Chapter 236 Specialty: Killing Goblins

Xia Nan was delighted to see Verol among the party.

The reason, naturally, wasn't her fair, delicate face—the kind usually found only in noble households, completely untouched by wind and sun.

It was because of her identity as a "Mage."

Why were Spellcasters, especially Class Holders like mages, so popular among adventurers on the Aifala Continent? Why were even Mage Apprentices, who knew only a handful of cantrips, still highly sought after by Class Grade parties?

The flames and lightning drawn from magic particles—offensive spells far beyond the reach of ordinary people—were only part of the reason.

The most important factor was the unparalleled versatility the class offered in almost any situation.

Take a Level 1 Mage with a complete spell list. Even excluding 1st Circle Spells that might be strenuous to cast, and ignoring modified spells that required special methods to memorize, simply starting from the basic "cantrips" at the bottom of the spell pyramid yielded numerous options to drastically improve an adventuring experience and widen the margin for error.

"Message" could cross spatial barriers in complex environments to establish direct, one-on-one private communication, even penetrating or bypassing obstacles.

"Mage Hand" conjured a hovering hand out of magic particles and telekinesis. Within a thirty-foot range, it could be controlled to do anything a normal human hand could.

"Dancing Lights" conjured one to four floating magical light sources that freely followed the caster, eliminating the need to waste precious manpower holding torches or lanterns.

For adventurers deep in the Wilderness, with no one to rely on but themselves and their teammates, having these highly functional spells versus lacking them resulted in two entirely different experiences.

If a Spellcaster also knew spatial storage magic, the party could enjoy piping-hot meals and ice-cold beer every night, even in remote mountains far from any town. It was a luxury ordinary adventurers could never imagine.

Exactly one year after his transmigration, Xia Nan finally had a legendary "Mage" teammate.

He had to admit he was looking forward to it, especially since he had interacted with the girl before and knew she had a pleasant, easygoing personality.

Verol seemed just as pleasantly surprised.

His gaze had barely swept over her when the slender mage girl, her hair tied in a high ponytail, bounded up from the sofa like a spring.

She wore a somewhat stiff but exceptionally polite smile, displaying exactly eight teeth.

"Mr. Xia... Xia Nan, I didn't expect to see you here. What... what a coincidence!"

'Truly worthy of being a legendary mage. This level of politeness is definitely different from the burly adventurers in town,' Xia Nan thought with a sigh.

Across the room, seemingly surprised by Verol's reaction, Wood welcomed Xia Nan inside and asked tentatively,

"You and Verol already know each other?"

"We met at the Association a few days ago for a commission. She did me a few favors."

"I see," Wood said in realization. He nodded with a smile. "That works out perfectly. It's always easier to mesh with acquaintances than strangers."

"You already know the general details of the mission. Time is tight, so I won't waste any more breath on pleasantries."

"Let me introduce our team composition first so we can cooperate more easily later."

"First is Young Master Hai'an, whom you already know."

Wood stepped sideways to clear the way.

Standing toward the back of the room, the half-elf Hai'an—having just slung his longbow over his shoulder—stepped forward and extended a hand to Xia Nan with a smile.

"Long time no see."

"I'm really sorry. Because of family matters, I wasn't able to host you properly the last time you visited Nym."

"If there's another chance in the future, I'll definitely make it up to you."

Shaking his hand, Xia Nan gently shook his head, signaling for him not to worry about it.

Xia Nan scrutinized the second son of Nym City's lord.

Compared to the last time they met in the Misty Forest, the young man was visibly more haggard, seemingly drained of energy.

His physical health seemed fine, though. The long silver hair he had inherited from his elf mother was still neatly tied back, and he hadn't lost the color in his face. Almost a year had passed since their last meeting.

Xia Nan had transformed from a bottom-tier adventurer who only knew [Spinning Slash] into a proper Class Holder.

Yet Hai'an still hadn't taken that step. Judging by the intensity of his aura, he was still at a stage where he had yet to obtain a Class Level.

It made Xia Nan sigh inwardly at the passage of time and the shifting tides of the world.

"Then there's Luca. Like me, he's a guard for the Wycliffe Family, of the Warrior class," Wood continued.

Following Wood's gesture, an honest-looking man with a burly, muscular build and a square face came into view.

He opened his mouth at Xia Nan but didn't say anything, merely chuckling and reaching up to scratch his head instead.

'Mm, his strength looks decent.'

His gaze swept over the rock-solid muscles of the man's arms, then down to the iron axe and shield in his hands, silently evaluating his combat level and fighting style.

'He should be positioned as frontline melee in the party, right?'

"And this is Madam Sava, a dragonborn Warrior," Wood continued down the line. "Her clan and the Wycliffe Family are old acquaintances. She's trustworthy."

The argument they'd just had made Wood secretly brace for Sava to redirect her anger onto Xia Nan. He had already drafted his intervention, ready to stop her the moment she acted up to preserve the escort team's atmosphere.

But to his surprise, Sava—who had just been aggressively dismissive of Xia Nan's status as a rookie Class Holder—did not exhibit the offensive behavior he had feared.

Though not exactly warm, she crossed her arms and gave Xia Nan a slight nod with a cold expression.

'A dragonborn?'

His dark eyes reflected her peculiar face, which resembled a humanoid lizard. Xia Nan couldn't help but feel curious.

Having stayed in Rivervale Town for so long, he had seen plenty of dwarves, elves, and half-orcs, but a dragonborn—this was indeed his first time seeing one.

He couldn't help but recall the fragmented information about this race he had picked up through various channels.

Contrary to his previous beliefs, they were not a species bred from the mating of giant dragons and the humanoid creatures of this world.

Although dragonborn were similarly divided into metallic, chromatic, and gem variations, the specific origins of the race had been shrouded in mystery by deliberate alterations, myth-making, and the erosion of history.

To many dragons, the so-called "dragonborn" were merely defective byproducts of a dragon's birth. They were born to be enslaved, meant to dedicate their entire lives and loyalty to the great dragon race.

Yet in the dragonborn's own mythical epics, they were the origin of all things. All species, including humans, evolved from the very first dragonborn, making them the most ancient and noble race.

Theologians had once found relevant records in a few ancient codices regarding the World Shaper, theorizing that the birth of the dragonborn stemmed from the blood of this great entity.

As soon as this theory was published, it angered countless dragons and their worshippers.

If what the theologians claimed was true, it meant that dragonborn and dragons did not have a master-servant relationship.

Tracing back to their source, they would sit as equals with the Platinum Dragon God and the Chromatic Dragon Queen.

They would be siblings to the dragons.

Opinions on the origins of the dragonborn race varied greatly. As for who was right and who was wrong, only those few entities sitting high above in their divine kingdoms knew for sure.

By now, they had long since shaken off their humiliating history of enslavement. They had spread across the Aifala Continent, securing the right to walk freely as clans.

Judging by his observations, Madam Sava should belong to the brass dragon variation of the dragonborn.

Her mixed bloodline caused the scales exposed beyond her armor and clothes to display an irregular color distribution. They lacked purity, presenting a dull yellowish-brown hue.

They looked like an old copper coin that had passed through countless hands and been polished to a thick patina.

Her figure was tall and vigorous, standing two heads taller than an ordinary human woman. She could look Xia Nan—nearly 1.9 meters tall himself—right in the eye.

Her shoulders were broad and powerful, the skeletal frame beneath her scales clearly defined. Yet her muscles weren't the least bit bulky; they tapered smoothly down to a lean waist before extending into two sturdy legs brimming with power.

'Mm... no tail.'

She habitually kept her chin slightly raised. Those lizard-like, dark green vertical pupils were as cold as a true cold-blooded animal's. Her lowered center of gravity meant that simply standing there gave her the stable presence of being rooted to the earth.

Perhaps it was the slight curves brought out by her smooth physique, or perhaps it was certain subtle movements.

Even though Madam Sava hadn't said a word since he entered, and that lizard head—with a maw large enough to swallow a child's head whole—showed absolutely no feminine features, Xia Nan could tell her gender with a single glance.

If this were his past life, there would probably be quite a few people with unique tastes interested in the dragonborn, discovering a special kind of beauty in the curves of muscle hidden beneath scales, the sharp teeth, and the slit pupils.

At the same time, as Xia Nan took advantage of Wood's introduction to sweep his gaze over Sava and ponder inwardly, the vigorous female dragonborn was also scrutinizing the black-haired young man.

In the eyes of the world, dragonborn were generally passionate and disciplined, holding themselves and their teammates to extremely high standards and viewing the glory of their clan as something they must defend with their lives.

Although Sava lacked the affability of some of her kin, she was still quite stringent when choosing teammates.

She wouldn't instantly change her attitude just because Xia Nan was an acquaintance of Wood and Hai'an.

The reason she acted differently than she had during her argument with Wood earlier, and was willing to greet Xia Nan at all, was twofold. First, she had observed a somewhat abrupt change in the mage named Verol behind her when the black-haired youth walked in.

Verol had been in the party for a few days now. Her identity as a Spellcaster, along with the sliver of strength she had revealed before joining, had already earned Sava's approval.

Sava could clearly sense that when Verol interacted with everyone in the party—herself included—the girl's seemingly polite and enthusiastic demeanor actually concealed a vague, indescribable distance.

Sava hadn't cared, merely chalking it up to the reserve of a Spellcaster.

Strangely, after this black-haired youth walked in, that vague boundary of alienation around Verol had been shattered by a much stronger emotion.

She recalled the expression she had caught on the girl's face in a fleeting glance.

'Panic? Fear?'

Sava suddenly felt her own thoughts were a bit absurd, doubting her Perception for the first time.

On the other hand, she had changed her attitude—maintaining her suspicions but no longer treating Xia Nan purely as a rookie Class Holder—because she felt a faint, stinging sense of danger emanating from the depths of his pitch-black eyes.

Wherever his gaze swept past, even her scales seemed to faintly tremble.

"And the last one. Since you two already know each other, I won't waste my breath."

Wood's voice flowed into his ears, and Xia Nan naturally shifted his gaze away from Sava.

"Verol, the only Spellcaster in our party."

He exchanged another greeting with the girl across the room, who was standing as straight and stiff as a soldier at attention.

Seeing Wood look his way, he understood the man's intention.

Xia Nan also introduced himself to the group: "Xia Nan, Professional Warrior. My specialty is... well, lately, I've just been killing a lot of goblins."

His attitude was sincere, his tone earnest.

With that, the escort squad was fully assembled.

The party's composition was excellent: shield and axe wielder Luca in the front row, Sava supporting as secondary offense, Rogue Wood roaming, Hai'an holding the rear with his bow, Mage Verol occupying the center to control the field, and the highly mobile freewheeler, Xia Nan.

A well-rounded, six-person party with almost no shortcomings.

Xia Nan felt that with such a setup, they could comfortably put up a fight even if they ran into that Owlbear again.

As a member of the squad, it was his first time working with such professional teammates.

He even felt a faint surge of excitement.

Time was limited. After they had all introduced themselves, Wood reiterated the mission's specific details.

Escort target: Hai'an.

Destination: Sticky-Tree Territory—a territory within the Abyssal Veil Province bordering the Cloudclimb Province.

Potential dangers to guard against: monsters encountered on the road, bandits roaming the Wilderness, and pursuers from Nym (low probability).

"Everyone is here. Let's take advantage of this last half day to double-check and see if we've missed anything."

"Once the sun goes down, we move out!"