"Let's see, my next destination is..." Shyam murmured as he stared at his map, his feet touching the road to Dhatuvan, walking on a dirt path once again.
"This seems repetitive now, huh?"
"Dhatuvan's a mining station, huh? Maybe I can buy a better weapon made with greater materials of this world!" Shyam spoke excitedly. Ever since his sword broke, he had no other melee weapon to fight with—for which he had to use a bow, the kind of weapon he couldn't really use.
His archery skills were shown in the slime battle—close to none! If not for the sudden tier-up, he might actually have died. Or maybe he wouldn't…
BECAUSE HE GOT TWO LEGS!
"Are you sure? 'Cause it seems to me you are lacking a little bit of cash here, Master Shyam," Raitha said as she sat above Shyam's head like a monk in meditation.
It was true—even though he got a gold coin from Chandrapal back in Tarayala, there was a chance he would need that entire coin if he wanted a better weapon. At least, he didn't want to buy something that breaks just trying to kill an ogre. Not to mention, Chandrapal's butchers could slice through that ogre's skin like butter.
Which meant he could definitely get better weapons—if he had money, which he didn't.
Because he was poor.
"Guess we gotta do a ton-load of quests once we reach Dhatuvan or find a better way to earn." Shyam sighed and continued his journey toward the mining station of Vyomsetu.
But the weather didn't like his plan to reach Dhatuvan fast. Dark, big piles of clouds covered the skies, and small drops of rain began falling.
It had started to rain—though slowly—but judging from the looks of it, it was definitely going to get heavier and heavier.
"Great!" Shyam shouted and started running to see if he could manage a shelter real quick.
Luckily, he found a big tree with a hole in it—as if someone just made it for him. Without giving it much thought, Shyam entered it. His greater sense didn't warn him of anything, so it should be fine.
"What now?" Raitha asked as she still lay on his head.
Shyam didn't reply. He just sat down on the dirt floor, closed his eyes, and started reading the guidebook—the T2 Hydra Path complete guide that the Guild Master of Bhadrabari gave him.
He had already reached the peak of Tier 1. Now, he needed to reach T2 so that he could start using the Hydra grimoire.
He really, really wanted to use its spells.
And I, as the writer, really, really want to write him using those spells!
Within hours, the rain stopped.
Unfortunately, he couldn't finish reading the guide in just such a short time—because I am an idiot. Yahahaha.
After the rain stopped, the road became muddy. It was a little bit harder to walk now, but he still continued!
After walking for two days—not straight! Because no human can ever walk two days straight without stops—he finally stepped at the entrance of Dhatuvan, the mining station of Vyomsetu.
"Here we are," Shyam whispered as he stared at the big machines in front of him. Those were huge!
They made noise, but not so much to hate this place. At least this place gave jobs to many laborers… or even blacksmiths—the actual hearts of adventurers. Without them, adventurers wouldn't have many weapon varieties to fight with, and most of them would be left with bows, fists, and legs.
Wherever Shyam looked, he saw entrances to mineshafts and holes that went so deep, he could probably find a girlfriend before finding the courage to jump into one.
Because for whatever reason, women of this world seemed to automatically find him attractive.
Walking around the place, Shyam realized materials like iron, copper, and even steel were almost common.
Like, everyone had the kind of steel sword Shyam had. Shyam saw them with no one except only a few adventurers and Ashima.
This was the benefit of being in a place where materials were common. Where at Nilgram or Kamalgram, iron was expensive—not so much that it wasn't buyable, but not cheap enough for an average family in Nilgram to afford daily.
By the time Shyam reached Dhatuvan, it had already become evening. So he decided to rest for today and start his exploration tomorrow once he was fully rested.
There were many inns available in Dhatuvan—unlike the other villages he visited, which had only one or three at max. But here in Dhatuvan, he already noticed four of them packed with people.
Maybe because this is a mining station and thousands of people worked here.
Finally, after a lot of searching, he found an inn to stay at.
With a price of eight copper coins per night.
It was expensive, yeah, but he had no choice but to take the offer, as all the other inns were already full and he needed a bed to just relax...
---
The next morning, he ate a plain, tasteless breakfast—because the food was just so expensive for him here.
He walked toward the blacksmith and instantly regretted his life.
The weapons there started at life-saving prices—not less than a gold coin!
But they weren't so expensive for nothing. Their quality spoke for itself—sharp and strong!
He decided to stick with his bow and bare hands for now.
After all, he now had a magic stick. Not powerful enough to fulfill his dream of burning his enemies into ashes, but definitely enough to make them regret their decision to fight Shyam.
After leaving the inn, Shyam went to the guild of this village—the Dhatuvan Adventurer's Guild.
There were many adventurers here. More than Kamalgram ever had. Not to mention, all of their ranks started with E rank—not even F.
And there were even a few C-rank adventurers here.
But unlike Taralaya, this place didn't have automatic receptionists, which was enough proof to know it hadn't reached city level yet—even though there were C-rank adventurers!
Shyam walked toward the guild quest board and picked a few D-rank missions like he picked potatoes at a market.
Unlike Bhadrabari, this village had many D-rank missions—and they were even getting taken.
Shyam decided to take a few of the easy ones.
He still had to reach T2 to use his water affinity spells, and he didn't have a proper weapon on him right now—so he definitely didn't want to risk his life again to get some good rewards.
Though the guide to the T2 Hydra Path was a very good reward considering how dangerous the quest was.
After that, he went back to the forest, and the noise of those mana-powered drill machines finally faded away.
A little relieved, Shyam started looking for the herbs requested by the person who put out those quests.
> { Red Jelly Herb – Uncommon }
{ Heat Red Flower – Rare }
{ Blue Jelly Grass – Uncommon }
He activated his Herbseer and started looking for the herbs.
It was really hard to find the Red Jelly and Blue Jelly Grass.
But what was even harder? To find the fucking Heat Red Flower!
Or maybe he might have found it—if only his Herbseer ability could scan rare herbs.
But unfortunately, it couldn't.
Now, all he could do was try and find that herb without the Herbseer ability.
Which, for him, was impossible—because he didn't have any idea regarding how that herb looked.
Its shape? Properties? Not even its color!
Even though the quest clearly said it's a red flower!
Damn you, Shyam!
Or… he could find a way to upgrade his Herbseer ability to be able to scan rare herbs as well.
He quickly called out to Raitha to know the steps required to upgrade his Herbseer ability.
"Hey Raitha," he said.
Suddenly, she appeared out of thin air, her eyes half-closed and her face looking as if she was the most tired person in the world.
It was clear—SHE WAS TAKING A NAP!
"Speak fast, peasant master. I need to complete my dream," she murmured as she landed her feet on Shyam's head.
Shyam flinched with emotional shock.
What the fuck did she just say?
A peasant?
Well, now that he thinks about it… he wasn't far off from being one as well.
Like, he was so poor he couldn't even purchase a good weapon!
But still—hearing it directly from someone who was supposed to serve him and look at him as her master… hurt.
Like an arrow to the heart.
"How can I upgrade my Herbseer ability?" Shyam muttered.
"Easy," Raitha replied.
---
Ch-36