Chapter 607 A Small Gift

Xia Nan was somewhat surprised to receive a letter from Forgan today.

After all, some time had already passed since the winter they had originally agreed upon.

He had also left Rivervale Town and was no longer even in Cloudclimb Province. Even if Forgan really did pass through Nym, Xia Nan figured he wouldn't be able to make it back in time.

He thought the matter was settled and done with, but unexpectedly, there was more to it.

As his eyes swept over the words on the letter in his hand, a wave of emotion washed over Xia Nan.

It was no wonder the man now stood at a height approaching the Legendary rank.

Back then, he had been a bottom-tier adventurer who hadn't even obtained a Class Level, while Forgan had almost reached the end of the "Transcendent Tier" path.

Whether in terms of strength or social status, the gap between them was a massive chasm.

Despite that, a year had passed, and the man still remembered and was willing to fulfill his promise to a "nobody" like him. Even though Forgan seemed incredibly busy and couldn't spare the time to return, he had honestly explained the situation and altered their original plan to accommodate Xia Nan.

His good impression of the Barbarian Forgan deepened significantly.

He read the letter over a few more times to ensure he hadn't missed any key information.

Xia Nan fell into thought.

The situation Forgan described was very clear.

The agreed time had arrived, but for personal reasons, Forgan couldn't return to Cloudclimb Province. If Xia Nan still wanted to meet as promised, he needed to head to a city called "Salt Rock Port" within a limited timeframe.

First of all, should he go?

The moment this thought surfaced, Xia Nan's mind instantly provided a definite answer.

The specific content of their original agreement was that after a year, if Xia Nan still hadn't found a suitable combat technique to obtain a Class Level, the passing Barbarian would offer him some assistance in Nym.

Right now, Xia Nan had not only trained the [Fang Hunt] taught by Forgan to the max Level 5, but his Class Level had also reached Level 4. This speed of improvement far exceeded what an ordinary adventurer in this world should possess.

And it had to be noted, this was even with the restrictions of his chosen class slowing his leveling speed to solidify his foundation. Whether in combat technique proficiency or Class Level, he had already far surpassed the contents of his original agreement with the man.

But...

Xia Nan had read the letter very carefully.

In the letter, the Barbarian had mentioned, "If you have not yet obtained a Class Level, or if you are lost on the path ahead..."

Truthfully, he was currently stuck in an awkward bottleneck—close to taking on a secondary class, yet still tangibly distant.

If he could have a powerful existence approaching the Legendary rank like the Barbarian Forgan to guide him and point out the way, it would naturally be for the best.

Without the proper connections, such an opportunity couldn't be bought no matter how many gold coins one had.

There was no way Xia Nan would miss this!

Having confirmed this, the question became whether he still had time to make it, and if so, how he was supposed to get there.

It wasn't exactly information worth hiding.

Realizing that time was limited and he had to make a plan as quickly as possible or risk missing this chance, Xia Nan explained his situation to the members of the Blade of Vengeance and the tavern owner, Hera.

"Salt Rock Port? That's quite a bit away from Barracuda Bay."

As an experienced information broker, even though she primarily gathered intelligence within the Southern Archipelagos, years of accumulation meant she still knew far more about other regions than the adventurers present who buried their heads in maritime quests.

Upon hearing his destination, Hera, standing behind the tavern counter, lightly tapped the tabletop as she recalled the place.

Compared to Barracuda Bay—one of the kingdom's most important ports and the heart of the Southern Archipelagos—Salt Rock Port was vastly inferior in both reputation and overall scale.

Aside from the natural salt mines it was named after, the only other notable feature of this port town was its geographical location near the kingdom's border.

"Although a few cargo ships from there occasionally pass through the bay, you won't see them more than a handful of times all year."

"It's too far, and the local area doesn't have any specialties worth mentioning. Unless it's merchants who already operate on the eastern side of the continent, nearby wanted criminals looking to flee the borders, or local adventurers who caused trouble, no one would go out of their way to travel there."

As a fellow port city, Barracuda Bay was essentially a superior alternative to Salt Rock Port in every way.

It had more monster resources, a branch of the Adventurers' Association stationed there, and more mature and prosperous trade routes. As the local "ruling emperor," the Governor's Mansion also held far more autonomy, leading to lenient laws...

To put it bluntly, even for wanted criminals looking to flee the Servia Kingdom, setting off from Barracuda Bay offered far brighter prospects. They could live quite comfortably just being pirates.

Because of this, no one present knew much about Salt Rock Port.

Of course, compared to Xia Nan—who had transmigrated less than two years ago and whose original body's memories were confined to the countryside fields—they still knew a lot more.

"Although there are very few merchant ships coming from Salt Rock Port, the sea route itself is actually quite clear. Compared to the Southern Archipelagos, the journey is much safer. There are hardly any monsters, and there are fewer pirates."

The captain of the Blade of Vengeance, Lorraine, recalled with a smoking cigarette clamped between her fingers.

"If you really want to go, just sail along the coast. You won't even need to prepare too many supplies; there are plenty of towns along the way."

Somewhat to Xia Nan's surprise, when he honestly revealed to the group that his sudden change in destination was to meet a Transcendent Tier adventurer, Hera and the crew of the Blade of Vengeance were only briefly startled before accepting it as if it were a matter of course.

Well... thinking about it, it made sense.

Given that Xia Nan was not even twenty years old—an age where he should have still been an apprentice sailor on a ship—yet had displayed combat prowess far exceeding that of an ordinary adventurer, it would have been more shocking if he didn't have some sort of powerful backing.

He hadn't even been afraid when facing the pirate "Algae Scale" Dodd during his promotion trial. Saying that he was now going to meet a Transcendent Tier existence was entirely reasonable.

Due to the unspoken rules of the adventurer industry, even though they were on good terms with Xia Nan, everyone tacitly avoided asking for details involving his personal privacy. Even Aken, whose face visibly filled with curiosity upon hearing that the person was also a Barbarian, refrained from probing further. Instead, he joined the others in helping Xia Nan research the feasibility of his travel plan.

"So, according to the letter's message, you now have thirty-five days left to travel?"

Faced with Aken's inquiry, Xia Nan shook his head.

"Actually, even less than that."

After all, the Barbarian Forgan had no way of knowing he had already traveled from Rivervale Town to Barracuda Bay in the Southern Archipelagos.

This letter had been forwarded to him after the Rivervale Town Adventurer Association received it.

Setting aside the change in physical distance to Salt Rock Port after he moved from Rivervale Town to Barracuda Bay...

Just the process of the Rivervale Town Adventurer Association receiving the letter, confirming Xia Nan was no longer in the area, discovering through official channels that he was adventuring in the south, and then forwarding the letter to the Barracuda Bay Branch had already eaten up a considerable amount of time.

Fortunately, when Xia Nan returned, he had specifically sought out the receptionist, Mar, to ask about the situation.

He learned that the delivery of letters between Adventurers' Association branches utilized a special method different from the norm.

Even for the most standard deliveries, they used specially bred birds akin to carrier pigeons to fly back and forth.

Furthermore, because of Forgan's status as a Transcendent Tier adventurer and his cooperative relationship with the Association, this letter had been heavily expedited, utilizing a confidential and specialized delivery channel.

The journey from Rivervale Town to Barracuda Bay had taken three days at most.

Add to that the Association staff's outstanding work efficiency—vastly different from the Governor's Mansion—and even accounting for the miscellaneous time spent confirming Xia Nan's location, the entire process took five days at most. It couldn't possibly have been any longer.

This allowed Xia Nan to breathe a sigh of relief.

If the letter had taken as long as his own journey, where traveling one-way from Rivervale Town took nearly fifty days, Forgan would have likely left Salt Rock Port nearly half a month ago by the time he received the letter.

"Put that way, you only have thirty days left until the agreed time with him?"

The Druid Hein spoke up from the side, having mentally calculated the time Xia Nan had available for travel.

"Thirty days? That might be a bit of a rush."

Although she hadn't left Barracuda Bay in many years, the Three-Legged Sea Dog Tavern's nature as an adventurer hub allowed Hera to constantly interact with adventurers arriving in the Southern Archipelagos from all over. Because of this, she could provide a relatively accurate estimate of the specific travel distance.

"An overland route is definitely out of the question. Don't even think about it."

"If you take a ship, it might be a bit of a rush, but barely... it should be doable?"

Traveling from Barracuda Bay to Salt Rock Port by land required crossing numerous provinces, entailing a multitude of troubles along the way. Who knew how much time would be delayed by various incidents on the road; a month was absolutely not enough.

But if he sailed the entire way by sea, the situation would be vastly different.

Since they were both port cities anyway, he just needed to sail along the coast. There would be no fear of getting lost, and resupplying would be convenient. Surrounded by the empty ocean, it would be extremely rare to encounter any situations other than the occasional storm or blind pirates.

"If everything goes smoothly, you could get there in a minimum of about twenty days. You'd have plenty of time!"

"But if you run into storms or other troubles that might affect your voyage, it could get a bit tight."

From Barracuda Bay to Salt Rock Port, with a strict thirty-day time limit and a twenty-day journey, he had a ten-day margin of error.

It seemed... it really was doable!

Xia Nan's eyes lit up, his mind already made up.

For this precious opportunity to break through his bottleneck, even if the absolute worst-case scenario occurred, he would only end up wasting a month of time. He could accept that!

With time of the essence, Xia Nan didn't dare waste a single second after confirming his itinerary, swiftly springing into action.

There was no need to worry about a ship. The spoils of war previously seized from the pirates, the Flying Fish Oil Barrel, had already finished its retrofitting and was ready to launch at any time.

And the [Wave-Chasing Sea Fang] figurehead gifted by Lorraine and the others finally had a use; it could take effect as soon as it was installed on the bow.

The only thing that required a bit of time was recruiting manpower—finding experienced sailors and navigators.

Fortunately, Barracuda Bay was inherently a port city where adventurers gathered. It boasted comprehensive facilities and an ample reserve of personnel.

Furthermore, by leveraging Hera and Lorraine's connections, he completed all pre-voyage preparations—including material resupply, personnel recruitment, and route planning—in just two days.

"Splash..."

The early morning breeze stirred the mist over the sea, and the soft light of the rising sun cast a brilliant purplish-red hue across the rippling waves.

Xia Nan stood at the bottom of the boarding ladder. Behind him was the brand-new sea ship, its deck bustling with crew and the Winter Wolf Figurehead already installed on its bow.

In front of him stood the members of the Blade of Vengeance, who had come to see him off.

"Remember to come back and visit us when you have the time. There will always be a place for you on the Blade of Vengeance Ship."

She didn't try to make him stay; after spending so many days together, she knew the black-haired young man before her possessed loftier goals and wouldn't be bound to these archipelagos. Exhaling a final smoke ring, Lorraine tossed the burnt-out cigarette to the ground, stamped it out, and spoke with a sincere tone.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the captain siblings, the Barbarian, the Druid, the Tabaxi, the archer, and the twin brothers standing before him, and he nodded earnestly.

The sound of rolling waves filled his ears as the morning sunlight lazily drifted onto everyone's shoulders.

Realizing that this might be the last time he saw them for a very long while, he thought back on every little moment from the past few months in Barracuda Bay, causing his gaze to grow somewhat distant.

But right at that moment, a sudden flurry of hurried footsteps interrupted Xia Nan's thoughts.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw an all-too-familiar short figure sprinting over on his two stubby legs. Before long, he arrived right in front of them.

"Huff... huff..."

"I... I made it just in time..."

Looking at the heavily panting Halfling Alton before him, a look of surprise appeared on Xia Nan's face.

"You... didn't you say you weren't coming?"

As early as two days ago, right after finalizing his itinerary, Xia Nan had specifically gone to the casino to find Alton, told him his plans, and bid the little guy farewell.

He remembered that the other party seemed busy with the Goddess's rituals at the time. Alton had said he couldn't spare the time on short notice and likely wouldn't be able to come to the port to see him off. Xia Nan had been understanding about this; he genuinely felt that as the favored of the Goddess of Luck, it was completely normal for Alton to be busy sometimes, especially needing to use rituals to make up for missed sacrifices after such a long excursion.

He hadn't expected...

"Hehe, if I didn't say that, it wouldn't be a surprise!"

Having finally caught his breath, the little guy's face beamed with that incredibly familiar smile.

In truth, Xia Nan's guess wasn't entirely wrong. As a Lightfoot Halfling, Alton himself rarely stayed in any fixed location for long periods.

But as the favored of the Goddess of Luck, coming to a special region like the Southern Archipelagos, where casinos were everywhere, how could he possibly let it go so easily? Even if he didn't achieve the Legendary rank accomplishments of Arlene, known as "Tymora's Brow," he at least had to ensure the Goddess enjoyed herself.

However, what Xia Nan didn't know was that Alton's extreme busyness over the past few days since returning from Stodd Island—spending nearly every waking moment holed up in various casinos—wasn't entirely for that reason.

Given the level of favor the Goddess bestowed upon the little guy, she wouldn't have pushed him that hard.

As for the main reason...

"Here."

An endearing expression of pride appeared on Alton's face as he pulled a small, exquisite item from his belt pouch and handed it to Xia Nan.

"I begged the Goddess for a long time before she agreed!"

"A little gift for you."