On the west of Thelafa, between the valleys that touched the sky, on the other end of the jungle that is home to various monsters, lies a small mountain, once known as the biggest volcano. Its steep terrain was ideal for cattle grazing back when the apocalypse had yet to consume the world. The mountain was full of sheep and cows.
Until the tragedy happened...
The mountain, once packed with sweet berries and prominent grasses, is now loaded with poisonous plants and dead weeds. The herdsmen all succumbed at the door of the tragedy. But the sheep and cows survived through evolution.
The sheep that were once known for their woolly fur now became defensive mammals. The woolly fur converted itself into a hard shell, the eyes dilated to distinguish between plants more efficiently, and their size grew bigger. Lack of food made them eat the poisonous plants; as a result, the new species developed high resistance to poisons but became vulnerable to some leaves that work as sleeping agents.
The new generation named them [Weeps]. The demand for their blood rose higher; its property of poison resistance started to be used in making potions. The fur, now hardened, was no longer in demand.
"That do explain why people mostly wear clothes made of hides, and sleeping agent—that's something interesting," Martha was reading a book that she bargained her way through a young vendor, in exchange for the salt she collected during her time in the valley.
But the evolution for survival was not the same for cows. They didn't develop poison resistance, but became flesh-eating monsters. Their teeth narrowed to crush bones, their legs buffed for exhilarating high speed, their eyes converged, and their ears developed to hear low-frequency sounds.
"Evolution is scary! The one who was vulnerable to predators now becomes the top predator," Martha flipped the page.
The new generation gave them the name [Drows]. Sales of teeth skyrocketed, due to several factors, and they started manufacturing weapons with high durability.
[Drows] and [Weeps] became enemies.
"Hmm... quite interesting."
She was sitting on a sofa—well, it looked like a sofa, but the padding was really soft, made from wool.
"How in the world did they get wool? Isn't the fur of [Weeps] not usable?"
From the door at the corner, entered the crimson red-haired guild lady, with some crooked orange papers in her hand.
"Here are some missions our guild currently has, suitable for a new group."
At the top of the glass table, made from high-class crystal with the symbol of the guild carved at the center—a bird flying towards a mountain—the lady put down the papers. Martha gazed upon them.
There were three papers. Two of them were for collecting herbs; the payment was low, only 2 silver. For a party of 5, it's nowhere near their expenses. She peered over the third task paper, different from both. It was a material-collecting mission, and the material needed was (Blood of Weeps). She glanced at the payments: 10 silver coins upon collecting the written amount of blood, and an extra bonus for further collection given.
Martha's eyes softened, wearing a look of contentment, She accepted the mission proposal.
"Alright! The deadline is 3 days. Please submit the asked material by then for full payment." She added, "Here are two silver as advance payment as per our policies; the rest will be given after the completion of the mission."
Martha exited the guild office. In front of the gate were the rest of the team.
"Here you are! Give us the good news already, did we get a mission?" Jay jumped without waiting.
"Yes!" Martha smiled softly.
"Let's go!" Scarlet and Nana shouted.
"Well, I'll be! I'm real happy for you young'uns," the old man chuckled from the side, his weathered face lit with joy.
Martha stepped forward, gently took 1 silver coin out of her pocket, and gave it to the old man.
"You don't have to," the man tried to resist.
"Just keep it, Gramps," Han shouted from the back.
The old man scoffed, his eyes glittering with happiness. He took his leave, saying goodbye to the kids.
"Then should we go?" Jay looked at Martha, waiting for her order.
"Move forward, Misfits!" she shouted like a general ordering his army.
A carriage van. It looked like a normal carriage, enough space for a dozen people to sit together. They ran through the towns. There are two types of carriage: public and private. The fees depend on the luxury and comfort.
Public carriages have fixed travel routes and tolls, while private carriages have no fixed route; they run anywhere the passenger wants as long as the area is under their authority to drive. They take fare based on the distance traveled.
The carriage itself is quite fascinating, working by using steam pressure. The drivers are [mages] with High-Pyro skills; they use Pyro Power to control the steam pressure, vaporizing the water as they want. The steering wheel is made of copper, insulating heat through the rod below it on the engine. The steam pushes the gear, moving the carriage forward.
"How do you know so much?" Han asked Martha, looking suspiciously at her.
"Well! When you were busy jumping like a baby after hearing about the guild, I was busy reading some books," she smirked, looking down at him.
"So where are we going?" asked Jay.
"To the [Guntir Mountain], a little west of Thelafa. It was an active volcano, now home to some mutant cows that eat bones and sheep with shells like turtles," she replied.
"Cows eating bones, and sheep become turtles?" Scarlet asked in confusion.
"Well, they are now called Drows and Weeps."
A public carriage stopped before the guild. It's the gateway carriage; mostly guild adventurers use it for getting to the exit gate. The fare is just 3 copper for each passenger.
Martha and the others boarded the carriage. Inside, some people were already sitting: a woman who looked like she was in her 30s with her child, a boy maybe 5-6 years old on the right; on the left were two men holding some documents, wearing formal wear, looking quite noble.
"Should we take it?" Han asked, looking at the others.
"I think it's better to save money and just walk," Scarlet suggested.
Martha thought for some time before boarding the carriage.
"The faster we complete this mission, the more money we can add, depending on the bonus," she smirked, her eyes glittering with gold.
"You really love money, right?" Jay laughed at her.
The carriage moved through the town. After just half an hour, the carriage reached the west gate. Martha gave a silver coin to the driver; he put it in his pocket and took out 5 copper coins from the other pocket.
The party left the carriage and moved towards the exit. The guard stopped them at the gate stopped them.
"Do you have permission Letter or notice"
Jay showed them the mission letter, with the stamp of approval from the guild. The guard quickly opened the small gate cut into the big one.
"Don't we have to give money like we did during entry from slums?" whispered Nana slowly in Martha's ear.
"No, adventurers are free to exit and enter the gate, as long as they have the approval of the guild and the badge as proof."
Jay took out the manual that he hid behind his shirt. He gazed at the map inside it.
"Hmm... If that is the west gate, then this should be the mountain. Ah! We have to go this way."
Everyone looked in amusement that he could also read the map.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" he shouted.
"So the rich spoiled bastard has a little brain," said Han, smirking at him.
"I still have more brain cells than you, nerd," Jay replied tauntingly.
"You two are never going to get mature," Martha slapped them both. "Hurry, we have to complete the mission before night," she added.
The party moved forward through the slim dirt road, tangling vines from trees, spiky bushes on the edges. The road was a bit rough; some carts came from ahead, maybe some merchants from the west side.
On their way, Nana was wondering something.
"How would we collect the blood? Do we kill them?" Nana asked, a little hesitation showing in her expression. She didn't want to kill anyone.
"No, there is a different way," Martha patted her head. She then looked towards Han and Jay. "Are you both ready?"
"Yes," they both said in harmony.
They reached the foot of the mountain. The mountain is a little steep, hard to climb without the right gear, but for them, it's far easier than the valleys they have to climb.
Han performed his skill [Ground Shift], forming a staircase. His mana went down a little.
They climbed the mountain; the top is not very high, and it didn't take much time to reach the top. The top of [Guntir Mountain] is different; the trees are much bigger, and the air is a little warmer. They cautiously crossed the tangled bushes before reaching a big green plain.
"Step carefully. The grasses are poisonous," Martha warned others.
In front of them is a herd of [Weeps] eating the poisonous grasses like they're some sweet berries. They are gigantic, almost bigger than a family-size car.
Han and Jay moved forward, while Martha used the time to move the other way, deciding to come from behind.
Upon sensing a potential threat, the herd of [Weeps] blasted towards Jay and Han. Han clenched his fist, the symbol started to glow once again, his eyes covered in a brownish hue. He punched the ground, "[Skill: Ground Shift]!" he shouted.
Instantly, four walls emerged from the ground, making a cell, trapping the Weeps.
"Amazing!" Nana and Scarlet murmured, watching them from behind.
"My mana is almost out, handle it from here," Han fell from exhaustion.
Martha climbed the walls and sprinkled some white powder. At first, there was no effect; everything looked normal, but suddenly, one after another, the Weeps started to fall—not dead, but unconscious.
"Hmm... looks like [Venti leaves] that taste like peppers do work as a sleeping agent for Weeps," she chuckled. The same leaves that she collected to season the fish also work as a sleeping agent for them. "Now it's your turn, Jay," she signaled.
Jay jumped inside the cell that Han made. He pulled out a syringe from his pocket.
"Making it was easy, just had to make a needle, and Martha makes the rest for me. Man, I wish I had that [Material Sewing] ability," he murmured, slowly taking some blood out of their bodies.
The main body hides itself under the shell, but just like turtles, once they are unable to tuck inside their shell, their body is really soft. He filled some glass bottles provided by the guild to bring the blood in.
"It's quite easy," Scarlet and Nana wondered.
But just as everything seemed to work flawlessly, they made a grave mistake. The Weeps are the primary food source at the top of the mountain, so to hunt, predators must come this way.
A sound echoed through the woods.
Everyone looked at the other end; a group of Drows making their way towards them.
"Shit...