They Wanted a Healer, I Gave Them Trauma-Chapter 74: Quest-ionable Decisions ()

"Here, take a look."

The seller tore the paper slightly—

—and a translucent UI screen suddenly popped up in front of them.

The three of them jumped back a little.

"...Whoa."

It was their first time seeing something like that appear out of thin air.

Min leaned closer and started reading.

Quest:

Find the Flower of Cinderglaze inside the cave.

Requirement: 25 Cinderglaze Flowers

Ahrie scratched his chin slowly.

"Well... looks easy enough," Min muttered.

The seller folded his arms.

"Cinderglaze is an important material," he explained. "We use it to coat carts and wagons. Makes them glossy... and fire resistant."

He sighed.

"We’re running low on supplies. You three showed up at the perfect time."

Then he pointed at the lighter plank again and held up three fingers.

"If you accept the quest... and pay 300 coins upfront, we’ll build your wagon. Should be finished in about a week."

Ahrie, Min, and Koko stepped aside and started whispering among themselves.

"What should we do..."

"Well, we do have enough money..."

"So we should..."

"Yeah..."

"Squeak," Rocky added.

"Squeak."

They paid 300 coins upfront.

The seller quickly counted the coins and nodded in satisfaction.

"Well then... do you have the location of those caves?" Ahrie muttered.

"As a matter of fact... yes, I do. One sec—"

The seller walked into his small office and rummaged through a pile of papers.

After a moment, he came back out holding a worn-out map and spread it across the table.

"So... this is where we are right now," he said, tapping a spot on the map.

Then he dragged his finger outward.

"Somewhere over here... is the cave."

His finger stopped near a patch of forest just outside the capital.

Min leaned closer.

"Ohh... it’s surprisingly near."

Koko tilted her head slightly, studying the map.

"Hm."

"We used to have an excavation team going there to retrieve Cinderglaze," the seller explained.

"But competition’s been getting fiercer lately... so we had no choice but to postpone the operation and rely on seekers to gather the materials instead."

Min slowly leaned his face closer to Ahrie.

"...Did he just call us cheap?" Min whispered.

Ahrie leaned slightly toward him and whispered back.

"Yeah... kinda."

The seller continued talking like he didn’t hear anything.

"Anyways, here—take this map. You’ll need it in case you get lost."

Koko reached forward and took the map from his hand.

Right before they left, the seller suddenly called out.

"Oh—wait."

He reached under the counter and pulled out a small rugged bag.

"Here. You can attach this to the horse. Makes carrying items easier."

He tossed it to Ahrie.

Ahrie caught it and looked it over.

"Nice..."

With that, they finally headed out.

"Good luck!" the seller waved.

As they walked away, a shallow grin slowly formed on his face.

Where to now?

Gear upgrade?

Why not.

The trio entered the blacksmith district.

Clanging metal, roaring forges, sparks flying everywhere.

They immediately scattered around to look at different stalls.

Ahrie ended up buying a light leather armor.

Min grabbed one too after a bit of bargaining.

"Alright... next stop."

Potions.

They walked into a small alchemy shop filled with glass bottles and strange smells.

"Mana potions are important," Koko said.

"Five mana potions."

"Aight," the shopkeeper nodded while packing them.

"And uh... five health potions too," Koko added quietly.

"Health potions?" Ahrie muttered. "You have me."

Min and Koko immediately waved their hands.

"No."

"No no no."

After buying everything they needed for the excavation quest, the remaining coins were spent however they wanted.

Min and Ahrie immediately wandered off toward the noisy side of the market—where the carnival games were.

Throwing rings. Knife toss. Hammer strength tests.

Most of which they were terrible at.

Meanwhile, Koko went the opposite direction, browsing stalls filled with bags, straps, and small accessories.

She was a girl after all.

The longer they explored the capital, the stranger it felt.

Some things looked oddly familiar.

Stalls selling fried snacks that smelled suspiciously like street food back on Earth. Decorative lamps shaped like things no one in this world should logically invent.

Little by little... human influence was clearly creeping into Lumenoxis.

Gradually.

Quietly.

Eventually they met back up and had dinner at a small restaurant before returning to their inn.

Each of them had their own room.

They stopped in front of their respective doors.

For a moment... None of them went inside.

Instead, they all stared down at the small coin pouches in their hands.

A short silence passed.

Then—

"Hehe..."

"We’re goddamn broke again."

They all let out a tired sigh.

One by one, they opened their doors and rest.

Morning came.

They stretched a little, grabbed a quick breakfast, and set off.

Ahrie and Min walked ahead on the road, while Koko rode on top of their useless semi-slim horse like some kind of lazy noble.

The horse didn’t seem to mind.

Koko unfolded the map while they moved.

She squinted at it for a moment.

"If we follow this trail for a bit... then go left from here... we should reach the cave in a few hours or so."

"Oww..." Ahrie muttered, rolling his shoulders.

Min glanced back at her.

"You know how to read the map?"

Koko smiled.

Not with her eyes.

"You do know, right—" Min started.

Koko immediately cut him off.

"Follow the trail!" she shouted confidently to the horse.

The horse neighed and kept walking.

Min slowly looked at Ahrie.

"...She has no idea what she’s doing, does she?"

Ahrie sighed.

"Not even a little."

Back at the wagon store earlier...

The seller leaned against his counter, staring at the faint glow hovering above his palm.

One of the Link functions.

A voice echoed quietly through it.

"Yes... three people are heading there," the seller muttered. "Probably today or tomorrow."

A short pause.

"Are you sure they’re newbs?"

The seller grinned.

"Yeah, I’m sure. I saw one of them in the level two-and-below tournament yesterday."

He scratched his chin.

"So I’m positive."

"Great."

The voice on the other side sounded pleased.

"Keep sending them here. I’ll call you back later. I need to prepare for their arrival."

"Ok, ok... sure," the seller replied casually.

But before the connection closed—

"Oh... and one more thing."

"Yes?" the seller answered.

"The boss knows you’ve been asking them for a huge amount of coins."

The seller’s grin slowly faded.

"If you keep doing that, we won’t be able to keep targeting newbies. Guilds might start noticing the pattern."

The voice turned colder.

"Do your job properly."

A short pause.

"You’re replaceable."

"Don’t forget that."

"...Aight," the seller muttered.

The glow faded.

The call ended.

Silence filled the shop.

"Tch."

The seller clicked his tongue.

Thud.

Footsteps echoed inside the wagon shop.

The seller looked up.

Five people walked in together—a Link of five.

"Excuse me," one of them said. "Do you have small carts?"

"Err... small carts? Yeah, somewhere around here," the seller replied while gesturing toward the side.

"How much does it cost?"

"Depends on the material," the seller said. "Around 200 to 300 coins."

The five exchanged looks.

They leaned closer to each other and started whispering.

"...We don’t have enough money yet."

"That’s too bad."

"Well... we’ll just have to earn a bit more."

"Yeah... it’s doable."

The seller slowly lowered his head.

Then a wide grin spread across his face.

"Well... how about this?"

The group looked at him.

"There’s a quest."

He explained the same quest he gave to Ahrie’s Link.

"Bring me 25 Cinderglaze flowers from the cave and I’ll pay you enough to buy the carts."

He paused.

"And I’ll throw in a discount."

The five glanced at each other again.

"...This might be an opportunity."

"Yeah."

"Let’s accept it."

After a short discussion, they agreed.

The seller handed them the exact same map Ahrie’s group received.

Soon after, the group left the shop.

They walked quietly through the street.

Once they were far enough away—

their expressions changed.

The relaxed smiles disappeared.

The one who seemed to be the leader spoke quietly.

"Syl."

A UI screen opened.

He tapped the Link function and connected to someone.

"This is PrimRose," he said calmly.

"We’ve secured the location of the target."

A voice answered from the other side.

"Good."

A pause.

"Knock them all out."

"As you wish."

The connection ended.

PrimRose closed the UI.

Then the five of them turned—

and headed straight toward the cave.

Ahrie and Min followed behind while Koko confidently led the way.

"Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction...?" Min asked.

"Shut up," Koko muttered while staring at the map.

She began mumbling to herself.

"We’re supposed to be there by now..."

Just then, a few carts appeared on the road ahead, slowly rolling past them.

Koko immediately waved one down.

"Excuse me!"

The coachman stopped and leaned down slightly.

"So you see, we’re planning to go to this forest," Koko said while showing the map. "But I was wondering... where exactly are we on this pathway?"

The coachman looked at the map.

Then he started giggling.

"I’m sorry, dear... but you’re not on this pathway."

He pointed toward the opposite side of the map.

"This is where we are."

Then he moved his finger slightly.

"But hey... if you go left from here, you’ll still enter that forest."

"I see... thank you," Koko nodded.

She walked back toward the group with a proud expression.

"See? I told you."

She winked toward the readers.

Rocky, sitting inside her hair, gave a small thumbs-up.