The warm morning sunlight slipped through the gaps in the window curtains of the Moonlight Inn, marking the start of Party Noiver's first day of activities in the Kingdom of Fellims. After a lavish breakfast consisting of warm wheat bread, local fruit jams, and smoked meat, the three young adventurers gathered in Keyzier's room to plan their next move.
Before heading to the guild, Keyzier sat on the edge of the bed and reached into his dimensional storage bag. He took out many coins, each pile worth 300,000 Lyra.
"Here!" Keyzier said, handing the pouches to Donovan and Novalia. "This is your share for personal spending. Keep it."
Donovan and Novalia looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously shook their heads. Donovan gently pushed Keyzier's hand back.
"No need, Key. Just keep it all in your dimensional storage space!" Donovan declined gently.
"Huh? Why?" Keyzier frowned. "This is our money together, not just mine."
Novalia smiled softly while straightening her mage robe. "The reason is simple, Key. The three of us are always together, wherever and whenever. If we want something, we just need to tell you, and you'll definitely buy it for us, right?"
"Correct!" added Donovan. "Besides, I know your character and personality very well."
Keyzier looked at his two friends with a flat gaze, then let out a long, heavy sigh until his shoulders slumped. He felt a little frustrated because his good intention to share the financial burden was rejected, but on the other hand, he also understood their logic. Their trust in him was so great that even money matters were entrusted entirely to him.
"Oh well, suit yourselves..." Keyzier muttered as he put the pouches back into storage. "Let's go to the guild!"
Their footsteps brought them back to the Pixa City Adventurers' Guild building, which was already starting to get busy. Without wasting time, Keyzier went straight to the reception desk where Sera was on duty.
"Good morning, Sera!" Keyzier greeted.
"Good morning, Keyzier and fellow members of Party Noiver. Is there anything I can help you with today?" Sera replied with a friendly, professional smile.
"Show me all available missions for Rank C or Rank B. We need a warm-up!" Keyzier requested.
Sera nodded and immediately took a stack of mission papers from a special drawer. She spread them out on the reception desk. "Please choose. Currently, requests for monster subjugation are high around the border, but there are also some escort requests."
Keyzier scanned the sheets of paper quickly. His keen eyes skipped over merchant escort missions and herb gathering missions until they finally stopped and locked onto one sheet of paper with a red stamp.
The corner of Keyzier's lips lifted to form a thin, meaningful smirk.
Donovan and Novalia, standing behind him, also read the writing on the paper their leader was staring at intensely.
[Subjugation Mission: "Wolf's Fang" Bandit Gang]
Location: Around the Dire Grassland Area
Target: Eliminate all members of the bandit group.
Reward: 50,000 Lyra
Instantly, Donovan and Novalia slapped their foreheads in unison.
Slap!
The sound of the slap was loud enough to make Sera turn her head in confusion. Naturally, Sera felt puzzled by the reaction shown by Keyzier's two companions. Usually, adventurers would discuss seriously, not show a gesture of resignation like that.
"What's wrong?" Sera asked innocently. She also re-read the mission paper that interested Keyzier. "This is a standard bandit subjugation mission in Dire Grassland. Indeed, they have been quite troublesome for merchants lately, but... I don't see anything strange about the mission."
Donovan could only smile wryly in his heart. Sera, you don't know how and what Keyzier will do if he takes a mission to subjugate a bandit gang! This isn't about justice; this is about a 'grand harvest' for him!
For Keyzier, bandits were not humans. They were 'walking piggy banks' carrying money, weapons, and valuables that could be legally looted without guilt.
"We'll take this one!" Keyzier said firmly, handing the paper to Sera.
After the mission was confirmed and stamped, Keyzier leaned his body slightly. "One more thing I want to ask you, Sera."
"What is it?"
"Just the direction!" Keyzier answered briefly. "Which way leads to Dire Grassland?"
Sera laughed lightly. "Ah... forgive me. I forgot that you aren't from this kingdom! If you want to go to Dire Grassland, you must exit through the southeast gate of Pixa City. Just follow the main road until you see a stretch of waist-high grass."
"Thank you, Sera!"
They immediately rushed toward the southeast gate. The sun was getting higher, but Keyzier's spirit was much hotter than the midday heat.
During the journey, Keyzier looked very enthusiastic, even humming a little tune occasionally. Donovan and Novalia knew exactly what was in his head.
Exterminating bandits meant Keyzier would definitely find loot and other valuables to add to their party's coffers, as if the money they had now wasn't already enough.
"He's really enjoying this, isn't he?" Novalia whispered to Donovan.
"Just let him be." Donovan answered resignedly. "But on the other hand, bandits usually take hostages. Remember the incident in the forest back then? There could be people held hostage like what happened in the past. So, inevitably, it has become our obligation to help those in need."
They continued walking along the path that cut through the vast grassland. The wind blew hard, making the grass sway like waves in a green sea.
Arriving at the heart of Dire Grassland, it didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for. Or rather, their targets found them.
A group of armed men in shabby clothes suddenly appeared from behind mounds of earth and tall bushes, surrounding Party Noiver. There were about fifteen of them, each holding unkempt swords and spiked clubs.
"Halt right there, Brats!" shouted one of the bandits who had a scar on his face. "Hand over all your money and valuables, or your lives will be lost in this grassland!"
Instead of being afraid, Keyzier smiled broadly. He felt very happy to have found what he was looking for so quickly without needing to track them.
Keyzier glanced at Novalia, then yawned in boredom. "Ah... if it's only this much, Nova alone is enough to handle it!"
Silence for a moment. The bandits looked at each other, then their faces turned red with anger.
"What did you say?!" snapped the bandit. "You underestimate us?! Attack them! Kill the males, capture the female!"
Feeling underestimated, the bandit gang instantly flew into a rage and ran to charge Party Noiver with drawn weapons.
Keyzier and Donovan didn't even draw their new swords. They just stood relaxed, letting Novalia step forward one pace. The girl raised her magic staff, her eyes shining calmly.
"Paralyzing Area!"
A wave of transparent yellow energy spread rapidly like lightning from Novalia's footing, covering an area of twenty meters in an instant.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One by one, the running bandits fell face-first to the ground. Their bodies were stiff, their muscles locked tight as if turned to stone, yet their consciousness remained intact. They could only move their eyeballs in panic.
Keyzier laughed with satisfaction. "Hahaha! Look, you guys can't move anymore. Good work, Nova. Now, we will tie you all up!"