While Lucifer was registering himself in the adventurers' guild, his pet, Nox, wasn't idle either. As he left the Shadowy Castle, he increased his size several times, almost to the size of a school bus. He spread his wings wide, cutting through the clouds above the Zafyre Empire toward the mythical Twilight Vale. Although his size was large, his speed was equally impressive. While Seraphina's carriage took her hours to travel from one place to another within the capital city, in just a few hours, Nox had already almost reached the boundary of the empire, which was as large as Earth.
He was flying above the misty sky over the Twilight Vale. Shadows of ancient trees stretched for miles below him, and the forest floor was filled with darkness and mossy earth. The forest was like a labyrinth of dangers, known for being home to an unknown number of magical beasts that ruled over a massive land—almost the size of Africa. But Nox, who was a beast of the highest quality, knew that these beasts wouldn't even dare to look at him. He was on a mission, and he would not return to Lucifer empty-taloned.
The air grew heavier as he descended, catching glimpses of movement between the thick canopy below. Twilight Vale seemed to breathe, with every rustle and faint call adding to the eerie silence that hung over the forest. Nox scanned the area for hours. At last, his sharp eyes picked up traces of a powerful aura that pulsed in the distance. He decreased his size and perched on the thick branch of an ancient oak tree, ruffling his feathers and feeling the latent magic thrumming through the tree.
For a moment, he closed his eyes and focused, using his enhanced senses that had come alive in this world. His mind sharpened as he honed in on a presence—a creature that, although it couldn't compare to him or Lucifer, was still the most powerful being he could find, hidden somewhere within a cave beneath the shadows of the forest. He also found something peculiar: the beast, for one thing, was not alone. There were multiple beasts that had almost the same power. As things stood, beasts of similar power, especially those at the pinnacle of existence in any place, would never reside together—especially not caged. There seemed to be something odd about them. They seemed to be in a trance, as if under the influence of some sort of drug. This shouldn't be natural. Somebody must have done this, someone who wanted these beasts to be here.
A few days ago, before the Festival of Hunt happened, a genius wouldn't be required to guess why. If an owl could guess and you couldn't, then it doesn't need me to tell you who you are. You are exactly what you thought—a non-webnovel reader! Only a non-reader wouldn't guess what was happening. Ah, you didn't know what you were, or what did you think? I wasn't going to call my readers out? HA HA.
Nox, recording all his observations in his mind, knew it was time to go back.
Back at the adventurers' guild, Lucifer, who had just completed his registration, was browsing through the list of available missions. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of missions: The Purging of the Bloodwood Curse, The Siege of Stormspire, Quell the Inferno in Magmaheart Mines, The Shadowclaws of the Dreaded Thicket, The Ashmaws of Ember Plains, etc. However, there was something suspicious that everyone could feel, but no one was willing to conclude. Many of these missions were on the borders of the empire, especially those close to the Silvara Empire, all having rewards ranging from a hundred thousand gold coins to millions of gold coins.
One thing was certain: most of these missions involved dark magic, but the Silvara Empire was one of the Elven empires that revered nature like none other. There could be something else, but Lucifer didn't need to know now. He would soon find out about it.
He selected one of the missions that required him to kill a bunch of dragon-kin. Its reward was a whole 5 million gold coins. He had more than 900 million gold coins in his storage ring and a lot more in his castle so he wasn't much interested in the rewards. Furthermore, the coins that were in the game were of very high value here; here, one gold coin was 10 grams, but in the game, one coin was a whole 100 grams. Though he wasn't particularly interested in gold, what he was interested in was that it was near Twilight Vale Forest, and Nox had already told him what was happening in the forest. Lucifer ordered him not to do anything. It was a good thing he found a mission near Twilight Vale, so he would check out the forest as well as complete this mission while he was at it.
He told Seraphina about it, and she agreed—simply, no conversation. Lucifer also told Seraphina to disguise herself, as being accompanied by the princess wouldn't exactly be low-key. Seraphina knew what it meant and complied. Though she didn't have such advanced skills like Lucifer's , she was still a princess, and more often than not, she would have to disguise herself while traveling to different places to avoid enemies. So she was very adept at it.
Lucifer and Seraphina arrived at the guild building in the bustling city on the outskirts of Zafyre, with Seraphina disguised. The city, named Valthor, was a major hub of trade and defense on the side of the Zafyre Empire as it served as a key position in the empire's politics. Not only did it have an almost infinite source of a variety of tens of thousands of herbs that existed in the quantity of millions, but also body parts of hundreds of thousands of different magical beasts.
It can be said that after the capital city, the most important city in the empire was Valthor, and no one would disagree. It alone had a yearly GDP of 100 trillion gold coins, which was ever-increasing. There were many merchant families and common folks that contributed to the market in Valthor, but its main pillar of success was its adventurers, who were the strongest in the empire—even stronger than those in the capital city. But rewards and risk had always gone together through centuries of fantasy books—ahem, I meant centuries of history of Atheria. Twilight Vale was for hard people; you had to travel into the forest, mostly into the inner circle, because for the outer circle, there weren't many resources to begin with, and those that were there were very common and anyone could easily get them.
But as they had just arrived in the city, they needed to gather info about the mission, so they needed to ask around about this mission, as the detailed mission will only be posted in the branch where the mission was issued. Other branches will only have brief information, the ranks required, and the rewards promised. Lucifer approached the reception desk in the guild building, where a burly man with a thick beard and a muscular frame stood. His gaze flicked over Lucifer and Seraphina before asking, "How may I help you?"
"We are here for the dragon-kin hunt," Lucifer said casually. "Oh, the dragon-kin hunt?" the guild officer asked gruffly but a hint of surprise, his voice thick with years of experience. "It's a tough one; the last group that went out barely made it back alive."
Lucifer took the mission schedule on the table and skimmed through the details about the mission request and returned it back, his demeanor calm as always. "I don't care," he said, his tone unwavering. The officer glanced at the mission details before looking back at Lucifer. "I hope so," he muttered, handing over a map. "The dragon-kin you'll be facing aren't just any beasts. They've been rumored to be gathering near the old volcanic region—closer to the borders with Silvara. But there's something off about them. Some say they've been infused with even more magic, and not the kind that dragon-kin usually possess."
Dragon-kin normally were any kind of beast or race that either ate some blood or body parts of a dragon, granting them some kind of dragon powers, or those that were infused with dragon blood. Normally, both were common in an uncommon way, as every few decades or centuries, when a dragon is about to die, they will try to be in a secluded place far away from where they were born. When that happens, their blood and various body parts will be up for taking by anyone who can find them and extract all the materials.
Seraphina's expression hardened. "Dark magic," she said, her voice low.
The officer nodded gravely. "That's the word around here. There are rumors of a hidden power lurking near the borders. Something that's manipulating creatures, bending them to its will. Be careful."
Lucifer and Seraphina exchanged a glance. Lucifer had already deduced this much. They knew that this wasn't just a simple hunt. Something far more dangerous was at play. The dragon-kin were merely pawns in a larger game.
"Thank you," Lucifer said, turning toward the exit. "We'll handle it from here."
The guild officer watched them leave, his eyes filled with concern. This would be the fourth Platinoir-rank party. If they still cannot stop them, the mission's rank and reward will have to be increased. He sighed and resumed his work.
Nox, meanwhile, was already gliding toward Valthor after receiving Lucifer's message, the feathers of his massive wings slicing through the air like a shadow. His sharp eyes were scouting the path ahead. He didn't know where this town was, nor did he know about Twilight Vale. He had just received a single direction and flew there; this time was the same as well. His mind went back power he had sensed earlier. There was something in the depths of the Vale that needed to be addressed—something that could be beneficial to Lucifer in one way or another.