Chapter 476: Over a Hundred Years Later…

Chapter 476: Over a Hundred Years Later…

Dan Marina had something to look for him? This made Zheng Yichen immediately abandon the idea of continuing his conversation with the Green Dragon Sister Celia. When she left, she left behind a chest containing the materials from the list Zheng Yichen had provided. As for the payment, it would be given based on satisfaction after the finished product was made.

Returning to the room, Zheng Yichen quickly took out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and browsed through the information on it. It was indeed a message from Dan Marina. She brought him a very special piece of news. The Stone Forest he had once visited was now experiencing some events. She told him to pay more attention and, if there was an opportunity, to go there and try to… get some benefits.

Well, “get some benefits”—that sounded really down-to-earth. After carefully reading through the information Dan Marina left, Zheng Yichen gained an understanding of the situation at the Stone Forest. After the absence of the Undying Witch, the Stone Forest had begun to collapse. For now, the problem wasn’t major, but in the future, it would definitely evolve into a huge trouble. Combined with its characteristics, it gave Zheng Yichen a feeling of a trap.

Hmm, constantly spawning monsters, stronger the deeper you go—didn’t that feel a bit like a dungeon? The only difference was that the things in the Stone Forest wouldn’t drop materials or burst out treasures. But benefits… what could they be?

Zheng Yichen thought about it. Since Dan Marina specifically mentioned this, he should go there. After all, nothing was happening in Kaja… Oh, but wait a moment. The day agreed upon with the Potion Masters Association was also approaching. He couldn’t miss that matter either.

After handling the Green Dragon Sister Celia’s matter, that day would be almost here.

“So, you’ve been with her for a long time, yet the relationship hasn’t made any real progress?” In a temporary Campsite, a green-haired young man looked at Oss with great interest. His ears were somewhat pointed and longer compared to ordinary people, and his eyes were also different. These were signs of being from the Alien Races. He was one of Oss’s new companions.

“Sigh… You’ll understand once you spend some time with her.” In response to the green-haired young man’s teasing, Oss scratched his head helplessly and spoke. He had gone through a lot of trouble to gather these new companions. There were many names on the list, but only three could ultimately become companions… Hmm, the number of people in the team was the same as before—still a group of five.

Even so, Oss was quite satisfied with just three. Small teams were most suitable with five to seven members. More than that would require developing into a medium-sized team, which involved more complex divisions of labor. First, there would need to be arrangements for managers… and daily supplies and such. These would require extra thought. But for a small team, such problems were minimal.

Oss admitted that his management skills weren’t strong, and his leadership was average. In battle, all he could do was charge to the front line. The team’s treasurer and other logistical matters were handled by Lena. Oss was even a bit worried: if Lena really left in the future, how would he handle such things? After all, she managed everything in an orderly manner. Without her, it wouldn’t be easy to have such convenience.

Sigh, before that happened, he should learn more himself. In the new team, he was still the captain. A small team didn’t have many rules—strength was enough. Besides, he was the one who gathered them. After sparring with the new members, he had proven his strength. He was capable of taking on the role of captain. Although Oss didn’t value the title of captain much, Lena had hinted that he should continue being the captain…

Oss thought about it and agreed. There were benefits to being captain. As captain, he had sufficient decision-making power in many matters. Oss also wanted to grow quickly. As a team member, he obviously wouldn’t have the same convenience as the captain. More importantly, if someone else became captain, they might lead the team into trouble. Besides, Lena was in the team. If someone else became captain, what would she do?

So, it was better for him to take on the role of captain. Even though the new teammates were very strong—any one of them could beat Gale and the others in practice—through one-on-one fights, Oss also knew that if the three new members teamed up, he would need to put in a lot of effort to take them all down. Well, saying this sounded a bit hurtful, but that was basically the reality. Oss wasn’t foolish enough to say it out loud.

As for holding back strength?

Let’s put it this way: Oss’s estimates were based on the premise of doubling their strength. In a life-or-death struggle, who would go all out? The quality of this batch of teammates was high. What was even rarer was that there was a Spellcaster among them. Although not a specialized Spellcaster, he was still a Spellcaster. This Spellcaster was the green-haired young man teasing him. The young man claimed to have the Lineage of an “Elf.” From his features and handsome appearance, it seemed true, though the traits were faint. Even if he had such Lineage, it was extremely diluted.

But it was this diluted Lineage that allowed him, even without a true Spellcaster’s Talent, to master some difficult Magic that only Spellcasters could wield to a certain extent after growing stronger through the Warrior profession. Even if not many, it was still impressive among Adventurers.

Finding a Spellcaster among Adventurers or Mercenaries was quite difficult. After all, Spellcasters could do many things. Whether making Magic Artifacts or scrolls, their income wasn’t much worse than Mercenaries or Adventurers. Even if they didn’t do those, they could take on commissions to process Enchanted Material. This type of income, while not as high as the former two, wasn’t too bad either.

A Spellcaster’s job was always easier than venturing out into the world. After long-term development, many people believed that Adventurers or Mercenaries were the domain of Warriors. What about the iron triangle of Warrior-Spellcaster-Priest? It didn’t exist! Spellcasters already included “Priests.” After all, there were no longer any gods in this world, and things like divine magic were gone too. Holy light?

Nope!

So, Spellcasters had long absorbed professions like Priests, who seemed to heal and also fight as tanks. Even a half-baked Spellcaster like a semi-Spellcaster could play a big role in the team. When officially becoming companions, he had already introduced some of the Magic he mastered. These included simple buff Magic, Restoration Magic, and some beneficial Magic. As for damage output…

Yes, but very little. He only mastered one Thunder Magic, one Light Element Magic, and one Fire Magic. The Fire Magic immediately reminded Oss of Lena. This green-haired companion’s Fire Magic was also Fireball Spell. This Fireball Spell wasn’t even as proficient as Lena’s mastery. At least, Lena’s Fireball Spell’s track record so far was still flawless!

A miss rate of zero. This new companion’s Fireball Spell, on the other hand, was used for starting fires! Rather than calling it Fireball Spell, it was more like a flame spell. The Light Element Magic was similar to the Fire Magic—it was for use in places lacking light sources during adventures. The Thunder Magic, however, was quite proficient, mainly because it gave him a greater advantage in battle!

When Thunder Magic hit an enemy, it could paralyze them. This convenience was much better than other Magic. With this alone, many enemies had already been defeated by him. Even Oss had suffered a minor setback during their fight.

But he wasn’t afraid. The Blood Essence erupted in a state of Blood Essence frenzy, combined with the Blood Essence concentration effect from the Holy Spirit Hammer Evil God’s power, gave him a kind of “super armor” effect. Even though it made his Blood Essence deplete faster, it allowed him to ignore the effects of many abnormal statuses!

Regarding his identity, Oss had already stated it from the beginning. After all, in his current strength, he couldn’t avoid using Bloodline Power in battle. Most of his power was concentrated in Bloodline Power. Without it, he wouldn’t be much stronger than an ordinary Professional.

Using the Magic Eye also required a foundation of power. It was precisely because he stated his identity upfront that, despite having sufficient strength, he could only find three new companions. And among the three new companions, only one was Human. The rest, aside from the green-haired one, were also from the Alien Races. The Alien Races had fewer rules than Humans, so they were easier to gather.

As for the remaining one, he had other reasons—what reasons, he didn’t say. Another thing that made Oss quite regretful was that, among this batch of companions, they were all still guys… Hmm, a very normal phenomenon. The proportion of females among Adventurers and Mercenaries wasn’t high.

“You’re making me look forward to it. She’s truly beautiful. And you said she’s a Noble, right? Really no thoughts?”

“…This.” Oss hesitated. Thoughts? How could there be none? But he had already given up long ago. Seeing this green-haired companion’s eager expression, Oss really wanted to remind him to be careful not to hit a wall. Would Lena be the kind of person easily won over? Obviously not. “I suggest you don’t think too much about it. It’s easy to be friends with her, but taking it further is very difficult.”

“Haha, trying won’t hurt. Maybe I’ll succeed.”

“…” Oss shook his head, feeling a little uncomfortable inside. But he soon realized this mindset was overthinking. Having such thoughts, in the end, was because he still harbored some hope. Even though he had recognized reality before, after spending so much time with Lena, he was still unconsciously drawn to the mysterious charm she displayed. “With your strength, it seems you don’t need to adventure anymore, right? Even becoming a teacher at an Academy would be more stable than adventuring.”

“Ah? How boring would that be.” The green-haired young man pinched his own ear. “I’m from the Alien Races. My lifespan is much longer than Humans’. If I settle into a stable life too early, I’d feel like I’d turn into an old man like Humans ahead of time. What you mentioned—I’ll think about it over a hundred years later.”

“…” Over a hundred years later… Oss felt that the Alien Races had certain disadvantages for a reason.