《Records of Zinc》 Zinc - Character Sheet - E Rank Stats: Name: Zinc Gender: Male Race: Dwelf (Half Drow Elf, Half Mountain Dwarf) Age: 81 Class: Doctor Rank: E Points: 0 Appearance: Grayish skin with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a well-kept beard. His golden eyes filled with wisdom and pierced through the distance. Wavy blue tattoos marked his shoulders and arms while white markings lined up on his face. He wore leather armor and an utility belt where he kept his small items like acupuncture needles and potions. Inventory: Weapons: Amputation Knife, Horse-Slaying Blade Armor: Leather Pants, Leather Wrist Guards, Leather Boots, Utility Belt Coins: 10 Large Copper Skills: Storage:The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Backstory: Parents died because he was born. Because of their unholy union, both sides of the family did not recognize Zinc. Some even cast curses on him, resulting on his cursed body. But he managed to survive and thus, he was abandoned at the foot of an unknown mountain. It was his master, a hermit herbalist, who found him and saved him from certain death. From that point on, Zinc had become the herbalist''s son and disciple. However, Zinc wasn''t as talented as his father. It took him nearly 80 years just to get the basic understanding of medicine down. After many years of training, the herbalist died of old age and frustration. Zinc left the mountains...his home...and set off to explore and experience the world. He vowed to fulfill his late father''s legacy to become a valued healer. Monster Hunting Quest
Task: Monster Hunting Requester: Oldspice Village Quest Rank: C Rewards: 60 Large Copper Coins Description: After issuing a request for help in rescuing some stolen horses, we received a very troubling report over how a monster den somehow set up right next to our village. Many centipede-like creatures seem to inhabit it, as well as some strange and corrupted elves... We''re in desperate need of help, so please clean the monster den!
Nero''s POV It was really early in the morning, the sun was yet to rise. An open-top wagon stood outside the Guild, a couple of horses tied to its front. Nero was the first one from his party to arrive. He placed his shield, spears and bag on the wagon floor and climbed in. The noise woke the wagon driver up from his slumber. He turned around and saw Nero making himself comfortable on the wooden seats. "Morning, adventurer! Where to?" "The Oldspice village. My companions should be arriving soon." "Yeah, I was told to take you there. You know what, I''ll just lie down for a bit. Wake me up when you are ready to travel." Lethe''s POV Seeing the wagon outside of the guild, Lethe was quite pleased: no walking required to reach their destination and ample space for napping. It was practically a dream come true. Upon reaching the back of the wagon, she tossed in a bag twice the size of her body containing who knows what and clambered in after it. With a quick greeting to Nero, Lethe found herself a nice corner and laid out her sleeping bag. After making sure the sleeping bag was optimally positioned and her pillow was properly situated, Lethe wormed her way into the bag, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Zinc''s POV As soon as Zinc reached the wagon, the young doctor slowed his pace while he double-checked his bag to see if he had packed everything. He held his hand to his weapons and tightly secured them before arriving before the wagon. When he realized that he was the last to arrive, he scratched his beard embarrassingly. With an apologetic nod, he climbed onto the wagon and found a corner to meditate. Seeing Zinc show up, Nero shook the driver awake and notified him that everyone had arrived. The driver woke with a start and quickly re-positioned himself. Glancing back, he remarked. "All set? Good, let''s go. Haaa!" The driver grabbed a hold of the reins and with a flick of his hands, urged the horses into action. While the adventurers made their way to the village, Zinc decided to break the silence with a simple introduction causing Nero to look up and Lethe to stir from her sleep. "Hello friends, it''s about time I properly introduced myself. My name is Zinc. I''m a dwelf...an half mountain dwarf and half drow elf. I studied eastern medicine since young and I have some skills with the blade. What about you?" Zinc replied as he glanced over at his fellow party members. Nero''s POV "I''m Nero. They say that my race are descendants of the dragons. But nobody knows for sure. I am quite handy in a fight.", Nero replied, "And this is Lethe, a summoner." Lethe''s POV Feeling that Nero''s response was adequate she was about to go back to sleep when Lethe noticed that Zinc seemed to smell slightly of herbs and chefy-ness. This reminded her of the fact that she had only eaten an entire loaf of bread and a generous helping of steamed veggies that morning, which was certainly not enough to sustain a young(?), growing(?) rabbitkin such as herself. Deciding that a proper investigation was necessary, Lethe squirmed her way over to Zinc to confirm her suspicions. Finding that, that had done nothing to help confirm anything, she decided just to ask. "Chef?" she questioned him, her eyes hiding a hint of expectation and possible excitement behind the sleepiness that perpetually seemed to plague them. Just thinking about food had made Lethe hungry and her stomach gave a rather terrifying yet quiet roar. Zinc''s POV "No, not exactly. My cooking can be considered rudimentary. Of course, it''s not the taste that I focus on but more on the medicinal effects." Zinc shook his head as he explained what the differences between regular cooking and medicinal cooking are. "Oh." Lethe murmured dejectedly as she went back to sleep. With the conversation ended just like that, Zinc awkwardly went back to meditation. Nero''s POV The wagon reached the Oldspice village at noon. The first thing to be noticed was a crowd had gathered at the grounds. People were seen rushing from one place to another. The adventurers got off the wagon when it reached the crowd. Nero paid the driver his dues and the team collected their stuff. While they were disembarking, the village had turned silent. All eyes were drawn towards the newcomers and some excited whispers started originating from them. Nero stepped towards the villagers and brandished his guild card in a dramatic fashion. "We are from the Adventurers Guild. Is the village chief present here?" "Adventurers! We were wondering if anyone would even turn up.", an old man had stepped forward. "We were attacked last night. Two of our farmers have died!" Lethe''s POV Lethe had still been recovering from the blow that Zinc wasn¡¯t actually as chefy as she had first believed, and now she was struck again when she saw the villagers and heard their situation. Feeling that now was the time, she grabbed her enormous bag and pulled out an inordinate amount of orange carrot cookies that she proceeded to hand out to the villagers. Though the cookies were a bit on the small side, the villagers seemed rather touched. Making it back to the Village Chief, Lethe approached him and gave him a solemn *pat pat* saying, "We here. It gon'' be ''kay." Hearing that, the Chief felt immensely relieved and struggled to hold back his tears. Though somewhere in the back of his mind he was wondering how the heck this tiny rabbitkin was supposed to do anything against such a fearsome enemy. Following that moment the Village Chief, who introduced himself as Chief Wedgemore, brought them into his home and gave them a more in-depth rundown of the situation. Zinc''s POV "It was terrible. Larry and Joe were killed in such a brutal way. There were two distinctive piercings on each body and greenish fluid flowing out of it." Chief Wedgemore described with frantic gestures. "Poisoned." Zinc remarked as he had some experience with centipedes in the past. "Yeah, I believe so too." The old man nodded in agreement. "But the sizes and shapes of the wounds are huge. It reminds me of a childhood story I used to hear from my grandfather. He described of a monstrosity living in the forests and caves nearby who went by the name of Latreille - the Hundred-Foot Dragoness. Legends foretold of Latreille as an insect-like subspecies of dragon with poisonous fangs, long curvy body, and armored scales that can block even mythril. I thought it was just a fairy tale meant to deter children from playing in the woods at night...but to think.... Do you think whoever killed the two farmers last night were descendants of Latreille?" "Possibly. But no worries, we''ll find a way to handle it. For now, show me where the wounded are. I''m a doctor, perhaps I''ll be of assistance." Zinc replied as he efficiently changed the subject. "Ah yes, right over there. That''s where our village doctor - Kaleb - is attending the wounded. Just tell him I sent you." Chief Wedgemore replied as he pointed towards a roughly built tent. Zinc thanked the old man before headed towards the tent. "Is anyone there?" Zinc asked as he lifted up the covers and entered the tent. He was met with the smell of blood and the stench of medicine. Looking around, he saw a middle-aged man with brown hair and ragged beard standing up to his declaration. "I''m Kaleb. How may I help you?" The man wiped his hands and stared at Zinc suspiciously. "Chief Wedgemore sent me. Do you need any help?" "You? Do you understand medicine?" "Absolutely. I''m a practitioner of eastern medicine." "Eastern medicine eh? Can you bandage?" "Yes." "Great, come over and help me wrap this man up." Kaleb smiled as he motioned the dwelf towards a young woman with a gash across her arm. Zinc sat down beside Kaleb and began wrapping some clean bandages around the wound as the village doctor held up the arm in position. Meanwhile.... Nero''s POV "So, how many of these insects exist?", Nero asked, "And where are they coming from?" "We had one insect attack us last night. It had scampered off as soon it attacked. Our hunters have been seeing their tracks for a few days now, but they have never come near the village before. Another adventurer had said that she had seen four large ones inside their cave.", Chief Wedgemore replied, "Do you think they will come back?" "I can''t say for sure, but I think they will. We should make the village more secure by then.", Nero answered. He stood up to go and scout the village and its neighboring terrain. Lethe''s POV Lethe had wandered off at some point while the Chief was talking to investigate the damage in the surrounding area and maybe set up some traps to ward off any future attacks. While out and about she ran into Bob, one of the other farmers. He stood looking out over his broken corral, utterly miffed. ¡°Took¡¯em, dey took¡¯em ¡®gain. Can¡¯t dey just leave duh horses lone?¡± ¡°Mayb¡¯ they find ¡®em tasty?¡± commented Lethe. Bob just stared at here like she was crazy. ¡°Ain¡¯t nobody like eatin¡¯ horse meat. It¡¯s duh last resort of any meat source, Dey have t¡¯much muscle.¡± Nodding to express her understanding Lethe then bid Bob adieu and headed out to set up some tripwires to form an alarm system around the village¡¯s perimeter. And a few other fun surprises and traps for good measure. Nero''s POV Nero returned from his uneventful scouting trip and met up with the others at the chief''s house. They had decided their strategy to combat these foes. The villagers had been told to gather their horses at the edge of the village. Traps had been set and the adventurers and the hunters lay in wait for the creatures to make their appearance. Lethe''s POV As night approached with still no enemy movement everyone became rather restless. Deciding that just waiting around was boring, Lethe summoned Martin instructing him to use his Detect Presence skill and let her know if/when their foes appeared. She then proceeded to scramble up a nearby tree so she would be able to literally get a jump on them upon their arrival. Not long after Lethe had settled into position, Martin sent her a signal to let her know that there was a party of 4 enemies fast approaching. By some bizarre stroke of luck (Lethe chose to avoid the possibility that it was skill) they had managed to avoid all of the tripwires. Realizing that the others had no idea of what was soon to come, she quickly signaled them to let them know of the incoming enemy. Zinc''s POV After Lethe signaled them that the enemy was coming and that there were four enemies, Zinc motioned for the guards and hunters to get into place while he deftly scrambled forward a few meters and up a tree. The dwelf reached behind him and pulled out his Amputation Knife. He left his Horse-Slaying Blade in the Village Chief''s house since that weapon was mostly used to cleave flesh and crack bone. The Amputation Knife, however, was a single-handed weapon used to attack the joints...perfect for dealing with the centipede-like monsters. Zinc waited, and after a few minutes, he caught sight of the enemies. There was one Falmer, one large Chaurus, and two small Chaurus. The large Chaurus acted as the vanguard while flanked by the two small Chaurus. The three Chaurus protected the Falmer behind them. Zinc waited for the four enemies to walk past him before he leaped from his hiding place and swung his blade at the Falmer. As he fell, he cried out. "Attack!" Nero''s POV Nero rose from the trench that he was lying in, spears equipped. The first thing he noticed was Zinc dropping down towards the Falmer. Deciding to focus on the others, he aimed his spear at the small Chaurus who stood between him and the large insect. The spear flew out of his hand and pierced right through the body of his target. It writhed around in pain for a few seconds before falling down. Hearing its smaller comrade''s screams, the large Chaurus shifted its attention from Zinc to Nero and started hissing angrily. Nero, not the one to waste an opportunity, threw his second spear right at its body. Unfortunately, the fully grown Chaurus had a really thick exoskeleton. The spear was only able to leave a scratch on the Chaurus before it lost its momentum and fell down. Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Nero grabbed his shield and his final spear and charged at his enemy. Lethe''s POV As soon as the other smaller Chaurus reached Lethe''s position, Martin quickly used "Stuck on You" to hold it in place for a split second. This was just enough for Lethe as she dropped from the tree above. By aiming at the chinks in the Chaurus'' exoskeleton and using the extra force generated by gravity Lethe was able to quickly put an end to its sorry life. While the larger Chaurus was distracted by Nero, Lethe took the opportunity to dash in and out aiming quick attacks at the joints that connected its legs to its body. After a few rounds, she severed one of its legs. Zinc''s POV Meanwhile, Zinc managed to land a solid blow on the Falmer, cutting off one of his hands. The hunters and village guards rushed out with bows and spears and aimed at the Falmer. While they overwhelmed the poor creature, Zinc rushed to the aid of his fellow party members. The dwelf arrived behind the large Chaurus and stabbed down. The Amputation Knife pierced through between two scales, pinning the large Chaurus into the ground. As the large Chaurus writhed in pain and tried to free itself, Lethe and Nero moved in for another attack. Nero''s POV With Zinc and Lethe joining in to fight the Chaurus, Nero felt the tide of the fight change in his favor. He grabbed the head of the distracted creature with his two free hands so that it wouldn''t be able to bite anyone. Now with a bit more breathing room, he calmly found the joints using the tip of his spear and started stabbing at it. With the Chaurus being unable to move and attack, Lethe and Nero were able to stab and hack it to death in the space of a few minutes. Lethe''s POV After defeating the scouting party, Zinc, Nero, and Lethe made the decision to rest for the remainder of the night and head for the cave at first light in attempts to catch the remainder of the creatures in the cave unawares. Chief Wedgemore graciously offered his home as accommodations for the weary adventurers, who gladly accepted. Zinc''s POV The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. While the villagers and the other adventurers rest for the night, Zinc asked the Village Chief for a few bundles of rope and a knapsack. He grabbed the two smaller Chaurus and beheaded both of them. Then, he tied them by their tails and slung them over a tree branch in order to bleed them out. While that was going on, Zinc grabbed his Amputation Knife and stabbed into the joint between the head and the first scale. With a couple of wrenches, he ripped the head clean off. Then, he proceeded to slice of the tail and cut the rest into cross-sectional pieces. Poking through the flesh with the handle of his knife, Zinc de-fleshed the large Chaurus. After roughly cleaning the flesh from the blood and the guts, Zinc stuffed the flesh into the knapsack and dragged it over to the village. At the village, he started a fire and brought over a few wooden poles. Skewering the Chaurus flesh, Zinc placed the skewer on top of the large fire pit. Once the cooking was done, Zinc distributed the meat to his party as well as to the other villagers. At first, they looked at Zinc as if he was crazy. Though the meat smells good, why would they eat meat from a poisonous creature? Zinc, as if knowing what was going through their minds, calmly assured them that the Chaurus meat was free from poison and definitely edible. He was sure of it...90% sure of it...80% sure of it...nevertheless, to prove to the others, Zinc took the first bite. Seeing Zinc chow down on the meat, the others joined in soon after. Once the meal was finished, Lethe set down a few more tripwire traps before everyone went to sleep. When morning came, Zinc woke up the earliest and walked towards the tree where the two small Chaurus hang. Zinc checked the two bodies and nodded that they were sufficiently drained of their bodily fluids. Zinc released the two corpses and dragged them over into the village. After discussing with the Village Chief about what he intended for the bodies, the chief nodded in agreement. Zinc hung the two bodies up where the sun shone the brightest. He had intended to dry the bodies before crushing them into powder and stored for later use. While he waited for the bodies to dry, the rest of the party woke up. Nero''s POV Nero woke up after a good night''s rest, feeling sharp and energetic. They would raid the cave in a few hours. Last night''s battle hadn''t done his spears any favors. One of the spear heads had cracked upon contact with the Chaurus. He would have to replace it soon. Not feeling as energetic as before, he lumbered out of his room to go and meet his teammates and have their breakfast. Lethe''s POV After what Lethe considered a rather disappointing breakfast of cream of wheat and dried meats, she, Nero and, Zinc gathered their supplies and headed out. Sebastian, the brave young lad who had been one of the first to witness the creatures, served as their guide. Along their careful trek towards the cave, they noticed obvious signs of recent activity. There was increasingly damaged underbrush as they approached closer; the Falmers and their little pets were definitely up to something. Approximately a mile from the cave''s entrance, Sebastian stopped, gesturing towards the direction of the cave. He had no plans nor desires to go any closer. Lethe figured that was probably for the best. The most likely thing the boy would end up being if he tagged along was bug chow, and Lethe was certain his parents would not approve. The adventures, however, had no choice in the matter really and continued their journey forwards. As they traversed that last mile, they readied themselves mentally and physically for the tricky battle to come. Lethe, Nero, and Zinc stopped just short of the cave entrance where they saw two larger and one smaller Chaurus on guard. Zinc''s POV Once the party woke up and had a light breakfast, they ventured towards the cave under the guidance of the young boy - Sebastian. Near the entrance of the cave, Zinc handed his Horse-Slaying Blade for Nero to use. The Horse-Slaying Blade was a large blade at 7 feet in length with 2 feet of handle and 5 feet of blade. Although it will not be able to cleave through a large Chaurus''s scales, it can at least provide enough force to knock them away without breaking. Zinc, on the other hand, took out his Amputation Knife and steadied himself for the upcoming raid. By the entrance, the party spotted two large Chaurus and one small Chaurus patrolling about. After some discussion on how to proceed, Zinc decided to first lure one or two out and ambush them in the forest. While Sebastian was sent back and the other two hid behind a couple of trees, Zinc rushed towards the edge of the forest and threw a rock towards the cave. PIAK! The rock smashed into the cave, causing a startling disturbance. The three Chaurus glanced at each other as if communicating on what to do before two of them - the small one and a large one - ventured into the forest to investigate. As they went deeper into the forest, Zinc circled around back to the party and discussed the plan. He and Nero will handle the large one while Lethe handles the small one. With that said, the plan was put into motion. As soon as the two Chaurus moved into range, Zinc leaped from the tree he was positioned in and landed on the back of the large Chaurus. As the large Chaurus squirmed to throw off the attacker on its back, Zinc deftly swiped his knife and severed a leg from the joints. Meanwhile, both Nero and Lethe sprang into action. Nero''s POV Nero had learnt a lot from his fight last night. He had to attack the gaps between the Chaurus scales to actually inflict damage. Zinc''s Horse-Slaying Blade was a much better weapon against these particular enemies, as he would be able to deal much greater damage from a closer range, when compared to his spears. To add to that, with Zinc having achieved a great amount of success in catching the creature off guard, it would be a much easier fight this time around. Nero rushed at the distracted Chaurus and grabbed at its head with his top arms. With the opponents main weapon neutralized, he began to slice at its weak spots. He was able to get through the armor in his first try and dealt a vital strike immediately. The Chaurus lost its strength really quickly and went limp with a few more strikes. After confirming that the Chaurus had perished, Nero decided to check out how Lethe was faring against her opponent. Lethe''s POV Following the same pattern as last night, Lethe had positioned herself in a tree and coordinated with Martin to quickly take down the smaller Chaurus. Hearing the commotion, the remaining larger Chaurus rushed over to help its companions; but it was already too late, the others were dead. Enraged, the Chuarus went straight for Martin, the closest enemy. Startled but not panicked Martin was able to evade the Chaurus'' blow. Taking advantage of its focus on Martin, Lethe and Zinc swiftly attacked its joints to impede its maneuverability. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the damage it had received and his astonishing might, Nero was once again able to halt the Chaurus in its tracks and strike a fatal blow with Zinc''s Horse-Slaying Blade. After a quick break to catch their breath, the party forged ahead into the cave. They had traveled what seemed like half a mile when Lethe motioned for the others to stop as Martin had sensed an enemy up ahead. Zinc''s POV Zinc walked up a peered towards the distance. With the dim light from the surrounding flora coupled with his innate dark vision, Zinc could make out a small Chaurus patrolling up ahead. Zinc held his hand up and motioned for the others to stay put while he dealt with the enemy. As soon as the small Chaurus turned its back, Zinc rushed forward and threw out his knife. Last night, after dismantling the large Chaurus, he had a pretty good idea of the physiology of the monster. Immediately, he could ascertain the main nerves of the Chaurus as well as the location of its hindbrain. The Amputation Knife flew into the unsuspecting small Chaurus, piercing its hindbrain, and causing immediate brain death. This was a technique that combined acupuncture and cooking called "knocking". The small Chaurus didn''t even let out a squeak as it collapsed onto the ground. Zinc walked up to the monster and pulled out his knife...not a single drop of blood flowed out from the piercing wound. Zinc glanced back after confirming his kill and motioned for the others to follow. Soon, they arrived at what seemed to be a large cavern. In it were numerous Chaurus eggs. Beside the eggs, there were two Falmer and one large Chaurus tending to them. Zinc looked back and mouthed. "What should we do now?" Nero''s POV "Attack!", mouthed Nero in reply, and drew out two of his spears. But when he stretched his arms to throw them, the Falmers seemed to notice his presence and moved to confront him. The Falmer who was nearest had reacted a little too late. As he turned to face Nero, he found a spear had been embedded into his chest, and promptly breathed his last. The second Falmer managed to duck the spear throw in the nick of time and had smartly decided to close down the attacker. Unfortunately for Nero, this Falmer wasn''t the only creature that was moving towards him. The large Chaurus had rushed to Nero as soon as the spears had been launched. It barged straight into his body with its entire weight and momentum behind it and managed to knock the adventurer to the ground. The Horse -Slaying Blade had been drawn in the nick of time as Nero used it to keep the fangs of the Chaurus from biting at his face. The two of them were now involved in a wrestling match on the ground, trying to overpower each other. Lethe''s POV Noticing the other Falmer drawing its bow, Lethe and Martin worked in tandem to interrupt its attack. While Martin drew its attention Lethe flanked the Falmer and was able to deal it a decent blow. Now attempting to go after Lethe, the Falmer drew its sword and began to approach only to be briefly stuck in place by Martin''s skill. This caught the Falmer unaware and allowed Lethe to make another strike. Unfortunately, however, the Falmer was quick enough to counter strike and lightly injured Lethe''s right arm. Thankfully, she was left-handed thus able to continue on with the battle. Lethe and Martin went quite a few more rounds with the Falmer before taking it down for good. During the battle, Lethe received a few more superficial wounds but, really, nothing to write home about. While Lethe and Martin had gone for the Falmer Archer, Zinc had gone to aid Nero in taking down the Chaurus. Zinc''s POV Zinc rushed in and amputated one of the Chaurus''s hind legs. Without the support of one of its legs, the large Chaurus stumbled and could not resist Nero as the giant pushed it back. With a powerful force, Nero knocked the large Chaurus onto its back. As it tried to stabilize itself and flip itself over, Zinc moved in and severed the rest of its legs with three quick strokes. Without its legs, the large Chaurus could do nothing except writhe about. Zinc flipped his Amputation Knife and, with both hands, stabbed the knife down and pinned the limbless monster to the ground. Then, Nero moved in and, after a few swipes of the Horse-Slaying Blade, cleaved the large Chaurus in half. Once the monster had died, Zinc pulled out his knife and wiped his knife. He walked up to the mouth of the cavern to check if any more enemies are hiding behind the stalagmites. Seeing none, Zinc rushed over and started grabbing a few of the eggs. Nero''s POV After confirming that the cave contained no more creatures, Nero decided to gather all the Chaurus corpses at the mouth of the cave. The three large Chaurus exoskeletons were the toughest things he had ever seen. Thinking of the armor that could be made from them, he began the process of dismantling the scales. He had grown fond of the Horse-Slaying Blade over the course of this adventure and as he continued with the monotonous task, he began to entertain thoughts of replacing his chipped spear with a similar blade. Lethe''s POV After Zinc had gathered sufficient eggs, Lethe and Martin set about destroying the rest. They separated to search out and crush them to ensure that the Chaurus would not reemerge and once again threaten Old Spice Village. While searching through one of the structures the Falmer had constructed, Lethe found a chest containing three bottles of weak poison, a copper dagger, and 6 Large Coppers. Pocketing them to share with her party members, she continued her mission to seek and destroy until she was certain there wasn''t a single egg left. Zinc''s POV Zinc quickly stuffed more than fifty fist-sized Chaurus eggs into his large backpack. Having stuffed his backpack to the brim, Zinc began helping Lethe destroy the other eggs. While he walked about and smashed a couple of eggs, he noticed that there was another room hidden behind a row of stalagmites. With a curious mind, he squeezed through the stalagmites and entered the room. There, he discovered something amazing. There was a wide pond of greenish liquid with heavy green fog floating above it. Partially-submerged in the center of the pond was a large skeleton of what looked to be a dragon. When Zinc tried to approach the pond, his brain immediately began flashing warning signs. Poison!! Zinc quickly covered his nose and retreated a couple of steps. The green pond was a pond of poisonous acid and the green fog was poisonous gas! It''s amazing how powerful the dragon must have been for its bones to stay so intact even after being submerged in the green fluids for so long. It was even more amazing imagining the creature that killed such a powerful beast. It was then, that Zinc recalled the tale from Chief Wedgemore...the tale of the Hundred-Foot Dragoness - Latreille. Could this dragon skeleton belong to Latreille? No, that can''t be. The skeleton had the structure of a typical winged dragon, but from what he had heard from the Village Chief, Latreille had no wings and was more like a gigantic centipede. Zinc could confirm that the greenish pond was most likely from Latreille...then where was she? And who was the skeleton that laid before him? As Zinc observed the skeleton once more, he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a piece of fabric within the teeth of the monstrosity. The fabric looked like a piece of a map. Having no means of getting it, Zinc could only go back. Once he exited the room, he saw that Lethe and Nero were finished with their work. As Nero handed the Horse-Slaying Blade back to Zinc, the dwelf told them what he had saw and the trio decided to talk to one of the guild staff about it. Maybe it will be continued as another quest. Or maybe the staff will deem it unnecessary to venture any further. Nevertheless, the trio packed up and headed out of the cave. Nero''s POV It was evening by the time the adventurers returned to the village. The villagers started celebrating once they learned that the threat had been eliminated. Chief Wedgemore decided to hold a feast for them at his house as well as arrange transportation back to the city the following morning. Lethe''s POV After enjoying the sumptuous meal, the adventures retired for the evening and enjoyed a good night¡¯s rest. This time after waking, to Lethe''s delight, there was a more luxurious breakfast of sausage, flapjacks, and even fresh fruit! Upon finishing their breakfast Lethe, Zinc, and Nero secured their belongings and bid farewell to the villagers before boarding a wagon to return to headquarters. Medicine Recipe #1 - Chaurus Powder Description: If you ever suffer from a stroke, just take a dose of this powder and your spasms will stop in a couple of minutes. Can relieve (not cure) the poison from some snake bites. Ingredients are limited so it can be expensive. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. Take one pre-dried small Chaurus and crush it into powder.
  2. Dilute the bottle of antidote with the bucket of water and mix well.
  3. As the sun had dried out most of the poison, there are still a bit left, so mix the powder with the diluted antidote to significantly weaken the poison.
  4. After making a caky, doughy mix, let out to dry for a day to temper the poison in order to make it harmless to the body.
  5. Once the mix has been dried again, crush it into powder once more.
  6. Divide the mix into 1 gram dosages.
When giving to a patient, make sure to take with water. Don''t mix beforehand. For snake bites, apply on the wound and bandage. Herbal Recipe #1 - Wolf Lure Description: A highly concentrated vial of lupine grass oil used to attract wolves. The oil is contained in a very small rotect jar in order to preserve the scent and prevent it from leaking out. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. Add half a bottle of water into the iron pot.
  2. Add 10 pieces of lupine grass into the pot of water.
  3. Bring the pot to a boil while slowly stirring the pot.
  4. Cover the pot and let the mixture boil until most of the water had turn into steam.
  5. After a few hours of cooking, pour the reduce mixture onto a piece of coarse cloth.
  6. Make sure to have the coarse cloth draped over a jar before pouring.
  7. Using the coarse cloth as a filter and drain every bit of fluid from the mixture.
  8. Distribute the fluid/oil into ten small rotect jars for preservation.
When using, just unscrew the lid of the rotect jar and throw to a location. Because of the strong scent, wolves will immediately show up so make sure to stay out of the way as soon as possible.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Basic Medicine Making: Lesson #1 – Insect Powder? Location: Zinc''s Shop Attendance Fee: 1 Large Copper Coin Brief Description: Insects have been used as medicine for thousands of years. It has been tested that insects are not only very nutritious but also beneficial in promoting the user¡¯s health, especially their exoskeleton which are rich in chitin. Because of the insects¡¯ unpleasant appearance, medicine makers dry and crush the insects into powder. That way, consumers can use the powder without subconsciously worrying about what it was made out of. What is Chitin? Chitin is a fibrous substance that can also be found in the shells of crabs, shrimp, lobsters, and other shellfish. When consumed, the chitin has been tested to stimulate the immune system of the consumer, relieve pain, lower cholesterol, thin blood, and boost recovery. General Steps:
  1. Sun dry insects, especially poisonous ones as it will remove or at least lessen the effects of the poison.
  2. Once dried, crush until the insects turned to powder.
  3. If you used poisonous insects, you may need to mix the powder with a diluted mix of antidote and water to make a caky, doughy substance in order to further lessen the efficacy of the poison.
  4. Let the mixture dry in the sun once more before crushing the final result into powder.
  5. Distribute the powder in 1 gram dosages.
Note: Careful not to take too much and limit dosage to maximum 3 doses as it would not be beneficial any more and could cause problems. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Uses: Different insects have different uses. Some examples are: More uses of insects in medicine will be introduced in later lessons. Weird Flowers! Quest
Task: Weird Flowers! Requester: Lyra, The Alchemist Quest Rank: E Rewards: 9 Large Copper Coins Description: Some weird rumors reached my ears recently... To the south of Doylors, near the coast, an unusually large amount of very colorful flowers started growing... Ain''t that like, super weird? I mean, bunch of flowers growing right next to the sea? And out of nowhere like that? It''s so weird, so mysterious~ Go there and fetch some of those to me, of as many different colors as you can! I''ll give you some extra rewards if you can find out anything else that is unusual about the region~
Once Zinc was approved to take on the quest given by Lyra the Alchemist, he walked up to the map of Ternus and tried to gauge the distance needed to go from the guild straight to the coast south of Doylors. After some proportional measurements, Zinc deduced that there was about 300 kilometers between the two locations. It will take him about 40 hours straight if he walked at a brisk pace. Maybe longer with the mountain range in the way. After confirming his plan, he quickly left the guild and headed straight for the southern coast. He walked about at a leisure pace and as he crossed the mountains, he stopped here and there to pick up some herbs like mint leaves and wild roots. He had only traveled for 70 km before calling it a day. For dinner, he found a few insects and fruit to stave off hunger. Afterwards, he slept on top of a tree in order to stay clear of any predators that prowl in the night. During the night, he woke up to the sounds of rustling. Looking down, he spotted a pack of wolves walking past his tree. Luckily, they didn¡¯t look up or things would¡¯ve gotten hairy. The next day was uneventful as he picked up his pace and traveled for 90 km. There were a few travelers along the path as well as some harmless animals on the side, but the young doctor had not come across any hostiles thus far. There were tracks of the wolf pack from last night along the path he had taken, but there was no wolf in sight. Zinc knelt down and examined the prints. Judging from the depth and number of the prints, there seemed to be around five or six wolves in the pack. The wolves seemed to have recently passed through here. However, on the third day, something happened. Halfway through his trek, he encountered a goblin party. Luckily, the goblins were enjoying a meal by the fire and didn¡¯t see Zinc. The dwelf crouched down and hid behind some bushes. He didn¡¯t have time to personally deal with the goblins, but he wanted to test out something he had recently created. Zinc reached into his utility belt and fished out a small rotect jar. In it was the wolf lure he had produced a couple of days back. Carefully unscrewing the lid, Zinc deftly threw the jar towards the goblin camp. The jar flew towards a small goblin totem, pushing against the banner, and dropped silently into a bag next to one of the goblins. What a lucky throw! The goblin looked up as if he had heard something but after glancing about for a bit, he went back to his meal. Suddenly, a howl erupted in the distance. The goblins shudder in panic and jumped up. Some grabbed their weapons while others slumped down and covered their heads. The goblin with the bag rose up and slung his bag over his shoulder. With a few incantations, the goblin summoned a ball of fire which floated gently atop of his hand. ¡°So this bastard is a goblin mage, eh?¡± Zinc muttered under his breath. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you fare against a pack of wolves.¡± Right after the dwelf finished speaking, two wolves pounced out from some tall grass and landed in the middle of the camp. Immediately, chaos ensued as the two wolves started tearing throats. The goblins fought back but three more wolves appeared. It seemed as if the goblins would perish any time soon when a fiery ball smashed into one of the wolves, setting it on fire. In a matter of minutes, the wolf perished and transformed into a burnt crisp. Zinc had forgotten about the goblin mage! The goblin mage continued to launch fireballs at the wolves. And it was killing them off until their leader - the alpha wolf - leaped out and swatted away a fireball. The alpha wolf charged towards the goblin mage and, before the goblin mage could chant another fireball spell, tackled down the goblin mage and tore off a chunk of flesh. As to what happened afterwards, Zinc was not there to see as he had quietly snuck away. Zinc hastened his pace and rushed towards the southern coast, making sure to put as far a distance as he can between him and the crazy wolves. After a couple of hours of running, Zinc finally stopped to take a break. He looked up at the darkening sky and decided to set up camp and rest for the day. As usual, he climbed up a tree in order to prevent any unwanted encounters with nocturnal predators. Before he went to sleep, he calculated how many kilometers he had left before he reached his destination. Today, he had traveled for about 120 km. According to his calculations, he still had about 20 km left before he reached the coast. The following day, Zinc got up early and rushed towards the destination. Upon arriving, he saw a blanket of colorful flowers. There were seven different colors¡­the colors of the rainbow. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Lyra was right. How can these flowers grow even in the sandy beach? On the grass field next to the beach is understandable but on the beach itself? How?¡± Zinc muttered as he surveyed the abnormalities. Zinc tossed the thought to the back of his mind as he began picking the flowers. However, just as he pulled out the first flower, he found something strange about it. There weren¡¯t any roots! Or rather, there was one root¡­a single, straight root attached to the end of the stem. Suddenly, the root started to move and a sizzling sound could be heard as smoke emitted from the root. This unusual disturbance caused Zinc to yelp out as he dropped the ¡®flower¡¯. The weird ¡®flower¡¯ wriggled a bit more before it drilled into the ground again. The ¡®flower¡¯ was alive! Not ¡®alive¡¯ like other plants but ¡®alive¡¯ like an animal! Zinc looked at the rest of the flowers. They colored the coast like a colorful blanket. Could it be that all these tens of thousands of ¡®flowers¡¯ aren¡¯t flowers at all but some sort of worm-like creatures? Were they dangerous? He did not want to find out personally. Zinc rubbed his beard a couple of times before wondering¡­could these worms be used for medicine? Nevertheless, he should grab some more and study them at leisure once he return to the guild. As he thought about picking up another ¡®flower¡¯, he remembered that the worm started to smoke soon after it was plucked out from the ground. Zinc looked up and stared at the afternoon sun. Could it be the sun? Were these worms weak against the sun? It can¡¯t be¡­but he didn¡¯t want to take any chances. Zinc reached into his bag and pulled out a large rotect jar as well as some bandages. He wrapped the bandages around the rotect jar to prevent any light from seeping through. Quickly, he started stuffing the ¡®flowers¡¯ into the jar. By the time he had filled the jar to the brim, there were around ten ¡®flowers¡¯ of each color. He, then, proceeded to do the same for another jar. This was for his research. After he finished gathering the ¡®flowers¡¯, he immediately rushed back. Along the way, he encountered the goblin camp once more. There were bodies everywhere. After a quick body count, Zinc noticed that the alpha wolf was missing. Searching the vicinity led him to a bloody trail. Judging by the markings and the blood, it seemed that the alpha wolf was heavily wounded and limping. Stroking his beard, Zinc decided to chase after the alpha wolf. Following the blood trail northeast, he traveled a couple of miles until he saw a large cave. Next to the cave was the lifeless body of the alpha wolf. Another large wolf was tearing at the alpha wolf¡¯s neck while a wolf cub whined by its feet. Suddenly the large wolf howled and lunged at the wolf cub. With a powerful snap of its mouth, the large wolf tore the wolf cub in half. Then, the large wolf ran into the cave and sounds of fighting ensued. Howls, barks, and yips could be heard until silence finally took over once more. When the large wolf walked out again, another wolf cub was dangling in its mouth. The large wolf spat it out and howled again. Zinc finally realized what was going on¡­this was a change in leadership in the wolf pack¡¯s social hierarchy. It seemed that when the alpha wolf died, a beta wolf had taken its place. And to ensure its safety, the newly promoted alpha wolf killed the previous alpha wolf¡¯s offspring. Zinc shook his head as he saw the large wolf saunter back into the cave. As he was just about to leave, he heard a small whimper. Turning around, he saw that one of the wolf cubs was still alive. Zinc quickly tip-toed over and cradled the wolf cub in his arms. Without looking back, the doctor hurried back to the goblin camp. Along the way, Zinc deftly applied some first-aid on the wolf cub and fed it a few drops of his health potion. At the goblin camp, Zinc looted the bodies and found 4 Large Copper Coins. For good measure, Zinc also pulled out some wolf hearts, wolf livers, wolf fat, and wolf teeth. After storing them in separate rotect jars, Zinc lifted the heavy backpack and rushed home. During the day, he would travel and hunt wild animals. During the night, he would feed the wolf cub and heal its wounds. After two days, the wolf cub was back on its feet and as strong as a bull. During that time, the wolf cub had taken a liking to Zinc and regarded him as its father. By the time they arrived back at the guild, the wolf cub had even grown a couple of centimeters. Basic Medicine Making: Lesson #2 – Bone Powder? Location: Zinc''s Shop Attendance Fee: 1 Large Copper Coin Brief Description: Bones have been used as medicine for thousands of years. It has been tested that consuming bones not only promotes bone health, but also beneficial in promoting heart and nerve health. Because bones are harder to consume, medicine makers dry and crush the bones into powder. That way, consumers can use the powder with ease. Why use Bones? Bones are rich in minerals that not only strengthens bones and teeth, but also helps with heart muscle and nerve transmissions. There are two main minerals. One of them can improve stability of the body and the other can promote healing and growth. Both minerals help boost kidney functions. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. General Steps:
  1. Sun dry the bones.
  2. Once dried, shatter the bones.
  3. Sun dry once more.
  4. Crush the shattered pieces into powder
  5. Distribute the powder in 20 gram dosages.
Note: Careful not to take too much and limit dosage to maximum 3 doses as it would not be beneficial any more and could cause poisoning. More uses of bones in medicine will be introduced in later lessons. Basic Medicine Making: Lesson #3 – Core Powder? Location: Zinc''s Shop Attendance Fee: 1 Large Copper Coin Brief Description: For thousands of years, cores have been highly sought after for their magical properties, but few know that they also possess powerful healing and health-boosting properties. Generally, there are two types of cores ¨C naturally made and man-made. The naturally made cores are considered very similar to condensed magic while the man-made cores are spherical constructs imbued with magic. While it is hard to consume cores as a whole, many medicine makers have taken to grinding the cores to powder for safer and easier consumption. Why Grind Cores? When cores are ground into powder, they lose their magical properties. Yet this is actually a good thing as consuming something with too much magic in it could cause severe internal problems. Although most of the magic escaped from the cores, there are some magic residue remaining. It is this residue that tempers and boosts the overall health of the consumer as well as provide some extra benefits. General Steps:
  1. Before you grind cores to powder, first sterilize them by boiling them in a pot of water.
  2. Then, take the cores and shatter them. Make sure you are not close to the cores when you shatter them as the magic within the cores will disperse explosively.
  3. After most of the stored magic has been dispersed, began grinding the pieces until they become powdery.
  4. Finally, distribute the powder into 10 gram dosages.
Note: Taken as a supplement. Careful not to take too much and limit dosage to maximum 1 dose per day as it would not be beneficial any more. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Uses: All cores have general uses: Different cores have different extra benefits. Some examples are: Note: Different species produce different cores which can contribute with different extra benefits. For example, a fire slime has a fire slime core which can not only increase intelligence, but also increase fire resistance. More uses of cores in medicine will be introduced in later lessons. Experiment #1 Part 1 - The first Chaurus As soon as Zinc returned from submitting the quest report, he laid the 39 Chaurus eggs out in a secluded, forested area outside the city walls. While he tended to the eggs, he took out a couple of thick acupuncture needles and a bottle of weak poison. For the first objective, as soon as one of the eggs hatched, he will immobilize the newborn Chaurus and feed it with the bottle of weak poison. The purpose of this was to test whether the Chaurus could withstand the weak poison and survive. If it survives, the poison it will create will be stronger than normal. If it dies, then Zinc will remove the poisonous sac and use it on the next newborn. While he pondered on the process to check if there''s no mistakes, the doctor noticed a faint cracking sound. Pinpointing the location of the sound, Zinc arrived next to a cracked egg. The first Chaurus was about to break free of its shells. As soon as the centipede-like monster crawled out of the egg, it glanced about weakly and zoned in on Zinc. Via imprinting, it began to recognize Zinc as its mother. As it crawled happily towards the dwelf, Zinc pulled out a long needle and pierced it into the baby Chaurus''s spine, cutting away all feeling and movement from the newborn''s body. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The baby Chaurus looked at Zinc in confusion and tried to utter a sound. But right as it opened its mouth, Zinc poured the bottle of weak poison down the Chaurus''s throat. The baby monster sputtered a couple of times as it choked on the acidic liquid before it began trembling and shuddering. After twitching a couple of times, the baby Chaurus ceased all movements. It had died. Seemed like the baby Chaurus wasn''t strong enough to withstand a bottle of weak poison. How disappointing! Zinc shook his head and reached over to pull out the needle. Once he stored the needle into his utility belt, Zinc retrieved a scalpel. He bent down over the dead Chaurus and began dissecting it. His past experiences with dismantling the large Chaurus and small Chaurus had allowed him sufficient knowledge and insight on where the baby Chaurus''s poisonous sac was. Zinc dismantled the baby Chaurus, separating the exoskeleton from the flesh and innards. The doctor carefully removed the poisonous sac and drained the poison into a rotect jar. Zinc stored the flesh and innards in another rotect jar while he hung the exoskeleton out to dry. Suddenly, he heard another crack.... Experiment #1 Part 2 - Success? Or rather...he heard two different crackling noises from two different locations of the pile of eggs. Two baby Chaurus were about to be born! Zinc rushed over to the first one and smashed the egg prematurely, revealing a small, runt-like Chaurus. One look and Zinc believed that the Chaurus won''t survive through the experiment. Nevertheless, he reached towards his utility belt and stabbed an acupuncture needle into the Chaurus''s spine, disabling it. Next, Zinc rushed towards the second egg just in time to see the newborn crawl out of its shell. Zinc reached down and pulled out another acupuncture needle from his utility belt. With a swift stab, he immobilized the young Chaurus. Once both Chaurus were subdued, Zinc observed the remaining eggs to see if any more were about to hatch. None...thank goodness! Zinc glanced at the Chaurus before him and reached over to pinch the mouth open. As soon as the mouth gaped wide, the dwelf poured the Chaurus poison mix down its throat. initially, Zinc assumed that the baby Chaurus would survive since it should have some immunity to the poison that was poured down its throat. However, he soon found out that he was expecting too much. He had overestimated the capabilities of the newborn Chaurus. As the baby monster shudder a number of times, its body turned dark green and it soon perished without uttering a single sound. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Zinc grimaced with disappointment as he dismantled the body and stored the respective parts into separate rotect jars. Then, he walked towards the runt and forced its mouth open. Zinc poured the poisonous fluids into the runt without any expectations. The runt struggled incessantly as the poison did its work and soon, the Chaurus stopped moving. Zinc reached over and removed the needle. However, as he was about to dismantle the runt, he noticed that the baby Chaurus still had life in it. It was struggling to live! It stood up! It''s alive! Was this a success? Experiment #1 Part 3 - Tough Runt and Continued Success As more eggs began to hatch, Zinc continued to disable the hatchlings. He would continue to kill the disabled Chaurus and dismantle them for their body parts and their poisonous sacs. Each time, Zinc will take the poisonous sac and pour the poison fluids down the runt-like Chaurus''s throat. And each time, the Chaurus survived. Was this the one? Zinc prayed for success as he forced the runt to drink another gulp of poison. With each passing poisonous sac, the runt became deadlier and deadlier. Soon, it seemed that any additional dosage of the poison did not affect the little guy at all. It was time for Zinc to try a different tactic. Zinc reached towards Hatchling #16 and Hatchling #17 and skillfully removed their poisonous sacs. After storing the rest of the bodies into rotect jars, Zinc drained the poisonous sacs into a rotect jar and mixed them together. Then, he poured the combined fluids down the small Chaurus''s throat. Hoping that double the fluids equal double the intensity, Zinc observed any physical changes to the small Chaurus. Although there weren''t any struggling, the Chaurus''s body turned dark green before changing to purple, and then back to its original color. Other than that, the Chaurus was fine. Zinc smiled and decided to step it up a notch. He approached to another couple of eggs that were in the process of hatching and smashed the egg shells prematurely. Then, he disabled the hatchlings and dismantled all five of them. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. After removing their poisonous sacs and mixing them together in the rotect jar, Zinc poured the contents down the Chaurus''s throat. Initially, it began to change colors like the previous time. Seeing this, Zinc felt satisfied with cultivating such a strong monster. Once the Chaurus turned back to normal, Zinc proceeded to the next batch. However, just as he cracked open a Chaurus egg, he heard a thud. It couldn''t be! Zinc turned around and saw the runt collapsed on the floor. Though the color was the same, it had overdosed and thus died. Nooo! Experiment #1 Part 4 - Failure Upon Failure "Dammit!" Zinc cried out as he stared at the dead Chaurus, its body already beginning to deteriorate at a fast pace. How could the runt die just like that when it had survived against so many times before? As soon as he thought about this, he answered himself. Maybe it was a case of overdose. Zinc had forced the runt-like Chaurus to drink poisonous fluids without giving it proper time to rest. The constant feed prevented the monster from processing the poison and the buildup eventually destroyed it. Zinc grimaced at the thought as he checked to see how many Chaurus eggs he still had left. He had used 22 eggs. There were only 17 left. He must find a successful subject soon or all will be for naught. Zinc bent down and dissected the dead Chaurus with his Amputation Knife. Carefully, he removed the poisonous sac and stored the fluids in a rotect jar. He could not use the body, however, as it had been contaminated and served no further use for him. Next, he approached the nearest egg and disabled the emerging hatchling. As he poured the poisonous contents down the hatchling''s throat, immediate disapproval flashed across his face. As expected, this baby Chaurus could not withstand the strong poison. Which of the remaining 16 can? It''s near impossible...but Zinc had to go on. Even if the possibility is 1%, the doctor still continued with the experiment. 1% does not mean impossible. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. And so, Zinc continued with his research. Hatchling #24, fail...Hatchling #30, fail...Hatchling #35, fail...Hatchling #38! In his fervor, the doctor sped through each unsuccessful hatchling without pause or care about his limited supply. To this, he regretted his actions. Zinc stared at the newborn with a displeased look. This was the second to last baby Chaurus and he still had not had any success. By now, the poisonous fluids in the rotect jar was strong enough to kill a full grown Chaurus! How can a baby survive? Maybe he should change his tactics. Maybe he should divide the poison to many dosages and feed them slowly to this newborn Chaurus. That way, the baby monster will have plenty of time to adapt. Zinc took the jar of poison and funnel out a fraction of the fluid into the baby Chaurus''s mouth at the start of each hour. During each hour, the baby Chaurus squirmed and changed into a spectrum of colors. It seemed like it was working as after each hour, the Chaurus was adapting to the poison and becoming more resistant to it. However, just as his hopes rose a bit, failure came about and slapped them down once more as suddenly, the baby Chaurus started foaming at the mouth. Before Zinc could do anything, the monster collapsed and its breath stopped for eternity. It was dead. Experiment #1 Part 5 - Trying Something New "Arghh!" Zinc raged as he stomped on the pieces of eggshells scattered about on the stone-cold floor. What was going on? Why was his luck so bad today? Zinc looked at the dead body and sighed. He took out his Amputation Knife again out of habit...since he did this so many freaking times now! With quick work, he dismantled the body and removed the poisonous sac. Zinc mixed the poisonous fluids with what was left over in the rotect jar and moved towards the last egg. As he waited for the egg to hatch, he continued to ponder on what suitable, alternate methods he should take to ensure that the last Chaurus would survive. He knew that he couldn''t dilute the poisonous mixture as it would only serve to contaminate the poison. Drying it would not only not weaken the effects but significantly increase the intensity of the poison. While he wondered, he checked the egg once more. Strange.... Usually the egg would have hatched by now like the others, but somehow, this one hasn''t. Was it dead? The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Zinc placed his palm on top of the egg and closed his eyes to concentrate. Hmm...it was faint but he could hear a heartbeat. Nine times out of ten, this was a recently produced egg. The Chaurus inside was still a fetus. It had not formed into a proper Chaurus yet. Zinc knew that the fetus would be too weak to handle the poison...but then again, with all the nutrients packed inside with the fetus, maybe...just maybe it could act as a barrier and provide immunity to the poison. "Fuck it." Zinc cursed under his breath. He was going to do something else. Zinc reached for his utility belt and pulled out an acupuncture needle. With a couple of quick and precise stabs, the doctor pierced the egg at seven different points. With holes so small that only a dribble of fetal fluids flow out, Zinc submerged the egg into the rotect jar. The poison dyed the egg purplish green and some even flowed into the egg. That''s right. Instead of making a powerful Chaurus, Zinc decided to make an extremely poisonous material for medicine making later. Experiment #1 Part 6 - Mutation Days passed since Zinc submerged the last Chaurus egg in the Chaurus poison mix of the previous 38 failed experiments. Having been soaked in the poison day and night, the eggshell had been worn away until only a transparent membrane was left. If not for the mix of nutrients and poison supporting from within the egg, the membrane would have collapsed on itself. Zinc glanced at the rotect jar by the table once more. It was about time for him to cook it. Through cooking, the egg will solidify and the poison will seep into the egg faster, thus speeding up the process and completing the formation of the material. Zinc reached over and started unscrewing the cap off. As he peered into the poisonous mix, he saw something strange. The fetus...it''s moving? No, that can''t be. The poison would have killed it by now. It must have been just the movement of the poison fluids playing a trick on him. Zinc pulled out another rotect jar and transferred the poison into it. After all of the poison had been transferred, Zinc took out the egg and was preparing to move it into a large pot when suddenly, the egg jiggled slightly. Peering through the transparent membrane, Zinc saw something astonishing. The fetus...it looked like a centipede rather than like a Chaurus...a mutation! But other than that, the fetus was moving...it was alive! In his surprise at this unprecedented miracle, Zinc accidentally dropped the egg. As he tried to reach over and grab onto it, the egg burst open and the runt-like newborn slithered out, completely unharmed. From the size of the centipede, Zinc could tell that it was male. The doctor squatted down and held his hand towards the centipede. As if acknowledging its parent, the centipede slithered over and curled about in the doctor''s hand. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Hey there, little fellow. What should I call you? Hmm, how about...Arsenic...or Nic for short. That''s settled...but what do you eat? Bugs?" Suddenly, as Zinc approached the table with Nic in his hand, the centipede leaped through the air and landed in the rotect jar filled with Chaurus poison. Zinc was about to retrieve the centipede out of fear that it would perish under the intensity of the poison when he began to see the contents in the jar disappear. The poisonous fluids were being consumed by the centipede! Amazing! The centipede actually eats poison! What a wonderful discovery! Zinc stared at the empty jar and the satisfied-looking centipede and muttered in amazement. With a delighted smile, he couldn''t help but feel that the days ahead will be very interesting. Experiment #1 Part 7 - Arsenics POV The first time I could sense anything...he was there. All I could do was sense some distinct vibrations but I knew it was him. When I could move my feelers, I would constantly sense his presence. His every movement was felt by me...his warmth was a comfort to me. A while later, I gained sight. Though purplish green because of the fluids surrounding me, I could at last see what he looked like. My body was formed but I could not move. I wanted to get out. I wanted to meet him. Today was different. Today, he decided to let me out. As soon as he opened the lid, I tried to move to get his attention. And it seemed like he noticed. When he poured the purplish-green liquid out and picked me up, I was so excited that I moved about frantically to get his attention. And he saw me. He saw me! I wanted to meet him...to touch him...to feel his warmth. But no matter how I move, I couldn''t break through the thing that held me. I worried...but not for long. It seemed as if he wanted to meet me too. He helped me break free. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. As I crawled out of the prison that held me, I saw him hold out his hand. He wanted me to come to him! I happily ran towards him and curled up on his hand. Ah! The warmth! He said some gibberish to me while he lifted me up for a closer look but I didn''t bother with it. Then, another problem arose. With all that excitement, I had forgotten that I was hungry. As if in response, he moved towards the jar of purplish-green fluids. It did not take me long to realized that he must be giving me those fluids to eat. I happily jumped into the jar and began feeding. Mmm! Delicious! Though tangy, the food tastes so familiar. After I finished eating, I could hear him speak. The words...I know what they mean! And then, I recall the previous gibberish. They were not gibberish...they were words! I know what he said! He...he called me ''Arsenic''. My name is Arsenic. I am Arsenic! Medicine Recipe #2 - Blood Lily Salve Description: A paste made from blood lilies with healing properties. Used to close small wounds or stop bleeding from larger wounds. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. Add the blood lilies in the rotect jar and pour half a bottle of olive oil into the jar.
  2. Seal the rotect jar and let the oil/lily mix sit for a week so that the properties and fragrance of the flowers are infused into the oil.
  3. After a week, strain the mixture with a piece of coarse cloth until you have as much infused oil as you can squeeze out.
  4. Let the oil sit at a side and boil a bottle of water.
  5. Mix chunks of beeswax and the rest of the bottled oil into the water.
  6. Stir until the beeswax dissolved and you¡¯re left with a thick, pasty solution.
  7. Add the infused oil into the solution and mix thoroughly.
  8. Divide mixture into 20 small rotect jars for preservation.
  9. Let cool for an hour before selling.
When using, just unscrew the lid of the rotect jar and scoop out a healthy amount. Then, lather the salve onto the wound. Afterwards, make sure to bandage the arm.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Nooo! My son! Quest Task: Nooo! My son! Requester: Sirla, Gromak''s mother Quest Rank: E Rewards: 7 Large Copper Coins Description: Once, Gromak''s fervor upon the adventurers was calmed down when someone tricked him and told him lies about some legends... after seeing the fight between a golem and the heroic adventurers, Gromak has been overexcited and wish to become an adventurer, a hero or so he said! Please dissuade him from wasting his life!
Zinc arrived at the house of Sirla and her child ¨C Gromak. The doctor knocked on the wooden door and was soon greeted by a middle-aged woman. The woman looked up at Zinc suspiciously and asked what he wanted. Zinc flashed a gentle smile before holding up the quest he had decided to take. ¡°Ma¡¯am, didn¡¯t you post a quest today about your son? I¡¯m here to solve your problem.¡± Zinc replied. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! Please, please come in.¡± Sirla smiled widely as she opened the door wide and beckoned for the dwelf to enter. ¡°Ever since Gromak saw a group of adventurers defeat a stone golem, he¡¯s been fascinated about being an adventurer himself. I don¡¯t mean any disrespect but please persuade him that adventuring is not a stable job. Please show him that it is not his calling.¡± ¡°No offense taken. I know the dangers of adventuring and the hardships of earning good money. No worries, if Gromak truly doesn¡¯t have what it takes to be an adventurer, then I¡¯ll do my best to dissuade him.¡± Zinc smiled as he spotted young Gromak swing a wooden sword in the backyard. ¡°Thank you so much. I¡¯ll be in the kitchen. If you need me, please ask.¡± Sirla bowed in gratitude as she moved into the kitchen to check on the oven. Zinc walked out the backdoor towards the young boy who was practicing his sword. Judging by his swings, Zinc could tell that Gromak had no prior training and that he was just swinging about randomly. When the young boy saw Zinc walked up to him, he drew his sword close as he stared at the doctor vigilantly. ¡°W-Who are you mister?¡± Gromak asked after a brief pause. ¡°My name is Zinc. I¡¯m an adventurer.¡± The dwelf responded with a smile. ¡°Did mother asked you to come and persuade me to give up adventuring?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ll tell you¡­I¡¯m never going to give it up!¡± ¡°Why not? Is it because it¡¯s cool?¡± ¡°Yes! Ever since I saw that swordsman cleave that golem in half, it has been forever engraved into my mind¡­that coolness¡­that aura. When I saw that, I vowed to my self that someday¡­I want to be that great!¡± Gromak exclaimed as he clinched his fist in excitement. ¡°And so here you are¡­training to be that great?¡± Zinc gave the boy an once-over. ¡°That¡¯s right. And I gotta say¡­I¡¯m pretty good at it.¡± ¡°Oh? Is that so? How can you tell?¡± ¡°Just yesterday, I fought off a goblin with my wooden sword. If I had a real one, that goblin would have been dead.¡± Gromak replied as he brandished his sword. ¡°Goblin eh? Do you think goblins are one of the weakest monsters?¡± ¡°Naturally! They¡¯re even shorter than me and their arms are so scrawny. Even if they have weapons, they could only obtain wooden ones at best.¡± ¡°I see. Say, what to come with me on a little adventure?¡± Zinc suddenly suggested. ¡°Really? Sure! What are we hunting?¡± Gromak clapped his hands in excitement. ¡°Goblins.¡± ¡°Goblins? Ehh? But they¡¯re weak.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. Anyways, you coming or not?¡± ¡°I am! I am! But mother¡­.¡± ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll persuade her to let you come with me.¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± Zinc walked back inside and noticed that Sirla had just brought out a fresh baked pie. Sirla looked over and asked. ¡°Do you want some pie?¡± ¡°That sounds good.¡± Zinc nodded as he took a seat. Sirla handed the dwelf a slice of what looks to be blueberry pie and asked him. ¡°So, did you manage to dissuade Gromak? Will he give up adventuring?¡± ¡°Not yet. But I will soon with your permission. Mhmm! Delicious!¡± Zinc beamed with satisfaction while he took a bite of the pie. ¡°My permission? For what?¡± ¡°I want to take him to one of my adventures.¡± ¡°No! Absolutely not! You¡¯re supposed to help dissuade my son, not take him adventuring! Out¡­get out of my house!¡± ¡°Wait! You misunderstand me. Right now, your kid is overconfident in himself. He claims that he had defeated some goblins. My purpose of taking him with me for an adventure is to show him the reality and hardships he will have to suffer. Only that, will I be able to dissuade him from any further thoughts on adventuring.¡± ¡°This¡­fine. I see some logic in your explanation. I¡­For my son¡¯s sake, I trust you this one time.¡± ¡°Great. Then, it¡¯s settled. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take good care of him.¡± After finishing the pie, Zinc notified Gromak of the situation. After getting Gromak some basic equipment suitable for an E-ranked adventurer, the duo set off for the city gates. Zinc decided to take Gromak west of the city where a small goblin nest was discovered not long ago. Along the way, Zinc explained to the young boy what was to be expected when taking on a quest. ¡°Now, for a beginner like you, a typical E-ranked quest involving goblins would be eradicating a nest or defeating a goblin camp. This is different from your one or two goblin fights. What we¡¯re dealing are 10 maybe 20 goblins. And since it¡¯s an E-ranked quest, you¡¯re expected to complete it alone.¡± ¡°10¡­20¡­100, easy! They¡¯re still just goblins.¡± Gromak boasted as he swung his new sword to test its feel. ¡°Even 100?¡± ¡°Okay, maybe not 100 but 20 goblins is still an easy task in my opinion.¡± ¡°Well, in my opinion, you won¡¯t last against 5 of them.¡± ¡°Five? That¡¯s easy! I bet I can last against 10.¡± ¡°If you can take on five of them at a time, then I¡¯ll personally persuade your mother to let you become an adventurer.¡± Zinc chuckled but he soon showed a serious face. ¡°However, if you cannot take on five of them without my help, then you must give up on adventuring. Deal?¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°This¡­.¡± Gromak hesitated as he weighed the options. Before letting the boy speak, Zinc sneered. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you say you could handle 10 of them? Now, you can¡¯t even handle five? How can you be an adventurer when you have no confidence or ability to back it up?¡± ¡°You¡¯re on! Five it is! At the end of this, you can¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°Haha, same to you.¡± The duo shook each other¡¯s hands in agreement as a verbal contract was formed. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a small cave. Gromak looked into the dark depths and murmured. ¡°I-Is this where the goblin nest is?¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± Zinc held a finger to his lips. ¡°The goblins can smell fear and you¡¯re filled with it.¡± Gromak gulped as he nervously clamped his mouth shut with both hands. Zinc smiled at the little boy¡¯s action and dragged the boy into the cave. As they ventured deeper into the cave, Zinc briefed the young boy on things he needed to know such as looking out for totems which could denote the presence of a shaman or mage as well as paying close attention to hidden pathways which could spring out a number of goblins that surround them if they¡¯re not too careful. Luckily for them, they did not encounter such things. As the two made their way deeper, they came upon a large cavern. Laying on the floors below were close to 15 goblins either sleeping or eating. Gromak took one look at the goblins and murmured in panic. ¡°Why are they so strong looking? There¡¯s even some that are about the same height as me! And their weapons. They¡¯re all made from iron! T-This isn¡¯t like what I had heard. This isn¡¯t like what I had heard!¡± ¡°Quiet! Do you want to alert them of our presence?¡± Zinc smacked the young boy on the back of his head. ¡°This is reality. Any beginner adventurer must deal with this sooner or later. The same will go for you. Now, let¡¯s get ready.¡± ¡°R-Ready for what?¡± Gromak murmured as his legs felt like they could give way any minute. ¡°To fight of course. Did you forget our bet? Look, take on those five over there and leave the rest to me.¡± Zinc reached over to his bag and pulled out a small container. When he opened it, a centipede slithered out. It was Arsenic. Zinc held Arsenic close and whispered. ¡°See those 10 goblins eating near the fire? Poison their food and don¡¯t get caught. Understood?¡± The centipede nodded his head after listening to Zinc¡¯s commands. It then crawled away. Minutes later, it returned. The centipede gave Zinc a short nod indicating that he had completed his mission. It did not take long until Arsenic¡¯s poison took effect. Arsenic had just returned to Zinc when all 10 goblins grabbed their stomachs in pain before perishing. All that was left were the five that were asleep. Of course, because of the commotion, the five goblins were no longer asleep but rather cautiously searching for the enemy. Without giving the young boy a chance to prepare himself, Zinc pushed Gromak out in the open. This sudden movement attracted all five pairs of eyes onto him. Helplessly, the young boy raised his sword and prepared for battle. ¡°It¡¯s just goblins¡­nothing more.¡± Gromak murmured to himself as he tried to boost his confidence. The young boy charged at one of the goblins and swung down with all his strength. However, the goblin grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at Gromak. The boy flinched and tried his best to avoid but the sand splattered into his mouth, sending him into a coughing fit. Before he could recover, another goblin jumped out and swung its club at him. The club smashed into his side, knocking the air out of Gromak. As the boy stumbled, he glanced up in fear just as a third goblin aimed a spear at his throat. The only words he could utter in his state of panic was¡­help me. In response, Zinc flung out a couple of acupuncture needles which pierced into three goblins¡¯ heads and instantly ending their miserable lives. The needles had accurately pierced into the goblins¡¯ hindbrains, leading to instant brain death. Before the other two goblins could understand what was going on, the doctor rushed towards them with his Horse-Slaying Blade and cleaved both in half with one horizontal swing. The battle ended quickly. If others saw the way Zinc handled the goblins, they would have thought it was very cool. However, for little Gromak, he was too stricken fear to notice. When he finally came to his senses, the young boy grimaced and looked sheepishly at Zinc. The dwelf smiled at the boy and asked. ¡°Now, do you know that adventuring is no joke? Just because you killed a couple of stragglers, doesn¡¯t mean you are cut out for becoming an adventurer. It¡¯s best if you give up and try another profession.¡± Gromak rubbed the tip of his nose and remarked. ¡°B-But if it¡¯s so dangerous, why did you become an adventurer?¡± ¡°To help people of course. Before I am an adventurer, I am a doctor. Almost all adventurers either have another profession or they¡¯re extremely good at combat. From what I can tell with you, you aren¡¯t that good at fighting¡­you just got a bit of strength. Look¡­if you really want to become an adventurer, you should at least learn a different profession first before you venture towards that topic. What say you?¡± ¡°What other profession can I do? I¡¯m not that smart so I can¡¯t be a doctor like you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have strength? Why not try blacksmithing? Not only will you be able to make and repair weapons and armor, you will also be able to increase your strength by at least double. And if you still want to become an adventurer after you learned your trade¡­well, by that time, you¡¯re already a young adult and can make your own decisions.¡± ¡°Okay. I understand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Come, let me check your injuries and then, we can head on home. Your mother must be extremely worried about you.¡± ¡°Ehm.¡± After treating Gromak¡¯s minor bruises, Zinc sent the young boy home. Sirla, upon hearing the boy¡¯s decision to learn blacksmithing instead of going on adventures, was very happy about it and thanked Zinc profusely. Having completed his task, Zinc headed back to the guild to submit his report. Witch! Hunt the witch! Quest
Task: Witch! Hunt the witch! Requester: Herny, a farmer Quest rank: C-rank Rewards: 80 Large Copper Coins. Description: The moment I witnessed that monster... I knew something was wrong, since she came, the village has been cursed, people have been dying and... mutating?! No no no...they weren''t dying... they seemed to be.... controlled? Like, they were doing things they would never do, they were like beasts! And from time to time, they villagers would puke blood, I did as well but, since I quickly realized the danger, I ran away... Once I was two kilometers away, I was free from the curse, please, save my village!
Zoan''s POV "So... You two also took the quest for the witch hunt?" Zoan said to the four armed half-human and the mixed blood drow elf. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Herst," the former farmer orc greeted. Nero''s POV "Nice to meet you Herst. I''m Nero, and I did accept the witch hunting quest", Nero introduced himself to the farmer and the adventurer. Zinc''s POV "Zinc here. I''m a doctor but I can hold my own." The dwelf replied as he brought out Arsenic. "You don''t mind if I bring my pet, do you?" Zoan''s POV "No problem here," Zoan replied. "Let''s get this straight first: Do you think that -from the quest''s description alone- the witch is real and evil, and that it''s not some drunken man''s prank?" Zinc''s POV "I don''t know, I''ve heard of poison that powerful from my master though. Is it really a curse? I''m skeptic. I think it might be a powerful poison or a disease of some sort. That''s why I decided to take up on this quest. But then again, whether it be curse or poison, I''m positive there''s someone behind all of this." Zinc explained his reasoning. Nero''s POV "Regardless of the cause, those villager need our help", Nero replied before pointing towards Herny, "He''s said that there is a range to the spell and he just ran away. I think he would still be affected if he was poisoned." He finally directed his attention towards Herny," Are you still puking blood and showing other signs of illness?" Zoan''s POV Herny trembled, not wanting to remember what had happened on the village. But he mustered up his will and shakily said: "N-No, ever since I got far away from my village, my symptoms have ceased... but the fear... the fear doesn''t go away...!" He then continued to tremble, seemingly unapproachable for the moment. "Alright then. The guy said to me earlier that the village is west from Nagrand. Just half a day''s travel by horse. I''ll go rent the horses," Zoan said before he left the group temporarily. Nero''s POV The five of them, including Herny and Herst, left the city on horseback. Nero was surprised that his horse was able to move in relative comfort with him and his equipment on its back. They traveled west through the planes and were able to reach the farmlands just as noon had passed. As they were not sure of what to expect when they did reach the village, they stopped to have their mid day meal a few miles away. Zoan''s POV After eating a whole animal meat raw, Zoan offered himself up to scout the village first, while Herst followed him. After entering the 2 kilometer (1.25 miles) range, Zoan asked for Herst to do a check up. "Nothing has happened as far as I can see, sir." Herst replied. Zoan then assumes that he wouldn''t get cursed unless he comes into contact with the witch. ...surprisingly, up to that very day, Zoan has never realized that he was cursed. ...even though the report from his previous quest said that he was. Anyhow, the nomad and the orc continued to approach the village, and as they finally stood before the entrance, Zoan saw them: They were zombies. He could be wrong, but what he had seen were definitely thin creatures with pale skin, eyes completely white, walking rigidly with dried blood covering the area near their mouth. Herst took a step back, while Zoan approaches a woman and said: "Hello. Are you fine, miss?" The woman did not respond amicably however, and instead dashes at the nomad. With instantaneous responses, Zoan swung his club vertically, aiming towards the woman''s temple, and killed her. He then ordered Herst: "Go back to the others, and call them here. It appears that this village is a lost case. I''ll start exterminating them." Zinc''s POV ¡°Come over here Henry. I¡¯m gonna give you a quick check up.¡± Zinc replied as he pulled out a needle. ¡°Uh.¡± Henry eyed the needle hesitantly. ¡°What are you gonna do with that¡± ¡°No worries, just gonna test if you¡¯re poisoned or not.¡± ¡°Poisoned? What are you talking about? I was cursed!¡± ¡°Just a precaution. It won¡¯t hurt nor will it take too much time. What if you¡¯re poisoned...and still are? Do you want to stay poisoned?¡± ¡°No! Oh, well...fine.¡± Zinc poked the needle into the villager¡¯s liver meridian and quickly pulled it out. Luckily, there was no change in color. With a smile, Zinc patted Henry¡¯s back. ¡°All good. Fortunately, you aren¡¯t poisoned. And probably the same goes with the villagers. I guess it really is a curse.¡± Nero''s POV When Herst returned and informed them of Zoan''s ongoing fight against the villagers, they decided to act immediately and join Zoan. They rushed towards the village entrance where they found Zoan holding off a hoard of twenty odd zombies all by himself. A significant amount of bodies lay on the floor, disfigured and bloodied. Nero picked up his pace and jumped into the fray, sending the zombies flying about in all directions by swinging his spears. After an intense few minutes of mauling the zombies, they got a few moments of respite. This opportunity was used to catch their breath and come up with a plan. "In theory, it should be possible to revert the villagers back to their original state. But, as we have just experienced, it is impossible to communicate with them as they are now and they simply don''t stay down even when injured. I think we should sneak our way into the village and keep the casualties to a minimum", Nero expressed his thoughts. "We are able to deal with the villagers comfortably. I think that it will be easier to sneak around if we split up. This way, we can also investigate the village quicker. Let''s meet up over here in a couple of hours. If this place remains infested, we will meet up at the farms", he concluded. Zoan''s POV "Understood," Zoan shortly replied before going alone, deeper towards the center of the village. Herst soon follows the nomad, unsheathing the iron sword that he recently got lended by Zoan. On the way there, he had found more villagers but they were all scattered around, moving without any goal in particular. He ignores them and proceeded to "stealthily" move, but there were not much cover at the time and a villager saw Herst and rushed towards him. Zoan saw the villager and bashed his head before he manages to touch Herst. "Thank you, sir." Herst said. It seemed a bit overprotective of Zoan, but at least his intention was good. "Don''t mind it. Rather, could you check me again?" the paranoid nomad asked. After a quick checkup, the orc gave his partner a surprised look. "Sir... This is..." Herst hesitated. "Your hair... They''ve turned white!" "What!?" Zoan shouted, forgetting that he was supposed to hide his position. His loud voice had attracted a many villagers, but after a few minutes of running the two managed to escape the horde by looping the horde around houses. Nero''s POV After splitting up, Nero decided to move around the perimeter of the village in order to observe the situation from the outside. As he dodged confrontations, he noticed that the villagers were most sensitive to noise. They would turn their heads towards anything that made a sound and investigate what caused it without heeding anything else. Nero used this knowledge to his advantage as he armed himself with stones and used them to create a diversion so that he could sneak around. Of course, his giant frame wasn''t something that helped his cause hen being stealthy and he did have to fight quite a large number of foes in spite of his tactics. As the fights grew more frequent, he found himself being ushered in towards the center of the village as he searched for a way to get free and compose himself. The villagers were getting much more stronger as well as more aggressive the deeper he went inside the village. As he ran through the narrow streets, throwing the stone to his left and right, he saw a large tree that was growing next to a wall and decided to climb it. With the chasing villagers clawing at the trunk, he jumped over the wall and found himself at a temple. Zoan''s POV ''How did this happen...?'' Zoan asked himself. ''Was I cursed the moment I entered the village, or sometime else...?'' "Herst, check me up again. Is my hair still white? How do I look? Do I look older?" Zoan asked his partner. "Sir, only a small part of your hair has turned partially white. Only your left side has turned white, and I do not see any differences to your physical age. It seems that only your hair was affected." ''Well then, at least I won''t die of age any time soon. That''s a start. However, I still wonder how this happened. Did the witch found us and cursed me?'' "...anyways, I feel as if nothing has changed inside me, and I don''t puke blood either, so I assume that I am still safe for now. Let''s hurry and continue the witch hunt." Herst responded his employer by giving a nod, and the two continued to explore the village until they found a certain adventurer near a temple. "Isn''t that... Four Arms?" Zoan whispered, and proceeded to walk towards Nero. Nero''s POV Nero saw Zoan and Herst approaching him and gestured that the villagers were nearby. Once they came within earshot of each other, Nero whispered the obvious," I think this place has the strongest villagers. But more importantly, what happened to your hair?" Zoan''s POV "Good question. Either I am cursed by the witch, or someone else has cursed me. Either way, it doesn''t seem to affect me for the time being," Zoan carefully explained. "Either way, this place is where the strongest enemies are?" Zoan said as he turns his head towards the temple. "If so, then I want to attack it now. Fighting in a group is better but... now that I think about it, where is that Mixed Blood anyways?" Zinc''s POV After the party decided to split up, Zinc decided to make a possible medicine that could at least lessen the effects of the curse. Kind of like manually countering the effects of the curse through physical and/or emotional changes. He knew, from the quest description, that the affected villagers would puke up a lot of blood. And, judging from the side-effects Zoan experienced, those who were cursed also had their hair turn partially white...maybe all white if Zoan had stayed in the curse''s range any longer. Medically speaking, puking up a lot of blood came from damage to the internal organs, particularly in the lungs. Hair turning white was also a sign of extreme stress. As for sensitivity to sounds, people who suffer from headaches were known to be very sensitive and focused on sounds and noises. Combining all these symptoms, Zinc''s initial guess was that the curse was similar to having a blood clot lodge within the lungs since this sort of disease could also cause anxiety and headaches. Because he doesn''t know much about curses, the doctor wondered whether a curse can travel via air and spread through breathing. Nevertheless, now that he had deduced what disease was similar to the curse, Zinc decided to conduct a few experiments before concocting the perfect medicine to alleviate the effects of the curse. For that purpose, Zinc decided to capture an affected villager. After capturing an affected villager and tying her up, Zinc conducted a preliminary checkup on the zombie. The zombie had pale eyes and pale skin. The zombie had a few other symptoms upon closer checkup but overall, she seemed healthy. All these symptoms confirmed his theory about the blood clot. After experimenting, the doctor started pondering on what materials or herbs to use to solve this issue. On the top of his head, Zinc could name a few herbs that could help lessen the effects of such symptoms and have anticoagulant properties. There''s tumeric which was the number one leading herb for thinning blood and preventing clots. But such an expensive material can only be foraged in the east. Even if this village was located in the east, Zinc didn''t think the villagers had the money to afford the expensive spice. So, the dwelf thought about other less expensive items. Surely, the villagers would at least have some of them in stock. "Hmm, if my memory serves me correctly, ginger and garlic are both good herbs for blood thinning. Not to mention, the natural healing properties of ginger can also reduce migraines. The spiciness of peppers have been known to increase blood circulation and sunflower seeds help boost immunity." Zinc mused as he listed a few key ingredients. "All of these can be used to make food. Why don''t I make an herbal soup?" Quickly, Zinc searched the houses that had been cleared out of zombies by Nero, Herst, and Zoan. In a couple of minutes, the doctor was able to find all the necessary items. Although he couldn''t find any sunflower seeds, he was able to find safflower oil. Safflower oil was similar to sunflower oil and can be used as a suitable alternative. In addition, Zinc was able to find a vat of clean water he could use for cooking. Zinc brought out his iron pot and began boiling some water over an open fire. While the water boiled, he quickly crushed the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. Then, the doctor dumped the crushed bits and pieces of herbs and stirred the mixture until a faint fragrance emitted from the pot. As the aroma increased, Zinc continued to stir until finally, a light-brown and thin soup was made. Zinc poured out some of the herbal soup into a couple of small rotect jars - each holding about a mouthful of soup - to preserve their taste and aroma. The dwelf swallowed his own portion and shivered at the spiciness. It was a bit too spicy but the effects were the same. He could immediately feel his body warm up as his blood pumped and circulated throughout his body. He fed some to the tied up villager and the doctor could see her skin reddened and her behavior becoming more docile. It seemed to be working. Zinc packed up the rest of the soup and headed towards the temple. Along the way, he administered the herbal soup to all straggling zombies he had encountered. Like the female villager, these zombies also became docile after consuming the soup. Soon, Zinc arrived at the temple where he encountered his party. "I made some herbal soup and it seemed to lessen the effects of the curse. Try some!" Zinc called out as he brought out three rotect jars and handed them to Zoan, Herst, and Nero. Zoan''s POV Zoan ate the soup in a hurry, and resisted the spiciness with moderate ease. Although some tingling feeling remains on his tongue, it was edible to say the least. Some meat might have been nice, but it was not time, nor the place to eat food without caution. Zoan then asks Herst to see whether his hair has returned back to brown, but it was of no avail. The color remain to stick on the nomad''s head. Stolen novel; please report. "Sir Zoan, perhaps it takes some time to return? Sir Zinc''s medicine has effectively pacified the enraged villagers, so it is definitely working for sure. However none of the villagers seem to have white hair caused by the curse... which makes me conclude that your illness might have been from something else!" Herst said, attempting to liven up his employer''s mood. "Pay no heed to it then. I don''t feel any headache nor any urge to vomit blood. Your medicine works, Doc." Zoan then smiled at the Dwelf, before returning to put on his serious face. "Now then, let''s get straight to the problem: The temple. Four Arms here said that the strongest villagers are in there. We want to cure them, but they won''t do that without retaliation. Plus, there is no telling what the witch might do to us in the meantime." Zoan then paused, as to ensure that he is not going too fast in explaining his idea. "So I have a plan: I distract the villagers, Doc helps me suppressing the villagers, and while the witch is focusing on killing and cursing us, Four Arms kills the witch. How about it?" Zinc''s POV "Okay. I''m down with this plan. I can try to attack the acupressure points in their legs and arms to temporarily cripple them, providing me enough time to feed them the soup. But, just in case, should we devise a plan B?" Zinc nodded after some thought. Zinc continued after a momentary pause. "If the witch uses another powerful spell or curse, we might not be able to cope with that. If this does happen, we may need outside help. There are two possible options. I can have Arsenic secretly poison the witch but there are some risk of failure. Another option, I have with me some homemade wolf lures. I can use one to draw in nearby wolves and attack the witch. But these frenzied wolves might attack the villagers. What do you guys say? Got anything to add? Or a new plan to propose?" Nero''s POV " It would be great if you guys were able to draw the witch outside. If that doesn''t happen, I''ll take my chance and go inside the temple", Nero agreed with the strategy brought up by Zoan and then turned to Zinc. "We should use the wolves as a last resort. And unfortunately, we need you to help the villagers outside the temple. That means I''ll have Arsenic accompany me to the fight." Zoan''s POV "Alright. Let''s do this." Zoan walked towards the entrance of the temple and opened the big double doors. Inside, there were many villagers, but they were different. They did not walk aimlessly, but instead sat down, kneeling at the pews. At the center, there was a statue made of wood, presenting a figure of a female humanoid with wings of a bat as wide as her own height. The wings were folded, as to distribute balance of the statue. Next to the winged statue lies broken stone fragments of what is presumed to be Ophelia''s statue. "O lost sheep, have you come to pray?" A voice was heard. In front of the winged statue, there is a sole figure, kneeling with both knees touching the ground. It was the witch. She wore a black dress, tattered in some places. "No. I have come to kill you." Zoan said stoic voice. The witch chuckled, taken by surprise at the answer the stranger gave to her. "I see... So it is that time already..." "Yes. Any last words?" "Yes... Get him!" the witch shouted, ordering the villagers. Without any delay, all villagers stood up, turned their bodies towards the nomad at the same time, and began to scream at him. Zoan then ran as fast as he could towards the west, where the streets were wider than the others. He had assumed that this was probably the place for merchants to put down their carriages and trade with the villagers, but it was not the time to think about it. Nero''s POV Nero sat on top the tree next to the temple grounds, waiting for a signal. The wait wasn''t too long as he heard a commotion within the temple which quickly moved away from him. After waiting for a few moments, Nero decided to enter the grounds and move towards the temple itself. He saw that the doors were open and a woman was standing in front of the statue. The witch looked like she hadn''t expected his appearance and took a step back before chanting a spell. Nero acted quickly and threw his spear at her, but it was blocked by a black translucent barrier. The barrier shattered upon impact, but it had done its job by dispersing all the force of the spear, causing it to fall harmlessly on the floor. Not even a moment later, the witch waved her arm and sent a dark slash straight towards Nero, not even stopping her ongoing chant. The slash was powerful and Nero didn''t find the time to dodge it. He lifted his shield up and felt the impact through his body, leaving his shield wielding hand feeling a little numb. It was well known that magicians shouldn''t be given space to dictate a fight. Nero decided to close down the chanting witch as she continued with her chanting. As the distance between the two shrunk, Nero had to block a couple of slashes that had come flying at his face as well as his foot. The witch finally finished her chant and smiled in triumph but then froze in fear as Nero jumped forward in order to close the distance. He had finally reached striking distance and swung his spear down at her head with his entire body weight behind the hit. The swing was blocked by the appearance of another dark barrier which managed to stop his spear completely but crumpled upon impact. He was stuck in an awkward position at the moment but recovered quickly by kicking her right in the stomach before she could do anything. The witch had no more defense against his attacks and she flew a few meters backwards before collapsing into the floor. Arsenic, who had been hanging on to Nero''s back, dropped down on the floor and went to hide behind the statue. "ARGHHH", the witch screamed in agony as Nero slowly approached her. But then, he felt something change. He threw up into his arms and saw blood. His eyes widened as he realized that she had cursed him just like the villagers. He had become unable to move as he kept on throwing up blood on the floor. In the meantime, the witch had somewhat recovered from the bone shattering kick and had crawled away to a safe distance. Her expression was one that was filled with pain and fury as she declared with all her might, "You could have become my servant, but now you shall die." She undid one of her necklaces and broke it, causing all the beads fall onto the floor. Immediately, Nero felt himself becoming weaker as his cursed blood, that was on the floor, started to emit a red energy that flew into her. The witch had regained some of the color that her face had lost. She stood up slowly and it could be seen that her injuries were being healed. Nero grimaced as he had finally stopped vomiting blood. It looked like the witch had stopped the curse and had used it to power herself up. He got back into a battle stance as he got ready to fight. But then, something happened that made him feel dread. An enormous quantity of blood energy came flying from outside the temple. The witch absorbed it all and her skin turned into a shade of red. Zinc''s POV Seeing Zoan rush out into the streets while being chased by a horde of zombies, Zinc quickly jumped into action. With so many enemies, the doctor did not have enough needles for all of them. Instead, he decided to use his trained fingers. Since he was aiming for spinal nerves in the zombies'' bodies with deeper effects but not enough to cause permanent damage, Zinc decided to only use his forefingers and his middle fingers. The doctor performed the necessary warmup and gestures before bringing his fists up to eye level. Then, he slowly extended his forefingers and his middle fingers. With a sharp gaze at the zombies, Zinc charged towards their backs. Moving in from behind, the dwelf had an advantage of surprise. Zinc jabbed the first zombie on the neck and on the midsection of the zombie''s back, causing a sharp numbing sensation to the zombie''s limbs and brief paralysis. While the zombie leaned back, Zinc shoved some soup into the affected villager''s mouth. All this happened in a matter of seconds...and before a minute was up, Zinc had calmed down about thirty zombies. The doctor wiped away some sweat that glimmered on his forehead as he look towards Zoan who was still being chased by a large number of zombies. Luckily, the zombies were more focused on the barbarian and did not notice Zinc even after knocking down all those zombies from behind. The doctor was telepathically connected to his "son" Arsenic and from Arsenic, he could tell that Nero was having a hard time with the witch in the temple. "We need to hurry." Zinc muttered as he continued disabling more zombies. Zoan''s POV After having run a nice couple of minutes through the big street, Zoan paced himself into a jogging speed. Halfway through, he had noticed that there were less and less villagers chasing him. Now there were none. Herst then came out of nowhere, providing Zoan his water pouch. The nomad didn''t break much of a sweat, but a drink after being chased by cursed villager-cum-zombies is always nice to have. Even if it lasted less than 10 minutes. As he looks at his partner Zinc, he noticed that the Dwelf had an uneasy look while facing towards the temple. Just when he was about to approach him, some red mist had emerged from the knocked-out villagers. As the three of them maintain their wariness, the mist proceeded to flow back towards the temple. "...so it has come to this after all, huh?" When he accepted the quest, he knew he was going to kill people. In fact, he even knew that he had already killed some innocent villagers whom he could have saved, but didn''t. Still, there is always something in his heart that aches when he encounteres enemies whom he can talk to. This has been the case since he was a child. Since before he had been taken into the tribe. It was a something which had even made him hire Herst. ...unfortunately, such thoughts are not the time Zoan to think about. Not caring what happened to Herst and Zinc, Zoan rushed their way towards the temple. It was then when Zoan encountered the witch a second time. While the witch has clearly had some past, she is causing mayhem towards the village and towards one of his newest partners. Damage of property and assault; it appears that negotiation won''t work on her anymore. "How unfortunate," Zoan grunted, and launched himself towards the witch. A black translucent barrier had yet appeared again. Responding to it, Zoan raised his stone club up and swung it down, breaking the barrier. Without losing momentum, Zoan tackles the witch and carries her body along with him. The witch was taken by surprise, and pummeled the nomad''s back multiple times while saying "Let! Me! Go!" And he did... but simply not after smashing her body towards the temple''s wall. Nero''s POV Zoan had made his appearance at a crucial time. Nero had been struggling to keep up with the witch after she had powered up. His shield was barely held together and was chipped away at multiple places with small cracks appearing wherever he had blocked an attack. Her frequency of slashes had also increased by a lot as Nero couldn''t rely on his shield to keep all of them from him. He had some mild cuts on his right arms as well as on both his feet, causing him to slowly bleed and lose blood. He would have died a long time ago had it not been for Arsenic, Zinc''s centipede. Arsenic had managed go around the room and poison the witch from behind and hide before she could figure out what had happened. The result was a green patch of skin on her left calf that had continued to spread as the fight progressed. While this poison was really weakening her, it didn''t look like it would be enough to keep a weakened Nero alive. When Zoan arrived and attacked the witch, Nero finally got a chance to take a break from defending. He rose from his crouched position and limped over to the witch who was using her magic to heal herself. But it looked like she was quickly running out of the external blood energy. Her previously reddish skin was now really pale with a greenish tinge. Nero lifted his spear and swung it down with great force. A barrier formed for the umpteenth time as it tried to block the strike. But it wasn''t enough as the spear broke through the barrier and shattered it in an instant before continuing on its path and piercing the witch right through her chest.The witch must have realized that her time was up and her eyes had a distant look. She spoke her last words, "May our Lady... open the eyes of the heathens." Nero pulled his spear out of her body, leaving a gaping wound. The wound started to heal for a little while before the magic gave up. Her body had now turned completely green and her breathing had stopped. The witch was finally dead and Nero sat on the floor of the temple and rested against the wall, falling asleep from exhaustion and blood loss. Zinc''s POV While Zoan and Nero dealt with the witch inside the temple, Zinc stayed behind to take care of the villagers. Ever since the duo defeated the witch, the doctor could see noticeable changes to the cursed villagers'' complexion and behavior. While the soup''s effects wore off, Zinc applied some acupuncture to the affected nerves of each villager''s spine as well as massaging the forefingers and the ring fingers to stimulate the nerves in their limbs. Soon, the villagers reverted back to normal and their injuries healed. By the time the first villager woke up, he was able to move his limbs. Zoan''s POV Zoan went to check up on the villagers. One by one they regained their sanity, with some having their spirit broken upon realizing what they have done to other villagers, and realizing who they had lost. However the quest was about a witch hunt, and not consolation of the loss of life, love and friends. "How is it Doc? Any side effects over?" Zoan asked. Zinc''s POV "They''re recovering. It''ll take a few days but no worries, there''s no side effects." Zinc answered Zoan''s question. The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a dried stick of ginseng. "Here, take this. Though it won''t bring back your hair color, it will at least stimulate your blood and activate hair growth. Once we get back, just stop by my shop in a week''s time and I''ll give you an acupuncture treatment free of charge." After Zoan received the dried herb, Zinc also gestured for Nero to come over. The doctor also gave Nero a dried stick of ginseng. Since Nero had lost a lot of blood from the curse and from the fight, the ginseng will boost his body''s circulation and promote healthy blood production. After treating everybody, Zinc stood up and received Arsenic from Nero. The quest should be completed now. All that was left were the formalities. Zinc walked towards Zoan and Nero and asked them what they were doing next. Nero''s POV Nero did start feeling better after being treated by Zinc. He went over to the witch to search the greenish dead body as well as the temple. He found nothing on the witch herself apart from an enchanted ring which was glowing a faint red. After searching the temple, Nero found a few letters that the witch had received from someone. The contents of the letter were vague, but it showed that someone was aware of her doings and was helping her from the background. Apart from the the letters, he found some coins, but he decided to leave those to the temple which needed repairs. Zinc''s POV While Nero was searching for loot, Zinc was searching for something else. He wondered that if there was any living organism that could have survived and adapted to the witch''s curse. As Zinc looked about and overturned a few tables and stones, he was visibly disappointed at the lack of success. Just as he was about to give up, he caught a glimpse of movement. Focusing at the movement, Zinc realized that it came from a small, white worm. Immediately, Zinc sent out Arsenic to try to intimidate and communicate with the white worm. As soon as Arsenic made contact with the white worm, the worm limped and became submissive. Zinc contained the worm in a small rotect jar and peered at the worm. Zinc glanced over at Arsenic for a translation as he asked the worm some questions. "Can you hear me?" "What are you going to do to me?" The worm replied through Arsenic. "I won''t hurt you. Why don''t you follow me? Follow me and you will become great...that I guarantee." "R-Really? Will you feed me blood?" "Is that what you eat? Sure, I can do that." "Deal!" "How should I address you? Do you have a name?" "No." Zinc chuckled lightly. "Then, I''ll call you Cerium or Ceri for short." After Zinc pocketed Cerium, he left the temple to check on the villagers one last time. Zoan''s POV Meanwhile, at the temple, "..." Zoan stared at the corpse of the witch. "I am going to take this back with me," he said as he lifts up the whole corpse. Nero''s POV Nero showed the letters to his teammates as they left for the horses tied to the farmlands outside the village. Herny, who was waiting with the horses, was jumping up and down in joy as he learnt that most of the villagers had recovered and the curse had been lifted. He decided to see the adventurers off as they left for their return journey. Medicine Recipe #3 - Rejuvenation Tonic Description: A tonic made from a selection of herbs with refreshing properties. Used to reduce fatigue and boost stamina. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. First, pour the gallon of apple cider and the half gallon of water into the large rotect jar.
  2. Mix the solution well in order to dilute the efficacy of the apple cider for easier consumption.
  3. Next, dice and mince the garlic heads, ginger roots, and spicy red pepper pieces.
  4. Mix the safflower oil into the diced bits and pieces and mix well by hand or by spatula.
  5. Dump the mixture into the apple cider-water solution.
  6. Let the mixture soak in the solution for 2-3 weeks.
  7. After 2-3 weeks, carefully pour the liquid solution into the second large rotect jar.
  8. Strain the mixture for leftover liquid and pour the excess into the second rotect jar.
  9. Dry the strained mixture and store for future use.
  10. Divide the liquid into 100 mouthful-size rotect jars.
When using, make sure to first shake the jar in order to mix the solution as over time, the solution may have separated into two layers. After shaking, drink the tonic in one go. You will feel the effects in a minute or two. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Warning: Don¡¯t take more than one per day and three per week or the efficacy would lessen and the tonic would prove harmful to the body instead. Do not take if heavily wounded as it would cause you to lose blood faster. Rat Infestation Quest
Task: Rat Infestation Requester: Oroboros, Cheese Merchant Quest rank: E-rank Rewards: 9 Large Copper Coins. Description: Cheese, for everyone! That''s my business motto, sell cheese, for anyone and everyone! Maaaaaaaybe it wasn''t a good idea to sell it to a ratgirl that came here recently though... A number of giant rats have been found trying to get inside my storeroom... Somehow I was able to stop them from getting inside, which saved me from going bankrupt, but I''m seriously worried, please get rid of those rats for me. * The guild looked over this issue on its own due to the involvement of one of their employees with the matter, and apparently the giant rats are not native to Nagrand, rather, they seem to attack the native rats on sight. There might be more to this issue than just a bunch of rats coming through.
Once the rat infestation quest was approved, Zinc ventured towards Oroboros¡¯s storeroom located south of Nagrand. As a precaution, Zinc brought Arsenic with him in case there¡¯s a need to do massive area effect damage. The doctor mused over the issue as he walked towards Oroboros¡¯s storeroom. From what he had gathered from the guild, the rats weren¡¯t native but instead, they were species from another region. Given that the rats came soon after Oroboros sold some cheese to a ratgirl, the doctor reasoned that the rats were lured with malicious intent. Once Zinc arrived at the storeroom entrance, he got straight to work. He had Arsenic start off on applying a layer of poisonous, heavy gas around the perimeter of the storeroom. The gas was low enough not to affect others, but enough to affect the giant rats that crawl so close to the floors. Since Zinc believed that the rats were lured through some sort of sensory effects, he decided to open his senses and amplify them by double. And so, he waited. Soon, night fell and Zinc was almost about to doze off when his heightened ears picked up the sounds of a sharp melody. The tune played on for a while before thunderous footsteps overwhelmed the sound. ¡°I knew it! Someone is definitely luring them here. My money is on that ratgirl.¡± Zinc murmured under his breath as he reached for his Amputaion Knife. It was time for a massacre. Soon, the giant rats came. Zinc nearly cursed out loud when he saw the size of those rats. They were larger than some of the stray cats and dogs he saw while making his way to the storeroom. Where are they coming from? How do they avoid detection from other people? As the first few waves of giant rats collapsed due to the poisonous gas, the upcoming waves managed to avoid the gas by climbing over the corpses of their fellow companions. Zinc rushed out and met the giant rats with wide swings of his knife, cleaving many in half. There were just too many and after a couple of minutes of fight, Zinc could feel his arms tire and his strength seeping out. The doctor drank a Rejuvenation tonic to get rid of some of his fatigue and kept going. However, the tonic wasn¡¯t everlasting as he began to feel tired again after a few more waves of giant rats. This wasn¡¯t going anywhere. Zinc needed to take care of the main perpetrator involved ¨C the one that lured the rats here in the first place. As centipedes were sensitive to sounds, Zinc decided to use Arsenic¡¯s help in finding the main perpetrator. The centipede crawled about as he raised his head up to feel the sound vibrations within the air. After surveying for a couple of minutes, Arsenic was able to determine a potential location and immediately scurried after it. The doctor gripped his Amputation Knife nervously as he followed Arsenic. He made sure to leave Cerium behind to disorient any giant rat that came close to the storeroom as well as having his pet wolf ¨C Silver ¨C deal with any that Cerium missed. Soon, Zinc and Arsenic arrived near the southern gates. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°It¡¯s here¡­even I can hear it.¡± Zinc muttered as he distinctively heard the sounds of the strange tune. ¡°Arsenic, where¡¯s that sound coming from?¡± Over there! There¡¯s a gap in the wall! Arsenic¡¯s voice echoed inside the doctor¡¯s head. Zinc looked over and noticed a hole in the wall. It was big enough let through a couple of giant rats at a time. The doctor stalked up to the hole and laid eyes on a ratgirl. The ratgirl was blowing through a bone flute. When she saw the dwelf walking up to her, she immediately turned tail and ran. ¡°Not so fast!¡± Zinc roared as he reached into his utility belt and pulled out a medium-sized needle. ¡°Knocking!¡± The doctor hurled the needle towards the ratgirl, piercing her skin and paralyzing her spinal nerves. The ratgirl screamed as she felt the strength leave her arms and legs. She tried to get up but it was no use. Zinc had already arrived by where she fell. Zinc snatched the bone flute out of the ratgirl¡¯s hands and examined it closely. ¡°Seems interesting.¡± ¡°Give it back! It¡¯s mine!¡± The ratgirl retorted as she glared at the doctor with hatred in her eyes. ¡°Heh, not anymore. It¡¯s mine now.¡± Zinc smiled and shook a finger at the ratgirl. As the ratgirl began to cry, the doctor switched tactics and asked. ¡°How about this¡­you tell me why you sent giant rats to raid Oroboros¡¯s storeroom and I¡¯ll give this back to you.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± The ratgirl looked up hopefully. ¡°Sure. Tell me what I need to know and I¡¯ll give this back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°First off, why are you attacking Oroboros¡¯s storeroom?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re hungry.¡± ¡°We? You and the giant rats?¡± ¡°Not just the giant rats, there¡¯s my clan ¨C the Ratata Clan ¨C as well. Our once rich plains have been plagued with an intense, year-long heat that dried up everything. Even after raining, the water would evaporate quickly. We don¡¯t know what has caused it.¡± Zinc mused over the new information and remarked. ¡°So, without water, food won¡¯t grow and without food, you resort to stealing?¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± The ratgirl bowed her head in shame. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°M-My name? It¡¯s Ra¡¯Talia of the Ra Branch.¡± ¡°Listen Ra¡¯Talia. Call off your rat friends and I¡¯ll find a way to help your clan.¡± ¡°Y-You really mean it? C-Can I r-really trust you?¡± ¡°Definitely. Believe in me.¡± ¡°O-Okay. I believe in you.¡± Zinc treated Ra¡¯Talia¡¯s paralysis and handed the bone flute to her who then dismissed the giant rats. As the giant rats left Nagrand, Ra¡¯Talia bid Zinc farewell with newfound hope in her eyes before following her friends out of the town. With that settled, the doctor met with Oroboros and told him that the giant rats problem had been solved and that the cheese merchant won¡¯t need to worry about giant rats anymore¡­as for regular rats¡­well, that¡¯s not his problem. Medicine Recipe #4 - Revitalizing Solution Description: A solution made from a selection of herbs and ingredients with stress-relieving properties. Used to reduce stress, revitalize the body, and boost activeness. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. Pour some of the sesame seeds into the mortar and crush the seeds with the pestle.
  2. After pressing out all the oil in the seeds, add the rest of the bag and continue crushing.
  3. Take one piece of coarse cloth and place it over the large rotect jar.
  4. Pour the sesame seed bits and pieces and the freshly pressed sesame oil into the coarse cloth.
  5. Squeeze out the sesame oil into the large rotect jar and remove the bits and pieces.
  6. Take half a lemon and squeeze out the juice.
  7. Pour the juice into the large rotect jar.
  8. Place a second coarse cloth over the large rotect jar.
  9. Take two gooseberries and crush the juices out using the mortar and pestle.
  10. Strain the juices into the large rotect jar using the coarse cloth.
  11. Continue until you used all ten gooseberries.
  12. Next, pour the almond oil into the solution in the large rotect jar.
  13. Grind up the ginger root using mortar and pestle.
  14. Toss the crushed ginger root into the solution.
  15. Pour the half gallon of water into the solution.
  16. Mix and tightly close the large rotect jar.
  17. Bury the jar and leave it there for a week.
  18. Dig up the jar and divide the solution into 10 medium-sized rotect jars.
When using, make sure to first shake the jar in order to mix the solution as over time, the solution may have separated into multiple layers. After shaking, apply the solution on the affected area. Let sit for half a day before washing the solution away. You will see the effects in a day or two and full recovery in a week.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Bounty #1 - A Den of Wolves
Target: Wolves Degree of Threat: E Rank Wanted: Dead Rewards: 8 Small Copper per Wolf, 10 Large Copper for the Alfa. Deadline: Nothing established. Last Seen in: East of Doylors Description: A den of wolves was recently sighted near our town, we can''t waste precious research time in getting rid of them, but they are an annoyance to merchants no doubt. Tsk, annoying guardsmen saying they can''t leave their post to go kill some wolves. Go out there and get rid of them, it''s only a single den, so it shouldn''t be too much trouble, right? - Irwin, Circle Magi. Leads In their Moves: None, they''re Wolves...
Zinc was walking about in the guild, looking for a quest to take when he saw one of the bounties posted on the bounty board. It was a request for the extermination of a den of wolves recently sighted near the town. The wolves have been putting the merchants on edge and the guardsmen say that they can¡¯t leave their post to kill the wolves. Thinking of earning easy money, the doctor decided on taking the bounty. Now, he recalled that a pack of wolves ranged between ten to fifteen wolves. However, for a den, there could be as many as twenty wolves including an alpha. In order to deal with these twenty wolves, Zinc could not just charge straight in. Instead, he needed to use some underhanded tricks. Firstly, he needed some bait. Zinc went to the local butcher shop and ordered some large hunks of deer meat. Storing the meat in a large bag, Zinc rushed towards the wolf den. Arriving a couple of meters near the den, the doctor placed the meat in a clearing and held up his hand. ¡°Come out.¡± Zinc whispered gently. ¡°Poison these hunks of deer meat.¡± Soon after, Arsenic slithered out from Zinc¡¯s sleeve and dug into the pieces of meat. Minutes later, Arsenic came out of the last hunk of meat. The meat, however, didn¡¯t even change color. The pieces still retained their blood red color. Zinc smiled at his son. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Is it done?¡± Yes. Whoever eats that meat will die in a matter of seconds. Arsenic telepathically responded before hopping onto the doctor¡¯s hand and slithered back into his sleeve. ¡°Good.¡± Zinc nodded and stood up. He looked around and scouted a good hiding spot in the distance. Eyeing the distance, Zinc pulled out a wolf lure. With a twist, he launched the half-opened rotect jar at the poisoned meat. As soon as he threw the wolf lure, Zinc bolted towards the hiding spot. The wolf lure bounced on the meat and the cap flew off due to the momentum. The wolf lure poured out all over the poisoned meat. While Zinc hid in his hiding spot, the wolves came. Awwwooooo!! Ten wolves arrived. A larger, black-furred wolf was leading the pack of wolves. It was undoubtedly the alpha male. The wolves were red in the eyes as if in a frenzied state. They charged towards the meat, regardless of social rank. In a flash, they devoured the meat. However, the poison acted quickly. Immediately after swallowing the first bite, the wolves collapsed and turned a shade of deep green. The alpha male, true to his social rank, lasted a bit longer. He had spotted Zinc hiding in the distance and charged towards the doctor. However, running only sped up the poison as the venomous liquid shot towards the wolf¡¯s heart. The alpha male collapsed onto the ground, stopping only inches away from Zinc. The doctor patted his chest in relief as he glanced at the large wolf. He clicked his tongue as he saw the waste of good materials. Zinc looked at the other wolves that laid dead next to a puddle of blood where the poisoned meat once lain. Was that all of them? Zinc wanted to make sure and so, he approached near the mouth of the den and listened. There seemed to be some faint sounds. Zinc rushed in with his Amputation Knife flashing¡­only to be met with five cubs. Oh-ho¡­could it be that these cubs weren¡¯t affected by the wolf lure? Were they too young? Zinc may need to rewrite his wolf lure¡¯s description because of this. Nevertheless, the doctor could not let these five survive. The bounty specified the death of all the wolves in this den. With a strong determination, Zinc swung his knife three times, tearing all five cubs into pieces. After searching the den for some loot, Zinc found five pieces of large copper and a small, silver throwing knife. Pocketing the loot, the doctor left the den and headed back to the guild to report his completion. The Mask of Mayhem Quest
Task: The Mask of Mayhem Requester: Gandarufu, the Slightly Bleached Black Sorcerer Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 10 Large Copper Coins Description: In the old days, 3 mask were given to the elves, 7 to the dwarves, and 9 to the humans, those were the masks of power, meant to grant power above all else. And then, the evil Arcane Warrior Saurumo made the One Mask to Rule Them All. Unfortunately for him, the other 19 masks were super ugly, so people just burned them at a pyre, making his mask''s power pretty useless... Then someone took the mask off his face while he slept and he suddenly became dust, poor guy. But well, his mask still remained, and it kinda makes people that wear them go nuts or something, so... Do me a favor and travel to the Demonic Volcano and throw it there? For one reason or another the mask can only be destroyed there.
Once Zinc received the approval for the quest, the doctor checked the maps to search for where the Demonic Volcano was located. After scouring the world map, Zinc discovered that the volcano was somewhere on the borders north of Nyllia. According to the guild¡¯s intel, the north of Nyllia was a hot and dry region mainly due to the intensity of the Demonic Volcano. The Demonic Volcano was filled with Fire Elemental Energy and it housed many monsters including Lizardkin, Fire Elementals, and Demons. In addition, it was known to many that the volcano had frequent eruptions, making it near impossible to hike up the rocky paths. Zinc rubbed his beard a bit as he mused over what he should do. After a few minutes of nothing, the doctor grimaced and walked out of the guild. He strode around the town, hoping to gain some inspiration on what he must do¡­or find something useful in the town. While he wandered about, he found himself in the lower end of the town. The houses were deteriorating while more and more people could be found on the streets begging for food or robbing others. The security in this area was nil and villains roam the streets freely. Zinc narrowed his eyes as he vigilantly marched deeper in. His right hand clasped on his Amputation Knife, ready to unsheathe if any trouble came his way. Suddenly, a group of men surrounded him as he turned down an alley. There were about five people ¨C three in the front and two in the back. Zinc looked back and noticed that one of the men twirled an iron dagger. The three in front each carried a pair of brass knuckles. Zinc stopped in his tracks and glared at the men in front of him. ¡°What do you want? I don¡¯t want any trouble.¡± Zinc declared as he drew his knife partway. ¡°Hehe,¡± The man in the middle, seemingly the leader, cackled as he stroked the large scar across his face, ¡°we don¡¯t want any trouble too. Just hand over your valuables and we¡¯ll be on our merry way.¡± ¡°Hmph! Do you think I would do that?¡± ¡°Oh? In that case, we¡¯ll have to use a bit of force. Men¡­attack!¡± Both brawlers to the leader¡¯s sides rushed at Zinc with arms raised. Zinc skipped back but realized that the two behind him had also charged forward. With the space between him and his enemies decreasing with every second, Zinc decided on his move. With a wave of his left hand, Cerium peeked out. The little worm wiggled about for a second or two before sliding down Zinc¡¯s sleeve. Suddenly, the four men stumbled. Though they caught themselves, their eyes became dull. The two in the front charged past Zinc and started fighting with the ones behind the doctor. Disbelieving what he was seeing, the leader tried to talk some sense to his followers, but to no avail. Soon, all four men collapsed from injuries they inflicted upon each other. Zinc ignored the defenseless men and strode towards the leader, who stumbled back and fell on his butt. ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer!¡± The man shouted as he tried to scoot away from the approaching dwelf. Zinc sneered and kicked out, sending the man tumbling backwards. ¡°Who are you? Who sent you after me?¡± ¡°M-My name is Scarface Joe. I¡¯m part of the Tiger Gang. N-No one sent us¡­we just th-thought you were an easy target.¡± ¡°Oh? So, how are you going to take responsibility for my injuries?¡± ¡°W-What injuries? We didn¡¯t even touch you!¡± ¡°My heart injuries! Your ugly mug scared the shit out of me! My heart is still pounding from the sight. It definitely suffered some internal injuries. I¡¯m a doctor, so I should know.¡± ¡°B-But¡­.¡± ¡°50 Large Copper, pay up!¡± ¡°I¡­We don¡¯t have that much money.¡± ¡°No money? Then, your life¡­.¡± ¡°W-Wait! Is there anything else I can exchange it for? Maybe information? I¡¯m well-versed about the happenings in these parts.¡± ¡°Oh? Do you know any place that sells items with heat resistance or heat immunity?¡± ¡°N-No¡­.¡± ¡°Then die.¡± ¡°Wait! Mafa¡¯s Shop! Try Mafa¡¯s Shop!¡± ¡°Mafa¡¯s Shop?¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where to find what you need, however at Mafa¡¯s Shop, you can find many antique artifacts and items. Most of the items were stolen and some were bought from the black market. Maybe there¡¯s something in Mafa¡¯s Shop that would interest you? You can find that shop a few blocks from here.¡± Zinc glared at Scarface Joe without showing any reaction, causing the man to fidget about nervously. Finally, the doctor released the man and remarked. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re good to go. Don¡¯t forget to take your lackeys.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir. Thank you so much! Thank you!¡± As the five men scampered away, Zinc glanced in the direction of the so-called Mafa¡¯s Shop. With a silent prayer to whatever god or goddess was out there, the doctor rushed towards the store. Some time later, Zinc arrived before a small shack where a sign hung on top of the doorway reading ¡®Mafa¡¯s Shop ¨C Home to Almost Everything¡­. You name it, we got it.¡¯ Zinc pushed open the door, causing a bell to ring. As he walked in, he was struck by a dusty smell. The doctor rubbed his nose as he stifled a sneeze. ¡°Anyone here?¡± Suddenly, a gnome popped out from behind the counter and approached Zinc with a devious smile. ¡°Greetings customer, welcome to Mafa¡¯s Shop¡­I am Mafa. What can I help you with?¡± ¡°You got anything I can use that will make me resistant or immune to heat?¡± The doctor replied as he glanced about at the antiques that covered the shelves and walls. ¡°Heat? And what is the nature of this request?¡± ¡°Is that important?¡± ¡°It could be. What¡¯s the harm in asking?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­I need to make a trip to the Demonic Volcano. As for the details¡­that¡¯s for me to know and you to not. Well? Do you have anything for me or not?¡± ¡°Demonic Volcano? Hmm¡­I don¡¯t have anything that could help protect you from the heat....¡± ¡°What a waste of time!¡± ¡°However! However, I do have something that might be of use.¡± ¡°Oh? What is it? Show me!¡± The gnome reached behind a counter and pulled out a small chest. Mafa patted away some of the dust that had collected on top of the box and unlocked the chest with a click. The shop owner opened the chest and pulled out a mask. Upon closer look, Zinc saw that it was a mask of a lizardman. ¡°A lizardman mask? How will that help me?¡± ¡°This lizardman mask was created by a legend from an alternate universe¡­Khaos the Mask Maker. He was a powerful adventurer, and this was one of his earlier works.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± Zinc leaned forward as his interest piqued. ¡°The mask has a special power that allows the user to transform into a powerful lizardman. Doesn¡¯t the Demonic Volcano house a number of Lizardkin? By wearing this mask, you will become a lizardman who can withstand the heat from the volcano. How about it?¡± ¡°Hmm, sounds good! How much is it?¡± ¡°No money¡­I want a favor.¡± ¡°A favor? What?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of it yet¡­but I¡¯ll tell you once I know what I want. Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal!¡± Zinc reached out and shook the gnome¡¯s hand after some thought. Once the contract was signed and both parties agreed to the terms, Zinc grabbed the mask and identified it. Mask of the Lizardman Scout: E-Rank No Cooldown No Limit Indestructible Stamina Drain 5% per Hour Special Attributes: Strength Increase Defense Increase Fire Resistance Special Skills: Eagle Eye ¨C things seen far away are seen as if close up ¡°Fire resistance eh? Doesn¡¯t tell me by how much, but it¡¯s enough.¡± Zinc grinned as he left the store. With the mask in hand, Zinc headed towards his favorite store to stock up on some necessities. Along the way, he could feel someone watching him. Thinking it was the robbers earlier, the doctor shrugged and ignored it. After buying all the necessary stuff including a fit horse, Zinc picked up the mask in question and rushed out of town. Meanwhile¡­. A man slipped out of the shadows. He was wearing all black and his face was covered with a cloth mask. The man walked with quiet footsteps and those he walked past did not even notice him. Only one man saw him¡­a bearded, middle-aged man with a scowling face and black tattoos. He wore leather armor and had a tiger skin draped across his back. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± The man replied. The man of shadows dropped on one knee and saluted. ¡°Boss, he has left the town.¡± The ¡®Boss¡¯ nodded and sneered. ¡°To mess with my gang, I ¨C Tiger ¨C will not let you live! What are the news of Leo and Alpha?¡± ¡°They have received your messages. They said that with this, their debts are repaid.¡± The shadow man responded. ¡°Hmph! Only if they complete the task. Go, follow behind him and report back to me once the task is done.¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Back on Zinc¡¯s end¡­. The trip was close to 500 kilometers long. A fit horse could run on average 80-100 kilometers a day. If Zinc spurred the horse at this rate, he would most likely arrive at the destination in 5-6 days. Now, the doctor did not do so as he had to take into account for the return home. If he had initially forced the horse to run near its limit each day, the horse could die from exhaustion. Thus, Zinc slowed the horse down to about 70-80 kilometers a day. With this rate, the doctor would need about 7-8 days before he arrived. Today was the fourth day. The past three days, he had not met with any problems and the days gone by with ease. However, on the fourth day, Zinc noticed that there were fewer plant life surrounding him. And the only plants there were dry and scratchy. Zinc knew in his mind that he was nearing the volcano. Zinc decided to stop his horse and look for a place to refill his water sack. As he found a small pond, he suddenly heard a faint noise coming from behind him. The doctor dove forward and spun around just in time to see a dagger fly through where his head was before. Zinc looked up and saw nearly 30 people with varying armor and clothing. About half wore wolfskin and the other half wore lion leather. The group looked at Zinc menacingly. ¡°Who are you?¡± Zinc asked as he moved his hand towards the Amputation Knife on his side. He eyed grimacingly at his Horse-Slaying Blade leaning next to a tree a few feet away from him. When dealing with large numbers of enemies, using the Horse-Slaying Blade was a better choice. He¡¯ll have to make do until he reached the tree. Responding to Zinc¡¯s question, one man walked out and pointed with his one-handed axe. ¡°We¡¯re here to claim your life. You¡¯ve offended someone you shouldn¡¯t have and he wants you dead.¡± ¡°I offended someone? The only one I could think of would have to be the Tiger Gang.¡± Zinc mused as he sneakily released Cerium who quickly started to spread hallucinogens into the atmosphere as well as Arsenic who spewed out a large amount of colorless, gaseous toxin. ¡°When I return, I will definitely pay them a visit!¡± ¡°Return? You won¡¯t be able to. Men, charge!¡± Twenty-eight robbers charged at Zinc, however, before they could come close, they began to experience something strange. Their strength began to wane as well. ¡°Ara? What¡¯s this? Why is everything becoming bigger?¡± One of the robbers remarked as he stared at his surroundings. Another robber exclaimed as he held his hands up to his face. ¡°Why are my hands shrinking? Why am I shrinking?¡± The robbers collapsed onto the ground motionless as their strength seeped out of them. The two leaders, who stayed behind to overseer the battle, were shocked into disbelief. This wasn¡¯t what they were signed up for! As Zinc walked towards them, they gritted their teeth through the dwelf¡¯s pressure and attacked. The duo charged at Zinc, each slashing out with their weapons. Zinc quickly dodged the first attack and rolled next to his Horse-Slaying Blade. The doctor reached over and grabbed the blade just in time to block the blow from the second attack. ¡°Hmph! You¡¯re just so-so!¡± Zinc declared as he pushed back the attack and swung his blade towards his enemies. The two leaders jumped back with adrenaline-induced reactions. Just as Zinc stood up and held his blade to his side, the duo did something strange. The man wearing lion leather took a deep breath and roared while the man with the one-handed ax howled. RRAAAWWWRRGGGHHH!!! AAAWWOOOOOOO!!! The roar and howl surprised Zinc. What were they trying to do? As the roar entered the doctor¡¯s ears, he could feel his body become numb and his head a bit dizzy. This seemed to have a small stun effect! However, he could not hear the howl so the doctor thought that it was useless for the one-handed ax user to do so. The stunned doctor held up his blade and went on the defense against the two warriors. As the effect wore off, the doctor became more aggressive as he began attacking as well. However, for some reason, both opponents seemed different from before. Both were faster and stronger. They could take on more of Zinc¡¯s attacks. Was it because of the howl earlier? Or was he still under the effects of the roar? If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Zinc had no time to ponder about this. He decided to try something underhanded. As he swung his large blade, he let go of the handle and sent the Horse-Slaying Blade flying towards the two leaders. Upon seeing the blade fly towards them, the duo split and tumbled to the ground. At this time, the doctor reached into his utility belt and drew out two needles. With a twist of his wrist, he flung both needles at the unsuspecting enemies. Each throw was accurate and precise. Each throw hit its mark, temporarily paralyzing the two warriors. Zinc charged up to the nearest warrior and kicked him in the head, knocking him out instantly. He, then, turned towards the man in the lion leather and held his Amputation Knife to the man¡¯s neck. ¡°Speak. Who are you?¡± Zinc inquired with a hint of killing intent. ¡°D-Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m Leo ¨C leader of the Lion Gang, and that is Alpha ¨C leader of the Wolf Gang. If you spare us, our two gangs will be forever in your debt.¡± Leo pleaded as he panted from exhaustion. ¡°What were those yelling you did before? Some kind of skill?¡± ¡°Yes! They are our gangs¡¯ secret skills ¨C Lion¡¯s Roar and Boost Howl. Lion¡¯s Roar can stun enemies and Boost Howl can buff allies in strength and speed.¡± ¡°Does the leader of the Tiger Gang also have a secret skill?¡± ¡°Yes. The leader has Tiger¡¯s Aura which can intimidate weaker enemies. Legends say Tiger¡¯s Aura is a minor branch of the King¡¯s Aura.¡± ¡°I see. Give me.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Give me the Lion¡¯s Roar skill book or I¡¯ll behead you here and now.¡± ¡°B-But, that¡¯s my gang¡¯s secret skill¡­only those of my ga¨Cokay, okay, okay!¡± As soon as Leo hesitated, Zinc raised his weapon and prepared to swing. This gesture scared the crap out of Leo, causing him to give in completely. The leader of the Lion Gang reached into his clothes and pulled out a paperback book. It read ¡®Lion¡¯s Roar Technique¡¯. As Zinc reached out to grab the book, a glint of killing intent flashed in Leo¡¯s eyes as the man pulled out a dagger hidden in his right boot. However, Zinc had expected this to happen as he kicked out and knocked the dagger out of Leo¡¯s hand. With a grunt, the doctor cleaved Leo¡¯s head clean off. ¡°Hmph! Never trust a lion and his pride.¡± Zinc stored the skill book into his bag and walked up to the unconscious man lying on the ground. The doctor pressed down on a few points on the man¡¯s body, waking him up from his slumber. The man gazed at Zinc fearfully as he tried to scoot away. ¡°W-What do you want? Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ve an eighty-year-old mother and a five-year-old kid at home¡­please have mercy!¡± ¡°Relax. Give me what I want, and I¡¯ll release you. Of course¡­if you do anything funny, you¡¯ll end up like him.¡± Zinc pointed at Leo¡¯s decapitated body. Alpha glanced over to where the doctor was pointing at and saw Leo¡¯s body. With a gulp, he nodded his head fiercely. ¡°Spare me and the Wolf Gang will follow you for life!¡± ¡°Hand over the Boost Howl Technique.¡± ¡°H-How did you¡­?¡± ¡°Leo told me. Are you going to or not?¡± ¡°This¡­.¡± ¡°Guess you want to die, eh?¡± ¡°No! I¡¯ll give! I¡¯ll give!¡± Alpha reached into his clothes and pulled out a paperback book. It read ¡®Boost Howl Technique¡¯. As Zinc reached over and grabbed the book, he eyed Alpha for any suspicious movements. However, the man was too fearful to do anything. The doctor skimmed through the contents to confirm the authenticity before storing it. With a satisfied smile, Zinc took a step back. ¡°You may go.¡± ¡°Thank you! Thank you very much! From now on, you are the Wolf Gang¡¯s leader!¡± Alpha exclaimed as he bowed deeply. ¡°Oh? Is that so? Okay, I accept your offer.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± ¡°For your first assignment, keep tabs on the Tiger Gang and make a report of their power and wealth. As for the Lion Gang, kill them.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Okay, dismissed!¡± Alpha immediately left, along with his men, and Zinc killed off the rest of the members of the Lion Gang. With this encounter solved, Zinc continued on his way. A day or two later, the doctor arrived near the volcano. His horse couldn¡¯t go anymore further because of the heat so the doctor could only go on foot. Before he set off, he tied the horse nearby where there were plenty of food and a small spring for water. Then, Zinc reached into his bag and pulled out the Mask of the Lizardman Scout. With a deep breath, he put the mask on. ¡°AAARRGHH!¡± Zinc screamed in pain as his body shapeshifted and contorted into a lean, black lizardman with golden eyes. The doctor looked at his new body. He swished his tail expertly as if it was a part of his body. With a toothy grin, he directed his gaze at the Demonic Volcano in the distance. The heat was still there but it was not unbearable. Zinc wanted to experience his change some more, but he remembered that the mask had a stamina drain. He shouldn¡¯t be wasting his precious time and stamina. Zinc checked his bag and his weapons before journeying towards the target destination. Meanwhile¡­. ¡°What?! That bastard defeated them both? Leo¡¯s dead and Alpha betrayed us? That sly bastard! Where¡¯s Alpha now?¡± Tiger roared as he heard the news from his shadowy subordinate. ¡°Boss, he¡¯s in that building over there tracking our men¡¯s movements.¡± The shadowy man replied. ¡°Good! Summon our men! Tonight we feast in blood!¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Back on Zinc¡¯s end¡­. Soon, Zinc arrived at the foot of the volcano. It had just erupted, and a stream of lava flowed down the volcano along certain paths. He wiped some sweat from his forehead. Though it feels like a sauna now, the heat wasn¡¯t fatal, and he could still endure through it. Zinc began climbing up the Demonic Volcano after a short rest. Along the way, he spotted other Lizardkin hiking along well-used paths up and down the volcano. Since Zinc was unfamiliar with the area, he decided to follow a lizardman up the volcano. Suddenly, the lizardman ¨C a red Lizardkin with obsidian-colored eyes ¨C turned around and approached Zinc. ¡°Who are you? I¡¯ve not seen you around these parts. Where are you from? What tribe are you from?¡± The red lizardman questioned as he pointed his spear at the doctor. Not wanting to cause conflict, Zinc held up his unarmed hands and replied. ¡°I am called Shadow Fang. I am tribeless and from the far south.¡± ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve heard of Lizardkin from the south¡­though I also heard that they are mostly green-skinned. You, on the other hand, are not.¡± ¡°I suffer from a skin defect.¡± Zinc lied with a straight face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not contagious. Because of it, I was driven out of my tribe. Have mercy on me. I have traveled far and would like to see the mouth of the Demonic Volcano. Can you lead me there?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­sure. I am called Red Star of the Fiery Sky Tribe.¡± Red Star agreed as he introduced himself. The two chatted some more as they made their way up the volcano. Zinc learned that Red Star was the youngest son of the Fiery Sky Tribe¡¯s best warrior. He was making his way up the Demonic Volcano to look for some fresh obsidian which would be used for making certain crafts necessary for his tribe. And naturally, Red Star learned about Zinc¡¯s medical profession. Soon, the duo arrived at the mouth of the volcano. While Red Star carved out some obsidian along the edges of the volcano, Zinc quickly brought out the cursed mask and dropped it down the volcano. With a sizzle and a gargle, the mask burned to a crisp and sank to the bottom of the volcano. It was at that time when the volcano began to change. It began to rumble. A cloud of blackness spewed out from the mouth causing Zinc to stumble back. Luckily, the doctor was near the mouth so when he fell back, he was still on the volcano. It still shocked him though. However, a scream woke him from his shock. Red Star! Zinc rushed to the edge of the volcano and peered down. Red Star hung from a small crevice at the side of the volcano. By the looks of it, he couldn¡¯t hold on much longer. Zinc shouted for Red Star to hold on as he laid down and reached towards the red lizardman with his hands. Once the doctor grabbed onto Red Star¡¯s arm, he used all his strength to lift up the red lizardman. ¡°Whew! I thought I was a goner! You saved me Shadow Fang. From now on, you and I are brothers!¡± Red Star gasped as he scrambled up the volcano. ¡°No worries. You helped me out. Naturally, I will help you. We are even.¡± Zinc smiled and dismissed Red Star¡¯s proclamation. ¡°No! This is a spoken tradition of our Lizardkin. He who helps you in a significant way shall be treated as a brother. And she who helps you shall be treated as a sister. You have saved my life. Naturally, you are my brother.¡± ¡°Okay. Fine. We are brothers.¡± ¡°Haha! Great! Brother Shadow Fang, where are you heading? Why don¡¯t you stay at my tribe for a few days?¡± ¡°I appreciate you offer, but Brother Red Star, I have some business I need to complete back home. Maybe I¡¯ll visit you and your tribe some other day.¡± ¡°Okay! No worries, no worries. I will wait for you.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± ¡°Goodbye. May the Dragon Spirit be with you.¡± The two bid their farewells and separated. Red Star continued to carve out fresh obsidian while Zinc rushed down the volcano, following the path he took up. Once he steered clear away from the horrendous heat of the Demonic Volcano, Zinc removed his mask and returned to his original shape and size. The doctor hopped on his horse and headed home. It was night when he got back to the guild. He had just submitted the completion report and was about to pay the Tiger Gang a visit for their insolence earlier in the day when he heard sounds of fighting. Something was happening! Zinc rushed towards the sounds and saw three large gangs duking it out. Judging from the gangs¡¯ attire, the doctor could conclude that they were the Wolf Gang, Tiger Gang, and Lion Gang. It seemed that the Tiger Gang and the Lion Gang were ganging up on the Wolf Gang. Since the Wolf Gang had fallen under his command, Zinc felt that he needed to do something about the situation before him. ¡°Arsenic¡­spread some paralyzing gas in their direction.¡± Zinc muttered as he laid his son on the ground before him. The centipede crawled forward a couple of feet before spewing out purplish gas. The paralysis won¡¯t take effect quickly, so Zinc needed to distract them. During the journey, he had trained a bit on the Lion¡¯s Roar and Boost Howl techniques. Maybe Lion¡¯s Roar could do something about it. The doctor breathed in and aimed his mouth towards the battlefield. With his hands cupped to amplify and direct the flow of the roar, Zinc let it loose on the three gangs. RROOAAARRR!! The three gangs paused their fight and stared at each other a bit dazed. Though, the effect of Zinc¡¯s Lion¡¯s Roar wasn¡¯t that significant, it was enough for the doctor to descend upon Tiger and deal the killing blow¡­or that was what Zinc had intended if not for the appearance of the shadowy man. The man blocked Zinc¡¯s attack and countered with a blow to the gut. The doctor stumbled back and glared at his assailant. ¡°Who are you?¡± Zinc questioned as he gazed at the surrounding people. It seemed the daze was wearing off. He needed to hurry. ¡°My name is of no importance. What is important is your life. Leave it here for me!¡± The shadowy man attacked with his rapier. ¡°Hmph! I don¡¯t think so. Tell me your name so I can write it on your tombstone!¡± ¡°Fuck off! Die for me!¡± ¡°Die!¡± The two clashed swords. The shadowy man stabbed in quick succession while Zinc blocked every one of them with accurate parries. Zinc smirked at the man and sped up his attack rate. ¡°Is that all you got? Then, time to end this!¡± Zinc swung up with his Amputation Knife. On the way up, the doctor borrowed the swing¡¯s momentum to launch a couple of thin needles at the shadowy man. Zinc¡¯s opponent dodged the swing, but he did not expect the doctor to throw flying weapons. The needles pierced into the shadowy man, dealing some damage but not enough to disable him. Fortunately, before the man could recover, Zinc swung down and cleaved the man in half with his Horse-Slaying Blade. Before Leo could recover, Zinc had arrived beside him. Leo tried to utter a word of forgiveness but no sound came out as the doctor slashed across, tearing away at the gang leader¡¯s throat and leaving behind a trail of blood. The dwelf reached into Leo¡¯s pockets and pulled out the skill book ¨C Tiger Aura. After pocketing this technique, he turned towards the men who had just gained feeling in their limbs. ¡°Men of the Tiger Gang and the Lion Gang! Your leaders have been killed by me! Submit to me or die!¡± Zinc howled out using Boost Howl which buffed up the Wolf Gang, making them look even more intimidating. Without hesitation, the two gangs kneeled down and swore fidelity to Zinc. Luckily, the gang members were smart, or the streets would be painted red tonight. Zinc looked at the three gangs and issued his first order. ¡°Lion Gang, Wolf Gang, and Tiger Gang! From now on, you shall be combined to form the Dragon Gang! The Dragon Gang will be divided into three branches! Those of the Lion Gang who boasts of their killing prowess¡­you shall be known as the Breathing Dragon Branch. This branch will take care of the assassinations and raids! Those of the Tiger Gang who boasts of their strength¡­you shall be known as the Roaring Dragon Branch. This branch will take care of the massacres and base defense. And those of the Wolf Gang who boasts of their intellect and speed¡­you shall be known as the Flying Dragon Branch. This branch will take care of the information gathering. Understood?¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± Everyone roared in response. ¡°Dismissed!¡± Rescue my Daughter! Quest
Task: Rescue my Daughter! Requester: Blanc, Desperate Mother Quest Rank: C-rank Rewards: 96 Large Copper Coins Descriptions: My daughter, Jibs, fell into the Great Maelstrom! I told her that just because she was an excellent swimmer, she shouldn''t try her luck at the rivers near the Maelstrom! Yet she did it anyways! She might still be alive, but diving into the Maelstrom to save her would be... I can''t do it. Please... Save her... Somehow... * The guild reminds adventurers that the Maelstrom probably leads into the Water Elemental Plane, caution is advised when taking this. ** Jibs is a Merfolk.
Grendel''s POV After Grendel accepted the quest along with the other adventurers, he parted ways with them and hurriedly returned to his camp to start packing up. This quest will be a long one, and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Lethe''s POV Lethe wasn¡¯t exactly sure why he had accepted this quest as he had always been a subpar swimmer. Nevertheless, there he was¨C in his sleeping bag, lazing about, right in front of the tavern. They had agreed to meet there the day before, so Lethe had just spent the night there to get in as much sleep as rabbitly possible. Nero''s POV The sun was about to rise as Nero made his way to the tavern. He had expected to be the first to arrive but was given a shock when he found Lethe at the meeting point, soundly asleep in his sleeping bag. "This can''t be. He must have been camping here since yesterday. Yeah, that must be it", Nero rationalized the unexpected event in his mind as he moved slowly and sat next to Lethe. Deciding that it would be fine to let Lethe sleep during the journey, he shook the rabbitkin awake. Grendel''s POV Arriving at the tavern in the next morning, Grendel spotted two of the three adventurers he decided to party up with yesterday, a large four-armed man and a small white rabbitkin.He greeted them as he approached, "Good morning! I see the two of you are an early riser as well!" Zinc''s POV Zinc showed up last as he observed his party. There were two warriors and one summoner. Not really a good lineup especially against water elementals but they had to make do. The night before, Zinc had quickly concocted a few drinkable medicines to combat any sinus problems that may arise from swimming or diving underwater. While underwater, the body will be constantly bashed with coldness. To help with that, Zinc concocted some medicine using ''warm herbs'' such as peppermint, finely ground cockleburs, extract of magnolia flowers, and extract from wild celery roots. As Zinc arrived at his party''s meeting place, the doctor handed each of his party a small rotect jar of the liquid. "Make sure to take this half an hour before we enter the sea for maximum benefits." Grendel''s POV Receiving the small jar from the newly arrived adventurer, Grendel eyed the liquid for a moment before storing it in his pouch. "Thanks for the potion. By the way, I don''t think I''ve introduced myself properly yesterday. So, once again, I''m Grendel, a pleasure to meet you. I hope I can be of help to you in this quest." Lethe''s POV Lethe rubbed his eyes and yawned trying to wake up enough to function at, at least a basic level. Even though he was still rather out of it, Lethe successfully held onto the rotect jar Zinc had handed to him and simultaneously looked at this Grendel person with a doubtful look in his eyes. Seemed like he was one of those crazy "morning people." "Mornin''," Lethe then managed to mumble out whilst struggling to keep his eyelids at least partially open. After a brief pause to gather enough energy to continue speaking, Lethe turned to Zinc and added: "Thanks." Nero''s POV Nero accepted the jar of liquid gratefully and turned to Grendel, "Nice to meet you too. I''m Nero, just in case you forgot my name." It was not often that Nero had the opportunity to interact with someone of a similar stature and felt a sense of comradery form towards Grendel. Now that all of them had assembled, it made sense to get going. Nero led the way towards the southern end of the town. The plan was to board a boat from the nearest river tributary and traverse the waters to get to the Great Maelstrom. Grendel''s POV After paying the fee of 5 large copper each, the party boarded the ferry which headed for Nyllia. Two days later, they arrived in a small village near the maelstrom to look for the requester merfolk, Blanc. Lethe''s POV It didn¡¯t take much to find her as she had been anxiously awaiting the adventurer¡¯s arrival. ¡°Ah, um, excuse me! Are you, are you all the adventurers sent to help find my daughter, Jibs?¡± Lethe gave a nod and the worried mother breathed a visible sigh of relief. ¡°Oh, thank goodness! I¡¯m Blanc! I¡¯ve been so worried and been feeling so awful about just sitting around. Here, follow me. I found you all a guide to help navigate your way through the Maelstrom. Hopefully it will help you all find my baby faster...¡± Nero''s POV Blanc asked the group to wait for a few minutes as she dived underwater and disappeared. After waiting for approximately five minutes, she resurfaced along with another merfolk. "Rubin is really familiar with the waters leading up to the maelstrom", Blanc introduced the merman to the adventurers. "Let me up", were Rubin''s first words to the group as Nero dropped a life buoy overboard and pulled him up. The bearded mermans upper half was of a similar build as a regular human and and had a long, grey tail for a lower half. He reached into his knapsack and took out a detailed map of the river currents and spread it on the floor before launching into a monologue about the various currents that are in play due to the maelstrom. With that, he detailed certain areas to be careful during the journey and the ways to navigate around the currents. "There is a portal to an elemental plane if we follow this particular current. I think Jibs must have been dragged inside. For now, all you have to do is follow me. I''ll go back once we reach the maelstrom", Rubin concluded as he jumped out of the boat and indicated the adventurers to follow his lead. Grendel''s POV After reassuring Blanc that they will try their best to save Jibs, the party started following Rubin with the boat provided by Blanc. It was not exactly a big or strong boat, but it should be enough to last the travel. As for the journey towards the maelstrom, it was not exactly easy either, as the four of them need to sail the boat themselves, something clearly none of them has any experience of. Nevertheless, the managed to reach the maelstrom in a few hours "Wow!" Grendel voiced his amazement at the spectacular sight in front of him. As its name suggests, the great maelstrom is one giant whirlpool which spans the whole lake. On a glance, the water seemed to revolve gently, but the occasional floating branches and driftwoods proved otherwise. In the center of the maelstrom, the water converged into a giant vortex, creating a hole that goes darker the deeper it went. While he was admiring the sight, Rubin surfaced next to the boat. "If Jibs fell to the maelstrom, I''d wager she''s inside the vortex, dragged by the water current. If you wish to save her, you will need to follow her track there. I myself cannot go any further, so I bid you guys luck, and hopefully, you can save Jibs." Zinc''s POV "Everyone, take your potions." Zinc replied as he unscrewed the medicine he prepared earlier today and downed the minty liquid. Immediately, his body began to feel warm. With a leap, Zinc dove into the cold waters. With the effects of the potion, Zinc felt like he was swimming in a hot spring. "Come on guys, let''s go!" Nero''s POV Nero downed his share of the potion in a single gulp and dived into the waters as well. As soon as he went under the surface, he saw a massive current flow beneath him. He decided to dive into the flow which was a few meters below in order to follow the likely path taken by Jibs but as soon as he went in, he lost all ability to control his body. The force of the current was so incredibly strong that he was dragged by the flow without being given any chance to resist. Within moments, he was dragged several hundred feet away from the boat and thrust straight into a massive grayish portal which swallowed him easily. Grendel''s POV Following Zinc''s advice, Grendel opened the rotect jar and drinks the medicine while glancing at the small rabbitkin beside him who is still dozing off, but then decides he should be okay before taking a deep breath and dived following Zinc and Nero. Upon entering the water, he spotted Nero being dragged by the current and vanished as he entered some sort of portal. Deciding that''s the destination they''re looking for, Grendel swam towards the portal and entered it too. Lethe''s POV Looking dubiously at the Maelstrom, Lethe gave a sigh: once again questioning why he had taken this quest when his swimming skills were what many would call subpar. He was snapped out of his half conscious contemplations by the sound of three successive splashes. Realizing he was going to left behind if he didn¡¯t act quickly, Lethe threw back the potion and swiftly tried to mentally prepare himself for the semi-drowning he knew was to come. Knowing he had no more time to waste, Lethe stepped of the craft and shot straight down. Thankfully, due to his light weight, Lethe didn¡¯t have to do much swimming and was quickly dragged into the depth of the Maelstrom by the current. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t entirely prepared for the current¡¯s immense strength and ended up swallowing a few mouthfuls of water in shock before making it through the portal. Nero''s POV The surrounding water turned red as Nero was ejected out of the portal with immense force. He turned around to take a look at his surroundings and was a bit relieved to see the other three had followed him into the other world. The current was still too strong for him to fight against and so, he just gave up on fighting against it. After being carried for a few hundred meters, the flow finally weakened enough that he was able to swim towards the surface which was illuminated by the sun. The first thing he did upon surfacing was take a few deep breaths and spit out the water that had entered his mouth. As he waited for his companions to surface, he looked around the red water to get a grasp of his surroundings. Zinc''s POV Zinc resurfaced after what seemed forever in the swirling currents of the Maelstrom. As he looked about, he found that the surrounding water glowed a hue of crimson. This was clearly not the body of water he had originally jumped into. As the doctor rubbed his eyes hoping that all was just a side effect of his dizziness, he recalled seeing what seem to be a portal during one of the many revolutions he had undergone.Did he entered through it? Could this be another world? Another plane of existence? Lethe''s POV If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Tumbling out of the portal, Lethe barely managed to paddle his way to the shore before he collapsed in a heap choking out the water he had swallowed. When he had finally freed his lungs, Lethe just lied there staring blankly at the crimson tinted world he and his companions found themselves in. Lethe had been randomly teleported to much odder places, so he wasn¡¯t too concerned about the whole thing. As he lie there greedily inhaling the air, he realize it tasted very familiar¨C it was just like the taste of the portal that he and Nero had found that led to the Water Elemental Plane. Lethe had just turned to tell his companions of his conclusion on their current location when a not so friendly looking water elemental came shooting over. Not that it made Lethe feel any better, but its presence certainly confirmed his suspicions: they had somehow tumbled into the water elementals¡¯ home turf... Grendel''s POV Just as Grendel landed on shore after being thrown to the red sea, he surveyed his surrounding while gasping for breath. It seems the four of them entered the portal underwater the maelstrom and reached this strange island. The reddish sea and sky, coupled with the humid yet cool air indicated that they are at least in a different place, if not in a different plane altogether. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, he saw something in the corner of his vision: a water elemental rushing their way. Nero''s POV Nero noticed the water elemental and slowly lumbered back on his feet. He really didn''t want to get into a fight as soon as they had arrived at an unknown location. He grabbed his sword and proceeded to walk towards the elemental. However another elemental suddenly showed up from behind him and the two of them started to fight. A third elemental appeared from the opposite side and gestured the adventurers to follow it. Not expecting such a reception, the adventurers looked at each other before wearily deciding to follow it. The group walked along the shore of the island and eventually reached a seaside cave which was being guarded by a smaller elemental. Nero peered into the cave to find a little mermaid girl sleeping on a clear pool of blue water. Grendel''s POV While Grendel was initially highly wary of the elemental, it soon proved its trustworthiness as it led them to the cave where the small mermaid is. After Nero confirmed Jibs'' presence inside, Grendel sighed in relief and asked his party, "So, considering there are also hostile elementals here, I think we should have some of us standing guard here. What do you guys think?" Zinc''s POV "I think it''s a good idea. I''ll provide support and attack from the rear." Zinc replied. "And if possible, I can check on the mermaid''s condition and try to concoct something to wake her up." Nero''s POV "Yeah, the two of us can act as guards while Zinc treats the mermaid. We need to know if she is the one we are looking for", Nero agreed with Grendel and Zinc. The sound of combat was getting louder and louder and it looked like the fighting would reach them pretty soon. Lethe''s POV Lethe had initially followed Zinc over to look at the unconscious mermaid girl, but soon recognized one of the elementals in the cave. He was the one that he and Nero had encountered near Lakeside Village! Wandering up to the elemtal, Lethe asked: ¡°Portal Pals?¡± The elemental gave a nod in response, but was rather confused as to why the small fellow seemed rather familiar. Noticing the elemetal¡¯s confusion, Lethe realized that it only knew his past 3¡± tall female self. Whoops. The only thing that he could think to show his identity would be to summon Martin¨C if that was possible... Taking a look at his pillow to assess the situation, Lethe realized that¨C unbeknownst to him¨C it had leveled up. It seemed his previous battle experience in combination with the energies of the plane had worked in harmony to upgrade it (hallelujah). The best part about it was that Martin was back in action! Wasting no time, Lethe called Martin up. Unable to forget the sentient orange blob that had once been pelted at it, the elemental immediately realized the tiny being¡¯s identity and seemed to give a sigh. Zinc''s POV Before Zinc went to check on the mermaid, he decided to buff his allies. With a deep howl, the doctor used Boost Howl, increasing his party''s strength and speed by 50%. After howling, Zinc rushed towards the unconscious mermaid and checked her pulse. Nothing seemed to be wrong with the young mermaid - no broken bones and only a few bruises. Zinc pressed some acupressure points on the mermaid''s face, bringing her out of her coma. The mermaid looked about with a confused expression. When she saw Zinc, she couldn''t help but cower a bit in fear. Zinc held up her palms to indicate that he meant her no harm. "Are you Jibs?" "Y-Yes? Who are you? How do you know my name?" The mermaid nodded timidly. "Your mother sent us to find you. Can you get up?" Zinc explained. "Ehm." Jibs nodded as she rose up shakily. Nero''s POV While everyone else was busy inside the cave, the sound of fighting had stopped. After a few minutes of silence, a couple of aggressive elementals turned up and headed straight for the cave. Nero picked up his weapons but before he could act, the elemental right next to him went ahead and started to brawl with the others. Nero decided to help the guard and went after one of the enemies as well. With the second elemental left for Grendel to take care of, Nero used his new sword to distract the opponent as well as chip away at its health. While he did take a few blows in the process, the elemental was overwhelmed in a two on one battle and decided to retreat. Lethe''s POV Meanwhile, in order to get past the obvious communication barrier, Martin quickly brought out his trusty bell and gave it a ring. Not a moment later, the sound of tumbling rocks and someone cursing under their breath could faintly be heard from the back of the cave. This gave everyone, especially the elemtals who were sure the rest of the cave was empty, a shock. Everyone but Martin and Lethe looked warily in that direction and prepared themselves for battle. Against their expectations, a bedraggled looking translator soon stumbled into sight. ¡°Man, I am so taking that bell back, I swear. First the sticks, now here, jeez. I am so charging 5 times my usual rate for this one!¡± After giving Martin an earful, Jebb turned, acting as if none of that had just happened, and asked the others with a smile: ¡°How may I be of service today?¡± Grendel''s POV Being left to take care of one of the elementals, Grendel faced it off while keeping his distance. Deciding physical attack might not work well on an elemental, Grendel covered his poleaxe with lightning and closed in to deliver a series of attacks. His decision to use his lightning magic proved to be correct, as the elemental''s movement is getting more sluggish with each blow that connects. After a few rounds, the elemental decided to retreat, following his brethren. Nero''s POV After the short fight, Nero made his way into the cave. And that''s when found a ray of hope in this foreign land. "Hey, Jebb! We need to find a portal back to our world. Do the elementals know of one?" Jebb gave Nero a nod of acknowledgement and directed the question back to the elemental. After a few minutes of intense conversation between the two, the elemental seemed to slump down and started walking out of the cave. "It knows of a portal, and it has agreed to lead us to it", Jebb announced to everyone. Nero turned his attention to Zinc and the mermaid and asked, "Is she the one?" "Hello, I''m Jibs", the mermaid replied with a small voice. "Ok Jibs, I''m Nero and we need to move immediately. I''ll carry you to the portal when we are out of water", Nero spoke urgently. When Jibs responded with a nod, Nero picked her up and spoke to his teammates, "Let''s get going." Zinc''s POV Zinc handed the mermaid to Nero so that he could concoct another patch of cold-resistant medicine. After finishing the last touches, the doctor handed each of his party another small rotect jar of medicine each. "Once we reach the portal, we need to take this medicine. The effects are like the previous potions. They''ll protect you from the cold water." Zinc nodded as he passed the medicine around. "When we arrive on land, don''t go anywhere. I need to apply some acupuncture to boost our immune systems in case one or more of us had contracted some sort of illness or bacteria." Lethe''s POV Somewhere in that brief period of time, Jebb seemed to have returned in the same manner he had appeared with none the wiser. The party of adventures (with the addition of one small mermaid) exited the cave after properly receiving and storing the rotect jars. Waiting outside was the elemental who, after seeing that they were all there, signaled for them to keep close before swiftly turning and launching off towards the sounds of the battlefield. Nero''s POV Nero used his meager mana reserves to summon his familiar, Parcae, when they started to move. The tiny winged devil could fly high above the battlefield and scout ahead for danger. By giving regular reports to Nero, the group was able to avoid coming into contact with most of the elementals as they snuck their way around the battlefield. Even when they did come across trouble, the elementals were too busy fighting against each other to react to the suspicious group of aliens disappearing from view. After a couple of hours of moving around in a tense environment, the group entered a forest and made their way towards an abandoned structure. The water elemental which had led them till now refused to move further and simply pointed to the building. "I can see a grey portal on the roof", Parcae informed his master telepathically. Nero nodded in confirmation and told everyone of this information. With a way to return home being found, Nero felt that he owed his elemental friend a reward. As they decided to move their own separate ways, Nero handed one of his priced spears to their guide and waved him goodbye. Lethe''s POV Lethe quickly summoned Lesovy and had him use his vines to provide an easier way for them to get to the portal on the roof. After everyone had made it to the roof in one piece, they took drank the potion Zinc had provided and entered the portal. After another nauseating trip through a portal, Lethe and the rest were spit out at the edge of the Maelstrom. They appeared to be in the same general area as where they had first entered the Maelsrtom so did not have a hard time finding their way back to the village. Without a boat at hand, however, the return trip took much longer than their first journey. When they were within sight of the village, they saw a figure speeding in their direction. As the figure got closer and closer, it was clear that it was Blanc, the little mermaids worried mother. Unable to stand waiting for the adventures to fully reach the village to see her child, Blanc had headed in their direction at top speed. Grendel''s POV After having a heartfelt reunion with her daughter, Blanc offered an invitation to the party to stay the night in her house, but were turned down. "Thank you for the invitation, but we wouldn''t want to impose on you. I believe you should spend the time to be with your daughter, instead" Hearing their refusal, Blanc can only nod while continuing to thank them. After getting their quest completion proof, the party made their way back to Nagrand. Apothecary Supplies Quest
Task: Apothecary Supplies Requester: Apothecary Apprentice Mallone Quest Rank: E-Rank Rewards: 8 Large Copper Coins Description: I have urgent business to attend to, and as such cannot gather a number of herbs and other materials required for my upcoming examination by Master. The list has been prepared beforehand and will be provided to the person accepting this quest. Expedience is required, as not much time is left. Please help!
After being approved to take on the quest, Zinc received a list of materials needed. Looking through the list, the doctor could immediately identify all of the items. They were just basic items anyone can find within the mountains to the south. Zinc quickly headed over there with his pet wolf. He needed Silver as some of the items require a strong nose to sniff out. Once the doctor arrived at the foot of the mountains, he began searching for the herbs as well as the other raw materials like minerals and ores found at the entrance of caves. Meanwhile, he had Silver sniff about for distinctively-smelling herbs like truffles and stinkflowers. Hours later, he dug out all the herbs he needed to find on the list. Silver also found the ones that needed his nose to find. All that was left were the raw materials found within certain caves. Zinc searched through some of the caves at the foot of the mountains and found a few of the items on the list. However, there was one item ¨C Sunglowite ¨C that he could not find no matter how much he searched. He recalled from a passage in one of the many books he had read over the course of his life that the Sunglowite grows in caves rich with sunlight. But, how is that possible? How do caves have access to the sun? Of course, it didn¡¯t take long for him to think of a possibility. If a cave was to have access to the sun, they must be found higher up in the mountains where there are potential openings that could lead sunlight into caves. Zinc exited the cave he was currently in and scoured the nearby mountains. Soon, he found a cave near the top of one of the mountains. There were some cracks on the surface and clear opening at the roof of the cave. Zinc took nearly three hours to rush up the mountain and enter the cave. After walking deeper into the cave, the doctor finally spotted the material in question. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Easy pickings! Zinc smiled as he mined the Sunglowite and stored the pieces into his backpack. Once he double-checked his list and made sure he had gathered all the required herbs and materials, the doctor headed down the mountains. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of a glistening hue of purple at the foot of the mountains. Zinc approached out of curiosity and found that it was a tree bearing a weird, purplish fruit. The doctor reached up and plucked one of the ripened fruits for examination. After a minute or so, Zinc concluded that the fruit was safe for consumption. Zinc bit into the fruit and swallowed the overflowing juices. Sweet! And with a tangy aftertaste just like a peach. Zinc decided to name this fruit ¨C violet peach. With a smile, the doctor decided to pluck some more to eat during the trip home and to store in rotect jars for further examinations when he got home. With a satisfied look, the doctor headed home while munching on another violet peach. About ten minutes later, something unexpected happen. The violet peaches in Zinc¡¯s hands started to decay and turn into an acidic, venomous mush. Luckily, Arsenic rushed out just in time to slurp up the poisonous delicacy or Zinc¡¯s hands would have been melted off. Zinc grimaced at what had happened. He quickly brought out the rotect jars and saw that the violet peaches were similarly decayed. Even in rotect jars, these violet peaches could not be preserved. What was going on? Zinc decided to post up a quest once he got back. Maybe one of the other adventurers might have a way to preserve the fruit and bring some back for him to research on. In the meantime, Zinc opened up the rotect jars and dumped the contents out for Arsenic to snack on. The doctor quickly headed back home to submit his report and turn in the herbs and materials before posting a quest of his own. The Lights Are Spooky! Quest
Task: The Lights Are Spooky! Requester: Nagrand''s Gravedigger, Frank Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 8 Large Copper Coins Description: The cemetery started having some really really spooky lights appearing in it! It''s like some spirits decided to haunt it, but but but... Didn''t we have so many priests come by in recent times to clear them? Why are there more!? This job is already stressful enough as is, I don''t need some weird spooky lights wandering across it at each night... Please help...
Reading through the quest description, Zinc had his suspicions as well. If there were many priests who had came by recently to clear the spirits floating about in the cemetery, why were there more spooky lights appearing? Could there be more spirits? Not likely¡­unless someone purposely created more. If so, that would be the worst-case scenario. Hopefully, it did not lead to that. Zinc had hoped that the spooky lights dancing about in the cemetery were something else like a natural phenomenon or at least something much easier to deal with like fireflies or gentle fire sprites. Nevertheless, the doctor couldn¡¯t make any assumptions here. The best way to find out was for him to pay the cemetery a visit and personally experience the situation. Thus, when night arrived, Zinc headed towards the cemetery to do a stake-out. The hours went by relatively quick, yet the suspicious lights still haven¡¯t shown up. Zinc even had Silver patrol the perimeter in hopes of sniffing out a clue, but there was no luck. Just when he was about to give up and head home for the day, Zinc heard Silver growl followed by the snapping sounds of dead leaves. The dwelf quickly crouched down and held up a hand to calm Silver down. Then, he gazed into the night towards the sounds. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With his innate night vision, Zinc was able to see an old man scurrying nervously towards a medium-sized crypt. As the doctor moved in for a better look, he overheard the old man mutter a few sentences. ¡°Just a few more days¡­just a few more days of scaring away them busybodies and I¡¯ll be rich! I just need to put a few more of these up here and there.¡± The old man murmured as he hung some lanterns up. The lanterns! They were the cause of the spooky lights! But then¡­why was the old man doing this? From what he was muttering earlier¡­did the old man found a way to get rich? Could it be? Graverobbing? How interesting. Zinc looked over at the old man who hoisted a bag over his shoulders and entered the crypt. The doctor motioned Silver to guard the doors as he headed in after the old man. As he tailed the old man, Zinc couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the engravings on the wall. Judging from the pictures, this was a tomb of a small-scale treasure hunter. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Zinc grimaced and picked up his pace. Soon, he arrived at a long hallway where the old man laid with an arrow embedded deep in his chest. Looking around, Zinc knew that there were hidden traps within the hallway. Zinc examined the body and found that the old man¡¯s lips had changed a hue of dark blue¡­poison. The doctor did not know whether it was from the arrow or from something else. Zinc covered his mouth and nose and edged away from the body. Quickly, he left the crypt. Treasure or no treasure, it wasn¡¯t worth it to enter alone. Zinc exited the crypt and quickly took down the lanterns. He headed back to the guild to report his findings. Zinc showed the lanterns to the receptionist present and described the possible treasure in the crypt. Unknown Poison Rank-Up Quest
Task: Unknown Poison Requester: Mary, Nagrand''s Healer Quest Rank: Rank up to D rank Rewards: Bronze Guild Badge Description: A patient reached Nagrand yesterday and had an unreasonably strong fever on him. I tried a few spells but none had much success in healing him. He woke up today and told me he was bitten by a snake endemic to the Eastern region of the Beastmen Alliance... Considering how he is still alive now, it should be safe to assume the snake''s poison acts extremely slowly, but he shouldn''t live much longer. However, I''m afraid none of Nagrand''s herbalists know how to cure this specific poison, and the man in question doesn''t have enough money in him to pay for a Mandragora potion. Your task is to find a way to cure him.
Zinc rushed over to the patient and quickly checked his pulse with one hand while Zinc laid the back of his palm on top of the man¡¯s head with the other hand. The man¡¯s forehead was burning hot to the touch and his pulse raced unsteadily fast. Zinc touched the man¡¯s arms and chest and felt that both areas were hot yet dry. Generally, people suffering from severe fever would be sweating constantly, however the man before him was dry. Scratching his head, Zinc closed his eyes and looked through all the medical knowledge stored in his memories. After some thought, Zinc breathed with relief. Luckily, he was able to recall at least a dozen possible solutions for this problem. If he had found none, then even he would have a hard time curing the patient. With twelve solutions in mind, Zinc continued to check for other symptoms. While he continued to check the patient, the man kept pestering him about the situation, despite his shortness of breath. Noting that, Zinc patted the man on the shoulder and told him that there isn¡¯t anything to worry about. The doctor promised the man that he will be cured. After the doctor calmed down the man with words of reassurance, he glanced towards the copper buckets in the far corner of the room, a permeating stink hovered above the buckets. Holding a handkerchief over his nose, the doctor bravely strode towards the buckets. With a few quick peeks, Zinc was able to confirm that the contents of those buckets were vomit and stools respectively. From the runniness of the stools, Zinc confirmed that the patient was suffering from extreme diarrhea. Zinc could see bits and pieces of undigested food among the mix of feces and water. Strange¡­but not uncommon. Next, the doctor glanced over at the vomit bucket and noted that the contents seemed partially digested. Suddenly, Zinc widened his eyes as he stared at the vomit bucket. In disbelief, he glanced back at the stool bucket. Zinc studied the two buckets for a long while before sighing in exhaustion. This doesn¡¯t make sense. This just doesn¡¯t make sense at all! All symptoms indicate drug abuse but just a simple drug abuse couldn¡¯t possibly be incurable at the hands of Nagrand¡¯s herbalists. Not to mention, the cause of this poisoning is an unknown snake. Zinc had checked the bite mark earlier. The affected area was completely black¡­and it was spreading outwards at a rapid pace. What kind of snake leaves a devastating mark like that? Even as Zinc perused his memories, he could not pinpoint to any of the snakes he had encountered or read about. ¡°Dammit!¡± Zinc cursed under his breath. ¡°Even the king of snakes wouldn¡¯t have this much of an affect on a person. Wait! The king of snakes¡­if the king of snakes wouldn¡¯t work, then what about the god of snakes ¨C the basilisk?¡± That¡¯s the right¡­the basilisk could be the only option. Obviously, Zinc had never encountered one but he had read about them plenty of times. Now, some would say that the poison of a basilisk could turn their victims into stone. That may be true but there were records of people who had slow down the effects of the basilisk poison¡­in time to jot down the symptoms that came before the fatal symptom. Fever, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath, coma¡­it all fits! Sure, some may argue that these effects happened in a span of a minute yet the patient before Zinc was still alive. However, if they were to consider the possibility of a baby basilisk, then it all makes sense. A baby basilisk¡¯s venom isn¡¯t stable and it isn¡¯t as potent as a fully-grown one. This could explain why the patient was still alive after suffering through all that. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With this in mind, Zinc quickly touched the blackened skin. The skin of the affected area was hard to the touch as if the arm was made of obsidian or some kind of stone. Confirmed! No wonder the herbalists had trouble. How can they heal something as relentless and as persistent as basilisk venom? Having deduced that the poison was basilisk venom, Zinc knew he had a little less than a day to counteract the poison and cure the dying man. He had heard his master talk about curing a basilisk bite with the tears of a phoenix but where could Zinc find a phoenix? The dwelf continued to think about this matter. ¡°The only reason we use phoenix tears to counteract the poison of a basilisk¡­was because we needed something extremely hot to deteriorate the components that make up the poison. But using this method was extremely dangerous, especially for an ordinary person. Not to mention, the poison came from a baby basilisk and not from an adult one.¡± Zinc muttered to himself as he exited the room. The doctor notified the people watching over the patient that he was going to step out for a while to do some further research. If anything happens to the man, they should notify him as soon as possible. Once he bid his farewells, Zinc strode to his house in wide steps. As soon as he reached his room, Zinc started rummaging through his books on poison and acupuncture. The methods for dealing with poison were numerous¡­but luckily for him, the methods using heat were fewer than a hundred. If he were to consider using acupuncture to simulate cooling factors into the solution, there was only one answer to his problem. In literal terms¡­he was going to cook the man alive. Zinc hurried back and ordered the people watching the patient to bring over some stuff including firewood, buckets of water, and a large cauldron. They glanced at Zinc unusually but nevertheless brought over the items. Once everything was settled, Zinc had them bring the patient to a sitting position in the cauldron. The dwelf filled the cauldron with water and began lighting the bottom with fire. Once the firewood caught on fire, the doctor began to wait. As soon as the water began to boil and the patient started screaming from pain, Zinc stabbed the man in different areas of his head with numerous thin needles in order to stop the pain. Then, Zinc fed him some wild mint while slitting his wrists in order for him relieve some heat. The juices from the wild mint would cool his insides while bleeding would remove heat and poisonous blood. Zinc reached into his utility belt and pulled out a long needle, about the length of his middle finger. With this needle, Zinc stuck it deep in the depression under the man''s collar bone (known as the Shu Mansion), hitting a mythical acupoint that helps detoxify the poison in the man¡¯s body and purge it from the body. There was a faster and surer way to purging the poison, but that involved sticking the needle into the man¡¯s heart. However, Zinc was not confident enough in his abilities to perform such an operation. As the needles and the hot ¡°bath¡± purged the poison in the man¡¯s system, Zinc continued to press and massage many of the man¡¯s acupoints in order to relieve heat and cool the body. Every so often, the doctor would also feed some wild ginseng root to the man in order for him to recover blood loss. After a night of boiling and several water replacements, Zinc had finally drained away all of the poison from the man¡¯s body. Once he was done, Zinc quickly had the man lifted from the cauldron and laid on top of a bed. Because of the night of constant blood loss and forceful blood recovery, the man was very weak. Zinc applied some Blood Lily Salve on the slit wrists in order to stop the bleeding and heal the wounds. After he wrapped the wrists with bandages to hold the salve in place and apply some pressure to the wounds, Zinc slowly fed the man some diluted Rejuvenation Tonic and Revitalizing Solution in order for him to recover. As the man was very weak, the doctor could only dilute the two fluids as feeding them straight could prove counterproductive. Soon, the man recovered and, in a day or two, he woke up. After finishing the request, Zinc salvaged the baby basilisk poison from the ¡°bath¡± water and stored them into a couple of large rotect jars for research purposes. Then, he headed back to the guild to report on his success. Zinc - Character Sheet - D Rank Stats: Name: Zinc Gender: Male Race: Dwelf (Half Drow Elf, Half Mountain Dwarf) Age: 81 Class: Doctor Rank: D Points: 40 Appearance: Grayish skin with long black hair tied in a ponytail and a well-kept beard. His golden eyes filled with wisdom and pierced through the distance. Wavy blue tattoos marked his shoulders and arms while white markings lined up on his face. He wore leather armor and an utility belt where he kept his small items like acupuncture needles and potions. Inventory: Weapons: Amputation Knife, Horse-Slaying Blade, Small Silver Throwing Knife, ten footlong pitons Armor: Leather Pants, Leather Wrist Guards, Leather Boots, Utility Belt Accessories: Mask of the Lizardman Scout Coins: 124 Large Copper, 42 Small Copper Skills: Storage:This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Medical Equipment: Herbal: Potions: Poisons: Raw Materials: Cooking Equipment: Backstory: Parents died because he was born. Because of their unholy union, both sides of the family did not recognize Zinc. Some even cast curses on him, resulting on his cursed body. But he managed to survive and thus, he was abandoned at the foot of an unknown mountain. It was his master, a hermit herbalist, who found him and saved him from certain death. From that point on, Zinc had become the herbalist''s son and disciple. However, Zinc wasn''t as talented as his father. It took him nearly 80 years just to get the basic understanding of medicine down. After many years of training, the herbalist died of old age and frustration. Zinc left the mountains...his home...and set off to explore and experience the world. He vowed to fulfill his late father''s legacy to become a valued healer. Shop: Zinc''s Shop Pets: Public Relations: Update on the Chapters I''ve included reports from previous adventurers that Zinc reviewed in order to complete his quests as well as reports of quests that others took as a follow-up to my quest reports. You can check those links out in the following chapters: Monster Hunting Quest: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24788/records-of-zinc/chapter/360452/monster-hunting-quest Nooo! My son! Quest: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24788/records-of-zinc/chapter/360551/nooo-my-son-questThe narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Rat Infestation Quest: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24788/records-of-zinc/chapter/360555/rat-infestation-quest The Lights Are Spooky! Quest: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24788/records-of-zinc/chapter/360584/the-lights-are-spooky-quest From now on, I will also include such links in my follow-up chapters. Look forward to them! Hunt the Giant Bird Quest
Task: Hunt the Giant Bird Requester: Lorelei, Rare Animals Collector Quest Rank: D-rank Rewards: 23 Large Copper Coins Description: After a surprising discovery that a not-so-mad man found a giant bird that stole cows from a village that seems to praise the marvelous Ton-sama, I decided I want that bird for me! Hunt it down! ... Well, I want at least the body, alright? I need to ask a necromancer to revive it in case the bird dies... It''s better if you can capture it alive though, I''ll even pay extra!
After confirming the existence of the giant bird, Lorelei the rare animal collector requested the capturing of the winged monster dead or alive¡­preferably alive though. Thinking that the giant bird¡¯s nest might contain some treasure, Zinc decided to choose this quest as his debut into the D rankings. From the reports of a previous adventurer, the giant bird was about 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide¡­presumably not including the wingspan. The giant bird was known to have a large appetite, having devoured three cows in a sitting. According to the adventurer, the monstrosity was spotted near a grassy plain where villagers roam about while herding their cows and sheep. The only thing that Zinc could not believe, from the report, was that the giant bird emerged from a giant hole that appeared to be of the same color as the sky. How is that possible? Maybe the previous adventurer was high on something or maybe she was still half-asleep when she took the quest. Either way, the doctor decided to confirm this once and for all with his own two eyes. After the necessary preparations, Zinc confirmed the location and schedule of the villagers who herd their livestock each day and followed them to a grassy area. Setting up camp, he proceeded to lie in wait. As hours went by, Zinc thought that the giant bird wouldn¡¯t come today and decided to head home. Just as he stood up, he noticed the ground began to tremor slightly. Looking up, Zinc saw a tear appearing on the ground. From the opening, a gigantic shadow darted out. With a sharp swoop, the giant figure dove towards the nearest cow.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Reacting with the skills of a warrior and the dexterity of a doctor, Zinc threw out two footlong pitons, one after the other. As if sensing the danger of the first piton, the bird straightened its back and knocked back the piton with its wing. However, it did not notice the second piton as the metal spike nailed itself into the bird¡¯s fleshy throat. The piton dug deeply into the Vagus nerve of the bird, which was located right under the bird¡¯s head. Normally, just applying some brute force to the nerve would cause knock out to most humanoids and piercing that nerve could potentially kill said most humanoids. However, proportionally-wise, the giant bird would at most be stunned for a brief moment. And stunned it was. At this time, Zinc finally had a clear view of what the giant bird was. It looked like a giant bald eagle with brown feathers and a white head. Its curved beak dripped with blood from its recent kill. Its eyes glared red from anger and pain. With a slight shook, the giant eagle broke free from its stun. Zinc rushed in while swinging his Horse-Slaying Blade only to be sent flying by a powerful wing. As Zinc rose up unsteadily, the giant eagle flew towards him. Before the bird monster could reach him, it started to wobble. It stopped just before the doctor and began shaking its head. With a squawk, it fell onto its back. What happened? What happened was just as Zinc was hit by the wing, he managed to plant Cerium on the wing. The hallucinogenic worm made its way towards the giant eagle¡¯s head and breathed fumes into the giant eagle''s beak. Seeing many hallucinations, the monster collapsed and tried to regain control of its body. However, before that could happen, Zinc stabbed his blade into the giant eagle¡¯s heart and twisted the blade sharply enough to tear the heart into pieces. Without a heart, the giant eagle rolled a few times before spewing out a mouthful of blood. The giant eagle squawked one last time before collapsing motionlessly. After confirming the death of the monster, Zinc headed over to the slowly closing tear in the ground. As what the previous adventurer had confirmed, the other end of the opening was blue like the sky. Was this a portal to another location? Zinc didn¡¯t want to take a chance and jump into the portal for fear of being stranded in an unknown place. Instead, he decided to head back with the corpse. After getting a few villagers to help out, the doctor dragged the corpse back to the city. The Eye of the Tiger Quest
Task: Collect Eye of The Great Tiger Lordvoyg Requester: Sword Saint (Self-proclaimed) Kyre Quest Rank: D-rank Rewards: 19 Large Copper Coins Description: After many battles over the course of the last decade (the guild assumes he is talking about a few days), Lordvoyg finally got the best of me, biting my hand off and carrying it with him as his trophy... This cannot stand be, if it has my hand, I deserve its eye as my own trophy! Go to the region near Simetra''s Dungeon and defeat the Giant Tiger Lordvoyg in battle and bring me his eye! * The guild assumes that by giant he means a tiger of at most 2m tall, as no recent reports came of anything bigger than that in the region... It''s still a fairly dangerous foe however, so be wary.
Not knowing what to expect from this quest, Zinc decided to bring all of his weapons as well as his medical equipment. According to the reports, the two-meter tall giant tiger should reside somewhere around the Simetra¡¯s Dungeon, perhaps an escapee of the dungeon itself. The self-proclaimed Sword Saint ¨C Kyre ¨C lost his hand to the foul beast without dealing much damage in return. Kind of a disappointment from this ¡°sword saint¡±. Anyways, back to the task. Sword Saint Kyre tasked the guild to find an adventurer or a party of adventurers who would be willing to venture forth, defeat the great tiger ¨C Lordvoyg, and retrieve its eye as proof. Now, the task doesn¡¯t specifically mention killing the giant tiger so hopefully Zinc would be able to obtain the eye peacefully? Probably not. Once the quest has been approved, the doctor headed to the map room to understand the general terrain near Simetra¡¯s Dungeon. The Arcane Dungeon of Simetra ¨C located south of the continent of Nylla ¨C was a hotspot of magical energy. The dungeon itself was filled to the brim with such energy. Now that he thought about it, perhaps Lordvoyg wasn¡¯t really an escapee of the dungeon, but rather a lucky animal blessed with the magical leakage from the dungeon, which transformed what was once an ordinary tiger into the monstrosity it was now. Back to looking at the map of Nylla, Zinc hypothesized that Lordvoyg¡¯s residence was most likely somewhere south of the dungeon near a small stream. No matter how strong a creature was, it could not survive without a source of water. Zinc placed the tiger¡¯s residence somewhere along the path between the dungeon and the stream¡­a roughly 30-kilometer diameter worth of area to cover. Taking along a rented horse as well as Silver and Cerium, Zinc headed towards Simetra¡¯s Dungeon. It took them roughly six days with small breaks in between. Once Zinc arrived on the seventh day, the doctor dismounted and tied the horse to a nearby tree. Zinc decided to go on foot for the remainder of the path. After taking nearly another day of travels, Zinc finally saw a large cave in the distant woods near a small, clear stream. Just as Zinc decided to approach the mouth of the cave quietly, a roar exploded out, causing Zinc to flinch. Impossible! The great tiger shouldn¡¯t have discovered him so soon! With abated breath, Zinc brought out his Amputation Knife and held it close to his body. Once Lordvoyg sprang out of the cave, the doctor would engage immediately. Suddenly, a large figure pranced out of the cave and sped towards the stream. The giant tiger splashed its head into the stream, submerging its face completely. With a powerful roar that even Zinc could hear above the water, the tiger monster shook its head painfully. Through his years of observing his master at work and training, Zinc was able to deduce that something was wrong with the giant tiger''s face or more specifically...its eyes. After a long five minutes, the tiger finally calmed down. It stood up weakly and headed towards its cave when suddenly, its ears perked up. With a flash of its eyes, a powerful aura of intimidation flooded the vicinity, affecting even Zinc. This form of intimidation¡­it was similar to Zinc¡¯s Tiger Aura but purer and more intense. Not wanting to give in to the intimidation, Zinc cast his own form of Tiger Aura. Though it didn¡¯t do much, Zinc was at least able to surprise the giant tiger, allowing it to lessen the bloodlust. You know Tiger Aura? A deep voice projected into Zinc¡¯s head almost causing him to falter. ¡°Who¡¯s there? Who¡¯s in my head?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Me you imbecile. The giant tiger flashed a toothy grin. Aren''t you looking at me? The only thing Zinc was staring at right this moment was the giant tiger. "Y-You can speak telepathically?" Yes. Speak, mortal human, what are you doing here and what do you want? "Um...I was just passing by. What''s wrong with you? I''m a doctor, maybe I can help." Passing by? Do you take me for a fool? You have the same smell as that idiot I disarmed a few days ago. You come from the same place! Speak! Tell me why you are really here or I¡¯ll kill you and eat you for an afternoon snack! ¡°My name is Zinc and I¡¯m an adventurer based in the town of Nagrand. The idiot you disarmed a few days ago had issued a quest for revenge.¡± Hahaha! That self-proclaimed sword saint couldn¡¯t defeat me and now wanted others to do his dirty work? Pathetic! So, I assume you are here because of that quest? Are you here to slay me? ¡°At first, yes. But, now I¡¯m not going to.¡± Zinc replied as he eyed the tiger¡¯s disproportionate glare. Why? You scared? No matter what you say, I will not let you go. ¡°What about if I say I can cure your migraine.¡± What migr-! ROOAAARRR!! The giant tiger screamed in pain as its head began to throb irregularly once more. Lordvoyg rushed to the cool stream and plunged its head into the waters. The icy caress of the running water helped ease the pain that erupted from the giant tiger¡¯s temples. After a few minutes of screaming and whimpering, the giant tiger raised its head out of the water and peered at the dwelf. You really can help me? ¡°Yes.¡± Zinc nodded but a look of hesitation remained on his face. ¡°However, you might not like it.¡± Tell me! As long as I can rid me of this misery, I will do anything. ¡°I will need to take one of your eyes.¡± WHAT? How dare you! You dare to play tricks on me? ¡°WAIT! Wait! Hear me out! Hear me out!¡± Zinc dodged the fierce swipe Lordvoyg threw at the dwelf out of anger. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that one of your eyes are larger than the other?¡± This one sentence managed to stop the giant tiger from its tracks. It glared at Zinc and grunted. Keep going. I¡¯m listening. ¡°The bulging of your eye coupled with the increase in headaches and nausea¡­those all lead to signs of an eye tumor.¡± Tumor? ¡°Yes, tumors are lumps of harmful flesh that grew out of control. These tumors will drain your lifeforce and the only way to treat them is to remove them. Since your tumor is located in your eye¡­you should understand what that means.¡± No! How am I supposed to hunt if I lost an eye? What will the others say about me? Think of something else or I¡¯ll kill you where you stand! ¡°There is no other method. If you don¡¯t remove it, the tumor will continue to grow. Soon, you will become blind in that eye. After growing to a certain point, the tumor will cause the eye to explode. When that happens, who knows what other damage you might incur from it. Are you willing to risk that? Either way, you will lose your eye. So¡­what¡¯s it going to be?¡± Zinc explained calmly as he looked at the giant tiger sternly. This! Fine! You win! Take this wretched tumor out of me! Lordvoyg roared as it was just about to refute Zinc¡¯s argument when another burst of pain coursed through its body. ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin.¡± Zinc replied as he dropped his bag and began to dig through some medical supplies. Hours later¡­. After putting the tiger into an alcoholic coma, Zinc dissected and removed the cancerous eyeball. Wiping it clean, he stored the eyeball in his bag and fed the giant tiger some hangover soup made from fresh mint he had foraged around the forest. As Lordvoyg shook itself awake, it glanced about as it tried to adjust with one eye. Although Lordvoyg lost one eye, the giant tiger was still able to hunt some prey albeit some decreases in power. Luckily, there was some good news. The giant tiger¡¯s head stopped hurting and it was able to look at its surroundings with more clarity. Thank you, mortal. ¡°No problem. Happy to help. You helped me as well.¡± Zinc nodded as he cleaned his equipment. As thanks, you can have this. Lordvoyg lifted a claw to its chest and pierced its chest slightly, drawing blood. Before Zinc could respond, the giant tiger pierced the bloody claw into the doctor. ¡°What the fuck!¡± Zinc¡¯s eyes began to blur as he fell over. The last thing he saw was Lordvoyg sticking the claw back into its chest. The last thing he heard before his mind fell into unconsciousness¡­. This mark of mine will help you in the future. All my descendants will come to your aid. From now on¡­we are brothers. ***** Zinc woke up with a start and found himself lying by a tree on the outskirts of the town. His head rang like a bell as he tried to grasp what had happened earlier. Recalling Lordvoyg¡¯s claw piercing his chest, he checked his body. The wound had healed completely, leaving behind a faint scar. With a confused grimace, Zinc headed back to the guild to submit the tiger¡¯s eye. Vampire Investigation Quest
Task: Vampire Investigation Requester: Roland, a Historian Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 12 Large Copper Coins Description: I got reports of not one, but 2 different vampires appearing out there in Ternus... This makes no sense! Vampires are supposed to be extinct! ... Well, recent research discovered they were only sealed actually... Still, this makes absolutely no sense! There should be no way they''re escaping the seal. Were there some vampires that escaped the sealing endeavor in the old times? Or was the seal broken and they started coming out? Please investigate the matter, I need to know more about this!
After reading the reports made by adventurers who took on past quests, the guild concluded that the return of the vampires was a possibility. In turn, they issued a quest for an adventurer or two to investigate the matter of how the supposedly ¡°sealed¡± vampires escaped from their demise. Zinc was always interested in the supernatural especially since he had the opportunity to read about a medical book in potential treatments of lycanthropy. Upon hearing about vampires, the doctor was the first to sign up for the quest. On this trip, he decided to bring some backup in the forms of Arsenic and Silver. According to the legends told by the drunken veterans dawdling about at the tavern, vampires and werewolves have an innate aversion towards each other. Naturally, that¡¯s the same with wolves. By bringing Silver along, Zinc had hoped that the wolf could track down the vampires as well as have some way of deterring their kind. Now, according to the previous reports, the only location mentioned was Hero¡¯s Port where a vampire was sighted nearby. So, Zinc decided to head over to the area to try his luck. There was quite a distance to Hero¡¯s Port. Traveling by horse, the dwelf estimated that he would reach there in about a week or so. To prepare for the long trip, Zinc went to the local inn to grab some rations as well as some raw garlic before heading out on the horse he had rented. Throughout the trip to Hero¡¯s Port, the journey was uneventful. That was until he made a quick stop at a local town a few kilometers outside of the port to restock on water. Zinc walked into the Rusty Buckets while Silver stayed by the horse. The tavern was rather desolate as the doctor could only see one drunken customer lying sprawled on top of the table in the distant corner and two men eating some drumsticks by the counter. The bartender sat by the counter while lazily fanning himself. Upon hearing Zinc approach, the bartender quickly stood up and flashed a professional smile. ¡°What can I do for you? Food or a place to rest?¡± ¡°Both. How much?¡± Zinc gave a quick reply as he looked around. ¡°That¡¯ll be 10 small copper a night. Food comes with room.¡± ¡°Here.¡± Zinc reached into his pockets and dug out 10 small copper coins. ¡°Them chicken drumsticks look good. I¡¯ll have some of that.¡± ¡°Alright, coming right up. Anything to drink?¡± ¡°Ale.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± While Zinc waited for his food, he couldn¡¯t help but overhear the conversation occurring between the two men sitting to his left. ¡°Did you hear? Old Larkson¡¯s dog died.¡± One of the men, a burly-looking lumberjack, gossiped to his companion ¨C a middle-aged man with spectacles. ¡°So? About time Old Larkson put that rabid dog down.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. The dog was found dead, its throat torn.¡± ¡°What? Is there a wild animal around here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But according to the village chief, the dog was drained of its blood.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that possible? Don¡¯t tell me¡­vampire?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too!¡± Zinc, upon hearing vampire, couldn¡¯t help but walk up to them. ¡°Excuse me, I couldn¡¯t help but overhear you saying something about vampires?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± The lumberjack asked as he looked Zinc up and down. ¡°My name is Zinc, I¡¯m an adventurer from Nagrand.¡± ¡°Nagrand? Where¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Um, I¡¯m from up north past the mountains.¡± ¡°What are you doing all the way down here?¡± ¡°I was tasked with investigating about the appearances of vampires¡­you said something about vampires, can you elaborate on that?¡± The lumberjack looked at the bespectacled man as if to discuss something, but seeing the glasses-wearing man nod, the lumberjack continued. ¡°Old Larkson¡¯s dog died last night. Its throat was torn open and its blood was drained. If this wasn¡¯t a vampire¡¯s doing, then what is?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t vampires drink human blood?¡± Zinc questioned. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe the vampire was trying to suppress that urge in order to not cause a commotion.¡± ¡°And draining a dog doesn¡¯t cause a commotion?¡± ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t know. If you want to know more, go look for Old Larkson.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Alright, thanks for the info. Next round¡¯s drinks are on me.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s more like it! Thanks!¡± The lumberjack laughed heartily as he ordered another mug of ale. After the bartender arrived with Zinc¡¯s food, the doctor continued to chat with the two men. Soon, the food was finished. Zinc decided to check out Old Larkson¡¯s house. As he made his way towards the house as directed by the bespectacled man, he heard a loud crash coming from inside the house. Zinc rushed towards the house and barreled in through the door. When the doctor stood up, he saw a messy-looking man trying to bite the old man under him. Vampire! Zinc sprung into action and knocked the man back. He flung the window curtains wide open to let the noon sun in. The sunlight landed on the man¡¯s skin, causing the man scream in pain as his skin began to blister. The man stumbled back and tried to attack Zinc at a different angle. The doctor reached into his pockets and threw out some cloves of garlic. Seeing the garlic, the man hissed before fleeing in clear panic. Zinc charged towards the man and pulled out a mirror. The man screamed in terror and turned sharply, crashing into a wall. Just as Zinc was about to draw out his Amputation Knife to behead the unconscious man, the old man pulled him back. Zinc looked at the old man and checked his body for wounds. ¡°Are you okay? I¡¯m a doctor.¡± The old man got to his knees and begged. ¡°Don¡¯t kill my son. It¡¯s not his fault!¡± ¡°Your son?¡± Zinc gaped at the old man in surprise. ¡°Your son¡¯s a vampire?¡± ¡°He thinks he is but he¡¯s not. He¡¯s just really sick.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what they all say.¡± ¡°No! He wasn¡¯t like this before. He really is sick. You said you are a doctor? Please help him.¡± ¡°Is he really sick?¡± Zinc mused over this new development. Before he could ask any more questions, the messy-looking man charged towards him. Zinc swung a fist and knocked the man back. Before the man could get up, Zinc approached him and punched out once more. This time, the dwelf knocked the man out cold. Zinc bent down and checked the unconscious man¡¯s pulse. Erratic¡­but unlike real vampires¡­there¡¯s a pulse. But then, what about those vampire-like tendencies? Could it be? If he was to look at this man from a doctor¡¯s point of view¡­then it made sense. To confirm his suspicions, the doctor questioned the old man who turned out to be Old Larkson. ¡°Old Larkson, is that really your son?¡± ¡°Yes. My adopted son to be exact. I found him rummaging through my garbage a decade ago. He was a pitiful child.¡± The old man replied. ¡°Is your son a vampire?¡± ¡°No! He can eat regular food. He¡¯s just sick. You gotta believe me!¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll believe you. Tell me¡­why was he scared of the cloves of garlic I threw at him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s allergic to garlic. Even the slightest touch could cause his skin to irritate.¡± ¡°I see¡­that can explain it. What about the mirror? Why did it terrify him so much?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been like that since he was a young child. I don¡¯t know why¡­but I think it had to do with the time before I found him.¡± ¡°Like some sort of trauma?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­yeah! Just like some sort of trauma. That can happen right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it can. Then, what about the sunlight? How did it cause blisters on your son¡¯s skin?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s sick.¡± ¡°How can you say that? Not every abnormality is related to an illness¡­wait.¡± Zinc paused as he rubbed his brow. ¡°Nevermind¡­I think there was a book referring to a similar case. What was the illness called? P-Por¡­Porphyria! That¡¯s right. It matches if you think about it.¡± ¡°What is?¡± The old man asked. ¡°Your son must have suffered from porphyria. Tell me, on the week before this all happened, what did he do. Did he consume anything? Was he feeling different that week?¡± ¡°The week before he became like this¡­ah, I remember! He came home that day in a coma. A few of the neighbors found him foaming outside the town gates. There were blood and bruises on his body. The village doctor said he was overdosed with opiates. It took me nearly a month to nurse him back to health. He wasn¡¯t the same ever since.¡± ¡°Overdose on drugs can cause porphyria. That might be it. Was he all bitey as well?¡± ¡°No, that happened only this morning.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­so something else. Alright, I¡¯ve a clear picture on what to do. Give us a minute.¡± Zinc replied as he tied the messy-looking man to a wooden post. ¡°B-But¡­.¡± ¡°If I need you, I¡¯ll let you know. Trust me. I¡¯m a doctor.¡± ¡°O-Okay.¡± Zinc tied up the man and conducted a more thorough examination. The man¡¯s canines were larger than normal¡­possibly an abnormal tooth growth from when he was a child. The drugs the man took a few months ago was still in the man¡¯s system. Either he took a lot or the drugs were extremely potent. It will take quite some time to get rid of the toxins within the man¡¯s body. As the toxins persist in the man¡¯s blood, which results in the man wanting to drink untainted blood to sustain himself, the only way to solve this issue was through bleeding. Zinc told the old man of his solution and though Old Larkson disagreed at first, he finally agreed after the dwelf discussed the pros and cons of not following with the treatment. Next, Zinc waited for the young man to wake up in order to tell him of the treatment options. Like Old Larkson, the man disagreed at first, but he gradually understood his situation well enough to agree in the end. With both parties agreeing to the treatment, Zinc got to work. Spending about a week or so, he started bleeding the man bit by bit to let out the tainted blood. Then, he fed the patient with blood enriching foods and herbal tonics in order for the patient to regain lost blood. During the week, Zinc also gave the man some medicine to treat his mild case of rabies. And after the week¡¯s end, the young man was cured of his diseases. Now that the young man was clearheaded, Zinc asked him about his life¡¯s story. The young man told the doctor of his childhood. He grew up in an orphanage. His parents had dumped him for having abnormally large canines. Because of his teeth, he was made fun of every day. The nuns at the orphanage he lived in always punished him for his ¡°sins¡±. They mocked him saying how hideous he looked, causing him to hate mirrors and even fear them. As he grew older, he ran away from the orphanage and was adopted by Old Larkson. He tried to fit in, but the neighborhood kids teased him for his allergies towards garlic and for his fear of mirrors, calling him a vampire. It got to the point where he even half-believed that he was a vampire. And after the incident with the drugs, he thought he had actually turned into a vampire. Curious of this turning point in the story, Zinc asked the man what he did during that. The man continued by stating how he developed cravings for blood and that he would go out and drink the blood from his family¡¯s cattle. He didn¡¯t want to kill the cows, so he only took a bit of blood each time. But as time goes by, his cravings for blood increased. He didn¡¯t want to drink human blood, so he researched about vampires in hopes of finding a cure or at least a preventive treatment for his tendencies. That¡¯s when he found out about the seal. One of the many books he read described of a seal that could unlock the secrets and knowledge of vampires. He drew a magic circle¡­he conducted a blood sacrifice¡­but nothing happened. He did not feel better. Zinc asked him for the book and the young man happily presented them to him. The title was a bit obscured but he could make out ¡°Unsealing the Secrets of Blood¡±. Maybe the young man''s search for a cure had unwittingly caused him to break the seal that exiled the vampires of old. Zinc thanked the young man and told him to stay healthy before he prepared to set off. Once he made his way back to the guild, he submitted his report as well as presented the guild with the book. Maybe the book would provide some help with what was going on with the vampire sightings. Medicine Recipe #5 - All-Purpose Back Reliever Description: A five sliced ointment made from a selection of herbs with tonifying properties. Used to relief back pain and inflammation, and boost recovery. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. First, divide the herbs into five different categories of treatment ¨C Anti-inflammation, Blood Circulation, Pain Reduction, Strengthening, and Immune Boosting. These will make up your ¡°Five Slices¡± of ointment.
  2. Some herbs can fall under multiple categories which can help provide a smoother transition from one treatment to the other.
  3. Take the anti-inflammatory herbs (licorice root, ginger root, cloves, red peony root, and cinnamon bark) and mash them together with the mortar and pestle.
  4. Discard the pulp and keep the juices in a medium rotect jar.
  5. Do the same for blood circulation herbs, pain reduction herbs, back strengthening herbs, and immune-boosting herbs.
  6. For blood circulation herbs, you have wild celery stalk, mannia root, and myrrh resin. For pain reduction herbs, you have safflower petals and chaff flower leaves. For strengthening herbs, you have ginseng root and the manfern leaf. And for immune boosting herbs, you have the blue citrus fruit slices and the licorice root.
  7. Discard each category¡¯s pulp and store the juices in separate medium-sized rotect jars.
  8. Take the half gallon of rosemary oil (which is known to relieve pain and inflammation) and divide it equally among the five medium-sized rotect jars.
  9. Mix the contents in each jar and add some dye into each mixture for coloring. Red for anti-inflammation, orange for blood circulation, yellow for pain reduction, green for back strengthening, and blue for immune boosting.
  10. Store the five jars in a cold location.
  11. After half a week or so, the contents should have solidified enough to scoop out and store in small cylindrical jars, make sure to fit a scoop of each of the five gelatinous solutions starting with the immune-boosting mixture. Then, do the same for the back strengthening mixture, the pain reduction mixture, the blood circulation mixture, and finally the anti-inflammatory mixture.
When using, make sure to start from the immune-boosting mixture and work your way towards the back strengthening mixture¡­all the way to the anti-inflammatory mixture. This way, when you apply the ointment on the targeted area, the ointment will start working by reducing inflammation first. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Note: Only apply once per day. Overuse will prove inefficient and could cause user to develop immunity to the ointment¡¯s effectiveness. Defeat the Red Horse Bandits Quest
Task: Defeat the Red Horse Bandits Requester: Grom, Nagrand''s Mayor Quest Rank: D-rank Rewards: 23 Large Copper Coins Description: After a very unusual bandit was defeated last week, it was discovered that he was only working with robbery because he was saved by a group of bandits and felt like he had a debt to repay to them. The group itself has been causing trouble in the region for a while now, since we now got the location of their hideout, we''re now requesting them to be swiftly wiped out. It should be noted that they''re still unusual for bandits, as they saved a dying person and only after letting the person recover did they ask for help in robbery, so... Maybe there might be some hope for them. The quest will be deemed as completed for as long as the group gives up on their activities, by whatever means you find necessary.
The quest, this time around, was more straightforward. After a previous quest completion where an unusual bandit was defeated, the guild issued a follow-up quest based on the testimony the defeated bandit gave. Apparently, the bandit was doing the dirty work of a much larger group ¨C the Red Horse Bandits, known for their red horses. Now, this quest seemed hard for Zinc as he was one man. However, let us not forget that Zinc has a gang at his disposal ¨C the Dragon Gang. With numbers, the doctor could definitely finish this quest with ease. Zinc headed towards the headquarters of the Dragon Gang located in the slums. As he arrived, he called for the leaders of the three branches for a war meeting. When everyone arrived, Zinc glanced over towards the leader of the Flying Dragon Branch for any information they had scoured about the Red Horse Bandits. Quickly, the branch leader presented Zinc with enemy numbers, enemy location, shift changes, as well as any rumors or gossip that they could use to their advantage. Apparently, most of the newly-joined bandits were under contract like the unusual bandit the guild had captured. And for the older bandits, they were disgruntled with the leaders of the group.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. After the meeting, Zinc ordered that both the Roaring Dragon and Breathing Dragon move out. The group moved out of the city in the middle of the night to avoid causing unnecessary commotion. Soon, they arrived a few hundred feet away from the location. Since dawn was fast approaching, Zinc ordered Breathing Dragon to get into positions around the camp¡¯s patrol and infiltrate inside. Then, as the first rays of the sun broke through the sky, the doctor charged towards the camp¡¯s gates with Roaring Dragon riding alongside him. The dwelf and his men crashed into the camp, causing chaos and death. While Roaring Dragon provided the distractions, Breathing Dragon took their initial clash as a signal to sneak up behind the leaders of the bandits for quick assassinations. Once Zinc was notified of the successful assassinations, Zinc roared like a lion while he flashed his Tiger¡¯s Aura towards his enemies, causing them to freeze up and drop their weapons. ¡°Red Horse Bandits! Surrender now! We have already killed your leaders!¡± Zinc roared. With that remark, the Breathing Dragon tossed out more than ten heads which rolled to a stop at the bandits¡¯ feet. Upon seeing their leaders decapitated, the newly-joined bandits immediately knelt down in relief and anxiousness. Though most of the older bandits knelt down as well, some resisted. For those who resisted, Zinc used a necessary force ¨C both to eradicate any opposition and to instill enough fear to eradicate any future opposition. With a quick stroke, Zinc beheaded those who resisted. ¡°Do you understand your position now? Your group is done. Dissolve now!¡± Zinc hollered once more. ¡°B-But, where will we go?¡± One of the older bandits grunted as he stared warily at Zinc¡¯s Amputation Knife. ¡°You can scatter across the lands for all I care. Or you can join me.¡± Zinc immediately offered. ¡°Are you able to feed us and shelter us?¡± Another bandit asked curiously. ¡°Yes." ¡°Then, I¡¯m in!¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m in too.¡± Many decided to leave, most of them were those who were bound by contract. However, the older bandits, who had no other way to provide for themselves, decided to join the Dragon Gang, forming another branch known as the Clawing Dragon Branch ¨C known for their sharp and speedy attacks as well as their thievery skills. The Clawing Dragon will be in charge of blitz attacks and robberies. After taking care of the Red Horse Bandits, Zinc headed back and submitted his success. Shadows of the Past Quest
Task: The Shadows of the Past Requester: Norden, traveler Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 11 Large Copper Coins Description: Because of an old dispute I had with a friend of mine, he ended up dead... Terrified by what I have done, I fled, fled through all parts of the continent, seeking repentance, seeking forgiveness... Yet none of those found me, only my friend''s shadow keeps chasing me, haunting me, giving me visions of him, entering my dreams giving me nightmares over the moment of his death... Over and over again... Please help me... I''m so sorry for what I have done...
As soon as Zinc entered the guild hall, he noticed a rambling middle-aged man causing a slight commotion by the receptionist desk. The man was Norden, a traveler who had visited many places before coming to Nagrand. Curious as to what the commotion was about, the dwelf edged closer. ¡°As I was saying. I need help. They¡­these things just won¡¯t stop haunting me! I must be possessed or something! Do you have an exorcist in your group?¡± Norden pleaded as he held his head in pain. The receptionist Norden was conversing with looked around in hopes of finding someone to take the middle-aged man off of him. The receptionist also felt some headache coming along as he tried to calm down Norden. ¡°What seems to be the problem?¡± Zinc asked as he approached the two. The receptionist, upon seeing the doctor, light up and explained. ¡°Norden here seems to be suffering from something from his past. Can you try to help him?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­judging by what he said, I think Norden might be suffering from the mid-stages of anxiety. It will take a while, but I think I can help him recover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± The receptionist clapped his hands as he motioned to the traveler. ¡°Norden, this is Zinc. He¡¯s a good doctor. Maybe he can help?" ¡°Doctor? I don¡¯t think you can help me. I¡¯m possessed! I need an exorcist!¡± Norden shook his head upon hearing Zinc¡¯s occupation. ¡°Well, some forms of ¡®possession¡¯, as you call it, could very well be a form of mental disorder¡­for example, extreme stress?¡± ¡°E-Extreme stress? That can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Have you had trouble sleeping? Do you dream or constantly think about the events that happened from before? Do you feel disconnected from yourself and your surroundings? Have you blanked out a number of times and don¡¯t remember what you have done during specific points of your day?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, how did you know?¡± ¡°And you said you experienced a terrible incident? Such a happening can cause the symptoms I¡¯ve listed.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°How about this? Let me help you out my way and we can see if you stop suffering from the ¡®hauntings¡¯ of yours.¡± ¡°Okay. At this point¡­I¡¯m willing to try anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good." Zinc led Norden to his store and gave the traveler a more extensive diagnosis. Upon a closer look, the doctor found that Norden was also suffering from a feverish state. Before curing Norden¡¯s stress, the doctor felt that it was necessary for him to cure Norden¡¯s fever first. After all, the fever may have played a part in Norden¡¯s delusions.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Zinc checked Norden¡¯s skin and found some patches of inflammation. The inflammation seemed to converge at his back. Upon having Norden expose his back, Zinc saw a long, narrow wound. It was rotting and burning reddish purple. Norden was poisoned¡­mostly from some sort of bacterial infection. Zinc reached back and pulled out a few acupuncture needles. Placing them at certain key points on Norden¡¯s back, Zinc was able to numb the traveler¡¯s back so that he won¡¯t be able to feel what happened next. Once Norden cannot even feel his shoulders moving, Zinc began cutting away at the dead flesh. After cutting out the flesh, Zinc began squeezing out the pus and poisoned blood to clean the wound. Once that was done, Norden was able to recover from his fever. Although the poison was squeezed out of the wound, the wound itself was prone to further infection. To disinfect the wound and detoxify the skin, Zinc needed to buy some salt to rub on the wounds. The dwelf had Norden rest while Zinc rushed out to buy some salt. The doctor didn¡¯t go far when he found a peddler selling some premium quality salt. ¡°Premium salt! Selling premium salt! Not only does it taste good, it was even blessed by nobility as well as the temples.¡± Zinc rushed over and asked. ¡°How much for this bag of salt?¡± ¡°Three Large Copper coins per sack.¡± The peddler replied with confidence. ¡°Three? Deal!¡± After buying the salt, Zinc hurried back to Norden. He applied the salt on Norden and also fed him some salt water. While he put the leftover salt aside, Zinc ordered the traveler to relax while he applied some acupuncture on the man¡¯s head to relief pain caused by migraines. Next, Zinc compiled an herbal powder made from crushing dried jujubes, licorice roots, and wheat. Mixing with some sleeping powder, Zinc poured the contents into a glass of water. After stirring thoroughly, the doctor administered the solution to the patient. Norden went to bed soon after drinking the potion. The next day, Norden felt refreshed as he woke up from his deep slumber. Having not suffered any nightmares last night, Norden rushed to Zinc to report of the good news. Nodding, as if to be expected, Zinc gave Norden some more medicine. He told the middle-aged man to drink a glass of the medicine each day before going to sleep for about a week. After a week was up, Norden visited Zinc¡¯s store early in the morning for a full-body checkup. It seemed that the week went by without any problems. While Zinc finished preparing some light breakfast, Norden reported that he had stopped seeing the nightmares and was able to get a good night sleep each night. Although his head still throbbed a bit, Norden felt that he was almost completely treated. Upon hearing that, Zinc smiled at the small success and beckoned the traveler to sit down while he administered some acupuncture treatment to cure the headache. Zinc inserted some needles glazed with fire into different points of Norden¡¯s head, ending with the last needle in the traveler¡¯s Upper Star acupoint. The Upper Star acupoint was located halfway between the top of Norden¡¯s head and his forehead and was well known to suppress head pains. However, something strange occurred as soon as Zinc inserted the needle. To the surprise of both Zinc and Norden, a howling scream pierced the air and a black, gaseous substance flowed out from the insertion. ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did this happen?¡± Although Zinc exclaimed this, he immediately thought back to something he glanced over a few months back. In his quest to expand his knowledge, he found a book that spoke about the ghostly points of a human body, specifically for treating supernatural possessions. Zinc had dismissed it earlier as unfounded superstition, but he recalled that the Upper Star acupoint was similar to one of the ghostly acupoints ¨C the Ghost Hall acupoint. Could the ghostly points be real? With no time to think as he saw the black gas began to converge into something more demonic. Zinc quickly looked around his store for anything that could be used to drive the spirit away. He tried the cross symbol as well as the pentagram, but nothing seemed to work. Seeing the spirit draw closer to him, the doctor panicked and reached for the nearest item¡­his breakfast. With a hurl, he threw the salted butter toast at the spirit. To his surprise, the spirit coiled back in pain as a sizzling sound could be heard from where the toast struck the spirit. Could spirits be afraid of bread? Of breakfast? That couldn¡¯t be. Zinc then remembered about the salt. Wasn¡¯t it blessed by the temples? Holy salt! Zinc rushed to his kitchen and grabbed a cup of the salt. With a fling, he threw the salt ¨C cup and all ¨C at the spirit. The salt slammed into the spirit, covering it with sizzling wounds. In a matter of seconds, the spirit disintegrated into nothingness. As Zinc exhaled in relief, Norden shook out of his surprise and blurted out. ¡°I told you I was possessed!¡± After the ordeal, Norden thanked the doctor and left Nagrand to continue his travels while Zinc reported back to the guild about the situation. Medicine Recipe #6 - Anxiety Pill Description: A capsule containing ground herbs best for soothing the mind and invigorating the soul. Ingredients: Directions:
  1. First, grind up the dried jujube into powder. Jujubes are important in calming the soul and nourishing the blood.
  2. Next, grind up the wheat grains into coarse powder. Wheat helps stop excessive sweating at night, treats insomnia, and nourishes the heart.
  3. Then, grind up the licorice roots into powder. Licorice roots help reduce fatigue and detoxify the body from any toxins.
  4. Mix the powders with the pollen from the Lulling Shroom.
  5. Encapsulate a pinch of the mixture with rice paper to store it for easy consumption.
Store the pills in someplace dry. Avoid getting wet or it¡¯ll be ruined. Please take with water only.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Warning: Side effects include drowsiness. Take one dose before going to bed. Dewloren Quest
Task: Dewloren, the Tiger King of the Ice Barrier Requester: Lyra, the Alchemist Quest Rank: D-rank Rewards: 21 Large Copper Coins Description: To the Northeast of the Moon Village, around 60km away from it, there lies a lake that had frozen over during spring for mysterious reasons, it also caused a veeeeery unusual weather. After the cause of it was discovered... Nothing was done about it! And so the lake kept frozen, the weather kept terrible and the villagers had no choice but to move away! >.< Well, after a while though, it seems the lake cracked and a really big blue tiger came out of it, and it proclaims himself as Dewloren, the Tiger King of the Ice Barrier... Yeah, really chuuni name... And you wanna know what the Ice Barrier is? Well, no clue on that! But uhn... He is kinda aggressive, like... He doesn''t attack people on sight, but he proclaims his chuuni title if anyone gets close and warns them if they get any closer they''ll have to face his wrath... I''m kinda dying of curiosity to know what this is all about, but I''m also worried for this mega abnormal weather and stuff, so... Try doing something about it? Dunno, beat Dewloren in honorable combat, convince him to explain things, or... Find some way to discover what this is all about please!
Upon hearing about this quest, Zinc immediately thought back to his previous adventure with the Great Tiger Lordvoyg. Maybe this new tiger monster was related to Lordvoyg in some way or another. Zinc recalled that Lordvoyg had branded him and they shared some blood together, which now that he thought about it, made them somewhat like blood half-brothers. So that¡¯s why Lordvoyg said we were brothers last time. Zinc murmured inwardly as he read through the quest. Apparently, earlier this year, a quest was issued to explore and discover the cause of the unusually cold weather near the Moon Village as well as the frozen lake located 60 kilometers northeast of the village. According to the reports, an adventurer barely escaped with his life and only managed to procure a strange stone that was cold to the touch. After reading through the previous reports, Zinc began preparing for the trip. The doctor packed layers of clothing, warm food, as well as warm herbs ¨C herbs that can provide heat upon consumption such as ginseng. Once preparations were completed, Zinc headed out. On this trip, he decided not to bring his pets for fear that they could not resist the poisonous cold. And so, Zinc headed out towards Moon Village. Traveling by horse-drawn carriage, he arrived at the deserted village in nearly a week. As he neared the village, he could immediately feel the effects of the cold weather. To prevent frostbite, Zinc quickly dressed in more layers. In addition, he had also cut off a few bite-sized ginseng roots to munch on. With his body warmed up enough to resist the cold weather, Zinc headed towards the frozen lake. The closer he got to the lake, the colder it became. Soon, no matter how many layers Zinc wore and no matter how many warm herbs and food Zinc consumed, he was unable to approach any closer. Judging the distance between the lake and him, the doctor estimated it to be around 50 meters. Thinking that since he couldn¡¯t approach the lake any closer, he had no way of completing the quest. Zinc prepared to head back when suddenly, a loud roar pierced the snowy skies. ¡°Who goes there?¡± A huge, blue tiger leaped out from behind some debris and peered at the dwelf. Zinc gulped as his body ached from the immense pressure given off of the monstrosity. After a short pause, Zinc replied with effort. ¡°My name is Zinc! I¡¯m an adventurer tasked with finding out the cause of this cold weather as well as the reason for the lake¡¯s current situation.¡± ¡°Hmph! Did you not know that anyone who comes close to the lake would suffer my, Dewloren¡¯s, wrath?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ve heard about it.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°And you still dare to come? What guts!¡± ¡°Please sir, allow me to investigate the lake.¡± Zinc asked politely as he took a step towards the frozen lake. However, the blue tiger suddenly roared with piercing ferocity. ¡°How dare you!¡± Under the immense pressure of the tiger¡¯s bloodlust, Zinc couldn¡¯t help but tried to lessen the pain with an aura of his own. Unleashing his own Tiger Aura, Zinc was able to lessen the weight on his shoulders. Dewloren, surprised by the dwelf¡¯s tiger-like resistance, increased his power threefold, forcing Zinc to his knees. Unable to sustain the force of the pressure, Zinc blacked out. However, in the midst of his unconscious state, a powerful aura rushed out and nearly pushed back Dewloren¡¯s aura. This surprised the blue tiger¡­so much so that he retracted his aura and gaped at the young doctor. Zinc only blacked out for a few seconds. As soon as he woke up from his coma, the first thing he saw was Dewloren peering down at him with interest. ¡°Boy. Where did you get that aura?¡± Dewloren barked as soon as he saw Zinc open his eyes. ¡°What aura? You mean Tiger Aura? I got it from some bandits.¡± ¡°No. I mean this aura.¡± Dewloren replied as he pointed at Zinc¡¯s chest, where a scar had formed. This was the place where Lordvoyg stabbed Zinc with his claw. Could Dewloren be asking about that? ¡°I got it from Lordvoyg.¡± Zinc answered truthfully. ¡°Do you know of him?¡± ¡°Do I know of him? Hahaha!¡± Dewloren roared with laughter. ¡°Lad, Lordvoyg is a grandnephew of mine. You guys have become brothers. You can call me Uncle Dewloren.¡± ¡°T-This¡­fine. Uncle Dewloren¡­can you tell me why you are driving people away from this lake?¡± ¡°Since you can be considered family, I¡¯ll tell you. I am originally an immortal beast. I was tasked by a dear friend to guard this lake.¡± ¡°Is there something worth protecting in that lake?¡± Zinc asked curiously. ¡°Not worth protecting¡­but, rather, worth preventing from escaping.¡± ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t tell me¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. My friend sealed a powerful fire demon in the lake. I will tell you this. Hundreds of years ago, this place wasn¡¯t a lake, but rather a gigantic volcano. During the fight between my friend and the demon, the volcano was flattened into a huge crater. The demon was sealed in the center of the crater. Over time, rain filled the crater and created the lake you see today.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a fire demon, why is it so cold here and not hot?¡± ¡°That¡¯s due to my ice abilities. With my superior ice magic, I could suppress the fire demon. However, some ¡®heroes¡¯ mistook me for a demonic beast and attacked me without notice. Now, normally, I could easily defeat those heroes, but I spent most of my focus preventing the demon from escaping that I carelessly slipped up and suffered some irreparable damage. And because of that, I could feel the demon attempting to escape. In a last-ditch effort to save my life and to prevent the demon from escaping, I froze myself along with the seal.¡± Oh, I see! So that¡¯s what the giant boulder, the previous adventurer described, was. Zinc thought as he took a few minutes to understand everything that was going on. Wait, if Dewloren escaped from the frozen state, then won¡¯t the seal be close to breaking as well? When Zinc asked Dewloren this, he explained to me that this was the reason he was driving away everyone from the lake. It was to protect them. If the villagers didn¡¯t leave and the demon broke free from the seal, they would be the first to suffer the demon¡¯s wrath. ¡°I understand. I will report this back to the guild.¡± Zinc immediately prepared to head back after hearing Dewloren¡¯s story. ¡°Ah, young lad, before you go. Have this.¡± Dewloren tapped Zinc¡¯s forehead with his claw. Immediately, a stream of information flowed into the doctor¡¯s head, causing a splitting headache. When the pain subsided, Zinc found that he had learned a new skill ¨C Icy Touch. Zinc thanked Dewloren and rushed back to the guild to report his findings. Given the urgency in Dewloren¡¯s tone, there probably was less than a month¡¯s time before the demon broke free. Snow Fairy Quest
Task: A Snow Fairy Requester: Kurtz, High Demon of the Demonic Volcano Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 8 Large Copper Coins Description: A small snow fairy ended up visiting the volcano because the "big red place was cool" apparently... While we appreciated her enthusiasm, it quickly became obvious she couldn''t endure the weather... At one point she fainted and we took her away from the volcano, yet she still didn''t wake up since then. We''re unsure on what to do with the poor girl, could you find a way to help her wake up? Maybe bringing her to a really cold place might do the trick.
When Zinc saw the quest to wake up a snow fairy using something or someplace cold, he thought about the new skill he had recently received from Dewloren ¨C Icy Touch. According to the information provided from the immortal beast, Icy Touch was a spell that chilled the body upon contact and slowed any bodily movements, perfect for helping the snow fairy or at least restoring some vitality to the overheated snow fairy. Of course, if Icy Touch doesn¡¯t work, Zinc needed a plan B. Now, in eastern medicine, there were eleven major forms of heat illness. But for fainting and even coma to occur, only one prevailed. This heat illness was dangerous¡­so much so that it could even cause death. According to the records, the heat toxins had already reached the snow fairy¡¯s heart, causing delirium, extreme thirst, and other mental issues to rise. After finding out the snow fairy¡¯s location from one of the guild receptionists, Zinc arrived at where the snow fairy resided. Once he proved himself as an adventurer who was tasked with waking her up, the residents there allowed him in. Immediately, Zinc got to work. He walked up to the snow fairy and placed his hand over the fairy¡¯s forehead. Using Icy Touch, Zinc cooled down the fairy. Soon, the fairy¡¯s eyes began to roll as she awakened. She stared groggily at Zinc and muttered. ¡°Where am I?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Before Zinc could answer, the fairy fainted once more. The doctor reached over and checked the fairy¡¯s pulse. Although Icy Touch worked and woke the small fairy, however, the coldness could not completely counteract the heat within the fairy¡¯s body. As the spell¡¯s capabilities don¡¯t stack, any more would not affect the fairy in any way. And so¡­plan B. First and foremost, Zinc needed to dispel and clear the heat within the fairy¡¯s body ¨C especially the heat that¡¯s attacking the regions around her heart. Zinc decided to use an acupuncture method to solve this issue. There were four steps to take for the process. First, Zinc pierced the acupoint on the inside of the left arm between the biceps and the forearm. This point not only promoted the clearing of the heat but also calmed the body. Next, Zinc pierced the acupoint located at the center of the fairy¡¯s right palm. This acupoint cooled the blood and cleared the heat from the heart. Third, Zinc pierced the knuckles of the first three fingers of the fairy¡¯s left hand. The doctor especially made a note that the thumb was not part of the three fingers. The three needles piercing the three knuckles, helped expel wind and promote blood circulation. And lastly, the tips of all ten fingers were pierced in order to let blood flow out. The blood acted as a medium for which the heat escaped from the fairy¡¯s body. With this, the snow fairy reawakened. Though she was feeling under the weather, Zinc prescribed her some blood nourishing foods and medicine to take during the rest of her trip. Next, Zinc pierced a needle on the top of the fairy¡¯s left forearm, near her wrist. This acupoint doesn¡¯t help clear up heat, but instead, it helped to clear the fairy¡¯s mind in order to prevent delirium from setting in. Lastly, Zinc pierced the acupoint on the outside of the left arm between the biceps and the forearm. This process helped detoxify any heat poison left in the fairy¡¯s system. Once the task was completed, Zinc headed back to the guild to submit his report. Poisonous Flowers Quest
Task: Lily of the Valley Requester: Mira, Seamstress. Quest Rank: E-rank Rewards: 9 Large Copper Coins Description: When I was young, I had a friend that played with me all the time, we were very close, you know? But she had one fatal flaw... She really loved a flower field near our village... A field filled with deadly poisonous flowers... She loved looking at it, and wanted to get as close as she could. Of course we tried discouraging her, but she kept going anyways... Until one day, she didn''t return. Ever since that day, each year I have left a lily near the field in the day of her death, as a form of showing I didn''t forget... Old age is catching up to me though, and the area that was once safe is now being quite hazardous for my health... Could you please leave the lily there for me? Just... Be careful of the poison of the valley... And... If you see a girl in a red dress there, tell her I said hi. I often saw her in that field after my friend''s death, I wonder how she could endure the poison... I suppose it doesn''t matter anymore...
After receiving the quest, Zinc quickly made some preparations. In addition to some basic herbs and his medicine making kit, the young doctor also decided to bring along Arsenic who may prove helpful in dispelling the poison that may have permeated the air around the flower field. Once he finished preparing, Zinc headed out towards the village with the lily in hand. Halfway to the village, Zinc stopped by some trees and picked up a few broken or fallen branches. Piling up the branches, the doctor quickly lit up a fire. Afterwards, Zinc waited by the fire until it burned itself out. Without more wood added into the fire, the fire soon died out, leaving behind some wood charcoal. Zinc waited for an hour or two so that the fire pit had cooled down. Then, he scooped up the wood charcoal and stored them in his bag. Although it wasn¡¯t very effective, wood charcoal was still a good alternative for absorbing poison and preventing it from spreading. Zinc might not worry about most of the poison he would encounter with the help of Arsenic, however, if he was to accidentally ingest some of the pollen, then that would be disastrous without the wood charcoal. Once the wood charcoal was properly stored in his bag, Zinc continued towards the village. Some distance away from the village, Zinc could catch the first glimpses of the field in question. It was a blanket of red. The flowers didn¡¯t look particularly enticing but then again, the doctor didn¡¯t have much interest or love for flowers and their appearances. The only reason he would ever look at a flower would be whether the flower could be used as a medicinal herb or poison. Diverging his path, Zinc headed straight for the flower field. The flowers were actually oleanders! The strange thing about it was that oleanders grew on shrubs, yet these ones directly grew on the ground. Could it be a mutation of some sort? Upon reaching near the edge, Arsenic suddenly hissed and squirmed in his breast pocket. Something was up! There must be some sort of poison in the vicinity, maybe poisonous pollen or gas. Zinc quickly took out some dried wood charcoal and mixed it with some water. In a few gulps, he downed the black and gritty mixture. The mixture served as a sponge that could effectively absorb any poison that may have entered his body. Zinc reached into his pockets and pulled out Arsenic. He laid the centipede on the ground and let him wander about as he consumed the poison in the area. Meanwhile, Zinc reached into his bag and pulled out the lily. He bent down on one knee and placed the lily at the edge of the red flowers. Then, with expert hands, he began crawling deeper into the flower field and gathered some of the oleanders to research and perhaps develop some antidotes from. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Just as he was about to get up, he heard a sound. It was some sort of singing¡­a girl¡¯s voice! Zinc looked up and saw a girl in her mid-twenties strolling and sometimes dancing in the field of oleanders. The girl wore a red dress of the same color as the oleanders. Could this be the mysterious girl Mira was talking about? Maybe it was because of Arsenic clearing away the poison, but Zinc was able to see the features of the girl rather clearly. She had somewhat pointy ears, which indicated that she was not human. Zinc tried calling out to her, but he suddenly began to feel nauseous. His legs began to lose strength as he fell back on one knee. His head started hurting as well. Zinc quickly called Arsenic to his side while he checked his pulse. Was he poisoned? Impossible! With Arsenic close by and the charcoal mix still in his stomach, he should be fine from a simple oleander poison. Unless it wasn¡¯t from the oleanders. He had only started suffering from such symptoms when the girl appeared¡­how did she appear? When Zinc first arrived at the edge of the flower field, he didn¡¯t see anyone in the field or near the field. But in just a few minutes after, this strange girl appeared out of nowhere. No! She didn¡¯t appear out of nowhere¡­she must have been here the whole time! Going by this logic, the girl in the red dress must be this flower field¡¯s spirit! Zinc backed away from the field and stumbled on something. He looked at his feet and saw a skull¡­a human skull! Zinc immediately scrambled out of the flower field and glanced back at the girl. She was staring at him, laughing melodically. Truly a creepy and demonic sight! The doctor immediately turned to leave. He needed to report this to the guild. The girl in the red dress was most likely the spirit of the flower field. She would lure travelers and tourists into the field where the poison would then kill them. Their bodies would be used as fertilizer to nourish the field. Truly a horrifying thought! This probably happened to the seamstress¡¯s childhood friend as well. But then, why did Mira not see the girl even though she was with her friend? Could this all be a hallucination of sorts that only targets one person? Or could it be a combination of both spirit and hallucination? Zinc didn¡¯t know for sure and he was ill prepared to find out. He should just leave this for some other adventurer or adventurers to take care of. Soon, the doctor returned to the guild. He reported his accomplishments as well as his findings. He hoped to issue a quest as well indicating the importance of getting rid of the spirit. In addition, he hoped that the next group to take on the quest would bring back as many oleanders as they can. Extra Notes on the ''Girl in the Red Dress'':