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Chapter 65: Scout Nia

The next morning, Roy and Nia arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.

The guild was packed with students showing up for their tests, some super excited, and others nervously sweating bullets about their performance. Most of the adventurers leading them had sour faces, looking like they’d just stepped in dog poop.

Only Roy’s group had Reid, who, despite his impatience, still calmly laid out a bunch of precautions.

“Listen up, adventuring isn’t child’s play. Even though this task is just exploring some ruins, it’s still way riskier than the training back at the academy!”

“If you all behave and don’t mess things up, I’ll give you good scores. Got it?”

“Got it~” Nia replied nonchalantly, making Reid’s eye twitch.

Once Reid left, Nia immediately perked up like a wind-up toy, full of excitement.

“Finally setting off! Our legend begins now!” Nia gazed at the guild’s big doors, pumped up like a general heading into battle.

“When it comes to Blood Clan ruins, there’s bound to be vicious vampire creatures and treasures from the First Era! I can’t wait!”

Nia’s wild imagination had Reid’s subordinates in stitches, and they threw a round of teasing at her.

“Little girl, don’t dream too big!”

“Someone checked before; it’s just an abandoned castle. No danger and no treasure. If there was, why would the academy trust you with a practical test?”

One even muttered gloomily, “If only there were real treasures…”

Nia wasn’t bothered by the negativity; instead, it brought her spirits down a notch: “… suddenly it feels kind of boring.”

“But, for a first adventure, a little simplicity might be nice.” The girl turned around, her eyes narrowing into a crescent as she smiled elegantly, shining with bright anticipation.

Roy, looking at Nia’s warm smile, couldn’t help but picture the scene from the original—a girl covered in wounds, bloodied and collapsed in front of the guild.

“Hmm?” Nia sensed something was off and leaned closer, concerned: “Nervous?”

“It’s nothing.” Roy avoided her concerned gaze and smiled faintly: “Just thinking that a little simplicity might be nice.”

Unfortunately, this adventure was anything but simple.

Each group’s practical test location was different, so as soon as they left the city, several teams headed in various directions.

They traveled by carriage until they reached the edge of a dark swamp. From there, the ground turned too muddy, and they had to proceed on foot.

Their practical test officially began at that moment.

Reid led a team of ten, including Roy and Nia, making a total of twelve, forming a decent squad. Aside from Roy, Nia, and Reid, the rest were Sequence 9 Extraordinary Beings.

This kind of team was considered upper-middle in Academy City, capable of holding their own against Sequence 7 beasts.

However, Reid wasn’t reckless and repeatedly reminded the two, “Listen up, you little brats, don’t think just because your bloodlines are high, you can do whatever you want.”

“The swamp is dark, visibility is low, and it’s muddy. Just walking is a chore. Forget about monsters attacking, getting stuck in the mud alone might get you killed. If you rush ahead, I can’t save you… Hey!”

Before he could finish, Nia dashed straight into the thicket, making Reid’s blood pressure skyrocket.

This is why he hated these little runts!

“Didn’t I say don’t run ahead too fast…”

“Are you sure you need to worry about her?”

Roy suddenly smirked, interrupting Reid’s scolding.

Reid looked at where he was gazing, stunned to see the green-haired girl walking through the muddy path like it was solid ground.

She was able to immediately tell where to step, her light and agile figure avoiding the intertwining bushes effortlessly.

The Forest Elf is a natural scout and guide, using wind magic to lighten loads and enhance speed, while Wind Eye allows her to observe the wind’s directions to find the best route in low light.

Far off, Nia turned around and waved to everyone: “Don’t worry! I’ve got this!”

“Just a little girl, and she’s pretty capable.” Reid rolled his eyes, somewhat surprised.

Having an excellent scout would undoubtedly make exploration much easier.

The adventurers obediently followed Nia’s lead as they navigated through the dimly-lit swamp.

But watching the distant figure alone up front, Reid still felt uneasy.

Could that girl truly be relied upon?

She seemed to have strong bloodline abilities, but there were many students in the past who had become careless and perished in the wild, relying solely on their bloodlines.

Reid was afraid something might catch Nia off guard.

He shot another glance at Roy.

This guy seemed pretty sensible. According to the reports, he appeared to be a noble with guts, and students from noble families usually had decent skills.

But at the end of the day, he was just a kid.

Who knew if that Sword Demon brother was actually following them? Thinking about it now, what kind of undercover protection was that?

For all he knew, he might have just found an excuse to take off!

Was this unheard-of dude really an A-ranked adventurer?

The more Reid thought, the more agitated he became, worrying about these two little brats making a mistake.

Unable to hold back, Reid called out to Nia, “Hey, slow down.”

But suddenly Nia halted, slightly raising her right hand.

This was the universal sign among adventurers, indicating possible enemy presence nearby.

Reid’s crew were seasoned veterans, and upon seeing Nia’s signal, they immediately stopped, readying themselves and scanning their surroundings.

After waiting a while with no activity from the bushes, the others grew restless.

Reid couldn’t pinpoint it, questioning, “Are you sure there are enemies?!”

“Hey, kid, I’m talking to you!”

As Reid started to step forward, shouting, Roy blocked him, raising a finger: “Quiet. Just trust her.”

Roy noticed Nia’s ears twitching slightly, indicating she was activating Listen to the Wind, amplifying nearby sounds with wind magic to locate enemies.

Being too noisy now would severely hinder Nia’s ability.

Catching wind of Roy’s comment, Nia couldn’t help but smile slightly.

However, the forest definitely felt off.

She had that nagging feeling that the airflow was subtly weird, as if something was around, but she just couldn’t catch any sounds.

Facing the serious young boy, Reid had to suppress his disdain and patiently waited.

Yet, after a few more seconds with still no movement, the focus of the other adventurers began to wane, and Reid’s patience finally hit its limit.

This was just the entrance to the forest; what enemies could there possibly be?!

He cursed himself for being fooled by this dark-haired kid. After all, he was the experienced adventurer here. Did he really need a little girl to lead the way?

“Alright, alright! If there are no dangers, let’s just move forward…”

“Enemy attack! From behind!”

With a loud shout, Nia spun around, drew her sword, and unleashed a sharp wind blade.

The shadow that was about to ambush the rear of the team had its neck severed instantly.

Immediately, countless snarling figures with sharp teeth rushed forward from the back, “It’s ghouls!”

“Counterattack! Counterattack!”

Reid raised his hand and shot a dazzling lightning bolt, piercing through one of the ghouls.

However, nearly a hundred ghouls surged forth like a dark cloud, completely unconcerned about their losses.

Seeing that they were almost outnumbered ten to one, the adventurers felt their scalps tingle, relieved that they hadn’t interrupted Nia’s scouting.

Otherwise, if those monsters had launched a surprise attack, even a single encounter could lead to devastating consequences.

 

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