"Eight hundred gold coins, no kidding!" EeDechi stared at the spatial ring resting in her right palm, almost hearing the clinking sound of coins piling up into a small mountain inside it. Even she, who always prided herself on her calm and steady nature, couldn't help but feel a flicker of joy.
After wiping out the bandit gang, with Captain Aaron of the cavalry vouching for her and the officials of Montell City conducting an on-site investigation in the forest, it was confirmed that EeDechi had single-handedly taken down the Black Scorpion gang. The lord of Montell City generously handed over the Black Scorpion's bounty to EeDechi—eight hundred gold coins in total.
On top of that, to thank EeDechi for ridding the empire of this scourge, the lord slipped off the spatial ring he wore on his finger and gifted it to her.
The Black Scorpion gang had already killed nearly twenty knights under the lord's command, and now the lord could finally sleep soundly at night.
Amid the envious and admiring gazes of onlookers, EeDechi stepped out of the Adventurer's Guild hall in Montell City. The metal badge on her chest, a symbol of her adventurer rank, had upgraded from shining silver to a brilliant gold that gleamed like the sun. Mithril had turned into Orichalcum.
Though wiping out the Black Scorpion gang wasn't part of any mission posted by the Adventurer's Guild, they still raised her rank from Mithril to Orichalcum based on the strength she'd shown in this battle.
Orichalcum is just one step below the highest rank, Adamantite. Even across the whole Baharuth Empire, adventurers with an Orichalcum badge are as rare as hen's teeth.
Aaron spotted his savior stepping out from the Adventurer's Guild's red pine doors and hurried over to greet her. He now felt genuine gratitude and admiration for EeDechi from the bottom of his heart.
When he caught sight of the Orichalcum badge on EeDechi's chest, Aaron couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy crap, Orichalcum-level! This is my first time seeing an Orichalcum-level adventurer… But honestly, I think only the Adamantite fits your skills! You're totally gonna hit the Adamantite someday and become a living legend!"
"Yeah, sure," EeDechi replied, sounding like she couldn't care less.
She didn't give a rat's ass about what she could achieve in this world. All she cared about was whether she could take down this guy named Ainz Ooal Gown, someone she only knew by name so far.
"You ever heard of the Sorcerer Kingdom?" EeDechi cut off Aaron's endless stream of compliments with a blunt question, fishing for info about Ainz Ooal Gown. "Rumor has it the Baharuth Emperor signed some deal and willingly turned into their vassal state."
"Well, uh…" Aaron looked a bit awkward. He was a knight of Baharuth, after all, and EeDechi's straight-up question felt kinda rude. Not that he minded too much, though.
In his years of dealing with adventurers, Aaron knew that those with crazy skills—like powerful mages—having quirky personalities and odd behaviors was just par for the course.
Aaron racked his brain for info, scratching his head as he said, "We don't really know much about that. You see, a border town like ours isn't some big military hub. Roads suck, and news doesn't travel fast.
"To be real with you, we only get our pay every four or five months, so we're always sweating bullets, wondering if those nobles are skimming our cash.
"About the Sorcerer Kingdom, I'm in the same boat as you—just heard some rumors. Hope it's not true, though, or we'll end up swearing our knightly oaths to that Sorcerer King instead, haha!"
Aaron flashed a grin before adding, "A while back, I met this old vet who'd quit the Imperial Knights. He was passing through here on his way to the City Alliance, and we shot the breeze for a bit.
"That guy claimed the Sorcerer King—this undead Magic Caster named Ainz Ooal Gown—cast some huge spell all by himself. Summoned a few black monsters as big as mountains and wiped out over a hundred thousand Re-Estize soldiers.
"Said the emperor and nobles freaked out and rushed to pledge loyalty to the Sorcerer Kingdom.
"Heh, that old greaseball swore it was true, like he'd seen it himself. I've been in battles, though—sure, a mage can be strong, maybe take on a force of three or four thousand tops. But one spell wiping out over a hundred thousand? Come on."
Aaron shook his head and went on, "Total bullshit! If someone really wiped out over a hundred thousand Re-Estize soldiers, our empire's cavalry would've already stomped their capital flat and nabbed that Golden Princess, haha!
"That old vet wasn't exactly right in the head either—looked like he'd been through some serious shit. Nobody paid him much mind. Guy ditched his fancy high-ranking knight gig and hightailed it to the City Alliance across the border like some refugee. What a waste of all the gold coins the empire pumped into training him every year."
"Got it," EeDechi muttered to herself. So far, all she knew was the name Ainz Ooal Gown, something about a "Great Tomb of Nazarick," and that he'd set up this so-called Sorcerer Kingdom.
She'd crossed into this world in such a rush that she didn't have a clue about anything else.
"Oh, by the way, if you're looking for more solid info, you could head to Golden Sheaf City on the other side of Mistwood—Zylthryndell Pradkeer.
"Golden Sheaf was originally built by elves, with some long, tongue-twister name, so now everyone just calls it Golden Sheaf. For an elite adventurer like you, a place like Golden Sheaf—or even the imperial capital—would suit you way better," Aaron said earnestly.
EeDechi gave a slight nod, agreeing with him.
Golden Sheaf was indeed a pretty well-known big town in Baharuth, and it was only separated from the backwater border town she was in now, Montell City, by a quiet stretch of forest called Mistwood.
Mistwood totally lives up to its name—thick treetops block out the sky, and it's wrapped in white fog all year round. The magic vibes in the air are all messed up, and the place is crawling with tons of nasty monsters.
Some of those monsters have even mutated, turning way more dangerous and pissed off. Hardly any normal person would dare step foot in there. It's still a wild, chaotic chunk of untouched forest.
So, the packed-dirt road built between Montell and Golden Sheaf had no choice but to loop around Mistwood.
Even if you took the fastest four-horse carriage pulled by highland horses and rode day and night from Montell, it'd still take twenty days to reach Golden Sheaf. Sure beats losing your life trying to cut through Mistwood, though—spending a few extra weeks is a no-brainer.
But EeDechi was in a rush. She wasn't about to stick around in this isekai forever.
Problem is, Montell didn't have fancy highland horses or those slick four-horse carriages only nobles could afford. That meant the trip to Golden Sheaf would take closer to a month.
Lucky for her, wherever there are monsters in this world, there are adventurers. The huge number and variety of monsters in Mistwood meant big bucks in magic materials for adventurers.
Take a crystal-winged tree lizard's full hide, for example—it could fetch five gold coins on the market. That's enough to match a village farmer's hard-earned harvest after years of backbreaking work.
Sure, being an adventurer has the highest death and injury rates of any gig, but people still flock to it like moths to a flame, signing up left and right. That's one of the big reasons why: high risk, high reward.
From what EeDechi knew, over here in Montell, adventurers often teamed up to head into Mistwood for missions like gathering herbs or hunting monsters.
Some seasoned elite adventurers even started in Montell, crossed the whole Mistwood, and collected rare monster furs, bones, and blood along the way, then sold them off in Golden Sheaf on the other side.
After parting ways with Aaron, EeDechi made her way solo to the Marina Tavern.
The Marina Tavern was run by the local Adventurer's Guild, a spot for adventurers to kick back after intense expeditions, swap mission info, and share tips on fighting monsters. It's where they'd look for teammates or hire extra hands too.
Besides adventurers from all over, you'd find sly black-market traders, Magic Casters hunting for special magic materials, and even priests and clerics with shady secrets hanging out there. It was a total melting pot—an adventurer's paradise where all sorts mixed together.
When it came to fighting, EeDechi could confidently call herself an elite adventurer without batting an eye. But navigating Mistwood? Finding water, keeping her bearings, and not getting lost? She had zero clue. So she decided to hit up the Marina Tavern and hire a guide to lead her through Mistwood.
The Marina Tavern wasn't far from the Adventurer's Guild. As EeDechi approached the oak saloon doors, she didn't even need to step inside to catch the stench of cheap beer wafting out, mixed with a few filthy cuss words that'd make your ears bleed.
She eyed the tavern's sign—gold paint peeling off the fancy Marina lettering carved into a hardwood board. To the right, there was an engraving of a pointy-eared elf chick with big boobs and a curvy butt, striking a flirty pose with a mug in hand. Thanks to a 2nd Tier Everlight spell, the sign glowed in the dark.
"This place is so vulgar. It should be shut down!"
EeDechi shook her head in pure disgust, hesitated for a sec, then pushed open the creaky oak doors and stepped inside anyway.