Cody was squatting on the branch of a tree with his new bow in his hands. If he was correct—which, obviously, he was since he was the main character—then a member of the Red Blade Adventurers would be passing by this location soon. Cody had been waiting in the same position for several hours now, but he ignored his stiff muscles. He knew his abilities best. If he was going to kill an S-ranked adventurer, there was no way he’d accomplish it in fair combat. Besides, playing fair was for suckers. If he could ambush someone, he’d ambush them. Why take any additional risk?

Another two hours passed, and just as Cody was debating on whether to go down the tree to take a dump or take the dump in the tree’s branches, his patience paid off. A man in a blue robe appeared in Cody’s view. Considering the fact Virlyce hadn’t described characters’ appearances all that well in The Blue Mage Raised by Dragons, Cody wasn’t completely sure the man was a part of the Red Blade Adventurers, but he did know one of the adventurers wore a blue robe. He pulled back his arrow which had been resting on his bow for the past ten hours or so. The movement was silent, and Cody was sure his target hadn’t noticed him.

Cody took in a deep breath and activated his bow’s effect, Aeris’ blessing. He had no idea what the blessing even did; if he had more time, he would’ve tested it out beforehand, but it could only be used once a month. A green line appeared on the arrow’s shaft, and Cody assumed the blessing had been granted. He raised the bow and released, firing the arrow at the robed man’s head. Before the arrow had even left Cody’s bow, the man reacted. He raised his staff, and a sheen appeared in the air in front of him like an opaque pane of glass.

Cody swore in his mind. Of all the members he could’ve been fighting, he had to get the mage, the only one capable of fighting back at a distance. By the time the arrow reached the barrier, there was already a fireball hovering over the man’s staff, and it was growing without pause. Cody already knew what was coming next. His arrow would be blocked, and the fireball would come flying. He leapt off the branch while keeping an eye on his target, flapping his wings to slow his descent. However, contrary to his expectations, the fireball didn’t come. Instead, the arrow pierced straight through the barrier and the robed man’s head, leaving a bloody hole behind. The arrow continued forward into the ground, leaving behind a hole.

Cody blinked hard, wondering if he had just been tricked by an illusion. It didn’t seem like an illusion though. He shot another arrow at the man’s collapsed body, and it sunk into his chest with a squelch. Cody’s brow furrowed, and he approached his target. The first thing he did was take the staff, separating it from the robed man in case it really was a trick.

[Obtained Zul’s Staff (Rare)]

[Zul’s Staff (Rare): A good mage is prepared for every situation … except the one that kills him. Allows the user to cast Detect Trap (1 Charge), Spell Shield (2 Charges), or Fireball (4 Charges).]

[Detect Trap: Detects magical traps within a five-meter radius.]

[Spell Shield: Summons a windshield-sized shield strong enough to block bullets.]

[Fireball: Conjures a fireball above the staff. Flick the staff in the direction you wish the fireball to go.]

[Current Charges: 3/10. The staff replenishes one charge at noon every day.]

Cody relaxed. Since the item was real, then this whole scenario likely wasn’t an illusion. However, according to the item description, that opaque shield should’ve been strong enough to block bullets, but it wasn’t able to block an arrow. It must’ve been due to Aeris’ blessing. Cody glanced at his bow. “I’ll offer up some sweets to you as soon as I get back to town.”

After making that promise, Cody examined the rest of the dead man’s things. The robes were surprisingly just ordinary clothes, but considering how expensive it was to buy equipment in this world, he felt like it made sense. At this point in time, the Red Blade Adventurers weren’t that rich or strong yet. A sigh escaped from Cody’s lips when he realized the man wasn’t the one carrying the dragon egg. Other than the staff, a few potions, and some silver coins, there wasn’t anything else. There wasn’t anything Cody could do but hope his party members had better luck.

***

“Luis!”

Claire flinched. Not too long ago, her party had just done the most daring thing they had ever attempted: they stole an egg from a dragon. Afterwards, against her wishes, the team had split up. Humans weren’t quite sure how dragons worked. What if they could track down the humans who had invaded their nest by smell? To confuse them, the adventurers split up to increase their chances of getting out alive; after all, if a dragon wanted to kill them, even with the six of them working together, all they could do was roll over and die. Thanks to the seemingly unending amounts of adrenaline running through her body, Claire was especially jumpy, and that simple shout earlier had nearly caused her to have an anxiety attack.

“Luis!”

Claire swallowed and gripped her staff. The voice sounded like it belonged to an old woman, but she wasn’t going to take her chances. She continued down the path, and a small, hunched figure came into view. An old lady was stumbling through the woods with a walking stick. There were tears in her eyes, and judging by the cracks in the woman’s lips, she had been shouting for a very long time.

“Lu—” The old lady stopped mid-shout. She staggered towards Claire, and the young woman instinctively took a step back, a bit shocked by the old lady’s intense eyes. “Have you seen my grandson? He’s just a little boy, no taller than my chest.”

“No,” Claire said, shaking her head. The old lady seemed harmless, but Claire didn’t relax. “Why is he out so deep in the forest?”

“My daughter is sick,” the old lady said. “Luis heard from the adventurers passing through our town that the wilderness had all kinds of magical herbs. Every day, he’d ask me to take him to the wilderness, but I always stopped him. Who knew that he’d sneak out when I was sleeping! If it weren’t for those adventurers and their loud mouths, I—!”

Claire exhaled. Situations like this were actually pretty common. People glorified adventure, but they always underestimated the hardships that came with being an adventurer. The poor kid must’ve thought he could walk into the wilderness and save his mom, but all he ended up doing was throwing his life away. Of course, it might not be too late to save him. “How long ago did he enter the forest? Does he know any basic survival skills?”

The old lady’s eyes widened. “You’ll help me?” She staggered forward, hobbling along with her walking stick. “You’ll help me find my grandson?”

Claire sighed. She was an adventurer, but she wasn’t heartless. However, she was currently in the middle of a mission. “I’m actually in a hurry, but I can give you a few buffs.”

The old lady clasped her hands around Claire’s. “Thank you. Oh, thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” Claire said. The old lady was still holding her hands, so she couldn’t raise her staff, but Claire didn’t mind. However, she did mind what happened next. The old lady lashed out with her foot, kicking Claire’s thigh. If it was just a normal kick, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but to Claire, it felt like someone had poured liquid fire into her leg. The heat and pain spread up and down her thigh, setting her nerves ablaze. Before she could even scream, there was another stabbing pain in her arm. The old lady had a spike growing out of wrist, and at the moment, it was embedded in Claire’s hand. Her staff was wrenched away, and the last thing she saw was the old lady swinging it like a baseball bat.

Ella glanced down at her fleshwatch, ignoring her collapsed opponent.

[Obtained Claire’s Staff (Rare)]

[Claire’s Staff (Rare): For all things in the world, there are the good, and there are the bad. What makes someone a good white mage? What makes someone a bad white mage? Is it skill? Awareness? Compassion? No. It’s money. This staff is reserved for the rich. Allows the user to cast Stitch (1 Charge), Staunch (1 Charge), Panacea (2 Charges), Exorcise (2 Charges), or Regeneration (5 Charges). The top end of the staff must be pointed at the target.]

[Stitch: Closes target’s wounds.]

[Staunch: Stops target’s bleeding.]

[Panacea: Removes poison and paralysis from target.]

[Exorcise: Removes curses from target.]

[Regeneration: Regrows target’s limbs.]

[Current Charges: 42/50. Pay 1,000 points to replenish all charges.]

Ella sighed and shook her head upon reading the staff’s effects. It seemed like the rules of Earth applied to the rules of this dimension as well. If one wanted good things, the fastest way to obtain them was by stealing from others. Ella rummaged through the rest of Claire’s things, but didn’t find the dragon egg. However, she did find a cross necklace.

[Obtained Claire’s Necklace (Rare)]

[Claire’s Necklace (Rare): Wear this to keep ghosts away. What? Ghosts don’t exist? What’s that behind you then?]

Ella turned around, but nothing was there. What a dumb item description.

***

Aakash sat with his back against a tree. Two of his heads were drooping, their eyes closed, drool leaking from their mouths. As for the remaining head, it was staring straight ahead. He hadn’t laid any traps, hadn’t set any ambushes. With his own ability, he had cleared the first and second stages. He didn’t need tricks to clear this one as well. In the modern day, there weren’t many people who practiced their swordsmanship. As to why, that was simple. It didn’t make money. However, swordsmanship was Aakash’s hobby—to be more specific, he was into Renaissance fairs and participated in the sword duels. While he couldn’t live up to his parents’ expectations of him becoming a doctor, he could at least take solace in the fact he had never lost a duel before. Who could’ve known that swordsmanship training was more useful in the end?

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Aakash’s eyes flashed open. He picked up his sabers, all six of them, and rose to his feet. A lone figure came into view, a man with a blue bandana. He was Zeke, the Red Blade Adventurers’ rogue. Befitting of a rogue, Zeke’s words were uncouth. “And what the fuck are you supposed to be?”

“Leave your things behind, and I’ll spare your life,” Aakash said, his words vibrating, his mouths speaking at the same time.

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Zeke said and grinned. He unsheathed the daggers by his waist and charged forward. Aakash raised his arms, his sabers ready to guard against attacks from any direction. In a fight, a two-handed boxer would beat a one-handed boxer. A six-armed swordsman would defeat a two-armed swordsman. It was simple math. Seeing the daggers in Zeke’s hands further boosted Aakash’s confidence. Not only did he have the advantage in numbers, he also had the advantage in range. The only problem was Zeke didn’t have a bag; the dragon egg wasn’t with him. Without the spoils, it’d detract from Aakash’s achievement.

“I hope you’re ready for this, freak!” Zeke shouted, his speed suddenly increasing. He raised his dagger, and two of Aakash’s arms prepared to block the attack. Then, the attack never came. Zeke jumped to the side and sprinted into the wilderness, disappearing into the woods. “When it comes to running, no one is faster than me!”

Aakash frowned before running after the rogue. Even if the man wasn’t carrying the dragon egg, Aakash couldn’t let him get away. What if the man grouped up with another member of the Red Blade Adventurers? If Aakash wasn’t mistaken, he was pretty sure the man was running in Yeoman’s direction.