Chapter 95: The Mysterious Man

Chapter 95

The Mysterious Man

"Are you interested in this mission, comrade?"

The man in front of her was trying to persuade Ellie to join him on the mission. Even though the girl disguised as "Luke" hadn’t spoken or agreed to anything, he kept highlighting the drawbacks of the mission she was interested in, hoping to change her mind. Ellie glanced at the man, who was eagerly awaiting her response, and found his persistence a bit annoying.

She wasn’t trying to be polite, but she didn’t intend to pick a fight with him either. After all, she was still a novice when it came to taking on missions. This would indeed be her first time hunting beasts, as he had correctly assumed. If the man turned out to be a con artist trying to lure her into a mission to rob or harm her, Ellie could be walking into a disaster.

Even so, if she angered him too much and he sought revenge, wouldn’t it be worse to have an experienced person out to get her?

Ellie wasn’t particularly bold by nature. Her experiences, combined with her personality, made her prefer to stay in the middle ground, avoiding standing out or attracting too much attention. She didn’t like causing trouble or getting involved in conflicts. If not provoked first, she wouldn’t retaliate. She preferred to be like a tiger resting peacefully...Above all, she was far more cautious than the average person. Especially in this extremely dangerous world, Ellie felt that every action was a gamble on her life.

Ellie, under the guise of Luke, politely shook her head. Since the other person had spoken politely to her, he was likely either a noble or someone who frequently associated with nobles.

"I don’t want to take on a timed mission. You should look for someone else."

"Look for someone else? That’s easy for you to say. I’m just a novice. How can I find someone with experience? I don’t know anyone else or what their personalities are like. If I ask someone else to join the mission, I might end up being the one taken advantage of."

"You think just like I do. I fear you might be trying to deceive me."

"Huh?! Me, deceive you? If it wasn’t for the mission that His Ma...uh, I mean, if it wasn’t because I need to save up money, I wouldn’t risk my life doing this alone."

The man in front of her seemed a bit flustered. Initially, he wanted to protest his innocence, and from Ellie’s perspective, he didn’t seem like a bad person. However, when she heard a certain slip of the tongue from him, her heart began to race.

It seemed...she was getting herself into trouble again, wasn’t she?

The reason she thought this was because...according to the novel’s storyline, there were a few mentions of another main character, a prince of the kingdom. Although he wasn’t the queen’s first prince, he had a higher chance of ascending the throne than the others. This was because he had passed the king’s test, being the first and only prince among the king’s children to do so.

And that prince was Prince Jason, the fifth prince. He was the strongest hero and ultimately became the true love of the heroine until the end of the story.

Although the novel didn’t delve deeply into this, there were instances where Prince Jason let slip details about the tests his father assigned him. He once consoled the disheartened heroine, who felt her power wasn’t strong enough to deal with beasts and other challenges, by revealing some of his secrets to help her regain her strength quickly.

This prince had mentioned facing extremely difficult tests. None of the other princes, sons of the king, could complete them—only he could, due to his perseverance and refusal to give up.

He revealed that his mission was to become a city lord without disclosing his true identity. He couldn’t reveal who he was and had to rely solely on his own strength to gather capable people and seize control of the city through his own strength. The king set a deadline for him to accomplish this before graduating from his fourth year because, after graduation, administrative duties as a prince would follow, leaving no further opportunities to prove himself in this matter.

Even though his older brothers grew very strong after graduation, none of them could go back in time to successfully complete the mission. Such a condition was incredibly challenging, and no one expected anyone to accomplish it. But he did!

Prince Jason even joked to Nara that during his first mission, he almost got trampled to death by a herd of wild boars but luckily survived. As a reader at that time, Ellie didn’t know if he had really faced that situation or if he was just trying to comfort Nara by saying that his past was equally dark. Until now...

Ellie scrutinized the man in front of her again. Her tiny spores worked well, now clinging to the man in black. Upon closer inspection, his outfit was of high value, much like hers, different from those of typical 1-star hunters. Clearly, he came from a wealthy background.

His large physique suited that of a man, and although his skin was not visible due to the cloak and his disguise similar to hers, his resonant voice hinted at someone who once wielded power. His sharp eyes were like the keen vision of a king. Ellie successfully connected his identity.

If someone else had accidentally encountered him, they might want to follow him continuously to achieve success and build useful connections for the future. But Ellie was different.

She believed being a protagonist meant attracting disaster. The challenges she already faced nowadays were overwhelming enough. Ellie didn’t feel she had the energy to waste on something so frivolous. Thus, the best course was to remove herself from this troublesome person.

Now she could clearly identify that this man wasn’t a criminal. His intent to have her join the mission was genuine, without any ulterior motive to rob or harm her. Knowing this was a relief. At least her small, stunted body wasn’t seen as prey by other hunters...

"I truly apologize, but I want to try this mission first."

"Sigh, you’re really stubborn, just like I was the other day. But very well...I’ll be waiting for you on the 1st floor of the tower. If you’re interested in taking on a mission, you can find me in the city. After all, your hunting range is on the 1st floor, same as mine. We’ll likely meet often. In the meantime, I can only hope that you won’t die before then."

Seeing that Ellie wasn’t easily persuaded, the lean man left gracefully. Despite wanting to invite her more insistently, someone of his high status wouldn’t act foolishly like Wint.

Ellie watched him go look for other missions that could be completed alone and let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t as annoying as Wint or as disruptive as Aman liked to do...

Perhaps Nara chose the prince as her love not because of his high status, but because his personality was more pleasant than the other 3. Comparatively...Professor Lucien was too fussy and annoying, Wint was just like that, and then there was Aman...If the story’s heroes were only those 3, the novel might as well be called, Love of Annoying People. Thankfully, the main hero was a prince who was reasonable to talk to.

Ellie took the boar hunting mission and handed it to the mission registration clerk, unaware that the prince was watching her.

Although he didn’t move, his survival skills in the palace made his gaze particularly sharp. Seeing Ellie actually accept the boar hunting mission, the prince couldn’t help but sigh. After Ellie entered the teleportation device, the young man went to register for the boar hunting mission as well.

"Are you still taking on the newbie trap mission today?" The clerk asked him rudely.

The boar hunting mission was well-known, often called a newbie trap mission. The rewards were enticing if one didn’t think carefully, but there were many hidden pitfalls, causing many newbies to lose their lives or suffer significant losses. As a result, most mission registrars were used to seeing hunters take this mission only once. On their second attempt, they usually choose something else.

The fact that "he" was taking the same mission again was indeed surprising.

"I saw a newbie risking his life, so I want to go and see. Maybe if he needs help, I can assist him."

"Hmm? Are you trying to recruit him into your group?"

"Didn’t you recommend yesterday? You said that I should start grouping up with others, and that if I don’t team up, I won’t make any profit."

"Yes, I said that, but you’re a novice. Would it really be beneficial to team up with other novices?"

"I understand what you’re trying to say. However, I’m not sure if experienced hunters would be fair to me."

"Heh, heh, heh. You’re a newbie; it’s okay to be at a disadvantage at first. Everyone has to endure it. Try to gain some experience first. Once you feel capable of handling everything, you can start taking on solo missions or even become a team leader later."

"I’ll think about it. But it would be good if I could get that guy to join me on the mission."

"You seem really interested in that newbie."

"Yes, I find him very interesting. Maybe he could become a good partner for me in the future."

"Mmm...well, good luck then." The clerk didn’t want to say anything more. He had given his advice, but the other party wasn’t interested and decided to chase after another novice to join his group.

Even so, the clerk, with his vast experience, knew that newbies often thought they could handle everything easily. They believed they were already strong, despite being just beginners. Their dreams were indeed grand, but in the hunt where life was at stake, the losses were greater, and someday, they might regret their decisions.

After the tall man took the mission, he shook his head in exasperation. Besides registering missions, his job was also to pray that those who took missions would return alive. At least that was something good he could do each day...

After Ellie finished registering for her mission, she used the teleportation device at the entrance, presenting her hunter card to the gatekeeper. She was then granted permission to enter. Ellie was to appear in a small town run by the Hunter’s Association, located on the 1st floor, just like other towns. As long as one was registered as a hunter, they wouldn’t have to spend several days traveling to the hunting grounds. For just 1 silver coin, they would receive a permit for travel to and from.

Previously, there were some people who didn’t want to pay the toll, but eventually, they realized what they had to face on the journey to the edge of the forest areas. The dangers awaiting them and the time required for travel, compared to the cost of food during the journey and the risks involved, made most people opt to pay the 1 silver coin for round-trip travel, which was much more worthwhile.

Ellie didn’t waste any time. Especially since her senses detected someone following her, she increased her speed. Now, she had arrived at the edge of the forest area, which was the hunting ground of the 1st floor!

Looking around, the area was full of numerous buildings, but beyond that lay the edge of forest that was full of dangers. Many humans aspired to become the owners of a city on the 1st floor, but unfortunately, they couldn’t find any more city-controlling stones. Studies suggested that the number of city-controlling stones might be limited, and beyond this edge of forest, no matter how hard they tried, they never found another city-controlling stone.

Ellie had prepared all her equipment, so she didn’t stay in the small town of the association any longer. This town had many goods for sale, including healing potions, equipment, weapons, and other necessities. The prices were slightly higher due to the toll costs, which were relatively high, being factored in. Fortunately, Ellie had her dimensional ring, so she wasn’t lacking any materials that would require additional expenses.