"So what if your talent isn't useful?"
Daisy's fingers brushed gently through Jason's hair, her smile warm like the glow of a hearth. "At worst, we just won't think about advancing anymore."
"When you finish your studies at the academy, if you can enter a higher institute, I'll support you all the way. If no institute is willing to take you, that's fine too—you can stay here and help me run this bakery."
"With my skills, we may never become nobles of the city, but we'll at least have enough to eat and a roof over our heads, won't we?"
Jason nodded, taking her hand in his. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Daisy, you don't have to comfort me. I understand… This continent belongs to the strong. But as long as I can survive, it's not the worst ending."
"When the year-end guild assessment comes, I'll give it everything I have. As long as I earn the right to enter a dungeon, I can still trade the loot I gather for gold coins."
"If no institute wants me even then, I'll come back and guard this shop with you."
"Mm." Daisy's eyes shimmered as she pulled her hand away. "As long as you don't lose hope, that's enough for me. Honestly, I think having you safe by my side is more important than anything else."
She patted his shoulder with a smile. "Alright, eat up before it gets cold."
"Mm." A faint warmth stirred in Jason's chest as he lowered his head and quietly continued his meal.
After dinner, Jason lay on his bed, unable to sleep.
When he'd held his aunt's hand earlier, he had felt it clearly—once soft and delicate, those hands had now grown calloused from endless work.
Daisy was only twenty-six, still in the prime of her youth, yet the ceaseless toil had left the frost of life's hardships upon her far too soon.
He was unwilling—
Unwilling to remain mired in mediocrity for the rest of his life.
Even more unwilling to let his aunt's light fade away in the shadow of this poor little town.
However… his profession…
Just then, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind—
Ding—System prompt: Ancient Treasure Seeker System activated. Today's treasure guidance is being issued.
Jason shot upright in bed.
Right! He still had the system!
Ever since the day it first appeared, it had fallen completely silent. He'd almost convinced himself it had been nothing but a hallucination. The promised treasure guidance had never arrived—until now, when it finally came, fashionably late.
Perhaps… this was the turn in fate he had been waiting for!
Ding—Congratulations, Host. You have obtained [Mid-tier Treasure Map] x1.
Ding—First treasure map acquired. The system grants an additional reward—[Mid-tier Treasure Map] has been upgraded to [God-tier Treasure Map]. Please check your inventory!
Jason's heartbeat thundered in his chest, as if it might burst free.
At first, a faint sense of disappointment had pricked at him—until the system's reward flipped everything on its head. A mid-tier map… directly promoted to God-tier!
A God-tier Treasure Map—this was the supreme prize for any treasure seeker. Unique, impossible to synthesize, and worth a king's ransom.
Of course, he didn't dare leap for joy just yet. If the treasure lay at the farthest end of the continent, then with his current strength, he could never reach it. In that case, the map would be nothing more than a dusty keepsake.
Taking a deep breath, Jason summoned the system's spatial interface.
[God-tier Treasure Map]
Coordinates — Rock Plateau (341681, 674331)
At the same time, a pale golden, three-dimensional terrain map materialized in the void, the treasure's location clearly marked.
When his eyes fell on the words Rock Plateau, Jason nearly cried out loud.
Rock Plateau—he knew that place all too well. It lay in the wilderness just fifty miles from Silver Harbor City, a common leveling ground for low-ranked hunters. Though beasts of level 10 and above lurked there, compared to the deeper wilds, it was far less perilous.
Back when the academy instructors took them out for field training, it was always on the outer edge of Rock Plateau, hunting low-level beasts.
But the coordinates on this treasure map… were several times deeper into the plateau than they had ever gone before.
Dangerous? Of course it was dangerous.
But—this might be his one and only chance to turn the tables!
If he gave it up now, he would remain trapped at the very bottom of society, without even the right to look up at the strong.
Jason's gaze hardened—he had to claim this treasure map, no matter what!
Night fell, and the city's lights dwindled.
Daisy had long since gone to bed—she needed to rise before dawn to prepare the day's bread.
Jason quietly got up, pulled a standard-issue novice short blade from beneath his bed, then slipped into the kitchen to pack a few pieces of bread.
With a cloth bag slung over his shoulder, he vanished beneath the moonlight, heading straight toward the city gates.