[Worn Standard-Issue Longsword]

Type: One-Handed Sword

Grade: Common (White)

Description:

25 Gray Rats, 12 Goblins, and even a Bear Hobgoblin... Buddy, how could you expect more from it?

Note:

"Beginners' Luck!"

——Legendary Sword Saint of Thousand Iron Stream, Vice Captain of the Eternal Radiance Adventurer Party, Titus

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"So, this must be my golden finger, huh?"

Sitting by the campfire, Xia Nan murmured as he gazed at the longsword resting across his knees.

This was his second day in this world.

In his previous life, Xia Nan had lived an ordinary life, born into a middle-class family. He studied hard, passed his exams, and got into a decent university. After graduation, he followed the crowd and entered an internet company, enjoying the "996" work culture. Finally, on his 32nd birthday, he was promoted to department manager.

After a celebratory party, he drunkenly refused his colleagues' offer to walk him home, choosing instead to clear his head with a late-night stroll.

He never expected that mere moments after leaving the restaurant, he'd hear a blaring horn and screeching brakes behind him.

Then, everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this world, reborn as an 18-year-old.

"Sigh…"

With a silent sigh, Xia Nan pulled himself out of his thoughts.

The status screen floating above his longsword, visible only to him, flickered and disappeared.

Having inherited the memories of this body, Xia Nan had a rough understanding of this world.

The good news? This was a true fantasy world where supernatural powers existed.

Whether it was the traveling bard performing magic tricks to pay for his lodging in Xia Nan's childhood village, or the burly barbarian he saw at the tavern recently—his greatsword glowing faintly on his back—both were proof of this world's mystical nature.

The bad news? His new identity was nothing more than a common farmer struggling to put food on the table.

Aside from the knowledge he brought from his past life, most of what filled his mind now consisted of things like "how to plow a field more efficiently" and "which crops to plant in each season"—skills utterly unrelated to supernatural power.

It wasn't that Xia Nan looked down on farming. In fact, in his past life, he often dreamed of making a fortune and then retiring to the countryside, renting a small plot of land, and living a peaceful rural life.

But in this world, a few thin patches of farmland weren't enough to feed an entire family.

That was precisely why his predecessor had left his home village and ventured into the dangerous wilderness.

Xia Nan shifted his gaze away from the longsword and looked up.

Before him lay a makeshift camp—so crude that there wasn't even a single tent, only a few sleeping bags scattered around the fire.

A handful of figures of varying sizes sat around the campfire, their hushed murmurs barely audible over the occasional crackling of burning wood.

Humans, a gnome, and a half-orc.

A classic four-man adventuring party setup.

But in reality, Xia Nan had no hesitation in calling them a bunch of misfits and losers.

The gnome, Elki, despite belonging to a race with a lifespan of over five hundred years, was just in his early twenties. His knowledge and experience weren't even on par with Xia Nan's, an eighteen-year-old farmer.

He wore twin daggers at his waist, looking the part of an assassin or rogue.

However, Elki was a die-hard right-hander. He could barely hold a fork with his left hand, let alone wield a blade—Xia Nan had personally watched him struggle for three whole minutes just to undo the bracer on his right arm.

The only exceptional thing about him might be his supposedly "inherited family trait"—a cheerful disposition and an uncanny sense of humor.

Then there was the half-orc, Gagu.

Though called a "half-orc," Xia Nan suspected his orc blood was diluted to a mere fraction—maybe 1/32, or even less.

Aside from slightly sharper canine teeth and a bulkier build, Gagu was nearly indistinguishable from a regular human.

Still, he served as their front-liner—"At the very least, he can give the jungle beasts a few extra bites," as Elki so eloquently put it.

Finally, the leader of their so-called "ragtag team."

Maji, the human hunter.

The most reliable member of their group, at least on paper.

Rumor had it that he was once a renowned hunter in the western border villages of the kingdom. But after offending a noble, he was forced to change his name and flee.

Elki seemed to know the details.

"Ah, women," he had once commented when Xia Nan asked.

And so, a right-handed assassin, a diluted orc, a hunter, and a farmer made up their adventuring party.

By conventional standards—at least according to Xia Nan—a proper adventuring party should consist of a warrior, a priest, a mage, and perhaps a rogue or ranger.

The classic "tank, healer, and DPS" formation.

But for their team of nobodies, that was a pipe dream.

Forget rare spellcasters—they didn't even have a single ranked class-holder in their group.

Even their most experienced member, Maji, was still light-years away from officially becoming a "Ranger" and gaining his first class level.

Calling them an "adventurer party" was being generous.

Not that true adventurers didn't exist in this world.

It was just that getting a class required strict conditions. Without sheer luck or a wealthy background, most common folk would never reach that level in their lifetime.

After all, a single goblin's bounty was three silver and seven copper coins—almost two days' wages for a dock worker!

High risk, high reward—that was the universal understanding of adventurers in this world.

And that was precisely why the misfit squad had come here.

"We're about half a day's journey from the reported sighting," Maji said, checking his quiver by the fire. "We should arrive by tomorrow morning."

"Tsk tsk, an entire goblin squad... never took on a job this big before!" Elki twirled his dagger, excitement dancing in his eyes. His tiny frame made him look rather comical in the firelight.

"What, scared?" The half-orc grinned wickedly. "Don't worry. They're just a bunch of little green rats the size of you. I could crush two under my toes."

"Oh, absolutely!" Elki nodded earnestly. "A tough guy like you would never cry for his mommy in his sleep."

"%@#*&!（Orcish Curse）"