The patter of winter rain fell in a steady stream.
The drizzle swayed gently in the breeze, hitting the waterproof cloak and turning it into a darker color.
The waves hit the small wooden boat tied to the thick wooden piles. The endless sea not far away turned gray because of the color of the sky, and it seemed that something was brewing.
This was the first time Mira saw the sea.
People always talk about how big the world is but how small it is, and how people come and go in this unchanging eternity. Standing in front of the sea, looking at the boundless distance, the white-haired Luo An Loli understood for the first time the concept of the obscure 'world' described in the books Henry gave her.
Before that, she had thought that the small piece of land and the small group of people she knew was the entire world.
But when she chose to wander with the man who claimed to be a sage because of the pressure of life, Mira gradually realized that the world was much bigger than she had realized or even imagined. bigger.
The increase in knowledge and experience has brought about some changes in her state of mind. Henry's voice shouted from behind, and Mira turned around.
"I found it." The sage was carrying a large bundle of hemp rope on his back. There were several dark black iron hooks tied to the ends of the hemp rope. Mira now knew that this was because these hooks had been quenched, and the blacksmiths would The metal is put into a boiler and heated to a very high temperature and then put into water to cool down instantly. This behavior makes the steel extremely hard and difficult to damage.
She walked towards Henry.
It was already winter, and the previous mission in Pan-Lucian still yielded no results in the end. There are too many people there, and there are many experienced hunters who are more experienced than them. Coupled with the year-round human activities, it is too difficult for novices to successfully hunt.
But Mira has grown a lot in more than two months. Henry feels that it would not be too dangerous to take her to perform tasks that can improve the mercenary listing level, so the two of them met in a week. Returned to Prosper before.
New mercenaries are registered almost every two or three days. Naturally, various tasks in the bustling capital of Sivaliya are quickly taken over by others.
Except for some of the so-called "free tasks" that can be received repeatedly, most of the listed tasks are limited to one-on-one.
Because most of them are private tasks, an employer, a mercenary team or an individual adventurer. You must log in to your own mercenary account when accepting it. If you complete the task and the employer is satisfied, your evaluation will naturally increase.
And if you fail, then depending on the situation, what you may get ranges from getting a bad reputation to the mercenary guild permanently expelling you and prohibiting you from accepting any listed tasks.
The mercenary guild does not support lazy people and waste. This is a place where strength is paramount. Those who can prove that they have good skills will naturally be promoted quickly.
——To return to the original point, in such a highly competitive place, it is obviously extremely difficult for the two of them to find a task that is suitable for the current Mira—even though she has improved a lot.
There are not many listed tasks, because as long as you can afford to pay, you can entrust them with anything, so there is an endless stream of them. However, the nature of the mercenary guild determines that the tasks entrusted are usually tasks related to swords, guns, swords and sticks, involving combat. As for these things, to be honest, Henry doesn’t want Mira to touch them yet.
To sum up, there are only a handful of listed tasks that do not require combat and can improve the evaluation. Even if there are, they will be picked up by others quickly. So in the end, the only ones left are those that do not require combat but are very difficult. task.
What the two are currently executing is one of them.
The mission is to obtain the eggs and nests of rock petrels on the cliffs of Prosper Strait.
This can be said to be a very remunerative task. The reward of 5 Sivaliya gold coins is much higher than the task of hunting the big wild boar that Alan and the others did together.
It’s no wonder that the bird’s nests of rock petrels, which are said to be rich in nutrients and delicious, are treasures favored by some big nobles and big businessmen. In the eyes of those people, if they don’t cost more than a hundred gold coins, they may not be considered valuable. A sum of money.
The reward for the mission is quite generous, but the reason why it has not been completed so far and is left to Henry and Mira is that the location of the Rock Petrel's nest is located on the towering cliffs of Prosper Strait.
Almost no one comes to this cliff except masons, and even the masons only dig limestone from the roots of the cliff to use as building materials.
The year-round mining of stones from here has made the entire cliff even more steep. There is an almost five-meter-high area below the entire Prosper Cliff that is recessed several meters inward. Some of the blackened support wood is still there. Abandoned corner stones were randomly discarded next to it, and a rotten wooden shelf drooped on the side, letting the rain get wet.
——There is no leverage point.
The bottom of the entire cliff is sunken inwards, making it impossible for humans to climb even the common chamois in the Tako Sunstein Wilderness.
Perhaps because of this, the alert rock petrels chose to build their nests here.
So how did people in the past obtain their bird's nests? ——Since many people have tasted it and praised it highly, then there must be a way for someone to get it.
The answer is not clear, because from the average person's point of view, climbing from below is obviously not possible, but if you want to talk about rappelling from above——
There is only a layer of weathered soil above the Prosper cliff, and further down is the hard layer of limestone. Therefore, trees are definitely unable to take root here. There is only a thin layer of soil and there is not even grass on it. So you have to Where is the rope fixed?
The plan given by the sage is to use hardened iron hooks, not one or two, but a whole row.
Mira didn't know if this plan had been used before, but after Henry visually confirmed the location of the bird's nest from below, the two returned to the top again, and she watched Henry unfold the entire thick hemp rope. Then one by one he smashed the black iron hooks into the soil and hooked them on the brittle rocks.
There were about ten hooks in total. While pulling them all out in a straight line and fixing them, Henry began to explain to the confused Mira.
"This is a common method in the four northern islands." He said: "In winter when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, when you want to go up the mountain, you use hemp rope, tie several thick nooses, and then throw them to the top of the mountain."
"The nooses will catch the soft snow, and then as long as you pull down, they will sink in. When the nooses sink deep enough and are blocked by hundreds of kilograms of snow, the pulling force on the other side will It's enough to bear your weight." Henry said, and Mira nodded in understanding.
"Of course our problem now is that there is not enough thick snow or soil here, and the rock as a support is too fragile - so we can only choose the second method." The sage used the end of the dagger to put the last hook. Knocked in, then squatted on the ground and looked at Mira.
"Quality is not enough, quantity must be made up. If one or two hooks will easily break and loosen, use a large number of hooks. The weight will be evenly borne by a dozen hooks. There will not be a situation where a few stress points cannot bear the impact of an accident." ." Henry shrugged and stood up.
"Anyway, you're not the one to go down if there's an accident, right?" Mira rolled her eyes at him. It was agreed that she would go down to pick the bird's nests, and the sage would be responsible for the preparations and safety.
"After all, you are much lighter than me." Henry shrugged again, while Mira took off her armed belt and put on the leather bag used to store items: "Mr. Sage is really the worst adult. ”
It was drizzling. Mira took off her armor belt and her cloak and put them next to her. Then she tied up her long hair. She wrapped the single ponytail with a cloth strip a few times and tied it into a ball and fixed it behind her head to avoid any interference. to action.
Then she took a deep breath and breathed out deeply.
The girl was still a little trembling. After all, the cliff seemed so high. If she fell, she would definitely die without any body parts.
She glanced at Henry again. 'Even if something happens, there is still this person here', these were the words she silently recited in her heart. The girl who felt at ease fixed the hemp rope under the guidance of the sage, and then stepped against the rock face of the cliff to move cautiously. Go down.
The rain-soaked rock surface was a little slippery, so Mira was very careful.
Fortunately, nothing happened. The rope withstood her weight just as Henry explained. After picking off several bird's nests and putting them back into the leather bag she carried, the girl did not hesitate anymore after meeting the task requirements. , grabbed the hemp rope tightly and climbed up again.
"Huh...huh" Mira, who felt the solid earth again, knelt down and sat on the ground as soon as her feet softened. She gasped for air, and it took a long time before she finally recovered.
"Let's go." Henry smiled slightly and was about to put away the hemp rope when he suddenly saw two men in cloaks running quickly from the distance where the visibility had been reduced due to the drizzle.
"We should be the only ones to receive this mission, right?" Mira frowned. She didn't think anyone else would come out in this weather. Even the fishermen below who occasionally went fishing on rainy days tied up their boats and returned. Go home.
"Yeah, but if something happens to us, it will become a task that can be accepted again." Henry straightened up, but he had not yet touched the sword behind his back.
"Accident?" Mira didn't react for a moment.
"For example, die." Henry shrugged: "Then other mercenaries can get the reward."
"...It's so dirty." Mira's adjectives were in the Shivalier style. Due to the learning of language and other knowledge, her current wording was quite different from before.
"Five Sivalier gold coins are a lot of money for some people." Henry turned his head and watched Mira put down the leather bag and then picked up the armed belt again and tied it quickly on her body. The two people on the opposite side quickly approached, and when they were about five meters away, they took off their cloaks and drew their weapons.
"Haha, it seems that you know why we are here. If you are wise, you should give up this mission as soon as possible." The people who came were all young men, wearing simple equipment and wielding weapons that were as useless as the iron one-handed sword in Mira's hand. Er's weapon, to put it that way, looks like someone who knows how to do this kind of thing.
"Both of them also have green cards, and they don't look very good. I will deal with one and leave the other to you. Can you do it?" Henry said in the same calm tone as if he was strolling in the garden, Mira swallowed a gulp of saliva, drew out her one-handed sword and stood ready.
"Remember, keep an eye on all directions and listen on all directions. Be wary of any move of your opponent, and then react quickly. The most important thing is to protect yourself. Do you understand?" The two young men, who thought they were menacing, looked at the tall subordinate. The mercenary didn't even draw his weapon but was talking about basic points to the loli next to him, and he felt very angry all of a sudden.
"Who do you think you are!" The man who was facing Henry closed the distance first and stabbed him with a sword, while the other man instantly chopped off the half-sword in his hand with a cassock. The gesture moved towards Mira.
"..." The reactions of the two people formed a sharp contrast. The sage half-closed his eyes and just turned sideways to avoid the opponent's attack, while Mira hurriedly took a few steps back behind her.
"Be careful, there is a cliff behind you." Henry said. The green mercenary who attacked him gritted his teeth and swung his sword again with an angry face. The sage avoided it while not forgetting to remind Mira. .
"..." The girl pursed her lips tightly as she concentrated on recalling her studies during this period.
Henry's ten days of sparring with her were not in vain. When the opponent came forward again and tried to slash her with a cassock chop, the memory hidden in his muscles made Mira move before thinking. got up.
"Crack--!" The soles of her feet in small leather boots kicked hard on the ground, and the excavated soil fell toward the bottom of the cliff, revealing the gray limestone surface. Mira did not retreat but moved forward, moving towards the opponent because of her high altitude. He rushed forward with his sword and exposed chest.
But her movements were still not skilled enough after all. The long sword she started to swing after rushing out was blocked by her more experienced opponent who reacted hastily.
"Clang-" The reaction force from the long sword made her fingers numb, sparks flew everywhere, and curled blades and small gaps appeared where the two weapons collided.
"Damn it!" The red-haired green mercenary who faced Mira cursed, then slightly adjusted his posture and stabbed him with his sword.
"!" Stabs that were faster and more difficult to intercept were the girl's current weakness, but she suppressed her panic, and after a moment of hesitation, she quickly reacted and turned her body to the side.
"Clang-Clang-" This action was a little late after all, but fortunately Mira, who was wearing a close-fitting leather armor mixed with chain armor, was not really hurt. The iron one-handed and a half sword that was not sharp enough only cut open the skin. On the surface of the armor, the impact made the girl's chest feel a little tight, but she kept in mind Henry's teachings - Every attack by the opponent will reveal flaws and there will be opportunities to exploit - Mira did not let go of this opportunity.
"Haha!" The girl used all her strength to swing the sword with one hand, but the opponent was also retracting his body back at the same time. Therefore, when the long sword came into contact with the body of the red-haired lower-level mercenary, it hit him Only the tip of the sword - even that is enough.
The gap in equipment became apparent at this moment. The armor worn by the lower-level mercenaries was more like a leather jacket than leather armor. The sharpened one-handed long sword easily split it, cut through the skin and hit the collarbone. The severe pain made the young man scream, but Mira's lack of strength also meant that she only caused flesh wounds. .
All this happened in a flash of lightning. When another lower-level mercenary with brown hair saw Mira being hit and Henry looking at the other side with concern, he thought he would have a chance, but he immediately felt Something roared towards his face at a speed faster than lightning.
"Bang -" The clear sound of gun collision attracted the attention of the two people on this side. They looked back and saw the tall sage's claw-like hands tightly grasping the lower-level mercenary's face. , he tried to resist with the hand holding the sword, but Henry's left hand grabbed his wrist and twisted it, disarming him easily.
"..." Immediately afterwards, the sage carried this young man who seemed to weigh at least sixty or seventy kilograms with one hand, spun him around half a circle and threw him out.
"Pah-pah." The lower-level mercenary who fell heavily to the ground rubbed away the soil and knocked out two front teeth on the rock. A pool of blood flowed out. The drizzle hit his head, and half of his face quickly swelled. He stood there and screamed loudly in pain.
"You...you..." The red-haired mercenary, whose left collarbone was slashed by Mira, gritted his teeth and looked at the two of them hatefully: "You'd better be younger in the future -" He hadn't finished his cruel words yet. , Henry stamped his foot and was so frightened that he turned around and ran away from the back.
"Ouch... Ouch, it hurts..." The brown-haired mercenary covered his bleeding mouth and hesitated for a while. He looked timidly to this side for a while. Henry sighed, and then picked up the long sword on the ground. Throw it back.
"Go away, be honest from now on." The sage said this, and the mercenary who regained the tools he relied on for a living kept saying with a leaky mouth: "It's a waste of time, it's a waste of time, and the side dishes are no longer in the way. ."
The attacker fled in panic, while Mira, who had experienced the first real combat in her career as a mercenary, sat directly on the ground as if she had collapsed.
"Hooah...hooah..." She gasped for breath, and Henry came over and looked at the girl closely to determine whether she was injured.
"I'm fine... I just feel more tired than traveling for a week."
She said this, and the sage did not comment, but smiled slightly and touched her little head that was soaked by the rain.
