"Hmm, a very common wish, indeed. Most people's adventurous wishes are like that. I used to think the same way, working hard to earn money and improve my family's living conditions."
Lucia nodded, not feeling any ill will towards Li Ke's overly mundane dream.
That's just how the world is. As long as it's not hurting other, no one else would care.
Sighing, Lucia turned his head away.
"Forget about that. Let's eat and then get ready for the night watch. We need to divide the tasks, because we'll be taking turns on watch and patrolling."
Li Ke really wanted to ask why patrolling was necessary so soon after leaving the city, but since this was an experienced person's opinion, there was nothing to say; he just listened.
Lucia, like Li Ke, was shocked by Lottie's appetite, and then it was just the boring night watch.
Several hours passed quickly, and Li Ke, exhausted from his heavy load mode, fell asleep without saying much.
The rest of the journey followed the same pattern: traveling during the day, occasionally practicing his fire-casting techniques. They encountered no monsters, let alone highway robbers or the rumored dark elves.
This resulted in the group's rapid progress, arriving two days ahead of schedule. Li Ke was at a loss for words, as he had expected to encounter large groups of monsters, but hadn't encountered anything of the sort to rob them.
While they did encounter goblins and similar creatures, they were either preemptively killed by idle adventurers or discovered before Li Ke even woke up.
However, it wasn't entirely without gains. At least he learned about common wild vegetables and fruits, as well as some of the survival skills and rules of the wilderness that adventurers need.
After receiving the money he completely disdained from the caravan, Li Ke, already reeking of something strange, looked at Lottie, who also smelled strange, and Miss Lucia, whose body reeked of sweat. Li Ke couldn't help but ask, "Is the life of an adventurer really this boring?"
"It just went relatively smoothly this time. Because there were so many people, even monsters can assess the situation."
Lucia shook her head, her expression relaxed.
"Generally, we'd encounter at least one or two goblin tribe attacks, but this time, perhaps because the group was so large, those monsters didn't come. Don't worry, I've told you all the precautions. Rest for two days, I'll teach you some training methods, and then we'll return to Hendon Myre from Lorien Forest. There will be plenty of monsters along the way."
She really had it easy, getting paid without lifting a finger—it seemed like a win-win situation.
"Okay, but I think the first thing we should do is take a shower..."
Li Ke sighed, looked around, and decided to go find Seria's inn. He arrived here so calmly because Seria was also there; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to so easily get Lucia two jobs.
However, to his surprise, Seria's inn wasn't the only one in Elvenguard; inns were actually quite common.
Moreover, the shops and their scale were significantly larger than in the game. There were so many things that weren't shown in the game, although most of the shops were currently trading with this caravan, replenishing their goods and selling their merchandise.
Li Ke also saw a white-haired man with red, twisted arms walking towards the caravan behind them, clearly wanting to join.
When Li Ke looked at the man's ghostly hand, an unbearable sense of dread suddenly erupted. The twisted muscles on that grotesque arm gave Li Ke the illusion that they were writhing and forming faces. He instinctively took a step back, because in that instant, he saw the endless horde of zombies!
But after calming down, all he could see was an ordinary arm, only now a dark red and slightly deformed. The lingering fear remained, and staring at it for too long gave him the eerie feeling of being watched by countless beings.
This was something he couldn't experience in the game. The terror of the Ghost Hand wasn't just its sheer power. Li Ke thought his mind had been tempered over time, but facing this thing still stirred a deep fear within him.
Undoubtedly, calling it the Ghost Hand was truly fitting.
Miss Lucia, the science communicator, spoke up.
"That's the Ghost Hand. Because their Ghost Hands possess immense power, their explosive force is almost dozens of times that of an ordinary person. They can even wield the power of ghosts and gods. Therefore, they use a special swordsmanship, the Ghost Sword Technique, which can easily surpass the hard works of most swordsmen."
Her words drew a glance from the Ghost Swordsman, but he said nothing and simply left.
Li Ke completely agreed with Lucia's words. He had understood this when he acquired the Blood Mystique Secret Technique; the Ghost Hand was truly powerful, with immense strength, high load-bearing capacity, and a certain degree of self-awareness—a perfect cultivation aid.
However, it was extremely ugly, and for ordinary people, it was really unfriendly.
"He seems to want to join the caravan?"
Li Ke watched him walk towards the caravan's recruitment area for adventurers. After all, with their departure, the caravan manager naturally needed to replenish manpower.
"Yes, this caravan's next destination is the Empire. The journey there is much more dangerous than this one. The manager will most likely recruit him. Come on, I have a familiar inn here. I'll take you to take a bath first, and then I'll begin teaching you how to train properly."
Lucia nodded and led Li Ke towards a road leading out of the town.
Li Ke didn't object. He wasn't the savior of this world; a glance at Seria was enough. After all, this wasn't a game; how could he possibly harbor ill will towards the real Seria just because he spent money on in-game purchases?
Impossible.
However, as the three of them headed towards the place Lucia had indicated, the footsteps of the people around them suddenly became chaotic and hurried.
Before they could wonder, a middle-aged man carrying a hammer emerged from a house. Seeing their attire, he spoke without hesitation:
"You're adventurers, right? Interested in taking on a missing person quest? A silver-haired girl named Seria from our town has gone missing. I'd like you to search for her in the wilderness. If you find her, I can give you some equipment or ten gold coins; if you don't find her, you can come back to me for two gold coins!"
Li Ke was stunned.
What a coincidence?!
No way?
Just as he was marveling, Lucia spoke up.
"Okay, no problem."
"Alright, hurry up!"
After saying that, the man, who was probably Linus, left the group and rushed towards the caravan's gathering place, clearly looking for more adventurers.
Lucia then looked at Li Ke.
"You happen to want to fight too. I remember there are quite a few goblins around. Even if I can't find that girl named Seria, I can still observe your fighting style and abilities to provide you with targeted guidance."
Li Ke sighed. He really hadn't expected to stumble upon such a situation, so he waved his hand, indicating that he had no objections.
"No objections."
"Alright, let's go then. Hurry up, keep up with me."
Lucia started running after speaking. Li Ke pressed the button on his weight ring, deactivating it. Instantly, a feeling of lightness enveloped Li Ke's entire body. He tried his best to keep up with Lucia's pace, but could only watch as Lucia's bouncy hips swayed before his eyes, proclaiming just how alluring her body was.
Lottie, on the other hand, simply stopped pretending. Magic gathered beneath her, suspending her in the air, and strange sounds emanated from her.
Li Ke watched with great envy, because this method of movement not only required powerful magic but also extremely profound energy manipulation skills—something Li Ke was completely incapable of!
The three of them quickly rushed into the forest, but Li Ke couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt.
According to the game's plot, the person most likely to save Seria was actually the Ghost Swordsman, not anyone else.
Because in the Ghost Swordsman's comic only him that got provoked by goblins.
The locations of the other characters are actually uncertain.
The Paladin is likely training in the western Lorien Forest or in the slums; the Mage is unknown where he was teleported; the Fighter came from Suju; and the Gunner, who fell from the sky, is also missing.
Judging from the opening comic alone, the Ghost Swordsman is the most likely to save Seria. After all, the game is also known as Dungeon & Ghost Swordsman, and the setting materials clearly indicate that the Ghost Swordsman is the protagonist…
After all, in sword and magic, the sword is usually the protagonist, plus a tragic background, powerful abilities sealed in his left hand, and the possibility of going berserk—it's all standard protagonist setup.
So, where is the Ghost Swordsman who saved Seria?
When Li Ke thought of this, the image of the white-haired Ghost Swordsman walking towards the caravan suddenly flashed through his mind.
That jacket, that ghostly hand, that giant sword…
Isn't that the protagonist?!
Damn it, why did the protagonist run away for living expenses?!
"No, no, there should still be paladin protagonists, mage protagonists, fighter protagonists, and gunner protagonists, so it shouldn't be a big problem. We shouldn't encounter Seria at all."
Just as Li Ke was thinking this, Lucia suddenly roared.
"Watch out!"
Huh?
Li Ke quickly snapped back to reality. The next moment, he saw more than a dozen monsters in the jungle, wielding hammers made of wood and bone, about waist-high, but completely green and emitting a foul stench.
Then, he saw Lucia take the lead, charging forward and delivering a perfect front kick to a goblin's neck. Sending the goblin flying, she instantly spun around, retracting her leg and landing with a powerful sweep of her other leg, using the momentum of her waist to knock away all the goblins around her who were about to attack.
Two or three landed motionless, clearly dead, but this seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest. More goblins rushed out of the jungle, and some nimbly dodged the attack, swinging their hammers at Lucia's knees.
Lucia reacted quickly, dodging almost instantly, and then punched the goblin, sending it flying through the air, its teeth flying.
Li Ke didn't hesitate any longer; instead of drawing his machine gun, he drew his one-handed sword and charged forward.
The goblin wasn't as fast or strong as Li Ke, but as he charged to thrust, the goblin he was targeting suddenly pulled out its bone club, blocking Li Ke's attack.
Li Ke froze for a moment. The next instant, a sense of danger washed over him. He immediately turned his head and felt something grazed his ear, slamming into a tree in front of him and tearing off a large chunk of bark.
"!!"
Without hesitation, Li Ke immediately drew his pistol and fired a single shot at the goblin that had blocked his attack. He then quickly turned, using his danger perception to dodge a second rock, aimed, and fired. A goblin carrying a basket full of countless stones on its back fell to the ground.
However, Li Ke saw even more goblins carrying baskets on their backs!
"..."
The pistol was instantly switched, and a barrage of bullets, trailing sparks, hurtled towards the goblins throwing stones. They didn't even have time to scream before being struck and killed by the fierce fire.
The loud gunfire startled Miss Lucia, causing her to lose focus and be struck hard in the leg by a goblin's bone hammer.
Blood gushed from Miss Lucia's leg; her thigh was not only bruised but also riddled with two bloody holes.
But Lucia didn't utter a sound, breaking the goblin's neck with a single punch. Lottie quickly arrived, throwing over a dozen star-like magic bullets that pulverized any goblins that approached Lucia.
"Sorry, I was careless."
Lucia glanced at Lottie beside her, gritted her teeth, pulled a roll of gauze from her pocket, tightly wrapped it around her thigh, and then tried to stand up and continue fighting.
Unfortunately, Li Ke, no longer intending to dawdle, immediately reloaded and aimed his gun at the goblins.
Another burst of gunfire rang out, turning the goblins into corpses.
However, just as he was about to treat Lucia, a cry for help suddenly rang out.
"Is anyone there?! Is anyone over there?! Help!"
It was a girl's voice.