---Viktor's POV---
The progress of events was even faster than I imagined.
Before heading out, I casually posted so buy requests in the marketplace for auxiliary materials I suspected might be nearby.
To my surprise, I hadn't even left town before all the orders were taken!
Just as I was about to use my Wind Manipulation spell to speed up, I stopped, withdrew my mana, and turned back.
The player who took all those orders? It turned out to be the sa person!
Looking at the player waiting at the quest point, my eyes widened in surprise.
"Is it you again?"
Knight waved enthusiastically. "Good afternoon, Lord Viktor!"
"It's such a coincidence! I just got back and saw the buy requests updated in the shop. And I had exactly what you needed!"
"You just... happened to have all these rare herbs?" I couldn't keep the skepticism from my voice.
He pulled out a homade bundle from his ga inventory.
Opening it, he selected five or six herbs and presented them.
"Look, these are all freshly dug today!"
I took them and inspected them carefully before falling into silence.
Knight tilted his head, watching my expression. "What's wrong? Are they not the sa as what was described in the buy request?"
"… No, they match perfectly."
I just didn't know how to respond.
What kind of outrageous luck did this guy have?!
First, he discovered potatoes, then two types of herbs for healing.
And after accidentally ingesting the herbs and spending an entire day spectating on the forums, he had barely been back in action when he stumbled upon even more auxiliary materials for dispelling illusions?!
Even if not all these materials were high-grade dicinal ingredients, most of them were valuable herbs.
This kind of luck was simply heaven-defying!
I studied him with an inquisitive gaze. My hands itched—I was incredibly tempted to catch this guy for research.
Fortunately, I resisted in the end.
"These were all found today?"
"Of course!"
Knight nodded firmly. "I saw how weird they looked and knew they had to be sothing special!"
Then, scratching his head, he added sheepishly, "But, uh, you listed a lot of items on your buy request. So of these I found a few days ago. The hot weather almost dried them out."
"Will you still take dried plants?"
"You store herbs in direct sunlight?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
Knight shuffled his feet. "Is that bad? They seed fine to !"
"These aren't common weeds. So of these lose potency within hours of exposure."
"Oh... so you don't want them?" His face fell.
Dried plants.
I couldn't help but chuckle at the term.
This guy clearly knew nothing about potions or ingredients, yet he had an uncanny connection to plants.
How curious.
I smiled and nodded. "I didn't say that. Even dried, they have their uses. I'll take them."
"That's great!"
Knight bead with joy, pulling out another bundle from his inventory.
As he said, the herbs in this one were partially dried.
After sorting through them, I managed to collect all the auxiliary materials I needed.
In addition, I also found a few commonly used reagents for crafting potions among Knight's collection.
"I'll purchase these now, but I'd like to make you an offer."
Knight looked at curiously. "What kind of offer?"
"Bring anything unusual you find in your travels—plants, minerals, anything that seems out of place. Before selling to anyone else."
As a bonus, I offered him three free identification opportunities.
For soone with such phenonal luck, special treatnt was warranted.
Knight agreed eagerly and, feeling lighter with fewer items to carry, ran off happily.
I, anwhile, withdrew the buy requests I had just posted and returned to begin crafting potions.
The four types of potions to dispel illusions were low-grade and easy to make, at least for .
"Heat to precisely 73 degrees, not a degree more," I murmured to myself as I worked through the night. "Three counterclockwise stirs, pause for five seconds, then one clockwise... Should I make it taste good? Nah."
---Third POV---
By dawn the next day, Viktor had completed 10 of each type, for a total of 40 dispelling potions.
He handed them, along with an updated map, to the original map creator, Garble, who imdiately assembled a three-person search party and set off.
The five suspicious locations marked on the map were far apart, making the investigation ti-consuming.
By the end of the day, they had only checked three of the locations—all false leads.
As darkness fell, the three walked through a dense forest.
A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, rustling softly underfoot.
Lux listened to the eerie cries in the distance with a tense expression.
"Are we really going to keep moving forward?"
Garble, chopping away at the thorny bushes blocking the path, glanced back with a determined look.
"Our main quest has a ti limit. We can't afford to waste too much ti on these early-stage tasks."
CowardlySurvivor tossed his water bottle into his inventory and wiped his mouth.
"Eh, stop worrying! Finding the goblin nest is worth way more than us all wiping out."
"If you head back now and co again tomorrow, the danger might not decrease, but you'll lose a whole day."
"In battle, ti is money—we can't waste it!"
Lux sighed. "I know, I was just asking."
She compared the map in her hand and pulled CowardlySurvivor back when he started straying off course.
"This is our first ti leaving the safe zone at night. Doesn't that bother either of you?"
"Bother us how? Fear?"
CowardlySurvivor changed direction, hands clasped behind his head as he strolled casually.
"You girls just overthink things. This is just a ga. Even if we die, it's not a big deal—what's there to be scared of?"
Logically, that made sense.
But accepting one's death in such a realistic ga was still challenging.
Lux shrugged. "Fine, guess I'm just sensitive."
Only now did she realize that when Garble was recruiting, he had specifically chosen her as a light mage healer and CowardlySurvivor, a fire mage with the "utility" of lighting up the dark.
Tonight, they were destined to walk through the forest at night…
The three continued for a while.
The sky turned pitch black.
In the forest's total darkness, they could barely see their hands in front of their faces.
They relied solely on CowardlySurvivor's fire magic for light.
At this point, they were very close to the fourth suspicious location marked on the map.
Lux's eyelid twitched uncontrollably. Uneasy, she asked Garble at the front, "You've died once before. What did it feel like?"
"Hey, isn't that bad luck to bring up?" CowardlySurvivor interjected.
Lux rolled her eyes.
"So you are scared, huh?"
"I'm not scared! I'm just standing up for Garble!" CowardlySurvivor placed his hands on his hips, defending himself.
"Everyone knows his death was awful—two days of torture before he finally died. Bringing it up is like rubbing salt in his wounds!"
Garble's face darkened.
Who was spreading these rumors?!
His death story was growing more exaggerated by the day.
At this rate, people would think he'd gone through seven days of crucifixion and co back to life!
Failing to clear up the misunderstanding, he still answered Lux's question.
"Dying in the ga is like getting a shot. The worst part is the psychological pressure beforehand. Actually, it's less intense than reaching the ga's pain threshold."
Garble thought carefully about the experience.
"You know how the longer you endure pain in the ga, the stronger the third-person perspective becos?"
"Well, receiving a fatal injury feels just like that."
CowardlySurvivor imdiately relaxed.
"Ah, so the ga's actually pretty considerate in that regard."
Watching his change in deanor, Lux smirked playfully.
"Heh."
Using the firelight, Garble studied the surrounding vegetation and suddenly signaled for them to stop.
"All right, this is the spot. Sa as always—split up and search! And CowardlySurvivor, keep the fla small, and extinguish it unless we're testing visual illusion magic."
---
The vegetation near the goblin nest was sparse.
Ahead of them, there could be countless illusions of vegetation, making it impossible to hide their tracks.
The two of them simultaneously made an "ok" gesture and split up in silence. They had already perford such illusion checks several tis. Their actions were highly practiced.
A crisp bell sound rippled through the air at a very low frequency. And a strange fragrance spread out.
Garble sared a potion on his eyes and scanned the surroundings. There was no visible change in the area he could see.
Lux's voice called out from a distance.
"I've checked sight, hearing, sll, and perception—nothing for now."
"Sa here," CowardlySurvivor replied. "Just one more check to go, though I don't expect much from it."
He opened a potion bottle and reluctantly drank the contents, his brow furrowing.
"This potion's effect is way too short. Couldn't Viktor get us sothing better?"
It tasted unbearably bitter, and his pain threshold didn't seem to help.
After drinking, he waited two seconds and observed his surroundings again.
"Still no change."
Garble sighed.
"Nothing on my end either. Let's move further ahead—it might just be outside the range of the illusion."
The other two nodded in agreent.
---
After nearly 10 seconds of magical chanting, the firelight at CowardlySurvivor's fingertips reignited.
The three chose to walk through a densely vegetated area to minimize the firelight's exposure.
The fallen leaves beneath their feet gradually thinned, and the crunching sounds of their footsteps grew quieter.
The surroundings beca eerily silent. The stillness unsettled him. His gaze scanned the ground, wary of hidden dangers below.
After a few steps, he couldn't shake the feeling that sothing was off.
He stopped in his tracks, prompting the others to turn back.
Garble asked, "What's wrong?"
"Sothing feels strange," CowardlySurvivor frowned, "but I can't pinpoint it."
Lux shot him a disdainful glance.
"People imagine strange things when they're scared. If you're scared, just admit it."
She had been at ease earlier, so why was he suddenly so worried?
Garble checked their surroundings, confirming there was no imdiate danger.
"Since it feels strange, let's stop and look around. Maybe we'll find sothing."
Lux folded her arms, thinking it over.
"Alright. Not like I was planning to do anything else but sleep after logging off."
"No need. I can handle it myself," CowardlySurvivor said, sniffing the air.
As he stood still, the odd sll intensified, giving him a direction.
He walked toward a low bush, partially stripped of its leaves, and pushed it aside.
In front of him lay a large, broken footprint—bigger than that of an adult human.
"Got it!" he excitedly called the others over. "Look, I found a goblin footprint! A footprint!"
Garble quickly ca forward, pushing aside another part of the bush. But as he examined it, his initial excitent gave way to confusion.
"Where?"
"What? You can't see it?" CowardlySurvivor was taken aback.
He crawled into the bush and slapped the ground near the footprint while pinching his nose.
"This big indentation—how can you not see it? Ugh! That sll—no way! This goblin must have foot odor. Even the footprint stinks!"
CowardlySurvivor grimaced as he flicked his hand in disgust after touching the footprint.
"Let try!"
Lux joined in, feeling the spot CowardlySurvivor pointed out, but shook her head.
"Still nothing."
Garble rembered the potion CowardlySurvivor had just consud.
He imdiately retrieved two bottles from his backpack, handing one to Lux and drinking the other himself.
Two seconds later, his gaze turned astonished as he looked back at the spot.
"There really is a footprint!"
"Really?!" Lux didn't hesitate any longer, downing the bitter potion in one gulp.
Rechecking the ground, she exclaid in wonder, "What kind of technique is this? Oh wait, no—it's an illusion. It even changes the sense of touch… Ugh! That sll!"
Her expression twisted, and she scrambled backward in a panic.
CowardlySurvivor gave her a sympathetic look.
"I told you it stinks."
If it were just normal stench, would he have made such a fuss?
Garble clenched the now-empty potion bottle in his hand.
"Looks like we've found our target."
---
Half an hour later, the rustling of leaves broke the silence in the bushes.
Not far away, a goblin turned its head sharply, alerted.
It grabbed a wooden club from the ground, stood up, and hunched over as it approached the sound.
A bright green grasshopper leapt out of the bushes.
The goblin paused, then scowled, muttering guttural, angry syllables before returning to its spot to nap.
Behind the bushes, Garble and the others held their breath, retreating step by step.
When they were far enough, Lux exhaled softly.
"Wow—so that's the goblin nest?" It wasn't quite what she had imagined.
"Amazing." CowardlySurvivor clenched his fists, his eyes blazing. "I've been to tourist attractions, but I've never seen such a natural giant crater ruin."
Peering through a gap in the bushes, the outside world looked like sothing out of a dinsional portal.
Behind them was dense forest; ahead lay the giant crater.
The circular stone structures were riddled with broken gaps and moss growth, yet their blend with the crater gave a unique aesthetic.
With the firelight casting a faint glow, the scene felt dreamlike. If only the goblins scurrying around didn't ruin the atmosphere!
Garble updated the mission log with their findings.
"Illusion type: cognitive deception; Nest location: Destination 4."
Earlier, he had picked up a broken stick nearby, showing signs of goblin handiwork—sufficient proof to submit for their mission.
After recording everything, he looked at the others.
"We've exceeded the mission requirents. What's next?"
CowardlySurvivor rubbed his hands eagerly. "The exploration mission is done, but we still have the main quest. We're the first group to find the goblin nest. We can get a head start on the main storyline."
He pulled out a lon-shaped bomb with a fuse attached.
"I even got a coconut lon bomb from Viktor."
"What the heck," Lux whispered, stepping back in surprise. "So well-prepared?"
Was she the only one who had casually accepted this mission?
"Opportunities are for the prepared. How else can you make it to the top player ranks?" CowardlySurvivor flipped his hair, speaking with infectious enthusiasm. "So, what do you say? Shall we do it?"
Lux hesitated. "But we've been at this all day. We're exhausted—it's too risky."
There was no way they'd get out unscathed.
The mont the bomb exploded, their position would be exposed.
Even if they managed to escape the goblins' pursuit, the explosion would attract other dangers for sure.
50 advance chapters!
/Malphegor
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