The next morning, we returned to the bustling Adventurer’s Guild. Despite the daily scramble for quests, we decided to observe and ease into the chaos, knowing we’d eventually have to participate.

"Still as crazy as ever," I muttered, watching the chaotic rush for quests.

Without the pressure of needing immediate income, we calmly surveyed the postings, noting which jobs were popular and what rewards they offered.

"Look, Shu, the Great Deer and Murder Bear are listed in the Rank D and C hunt quests!" Rio pointed out.

"Wow, you’re right. So those monsters are ranked that high. Let’s see… 100,000 Fron for the Great Deer’s antlers and 200,000 Fron for the Murder Bear’s liver. Pretty impressive."

I wondered if the Guild would buy just the meat if someone wanted it. Maybe we could process it ourselves?

"They don’t have a rule against hunting monsters without taking the Guild’s quests, do they?"

"I don’t think so. It’s not like you can let a monster attack you without defending yourself," I replied.

"Good point."

"Hey, there’s a leftover E-rank gathering quest posted today," I noted.

We moved closer to the quest board to inspect it before someone else claimed it.

"Let’s see… gather 50 Ironleaf leaves. The reward is 300 Fron for completing the quest, with each leaf valued at 50 Fron for extra submissions."

"Ironleaf, huh? Sounds tough. Should we take it since we’re heading to the Demon Forest anyway?"

"Yeah, let’s do it. Might as well make the trip more worthwhile."

We accepted the quest at the counter and set off.

As we passed through the central plaza and headed toward the north gate, the gate guard greeted us.

"Hey, I see you’re better prepared today with that backpack. Good to see."

He wasn’t wrong; last time, we had practically nothing but our weapons.

"Haha, yeah. Heading out—see you later!"

"Stay safe out there."

Ironleaf was exactly what its name suggested: leaves as tough as iron. Each cluster typically yielded three leaves, so gathering fifty was no small task, likely why others had skipped this quest.

Following the same path as last time, we reached the Demon Forest and began searching for Ironleaf and Regulus fruits. Moving faster and exploring deeper into the forest than before, we planned to camp overnight again.

We continued experimenting with taming Green Wolves. While I avoided getting bitten this time, the wolf still ran off. I took that as progress. Probably.

Of course, we also had to deal with monsters that attacked us. This time, we bagged a 1.5-meter-long Land Turtle, a swarm of 80-centimeter Iron Ants (which we decided not to bring back), and another Great Deer—this one slightly smaller than the last.

On the way back to the city, dragging our kills for show, we encountered a familiar trio of adventurers—the ones who had tried to pick a fight with us last time.

"Well, look who it is," said the tank, grinning.

"Ah, and what brings you here this time?" I asked, feigning politeness.

Clearly, they’d been waiting for us.

"We’re here to settle the score from last time," the tank sneered.

"Score? I don’t recall borrowing anything," I replied.

"Don’t play dumb. You humiliated us, and now we’re here to return the favor."

The tank unsheathed his sword, the archer notched an arrow, and the scout dual-wielded daggers.

Rio sighed heavily, clearly unimpressed. "They seem overly eager."

"Heh, if the girl agrees to join our party, maybe we’ll go easy on you," the tank taunted. "Half-dead is as good as it gets, though."

"Hard pass," Rio snapped, her voice laced with anger. Her magic flared visibly around her.

The tank turned to me. "You sure about this? It’s your choice, after all."

I shrugged. "I see no reason to object to her decision."

"Fine. In that case—die!"

So much for "half-dead."

As soon as he uttered those words, Rio acted. With a wave of her hand, she summoned dozens—no, hundreds—of Earth Needles that floated ominously behind her.

The archer loosed his arrow, but Rio’s needles intercepted it mid-air.

"What the hell is that!?" the tank stammered, breaking into a sweat. The two melee fighters hesitated, their advance halted by the menacing display.

"Die, you say?" Rio took a step forward, her needles advancing with her.

"Wh-who do you think you’re talking to?" she hissed, her voice cold.

"I-I-I’m sorry!"

"And if you’re prepared to kill, then be ready to die yourselves," she continued, her calm words dripping with venom.

"Run!" the tank yelled, dropping his sword and bolting. His companions followed without a second thought.

As they disappeared into the forest, Rio let out a small huff, clearly still annoyed.

"Think you overdid it a little?" I asked cautiously.

"Nobody touches my Shu," she declared firmly.

Well, that was… intense.