Adventurers Driven by Greed

'Don't trust the words of a stranger in the wild.' This was one of the most basic rules of survival for an adventurer.

After all, no villain would have 'I am a bad guy' written on their face.

The adventurer who had appeared before Goerge and Celia was a great example. On the surface, he looked like a kind and approachable uncle.

His smile was friendly and amiable.

Looks were deceiving, but fortunately George could sense malicious intent.

Up till this point, George had completed two evolutions thanks to his unique constitution.

After each evolution, not only did his physique improve greatly, he also gained powerful new abilities.

During his second evolution, he obtained hyper-perception that allowed him to sense even unspoken intentions.

George and Celia remained silent and unmoving.

The middle-aged adventurer heaved a sigh of relief and smiled even more warmly at them.

Very tentatively, he began to approach George and Celia. When neither of them showed any outward signs of rejection, he was relieved.

He then saw George turn the tip of his spear away from him and towards the sky. Assuming that George had let down his guard, the man became even more emboldened and walked towards them in bold strides.

"What a cold day!"

The man sneezed, shivering as if he really was feeling chilled.

As he walked over, still smiling wildly, the man began to introduce himself, "Greetings, my name is Gulf. Gulf Joe…"

There was a flash of white light and Gulf's head slowly fell to the ground.

The warm disarming smile remained on his detached head made for a jarring sight.

George continued to brandish his spear. His actions just now were a feint to get the other party to get into attacking range.

After taking care of the first enemy, George turned to Celia and instructed, "Be careful."

"I will."

With that, he swept his gaze across their surroundings and muttered,

"One, two, three… Including the one on the ground, there are seven people in total. Hmph, seven scums."

Hearing George's voice, Celia gathered magic to her fingertips and began to write in the air.

"Spellcasting Lv.2!"

Gulf's companions who were hiding in the shadows couldn't help but exclaim when they saw Celia's actions.

"Retreat!"

The powerful spell was almost complete. But just as it was about to be casted, the spell suddenly collapsed and dissipated.

Seeing this, the adventurers who were about to turn tails and run immediately stopped.

They stood frozen on the spot for a moment before quickly reacting.

"Dammit, we were tricked!"

"That little b*tch, how dare she play us for fools!"

"Get them! For Gulf!"

The surrounding trees shook as the remaining enemies emerged from their hiding spots, roaring.

Celia looked around and counted in her head. There were exactly six of them. No more, no less. Just like George said.

Seeing that all the enemies had emerged from hiding, Celia put down her left hand and waved her right.

A string of runes appeared once again. This time however, when Celia's fingers came to a stop, the spell did not collapse. Instead, it transformed into a row of fireballs that flew towards the opposing adventurers.

The fireball was huge and fairly hot. When it first appeared, the enemies were shocked.

But they soon discovered that the fireball was not as powerful as they thought.

In fact, some of the fireballs exploded like fireworks in mid-air before they could even reached their target.

"Hahaha. This is the first time I've seen such a weak fireball."

"What powerful magic you've shown uncle today little girl. Thank you for broadening my horizons."

Their mocking laughter filled the air. Slowly, they approached Celia, malice bared for all to see.

One of the adventurers walked towards Celia excitedly, his gaze fixated on her. Just then, he bumped into something with his foot.

He looked down and saw a familiar, smiling face.

He instantly came to his senses.

"Where did the other one go?"

He shouted loudly, his sharp voice overshadowing everyone.

Hearing his words, the others also came to the same realization.

All of their attention was on Celia, so no one noticed when George, who had murdered Gulf, disappeared.

At their comrad's reminder, everyone became alarmed. They looked around wildly, only to find that two of their own who were standing behind them had already fallen.

George, the center of everyone's ire, felt the adventurers' eyes on him. He pulled his spear from a third target and looked at the remaining men.

Plop!

The sound of their friend's corpse falling to the ground struck them like a hammer.

Who would have thought that in such a short period of time, they would lose half their men?

Filled with panic, fear and anger, their eyes reddened.

They could no longer deny that they had picked the wrong mark; messed with someone they shouldn't.

But things were what they were. Now, if they wanted to live, they could only take the risk and give it their all.

The remaining adventurers raised their weapons and charged towards George.

It was right then that Celia, who was behind them, lowered her right hand. A string of runes flashed before her, indicating the completion of a spell.

The next moment, the ground beneath the feet of the adventurers morphed into a swamp and swallowed them whole.

"Damn it, I can't move."

They struggled with all their might, but it only led to them sinking deeper.

"This woman was pulling our leg from the start!"

The strength and scale of this spell all but proved the true level of Celia's magic.

Recalling the failed Lv.2 Spell and the weak fireball, the pieces finally clicked.

All of it was just an act.

The remaining adventurers also came to the same conclusion lashed out in anger.

"Just you wait. When I get free, I'm gonna kill you!"

"You little b*tch. You're never getting away with this!"

All of a sudden, a large shadow loomed over them. It was George.

The adventurers lifted their heads, and their gazes met with the cold tip of a spear. The threat of death instantly extinguished their flames of anger.

At that moment, only fear remained in their hearts.

"No, no, please let me go. I promise I won't do it again."

"Don't come any closer! Help, help, help—"

"I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. Just let me go and I'll swear my loyalty…"

Their despicable faces bounced off the shiny tip of the spear.

George ignored their please. And like the grim reaper, he brandished his spear and ended their lives.

Battle finally over, George sheathed his spear and turned towards Celia.

At that, Celia put on her magic gloves and with practiced ease, began to clean up the battlefield using magic.