Night had fallen.
Stars speckled the sky.
Under the glow of moonlight and starlight, the night was surprisingly bright, a celestial vista Adam had never seen in his old world, not even in rural areas.
Crackle! Crackle!
The campfire's logs burned, spitting sparks as flames danced.
Nfirea sat by the fire, studying a few herbs, occasionally sniffing or nibbling them.
Lizzie stood near the wagon, inspecting the herbs' condition.
Of the Rock team, only Captain Dosari and Rand, the elder twin, stood watch at the perimeter.
The other two had gone to scout the surroundings.
They were camping in the wilderness.
According to Dosari, a village was nearby where they could've lodged.
But Lizzie had refused, unwilling to detour.
A crate of rare herbs, purchased in the capital, needed swift delivery to E-Rantel for processing, so they took the fastest route, bypassing towns.
This choice heightened the journey's risks, which would typically frustrate an adventurer team.
After all, clients and adventurers were partners. If a client's decisions endangered the team beyond reason, adventurers could abandon the request.
Though, they'd owe the guild a hefty penalty.
Being used as laborers and forced along an unsafe route would normally spark conflict.
Yet, upon learning Lizzie was E-Rantel's premier apothecary, the Rock team's grumbles vanished. They even grew more attentive.
Adam couldn't help but marvel at the team's pragmatism.
By the campfire, he watched Nfirea's focused study of the herbs.
Nfirea held a thumb-length, root-like plant, biting off a small piece.
He promptly spat it out. "Bitterroot, huh? It looks identical to this one."
Noticing Adam's gaze, he explained, "This is bitterroot, indistinguishable from mayroot by sight. You have to taste them."
"Bitterroot's good for brewing liquor and has detoxifying properties, a base for antidote potions. Mayroot's bitter too, but with a sweet undertone, ideal for healing potions."
His shy demeanor gave way to confidence, his blue eyes brightening as he spoke.
"I see." Adam said, nodding attentively.
In truth, he was probing whether herb knowledge could unlock the Apothecary job.
His status panel showed no prompts.
"Are you interested in herbs, Adam?" Nfirea asked, his gaze curious.
"A bit." Adam admitted with a nod.
"Hmph!"
Before Nfirea could continue, a sharp huff interrupted.
Lizzie approached, hands behind her back. "Nfirea, don't flaunt your shallow knowledge."
"Tasting with your mouth is the most basic, crude method. Your nose isn't useless!" Her stern voice carried a reprimand.
"I understand, Grandmother." Nfirea said, lowering his head, abashed.
Adam looked away, unsure if Lizzie's scolding held a veiled warning for him.
In a world where knowledge was tightly guarded, his recent queries about herbs might've overstepped.
"No need to tense up." Lizzie said, glancing at him. "I'm stingy, but not enough to get mad over this."
Well…
Calling herself stingy was true enough.
But Adam knew better than to comment.
"Thinking you can make healing potions just by knowing a few herbs? Don't be absurd." Lizzie continued, her tone measured. "You've got talent in Faith-based magic. Don't waste energy on Martial Arts or herb lore, it's a distraction."
Adam blinked, realizing her advice was well-meaning. "Thank you, Madam Bareare." He said quickly.
At the formal address, Lizzie's wrinkled face softened, clearly pleased.
"Bareare" was her surname, which Adam had learned from Nfirea, though he'd known it already.
Step! Step!
Footfalls approached from the dark plains.
Ler, the younger twin, and Bask, the archer, returned from their scout.
Their teammates visibly relaxed.
"Oink… oink…"
A weak groan came from behind Ler.
He carried a boar, easily over 200 pounds, with effortless ease. "Got lucky. Nabbed a boar. Dinner's set."
"One arrow through the brow, and it's still alive?" Rand said, hands on hips, eyeing the bloody hole in the boar's forehead.
"Hey, Bask, your archery's getting sharper."
"Just a boar." Bask said with a light chuckle.
Thud!
Ler dropped the boar near the fire, the impact muffled.
"Adam, it's got one breath left." Ler said, grinning. He pointed to the boar's neck. "Strike here for a clean kill."
"Thanks." Adam said, rising and approaching the twitching beast.
Lizzie's haste to reach E-Rantel meant skipping towns for rest, though she'd planned the route and brought ample food.
However, that didn't cover the Rock team or Adam.
To conserve their rations, the team hunted, a routine task for adventurers.
Adam had requested to deliver the killing blow on captured prey.
His excuse? He was considering adventuring but hadn't seen bloodshed and wanted to acclimate.
The Rock team didn't question it.
Adam didn't look like an adventurer. Even low-rank adventurers carried tools for long trips, but Adam lacked such foresight.
They might doubt his strength, but his inexperience was obvious.
So, they readily left each beast with a sliver of life for him to finish.
Shing!
Adam drew his short sword and stood over the faintly twitching boar.
Without hesitation, he plunged the blade into the spot Ler indicated.
***
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