DARK FOREST

Alex looked at Victor with curiosity. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Victor sighed and pointed to his potions.

"I need some herbs to keep making potions. Normally, I would hire adventurers to do this or just buy it from a merchant. But I can't do that now because I am busy selling the potions. So if you can do it for me, I might even employ you in the future," Victor explained.

"So I need to find these herbs for you?" He asked Victor.

"Yes. Specifically the star root. It is the root of a plant that emits a faint star light. The stalk itself is useless, but the root can be used to make healing potions. I will give you 10 Silver coins for every root you can find," Victor said.

His eyes gleamed. Each Silvecoin could buy him a meal, so 10 Silvercoins would last him and Aella two days. He would just have to find 5 Glimmer roots and he would be good for 10 days.

"Where can I find star roots?" He asked Victor.

Dark Forest," Victor said solemnly.

Alex's eyes lost their gleam instantly. Dark Forest was the forest bordering Lont, the city they were in. It was full of dangerous monsters that could rip adults to shreds. Moreover, there were some beasts that could even use magic called magical beasts. He would become food for these beasts instantly.

Victor saw this and assured him, "I know it might seem dangerous, and it is. But the star roots grow on the outskirts of the forest, and there shouldn't be any magical beasts there. Any beasts should be killed by the guild adventurers. You would only have a problem if you ventured in too deep."

Alex thought about it for a minute. He knew that the money he could get would help him immensely. He looked at Victor.

"How many roots do you think I can find?" He asked Victor.

"If you are looking for an hour, you should find around 15 roots. They grow around each other," he said.

"How often do you set up shop here?" He asked Victor.

"Very often. Are you going to do it?" Victor asked him.

"Yes."

"Remember. Go with a target. Don't be greedy. Don't risk your life," Victor warned.

Alex went back to the shack to prepare for the job. He didn't have many possessions, but he had one knife to guard against the world.

He took the knife out of the sole cabinet in the room. Aella was still sleeping, so he did it quietly. He didn't want to tell her what he was going to do because she would worry for his safety. He took his knife and left the shack quickly.

He then went towards the outskirts of the forest. The shack that Alex and Aella lived in was in the slums. It was the closest area to the forest. The Adventure Guild was next to the forest because of its proximity. It made monster subjugations more convenient. He walked to the city walls that stood between the city and Dark Forest.

The gates were open because it was day, and there were no guards at the exit. Most of the guards were stationed at the inner wall that guarded the city, They only had enough to shut the gate in case a monster breakout occurred.

He walked out of the gate into the outskirts of the forest. The land right outside the city was barren because of the battles fought against previous monster breaks. So he would have to walk to outer area of the forest.

By the time he got to the forest, it was blazing hot. The sun was just starting to dip from the middle of the sky. He wiped his hands free of the sweat and let out a breath of air.

"Let's do this. At least 15." He muttered to himself. He had a basket strapped to his side to collect the herbs. But the basket was very old and clearly almost garbage.

He walked into the forest, giving him shade from the sun. He looked around for objects. There was a lot of grass that grew pretty tall so it obstructed his line of sight. It was going to be a very painful search.

After around 5 minutes of aimlessly wandering around, he finally saw a shimmering light in the grass a few feet away. He walked towards it and saw what he was looking for.

The plant was around half a foot tall, and it exuded a soft star light. He took his knife out and started prodding at the soil around it. It was very soft, so he was able to dig out some with his knife. He then gently pulled the plant out. The root was emitting the same light as the stalk. He smiled and put the plant in his bag.

He looked around to see if there were any plants around the one he found. He tried since Victor said that star roots grew around each other. He was right. He saw two star roots clinging to each other less than 5 meters away.

He quickly went to the plants and dug them out. Over the course of the next hour, he found 23 star roots including the first 3.

He looked around to see if there were any more when he heard a snarl. He turned around slowly towards the source of the sound. He saw a wolf 10 meters away from him, eyeing him. The wolf had saliva dripping out of its jaw.

"I am dead ",,.....