Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

Even more terrifying was this—

if the user failed to complete every task on the list within twenty-four hours,

then dreadful misfortune would descend upon them.

The user would begin suffering from insane bad luck. Drinking water could make them choke half to death, while walking on flat ground could somehow trip them and break their leg.

This streak of misfortune would continue tormenting them endlessly until they obediently completed every item on the list.

The pile of pending tasks left over from the last time he escaped pursuit had already caused Buck to experience complete social death once before.

From that day onward, he swore that unless absolutely necessary, he would never touch this cursed thing again.

But now he had no path of retreat.

As long as he could catch the heavily injured Syndic, he was willing to grit his teeth and endure however many side effects came with it.

“I swear I’ll smash your bones apart inch by inch and let you properly taste the price I paid!”

Enduring the searing agony boiling within his chest from the spell, Buck brought his lips close to the battered compass.

“Help me find someone… the one who stole all my payment money a few days ago, hunted my subordinates from the shadows every single night, and left Blood Copper Coins on every corpse.”

Buck let out a rough breath, feeling these conditions were already precise enough.

But just to be safe, he still added one final sentence through gritted teeth.

“Find the mastermind who drove me into desperation and forced me to bankrupt myself for revenge!”

Within Buck’s understanding, aside from that old bastard Syndic, there was absolutely no second person in this world who matched such a detailed description.

The moment the words fell, the Curious Object activated.

A series of ear-piercing mechanical grinding noises came from inside the compass.

The twisted dark-red magnetic needle suddenly seemed to gain life, beginning to spin frantically across the dial that lacked all directional markings.

Buck stared fixedly at the needle without even daring to blink.

Several seconds later, the needle’s rotation speed sharply decreased before finally stopping steadily, pointing straight toward a specific direction outside the alley.

Yet upon seeing this clear guidance, Buck froze for a moment.

Immediately afterward, he let out a sneering cold laugh filled with ridicule.

“Cunning Syndic.”

The location indicated by the compass was completely opposite from the direction in which that man’s shadow had fled after escaping heavily wounded earlier.

In Buck’s eyes, this was absolutely the opponent enduring his injuries and deliberately changing his escape route halfway after leaving the explosion site, attempting to use such a crude counter-surveillance tactic to confuse pursuers.

What a pity.

No matter how much Syndic calculated, how could he possibly predict that a bottom-tier gang leader like him possessed a Curious Object of Fire Theft with tracking abilities?

Buck covered the rotting flesh over his chest and endured the pain of his boiling blood.

Putting away the compass, his body melted into the shadows like a venomous snake that had caught the scent of blood, swiftly advancing without hesitation in the direction indicated by the magnetic needle.

……

Several hours earlier.

A trace of chill accompanied the night wind blowing through the streets of Graystone Town.

Lance had already safely escorted Cecilia and Yuna back to the manor.

Alone, he walked back beneath the dim streetlights and familiarly arrived at Movenna’s Potion Shop.

After pushing open the door, he saw only Flora behind the counter organizing several thick books. As usual, there was no sign of Aunt Movenna, who carried herself so boldly.

Aside from leaving Flora here to watch the shop every day, nobody knew what kind of major business that elusive woman busied herself with elsewhere.

“Good evening, Flora.”

Lance walked to the counter and directly got to the point. “Did you find any results regarding the special-effect potion I asked you to inquire about this morning?”

The horrifying experience yesterday of continuously strengthening his body until all nutrients were instantly drained and his flesh nearly collapsed still left lingering fear in his heart even now.

The upcoming breakthrough of the Dragon-Hunting Breathing Technique would definitely be even more overbearing than Hand-to-Hand Combat Technique. He absolutely had to prepare sufficiently powerful logistical supplies in advance.

Flora put down the book in her hands and nodded.

“I already got it.”

She closed the heavy book and bent down to retrieve a tightly sealed glass bottle from the bottommost compartment of the counter safe.

Inside the bottle was a dark-red jelly-like substance that emitted a faint crimson glow beneath the lights.

“This is 【Earthdrake Marrow Gel】 personally formulated by Aunt Movenna.”

Flora dutifully began explaining.

“This formula originally came from the distant territory of the Dragonkin.”

“They used this gel to perform awakening baptisms on seven-year-old children, forcibly awakening the Dragon bloodline within their bodies while greatly increasing the children’s bone density.”

“Later, scholars obtained the formula and repeatedly modified it until it eventually became an advanced support potion that humans could safely absorb.”

The girl looked toward the bottle of dark-red gel.

“This thing contains extremely rich fire-element crystals and pure dragon-vein material.”

“It’s said that if high-ranking human warriors consume it over a long period, there’s even a tiny probability their bodies could undergo beneficial evolution and gain some weak bloodline-exclusive ability.”

Lance was extremely satisfied with the potion’s effects. It perfectly matched the requirements he described to Flora that morning.

Although the Breathing Technique he currently cultivated was called Dragon-Hunting, the core exertion techniques and breathing resonance frequencies within it constantly imitated the physiological structure of Dragons.

Lance guessed that if he used this type of gel containing dragon-vein material as an energy supplement, perhaps it really could produce some wondrous chemical reaction.

“The only drawback of this potion is that it’s expensive.”

Flora raised two pale fingers and waved them before Lance.

“Two gold coins.”

Hearing that terrifying price, Lance could not help inhaling sharply.

He asked tentatively, “We’re all acquaintances here. Couldn’t you at least give me a slight discount?”

Flora shook her head with complete decisiveness.

“That really won’t work.”

“There simply aren’t any large adventurer parties around Graystone Town capable of hunting Earthdrakes.”

“The core ingredient of this bottle of gel is Earthdrake leg marrow that Aunt Movenna took out from her own private collection.”

Hearing this explanation, Lance could only sigh helplessly.

He pulled out two heavy gold coins from his chest and pushed them across the counter with a pained expression.

Fortunately, all this money had been black money stolen from the Ghoulhounds.

Since it was essentially profit gained without capital, spending it as resource conversion did not hurt quite as much.

After successfully obtaining the potion, Lance did not hurry to leave. Instead, he leaned against the counter and chatted casually with Flora for a while.

During the conversation, he learned that before long, Flora would officially depart to study at Viridia, the holy land of alchemy.

The girl said that before leaving, she would definitely gather everyone together for a proper celebration at the best tavern in town.

Looking at this girl filled with dreams before him, Lance seriously reminded her,

“When the time comes, remember to stay safe on the journey.”

“And bring more crystal imprint cards with you.”

“If you encounter beautiful scenery, record it down and remember to send it back to Graystone Town for Nia to see. She’s really been looking forward to that.”

“Don’t worry, I already prepared everything long ago!”

Flora revealed a brilliant smile and happily agreed.