Roman's bleeding had slowed significantly which facilitated his ability to move towards the mountains in a timely manner.
Of the events that took place in front of the forest, naturally Roman didn't have an inkling of them.
At this point in time, Roman was just concerned with completing his sub-mission and attaining the Health Potion and dagger. He held strong beliefs that the system would not ultimately let him down, and that these items were in his best interests.
Soon, Roman was well on his way to completing the new goal.
The fight with the Red Ash Fox and Grid's group didn't hold him up for too much. Although the events that took place seemed as if it was long, it only spanned about ten minutes.
"System, when should I use the [Gold Search Token] and how exactly will it lead me to the beast egg?" Roman asked.
[Host's best shot would be upon entering the mountain range. The token automatically unlocks the map function of the system, which will stay permanently open after it has been unlocked. The host only needs to follow the direction of the red dot to reach the target.]
Roman felt reasonably reassured. As he made his way forwards, he didn't encounter any dangerous events like the one with the Red Ash Fox.
This was a result of him increasing his awareness. The event with the Red Ash Fox had indeed left a profound impact upon Roman.
He started to understand the principle of treading carefully, aiming to leave as little indication of his presence on the ground and the environment around him. Additionally, his senses were kept tuned to any movements, noise, and changes in smell around him.
What Roman didn't know, however, was that this was a part of the system's plan.
The system had charged Roman with the responsibility of safely arriving at his intermediate destination – the mountains. However, it didn't explicitly state why the sub-mission was so simple.
It really wasn't just a pity card that the system decided to play, but rather one to remind Roman that unknown dangers could, and very likely would, lurk around corners when one was less attentive.
Venturing out into the wide world of Aeon presented a multitude of challenges that adventurers could not stay ambivalent towards.
Adventures took extra care for their own safety and the safety of their companions. Often times, prioritizing training on survival technique for their rookie members before allowing them to join the party for any hunts or missions.
They understood that surviving in the world was profound and such a skill would be invaluable to their careers.
Naturally, there were a few daredevils among the lot, but most daredevils would not make it out alive in most circumstances.
Human beings are interesting creatures. The human mind worked in a way where emotions overpowered logic in plenty of circumstances. One such circumstance was that of pride and ego.
People took pleasure in overestimating their own abilities, and as a result, failure would slap them in the face. While self-confidence was important, practicality and critical assessment was more valuable.
Unfortunately, most people convinced themselves that they were better than they actually were.
Just like Roman had planned, the visage of the mountains appeared in the distance. Roman was almost there.
At approximately half-past eleven, Roman planted his feet firmly at the entrance of the mountain path.
"I'm here!" Roman thought.
*Ding!*
[Sub-Mission Two Complete. Please check inventory for rewards.]
Roman quickly pulled up his inventory and true enough, the inventory contained the promised items. However, that was not all.
In addition to the red Basic Health Potion and the Rusty Dagger, the system had left him an additional reward.
Roman excitedly selected the new item that lay in the inventory in his mind to reveal its details.
---
[Occupation Acquisition Pass] x 1
Details: One-time use item. This pass can be used to learn attain the apprentice level of an occupation with no known competency level required. Cannot be used if the holder of the pass has already acquired an occupation and cannot be used to level up an occupation beyond the apprentice level. Can be used on anyone.
---
"Alright! Something good! But why did you give me an additional item?"
Roman glad that he had acquired something on top of the guaranteed rewards but felt that he should understand the reason why. On the one hand, good items and bonus items could be acquired, but didn't that mean that if he had failed a quest, additional penalties could be incurred on top of what was stipulated?
[Host was rewarded with the [Occupation Acquisition Pass] for completing the quest ahead of schedule.]
The system calmly replied.
[In reference to the Host's doubts, rest assured, the system will not penalize the host when missions or sub-missions are failed. There penalties for any missions and sub-missions are designed to be hefty enough.]
While Roman was relieved that he could be rewarded more than what the system had promised for completing missions ahead of schedule, he was a little concerned about the heavy penalties that the system spoke of.
Naturally, he wasn't going to voice his concerns as he hadn't drawn the short end of the stick just yet.
He had full confidence that the system's punishment would be severe seeing as the first Sub-Mission's penalties were exactly as severe as the penalties of the main mission.
This enlightened Roman to the importance of the sub-missions. They were not one bit inferior to the main missions. They were one in the same, just with smaller, more tangible goals.
Roman then proceeded to inspect the rest of his rewards.
---
[Basic Health Potion]
Details: Recovers up to 10 vitality points upon consumption.
---
After the fight with the Red Ash Fox, Roman had indeed checked his stats and his meager 0.6 vitality had reduced to 0.2. Any lower and his life force would pretty much dissipate.
Without any hesitation, Roman quickly consumed the potion and checked his status.
---
Name: Roman
Tamer Cultivation Technique: Supreme Tamer's Cultivation (Level 1)
Tamer Rank: None
Occupation: None
Beasts: None
Strength: 0.7
Defense: 1.4
Agility: 1.1
Vitality: 0.9
Skills:
[Supreme Taming] Level 1: (0/100)
The ability to tame beasts into submission through establishing high low trust levels. Can be leveled up through taming beasts.
[Supreme Rearing] Level 1: (0/100)
The ability to intuitively understand the needs of beasts, while improving trust levels. Can be leveled up through rearing beasts.
[Supreme Farming]: (10/100)
A superior farming technique that allows the practitioner to wield relevant farming tools to produce farmed goods. Can be improved through farming.
---
Roman was shocked that his defense, agility, and vitality had all risen by 0.3 after fighting the Red Ash Wolf.
The system status tab initially did not reflect these changes as Roman's body was under duress from the fight with the Red Ash Fox and didn't have time to recover. As a result, his body remained in a highly weakened state.
However, after consuming the health potion, Roman's body revealed some improvements.
The fight with the Red Ash Fox had pushed Roman's potential a little, making him improve his stats without having to perform repetitive training or cultivating. It really was a belated yield.
While the rewards were great, fighting a life or death battle was not always rewarding. The risk would be death if things had gone south.
This time, Roman really lucked out.
Lastly, Roman checked out the dagger's information before drawing it out of his inventory and holding it in his hand.
---
[Rusty Dagger]
Details: A basic dagger with poor maintenance.
Stats:
Strength: + 0.5
Agility: + 0.5
---
After equipping the Rusty Dagger, Roman found his strength to add up to 1.2 and his agility finally came to 1.6.
With a deep smile and the comfort of finally recovering from his wounds, Roman turned his attention to the mountain pass in front of him.
He had finally arrived, and he was ready.
With that, Roman took activated the [Gold Search Token] and took a step onto the mountain path.