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nJelia leaned in close, whispering in Ali’s ear, “Why hasn’t he mentioned saving his companions even once?”

nIt was as though a veil of fog had been instantly lifted, and Ali abruptly understood why she had no desire to intervene.

nA reward of one to two hundred gold coins was not a trivial amount, even for a level 3 magus, for whom such a sum could be put to significant use.

nHad it been any other adventurer, they likely would have already called upon their companions, ready to set out together.

nTo them, subhumans were no different from wild beasts; killing a werewolf was no different from slaying a dog, aside from the former posing more of a danger.

nMoreover, all Ali could see in Gick’s eyes was hatred and anger.

nLikely, these emotions were largely due to the loss of goods.

nShe no longer had the desire to investigate the reasons behind the subhumans’ presence in the area, for she was well aware that by their actions, the subhumans had effectively sentenced themselves to death.

nEven if Ali had declined this quest today, Gick would have sought out other adventurers.

nSomeone would eventually take action.

nAfter a moment of reflection, when Ali looked up again, she had managed to conceal all her previous emotions.

n“How many of those subhumans did you see?” Ali asked.

n“Five or six, but each one was armed, and a few even had half-suits of armor.”

n“Where and when were you attacked?”

n“It happened less than three kilometers north of the village. We were coming from Carola, heading for Rodel. As you know, Rodel is quite a favorable city for itinerant merchants. With the right eye for business, one always stands to make a profit.”

nGick paused, pondering for a moment, before continuing, “It was around nine in the morning. My two companions and I were in a carriage, making our way when those beasts sprang from the roadside. Poor Ampla was struck first, blood everywhere!”

nCarola is a small city located several dozen kilometers north of the village, even smaller than Breeze City, with a population of about ten thousand.

n“What goods were you carrying?”

n“Some herbs and various cheap mana materials, all ingredients for low-level magic potions. We were hoping to sell them at the Rodel marketplace, where there are plenty of buyers for such items.”

nRodel is a gathering place for a significant number of adventurers.

nSome capable adventurers, if they have a few recipes, often opt to purchase materials themselves and then seek out a herbalist they know to make magic potions.

nThis approach can be about thirty percent cheaper than buying the potions ready-made.

n“One last question, what do you plan to do now without your goods?”

nWithout his goods and without a single gold coin to his name, this merchant couldn’t even make it back to Carola.

n“I can only take it one step at a time. But, I absolutely cannot forgive those beasts! They must pay the price!”

nAlright, Ali couldn’t fault Gick for his hatred; he wasn’t in the wrong.

nPerhaps Ali didn’t favor this sentiment, but it was indeed the mindset of the majority, sometimes even her own.

n“What if, and I’m just saying what if, your companions are still alive? What then?” Ali queried.

n“To be honest, I think the chances are slim. Poor Ampla, he was the first to fall. I saw with my own eyes those beasts slashing his chest with a knife, blood spilling onto the ground, forming a large pool. I don’t know about Jera’s fate, but I doubt it’s any good.”

n“Those beasts have no humanity!”

n“Of course, if they are still alive, please, I beg of you to bring them back! Though caring for two wounded would be burdensome, I can’t abandon them.”

nAli nodded, satisfied with his response.

nShe patted Jelia on the head and stood up.

n“I’ll take on your quest,” Ali declared, slinging her broadsword onto her back and straightening the hilt.

n“Agreed, then. The goods are mine,” she affirmed.

n“Yes, I am a man of my word after all.”

n“That’s settled then.”

nAli beckoned Jelia with a wave of her hand, “Let’s set off then, to earn some extra money.”

nThroughout the conversation, Ali never questioned why Gick sought her out specifically.

nThe answer wasn’t hard to deduce, returning to the earlier point about lone wanderers; if they’re not out of their minds, they must possess certain skills, especially someone like Ali, who was accompanied by a child.

nWithout considerable capabilities, Ali wouldn’t have survived up to this point.

nYoung female slaves were always favored by nobles with particular tastes in the slave markets, fetching unimaginable prices for an ordinary person.

n…

nUpon leaving Oak Village, Ali and Jelia used a map to pinpoint the location of the attack described by Gick.

nInvestigating the site of the ambush was the sole entry point if they were to track the subhumans’ movements.

nAli’s current hope was that these subhumans weren’t trained but mere bandits, as that would leave behind a trail of clues for them to follow.

nOtherwise, with so much time having passed, there wouldn’t be many leads left.

n“Ali, why did you agree to take on this quest? I don’t like that man,” Jelia voiced, trailing closely behind Ali.

n“If Howard were in this situation, he wouldn’t have run away alone.”

nAli countered, “How do you know he wouldn’t?”

n“Because Howard would never abandon Jelia,” Jelia stated confidently.

n…

nThe information Gick provided was sparse, yet identifying the location of their ambush was not challenging.

nFirstly, there was only one winding path from Carola to Oak Village, so the site of the ambush had to be along that route, deviating at most by a few meters from the road—it couldn’t be far off.

nSecondly, Gick provided an approximate distance and the time of the attack.

nUsing Gick’s movement speed and the time, one could retroactively verify the accuracy of the distance, and even gauge the condition under which Gick made his estimate.

nOf course, this was a complex task.

nAlthough Ali was capable of such analysis, it would require a significant amount of time to gather more information about Gick, which would be counterproductive.

nA better approach would be to make a rough estimate and then refine the investigation by adding clues along the way.

nAli and Jelia pressed on relentlessly, and in less than an hour, they came upon a carriage lying by the roadside.

nThe ground was stained with large pools of blood, not yet dry, displaying a vivid and stark red.

nJust approaching it a little, the pungent smell of blood assaulted their nostrils.

nAli frowned and patted Jelia’s hair, signaling her to stop.

nIt seemed they had found the site of Gick’s ambush.

n“Jelia, wait here for me. I’ll check out the situation. When I call you, then you can come,” Ali instructed.

nShe didn’t want Jelia to be overly exposed to the gore, believing it to be detrimental to her growth.

nEncountering such harsh realities too early was not about advanced education; it was forcing maturity.

n“Okay,” Jelia responded, looking around and sniffing the air.

nShe glanced at Ali, gripping the hem of Ali’s clothing.

n“There aren’t any wolves around here, are there?… I can smell the blood.”

nOrcs are known for their exceptionally sharp senses, and though Jelia only partially inherited the orc bloodline, it was concentrated enough to manifest physical traits and abilities typical of orcs.

nThis included extraordinary senses and remarkable physical strength.

nEven though she hadn’t begun her true growth phase, Jelia was already showing signs of the orcish combat prowess.

n“There won’t be any,” Ali reassured her.

nHearing Jelia’s concern, she too scanned their surroundings.

nThe wilderness was unpredictable; she couldn’t guarantee a grey wolf wouldn’t leap out at them.

nMaking promises only to have them broken would lead Jelia to accuse her of lying again.

nConsidering this and taking into account Jelia’s safety, Ali decided to act.

nShe reached into her belt pouch and pulled out a handful of silver powder.

nHolding the powder, she drew a complete circle on the ground, encircling Jelia within it.

nAs she drew, Ali also murmured in a language Jelia had never heard before.

nIt was the pure elf language.

nAs part of the advanced elf lineage, Ali had a comprehensive and more spiritually potent command of the elf language, which inherently contained mana just by being spoken.

nThus, when Ali used the elf language to construct simple spell matrices, she didn’t even need to expend her own mana. .

nThe ambient mana in the air was drawn to the power of the elf language.

nThe moment the circle was completed, ambient mana automatically converged, merging into the silver powder outline.

nUnder Ali’s control, it formed a self-sustaining matrix structure.

n“Do not step out of this circle. This is a simple mana shield. As long as you stay inside, ordinary people or grey wolves won’t be able to break through this protection.”

nUpdated from 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚

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