Translator: CinderTL
"Widespread crop failure in the eastern Golden Valley Kingdom..."
Roland carefully examined the commission, his brow furrowing slowly.
"It's harvest season, yet the crops are inexplicably withering, and the soil has an oily sheen... Black crystals are also forming at the roots... Could this be an anomaly caused by the resurgence of magic elements?"
After pondering for a moment without finding a clear answer, Roland shook his head slightly and shifted his gaze downward.
"The anomalies at Stone Furnace Fortress and the Black Reef Principality are strikingly similar... In both cases, those who came into contact with the phenomena experienced mental disturbances..."
Seeing these familiar place names and the bizarre phenomena described, Roland immediately formed a vague hypothesis.
Unlike the Golden Valley Kingdom, which divided its territory into "domains," the Dwarven Kingdom used "fortresses" as its administrative units.
Stone Furnace Fortress was a Dwarven territory located on the kingdom's periphery, bordering the Black Reef Principality.
The Black Reef Principality, in turn, was another human nation situated across the sea from the River Domain Nations.
The coastal outpost mentioned in the commission was located near Howling Gorge.
Could this be the work of mind flayers?
Roland quickly dismissed the thought.
It wasn't that he doubted the mind flayers' ability to induce mental confusion. Rather, he believed that these malevolent creatures, obsessed with enslaving and consuming intelligent life, would never limit their actions to such "mild" effects as mental disorientation and shadowy figures on the beach.
Their invasions were always accompanied by large-scale chaos.
After repeatedly reviewing the commission details and finding no further clues, Roland reluctantly suppressed his doubts and turned to the Adventurer's Guild's recent intelligence reports.
At the top of the list was the Demon Capital Gilles reappearance incident in the Mistland.
The report was remarkably detailed, even describing Graham's terrifying dragon transformation as if the author had witnessed everything from the edge of the battlefield.
However, the descriptions of the Lich's identity, motives, and Roland's final confrontation with the Lich became conspicuously vague.
The report vaguely attributed the outcome to "an extraordinary spellcaster repelling the Lich," using uncertain language.
This stark contrast in detail only deepened Roland's curiosity about the Adventurer's Guild's intelligence sources.
"Does the Guild have spies embedded in the military high command of the River Domain Nations? Or... do they employ stealth experts like Jashu, who were lurking near the battlefield at the time? But how could they have arrived so promptly at the scene of such an unexpected event?"
Shaking his head slightly, Roland continued reading.
"King Monen personally leads his army to repel the orcs invading the frontier?"
This news didn't hold his attention for long.
Orc raids on the northern border of the Golden Valley Kingdom were hardly new.
Even setting aside his experiences in the Blackwater Territory, he had heard reports of similar border conflicts multiple times during his time in the River Domain's Royal Capitals.
The only difference this time was King Monen's personal command of the army.
"Perhaps he intends to seize this opportunity to resolve the Northlands threat once and for all..."
The subsequent information was either of little value or concerned events too distant from Roland, with some place names he had never even heard of.
After repeatedly confirming that he hadn't missed any crucial intelligence, Roland stood up and pushed open the door.
Of course, before leaving, he didn't forget to inquire about the high-level commissions with "self-selected rewards."
However, the moment the guild clerk respectfully presented the commission form, and Roland saw the title:
Slay the Demonic Beast (Suspected Dragon-Type Creature) Infesting the Golden Land
Roland's eyebrows arched slightly. He decisively set down the parchment scroll and turned to leave the Adventurer's Guild.
Even setting aside the fact that the Golden Land described in the commission was extremely far from the River Domain Nations, the mere mention of "slaying a suspected dragon-type creature"...
Though the commission's description was vague, the uncertainty permeated every line, with even the author unsure if the creature was truly a dragon.
But as long as the word "dragon" was involved, Roland knew perfectly well that this was a commission far beyond his current capabilities.
Returning to the inn, Roland ate dinner, washed up, and lay down, quickly drifting into sleep.
At dawn the next morning, Roland awoke precisely on time.
After quickly packing his belongings, he mounted Black Wind and sprinted toward the royal capital.
In the days that followed, Roland enjoyed a rare period of leisure.
Having successfully attained the extraordinary profession of Knight, his burning desire for rapid advancement in power had diminished.
With less than a month remaining before his exchange studies at the Golden Valley Kingdom, Roland decided to focus on consolidating and refining his existing abilities rather than seeking new paths to advancement.
His companions were equally occupied.
Hoby and Freddy devoted themselves to their studies.
Avril continued to fulfill the bare minimum of her duties within the Shadow Veil Organization, relishing her "leisurely" routine.
Theresa, her enthusiasm undiminished, frequently visited the Adventurer's Guild to accept commissions and hone her skills.
Galvis resumed his rounds of banquets and social gatherings.
As for Mason, Roland, through Colin's connections, secured a comfortable and undemanding position for the noble youth within the Merchant Guild.
Bronson, as always, remained locked in his room, conducting his bizarre experiments.
As for Tracy...
"Hey, Roland, I keep getting this feeling..."
On the Knight Academy's training ground, a pixie perched on Roland's shoulder, warily eyeing a Red Squirrel munching on bread nearby.
"That... squirrel? It feels so strange!"
"Tracy..."
Roland sighed and shook his shoulder, causing the petite pixie to float into the air.
He then stilled his breath and focused his mind.
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed as the solid ground beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, fine fissures radiating outward.
In the blink of an eye, Roland's figure had already appeared dozens of paces away.
You have successfully completed a combat technique charge training session, earning two experience points.
"Tch..."
Roland clicked his tongue, glancing back at his landing pointβstill a few steps short of the wooden training dummy. He shook his head slightly.
"Controlling strength, pinpoint accuracy, and integrating the attack... It's definitely not as simple as I thought."
Despite repeated training, Roland had mastered the combat technique "Charge," and his experience points continued to increase.
However, as he poured more strength into the technique, the difficulty of controlling it surged dramatically.
At his current level of proficiency, he couldn't precisely control his landing point when executing a full-power charge, let alone seamlessly integrate attacks into the charge itself.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Roland finally turned to look at the pixie hovering in the air.
"Tracy, this is the thirty-second time you've given me a similar warning recently, so..."
He glanced at the Red Squirrel at the edge of the fairground.
Sensing Roland's gaze, Joe lifted his head, his pristine white incisors glinting faintly in the sunlight as he waved a friendly paw.
"Why don't you just tell me what's so strange about Joe?"
"Umm... I just... sense an unsettling aura around him. And..."
Tracy furrowed her brow, looking troubled as she met the Red Squirrel's friendly gaze.
"Besides, if it were just an ordinary squirrel, how could it possess such an abundance of mana? The way it is... it seems less like an animal and more like the... familiar the Pixie Queen mentioned when she taught me?"
"Familiar?" Roland raised an eyebrow. He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the concept. Ancient texts described familiars as spellcasters' contracted partners or extensions, assisting their masters in spellcasting, reconnaissance, and even sharing the burden of magical spells.
"Exactly!" Tracy flew to eye level with Roland, hands on her hips, her small face brimming with earnestness as she began her explanation.
"In the worlds of powerful spellcasters, familiars aren't just ordinary pets. They're typically summoned from the spirit realm or elemental planes through specific, sometimes ancient and complex, magical rituals, and bound by eternal contracts."
"Once summoned to the Material Plane, they often manifest in forms that align with their inherent nature. The most common forms are small animals like cats, ravens, bats, lizards, or..."
She cast a meaningful glance at Joe, who was still munching on his bread in the distance.
"...squirrels."
(End of the Chapter)
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