other towards the Ancient Dragon Temple nestled among the mountains to the east of Gostan City.