Page 3 of the Roland Town Map Guide...
Newcomers to this line of work are always full of anticipation for the adventures ahead. This feeling is perfectly understandable, but if you don't want to end up as a meal in a Goblin's iron pot, you'd best make ample preparations before setting out.
First are food supplies. While you are free to bring your favorite foods, dried bread and smoked meat slices are good choices if you don't want to take up too much space in your pack. You can buy both of these ingredients in most general stores. If you have time to spare and want something tastier, the stout woman at 2 Harvest Street is highly recommended.
"Dried bread and smoked meat slices, enough for three days..."
Harvest Street was right next to Copper Hammer Street, so it was on the way.
Besides food, he could also buy most of the other necessary supplies here.
First, he bought two sets of clothes to replace the bloodstained ones he was wearing.
Then came a simple tent, a blanket, a water canteen, a compass, a map... and also Insect Repellent, flint, and bandages.
Unlike yesterday's hasty expedition, real Adventurers often couldn't make a round trip in a single day when undertaking certain quests, so they had to consider the possibility of camping in the wild.
Although it was unlikely for Lin Mo to spend the night in the forest alone, it was always better to be overprepared. There was no harm in getting ready in advance.
All these items together cost Lin Mo about 10 Silver Coins.
Lin Mo took stock of his purchases, bought a larger-capacity backpack, and put the supplies inside.
As he walked, he continued flipping through the Roland Town Map Guide in his hands. After the basic strategies, there was more advanced content.
For example, there were strategies for choosing armor and instructions for its maintenance, as well as an introduction to potions and recommendations for alchemy shops...
But for him at the moment, this was all just for browsing.
The reason was simple: he couldn't afford either armor or potions right now.
Compared to weapons, the price of Armor was undoubtedly much higher, especially sturdy Iron Armor and Steel Armor. A full set cost at least 30 gold and up!
Even the relatively cheaper Leather Armor started at 5 gold coins or more.
As for the various Alchemy Medicines... since there happened to be a shop at the end of Harvest Street where he'd just been, Lin Mo went in to take a look.
The owner was a kind-faced old woman. She didn't look at him with disgust because of his poor attire; on the contrary, she patiently gave him an introduction to some of the shop's products.
A Basic Life Potion, which could quickly stop bleeding, instantly heal minor injuries, and alleviate severe ones, was priced at 15 gold per bottle.
A Stone Skin Potion, which could slightly increase physical resistance for a short time, was 30 gold a bottle.
A Thermite Protection Spray, which could be sprayed on a specific area to relieve burns and provide some flame resistance for a short period, was 100 gold coins a bottle.
...
Lin Mo felt too embarrassed to stay for long and quickly left the shop.
For a long time to come, these exorbitantly priced potions would have nothing to do with a low-level Adventurer like him.
It could only be said that Alchemists truly lived up to their reputation as one of the noblest and most profitable Professions on the Continent.
With the basic supply issue resolved, the next step was the most important and critical one before setting out on an adventure—finding a suitable quest.
In fact, Adventurers didn't make a living by hunting Demons. Although that was what they did most of the time, it was fundamentally to complete quests or obtain valuable materials, not for the paltry, incentive-like bounties.
Lin Mo returned to the Adventurer's Association. The Half-Beastman lady was still at her post. Unlike the other counters, which had long lines, the number of people in front of hers was clearly much smaller, and most of them were fellow Half-Beastmen.
Lin Mo looked toward the nearby quest board.
Hanging at the very top was a quest marked with three stars.
[Heart of Red Flame]
Quest ID: C13
Type: Hunt/Material Collection
Client: Lady Julian (43 Harvest Street)
Reward: 3000 gold
Quest Briefing:
A Veteran Adventurer Squad discovered traces of the Lord Level Demon, the Red Flame Tiger King, while investigating the depths of Loran Forest. Travel to the depths of the forest, find and kill the Red Flame Tiger King, and bring back its heart.
Note: The quest objective is required for alchemy research. Be sure to bring a Magic Storage Bag to prevent the item's Magic Power from degrading!
"Tsk tsk..."
'Although I don't know what a Lord Level Demon is, just hearing the name tells me it's definitely not something a rookie like me can afford to provoke.'
'This kind of quest is just for looking at, to feast my eyes. Maybe someday I'll be able to stride over, tear off the quest sheet with a grand wave of my hand, and walk confidently to the counter to accept it.'
It was worth mentioning that the person who posted this quest seemed to be the owner of the Alchemy Shop he had just visited—that kind-faced old woman.
He continued reading and came to a quest marked with two stars.
[Trail of the Silver Goblin]
Quest ID: D109
Type: Intelligence Gathering
Client: Anonymous
Reward: 200 gold
Quest Briefing:
Enter the depths of Loran Forest to investigate possible traces of a Silver Goblin. Corresponding evidence such as skin flakes, droppings, etc., must be brought back as proof.
'Silver Goblin?'
Lin Mo recalled the tall, large Goblin he had encountered yesterday. If he remembered correctly, it was called a Mutated Goblin, and it already possessed simple speech and considerable reasoning abilities.
'It seems there's an even deeper level of mutation beyond that...'