Yue Wu was unaware of how the others present viewed him as he spoke to himself.
Jeanne D’Arc, having known Yue Wu the longest, had initially seen him as a remarkably brave adventurer.
He had first helped her defeat a monster that had pursued her all day, then aided her in eliminating the perpetrator behind her village’s destruction.
During that battle, Yue Wu displayed immense strength, even unleashing a purification spell similar to the one he had just used on the undead.
In Jeanne D’Arc’s heart, Yue Wu was the epitome of power, yet after this recent display of magic, she was struck by his overwhelming might, leading her to a newfound astonishment regarding him.
Lucifer Kentest had initially found Yue Wu to be a mysterious individual, claiming to be a “Priest”—a profession he had never even heard of.
However, the new abilities Yue Wu demonstrated at the mercenary guild filled him with delight.
He made a personal decision to recruit Yue Wu into his academy, a choice he now knew was correct, and he harbored great hopes for the academy’s and the continent’s future.
Yet, this current mission had given him a profound new understanding of Yue Wu: terrifying magical power, ancient magic scrolls, the Arcanum of the Mage’s Ring of Truth, and super-magic comparable to divine miracles.
Such a person could bring both hope and despair, causing his conviction to waver.
Modley Hadas was utterly speechless.
Witnessing the events unfold before him, his mind went blank, his only thought being that Yue Wu’s power far surpassed that of the academy head and belonged to an entirely different dimension than his own.
Sophia Intist gazed at Yue Wu, her eyes vacant, slowly raising a trembling, listless hand as if reaching for something intangible.
Cang Lang, seeing its ancestral home restored, joyfully howled at the sky.
Its fellow silver wolves began to gather from all directions.
“Thank you for resurrecting the Fenrir Forest. You shall be a friend to my Silver Wolf tribe!”
Cang Lang no longer harbored animosity toward Yue Wu and his companions; instead, it treated Yue Wu as an honored guest.
‘Fenrir Forest? Isn’t that a dungeon location in the game’s O Continent? I recall there being an entrance to a ruin nearby, and that underground ruin was vast. Someone found a divine artifact there back then, the first divine artifact obtained by an O Continent player, if I remember correctly—a fire-attribute one-handed sword.’
‘If I gave it to Jeanne D’Arc, it would be quite suitable. After all, she could use it in the future.’
Upon learning the original name of the place, Yue Wu’s mind filled with game information, and he began to formulate a plan.
Another crucial detail was that the entrance to the ruins had always been guarded by the Silver Wolf tribe, and Cang Lang was the very boss who guarded the entrance in the game.
After composing himself, Lucifer Kentest brought up the item required for their mission.
“We need a plant called Sirius Grass.”
“Sirius Grass? What is that? I have never heard of it.”
Cang Lang had no knowledge of what Lucifer Kentest referred to as Sirius Grass; within its territory, there was nothing it didn’t know, no plant it wasn’t familiar with.
It had never even heard of Sirius Grass, let alone seen it.
“What?! We’ve been tricked! Damn it!”
Lucifer Kentest realized they had been deceived, and the mission itself was fundamentally flawed.
Had Yue Wu not been with them today, this mission would likely have been a death trap.
“You were indeed deceived. Not long ago, a group of humans came here searching for that very thing, but I drove them away in the end.”
Perhaps Cang Lang didn’t want Yue Wu and his companions to interact with ‘that thing,’ knowing the danger it posed.
No one who entered ever returned, so it chose to respond vaguely.
“Sirius Grass, you say? You should have mentioned it sooner. I have some.”
Yue Wu retrieved a vibrant green plant from his King’s Treasury.
Its only distinctive feature was a tiny fruit, roughly the size of an adult’s pinky finger joint.
If consumed directly, it could slightly boost one’s physique and strength, but not significantly.
However, if an alchemist processed it into a potion, it could greatly enhance physique and strength, though it was effective only once, with subsequent doses yielding no results.
“What!”
Lucifer Kentest’s eyes widened instantly, fixated on the object in Yue Wu’s hand.
“If you had it, why didn’t you take it out sooner?!”
“How was I supposed to know what the mission required? I was about to ask you how to complete the mission, but I was interrupted.”
Yue Wu shrugged, feigning innocence as he deflected responsibility.
“Didn’t you even read the mission details beforehand?!”
Lucifer Kentest was utterly exasperated by Yue Wu’s every action.
If Yue Wu had produced the item earlier, Modley Hadas wouldn’t have been injured, and they wouldn’t have been so terrified and on edge.
“I couldn’t understand it. If I could, why would I ask you?”
Yue Wu had indeed seen the mission scroll, but he couldn’t read the words on it.
“Huh? What did you say?”
Lucifer Kentest felt as though he had heard something extraordinary, but he couldn’t quite believe it.
“I said, the words on the mission scroll know me, but I don’t know them.”
Yue Wu spread his hands, directly admitting his illiteracy.
“…”
Suddenly, the entire area fell silent.
After a long moment, everyone finally reacted, even Jeanne D’Arc, who was familiar with Yue Wu.
“Brother, you mean you can’t read?”
Jeanne D’Arc looked as though she had just witnessed the most impossible lie.
“That’s right, I don’t understand the O Continent’s script.”
Yue Wu crossed his arms, adopting a serious and earnest expression, and replied with unwavering conviction.
“Lu… Lucifer Kentest, do you still want to recruit him now?”
Modley Hadas clutched his chest, his face exceptionally pale; it seemed the blow from Cang Lang earlier had inflicted considerable damage.
“Recruit!”
Lucifer Kentest bit his lip, wavering for a moment on whether to recruit Yue Wu into the academy.
Not recruiting him would mean losing a hard-won opportunity, a beacon of hope.
Recruiting him, however, could bring hope and a new future to the continent.
Ultimately, he uttered a single, decisive word, his mind clearly made up.
“Since your mission is complete, please depart. Thank you very much for your assistance. I offer you this wolf tooth necklace.”
“Within a hundred miles of my territory, should you ever require the aid of my Silver Wolf tribe, I will lead my kin to you immediately.”
Cang Lang retrieved a necklace made of wolf teeth from its own body.
“Oh, thanks.”
Yue Wu accepted Cang Lang’s gift directly.
Although the necklace was entirely useless to him, it could be given to Jeanne D’Arc.
Yue Wu recognized the necklace; it sealed the guardian spirit of an ancient wolf king, meaning it could save Jeanne D’Arc’s life in times of danger.
After Yue Wu and his companions departed, the incident concluded.
Back at the mercenary guild, when they handed over the mission item, the person at the counter reacted poorly upon seeing them return unharmed.
After taking the item, the person immediately fled.
“That person’s behavior just now…”
Modley Hadas had harbored intense hatred for that individual.
If Lucifer Kentest hadn’t restrained him, he would have already killed that person.
“You can tell us the reason now, can’t you?”
Lucifer Kentest stared at Yue Wu with an impassive face, for Yue Wu had earlier used mental transmission to instruct him to prevent Modley Hadas from acting, promising them a satisfactory answer once everything was over.
“No rush, no rush. Let me register my mercenary group first.”
Yue Wu chuckled, picking up the completed B-rank mission scroll, which would allow him to apply for a mercenary group.
“Hmph!”
Lucifer Kentest scoffed lightly, choosing to ignore Yue Wu.
“Hey there, beautiful! I’m here to register a mercenary guild.”
Yue Wu placed the mission scroll, his adventurer’s certificate, and a few gold coins on the counter, eagerly awaiting the staff member’s response.
“Hello, please write on these scrolls whether you are applying for a mercenary group or an adventurer group.”
The receptionist handed Yue Wu two scrolls—one for a mercenary group application, the other for an adventurer group—and patiently explained the process and details.
“An adventurer group, please. My old guild was an adventurer group, so I’ll go with that. Thank you.”
Yue Wu decisively chose the adventurer group.
Although he had been loudly proclaiming his intention to create a mercenary group, he actually wanted an adventurer group.
The differences between mercenary groups and adventurer groups lay in three main points.
First, there was a limit on the number of members.
Second, adventurer groups had no adventurer rank requirements; any adventurer with a certificate could join, provided they completed a high-level mission.
Third, adventurer groups were not employed by local nations.
While their income was significantly less than mercenary groups, they enjoyed far greater freedom.
If a mercenary group was akin to soldiers, then an adventurer group was like rangers.
“Brother, weren’t you going to create a mercenary group?”
Jeanne D’Arc didn’t quite understand Yue Wu’s current decision.
She had assumed he would apply for a mercenary group since he had always spoken of creating one, so his choice of an adventurer group surprised her.
“Because my old guild was mistakenly called a mercenary group by others, I just got used to calling it that.”
Yue Wu recalled past events and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“So, Brother, how many people were in your old adventurer group?”
Jeanne D’Arc was very curious about the guild Yue Wu mentioned.
“Including myself, there were ten of us. They were all very reliable and close friends.”
“Were they strong? And who were they?”
“Strong, indeed! They were Chilian, the leader and a fire-element magic swordsman; Sakura, the Onmyoji; Keffir, the Berserker; Harry Potter, the seven-element mage; Coco, the Sword Master; Wang Miao, the Mechanist; Wenwen, the Summoner; Knight Uncle; and Sister Fei Fei.”
As Yue Wu filled out the scroll and answered Jeanne D’Arc, Lucifer Kentest, who was waiting nearby, and the people in line watched him in stunned silence.
“Berserker!?”
“Seven-element mage!?”
Suddenly, the people queuing to register mercenary groups and adventurer groups in the guild erupted into a clamor.