Chapter 123: No Adventurer Can Resist Ruins

Roger shuddered at the mention of witches.

Witches were completely unreasonable. Sometimes a look, a gesture, or even their appearance could provoke them. There were countless unlucky souls who had been inexplicably cursed or poisoned by witches.

Just as Roger, who had intended to leave, heard a sentence from the goblin bartender, he froze in his tracks.

“Are you interested in becoming an adventurer in Green Shade Town? You can enter the ruins, you know~”

Although Adventurer’s Guilds were widespread throughout the Empire, their strength wasn’t as exaggerated as one might imagine. Otherwise, the first to turn hostile would definitely be the Empire and the major nobles.

In fact, the Adventurer’s Guild was more like a national chain store. The original founder was worshipped and then came the division of spoils.

Initially, the Adventurer’s Guild branches in various locations were built from scratch by personnel sent from the headquarters. Later, they realized this was too slow, so they coaxed local influential figures to contribute money and effort. Finally, with the popularization of the Adventurer’s Guild, this became a form of investment. Therefore, Roger didn’t doubt the existence of an Adventurer’s Guild in Green Shade Town.

Being an adventurer didn’t prevent one from joining local guilds. On the contrary, it would even bring some preferential treatment. Therefore, Roger was tempted. He was extremely curious about this strange town, and at the same time, the ruins…

No adventurer could resist the allure of ruins, even if they knew it was a life-or-death situation, or even a certain death. Every adventurer who stepped into ruins had the confidence that they were the protagonist, until the moment of their death.

“Should we join?” Roger didn’t make the decision alone but planned to discuss it with his three companions.

“Are you willing to leave?” Copper Helm took a sip of his craft beer and rolled his eyes.

Although Oak and Gray Cat didn’t speak, their eyes held the same sentiment, despising Roger’s insincerity.

“We are willing to join Green Shade Town’s Adventurer’s Guild,” Roger said to the goblin bartender with a straight face, not blushing at all.

“Alright, I’ll register you right away.” The goblin bartender took out a brand new registration book and wrote down Roger’s name on the first line, along with their basic information, mainly their professions, ages, years of adventuring, and what kind of tasks they were good at. This was the information the Adventurer’s Guild needed to register, and it was also convenient for task commissioners to choose adventurers.

“This is your identification. With this, you can get a 20% discount at the weapon shop, equipment shop, and potion shop in town, and you can also enter the ruins.” The goblin bartender handed the identification cards to the four of them and said.

“Thank you.” Although it felt a bit awkward to thank a goblin, Roger expressed his gratitude sincerely. Perhaps the goblins here were different.

“You’re welcome. Also, I suggest you buy some intelligence and targeted items before going to the ruins. It’s not as safe as you think inside.” The goblin bartender cheerfully took out a price list of intelligence, making Roger speechless and secretly lamenting that all Adventurer’s Guilds were the same.

Helplessly, Roger knew the importance of intelligence. Unless he was willing to risk his life to explore blindly, he had to buy this intelligence.

After reading the purchased intelligence, Roger was glad he made this choice. Who would have thought that the ruins here were so vast and filled with numerous monsters, especially the Black Glue Bugs. After seeing their characteristics, everyone broke out in a cold sweat, especially Copper Helm, who was responsible for tanking damage. He quickly took a gulp of ale to calm his nerves.

“Let’s go check out those shops.” Roger, having put away the intelligence, didn’t dare to neglect it anymore and hurriedly led his three teammates to take a look.

The three shops were actually one, like a large shared room. The three shops were connected, and the shelves and counters were arranged in a row, allowing customers to see everything from the entrance, which was very convenient.

The weapons here were mostly made of high-quality steel, with a variety of lengths, thicknesses, hardness, and flexibility, all readily available. The craftsmanship wasn’t that of a master, but it was sturdy and durable enough for adventurers.

Protective gear was also readily available: cloth armor, light armor, leather armor, chainmail, plate armor, from half-body to full-body, everything was available, and they could even be custom-made.

As for backpacks, ropes, oil lamps, flint, and water bags, they were also sold here.

However, what Roger and his team were most interested in were potions, because real potion masters weren’t very common. Those who were good at potions were either wizards or witches, neither of whom were easy to deal with, especially witches. Not many dared to drink the potions they brewed.

Mages could also brew potions, but the price was exorbitant, and ordinary adventurers couldn’t afford them.

Looking at the dazzling array of potions in front of him, and thinking about what the goblin bartender said before about a group of witches living here, Roger was conflicted.

Actually, it wasn’t just him, Oak, Copper Helm, and Gray Cat were also conflicted.

Needless to say, potions could play a vital role in adventures. If used well, they could save a life. Coupled with the scarcity of high-quality potions, it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.

“I’ll try it.” Copper Helm stepped forward.

As a dwarf, Copper Helm had a strong physique and resistance. A lethal dose for ordinary people would only give him a few days of diarrhea. So, he naturally took on the task.

He bought a bottle of healing potion called White Fresh. Copper Helm took out his dagger and made a cut on his wrist, then applied some of the potion to the wound with his thick, short fingers. The wound disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Roger and the others gasped. It wasn’t that they had never seen potions with similar effects, but those were all top-grade goods that they couldn’t afford even if they emptied their pockets, and they were even often unavailable. But here, although not abundant, the quantity was definitely not small.

“Limited purchase!” Roger wanted to buy more, but they wouldn’t sell it. Each person was limited to one bottle per month. Moreover, this thing had a shelf life, and buying too much would be a waste if they couldn’t use it.

“It’s already very good.” Copper Helm happily put away the potion and said to Roger, whose face was full of regret.

“You’re right, I was being a bit greedy.” Roger nodded in agreement. After all, their team was used to being poor. Of course, they wanted to buy more when they encountered good things at a bargain price, but they forgot that there were no such things as bargains in this world.

After stocking up on some more supplies, Roger went to inquire about the situation.

The ruins were located behind the town and could only be reached by passing through a checkpoint. The Green Shade Town adventurer identification served as a pass. After confirming this, Roger returned to the Great Tree Hollow Tavern.

“Let’s rest for a night and recover our strength. We’ll head to the ruins tomorrow morning,” Roger said to his three teammates while eating a delicious steak.

“Haha, we’ve been traveling for a while. Now that we’ve finally encountered a ruin, we must make a big splash!” Copper Helm said, guzzling his ale and seeming impatient.

As a dwarf, the most painful thing was traveling.

There was no helping it. Although dwarves weren’t short, with heights mostly around 1.5 meters, their bodies were too sturdy. Their thick skeletons were covered with large, dense muscles like loaves of bread, making their torsos extremely wide. In comparison, their sturdy limbs appeared a bit short.

This physique gave dwarves far greater physical strength and endurance than humans. If an ordinary person was hit by a galloping horse, they could prepare for their funeral. But for dwarves, it was no big deal. Even without preparation, they would at most roll on the ground. Forget internal injuries or fractures, their skin might not even break.

But running and traveling were torture for dwarves, especially when traveling with races whose legs were longer than theirs.

Everyone chatted and laughed, then returned to their rooms to rest, conserving their energy for entering the ruins the next day.