The howling cold wind swept across the land. The ancient kingdom destroyed by the flames of war was now left with endless ruins and wandering monsters. Except for a few safe zones and reconstruction isolation zones, all that could be seen in this land were ruins and strange landscapes distorted by the "miraculous power of the gods."
Further away from the plains, the rolling hills and mountains were gradually covered by hard ice. After losing the protection of the Great Shield, the once draconic ecological system had completely stopped. The polar climate quickly took over the land that was gradually returning to its original state. Frozen soil, glaciers, and frost, these forces belonging to nature were constantly spreading from the coastline to the inland. With an unwavering attitude, they were correcting the land to its natural state.
This was a realm that was unimaginable in the warm and stable human world — whether it was the destruction here or the incredible polar environment here.
However, for the ambitious adventurers who were determined to cross the Endless Sea and dig out a pot of gold in this mysterious land, the harsh natural environment here was not a problem that they needed to consider. The elemental creatures wandering around the safe zones and the rare things that could be seen everywhere had attracted almost all of their attention.
Tarlonde's temporary capital, the south side of New Agundor, a newly built city was bathed in the long sunlight of the polar period. Like other wasteland strongholds, this city was surrounded by high walls. The high walls were mainly made of boulders, and the middle was filled with alloy melted by dragon flames. Although the appearance was rough, it could provide the most precious security in this dangerous land. There were wide and flat roads in the stronghold, and hundreds of houses built with stones, metals, and other materials that were easy to collect were neatly arranged in the walls. All of these houses were practical. Although they lacked decoration, they were at least sturdy and durable.
This was the newly built adventurer camp — the Dragons, adventurers, the Alliance's reinforcement troops, and the volunteers sent by the Holy Dragon Dukedom worked together to complete the construction of this city in a very short time. Perhaps compared to the extremely luxurious Tarlonde palace of the old era, this place was not so beautiful. However, when these straight and rigid houses and high walls stood in the cold wind, they still showed a kind of admirable roughness and strength.
After the first bell rang in the morning, the young huntress Lola and several other adventurers left the allocated barracks together. They walked towards the Adventurer Management Hall located in the center of the town. Along the way, there were a large number of adventurers who were walking in the same direction as them. A gust of wind blew from the opposite side of the street. The chill in the wind woke up Zola's sleepy mind instantly. She shivered slightly and could not help but mutter, "This place is really f * cking cold …"
One of her companions looked up at the sky above the town. A layer of translucent energy shield rose from the top of the wall in the distance, covering all the streets and houses within the wall. She shook her head and said, "It's already not bad. At least the construction team has finally completed the town shield two days ago. With this shield, the temperature of the residential area will slowly rise. It's really freezing outside the wall now. Without frost resistance potions and enough protective equipment, even Extraordinaries like us won't be able to hold on for long."
"Fortunately, the frost resistance potions are distributed free of charge. The protective equipment can be charged directly from the magic network charging station." Zola rubbed her nose and resisted the urge to sneeze. "Although I don't understand how those things work, I have to admit that the magic technology is really a good thing … If it was in the past, who would be willing to use these things as daily consumables?"
Her companions agreed. At the same time, the most important facility in the city for the adventurers finally appeared in front of them.
The Adventurer Management Hall was one of the tallest and most peculiar buildings here. The powerful Giant Dragon had directly cut out a relatively intact building structure from a collapsed Tarlonde palace and placed it in the middle of the camp. After some slight repairs, it became a gathering point for the adventurers. This made it very different in style from the other buildings in the camp, but it also had the advantage of being eye-catching enough.
Considering the size of the Giant Dragon, the palace they lived in before, even a toilet cut out and thrown into the human world would be called a mansion. The scale of this hall was naturally grand enough in the eyes of the adventurers.
Zola stood at the entrance of the 'hall' and saw the roughly cylindrical building with a pale golden luster under the sun. She could vaguely see the mottled reliefs and painted patterns on the exterior walls of the once glorious appearance. The arched pillars and decorative multiple external eaves above the hall were damaged in the previous disaster. Now, temporary materials were used to fill and cover the damage. The mottled appearance had a sense of vicissitudes.
After looking up for a while, Rolla could not help but have a strange thought in her mind. She whispered to herself, "Could this really be a toilet that was cut out from one of the dragon's palaces and modified?"
Her companions suddenly looked at her in horror. "Damn it, Zola, how did you come up with such a strange idea?"
"Ahem, maybe I was influenced by Old Mister Modir when I was chatting with him last time." Zola immediately coughed awkwardly, rubbed her forehead and whispered in a low voice, "He said that he was a learned man, and then made a bold association about various things in the camp …"
"Modir …" His companion was no stranger to the name. An old man who looked like he could be everyone's grandfather had suddenly appeared in a group of young adventurers. This in itself was enough to attract attention, not to mention that this old man was a powerful mage who claimed to have traveled the whole world and mastered a lot of mystical knowledge. Frankly speaking, such a person should not have appeared in a group of adventurers who were just a motley crew. In the old times, he should have been worshipped by the royal family of some country, frozen in a warehouse for generations. If there were any big issues, he should have been consulted by Hua Kai, and then frozen for safekeeping after the matter was over … Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Obviously, the vulgar mercenaries and adventurers had exaggerated and misunderstood the concept of a "royal mage consultant". But this exaggerated imagination at least explained the impression that the adventurers in the camp had of the old Mister Modir. Almost everyone thought that the old man had gone to the wrong place, except for the person involved.
"That mage does like to say some strange things, but I suggest that you don't take his description too seriously." Her companions considered her words carefully and carefully looked around before whispering to Zola. After all, they were talking about a revered spellcaster behind his back. Although Modir was usually very gentle and had a good relationship with everyone, she still felt a little nervous. "You know, that old man, he …"
As she spoke, her companion, who was also a hunter, gestured to her head with her hand. "His brain is not very good."
Zola did not know how to respond. She could only smile awkwardly. Then, she waved her hand and turned to the management hall.
In order to let the building, which was originally prepared for the Giant Dragon, adapt to the size of a human, the "recycled" building had been completely remodeled. Zola and her companions first went through a door that was later added, and then through a porch before entering the extremely spacious circular hall. The hall was left with what was considered a huge column for humans, and the windows for issuing missions, registering rewards, receiving supplies, and auctioning transactions were set up around these huge columns. There were very eye-catching signs hanging on them. Even adventurers and mercenaries who were not good at following rules could accurately find the place to go.
Sunlight shone through the crystal dome at the top of the hall. The surface of the polymer shell that was full of cracks went through multiple complex folds and scattered accurately across the entire indoor space. Even though there was no light here, there was almost no dark area in the entire hall.
Before walking to the mission issuance area, Zola subconsciously looked up at the crystal dome made of unknown material, guessing how much it would be worth if it was brought back to the human world. Almost at the same time, she heard a familiar voice coming from the side. It was obviously talking to her. "Have you also noticed the complex optical design contained in the dome? It's incredible, Zola … Just such a detail reminds us how far the civilization of the Giant Dragon had developed … However, it's a pity that almost no one who comes and goes here can detect the information contained in it … Fortunately, there is a young person like you who is sharp and good at thinking, and can pay attention to the knowledge buried in the ruins with me … "
Zola immediately shrunk her neck. She looked towards the source of the sound and saw a familiar figure. He was wearing a black mage's robe and a black bonnet. His hair and beard were all white, and he looked old and clumsy. He stood in the crowded adventurer's hall like an old man who had walked in the wrong door. While he was lamenting about things that others could not understand, he was controlling the pen and paper floating in the air to constantly write and calculate.
Recalling that she was still talking about the old man behind his back with her companions, Zola suddenly felt a little awkward. She put on an unnatural smile and kept her thoughts about the crystals in her mind. Then, she reluctantly responded to the old man's topic, "Indeed, it's just like what you said. These things … Well, they're all very powerful."
Modir seemed to have noticed the awkwardness and nervousness in the young girl's attitude. He just smiled and kindly ended the topic at hand. He then looked up at the column where the mission issuance counter was located. "Want to go together?"
Zola was stunned for a moment as her eyes widened in surprise. "You … have finally decided to go out on a mission?"
"I can't always follow the construction team to adjust the shields and crystal towers. Although this work is quite interesting, I didn't come to this barren land to hide in the camp and enjoy the cold wind." Modir smiled happily. "These days, I have collected a lot of information about the outside world, including what the Dragons said, and also what the adventurers and mercenaries who returned from the early exploration missions described. I feel that I am ready to participate in external operations."
"… A cautious attitude and sufficient information are necessary to survive and fight in an unfamiliar environment. You are indeed an experienced adventurer …" Zola nodded with a smile. "Then let's go together."
Between morning and noon every day, the area around the column in the mission issuance area was always the most lively place in the entire hall. The emissary from Tarlonde would announce the recent 'progress' around Agundor, and at the same time announce the council's recent exploration and clean-up plan in the wasteland. A large number of missions were issued to the counter, and the gathered adventurers used it to plan their actions for the day or the next few days.
Usually, there would not be too much mandatory or urgent recruitment because the role of the adventurers from Tarlonde here was more of a support role. Due to the limited strength of this motley crew, the tasks assigned to them were usually limited to clearing the scattered monsters around the city or collecting resources in the ruins. The real dangerous areas were handled by the real Tarlonde warriors, and the adventurers were well aware of this.
The role of the adventurers here was to free up the attention of Tarlonde's Dragons from the security trifles to deal with the real threats. This was something that everyone knew before they set off from North Harbor.
"The preliminary exploration and boundary survey of the entire southern area is over … The Giant Dragon's main focus is still to expand the safe area under Agundor's control, and search for possible survivor camps in the southern area …"
Under the huge column, Lola looked up at the bulletin board that was illuminated by the sun as she quietly summarized the content written on it. Other than Modir, there were many other adventurers around her who were also reading the bulletin that had just been posted today. From the words that had just dried ink, the smart ones could roughly summarize the direction of the Dragons' exploration and development in the coming period, and make some preparations in advance.
"The second direction of advancement is to the west." Modir read faster than Lola. He had already seen the second half of the bulletin, and the content made him a little more serious. "Clear the wandering spirits and elemental creatures in the western hilly area, stabilize the safe border, and assist the advance party warriors to open the road to the Crystal Hill … This is a bit interesting. The mission area is the furthest of all the areas at present, and a Level 1 license is allowed to participate … Is it because the advance party's' regular army 'is the main force, so there is no danger?"
Lola heard Modir's muttering and turned her gaze to the second half of the bulletin. She frowned slightly. "But this is still the riskiest area … The road to the Crystal Hill has not been completely opened yet, and it is said that there are even active elemental rifts on the road …"
"I'm interested in this." Modir suddenly showed an excited look. "If there are active elemental rifts, it means there are fresh elemental creatures. I have to find a way to catch a few and find out about the elemental world … Do you want to come with me?"
(End of Chapter)
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