Volume 3, Chapter 11 – Arrival and Sudden Change

Translator Note

Calamity-clad status > Calamity Affliction status

i’ll change the previous one too.

“Antonio City is just ahead! Everyone, keep your spirits up!”

The sun had just dispelled the morning mist when the knight Ainos’s voice echoed through the group.

Hearing they were approaching Antonio City, the adventurers emerged one after another from their simple tents. Without even bothering to start a fire, they had a quick meal of dry rations and set off.

Feeling the sunlight and the scent of grass filling her nostrils, the well-rested Yisi stretched lazily in the driver’s seat.

Thanks to traveling with the adventurers, her group no longer had to take turns on night watch. Although having one more person in the carriage was a bit crowded, in the current early spring season, squeezing together was actually quite warm.

“Ahhh, I feel like I’m going to get moldy from boredom.”

“Miss Yisi, you must be joking. People in our line of work wish for things to be quieter. If monsters were always popping out on the way home, no one could stand it.”

A nameless uncle who was tending to the campfire nearby smiled at Yisi. After several days of contact, and with Yisi and Camilla having extended a helping hand in their time of crisis, Yisi’s group had become quite popular among the adventurers.

Yisi scratched her face awkwardly.

“Haha, well, that’s true, but sitting in this carriage all the time, my bones feel like they’re about to be shaken apart.”

“If the gods heard that, they would surely punish you, Miss Yisi. Where would a rookie adventurer like us get a carriage to ride in?”

“Hey, hey, Miss Yisi isn’t an adventurer.”

“Hahaha, that’s right.”

The uncle, reminded by his companion, rubbed the back of his head and laughed heartily as he walked alongside the moving carriage.

Taking this opportunity, a lean adventurer walking next to the uncle squeezed his way to the front of Yisi.

“Miss Yisi, I haven’t seen Miss Tiffany lately. Did she get sick herself from purifying the Calamity?”

“No, Tiffany is right here in the carriage. She’s just not good at talking to people, so she doesn’t come out often.”

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Yisi answered calmly, holding the reins.

The “purifying the Calamity” the lean adventurer mentioned referred to a new skill Tiffany had recently learned.

Perhaps because Yisi had used ‘Purify’ while disinfecting Tiffany’s corpse, Tiffany, despite dropping from level 5 to level 4, had still acquired the ‘Purify’ skill.

And due to some unforeseen events, Yisi discovered that the ‘Purify’ magic could directly remove the ‘Calamity Affliction’ status. Thus, Tiffany used her ‘Purify’ magic to cure the adventurers’ illness under everyone’s watchful eyes—of course, Tiffany appeared before the public in her human form.

As for how to explain Tiffany’s sudden appearance, Yisi had fobbed them off with the clumsy excuse that “Tiffany was in the carriage all along.” The adventurers didn’t press the issue; Tiffany was just an ordinary human girl, and even if they found it strange, they wouldn’t be so tactless as to pry.

The lean adventurer lowered his head in disappointment.

“Is that so… I always wanted to thank Miss Tiffany. Since she’s not good with strangers, I won’t disturb her.”

“I’ll pass on your thanks for you. I’m sure Tiffany will be very happy.”

“Thank you, Miss Yisi.”

Waving to the lean adventurer who was bowing to thank her, Yisi turned her head to look inside the carriage. Although a curtain separated the carriage from the driver’s seat, Tiffany must have heard the conversation.

“How was that? The feeling of being thanked. This is all your doing, Tiffany.”

“I’m happy.”

Tiffany’s emotionless voice came from within the carriage. Before she transmigrated, Tiffany’s identity was something close to a yokai or a tsukumogami.

“That’s good. Antonio City is just ahead. Remember to hide well, Tiffany.”

“Mm.”

According to the adventurers, to prevent malicious people from secretly bringing monsters into the town and causing chaos, the gate of Antonio City, the heart of Count Hermion’s domain, was equipped with a high-level appraisal stele. Adventurers wishing to enter the city had to be appraised before being allowed inside.

It was worth mentioning that, unlike Celtic City, Antonio City, due to its status as a transportation hub, had a more relaxed attitude towards different races. Demi-humans could live normally in the urban area and, apart from being unable to become nobles, could enjoy all the benefits humans possessed.

“Is that Antonio Lake… What on earth happened to make it look like this.”

“It feels so terrifying…”

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The voices of Camilla and Mary came from the rear window of the carriage. Through the gaps in the trees, one could see a huge, black crater exposed to the air on one side of the road. Like a drought-stricken field that hadn’t seen rain for a long time, the lakebed was cracked into a spiderweb of land, and countless steamed fish were rotting. The entire lake was shrouded in an invisible aura of death, as if undead creatures would spawn if it were left alone.

The lake, once over ten kilometers wide, was now fed by only a tiny stream from the snow-capped mountains. Its miserable appearance made all the adventurers unable to bear looking at it.

Yisi’s heart sank.

“The masterpiece of the Flame Giant…”

If the Flame Giant were to be classified, it would definitely belong among the Evils of the World. Water holds an irreplaceable importance for humanity; causing such a vast lake to disappear was a loss to Count Hermion’s domain that could not be recovered in a day or two.

Hearing Yisi’s muttering, Ainos slowed his pace to walk alongside her on the carriage, sighing with a heavy expression.

“Ah, I also witnessed the moment the Flame Giant evaporated the lake. The white water vapor seemed to connect to the sky, and the heatwave melted a good deal of the ice on the snowy mountains. But fortunately, the Flame Giant and Antonio Lake ended up destroying each other. Otherwise, if such a massive Flame Slime had walked into Antonio City, the result would certainly have been the deaths of countless residents. According to the Count’s report, apart from the adventurers who subjugated the Flame Giant suffering some minor burns, there was only one death in this disaster. That person was a madman who worshipped the Flame Giant to the point of self-immolation.”

“It’s good that there were no deaths. Ah, I can see the walls of Antonio City.”

At a rough estimate, the walls of Antonio City were at least fifteen meters high. The gray bricks had a sense of age, standing abruptly on the plain like a sleeping behemoth.

And here, the number of fellow travelers increased. Hunters with prey on their shoulders, adventurers returning fully-loaded, and merchant caravans with long processions of wagons; the rising and falling voices created a rather lively atmosphere.

In addition, Yisi also heard cheers from the adventurers behind her. For them, only by returning to Antonio City could they feel truly safe.

Even Ainos couldn’t help but show a relaxed expression.

“We’re finally home. Miss Yisi, once we’re in the city, could you come with me to the headquarters of the ‘Flame Conquerors’ guild? I’d like to pay you your reward for helping us.”

“The reward can be given anytime, can’t it? We need to find lodging before the sun sets.”

“Then just stay at our guild! I can’t guarantee much else, but the lodging conditions at the Flame Conquerors’ guild are definitely much better than any ordinary inn.”

Ainos, with his red hair, confidently patted his chest, his red armor making a clanging sound.

An overly righteous person.

If a character like this were in a classic novel, he would surely become a reliable ally to the protagonist.

While complaining about this internally, Yisi tilted her head—and one of her silver twin-tails got caught in a crack in the carriage’s wooden plank, forcing her to painstakingly pull it out.

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Hair that long, past her hips, was really troublesome.

“Won’t staying at the guild cause trouble for you, Ainos? I heard from Lala that you’re all new recruits.”

“No problem, no problem. Our Flame Conquerors guild has always valued our companions. If the guild master knew that you saved me, Miss Yisi, he would definitely thank you personally.”

After Ainos finished speaking, the female adventurer Lala beside them interjected.

“And even if you pay to stay in one of the guild’s spare rooms, it’s much better than an inn. They’re dirty and smelly, and the sheets and pillows guests sleep on are only washed once every month or two.”

“Ugh…”

Yisi swallowed. If she had to sleep in a room like that, she would definitely be throwing up all night.

Without hesitation, Yisi made her decision.

She would pay to stay at the Flame Conquerors’ guild later.

“By the way, Ainos, do you know where I can buy and sell magic cores, armor, and weapons?”

Putting aside Tiffany, who had just joined the team under a contract, both Camilla’s and Mary’s equipment needed an upgrade. The weapons in her own storage had level restrictions and couldn’t be equipped by ordinary people.

Camilla, as the backline support, needed a set of magic robes, and Mary needed a set of armor that could resist magic attacks. The iron-plated oak shield didn’t need to be replaced urgently, but the one-handed sword for offense had to be put on the agenda.

In addition, she also wanted to test what value the magic cores from ‘Ragnarøk’ would be appraised at in this world.

Ainos frowned and thought for a moment.

“If it’s equipment for ordinary adventurers, there are many places near the Adventurer’s Guild in the west district. But if Miss Yisi wants to buy magic weapons and equipment, I recommend checking out the Noble District in the city center. The things there are expensive, but the quality is reliable. All the adventurers in Antonio City dream of owning a magic weapon from the Noble District.”

“Magic weapons from the Noble District, huh…”

She wondered what grade of weapons they would have.

Camilla had explained to Yisi before that weapon grades were classified the same way as monsters: from lowest to highest, they were White Iron-rank, Mithril-rank, Orichalcum-rank, and Scarlet Gold-rank. Among them, Scarlet Gold-rank weapons were items that even royalty would fight over, while Orichalcum-rank could only be obtained by high nobles and powerful individuals.

Yisi hadn’t considered buying Orichalcum or Scarlet Gold-rank weapons, but if there were Mithril-rank ones, they should be sufficient for Camilla and Mary until they reached level twenty.

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“By the way, Ainos’s armor is from a shop in the Noble District. This set costs six gold coins. An ordinary adventurer couldn’t afford it in their entire lifetime.” The female adventurer Lala patted Ainos’s armor and teased with a playful tone, “This guy can’t even bear to take it off when he sleeps. His favorite hobby is showing off this suit of armor to other adventurers.”

“Lala!”

“Hehe, I was just saying it for you. You’ve been walking around Miss Yisi in this armor for the past few days, didn’t you just want a compliment or two from her?”

“You—!”

Clearly hit the mark by Lala, Ainos’s face turned beet red, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, looking like he wanted to find an excuse but couldn’t say anything.

It’s probably the same feeling as wanting to show off a limited-edition figure to people after buying it, Yisi thought, changing the subject for Ainos’s sake.

“The guards are about to start inspecting us. Mr. Ainos, will you go through first?”

“Miss Yisi, please go ahead.”

Making a gesture of invitation with a red face, Ainos made way for Yisi. Yisi then lifted the carriage curtain, letting Camilla and Mary, who were inside, step down. As for Tiffany, she had already turned into a slime and stuck herself to the bottom of the carriage when Yisi had given her the heads-up earlier.

However, just as Camilla and Mary had stepped off the carriage, the situation changed.

With the sound of an urgent bell ringing across the plains, the soldiers on duty suddenly had a drastic change in expression. Ignoring the group of adventurers being inspected at the gate, they hastily grabbed their weapons and ran into the city.

“Close the city gates! Those beasts are coming again!”

“What’s going on?”

“Let us in!”

However, the people’s pleas were not heeded. The city gates were ruthlessly closed by the soldiers, and some adventurers who tried to force their way in were even driven back by the guards with crossbows and spears.

“Monsters are coming!”

“Eek!”

The entire area in front of the gate instantly descended into chaos. While calming Camilla and Mary, Yisi opened her Omniscient Map and then raised her head to look at the lush green plain behind her.

At the edge of her vision, a column of nearly a hundred monsters was charging towards Antonio City.