[A/N: Unedited]
Seth stared at the surface of the lake. His green orbs reflected on the lake. It was the only distinct feature that was still visible whenever the lake's surface wavered.
"In this lake is the basilisk and its family." Seth repeated.
He made sure to not disturb the lake. Basilisks were sensitive in water bodies. If one steps into the lake or even breathed on the lake's surface, they would sense the person.
'Hmm.. I need to be careful about this.'
Seth remembered the steps Vesstan told him. He pricked his finger with his dagger. Facing the lake, he directed drops of his blood on the surface and stained the ground with a trail of his blood.
Immediately, Seth ran behind a nearby bush. His crossbow aimed ahead as he waited for some action to take place.
A head rose from the lake's surface. Slow and silent, if Seth wasn't watching the lake, he wouldn't have noticed its appearance.
Its lizard-like head observed its vicinity. It spotted the stained ground and swam closer to the ground.
Upon reaching the divide between the lake and the ground, the basilisk revealed its true form. Its long serpentine body crawled out of the lake. The basilisk boasted of seven meters in length and a width as big as three human arms.
The creature traced the trail of blood. It paused when it reached the end of the trail. Looking ahead, the basilisks sensed something was wrong!
Unfortunately, it could not react in time as an arrow punctured its tail!
Seth came out of his hiding spot with a smile on his face.
The basilisk attempted an escape, but the brutal force behind the arrow fixed the snake onto the ground.
'How did Vesstan say it? Prong the fangs, and extract the venom into a bottle.'
Grabbing the head of the basilisk, Seth dug into his adventurer bag and produced a bottle. Just below the cap of the bottle was a grey rubber sleeve that hugged the bottle.
Seth held on to the head of the basilisk. As much as it tried to resist, Seth did not let go. He forced the basilisk to bite the top of the bottle, and massaged its head so that it would secrete an abundance of venom.
"The venom of basilisks has petrifying qualities. Mere airborne exposure to it can stun one's thoughts. Physical exposure would lead to the hardening of one's body. But worse of all, a long exposure to it would cause a disease called the gorgon's gaze." Seth recited what Vesstan told him.
The yellowish liquid squirting out of the basilisk's mouth was dangerous. Seth carefully prevented his body from touching the venom.
After the liquid stopped secreting, he figured the snake was out of venom. He took his dagger and mercilessly cut the head of the basilisk.
Now, he didn't know what other uses the head had, but Vesstan hinted at bringing the basilisk's corpse.
Being an adventurer was tough. There were too many things to learn. The act of skinning. The act of cooking. The act of venom-milking.
After Seth was done bagging the basilisks, he swam inside the lake to search for the basilisk's egg. Unfortunately, he didn't find any eggs, which meant that the eggs had hatched. After hatching, the baby basilisks would be sent to the wild to learn how to survive.
"Now, what is next on the list?"
Seth checked the sky before he proceeded. It was getting closer to night time, so he needed to wrap things up fast. The last thing he had to find was called Shy Essence.
It was a rare liquid that absorbed one's scent, making them scentless wherever they went. It was coveted by adventurers, but only an alchemist could reveal its true value.
Shy Potion. Once consumed, this potion grants a trackless status. Nothing could track them based on scent, and only sensitive individuals could perceive their presence. The principal ingredient for shy potions was shy essence!
Seth just had to find trees with strange marking and draw out the liquid essence in them.
"Well, then, shall I get started?"
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.
.
.
.
Two hours later.
A frown creased on Seth's face. Even after searching for hours, he still had not found a damn tree that secreted shy essence!
"F*ck, how hard can it be?!" Seth screamed.
Suddenly, a voice replied, "Hehehe, what are you looking for, fellow adventurers? Whatever, rejoice, for you are in luck. Hahaha, I and my brethren are travellers sent by the goddess to help the world. Lay your troubles on us, and we shall vanquish it… for the price of 20 ryi-bronze."
Three men jumped out of the shadow and revealed themselves to Seth. They wore adventure outfits and presented themselves as experienced individuals. But worse of all, they seemed to have some sort of choreography skills.
The moment they appeared, they got into their cringe poses that made Seth facepalm in embarrassment.
The man in the middle was their leader. He was the owner of the voice that replied to Seth.
Seth squeezed his face and spat out. "F*ck off!"
He knew this day would come. When his immersive experience would be disturbed by players like these.
The one on the left said. "Oh, come on, bro. Aren't you looking for shy essence? We know where it is? Pay us and we will tell you."
"...."
"You know where it is?" Seth asked.
"Yes. We completed our first mission a few days ago." The guy on the left bumped his chest, and reassured.
"Trust us, bro, we got this. We are travellers blessed by the goddess. By the way, should you be treating us with respect?" The man on the right scratched his head as he noticed the weirdness of the situation.
The other adventurers he met were ultra-respectful and kind. All they needed to do was prove their status as travellers and many opportunities came their way.
Seth flashed a set of innocent eyes and asked. "I should be respectful to you?"
Finally, the middle man spoke, "Yes, we are travellers. Rejoice. Rejoice. We have returned to help you folly folks."
"..."