Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 103 - 26 Doubts_1

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"Did you not sleep well yesterday?" Pannis asked Lina first thing in the morning when she pulled him back to Ryan’s house and jumped into the pitch-dark ravine to make the final preparations before the complex spider-web-like horizontal rock fissures.

"How did you know?" Lina, who was counting the crystals in her pocket, looked up at Pannis upon hearing his question.

Trying to hold back his laughter, Pannis said, "Your dark circles make it look like someone punched you. It’s obvious to anyone who looks."

Lina’s skin, among humans, is considered excellent: fair but luminous, akin to a light-series crystal. The drawback of such skin is that lack of sleep immediately manifests as dark circles under the eyes, completely unmissable. Lina rubbed her own eye circles, annoyed and unwilling to accept this, "I even put on makeup, is it that noticeable?"

Pannis shrugged, "Yes, it’s that obvious. What happened, didn’t you sleep all night?"

"That little girl from yesterday. She told me some things and I’ve been thinking about it." Lina frowned, "But I always feel that those two are strange, who are they?"

"Who knows." Pannis lowered his head, "In life, you will encounter some bizarre people, just get used to it."

"I think you definitely know them." Lina said with a pout, "My curiosity is killing me, just tell me, I promise I won’t spread it."

"I really don’t know." Pannis raised his hand, "I swear to the compass in my hand."

"Hey, that kind of stupid oath, isn’t it obvious that you’re hiding something?" Lina said angrily, "Fine, if you won’t speak, I can guess anyway."

"Oh, what did you guess?" Pannis put down the corrected compass and started tidying up the medicine.

"Someone taught Vivian the way to directly draw Crystal Energy. Vivian secretly told me about it. Though the method seems to have some negative side effects - where aggressive energy would impact the mana channel, causing temporary inability to cast magic. Yet, having experienced multiple impacts, the mana channel would become more durable and wider. With this type of mana channel, Vivian said all that stands between her and becoming a Legendary mage is the accumulation of energy. The legendary barrier that stifles most people is no longer an issue for Vivian."

Lina paused for a moment before continuing, "That person sparred with Catherine a few times and made a few seemingly random remarks. Guess what? The next day Catherine told me that those casual remarks actually pointed her down a new path which could solve the stamina problems she encounters when fighting powerful opponents. If mastered, she can even defend against the attacks of a Legendary aggressor, not to mention the imposter from the Crying Cave."

"Haha, that’s just a coincidence," Pannis laughed dryly, nodding in agreement with himself, "Yes, just a coincidence."

"Tsk, do you think I’m stupid?" Lina rolled her eyes at Pannis, "My sister secretly told me that men are no different from children. They want to express gratitude but are too shy to say it, so they indirectly show it in different ways. She was totally right, and I’ve guessed it too. I’m sure you helped Vivian, you helped Catherine, but you don’t know enough about the priest profession to help me, so you brought this strange girl to help me this time."

"You sure have a wild imagination." Pannis looked innocently around and said, "I really don’t have the power to bring such a remarkable person."

"That remarkable?" Lina smirked, "I didn’t say she was that remarkable."

"Um, if just a few words from her can keep you up all night, she must be quite remarkable. At least I can’t do that." Pannis blinked innocently as he justified, not at all forced.

"Go on, let’s see if I’ll believe you." Lina snorted and said resentfully, "You can’t be an ordinary Silver Rank adventurer, all three of us are sure of that. If the guild didn’t rule against prying into the past, I would definitely find out who you really are."

"I’m just Pannis." Pannis grinned, "Just an ordinary Silver Rank adventurer."

"Enough, I won’t argue with you." Lina waved her hand helplessly, "No matter who you are, you are now a member of the Nellie’s Adventure Team, and you are our reliable comrade and partner, that’s enough. Whether you are Silver, Gold, or some unknown Legendary figure, it doesn’t matter, since you hardly participate in direct combat anyway."

Pannis suddenly became very serious and spoke with a never-before-seen sober tone, "I hope you remember that only under very special circumstances can I exert more than Silver Rank power. At other times, I am just a professional at the Silver Rank, whether in Aggression or physical fitness, just an ordinary Silver Rank professional. So, don’t overestimate my abilities. Doing so can lead to miscalculations in our plans."

"Yeah yeah, you’ve said enough." Lina impatiently waved her hand, "Can I tell it like it is?"

"What do you mean?" Pannis, taken aback by her answer, asked.

"The truth is, when my sister is making plans, she never includes your combat power." Lina disclosed Catherine’s secret without hesitation, "She said it’s not as if you have anywhere else to go. Since you tend to find excuses not to participate in combat, she might as well just exclude your combat power from her plans from the get-go."

"Um, you’re misunderstanding." Pannis looked vaguely embarrassed and wanted to clarify something, but didn’t quite know how to explain it.

"I know it’s a misunderstanding, you participated in the fight yesterday." Lina said, "And you don’t have to explain, my sister wasn’t complaining either she also had her reasons for doing so. After all, your unstable combat power is a fact. But rest assured, when it’s necessary to consider your combat power, she will discuss it with you in advance."

"Alright then." Pannis nodded reluctantly, "If that’s what you want to do. Okay, my prep over here is done, how about you?"

Lina patted her backpack: "It’s all ready."

"Let’s cross-check one last time." Pannis pulled out a checklist, reading it under the light of the borrowed crystal energy lamp: "Twelve portions of food, eight portions of water."

"No problem."

"Six doses of insect-repelling medicine, twelve bottles of detoxifying solution, four doses of healing medicine, four doses of drying agent."

"All set."

"Crystal stones of various levels, five of 500 taels each, one of 1000 taels each."

"Got it."

"Four crossbows, forty ordinary arrows, eight armor-piercing arrows."

"All sorted." freёwebnoѵel.com

"One steel shovel, one iron pickaxe, one hand crank drill, two pairs of thick gloves, and two pairs of protective goggles."

"No problem. That’s it." Lina nodded, "The rest are in your bag."

Both of them tightened their backpacks and checked their clothing, weapons, and belongings once more. Being adventuring in the Yarran World, one of the riskiest professions of the present day, even with the aid of the Adventurers’ Guild, the death rate is still staggeringly high. Every year countless adventurers lose their lives. Among the deceased adventurers, some were killed by various traps and defenses in the ruins, others by dangerous magical beasts, some were slain by enemies, while others lost their lives in dangerous environments. Thus, the more experienced adventurers pay extra attention to preparation before an adventure. They are exceedingly cautious because they have witnessed too many fellow adventurers die due to inadequate preparation. For them, embarking on an adventure without proper preparation is tantamount to suicide.

"Let’s set off." Standing for a moment before the rock crevice, Pannis went in without turning back.

"Alright, the adventure begins," said Lina, pumping her fists and muttering to herself in the tone Catherine always used.

"Why aren’t you as eager to find people as you were last night?" Pannis led the way, simultaneously exploring the path and asking, "Aren’t you concerned about the safety of the Ryans?"

"Don’t make fun of me," Lina huffed, "You knew it all along, didn’t you? The chance of them being alive is almost non-existent."

"Heh heh." Pannis chuckled softly, refraining from adding insult to injury.

"Magical beasts like the Earth Walkers don’t have a habit of storing food," said Lina. "Their first prey was the Ryans and they probably won’t hunt again until they finish their first batch of food. Therefore, the chances of the Ryans being alive are extremely low. I had considered all these before descending. The purpose of this venture is to hopefully find some remnants of theirs, at least it will be an explanation for the priest and the villagers."

"I have another objective." Pannis looked ahead into the darkness, a hint of worry in his voice, "Clarifying some matters."

"What matters?" Lina looked puzzled and asked.

"The first one, we discussed earlier on. The underground crevice seems to have been around for a long time, but why was it only these past few days that the three Earth Walkers dug through the surface soil to hunt?" Pannis queried. "Especially when there’s so much food available above; this is not normal."

"So you think they actually came from elsewhere and you want to find out where they came from, worrying that there might be other similar magical beasts there?" Lina nodded, "As Sister said, despite the indifferent facade, you are a really kind person."

"Eh?" Pannis was suddenly stunned at Lina’s words. He stood rooted to the spot, deep in thought: "Yeah, why do I, despite loathing my past, still habitually help others? Is it habit? It doesn’t seem so. Why, despite my decision to breakaway from past habits and follow my heart’s desire for happiness, do I still instinctively protect the weak?"

"Hey, Pannis, keep moving." Lina, oblivious to Pannis’s thoughts, lightly nudged him from behind.

"Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought." Pannis snapped out of his reverie, pushed by Lina and temporarily put away his thoughts.

"You haven’t finished speaking. You mentioned a first issue, there must be a second one." Lina asked.

"Yes, the second is more important." Pannis sounded perplexed, "Earth Walkers absolutely can’t become invisible and they certainly can’t spit acid to attack others. But the three yesterday could, this is astonishingly bizarre."

"Hmm, indeed it’s odd. What do you think could be the reason?"

"I don’t know." Pannis replied curtly, "Absolutely no idea. That’s why I want to go see, maybe we can find something."