Chapter 274 The Forest of Never Return
"Not really... I was just being curious about why the association seems to be so crowded today, that's all." Yuan shook his head as he wasn't particularly interested in joining the mission, as it was issued by the king himself.
However, that doesn't mean that he wasn't interested in the mission. The king is spending so much resources to recruit high-ranking hunters from all over the kingdom, so it won't be as simple as it appears and there must be something deeper into it.
Receptionist Elle looked at Yuan in silence for a moment after hearing his reply.
'Although I'm not fully aware of just how ridiculously powerful Yuan and his wives are, I'm certain that they're simply too powerful. If they join the expedition mission issued by His Majesty the King then...' Receptionist Elle thought.
After witnessing how effortlessly beat Hunter Joe— one of the most powerful A-rank hunters within the kingdom. Receptionist Elle starts to look at Yuan and his wives in a different light now after three of Yuan's wives successfully eradicated the Kobolds' within their hideout.
This proves that Yuan and his wives are far stronger than she imagined, beating Joe was just a fraction of Yuan's power and perhaps he is far stronger than the most powerful master rank mages.
After thinking for a moment, Elle said to Yuan, "But if you and your wives participate in this expedition mission, then the success rate of the mission will significantly increase, perhaps it may take less amount of time to complete the mission with your strength. Are you really sure you don't want to participate?"
"From your words, it seems that you want us to participate in this mission... May I ask why?" Yuan frowned at her.
"Reason, huh?" Elle mumbled and thought for a moment, and said, "Of course, it's because you all are crazily strong, your strength will really come in handy in dealing with the ferocious monsters within the heart of the forest."
She continued, "Not only that, but the reward for participating in this mission is also high, every hunter that will participate in this mission will receive an amount of 30 gold coins for each day, and the mission will last for an entire week."
"Aside from that, killing ferocious Monsters will be logged down and the hunter will be rewarded afterward accordingly. And because of this reason many hunters have shown their interest in participating in the expedition mission, that's why the crowd." Elle explained this to them.
From her words Yuan and his wives could understand what kind of expedition mission it would be. But what's surprised them the most was how much resources the king willing to sacrifice for this mission alone, he couldn't see any valid point for the king himself to issue such a mission.
'There must be something serious in the heart of the forest, or I don't see any reason for the king to spend such a massive amount of resources on an expedition mission.' Yuan pondered.
After thinking about the whole mission thing for a moment, with a smile on his face Yuan said, "Although I'm a little interested in the whole mission— especially the Forest Of Never Return. However, I'm not that interested that we'd participate in the mission."
"Heh... What a shame that you're not willing to participate, I thought you were interested in the mission especially since the pay is so high." Elle then released a long sigh after hearing Yuan's words. She was particularly looking forward to signing him and his wives up for this mission, but alas it didn't go the way she wanted.
'Gold coins, huh? She doesn't know that I've enough gold coins that I could live a luxurious life for almost ten years without doing anything.' Yuan said in his heart with a bittersweet smile on his face.
"I'm just not interested in participating in that mission, for now at least. We'll be going to the capital in a few days anyway, perhaps I may change my mind when I reach there." Yuan said with a smile afterward.
"Is that so? In that case, I won't force you to participate." Elle decided to give up the idea of signing up Yuan and his wives for the mission after hearing his words.
"Anyways, you're asking about the Forest of Never Return, right?" She then asked.
"You may not believe me, but I know very little about the kingdom. So, could you tell me about this Forest of Never Return? I'm intrigued."
"Oh, this came rather as a surprise..." Elle was startled given Yuan's lack of knowledge about the kingdom. Is he not from this kingdom? How could somebody not be familiar with the locations of their kingdom?
"Cough!" Elle cleared her throat and began telling him about the Forest of Never Return. "The Forest of Never Return is a massive forest not too far from the Capital City. As the spooky name suggests it's a dangerous forest, and it is said that those who went into the forest never return."
"Most of the time, the forest is covered in thick fog, making navigation through the forest extremely difficult. Not only that, but the forest is home to many terrifying deadly monsters, and most of the monsters within the forest are highly powerful and cannot be defeated even by a master rank mage, let alone a small group of mages or a party of high-ranked hunters."
Receptionist Elle had a very serious look on her face, she had been to the Forest of Never Return before, albeit close to the forest. However, the feeling she got from approaching the forest is something that she remembers very well.
"Is the Forest of Never Return really as dangerous as it sounds?" Yuan mumbled in a dazed voice, the more he heard about the Forest of Never Return the more he got piqued about the forest.
Seeing the curious look on her son, Anna Grace sighed and said in a serious voice. "Darling, The Forest of Never Return is a forest that has existed for more than thousands of years, and no one dared to enter the forest alone before as none ever returned after entering the forest."
"The lady beside you is right, Yuan. However, this time is different," Elle remarked, nodding to Anna Grace's remarks. "The king has asked a few powerful individuals from the Lion Heart Empire to lead the Hunters to the Forest of Never Return. I've heard they're five times stronger than a master rank mage."
"Hmmm, with them around the king may create history this time, which no one has ever succeeded in creating before," Yuan stated with a smirk he had already faced master-ranked mages and had an idea of how formidable those individuals will be.
'That expression on his face... Has he faced off against a master rank mage? This is totally unprecedented!' Elle gazed at Yuan with surprise on her face, wondering if he had ever faced a master rank mage before.
A minute later, Yuan said to her, "Now let's get to the point why we're here, we've already wasted enough time discussing pointless things."
'How can you say such an important thing such as the special expedition mission a 'pointless' thing?' Elle's face twisted after hearing Yuan's remark.
"I'm listening."
"My wives, Rose, Julie, and Ava, would like to accept individual C-rank missions in order to advance their hunter ranks to C-rank. Show us missions with targets that aren't too far from the city."
"So that's why you're here, isn't it?" Give me a moment and I'll check out the missions near the city." Elle then opened a heavy book and began turning the pages, stopping when she reached a specific page.
"Oh, here it is. There aren't many missions in the C-rank category, so pick whichever three you want." Elle then placed the book on the table and showed them the page with the C-rank missions.
(1)Mission: Hunt down a pack of rogue wolves that have been terrorizing the outskirts of Monbrook. The wolves are causing distress among local farmers and need to be eliminated.
Reward: 50 gold coins upon successful eradication of the wolf pack.
(2)Mission: Clear out a den of giant spiders that have infested an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The spiders pose a threat to any travelers passing nearby.
Reward: 70 gold coins for clearing out the spider infestation.
(3)Mission: Exterminate a group of aggressive goblins that have taken up residence in a nearby cave system. They've been ambushing traders and travelers passing through the area.
Reward: 60 gold coins upon eliminating the goblin threat.
(4)Mission: Track and neutralize a lone troll that has been causing trouble by raiding farms and scaring off livestock on the outskirts of Monbrook.
Reward: 80 gold coins for taking down the troublesome troll.
(5)Mission: Investigate reports of a spectral apparition haunting the woods near the city. Discover the source and eliminate the ghostly entity to bring peace to the area.
Reward: 90 gold coins for dispelling the haunting presence.
After reading the description of the missions, Rose turned to Yuan and asked, "Husband, which one do you think I should take?"
"It's for you to decide which one to take, choose the one you like the most," Yuan replied.
She then turned her attention back on the page again for a moment and pointed her finger at a particular mission on the page. "I'll take this one. Mission number 4."
"Very well. On this mission, you need to take down a Troll, and it won't be easy for you." Elle then issued the number 4 mission for Rose and handed her a copy of the mission.
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