Chapter 92 - 90: New Mission

Chapter 92: Chapter 90: New Mission

"That was very well said."

"Even though the meaning is the same, it feels more profound, more beautiful."

Half a minute later, after repeating the phrase—one that had been beaten to death by countless marketing accounts in his past life—to herself a few times, Mirana looked at Lu Wei and sighed with heartfelt emotion:

"It’s like poetry."

’It’s not *like* poetry, it *is* poetry.’

’There are two more lines, but I forgot them.’

Lu Wei never thought he’d be able to plagiarize poetry to act cool even in a Fantasy World. He asked casually, "You know poetry?"

"Yes, poetry and painting. I know a little about both."

Mirana’s eyes held a hint of yearning. "I believe art is the most beautiful thing in this world. Swords will rust, fortresses will crumble, but a beautiful line of poetry, or a vivid stroke of color, can become eternal..."

???

’What the hell are you even talking about??’

Seeing that Mirana’s captivated expression didn’t seem feigned, Lu Wei was stunned for a long moment before saying in surprise:

"Then you and Furen should have a lot to talk about."

"No, I don’t like novels."

"...What did novels ever do to you?"

"Nothing. I just dislike imagination that’s detached from reality."

"..."

’The novels in *this* world are detached from reality?’

’You should see the web novels from my past life.’

’Besides, the world is vast and full of wonders. What you think is detached from reality might just be something you haven’t seen yet.’

’For example, me, standing right in front of you. I’m actually a Transmigrator from another world.’

’Didn’t see that coming, did you?’

Glancing at Mirana, Lu Wei didn’t say anything else.

Poetry and art were her personal interests, just like how Furen liked novels and Bai Ya liked mushrooms. He had no opinion on it.

He just felt this interest was a bit too "refined."

It didn’t seem fitting for a common Adventurer.

However, this also proved that Mirana’s background was likely anything but ordinary.

Perhaps not on the level of Furen’s, but definitely much better than ordinary people like him and Bai Ya.

’Her parents were probably farm owners or manor lords, something like that.’

’I wonder if they’re still alive.’

’Hmm...’

’Judging from Mirana’s heaven-defying luck in finding a [Divine Blessing], they’re probably already gone.’

’Huh?’

’By that logic, is Furen the only normal person in the Mushroom Squad with both parents still alive?’

’He sticks out like a sore thumb!’

...

...

On the topic of poetry, Mirana suddenly became much more talkative. She was no longer as cold as usual, as if her frozen heart had finally been thawed a little by the "Holy Light of Art."

She even recited many of this world’s most famous lines of poetry.

The king / used a rusted sword / to name the sun / and so all long-eared ones / began to bleed.

My sword-scars / are the missing / borders on the map.

Lu Wei listened to these and other similar verses, completely baffled and unable to make heads or tails of them.

Fortunately, this "Otherworld Poetry Appreciation Class" didn’t last too long. About ten minutes later, they arrived at the Adventurer Association.

Just as when they had accepted the quests, Lu Wei waited off to the side.

Mirana, meanwhile, went to turn in the quests, carrying the Tree-man’s Energy Crystal and a large bag of goblin right ears.

"Please wait a moment..."

The receptionist behind the counter this time wasn’t Kaelin, but a young woman with white hair.

This piqued Lu Wei’s interest greatly.

However, she was probably new and not very proficient at her job. It took her a full ten minutes of fumbling before she looked up, embarrassed.

"I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting."

"After verification, the proof for the Tree-man extermination quest is correct. However, for the Goblin Nest extermination quest... did you encounter two Leader Level Goblins?"

"That’s right."

Mirana nodded. "There were two. The information you provided was incorrect."

"Ah, I see! My sincerest apologies!"

The white-haired girl quickly bowed deeply, her apologetic attitude on par with Anna’s.

’The Adventurer Association probably has requirements for this sort of thing.’

"The error in the information is our fault! For that, I offer you my most sincere apology!"

"At the same time, to compensate for your losses and the increased risk, we will pay you 1.5 times the quest reward!" ℯ

’Huh? There’s a perk like that?’

Lu Wei was taken aback. ’The Adventurer Association is surprisingly reasonable.’

Meanwhile, the white-haired girl was counting out coins as she spoke.

"Three Ordinary Energy Crystals, one Activated Energy Crystal, 22 ordinary goblin right ears, and two Leader Level Goblin right ears. The total monster bounty is 2 gold and 55 copper coins, plus 68 points."

"The extra reward for the Tree-man extermination quest is 5 Silver Coins, with an additional 50 points."

"The extra reward for the Goblin Nest extermination quest is 1 gold and 5 silver, with an additional 150 points."

"The total is 268 points, which have been credited to your name. You now have an accumulated total of 392 points."

"A total of 4 gold and 55 copper coins. Please take it."

"Here is your badge. Thank you for your service and dedication to the Kingdom."

The girl put all the coins into a pouch and handed it over, bowing once more.

The points and bounty she announced matched what Mirana and Lu Wei had calculated.

"Let’s go look at the new quests."

Handing the coin pouch to Lu Wei, Mirana strictly followed their previously agreed-upon distribution, not even taking a single copper coin.

Of course, Lu Wei wasn’t about to be polite with her. He happily pocketed the pouch, and they went over to the quest board together.

Compared to usual, there seemed to be a lot more people in front of the quest board today; it was even a bit crowded.

And they were all whispering to each other, discussing something.

"Should we give it a try? If we find a few more people, it should be fine."

"Forget it. It’s too dangerous. If our luck is bad, we might not make it back."

"But the reward is a full 8 gold coins..."

"That just proves how dangerous it is. Why else would the pay be so high?"

"True... What about the one in Zone 12? That one feels like it might be easier."

"Let me think..."

As they talked, the crowd stared at the dozen or so quest notices on the left side of the board. This batch of quests, posted just this morning, clearly had everyone hesitating.

They were afraid they lacked the Power to accept them, but were reluctant to give up on them.

This was what was causing the congestion.

"Hurry up and go see."

Lingering at the back of the crowd, Mirana wasn’t tall enough to see, so she poked Lu Wei’s arm, gesturing for him to go take a look.

With a sigh, Lu Wei had no choice but to squeeze into the crowd. After pushing his way through for a while, he finally managed to catch a glimpse of one of the notices through a gap—

[Exploration — Map Drawing (13)]

[Task Level: Middle Level]

[Client: Silver Scale Merchant Association]

[Time Limit: 15 days]

[Task Details: Draw a detailed map of the area within Zone 13 of the Lost Basin (approx. 2000 hectares). The map must include all geographical features of the area, including terrain, rivers, mountains, woodlands, and landmarks. Specific task requirements and area coordinates will be provided upon acceptance of the quest.]

[Acceptance Requirement: The party must have at least one member capable of drawing.]

[Reward: 4 Gold Coins, 400 additional points. (Payment will be issued in full or in part based on the quality of the map.)]