"My dream has always been to be a magic knight serving one of the magicians of the Six Sacred Forests," Nili replied, looking me straight in the eyes. "Getting stronger and being recognized by them is the goal of my journey. I'm not going to sell myself to a mere human."

So now there were sacred forests in the elven kingdom; I had never heard of them.

"I see... No problem, I figured I'd have a negative answer," I said, trying to force a smile. I wasn't lying, but I still felt that I had been rejected in a love confession. "I hadn't even entered the academy; it's normal for a renowned adventurer like the famous elf, Nilithien, to reject my proposal."

"Are you just starting Rosdan?" The magician asked with a smile. "Don't worry; there are squires by the ton at the academy, and they all want to become magic knights. That's where I met Lindia."

The magician looked at one of her two magick knights, to which the magic knight answered by nodding with a smile.

"The problem is that this year we must take a magic knight to the entrance exam... But don't worry, I'll get someone else." I said while looking for a pouch in my clothes. "However, I also had another reason to talk to you. The truth is that I need a party for a quest. And I've heard good rumors about the magician Cornelia's party."

"Oooh, a direct nomination?" Said the magician whose name I had just mentioned. "I'm flattered, but do you have the money to pay us, boy? We are not cheap."

Although most adventuring magicians only had the rank of spellcasters, there were no poor magicians, and the adventurer's guild's clients were usually nobles, other more powerful magicians, wealthy merchants, or the realm itself.

For my part, I had made a small fortune selling my trinkets a few days ago, so I took out six gold coins from my pouch, and under Cornelia's intense gaze, I left them on the table. The magician's eyes couldn't be more sparkling.

"I'm too old to be called 'boy' anymore, but I appreciate the compliment," I said with a smile, then added. "Three gold coins upfront and the other three once the quest is completed."

"Are you crazy? Even if you are rich, who offers so much for just one…

"But I have to warn you. It is a life or death quest," I declared, interrupting her. "On my journey to Laeirel, I discovered a deathsickles’ nest; they may become a serious danger to travelers in the future."

"Deathsickles? I've never heard of them…" Cornelia replied.

"I think I read that name in some church records," Priestess Mardy added.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

It is a normal reaction. The deathsickles were active last time on the surface about half a millennia ago, and only if you are very unlucky will you find one in a cave.

That does not mean that they are not dangerous monsters; if there is a nearby nest, it would be best to get rid of it.

I discovered that nest thanks to using appraisal on the wounds of a creature we found on the way to Leirel.

But like I said, deathsickles haven't been very active for hundreds of years, so I just mentioned it anecdotally to Lord Edward and Roy. Forlan's royal court would definitely not waste lives trying to take down monsters that are unlikely to cause trouble.

But, it is worth mentioning that this nest seems strangely close to the surface, all the more reason something needs to be done.

"But why do you want to finish off those deathsickles? Do you have land near that nest or what?"

"On the one hand, if I have the means, I would like to help the kingdom, but more importantly, as you may have realized, they are rare creatures. The parts I could extract from their bodies will be pretty valuable."

"You're quite young, but you have an entrepreneurial mind; I like that," Cornelia stated with a smile.

In my tower, I can process those materials and create things that could be useful but that are better to sell. With about three deathsickles, it would generate a profit of about twelve gold coins at least.

However, even though all of that is true, it was obviously not the reason why I had come to the adventurers guild. My true intentions were two:

First, test Nili's prowess in battle. A magic knight is not the same as a servant; I need someone who can defend herself and, more importantly, defend me...

And secondly, thanks to Anna's information, I knew from the beginning that Nili was looking for a way to get stronger.

Seeing that no magician had been able to recruit her into their ranks (when it is usually the other way around) to convince her, I knew that I had to show an offer that not even those elves from the so-called sacred forests could match. Of course, I am talking about the magic I could share with her.

But, since I am the only one left with the "Appraisal" skill, the best way to show my abilities to Nili was in the field.

Indeed, from the beginning, I had planned to follow the party secretly. In fact, if I don't, I honestly think the deathsickles will take down all five of them.

Only the elf, who has remained thoughtful ever since she heard the name, seems to understand what they are going to face.

She is from a race that lives long, after all; five hundred years ago for them is not as much as for humans, whose life expectancy was reduced to sixty years in these times. Even that's surprisingly high if you ask me, but the simple answer is that it's thanks to magic.

"It's going to be difficult, but I think the five of us can take on a single deathsickle; we have to find a way to separate them and defeat them individually," Nili stated. "However, depending on their numbers, we could have to withdraw."

The elf, who had been quiet for a while, finally broke her silence.

As to be expected from someone so confident in her own abilities that she traveled so far without being under any magician, she seemed to believe that between all of them, they had the necessary skills to separate the deathsickles from each other and even defeat one.

The elves seem to remember them, but she herself has not faced any.

"No problem on my part," I replied with a smile. "We'll have to settle on a penalty in case the quest fails, but as long as you bring me even a single corpse, you can keep the whole three gold coins."

I didn't want the party to give up too quickly; I had to give them the illusion of an achievable goal.