CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 209: PREPARING FOR BATTLE!!!

How rare and expensive magical equipment with special effects are; before becoming a professional, Xia Nan had somewhat of an understanding through adventurers’ boastful chats at the tavern.

But he truly realized its value after his trip to Neum, when he provided the main materials for forging and used some of them to offset the corresponding craft fees, still spending almost half his fortune, around 500 Gold, to barely make a piece of Good (Green) quality equipment.

No doubt, even the most ordinary enchanted equipment would easily fetch a four-figure price on the market.

If the enchantment effect is better and the quality rises a few Levels, five figures, even six figures is certain.

It’s just that this Level of equipment clearly isn’t going to circulate in the market.

Sometimes Xia Nan wondered, when he first crossed into this world, without even having a clear grasp of the concepts of "professionals" and "adventurers", in such an ordinary goblin nest, facing a Bear Goblin just barely having reached adulthood.

He actually managed to drop an accessory with defense magic, auto-charging, a proper Green—"Dead Line" ring.

Isn’t it a bit too lucky?

But then thinking back, crossing over itself is an event with nearly zero probability, and it happened to him anyway, a bit of good luck is reasonable.

Plus, with the Destiny Ring in his possession, who knows if the Goddess of fortune is watching over him, there’s no need to think too much, just take steady steps forward.

Meanwhile, the discussion about magical equipment seems to have sparked the interest of Vireis and Cash, who are now fiercely debating whether to buy an enchanted weapon first or get a set of high-Level armor after saving up.

Not planning on joining their conversation.

Xia Nan’s eyes shifted slightly, gazing towards the other side of the campfire.

Mint was sitting alone in the corner, knees drawn up, staring vacantly.

Her left hand gently fondling the light green teardrop-shaped earring.

Noticing Xia Nan’s gaze, she suddenly snapped back to reality, her left hand naturally dropping from her ear to her knee.

"What’s up?" She asked with some confusion in her tone.

"Nothing." Xia Nan shook his head, still staring at the girl’s left ear, "The earring is beautiful, was it given by your mentor?"

Clearly not expecting him to ask that, Mint’s expression became momentarily stunned, falling silent for a moment.

Then she squeezed out a faint smile:

"No, it’s from a very good friend of mine."

"An adventurer, too?"

"Yes." Mint again lifted her left hand to stroke the earring, "I’ll go see her once this task is done."

"That’s good."

Just following the conversation casually, and once the task is done, he’ll bid farewell to everyone, not intending to probe further, thus ending the topic.

The night gradually deepened.

Despite encountering an unusually high number of beast attacks along the way, after setting up camp, it seemed to revert back to the original appearance of the Mist Forest’s outskirts.

Xia Nan slept soundly throughout the first half of the night.

Until close to dawn when he was awakened for night watch, he hadn’t faced a single attack.

The night was long, especially in a setting like this without any entertainment options and needing to be vigilant of surrounding dangers.

Moreover, after just a few hours of sleep, his extraordinary Constitution had fully restored his stamina, and he was mentally refreshed.

Sleepiness wasn’t even a thing.

So he sat by the campfire, staring into the flames, allowing his mind to wander.

On the other side, accompanying Xia Nan for the second half of the night watch, was Vireis.

—Since the Night Wolf task, due to secret fears of his strength, Xia Nan hadn’t been alone on night watch for a long time.

Now, this woman with Zor Elf and human blood both coursing through her veins, stood at the edge of the camp not far away, with an interesting smile on her face, gazing at something.

It was a delicate, small spider web woven between two branches.

Realizing what she was looking at, Xia Nan quickly withdrew his gaze.

Darkness, Zor, spider web...

These elements gathered together are enough to make any creature on this continent aware of the divinity concerned, cautiously wary.

Spider Queen, Chaos Weaver, Lord of Greed, Mother of Darkness...

From the Bottomless Abyss, the spider goddess:

—"Rose."

Even if he could tell that the Zor Elf hybrid in front of him was absolutely not a God Favored, nor related to the Priest profession, a few low level adventurers like them would basically never attract the goddess’s attention.

But out of caution, Xia Nan wisely refrained from disturbing Vireis, who was idly observing the spider web.

Since he knows clearly that being noticed by this goddess who enjoys plotting and weaving destiny like a spider’s web, cruel and fickle... in a sense, would likely not be beneficial to him right now.

"Have you been to the Dark Territory?"

As Xia Nan forcibly shifted his gaze, compelling himself to redirect his attention, Vireis’s voice suddenly reached his ears.

Even though the thought of possibly being noticed by the goddess made him slightly resistant, he hesitated for a moment, then pursed his somewhat dry lips, replying:

"Not yet."

Dark Territory isn’t a specific place like River Valley Town, Neum City, or Sevia Kingdom.

It’s a comprehensive system beneath the surface, comprising tunnels, water veins, grottoes, cavern systems, and numerous subterranean organisms spanning the entire continent.