Morning. The early sun cast its warm light across the land. In front of the manor, two people were talking.
"Archille, are you really going out to work today?" Standing in front of the manor, Laki Olietta looked at the young man before her with a hopeful expression, asking with a hint of anticipation, "Can you take me with you? I want to see how Mages accept and complete missions!"
"Take you with me? Tch, I think I'll pass on that…" Rolling his eyes and shaking out his white robe, Archille refused with a determined expression, looking utterly convinced of his decision. He certainly didn't want his mission to fail, and given her inexplicable temperament, that was a very high possibility!
"Relax," Archille said, seeing her expression immediately turn sullen. He shook his head and advised with a touch of helplessness, "There will be many more opportunities later. Once you become a little stronger, and when you are a Mage who can stand on your own, you'll be able to take on plenty of these commission requests!"
"Oh…" Laki nodded slightly, answering listlessly, still looking downcast. Archille felt helpless about this, too. He shook his head again and instructed:
"Be careful while I'm gone. Don't wander around if you don't have to! Alright, that's it. Bye~"
With that, Archille turned and walked away without looking back.
Just as he said, he was going to work now!
As a Mage, he had been staying at Laki's house for a year since losing his memory, but even with amnesia, his pride remained intact! He felt too awkward living off the young girl, Laki, eating and drinking for free. He knew Laki's family wasn't wealthy; she had been living alone before he arrived! Although he had never heard her speak seriously about her parents or relatives, Archille was keenly perceptive enough to sense some underlying truth…
From the occasional snippets of information Laki unintentionally let slip, Archille learned that Laki's mother was a very powerful Mage! A formidable Wood-Creation Mage!
Also, the entire manor—The Dancing Manor—was built by her mother! Of course, this excluded the manor's name and the occasionally appearing "dangerous creatures" hidden within the grounds…
Aside from these facts, Archille only knew that Laki's living expenses seemed to be funds left behind by her mother. Furthermore, through casual chats with Laki, Archille learned that this fund was running low.
Since his identity was that of a Mage, it was only right that he should shoulder all the household expenses! Archille couldn't stand relying on a little Loli's money. This wasn't because of any gender bias; it was purely his male chauvinism acting up again! (Hmm? Why did he say "again"?!)
Therefore, in the second month after he was rescued, once his injuries had mostly healed, he decisively went out to work!
As a Mage, Archille had many job options. Generally, Mages choose to join a guild and accept various mission commissions within that guild to earn money!
Naturally, there were also independent Wandering Mages who didn't belong to any guild, but they were generally rare. While some powerful Mages were among them, the vast majority were low on skill. So, these people usually lived a struggling life…
Archille was one of these Wandering Mages. However, the reason for his "struggling" life wasn't a lack of power; on the contrary, his strength was ridiculously immense! Never mind his bottomless well of magic power; his unpredictable Requip Magic—Shinigami Style—was not something ordinary people could compare to!!
In fact, he didn't even know how strong he truly was, because he had never encountered a Mage who could truly contend with him, at least not in this remote small town! Of course, it might also be because the town was too isolated, hence the lack of high-level experts… Archille thought to himself.
The topic seems to have drifted. In reality, the reason he lived such a "struggling" life was entirely due to his laziness~ Unless he was genuinely close to starving, he would absolutely not go out to accept missions! Also, because he hated trouble, he always tried to choose commissions with relatively high rewards, precisely so he wouldn't have to run out to earn money every few days…
Yawning, he swaggered lazily through the town. Before long, he arrived at the town center, right in front of the only Mage Guild!
It was a medium-sized, three-story independent building. Although the exterior was quite worn, it was considered a relatively large structure in this remote town.
He glanced casually at the guild's worn sign. "Forest Pioneers" was the name of this guild!
Without any extra thought, Archille pushed open the guild door and walked in.
"Yo! Isn't that the Unknown Kid! What brings you to our guild today? I haven't seen you in a while! Why aren't you at home keeping your little beauty company, huh? Haha~" The interior was a simple, ordinary hall. The furnishings were sparse, and there were only a handful of people scattered around. They were originally laughing and chatting about something interesting. Hearing the door open, they instinctively looked towards the entrance. Seeing Archille in his large moon-white robe, everyone gave him a welcoming look. A large, bearded man laughed and greeted the entering Archille, adding a few teasing remarks. They clearly all knew Archille.
"Ha ha ha ha—" As the bearded man finished speaking, everyone burst into friendly laughter.
"You go keep the little beauty company…" Hearing this, Archille rolled his eyes, then unceremoniously plopped down on one of the sofas, saying irritably, "And stop calling me Unknown Kid! I have a name!!"
"Did your memory return?!" Hearing this, everyone was predictably startled! They had all known each other for a long time, so they were aware of Archille's memory loss. That's why they jokingly called him 'Unknown Kid,' since he had also forgotten his name. After more than a year of interacting, they were used to him being nameless. But hearing him suddenly say he had a name, their first reaction was that his memory had returned!
The possibility instantly sparked intense curiosity—curiosity about his identity before amnesia!
"Or," the bearded man, who was calmer, asked, "did Laki give you a new name?" Though his first thought was also that Archille had recovered his memory, he immediately thought of an alternative possibility, prioritizing caution!
Hearing this, the original group paused, then immediately snapped out of their excited curiosity. Compared to the former, the Guild Master's suggestion was far more likely!
Instantly, everyone turned their questioning gaze towards Archille.
"A new name? Uh, let's not go there…" Hearing this, Archille instinctively thought of the names Laki had tried to give him. He immediately felt his scalp tingle, frantically waved his hands, and explained, "I remembered this one by recovering a piece of my memory! Uh, granted, I only remembered my name. As for everything else, I still have no clue…" Towards the end, Archille looked utterly frustrated and resigned.
"Don't worry, you'll remember eventually," the bearded man said consolingly, but then asked curiously, "Right, you said you remembered your name, so what is it? Tell us, maybe we can offer some useful clues!"
Hearing this, the others in the guild also chimed in, clearly curious about his real name.
"Archille, my name is Archille…" Although he knew the chances were slim, seeing their genuine goodwill, Archille honestly replied, "I only remember my given name. I have absolutely no recollection of my family name…" He finished with a frustrated shrug. In fact, even knowing his family name wouldn't offer many clues about his past; the world was full of people with the same names…
Sure enough, after hearing the name Archille, everyone sighed, just as Archille had expected. They hadn't found any clues. But being already used to it, he didn't care; he hadn't placed any hope in finding clues based on his name anyway.
"By the way, Guild Master Abdo, do you have any good commissions today that suit my taste?" Archille leaned back on the sofa and asked casually, "I'm practically broke lately. If I don't pick up a job here for some emergency funds, we'll run out of food in two days~"
"Heh heh, you kid, honestly…" Guild Master Abdo, the bearded man and the master of the Forest Pioneers Mage Guild, shook his head, looking both amused and exasperated. He was clearly defeated by Archille's immense nerve and laziness.
"I say, Unknown Kid—cough—my mistake! Archille Kid…" A scrawny man with a pointed face and monkey-like cheeks laughed and suggested, "Since you like coming to our guild to take jobs so much, why don't you just join our Forest Pioneers? After all, our guild is the largest and only one in Ashdon Town! If you join us, wouldn't it be more convenient to accept missions? Not to mention, the fees we charge after you complete a mission would be much lower!! Why not do it? Just join us!!"
Instantly, everyone started loudly agreeing and urging him on. Even Guild Master Abdo couldn't help but look at Archille with anticipation and inquiry. Although they didn't fully understand Archille's strength, his one hundred percent completion rate on all past missions suggested his power was definitely not low! And more importantly, he was only thirteen years old! If he was this strong at thirteen, how strong would he be in the future?!
Everyone present could roughly guess the immense power he might possess one day, so naturally, they didn't want to let him go easily. They thought: How wonderful would it be if we could recruit him into our guild? Our guild might even advance to the next level thanks to his power…
The thought made everyone even more motivated to persuade him. They all shared the same goal—to coax Archille into joining their Forest Pioneers Guild~
"Uh, you guys know it's no use no matter what you say. It's still the same answer: I absolutely won't join any guild until I recover all my memories! After all, I don't know if the 'old me' belonged to a guild. If that's the case, what do I do when I recover my memory? I can't choose one and abandon the other. You know I hate multiple-choice questions the most…" Archille paused here. Seeing the disappointed look on everyone's faces, he felt a little bad, so he reluctantly gave a promise that seemed rather vague for now: "How about this! I promise, if I recover my memory and truly belong to no guild, and the conditions are right, I will definitely join your Forest Pioneers Guild! Of course, if that happens, you'll probably have to change the guild name. It's not that I like complaining, but the name is just too dull, not dominant enough…" He finished with a slight tease about the guild's name.
Hearing this, everyone paused, then burst into hearty laughter.
"Haha! Don't you worry! If you agree to come back then, I'll definitely change our guild's name to something truly dominant!" Abdo slapped his chest firmly, guaranteeing it with a hearty, open laugh.
"But for now, let's look at a commission that meets your requirements." Abdo walked to the request board, carefully examined the slips, then tore off one request and casually tossed it to Archille, saying with a smile, "Take a look at this one. The reward is a generous 500,000 Jewel for completion! Aren't I generous~"
"Oh? You're being this kind?" Despite his words, Archille leaned back on the soft sofa and carefully read the commission slip in his hand.
"Search Mission: Find the specialty of the Nassen Forest—the Nassen Soothing Grass (Qincao), and collect twelve stalks of 100-year-old Nassen Soothing Grass." Archille held up the slip and asked with confusion, "Although this search and collection mission for Nassen Soothing Grass is a bit troublesome, it shouldn't warrant such a high price of 500,000 Jewel, right?"
"Sigh, it would have been true before, but now…" Abdo sighed bitterly, explaining in frustration, "For some unknown reason, rumors of a Demon have suddenly spread throughout Nassen Forest! At first, I didn't believe it much, but after six people, including myself, failed consecutively, it became like this…"
"A Demon, huh. Heh, interesting…" Archille muttered a few words to himself. Then he stretched and stood up, saying lazily, "Then, I, Archille, accept this mission…" With that, he walked towards the exit.
"Be very careful!" Guild Master Abdo immediately warned, his expression unusually serious!
"No need to be so nervous. Oh, right, I forgot to ask. If there's a Demon, how did you guys manage to come back?" As if remembering something, Archille suddenly asked curiously. He was genuinely puzzled. Just as he said, if there was a Demon, how were Abdo and the others still in one piece? They didn't seem to be missing any limbs or anything.
"Don't mention that!!" Hearing this, Abdo's face suddenly became incredibly distressed again. Not just him, but several others, too, looked utterly miserable, like actors changing faces in Sichuan opera! Finally, Abdo growled, "All of us who participated in this mission, just like everyone else who entered Nassen Forest after the Demon appeared, were brutally harmed by the Demon!!! Don't believe me? Look!" With that, he exchanged a silent look with the others whose faces had similarly changed. Then, everyone uniformly placed their hands on their heads, and in Archille's astonished gaze, they all immediately lifted their hair!!
He didn't missee it! They literally lifted their hair!!! After all that fuss, it turned out all of these people were wearing wigs?!!~
"What?! Are you guys converting to Buddhism?!!" Predictably, Archille was instantly stunned by this incredible sight! Staring dumbfounded at the uniform, shiny bald heads, he unconsciously swallowed, wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead, and stammered, "It—it really is a Demon…"
With that, he fled the place as if his life depended on it. He couldn't guarantee that if he kept staring at this magnificent scene, he wouldn't get "infected" too! He had to leave quickly, or if those guys felt unbalanced and shaved his head too, it would be a disaster! He definitely didn't want to become Namo Amitābha (a Buddhist phrase) before saying goodbye to his single life~ Hmm, and definitely not after!!!
Archille thought to himself.
Wait? What is 'converting to Buddhism' (Gūi Yī Wǒ Fó)? After thinking for a moment without figuring out why that term suddenly popped into his head, Archille decisively abandoned the idea of wasting more brain cells.
For now, completing the mission was the priority! And eliminating that "terrifying" Demon! Yes, for universal peace~ And, for his own food supply…