Chapter 7: Barrett

The oak door of the "Marina" tavern creaked open, and a tall, muscular middle-aged adventurer, clad in Gorgon leather armor and with a cross-shaped longsword at his waist, stepped inside.

He tread lightly, cautiously navigating through the noisy tavern, careful not to draw attention from the adventurers who were drinking and reveling around him. Despite his lowered head and sideways shuffle as he squeezed past two waitresses carrying trays, his imposing figure still caught the eye of those nearby.

"Hey, isn't that 'Shield of the Mage,' 'Friend of the Magic Caster,' Barrett Monde?" a brown-bearded adventurer shouted loudly, focusing on Barrett's face.

"What 'Shield of the Mage'? Now he's 'Imperial Chief Eunuch' Barrett! Hahaha!" another adventurer laughed raucously, winking at Barrett. "Come on, Barrett, let me buy you a drink. Tell us your story!"

Most of the tavern's patrons burst into laughter, clearly familiar with Barrett's tale, no longer needing him to recount it.

Some newly arrived adventurers eagerly inquired about Barrett's situation from those around them. After hearing the details, they too directed sympathetic and amused glances towards Barrett's lower half.

Barrett's face flushed red with anger, but he felt powerless.

Just five days ago, it wasn't like this. Adventurers and employers alike used to warmly call him by his nickname, "Shield of the Mage." However, after he took on the task of capturing a two-headed lizard and crossed the River Fra, everything changed. He lost something crucial to a man's life.

The River Fra was a shallow stream by the Mistwood, the deepest part barely reaching Barrett's waist.

For someone like him, a "Mithril" level elite adventurer with nearly twenty years in the field, the River Fra was nothing more than a minor ditch. Yet his life had taken a turn for the worse in this small, insignificant ditch.

Barrett was leading a team of adventurers, preparing to wade across the River Fra on foot to reach the Mistwood. Drawing from his experience of crossing the River Fra forty to fifty times, Barrett judged that the river was completely safe at that moment.

First, the water was shallow. Second, the riverbed was made of hard, gravelly soil, so one's feet wouldn't sink in.

Most importantly, there were no dangerous creatures in the river. There was indeed a species of green-scaled short-snouted crocodiles inhabiting this river, but during this early autumn, the green-scaled short-snouted crocodiles had migrated up the River Fra to the distant Gal Lake to lay their eggs.

This was common knowledge among adventurers working along the Mistwood's edge, and Barrett confidently led his team into the River Fra.

However, he didn't expect that downstream, a village had built a new dam over the summer, blocking the migratory route of the green-scaled short-snouted crocodiles. As a result, when they waded across the River Fra, four or five of these crocodiles attacked them.

Fortunately, no one was killed by the crocodiles' death rolls. Only a half-elf got a foot bitten, and a magic chant apprentice lost his left hand.

Barrett wished he had only lost a hand. However, the crocodile that attacked him had cleverly chosen to emerge from the murky water and bite him from beneath, catching him off guard.

Despite Barrett's skillful martial arts allowing him to narrowly escape, he still lost something vital from his lower body, along with his dignity as a man.

Strictly speaking, this incident wasn't Barrett's fault; it was due to insufficient information. Any adventurer from Montell City leading the way would have faced the same attack from the crocodiles that failed to migrate. It was Barrett's bravery in taking the lead to the center of the river that spared the rest of the team from a far more disastrous fate.

Other adventurers didn't question Barrett's abilities, but adventurers were notoriously unsympathetic and prone to schadenfreude.

Soon, the nicknames "Imperial Chief Eunuch" and "Castrated Barrett" spread among the adventurers in Montell City.

Nicknames are different from given names. Names are given by parents and can be changed if one isn't happy with them. Nicknames, however, are determined by others.

Barrett, with his exceptional combat skills and extensive experience, had protected more than a dozen Magic Casters during his adventuring years, earning him the titles "Shield of the Mage" and "Friend of the Magic Caster."

He had once relished those nicknames. Now, with people renaming him "Imperial Chief Eunuch" and "Castrated Barrett", he felt powerless to change it.

With a dark expression, Barrett resisted the urge to draw his sword and take down a few of the loudest, most obnoxious drunk adventurers. Amid the mocking laughter, he walked toward the tavern's counter.

He planned to collect the prepaid deposit he had left for long-term drinking at the "Marina" and then leave Montell City for a place where no one knew him, to start his adventuring life anew. He would need to save a significant amount of money to seek out a Divine Magic Caster to heal his lower body!

Such magic was likely a "limb regeneration" spell and would clearly be expensive. Moreover, the green-scaled short-snouted crocodile's bite had poison, and the healer who treated him mentioned that the poison was only barely held back with low-level magic. To completely remove it would require higher-tier magic.

Fortunately, the tavern's receptionist maintained a professional demeanor and didn't join in the laughter with the other patrons. Instead, she looked at Barrett with pity and sympathy.

As Barrett continued toward the counter, he suddenly sensed someone staring directly at him.

Even though he was the center of the tavern's comedic drama, with everyone's eyes on him, Barrett's years of adventuring had honed his senses, and he detected a peculiar gaze fixed on him.

Barrett turned his head and found the person who had been staring at him.

It was a short-haired girl sitting alone in the corner of the tavern. Her neat, ear-length black hair stood out. She wore a somber black linen outfit with a gray woolen shawl draped over her shoulders.

Her old-fashioned, stern appearance, coupled with her serious expression, gave her an air of maturity that contrasted sharply with the rowdy adventurers around her.

The only thing that hinted she might be an adventurer was the giant, heavy sword she carried, which seemed disproportionate to her height.

From Barrett's years of experience, he could tell that this girl was young and didn't seem like a cleric or a nun.

Typically, girls her age would be concerned with their appearance, often dressing in vibrant colors. Even daughters of poor farmers liked to wear a wildflower in their hair.

But this girl, sitting with a straight posture, looked like an old nun from a monastery, exuding an air of outdated formality.

As she stared at Barrett, she seemed to nod in satisfaction, as if pleased with something.

If Barrett were five or six years younger, he might have thought the girl was attracted to his strong, rugged physique and mature face. However, now he could see that her gaze was more like a housewife inspecting meat at the market.

An uncomfortable feeling washed over him. Barrett shook his head, dismissing the sensation, and refocused his attention on the tavern's receptionist.

At that moment, an adventurer reached out maliciously to touch his crotch. Barrett angrily pushed him away, instinctively closing his legs, and headed toward the counter.

Suddenly, a figure blocked his path. Barrett was stunned, and paused, looking down to see the black-clad girl with the gray shawl, who had been watching him earlier.

But she had been sitting at the far edge of the tavern, separated by nearly five tables and a noisy crowd of adventurers. How had she appeared right in front of him so suddenly? Was it magic or martial arts? Barrett felt a pang of wariness.

The young girl was a head shorter than him. She tilted her head slightly to look up at Barrett and extended a hand, seemingly offering a handshake.

She introduced herself, "Hello, young man. My name is EeDeChi. I think you're a good person. How about being my guide?"