Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1177: Chapter 1176: Adventurer Camp

The howling cold wind swept across the land, and in the ancient kingdom destroyed by war, only endless ruins and wandering monsters remain. Besides some safe zones and rebuilt isolation areas, when looking far into this land, all one can see are the ruins and the bizarre landscapes distorted by "the miracle power of the gods."

Further away from the plains, the undulating hills and mountains are gradually being covered by hard ice—after losing the protection of the Great Shield, the once thriving dragon ecology system has completely halted. The polar climate swiftly takes over this land that is steadily returning to its original state, with permafrost, glaciers, and frost—the forces of nature—relentlessly spreading from the coastline inland, determined to restore the land to its rightful state.

This is unimaginable territory in the warm and stable human world—whether in its destructive appearance or its unbelievable polar environment.

Yet for the ambitious adventurers who crossed the Endless Sea, determined to dig out a treasure chest from this mysterious land, the harsh natural environment isn’t too much of a concern. The wandering elemental creatures between safe zones and the almost ubiquitous rare phenomena have captivated nearly all their attention.

The temporary capital of Talronde, on the south side of New Agondale, a newly constructed district is bathed in the long-lasting sunlight of the polar day. Like other wasteland outposts, this district is surrounded by high walls primarily made of giant stones, infused with alloys melted by dragon flame. Though rough in appearance, it offers the most precious security on this dangerous land. Inside the outpost are broad, straight roads, hundreds of houses made of stone, metal, and other easily collected materials are neatly arranged within the walls. All these houses are made to be practical—though lacking in decoration, they are at least solid and durable.

This is the newly established Adventurer Camp—Dragonkin, adventurers, Alliance Aid Corps, and volunteers sent by the Sacred Dragon Kingdom collaborated to complete the construction of this district in a short time. Perhaps compared to the extravagantly luxurious Talronde court buildings of the old era, this place isn’t as beautiful or alluring, yet when these straight and rough houses and high walls stand against the cold winds, they still present a breathtaking ruggedness and strength.

At the first sound of the morning bell, the young huntress Lola left her assigned barracks with a few adventurer companions, heading toward the Adventurers’ Management Hall located in the town center. On the way, many groups of three to five adventurers were walking in the same direction. A gust of wind blew from across the street, and the chill in the wind instantly cleared Lola’s somewhat drowsy mind. She shivered slightly and muttered, "This place is really damn cold..."

One of her companions looked up at the sky above the town, where a semi-transparent energy shield rose from the top of the distant wall, covering all the streets and houses within. She shook her head, "It’s already good enough. At least the construction team finally completed the town’s shield two days ago. With this layer of protection, the temperature in the residential area will gradually rise—outside the walls, now that’s truly freezing cold. Without Frost Resistance Potion and enough protective equipment, even for transcendents like us, it would be hard to last long."

"Luckily, the Frost Resistance Potion is free, and protective devices can be recharged directly at the Magic Network Charging Station," Lola rubbed her nose, holding back the urge to sneeze, "Though I don’t understand how those things operate, I have to admit, Magic Guide Technology is indeed good stuff... In the past, who would have used these things as daily consumables?"

The companions agreed deeply, and meanwhile, the most important facility for adventurers in this town finally appeared before them.

The Adventurers’ Management Hall—it’s one of the tallest buildings here and also one of the most peculiar ones. The mighty dragons cut a fairly intact section of structure from a collapsed Talronde palace and placed it in the center of the camp, refurbishing it slightly to serve as the adventurers’ gathering spot. This made its style vastly different from other buildings in the camp, yet it had the advantage of being strikingly prominent.

Considering the dragons’ size, even a part cut out from their palace would be considered a grand mansion in the human world if thrown there. Naturally, the scale of this hall for the adventurers is grand enough.

Lola stood at the entrance of this "hall," seeing the cylindrical building shimmering with a faint golden glow in the sunlight. The outer wall, which still vaguely shows its former magnificent appearance, has remnants of mottled reliefs and painted patterns, and the arch columns and decorative multiple outer eaves above the hall were damaged in previous disasters, now filled and covered with temporary materials, giving it a weathered look.

Raising her head in admiration for a while, strange thoughts began bubbling in Lola’s mind, and she muttered softly, "...Could this really be a bathroom sliced from some dragon palace and repurposed?"

A companion beside her immediately looked at her with alarm, "Damn, Lola, how could you have such bizarre thoughts?!"

"Ahem, maybe influenced by idle chats with Mister Modir last time," Lola awkwardly coughed twice, rubbing her forehead and muttered softly, "He said he’s a scholar, and then he boldly imagined various things in the camp..."

"Modir..." Her companion evidently wasn’t unfamiliar with the name—in a mostly young adventurer team, having an elder who appears old enough to be everyone’s grandparent is naturally a noteworthy occurrence, especially when this elder claims to be a powerful mage who has traveled the world, mastering many mysterious knowledges. Frankly, such a person shouldn’t appear among adventurers who are hardly more than a rag-tag bunch. In the old era, he should be enshrined by some royal family, kept in frost for generations, consulted in times of crisis, then frozen again for careful preservation...

Evidently, the mercenaries and adventurers have an exaggerated imagination and misunderstanding of concepts like "royal mage advisor," but this exaggeration at least reveals the impression adventure camp members have of Mister Modir—almost everyone thinks the elder is in the wrong place, except for himself.

"That mage does like to talk about peculiar things, but I suggest you not take his descriptions too seriously," the companion cautiously advised Lola after choosing her words carefully, also checking the surroundings before lowering her voice—after all, this was talking behind the back of a revered spellcaster. Despite Modir’s usually gentle manner and good relationship with everyone, it’s still nerve-wracking for such discussions, "You know, the old man he..."

One of the companions, also a hunter by origin, gestured towards his head: "Not very bright."

Lola didn’t know how to respond, so she just gave an awkward laugh and waved her hand before turning towards the management hall.

In order for the building, originally intended for dragons, to fit human proportions, it underwent a thorough transformation. Lola and her companions first passed through a door that was added later, then through a corridor, before entering the extremely spacious circular hall. Inside the hall stood colossal pillars, massive by human standards, surrounded by counters for mission assignments, reward registration, supply retrieval, and auctions, each marked with very noticeable signs, ensuring that even adventurers and mercenaries not used to following rules could find their way.

Sunlight shone through the crystal dome at the top of the hall, refracting through the cracked polymer surface into intricate patterns, spreading evenly throughout the entire space. Even without any lights, the hall was almost devoid of shadows.

Before heading to the mission posting area, Lola instinctively glanced at the crystal dome made from some unknown material, pondering how many Gold Pounds it would be worth if taken to the human world. Almost simultaneously, she heard a familiar voice beside her, evidently speaking to her: "Have you also noticed the complex optical design within that dome? It’s remarkable, Lola... Such a detail reminds us of how advanced dragon civilization used to be... However, it’s a shame that almost no one here can appreciate the knowledge embedded in this ruin... Luckily, perceptive and thoughtful young people like you can join me in uncovering the treasures of knowledge buried here..."

Lola shrank her neck at once, looking towards the familiar figure: dressed in a black mage’s short robe, wearing a black soft hat, with white hair and beard, elderly and frail, standing like a confused grandfather in the bustling Adventurer’s Hall, mumbling incomprehensible things while controlling floating pens and paper in the air, scribbling and calculating incessantly.

Recalling how she had been discussing this old gentleman with her companions before entering the hall, Lola felt a bit embarrassed. She forced an unnatural smile and tried to respond to his topic as she adjusted her thoughts about those crystals: "Just as you said, these things... um, they’re impressive, all very impressive."

Modir seemed to notice the young lady’s embarrassment and nervousness. He merely smiled, kindly ending the current topic, and looked up at the column where the mission posting counter stood: "Shall we go together?"

Lola was momentarily stunned, widening her eyes in surprise: "You... finally decided to take on an outdoor mission?"

"I can’t always just follow the construction team around to fine-tune those energy shields and Crystal Towers—though interesting, it was not to hide in the camp and chill in the barren land," Modir laughed joyfully. "These days, I’ve gathered extensive information about the exterior environment, including tales from the Dragonkin and reports from the adventurers and mercenaries who returned from preliminary explorations. I believe I’m ready to participate in external actions."

"...A cautious attitude and ample information are necessary for survival and operations in unfamiliar environments; you indeed are an experienced adventurer," Lola nodded with a smile. "Then let’s go together."

During the mornings to before noon, the area around the mission posting column is always the busiest part of the hall. Messengers from Talronde announce the latest "advancement" situation around Agondale here, along with the recent exploration and cleanup plans of the Five Kings Council for the wastelands. Numerous tasks are distributed to the counter, enabling the adventurers gathered here to plan their daily or upcoming activities.

Usually, there won’t be any overly forced or urgent conscriptions, as the role of adventurers from Loren here is more of assistance. Due to the true strength of this ragtag group, tasks assigned to them usually involve clearing scattered non-human monsters around the city or gathering resources in the ruins—the truly dangerous zones are handled by the real Talronde warriors, something the adventurers understood well coming in from Northport.

The role of adventurers here is to free up the overstretched Dragonkin warriors of Talronde from security trivialities, allowing them to handle truly threatening matters, a fact everyone knew well before setting out from Northport.

"The preliminary exploration and border delineation of the entire southern region have been completed... The main focus of the dragons is still on expanding the secure area under Agondale’s control and searching for potential survivor camps in the southern region..."

Under the gigantic pillar, Lola tilted her head up to look at the bulletin board illuminated by sunlight, quietly summarizing the contents above. Besides Modir, many other adventurers around her were also reading the fresh announcements posted today. From the newly dried text, smart individuals could broadly summarize the next exploration and expansion directions of the Dragonkin for the coming period and make some preparations in advance.

"The second advancement direction is westward," Modir, reading faster than Lola, had already reached the latter part of the announcement, causing him to take it a bit more seriously. "Clearing the Wandering Wraiths and elemental creatures in the western hilly area, stabilizing the secure boundary, assisting the vanguard warriors to clear the path to Crystal Rock Hillock... This is interesting. The mission region is the farthest among all, yet a tier-one license is allowed to participate... Is it because there’s little danger with the vanguard acting as the main force throughout?"

Hearing Modir’s muttering, Lola also shifted her gaze to the latter part of the announcement. She slightly frowned: "But this is still the most hazardous region... The route to Crystal Rock Hillock isn’t fully cleared yet, and there are reportedly active Elemental Rifts..."

"I’m interested in this," Modir immediately looked intrigued. "Active Elemental Rifts mean fresh elemental creatures. I must figure out a way to capture a few to inquire about the elemental world... Care to join me?"