After EeDeChi paid a 50-gold coin advance, the Adventurer's Guild acted as the notary and signed a contract with a magical seal, making Barrett EeDeChi's guide, responsible for leading her safely through Mistwood to Golden Sheaf.

The contract included an unbreakable spell. If Barrett were to tear up the contract or shirk his guiding duties, the 3rd Tier magic "Crimson Curse" would follow him for the rest of his life.

It was a sunny and bright morning in Montell. According to Barrett's supply list, EeDeChi and he went to the market and the weapon store run by the Adventurer's Guild to purchase supplies.

Since witnessing EeDeChi's formidable strength in defeating Wood, Barrett was very confident in her abilities.

It wasn't until noon, when they met as scheduled, that Barrett sadly discovered his orichalcum-level "elite" adventurer companion had been swindled into a fool by unscrupulous merchants.

"This glow-in-the-dark potion you bought…" Barrett picked up a finely crafted glass bottle shaped like an owl, filled with a deep blue potion.

He opened the bottle, pouring the potion into another transparent vial. The potion turned out to be a light blue, while the original ornate owl bottle remained deep blue.

"You've been conned! This glass bottle is just dyed deep blue; the glow-in-the-dark potion inside is cheap and light blue." Barrett shook his head, then picked up a bundle of steel wire and yanked it hard, causing the entire coil to fall apart.

"This twisted wire is fake, and this healing potion is green! It's obviously a fake. And this steel multi-blade dagger is magically coated steel, and this luminous stone, and this… and this… and this…"

As Barrett spoke, he threw EeDeChi's purchases out of the bag as if they were trash.

EeDeChi, carrying her oversized giant sword, crouched on the ground, her face flushed with embarrassment, and she buried her head in her arms, unable to lift it.

In reality, it wasn't entirely her fault. Although EeDeChi was an orichalcum-level High-tier adventurer, she had only been in this world for a little over two months.

In terms of slaying high-level monsters and enemies, she could indeed be considered orichalcum-level. But when it came to adventurer life experience, she was probably less knowledgeable than even the lowest copper-level adventurer.

Copper-level adventurers are native to this world, unlike EeDeChi, who was new here. Aside from understanding the language, she was unfamiliar with everything else.

Moreover, the merchants in Montell had similar Justice Values, or rather, all were equally low. EeDeChi couldn't distinguish which were honest traders and which were unscrupulous swindlers.

Barrett picked up a bottle of light yellow vitality potion and watched as the light yellow substance settled into a clump in the bottle, shaking his head in private.

He decided to teach this adventurer, who was one level higher than him, some basic knowledge: "People like you, who lack the ability to discern, should avoid buying things from Gyxiya's caravans. Eight out of ten Gyxiya are swindlers, and the other two are thieves or fortune-tellers. How to identify Gyxiya? Those caravans with a yellow seven-star emblem are Gyxiya. Of course, some Gyxiya won't display any emblem. In that case, you need to observe carefully. Look for high-carriages draped with crimson silk, or check if the seller has a northern City Alliance accent…"

Barrett spoke extensively, listing one point after another. He realized how rich his adventuring experience was and felt a surge of pride as he thought it would be nearly impossible to impart all this knowledge to EeDeChi in such a short time.

Even this orichalcum-level "elite" adventurer, as formidable as her combat power might be, had to listen to my teachings.

EeDeChi stood up, adjusted the giant sword on her back, cleared her throat, and said, "As your employer and direct supervisor, you should be mindful of how you speak to me. Otherwise, you might have a hard time navigating the bureaucratic world. As a leader, I only need to provide the general direction. The specifics, of course, are up to you to handle."

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WHAT? Barrett looked utterly confused. EeDeChi's words made only half sense to him, but her tone and demeanor were reminiscent of the nobles in Montell.

"Well then, Leader, do you have any specific instructions for crossing Mistwood?" Barrett asked with a hidden smirk.

"My instruction is that we must cross Mistwood, understood?" EeDeChi said without a hint of embarrassment.

"Understood, Leader."

Barrett silently grumbled, what kind of instruction is that? It's just stating the obvious.

Clearly, EeDeChi wasn't going to become a savvy shopper overnight, so Barrett took care of all the procurement tasks. EeDeChi just followed him and helped pack the purchased items into the spatial ring.

Barrett also had a spatial leather bag, but it was small, only holding a few cubic feet of items, in stark contrast to the spatial ring's nearly hundred cubic feet of storage.

With Barrett's adept handling, all supplies for the journey through Mistwood were quickly gathered. Food, clean magical distilled water, healing potions, vitality potions, short-term magical charging lamps, and various weapons and equipment were all accounted for.

EeDeChi, on the other hand, bought a thermos with a fixed 2nd Tier magic "Complete Isolation" and used it to brew lycium chinense and dried chrysanthemums.

Barrett asked if she was brewing a magical potion, and EeDeChi told him it was for "health preservation," a potion that could extend human lifespan.

Although Barrett didn't fully understand what "health preservation" meant, the idea of extending life intrigued him, so he decided he'd get a thermos for himself to try brewing it too.

Time flew by in their busy preparations. By the next morning, with the morning stars still faintly twinkling in the sky, EeDeChi and Barrett made their way through the adventurer's campsite, still asleep, and onto a rugged path worn down by decades of adventurer traffic, stepping into Mistwood.

According to Barrett, the white mist in Mistwood seemed to be the earth's breath. In the morning and around noon, Mistwood would "inhale," and the mist would be at its lightest.

In the evening or at night, Mistwood would "exhale," and white mist would appear in thick clouds, covering every corner of the forest as if wrapped in a heavy white veil.

Of course, the timing and duration of Mistwood's "breathing" varied with the seasons and weather. Experienced adventurers could determine the best time to enter, when the mist was at its thinnest.

From Barrett's experience, the best time to enter Mistwood was just as the sun rose above the horizon, when the mist was minimal and the light was ample. He didn't want to run into familiar adventurer buddies who might tease him with new nicknames like "The Strong Eunuch" or "Imperial Chief Eunuch," so he set off early.

image [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/ea/9d/baea9d11b487041571e1c012e9e0ad7a.jpg]

So far, everything was going smoothly. Barrett, a seasoned adventurer who had crossed Mistwood nearly sixty times, navigated the forest with ease. Leading EeDeChi, he expertly avoided frost wolf dens, pits covered with rotting leaves, and animal traps set by other adventurers.

They continued deeper into the forest, the overgrown path underfoot narrowing until it vanished completely.

Barrett stopped every few dozen meters to check their direction and used his machete to hack away at the protruding branches and thorny brambles. Behind him, EeDeChi stumbled over the wild grass clumps every few steps. Barrett had to expend extra effort clearing the way to help his employer keep pace.

Looking up through the canopy, the sky had darkened completely, or rather, there was no sky visible at all.

image [https://www.tenstickers.tw/webp/photomural/large/5f4d72f0d4e29.webp]

Due to the lack of logging, every tree in Mistwood had grown to a girth that required two people to encircle it. The dense canopy completely blocked the sky, with branches and leaves straining to capture any available light, leaving none for the ground.

This was the situation Barrett, the seasoned adventurer, had anticipated. He took out a magically charged lantern to light up the surroundings and dispel the darkness, while EeDeChi, whose hair was now a mess from brushing against branches, followed closely behind.

After a considerable amount of time, the veteran adventurer checked his silver pocket watch to confirm that Mistwood's "exhaling" time was approaching, along with the unwelcome nightfall. They stopped to find a dry place to set up camp for the night.

There was no dry place in sight; the ground was covered in layers of decayed leaves accumulated over centuries, damp and moldy, with various small creatures dwelling within, making it an unsuitable camping spot.

But Barrett was not easily discouraged. He had learned how to build treehouses in the elven lands of the southern Slane Theocracy. An elven adventurer once remarked that his treehouse was better built than those of a ten-year-old wood elve. Barrett couldn't tell if this was a compliment or an insult.

He never had the chance to ask, as that elven companion was later swallowed by an adult red dragon.

...

EeDeChi and Barrett worked hard together, but after EeDeChi accidentally felled the third suitable oak, Barrett had no choice but to work alone and set up two rudimentary but sturdy tree shelters between the branches.

At first, Barrett suspected EeDeChi was using this method to shirk responsibility and avoid labor, but after a close observation, he was sure that although the girl was stronger than an ogre and had a peculiar personality, she was not one to play petty tricks.

So EeDeChi sat leisurely on a fallen tree trunk, occasionally sipping from her magical thermos containing lycium chinense and chrysanthemum "health preservation" potion, watching Barrett swing his axe and work hard.