Chapter 61: Change of Mission

"Why don't you just abandon this mission? It's just some points after all."

Nicola had made up her mind, and no matter what we said, she wasn't willing to give up this opportunity. 

"As for the journey ahead, you don't need to worry about me. You just go to Crescent City and wait for me. As long as everything goes smoothly here, I'll quickly catch up to our destination and meet you!"

Even so, just thinking about the two of us traveling alone, Cyra was still reluctant. After all, she had never been confident in my abilities, and even I myself lacked confidence. Most of my magic was only effective against dark creatures. If we encountered other types of opponents, my sloppy swordsmanship would be inadequate to deal with them.

"Why don't we have Elara open the entrance to Edenmere above our heads? We can go back to Edenmere from here and wait for you, how about that?"

Saying this, Cyra suddenly thought she had a good idea.

"Yeah, why do we need to travel ourselves? Can't we just open an exit in Edenmere directly above Crescent City's sky?"

"You really are creative! Unfortunately, that is completely impossible. Didn't you hear Elara's complaints? The material stockpile for the formations is almost depleted!" 

I shook my head and said.

The entrance and exit of Edenmere used to be fixed in one location, rarely changing positions. But recently, for various reasons, the entrance had been frequently relocated, most recently moved by Elara to the northern border. The formation materials needed to power the entrance were nearly depleted. If we wanted to return to Edenmere, we could only take the northern route, leaving no room for waste.

Moreover, specifying the exact exit location required an angel at the destination to provide positioning through a spiritual link. Otherwise, the margin of error would be huge. Precisely because there were no angels left in the Sage Council, Cyra's suggestion was simply impossible.

"You don't need to worry too much. From here, it will take at most one or two days of flying to reach Crescent City. The route isn't desolate, so we basically won't encounter any danger!"

Nicola didn't care about Cyra's concerns at all. She simply packed her belongings and flew out the window. Since the journey was so far, she had to leave early, afraid of losing track of Aria again.

"This girl, she just rushed off like that and abandoned us!"

We saw the black speck in the sky wave at us, then quickly disappear northward. I could only sigh and persuade Cyra.

"Accept reality! Don't worry, you're the main character now, so you probably won't die! Besides, didn't you used to rumbling about defeating monsters and leveling up? Now's your chance, and the one who rushed ahead is gone. Aren't you excited?"

"I feel more shocked than excited. The world is really too dangerous!"

Although Cyra said this, she seemed to think my words made some sense, so she changed her tune.

"Then how about we find some low-level monsters to practice on along the way?"

The so-called low-level monsters referred to the scattered lesser monsters roaming human lands. These monsters had various elemental attributes and were not necessarily all dark creatures. Compared to dark elementals, monsters of other elements were fewer in number and had tamer natures, not the type to attack humans unprovoked. 

However, they shared one common trait - a lack of intelligence. Nicola and I had killed quite a few of them while on missions in Norvale before. This had led Cyra to suspect that we had relied on these monsters to reach the six wings.

Although it was later proven unlikely, Cyra clearly hadn't given up on the idea.

"Alright, even if it doesn't help with level up, you can at least practice your combat skills and gain experience."

It was rare for Cyra to take the initiative to improve herself, so of course I wouldn't object.

So it was decided that we would first go to the Adventurer's Guild to cancel the mission.

However, things did not go smoothly.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but before that I must remind you..."

After checking my ID card and records, the staff member contacted some other place for a long time through a magic communication device. Finally, he apologized and told me:

"According to the Adventurer's Guild's rules, since the claims you previously submitted is currently under serious investigation by the headquarters, your account is now under review. During this period, not only can you not continue to take missions, but if you commit any act of bad credit, your account will be temporarily suspended, your identity level will be lowered, and you will be fined double points until the investigation results come out for further processing."

"So strict?"

I was instantly dumbfounded. The claims he mentioned naturally referred to the carriage rental incident.

Previously in Makalan City, Nicola had killed the carriage driver Carl. She swiftly resolved her grievance, but I had to bear the consequences - because the carriage was rented for free under my name!

Even though the actual situation was that Carl had attempted to assassinate us, so he brought it upon himself, the Adventurer's Guild didn't know this. From their perspective, Carl's death was an unwarranted loss of an employee, so they naturally needed to conduct a thorough investigation.

It was for this reason that the last time I took a mission here, I also submitted a claim detailing what happened, including burial site of Carl, Carl's hidden identity, the grievance, and the carriage left behind in Makalan City. All of this needed time for verification.

The Guild's handling of the matter was understandable. It was just that it happened to coincide with my need to abandon the mission. Losing points was still okay, but if my account was really suspended and my level downgraded, that would be quite distressing for me.

"Then let me think about it some more..." 

I answered worriedly left the counter. The high-end status hadn't been enjoyed for long before being reverted, which I couldn't bear. And to have my account suspended on top of that! But if I really continued with the mission, I lacked the confidence. If something happened to Yulanda without proper protection, the situation would become even more troublesome.

As I wandered around the Guild, I unexpectedly ran into the very person herself.

"Oh, what a coincidence. Didn't you say you'd come here to regroup tomorrow?" 

Yulanda walked in from outside, almost bumping right into me. Upon seeing me, she happily said, "But it's good timing. Since the situation has changed, I need to modify the mission information. If you're here, then I don't need to make another trip...But where are your other two companions?"

Modifying the mission information was a lifesaver for me, as changes to the mission details would automatically void the previously accepted mission, naturally resolving my issue of bad credit.

However, this was not the time to focus on such matters, because Yulanda did not come alone. With her was a red-haired young man who seemed very familiar. It wasn't until he approached that I finally recognized the long-unseen Brennan!

"Feliciana, it really is you! I thought Yulanda's description of the blue-haired angel sounded so familiar!"

Brennan had clearly also recognized me, his face full of surprise as he said, "By the way, where's Nicola? I heard you gained another angel companion, so who is it?"

"They're not here. Actually, why are you in a place like this? How did you two become acquainted?"

Cyra was still at the palace continuing her tour, with Cysper accompanying her. Those two had been getting along quite well recently. However, I wasn't worried, because their relationship was surely just one of similar interests! As for the sort of situation Nicola was concerned about, that was completely impossible.

Rather, on Brennan's side, if he was here, then there should be someone else here too...

"What about Adrian? Didn't he leave Norvale with you? How come I don't see him?"

I recalled the note left for me previously said they had gone to rescue Vivianne. But now I encountered Brennan here, so what was Vivianne's current situation?

There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I struggled to find a suitable entry point.

"It would be better if you two knew each other. We actually came here for this very matter!"

Yulanda also didn't rush to process the mission modification. Seeing how familiar I seemed with Brennan, she happily pulled me aside to a corner and began to slowly explain.

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is that we now have new information about the companion we previously asked you to rescue, and it's very likely she's still alive!"

"What's the bad news?" I quickly asked, a foreboding feeling arising in my heart.

"The bad news is that another person who set out from the Astralrealm Kingdom to rescue her - that is, Brennan's companion - has fallen into danger because of this. Moreover, the current situation is rather complex. Perhaps it's not just a rescue, but may also involve exploring unknowns. The difficulties we face may not be limited to the Phoenix. It is precisely for this reason that I had to come to the Guild to modify the mission requirements..."

"Brennan's companion?"

Upon hearing this, there was no way I couldn't understand who Yulanda was referring to as the so-called "bird egg retriever."