Thin mist shrouded the farm that never saw sunlight year-round. Along both sides of the road, wheat stalks tall enough to reach two men's height rustled against each other in the wind, producing a fine, whispering sound.
The tinnitus gradually intensified. Aiding pressed against his throbbing temples, his knuckles turning pale blue from excessive force.
Some non-existent whispers echoed in his mind, as irritating as the sound of iron chains dragging across stone slabs.
Aiding's footsteps unconsciously slowed, and in his stumbling he discovered that his companions ahead had already walked more than ten paces away, their figures about to be swallowed by the swaying waves of wheat...
In his daze, a warm current like a stream suddenly flowed across his spine, and a pale golden halo spread from his shoulders and neck throughout his entire body.
The incessant buzzing sound vanished instantly. Even if it was only temporary, it brought Aiding incomparable comfort.
"Are you alright? If you feel unwell, tell me early!" A freckled face blocked the drooping wheat stalks as the priest gently helped up the swaying Aiding.
Shaking his gradually clearing head, Aiding broke free from this somewhat ambiguous posture.
"Sorry, it's my problem. Thank you, Fan..."
The name stuck in his throat. What was the priest called again?
The priest seemed not to notice this, only smiling and saying, "We're teammates! Let's hurry, we'll lose touch with those two."
Right, they couldn't lose touch!
The Abyss required more cooperation than other dungeons.
Walking quickly to catch up, he found the two standing in front of a barn door.
The thief was trying to pick the lock, and when the warrior saw them catching up, he reproached, "Why are you so slow? Is this kid holding us back?"
The warrior's gaze shot toward Aiding, but the priest stepped forward and said, "I was careless and caused the delay. I'm very sorry."
Seeing the priest take responsibility, the warrior said nothing more and quietly waited for the thief to pick the lock.
*Click—*
"Done!"
With the thief's whistle, the barn door was pushed open, the rotting oak door bolt emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound.
Upon entering, everyone was shocked by the sight before them—gold coins, an entire barn full of gold coins!
The thief's deerskin boots sank into the pile of gold coins. He picked up one and examined it carefully: "Ancient Kingdom gold coins! We've hit the jackpot!"
The warrior and thief rushed forward, countless gold coins scooped up only to fall through their fingers again.
"Hahahaha! This must be the secret treasure of this floor!" The warrior directly emptied his backpack, stuffing gold coins in by the handful.
The priest was relatively restrained, but her eyes also sparkled with excitement.
Only Aiding, the newcomer, stood dumbfounded outside the barn, at a loss.
"You... what are you doing?"
Before Aiding's eyes, he couldn't see a single gold coin they spoke of—only a warehouse full of grain.
*Buzz—*
The tinnitus started again. When he looked up, the grain disappeared, replaced by a warehouse full of gold coins.
The warrior's backpack was already full of gold coins, unable to fit anything else.
"No, this isn't right, this is a trap! Get out quickly!"
Aiding shouted his warning with all his strength, but the warrior and thief turned a deaf ear, single-mindedly collecting their "gold coins."
The priest seemed in better condition—at least she heard Aiding's warning—but her first reaction was to turn back and cast [Remove Curse] on the two completely fallen teammates.
Her instinctive kindness made her miss the chance to escape.
Grass claws carrying the scent of decay swept past Aiding's face as scarecrows emerged one after another from the wheat fields on both sides.
Aiding could only be forced to retreat step by step, nearly getting caught several times.
After retreating far enough, he looked back to see the scarecrows had already packed the barn full...
He should save them... at least save the priest...
Though he thought this, his feet were already running wildly down the path they had come.
The auditory hallucinations appeared again. This time there was no one to help dispel them. Could he... still escape?
It was getting darker around him. Aiding reached out, trying to pull away the darkness blocking his path—
"Hmm?"
The coarse cloth curtain was yanked open abruptly. The midsummer morning light poured down like hot milk, the brilliant white rays making his eyelashes tremble.
Aiding reflexively raised his elbow to block his eyes, shifting his body to sit up against the wall.
The back of his head pressed against the cool wall tiles as he used his palms to press against his throbbing temples, as if this could squeeze the dream fragments from his mind.
The fatigue after the nightmare made him feel like he'd been stuffed in a sack and beaten all night.
When his peripheral vision swept over the unfamiliar woman beside him, her chestnut-colored long hair was spread across the wrinkled pillow.
What had he done last night?
Right, mushrooms!
He picked up the small remaining half-pack of blue mushrooms by the bed and threw them all into the trash can with a disgusted expression.
"Damn sleep aid."
He had originally gotten some after hearing these things could help with sleep. He hadn't expected that while they did help with sleep, they brought these kinds of dreams!
Nightmares that hadn't tormented him for fifteen years had actually been reawakened by a few broken mushrooms.
Really, he had planned to rest well and restore his spirit for the dungeon, but after this sleep, his spirit was even worse.
Anyway, he had 5 days...
Aiding buried his head back into the covers.
"What was that priest called again?"
---
In the Adventurer's Guild.
Mirabelle threw the commission acceptance records on the table. Standing beside the office desk was the girl who had worked the night shift.
"Who are these Housseret and Houssett? When did we have these two diamond-rank adventurers? Didn't you think these names were wrong when you filled out the forms?"
"But... but they both had guild identity plates..." the girl said somewhat grievously. She had followed all the rules.
"Forget it, forget it..." Mirabelle waved her hand, letting the girl leave the office.
Actually, she knew this couldn't be blamed on the girl. A Level 56 illusionist wanting to fool an ordinary girl would be child's play.
Even if she had been there herself, she might not necessarily have seen through it.
She was just irritated. These adventurers were each more troublesome than the last.
First there was Begon's team confidently throwing their lives away, followed immediately by this confident Aiding wanting to handle team missions alone.
But what if this guy died?
Would she have to issue another S-rank subjugation mission?
Mirabelle flipped through Aiding Clark's files page by page, her eyebrows rising higher with each turn.
From his record, this guy apparently wasn't doing this for the first time.
He preferred taking exploration missions, whether solo or team-based. When encountering team missions, he would use illusions to muddle through.
Since his mission completion rate was quite high, and even when he failed he could bring back considerable useful intelligence, other branches seemed to tacitly approve of this?
Moreover, he had no record of serious injuries to date.
Oh...
Actually, there was one.
As a newcomer, he had experienced a team wipe in the Scarecrow Abyss. Of the 4-person group, only he had returned, and due to a curse he had lost his sense of taste.
After that, he changed his area of activity, never returning to the Scarecrow Abyss, instead wandering between other dungeons, and came to Mute Wind Town after the Demon Tide.
He seemed to be someone with some real ability. In any case, there weren't many diamond-ranks currently in Mute Wind Town, so they might as well let him try.
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