novelraw Chapter 6 : Gathering Coppercap Mushrooms
Chapter 6 : Gathering Coppercap Mushrooms
Chapter 6: Gathering Coppercap Mushrooms
In an instant, a crimson flush spread from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.
“It’s all your fault!”
Nia was so embarrassed she wished she could die. In her fluster, she threw down the form and directly covered Lance’s ears with both hands.
Feeling the pair of soft, warm hands by his ears, and looking at the girl in front of him who was so shy she seemed about to steam, Lance could only raise both hands in surrender.
To make amends, and also to thank Nia for her help.
Ten minutes later, the two sat side by side on a long bench in the corner of the guild hall.
Gritting his teeth against the expense, Lance crossed the street to the bakery and bought the lunch Nia had been craving the most.
It was two freshly baked special herb breads.
The bread had a plump, enticing round shape. Its crust had been baked to a perfect golden crisp, and the top had been scored by the baker into a cross resembling rose petals, revealing the soft, white interior within.
The dough had clearly been prepared with care, kneaded with a large amount of freshly picked rosemary from the edge of Copper Creek Forest. The rich herbal aroma spread through the air, making one’s appetite surge.
In addition, Lance clenched his teeth and bought a bottle of pink sparkling berry ale.
This was a low-alcohol fruit wine extremely popular among female adventurers in Graystone Town, with a sweet taste and fine bubbles.
Holding the bread with both hands, Nia carefully took a bite.
The crisp crust and soft interior collided between her teeth, and the fragrance of herbs instantly filled her mouth.
Then she took a big, satisfied gulp of the pink sparkling ale.
“Mm… it’s so delicious!”
Nia narrowed her eyes in bliss, like a cat that had stolen dried fish, her legs swinging happily beneath the bench.
Watching her carefree smile, Lance touched his suddenly deflated coin pouch.
This single meal had eaten up half a day’s wages.
“It’s fine, this counts as necessary social investment.”
Lance silently shed tears in his heart, then took a fierce bite of the bread in his hand.
……
The clerical staff of the Adventurers’ Guild actually had weekends off.
But in the past, in order to save up travel expenses to Ostera as soon as possible, Lance had voluntarily chosen a year-round, no-rest overtime schedule.
In a frontier town like Graystone Town, where adventurers formed the core, most entertainment was filled with the scent of hormones and alcohol.
Where adventurers gathered, trouble and conflict often followed.
Thus, strictly adhering to his iron rule of “never joining the crowd,” Lance used to spend his free time on occasional rounds of Three Dragon Cards with a few familiar young ladies, or simply stayed in the guild on duty to enjoy the heating.
But now, things were different.
His adventurer identification would be approved tomorrow, and the day after would be when he planned to attempt taking on a commission and head to Copper Creek Forest.
In these two days, he had to prepare all the tools he would need to make a living.
Taking advantage of the evening after work, Lance first slipped home to change into an inconspicuous gray hooded outfit, then plunged headfirst into the chaotic artisan district.
This area was shrouded in black smoke from burning coal all day long, and the air was filled with the sour stench of tanning leather—far from pleasant.
The streets were lined with blacksmith shops and leather goods stores. If an outsider came here, they would most likely be treated as easy prey and overcharged.
But Lance was different.
Relying on the bits of information he had overheard while working as an “invisible man” behind the guild counter for months,
he knew clearly which shops had good craftsmanship and which shop owners were unscrupulous.
Moving with familiarity, he slipped into several reputable old stores and purchased all the equipment he needed at fair prices.
When it came to life-saving gear, there was absolutely no room for saving money.
This trip cost him a total of 8 silver coins and 46 copper coins.
If he also counted the backpack, fire-starting tools, water flask, rope, and other adventuring essentials he still needed to buy, his already meager savings would likely be completely wiped out.
Back home, Lance painstakingly put on each piece of equipment he had just bought.
Closest to his body was a specially treated rivet-reinforced leather armor.
At key areas on the chest and back, hard iron plates had been additionally embedded, greatly enhancing protection against piercing attacks.
On his head, he wore a reinforced leather helmet, covered by a thick hood.
The most ingenious design lay in the face section—this helmet came with a half-mask extending from the forehead to the sides of the nose. It not only protected the fragile bridge of the nose but also perfectly concealed most of his face.
On his arms were reinforced bracers embedded with iron strips, sufficient to block slashing attacks at critical moments.
On his hands, he wore a pair of anti-slip, wear-resistant fingerless gloves.
For his lower body, he wore thick leather greaves, and on his feet were military short boots with steel toes.
Together with the standard steel shortsword hanging at his waist and the sturdy wooden round shield on his back—
When Lance pulled down his hood,
even Nia, who spent every day with him, would likely not recognize that this imposing, killing-intent-filled figure was the same gentle and refined scribe from before.
With this full set of gear on him, heavy and solid, he didn’t look like an easy target at all.
Looking at himself fully armed in the mirror, Lance was momentarily stunned.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing this appearance still brought an indescribable sense of reality.
His life really seemed about to change.
Two days later.
Lance successfully obtained his own specially made adventurer identification.
It was a palm-sized metal plate, engraved with complex anti-counterfeiting patterns—encrypted identity information.
The only thing visible was two words: his codename, Raven.
On the day of rest.
Before the morning mist had even dispersed, Lance was already fully equipped, carrying his bulging pack as he set off.
He did not, like most adventurers, rely on his own two legs to walk to Copper Creek Forest.
Instead, he arrived early at the town entrance and spent a few copper coins to hitch a ride on a merchant caravan’s logging wagon heading to the forest outskirts to purchase timber.
Sitting on the swaying carriage not only saved his stamina, but more importantly, it gave him a chance to chat with timber merchants who regularly traveled between the forest and the town.
Where beasts had recently become more active, which roads had become difficult—no one knew better than them.
The commission he had taken today was very simple.
Gather Coppercap Mushrooms.
This was a common fungus growing on the outskirts of Copper Creek Forest, its entire body a dull brass color, usually found beneath rotting, damp tree stumps.
The reward for the task was not high either. Filling a small leather pouch with Coppercap Mushrooms would fetch about 15 copper coins.
This was a type of welfare-oriented task specifically issued by the guild.
It had no strict combat requirements and did not require venturing into dangerous areas.
It was most suitable for beginners like Lance, taking on their first mission, to cautiously test the depths of that forest.