Chapter 48: CH. 48 | The Village of Neco

According to the guild mission’s description, the Black Ink Lizard’s location was north of Aluric City, right around a rural area. Realizing this made Theo pretty confident that whoever had submitted the mission to the guild was a resident of that village.

Theo walked with Thalia and the others until they reached the city’s north gate. There, a long line of horse carts sat parked along the road, waiting for passengers.

The moment Theo’s party arrived, standing out as clearly as they did, one of the cart drivers walked over to greet him.

"Hello there, Mr. Adventurer," the driver said, "Heading somewhere? I can take you there."

Theo glanced briefly at Thalia. She stepped forward, standing right beside him, and started asking about the fare for four people.

"We want to go to Neco Village. How much would it be for four people?" Thalia asked.

"That’ll be 100 copper total," the driver answered.

"80, and we’ll take it."

"All right, hop in quick," the man said.

Once they’d struck a deal, Thalia turned and waved Theo along. The cart door opened, and Theo and the others climbed inside while the driver stayed up front.

Thalia was the last one in. She sat down beside Theo and the others, and felt the cart start moving, pulling away from the city.

There wasn’t any clear information about the Black Ink Lizard, and the mission description didn’t spell it out either.

Still, Theo guessed this monster was different from anything they’d faced before, since a D rank mission felt oddly specific for just one type of monster.

"What do you think this monster’s gonna be like?" Lily asked.

"No idea. Do you have any info on this, Theo?" Thalia asked.

Theo shook his head, but he still shared his thoughts with them. What he had to say tied back to the mission’s rank and how specific it was.

He told them the Black Ink Lizard was probably a higher rank monster than usual, given that this was a D rank mission.

On top of that, the guild mission specifically called for the creature’s skin, which quietly suggested this wasn’t some easy monster for them to deal with.

Hearing what Theo had to say got a muted reaction out of Thalia and the others. They exchanged glances and gave each other brief smiles.

Theo caught the unease in their eyes. "Don’t worry. As long as we stick together, we’ll be fine."

"I hope so."

The trip from Aluric City to Neco Village took three hours. The cart window swung open, and the driver leaned in to let them know they’d arrived.

Theo and the others stepped out of the cart. They found themselves looking at a modest village bustling with the villagers’ daily activities.

Thalia reached out and handed the driver 80 copper.

"If you’re planning to head back, you’ll need to leave really early, around five in the morning."

"There’s usually a cart waiting over there," the driver said, pointing toward a stop.

They followed where he pointed, and Theo understood what he meant. Before long, the man snapped the reins and drove off, leaving Neco Village behind.

Thalia walked closer to Theo, noticing that the ground in the village was muddy and a bit wet, not exactly friendly to their dresses, especially after they’d all gone through the trouble of dressing up nicely for the day.

"We haven’t even started the mission and I’m already in a bad mood."

"Relax," Theo said. "Besides, we’ll be hunting out in the forest, not in the village."

"We just need to come here first so we know exactly where the lizard monster’s located," Theo explained.

They nodded along, listening to Theo, then started walking into the village, stepping right through the muddy ground.

Theo walked along the main path while Thalia and the others chose to walk along the side, where the ground was firmer and safer, especially safer from the mud.

"Oh, don’t see adventurers come through here too often," said a middle aged man, a vendor selling handcrafted wooden accessories.

Theo turned and smiled at him, then walked over to the man’s stall, where he had his goods laid out on a cloth spread across the ground.

"We’re here to deal with the Black Ink Lizard," Theo answered.

"We?"

"That’s right," Theo said. "They’re..."

When Theo turned around, Thalia and the others weren’t behind him anymore. As it turned out, they were still back on the road, struggling to make their way through the muddy path near the village gate.

Theo let out a short sigh, hands resting on his hips. The vendor spoke up to Theo.

"They’re city folk, aren’t they?"

"Yeah," Theo said. "That’s about right."

Before long, the three of them finally caught up to Theo. Thalia grabbed his arm and pointed down at the hem of her mage dress, now soaked, muddy, and filthy.

"I can’t help you like this. What do you think I am?"

"Don’t worry, Mr. Adventurer," the vendor said, pointing off to the side. "There’s a clear river over there. You can wash your clothes up there."

"Really? Come on, let’s go, Lily, Aya."

Without so much as inviting Theo along, the three of them walked off. Worried about their safety, Theo asked Avara to go keep watch over them from a distance, and she agreed without hesitation.

"Can we get back to our conversation?" Theo asked.

"The Black Ink Lizard’s real enough, but I’m afraid I can’t give you a solid answer," the man explained, "What I can tell you is that thing causes nothing but trouble. Whenever they show up, the water in the wells and rivers turns dirty and black, and we end up having to filter it ourselves."

The man got up and pointed ahead, gesturing toward a house with a wide yard out front. He told Theo he should head over there and ask the village chief directly.

Theo listened and said his goodbyes. Instead of heading straight to the river, he chose to visit the Neco village chief’s house first.

When he arrived and knocked on the door, it swung open right away, and a young woman around Theo’s age answered.

"Who are you? Who are you looking for?" the girl asked.

"I’m Theo, an adventurer from Aluric," Theo said, pulling out the guild mission paper. "We’re here to help you all."

The girl took the mission paper and called for her father to come. Before long, a middle aged man came out to greet Theo, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Welcome, Mr...."

"Theo," Theo said.

"Right, Mr. Theo. I’m Jack, chief of Neco Village. We’ve all been waiting for you," the man said.

"Come in. I’ll explain everything to you in detail."