## Chapter 74: Depart
Unexpectedly, when I turned around, the person standing behind me was a tall, sturdy woman, not anyone I knew.
She wore the tight leather clothes favored by Mercenaries. Her facial features were sharp and rugged, like a man's, filled with heroic spirit and resolute expression. Her age was hard to judge, she looked around 30, but she gave off a feeling of greater world-weariness. What left the deepest impression was the smell of alcohol all over her Body and her fiery red shoulder-length short hair. In her hand, she held a large bottle, which was likely the source of the alcohol smell. Although her whole Body reeked of alcohol, the Feeling she gave off was not unpleasant. She had a kind and casual Appearance, as if she was instantly familiar with everyone she met and wouldn't become cold or wary just because you were a stranger. Such a person was quite like those unrestrained wanderers from the ancient times of my original world. Uh, a drunken female knight-errant in the early morning...
From her Appearance, if I wasn't mistaken, she should be one of the Elders of the Rogue Encampment, Kashya, who holds military authority over the entire Rogue Encampment.
"Kid, I see you're tall and mighty, with extraordinary Presence. How about it, how about helping me out?"
If I hadn't seen Stephen Chow's 'Effort', I might have been bluffed by her words for a moment. But unfortunately, I had seen it, and more than once. When she said that, it made me wary instead. Just grab any Barbarian off the street, which one isn't taller and mightier than me? As for Presence, I think your Presence is much stronger than mine.
"Lady Kashya, what do you need help with?" I said with a grin. She gave off a very easygoing Feeling, making it hard for people to act overly respectful towards her. Perhaps, this was exactly what she wanted.
"Oh, you know me, that makes things easier. Come, come."
She casually patted my shoulder, leading me to a rotten, fallen Tree Trunk by the roadside. She lightly kicked it with her foot, shaking off the accumulated snow on top. Ignoring the wet and cold, she plopped down onto it. Then she took a swig from the bottle in her hand and exhaled a puff of white mist carrying a strong smell of alcohol.
"You're Wu Fan, right, kid? I've heard a lot about you at Akara's Place. Seeing your Strength/Power seems decent, so I'd like you to help me out!"
"Kill Blood Raven?" I replied immediately without thinking.
"That's right. Let me tell you, this is a glorious Quest. I wouldn't let just anyone help with it." She took another drink, looking like you should feel honored.
This time it was my turn to be surprised. "Lady Kashya, aren't you surprised I knew what you were going to say?"
"Are you an idiot? Which Class Changer in the Rogue Encampment who's reached level 10 haven't I said this to? What's so strange about knowing?" She looked at me with an Appearance like 'Are you an idiot?', then seemed to feel that this sentence contradicted what she had said earlier, let out a laugh, and immediately continued.
"However, the ones I approach are all some Advanced Squads. A Class Changer like you who is alone is the first time, uh... except for that hot-tempered little Sharna."
Isn't that the second time then? I rolled my eyes.
"It's not impossible, the question is what reward can I get?" Since Kashya's personality was like this, there was no need for me to beat around the bush.
"Kid, are you that pragmatic? Don't you think this is a very glorious Quest?" Kashya stared at me as she spoke, but her Gaze still held a smile. It seemed my straightforward way of speaking suited her taste well.
"Glory can't be eaten as food. I'm a Druid, you know, why would I go provoke Blood Raven, the Bane of melee fighters?" Hmph, do you really think I'm some hot-blooded youth?
"Then..."
Kashya pondered for a moment before saying with a pained look on her face, "How about the Annual Best Warrior Medal? With this Badge, you get a 10% discount when buying things in the Rogue Encampment. This can be considered something substantial, right?"
She didn't know where she pulled out a Dirty, round iron block from and showed it off to me proudly.
"..." Kashya, are you really a Warrior leader? Are you sure you're not one of those crooked Merchants from the Commercial Union?
Kashya saw I was unmoved and started pondering again. After a moment, as if in Realization, she leaned in mysteriously In Front of me. "I heard you don't have a Mercenary yet, right? If you're willing to help me, I'll pick the prettiest and most capable Mercenary for you later, how about it? You know, I'm the head of the Mercenaries in the Rogue Encampment, I know every single Mercenary inside like the back of my hand."
"..." From crooked Merchant to madam again?
Seeing I was still unmoved, Kashya helplessly scratched her fiery red short hair.
"Sigh, young people nowadays are all so picky. I don't have any good Items on my Body. The only few Silver Coins I had were taken by me to buy alcohol." Saying this, she bent down and drew on the snow with her finger for a while, then patted the snow off her fingers.
"Between Cold Plains and Burial Grounds, there's a layer of misty Forest blocking the way. If you don't know the Route, it's easy to get lost. This is the Route Map of that misty Forest. Kid, be sure to remember it, otherwise, don't blame me if you get lost then. Also, Blood Raven has a Badge like this on her Body." She handed the Badge she had just shown me In Front of me.
"After you kill her, take it off immediately. It won't disappear, don't worry." Kashya finished speaking in a rapid-fire manner and walked away carrying the bottle, not giving me any chance to react.
I looked at the Map on the snow. Hmm, although it was a bit rough, I could generally understand it. But the question was, how could she be so Affirmative that I would go kill Blood Raven? Was it some kind of Mysterious Prophecy from Akara's Place? And that Badge, it was clearly dropped by Blood Raven, she had just bluffed me by saying it was the Annual Best Warrior Medal. You should at least prepare a draft before lying, right?!
I stayed there for a while. After memorizing the Route on the snow, I turned and left, arriving at the Training Ground. Sharna was indeed already standing there practicing.
"I heard Kashya just spoke to you?" As I approached, just about to say hello, Sharna suddenly asked me unexpectedly.
I was startled, I didn't expect it to spread so quickly.
"Yes."
"Is it the Quest to kill Blood Raven?"
"Mm."
She shook her head. "Blood Raven is the Bane of melee fighters. If you want to go, you'd best find a few more Sorceresses or Amazons. Don't push yourself."
"Older Sister, have you done this Quest?" I asked curiously.
Sharna was silent for a moment and finally, with a depressed look, pulled out a gray, Dirty Badge from her bag. It was exactly the one Kashya had just shown me.
"She tricked me!" Sharna's deep blue eyes contained a layer of unquenchable anger. Seeing her silent and sullen Appearance, I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. What a silly Older Sister, tricked so easily, and didn't even think, Kashya is just the Warrior head, how could she make other Merchants give discounts just by saying so?
Sharna glared fiercely at the Badge in her hand, as if she would crush it the next moment. But in the end, she still felt it counted as Loot and had a bit of commemorative value, before finally throwing it into her Inventory.
"Younger Brother, it doesn't matter whether you do this Quest or not. But you must remember, just don't provoke her." After venting her anger for a while, Sharna suddenly turned back and said to me seriously.
"Uh... don't worry. She's an Elder of the Rogue Encampment after all, how could I provoke her?"
"That's not what I mean." Sharna shook her head.
"Everyone thinks I'm the number one Expert in the Rogue Encampment, but she is actually the one, and much stronger than I am now."
Sharna finished speaking gloomily and no longer paid attention to me, nor spoke anymore, instead focusing her attention on her target, as if venting something. My heart was startled. For the highly competitive Sharna to say such a thing, it seems this Kashya is truly not simple. Uh... actually, among the Four Great Elders of the Rogue Encampment, leaving aside the Guild Master of the Mage Guild whom I haven't met yet and don't understand, which one is a simple character?
However, Kashya's words did wake me up. That's right, I had already stayed in the Rogue Encampment for almost 2 months. My Magic training had already hit a Bottleneck. And Airdrop Encirclement wasn't something that could be completed in a day or two. Lars and the others were also back. I had seen everyone I needed to see. It seemed I shouldn't continue to indulge in this comfortable Atmosphere. Relaxing after Slaughter is certainly important, but if I were to forget the taste of Blood, that would be very bad. 'Born from hardship, dying in comfort' is an ancient teaching, and in this world, it seems particularly Principled.
"Younger Brother, what's wrong?"
Sharna saw me standing there silently without moving and couldn't help but ask strangely.
"I think I should probably go out for Trial soon." I said somewhat helplessly.
"Really?" Unexpectedly, Sharna seemed very happy.
"Older Sister also happens to have this Plan/Intention. It seems our Ideas/Thoughts are the same."
My heart sank. "Older Sister, when do you Plan/Intention to challenge Andariel?"
"Soon. As soon as I reach level 24, I'll immediately Depart." Sharna's eyes, which had never lost their Confidence, gazed towards the distant west. That was Andariel's Lair, the direction of the Cemetery within the Monastery.
I was silent for a moment. "Be sure to notify me first when the time comes. If I'm not here, wait for me, okay?"
"I can notify you, but you're not allowed to follow." Sharna glanced at me lightly with her bright deep blue eyes, with an expression that said she wouldn't tell me if I didn't agree.
"Got it, I promise." I Reluctantly/Barely smiled. Then, I began today's Archery training.
In the evening, Lars and the others were all there. While Sha La was already asleep, I told them about this Matter/Thing. But what I didn't expect was, Lars was the first to object.
"Wu, I know your current Strength/Power is very strong, but I still don't agree with you going for Trial alone. After all, you don't have Sharna's Experience. It's too unsafe like this."
The Matter/Thing that I only took half a year to reach level 12, only Lars and the other two knew clearly. They also already knew about my relationship with Sharna.
"That's right, Wu, why don't you just wait a bit longer and Depart with us? How about joining our Party?" Doug said gruffly.
I hadn't not thought about his suggestion. If I joined Lars's Squad, I could still unleash my abilities without restraint, and it wouldn't matter if they saw. Of course, I still wouldn't tell them about the Bugged Amulet. If necessary, I could use Akara as a shield. And I thought they also shouldn't ask questions that would put me in a difficult position.
But the problem was, my current Waypoint had only opened Cold Plains, while they had already reached Black Moor. If I were to be in the same Party as them, it would inevitably make them travel a lot of extra distance. After weighing the options, I ultimately stubbornly decided to go out for Trial alone.
Sharna said she didn't like seeing people off, so she decided to Depart a little earlier than me. Before leaving, I gave her a Rejuvenation Potion, in exchange for a light flick from her finger. Originally, I couldn't use that blue Long Bow and wanted to give it to her. Unexpectedly, she winked at me proudly, took out her own Weapon, which turned out to be a Unique Grade Hunting Bow. It left me, this Parvenu from the countryside, Dumbfounded for a while.
There were no excessive parting words. Neither she nor I were that kind of person. We just silently looked at each other, after reading 'take care' in each other's eyes. She then strode towards the Teleportation Array, leaving only a Back View. As the White Light spread, she slowly disappeared In Front of my eyes.
That evening, I went to Lar Family to say goodbye. Also, I gave the Excellent Grade blue Double Axe to the Barbarian Brothers as well. They originally wanted to decline, but I said, "If I can use it, I'll naturally keep it for myself. If I can't, there's no use keeping it." They saw the Strength requirement was 44 points and knew I was telling the truth. So they didn't stand on ceremony anymore. Doug already had a Normal Double Axe in his hand, while Gus was still using a blue Hand Axe. So Doug didn't even think and gave this Double Axe to Gus. In his Idea/Thought, his good Brother's Strength/Power becoming stronger was equivalent to himself becoming stronger.
Then, we kept celebrating until late at night. After everyone was drunk, I secretly left three Rejuvenation Potions on the table before quietly walking out of Lar Family. It's better to leave alone. The taste of parting, I had already tasted it once this morning and didn't want to try it a second time.