No need to guess who it was…
“Ya Ya?” Mo Tan looked up at the girl who had sprinted in front of him, smiling gently at her, “What’s wrong?”
He had a good impression of this seemingly extremely pure and lovely girl. Although she had caused him a little trouble before, Ya Ya clearly didn't do it on purpose. After all, this girl looked innocent and inexperienced no matter how you looked at her.
The girl rubbed her cheek against Mo Tan’s shoulder, her pointed beast ears slightly pulled back, and her light green eyes were full of grievance. She mumbled hesitantly, “Quest… Woof Woof… Can’t take… No Woof Woof wants… Stomach so Woof Woof…”
Gurgle~
The girl’s stomach growled at just the right moment, as if to help translate for her.
Mo Tan roughly understood about seventy percent of the content, which meant he basically grasped the general idea. He then prepared to find a shop to buy some food for Ya Ya, but after taking a step, he remembered that his current character was completely broke. Although he had a few decent low-level pieces of equipment, he didn't have a single coin…
“I’m going to the Adventurers' Guild anyway, you might as well come along.” Mo Tan waved to Ya Ya, “If there’s an easier quest, that’s best. If not, I still have a way to get you something to eat.”
His method was quite simple: find a place to sell the iron sword that the character Mo had received when he first logged in. Theoretically, it should fetch some money. After all, Mag had already given him a new set of equipment, which included an excellent quality black steel longsword, so the initial weapon he received was basically useless and selling it wouldn't be a big problem.
“Woof!” Ya Ya nodded vigorously, following closely behind Mo Tan, her fluffy tail wagging rapidly, “Thank you~”
The sweetness in her smile had at least eight plus signs!
Seven or eight minutes later, the two arrived at the first-floor hall of the Adventurers' Guild. Just as Mo Tan was about to choose a quest, the receptionist Miss Chris, who he had met twice before, suddenly appeared from somewhere and patted his shoulder hard, “Hey, it’s fine for you to take a quest, but you can’t let this little girl participate.”
Mo Tan was slightly taken aback, “Why?”
Ya Ya also looked at Miss Chris with her watery big eyes, and her stomach made another ‘gurgle’ sound.
“To avoid potential problems.” The other party shrugged, casually pulled out a bone stick from somewhere and handed it to Ya Ya, then crossed her arms and shook her head, “She can’t explain why she suddenly went crazy and demolished a house, and we can’t be sure if the same situation will happen again, so she can’t accept individual quests for a short period.”
Mo Tan understood this. After all, he had heard about Ya Ya’s ‘feat’ before. Although he couldn't imagine how this seemingly harmless dog-girl managed to do it, the branch’s decision was not flawed, and it was also a form of protection for Ya Ya.
It was fine that she got knocked out by an explosion after stepping on a step while trying to demolish a certain goblin couple’s house, but what if she accidentally overturned the stall of some reclusive master next time…
Like a sharp-mouthed, thunder-god-faced person named Sun who achieved brilliant results in religious endeavors and then disappeared into the city~
Like a white-bearded old man who waited for his fated one at the bottom of a cliff for hundreds of years, then climbed up and changed careers to sell vegetables~
Like a Saiyan teenager with alien blood who, due to a twist of fate, crashed into his head when he landed on Earth and spent most of his time chopping wood and fishing in the mountains~
Although he always felt that these examples seemed a bit off, there were indeed many hidden masters in Innocent Continent who usually didn't show off their strength. Compared to fighting evil forces or good forces, these people preferred a simple and peaceful life…
If Ya Ya really accidentally offended a few low-key Sword Sages or Gods of Law, it would be a big problem.
“How about you wait here first.” Mo Tan looked at Ya Ya and spread his hands, “I’ll go do a simple quest?”
He wasn't taking care of Ya Ya just because she was pretty, cute, and a bit naive. The main reasons were, on one hand, that this girl was truly pitiful and seemed a bit simple-minded, and on the other hand, it was out of a desire to care for wild animals and girls with disabilities (language function) (a bit stubborn in the head). He just felt it wasn’t right to leave her…
This had nothing to do with the other person’s race, gender, appearance, or background. It only depended on whether Mo Tan felt he should offer a helping hand, and in most cases, he was willing to help anyone in distress, provided that the person was worth helping, and such people were actually not as many as we imagine, in fact, they were very few…
Otherwise, Mo Tan wouldn’t be able to do anything else in his current personality.
“Hmm?” Ya Ya, who was crunching the last bit of food in her mouth, paused, then looked up at Mo Tan and reacted for a moment, immediately pouting pitifully and letting out a whimper.
Is she worried about being abandoned?
Mo Tan gave a wry smile. He and this girl didn't seem to have any relationship to begin with. What was with this feeling of being treated as a feeder…
“What kind of bizarre atavism is this?” Miss Chris also covered her forehead weakly and chuckled dryly, “If her other kin saw this girl, they might even want to kill her to preserve the average intelligence of their entire race.”
Hey, what you said is a bit harsh!
Mo Tan rubbed Ya Ya’s head and asked Miss Chris, “So, she’ll always be unable to take quests or anything like that?”
“That’s not it.” The other party shook her head, “It’s fine if it’s in the form of an adventurer team. We just need to know that someone is watching her, and that there’s someone who can control her or take the blame. Uh, a temporary team is also fine, as long as it’s registered. So, what do you mean…?”
Mo Tan nodded.
“No.” Unexpectedly, Miss Chris shook her index finger, “adventurer teams are usually three to five people. It’s useless for you to try and help her, and this girl’s previous incident has already spread. It’s basically impossible to find a second foolish… I mean, adventurer willing to team up with her.”
Ya Ya squatted down dejectedly, hugging her legs, her pointed ears drooping listlessly, “Hmm, many woofs, they all avoid me woof.”
“So, you should first learn to speak human language properly, then…” Miss Chris’s expression suddenly froze here, and she abruptly looked up and shouted in Mo Tan’s direction, “Don’t come over here!”
The latter was immediately bewildered, then he smelled an extremely ominous burning smell coming from behind him. He turned around and his legs immediately trembled.
The first thing that caught his eye was a staff constantly emitting wisps of black smoke. To be honest, if this thing was called 【Crazy Ivan’s Walking Stick】, Mo Tan wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest… If there were lightning balls or Electrode attached to the staff head, it would be even more fitting for its image…
“Hi~ Young man.” The self-destructing walking stick… I mean, the smoking staff’s owner stroked his beard and smiled gently at Mo Tan, “Perhaps we are sharing the same troubles right now. Want to form a team? I’ve been waiting for a second person for several days.”
Looking at him, he must have completely forgotten about almost blowing up the young man in front of him last time.
However, the conversation between the few people just now seemed to have been overheard by him, so he enthusiastically came over.
“Jia Deka!” Miss Chris retreated several steps, taking a defensive stance, “You’ve lived so long. If you really get blown up by that thing one day, it would be heaven’s will, but stop thinking about harming others, okay?!”
The Old Mage chuckled awkwardly, “Don’t say it so harshly, Miss Chris. If I couldn’t take solo quests, I wouldn’t be staking out here every day.”
Mo Tan finally reacted. It turned out that this Archmage had received the same treatment as Ya Ya, but the difference was that the latter was confused about the situation, while the former was probably described as 'incorrigible' in the eyes of the branch. Indeed…
“If you change your profession to a warrior, not only can I cancel all your restrictions, but I’m also willing to directly promote you to an intermediate adventurer.” Miss Chris, who finally had a name, waved her hand as if shooing a fly, “So quickly throw away that unstable explosive in your hand.”
The Old Mage’s expression stiffened, and he said with a wry smile, “This is a bit too much…”
“If you don’t want to, then get out!” Chris glared at him fiercely, “I don’t accept bargaining!”
Jia Deka, who had great warrior talent and an impressive physique (or he would have died early), sighed, turning to walk away with a long sigh, holding tightly onto the stick that was constantly spewing sparks, looking as if he would rather die than let go.
“Um, please wait a moment…”
Suddenly, a somewhat helpless voice sounded from behind him. Jia Deka turned around and saw the Half-Dragon young man raising his arm slightly and asking him, “If you can guarantee not to blow us up… and also not affect the quest… the two of us are waiting for a mage here.”
Jia Deka was stunned. He hadn't heard anyone seriously call him ‘Mage’ for so many years, and even knowing some of his characteristics, Mo Tan’s words just now almost made the old man’s eyes red.
He placed his left hand on top of the unstable explosive, and after two failed attempts at casting, he covered it with a thin layer of frost. Then he turned and slowly walked back, bowing slightly to Mo Tan and Ya Ya, “Junior Mage Jia DeKa·Di SaiEr is willing to serve you two.”
“Are you serious?” Chris looked at Mo Tan with an expression as if she was looking at a common Zaku pilot who declared he would challenge the God of Law, or simply a grave mound where wild grass had grown two zhang high, “You’re going to team up with Jia Deka?!”
Mo Tan nodded, “I think we can try.”
Although he knew he might be playing with fire, or rather, playing with lightning, Mo Tan still felt that this old man, who had always adhered to the path of a mage, deserved respect.
Everyone has dreams, and among them, some are particularly admirable…
People who, despite lacking ability, ultimately achieve success through hard work.
People who can decisively give up their dreams and, for others, society, country, or honor, choose another path and devote everything to shine brightly.
And people who, despite seeing no hope, still bravely and unswervingly stick to their original dreams, unwilling to give up no matter how many setbacks they encounter.
Jia Deka clearly belonged to the latter…
Too many people, when young or in their childhood, pursued many things that now, looking back, seem like jokes: music, painting, basketball, science, entertainment…
But in the end, most people chose another, more realistic future that did not align with their original aspirations.
This is not sad, because life always has too many helplessness and changes, and everyone is given different talents, but those dreams hidden deep within our hearts have never disappeared. They are still stirring at all times, only as we grow older and more experienced, as we become more realistic, they are hidden better and better.
A person who has become a football superstar might have their biggest hobby be playing basketball on a street court for an afternoon, so badly that even elementary school students can't bear to watch.
A well-known financial magnate might particularly enjoy, when alone, using his tuneless, broken voice to create a lot of meaningless noise that scares children.
Entertainers or singers who often appear on television might also harbor the heart of a scientist, even though they might blow up half a desk doing an oxygen experiment.
Dreams have never died. Perhaps given a chance to choose again, many people would embark on a more ordinary path, one that might even lead to starvation, but one that is vastly different from their current one.
But Jia Deka is different from most people. His dream not only didn’t die, but it almost caused many people to die… Sorry, I got sidetracked…
I mean, even though he completely, thoroughly, and extremely lacked talent as a mage, he still clung to this dream, enduring countless cold shoulders and criticisms on this path, and even with one foot in the grave, he remained without regret.
Mo Tan respected such a person, and he now had an opportunity to make this old man feel better, so he made a decision that he would be incredibly grateful for in the future.
Acknowledge and accept him.
As long as he always kept himself at full health, he shouldn't be easily blown up. Although Ya Ya looked quite delicate, she should be much stronger than him, and according to Mag, Half-Orcs generally have good physiques.
“Alright, alright~” Miss Chris nodded helplessly, “Since you two have no objections, I can help register you and recommend a quest that isn’t too difficult and shouldn’t cause any trouble. Come with me.”
So the three of them obediently followed her to an empty display window.
After going behind it and simply registering the three as a ‘temporary adventurer team’, with Mo Tan, who seemed the most reliable, listed as the leader, Miss Chris said to the three in a low voice, “There’s a farm not far south of Anka Market. Its owner posted a time-sensitive quest this morning, which is to help him guard the place for a day. It’s quest number 4414, and no one has taken it yet…”
The three nodded eagerly.
“Then I’ll register it for you.” Miss Chris leaned her chin on her hand, looking at them ungracefully, and said fiercely, “This kind of quest, anyone can handle it. If you guys mess it up too…”
Mo Tan and the others simultaneously swallowed with a ‘gulp’.
“Then go die ten thousand times for me!”
Chapter 45: End