Chapter 3

I went to the adventurers' guild headquarters, located in a rather large wooden building. Upon entering, I looked around to see if the hero, his sister, or his fiancée were there, but not spotting any of them amid the crowd, I headed straight to the request board to see which missions could benefit my journey.

The board featured a variety of quests, including mineral collection in remote locations, hunting or subduing dangerous monsters and beasts, as well as other types of missions. However, I only focused on plant collection and caravan escort missions.

Plant collection missions could help me earn some money while heading to the ruins, and I was only checking caravan escort missions to see if any caravans were departing today or if I would have to travel the entire way on foot.

I checked for plant collection missions in the Lutargut forest and found three. I picked up the mission posters and noticed that two caravans were leaving today, passing by the path next to the Lutargut forest. I checked their departure times: one at midday and the other at ¼ of sunrise.

I needed to hurry and take the earlier one as they were about to depart, and I also knew the person leading that caravan and needed to reach them before nightfall to set up a small camp.

There were four receptionists, two men and two women. I went straight to the one I knew.

She was beautiful with blonde hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes. Though she had modest breasts and hips, it didn't matter much to me. She wore a white and black blouse with black pants. While the guild wasn't strict about the upper clothing of receptionists, they were very strict about the lower half, and it was mandatory for them to wear black pants.

"Good morning, Leidy," I greeted Leidy, who was also a former member of my old group.

"Good morning, Dylan. You finished your escort mission yesterday. Does that mean you came to visit me?" She asked with a flirtatious smile. Anyone seeing us might think she was trying something, but those who knew us would believe she was just teasing me.

(Dylan ♡, Dylan ♡, Dylan ♡)

(I can hear you. What do you want? I'm a bit in a hurry.)

(You know what I want. Yesterday you came back, and we haven't had our alone time yet ♡)

"I didn't come to visit you. I need some money, so I'm going to collect some plants in the Lutargut forest," I saw her expression turn sad upon hearing what I said. But I was just teasing her a bit.

(I need to join one of the caravans before they leave, so I won't be able to spend time with you today.) I saw her face suddenly become very sad despite her attempt to disguise it.

(But don't worry, I'll try to come back as quickly as I can, though it might take some time. Still, don't be sad. I told Sayla that when I come back, I'll spend a lot of time with her. How about you join us?)

"Well, let me note that down." She took out a paper and wrote on it.

(Hope you don't forget your words. I'll leave you dry when we meet again as revenge for going for Sayla first instead of looking for me yesterday. Although you have to let me know in advance so we can adjust our schedule and tell my husband that I'll be shopping with Sayla for a while.)

When she handed it to me, I just needed to sign to appear as the person in charge of completing the request.

(Of course, I won't disappoint you.)

(Of course, you won't ♡)

(Tell Sayla because I haven't talked about you with her.)

(Don't worry, I'll convince her.)

"Good luck, and don't go too deep into the forest; it's dangerous," she said when I finished the procedure and left the guild.

For some reason, memories of the first time we did this came to mind, and it was when she found Sayla and me in one of the rooms while the other members were drunk. She was shocked to see us and angry at Sayla for taking advantage of me and especially for being unfaithful to her husband. But at least Sayla not only managed to calm her down but also convinced her to join us, although it was challenging because she was very defensive. But now our relationship has improved a lot since then.

I stopped thinking about the girls when I reached the caravan and greeted the one leading it.

"Palor, good morning." The man with a big belly who looked a bit grumpy turned towards me and greeted me.

"Dylan, how's it going? Are you here for the escort mission?" He greeted me in a friendly manner, although he behaves this way with me because, thanks to my help, he managed to escape a big ambush of bandits who planned to use him as a hostage and threaten his family. I heard he has a beautiful wife and daughter.

"I've been doing well, but I didn't come for the escort job. I want to explore the Lutargut forest. So I hope you can give me a little lift."

"No problem at all, it's never bad to have an adventurer accompanying me for free."

After our brief interaction, I boarded the caravan and saw three other adventurers, but I didn't pay much attention to them because there's an unwritten rule 'You can't observe other adventurers too much when outside towns or cities.'

When I felt that many hours had passed and saw the sun at its midpoint, I took the opportunity to eat a piece of bread and water I had in a canteen stored in my backpack.

Some time later, I could start to see the dense forest, but this isn't where I need to stop, and after what I think was about two hours.

"Thank you very much." I thanked Palor for his help, but he just waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me, let me know if you need another ride." That was the last thing he said before leaving.

I'm glad I could save many copper coins by getting this far. I looked at the sky and saw that there was still some time until nightfall, so it's best to venture as far as possible and then sleep.

[Presence Decrease]

I looked at the forest and couldn't help but feel a little happy because at least I have the occupation of 'Explorer,' which allows me to feel the path I've taken and the presence of hostile entities.

I walked for a long time, and when I saw that there wasn't much time left until nightfall, I started looking for a place with a bit of water because, despite knowing the magic <Small water generation>, it consumes a lot of mana and would give me a headache, making it impossible to maintain [Presence Decrease].

I looked around because I've sensed several hostile entities along the way, but thanks to my first awakened natural ability [Presence Decrease], they unconsciously ignore me. It also applies to insects that can bother me with just one sting. But it's a pity that it's not effective against monsters or beasts much more powerful than me.

Fortunately, I found a Leckis fruit tree. Its fruit is very sour, so not many animals eat it, besides some small insects. However, the good thing is that it's very hydrating, so it

 can serve me well.

After collecting some Leckis, I looked around and found a tree large enough to sleep on a branch without falling off if I moved a bit.

I explored for about 15 minutes and found a tree that fit what I was looking for. I climbed it and then put my backpack aside and took out a blanket that took up half of the backpack.

I ate some bread and jerky along with the Leckis fruit that tasted horrible. When I finished eating, I hugged the backpack and rolled up with the blanket. Maybe this method isn't conventional, but it's the method Dylan used when exploring alone.

He devised this method considering that making a fire could attract enemies, and since there was no one to take turns and stand guard, he considered this way much more effective and saved the time of collecting firewood and preparing everything else. The only problem is that later I'll have to hunt some animal or collect fruits because the food won't last me more than two days.

I better worry about that later, was the first conclusion I reached before going to sleep.

When I woke up, I started breakfasting on a piece of bread with the fruit, and it's one of the worst things I've eaten in my life, to the point that I felt like spitting it all out.

I endured the bad taste and continued exploring, collecting fruits from the trees, and if I saw water sources suitable for my consumption, I took a little and refilled the canteen.

I continued with this process for several days and also collected the plants I needed for the mission and other herbs that I recognized thanks to Dylan's knowledge, and thanks to the game's knowledge, I knew which ones could be useful for later. I stored all the herbs in a large bag that I kept in my backpack, so it bothered me a lot due to its large volume.

Something curious is that I thought some kind of event would occur, like the appearance of a girl in trouble being chased or kidnapped, maybe an underworld slaver, a bandit assault, or anything like that. But I guess it's not as common as in the game.

Six days had passed since I arrived, and when I was tired of being in this forest, I finally managed to find the ruins that were five houses completely made of stone bricks totally crumbled.

This place has already been looted many times, and no one would pay attention to it, making it a safe area that could be occupied by bandits. But its only current occupant is a pack of wolves. Now comes the problem, getting rid of or avoiding the wolves living in the ruins.

I would have borrowed a bow and gotten rid of them, but Dylan hasn't learned to use it, and even less like Alex, who has only touched kitchen knives as the closest thing to a weapon.