Chapter 68: Invitation from the Second Floor

"Indeed, it’s a very suitable target," Raine nodded.

The two of them continued to flip through the pages, and as they did, the challenge levels of the snowfield monsters got progressively higher, clearly not suitable targets.

In other words, the target was pretty much set—the Frost Blade Leopard.

However, the hunting task related to the leopard could be temporarily put aside.

Because, according to the plan, before officially heading to Lankote Snowfield, Raine felt it necessary to complete a mission involving a spider-type demon.

If he could gain the spell-like ability to spit webs, he would have an additional control spell in the upcoming battles, the benefits of which are obvious.

Especially during the subsequent exploration of the snowfield, it would provide an extra layer of safety.

However, as for the Deep Moss Spider... Raine couldn’t help but glance at the pretty priestess across from him.

’Most women seem to naturally fear these things.’

She wasn’t just his companion; she had also just lent him a significant sum to upgrade his equipment, so Raine felt he had to consult her opinion.

Of course, Raine had already considered that if Elise showed a strong aversion to this type of demon, he would opt to tackle the mission solo.

After all, he only needed to kill one Deep Moss Spider.

With his current strength and new equipment, going all out shouldn’t be too difficult.

If it proved difficult, he could temporarily join another team.

"Miss Elise, after we arrive in Mill Town this time, I plan to take on a mission. Do you have any particular aversions to the mission targets?"

"What plans do you have, Mr. Raine?"

"I intend to take on the mission to kill a Deep Moss Spider, but regarding the Deep Moss Spider, Miss Elise...," Raine said, looking at Elise.

"The Deep Moss Spider? Great!" However, to Raine’s surprise, Elise exclaimed joyfully.

"Chris, that coward, I wanted Reya to take on the mission of exterminating the Deep Moss Spider last time, but he refused to go no matter what," Elise said, pouting.

But then, she seemed to realize that speaking like this in front of Raine, a new teammate she hadn’t known for long, was unladylike. She immediately straightened her demeanor and explained:

"Mr. Raine, uh... Reya, Chris, and I have known each other for quite a while, so we speak rather casually among ourselves."

"It’s a good atmosphere," Raine said with a smile, nodding.

"Yes, yes. By the way, did you choose to hunt the Deep Moss Spider for its silk, Mr. Raine?"

"Deep Moss Silk?" Raine looked at the priestess in front of him and instantly understood her reason for wanting to complete a mission related to the Deep Moss Spider.

Because the Basic Monster Atlas clearly mentioned the Deep Moss Silk—’demon-level silk, extremely durable, an excellent material.’

"No, I just want to gain more experience dealing with different demons," Raine shook his head, giving a standard response.

"Oh, I really ought to learn from you, Mr. Raine! I want to collect some Deep Moss Silk to craft a Spider Silk Robe."

"A Spider Silk Robe? That’s a magic item, right?" Raine raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, an entry-level magic item. I plan to have Elder Sharly enchant it with blade protection..."

Along the way, the priestess’s crisp, lark-like voice constantly filled the air. Normally not fond of noise, Raine, to his surprise, found himself in a pleasant mood.

....

After half a day, the carriage smoothly arrived in Mill Town.

Considering that missions related to Deep Moss Spiders were quite rare, Raine, after tidying up his luggage a bit, headed with Elise to the Adventurer’s Association in Mill Town.

However, when Elise appeared in her conspicuous clergy robe in the first-floor hall of the association, she attracted quite a bit of attention from the adventurers.

"Hey, look, she’s a priest apprentice, that’s really rare."

"And she’s beautiful, too."

"Captain, why don’t you go and invite her?"

Because in this gathering place for entry-level adventurer squads on the first floor, adventurers with healing abilities were extremely scarce.

"Idiot, that’s the divine robe of an official priest from the Earth Divine Hall. Do you think she’d join our team?"

"Didn’t you see her companion? With gear like that, even if he’s not a class, he’s at least quasi-classes."

Faced with the eager comments from many of his members, the team leader, a seasoned expert, just glanced over and immediately recognized the priest robe and holy emblem on Elise.

"What! An official priest?"

"Shouldn’t she be headed to the second floor? Why is she still lingering in the hall?"

This conversation naturally reached the ears of Raine and Elise.

"Miss Elise, it seems that having an official class-level priestess accompany me on the first floor to take on a mission draws quite a bit of envy," Raine teased.

"Mr. Raine, Reya did tell me that your strength is not beneath that of a regular classes," Elise said with a smile, blinking her large eyes.

Meanwhile,

the words ’official priest’ also reached the ears of a great sword warrior who was just about to head up to the second floor.

The man paused mid-stride, then turned on his heel, quickly scanning the first floor of the association hall.

Soon, his gaze locked onto Elise, dressed in a light yellow priest robe.

’An official priest from the Earth Divine Hall?’

’I wonder if she knows the Dispelling Spell. If she does, she could perfectly replace Jessica’s position,’ Schneider calculated in his heart.

"Hmm, seems to be a newly appointed priest, still taking on missions on the first floor?"

Schneider’s coarse eyebrows furrowed in response.

Because if she was a newly appointed priest, chances are she wouldn’t know the First Level Divine Art - Dispelling Spell, and would instead prioritize learning the Healing Truth Mantra.

But after some thought, Schneider still headed towards Elise’s location.

"Miss Priestess, pardon the interruption, I am Schneider, captain of the ’Giant Blade’ squad. I wonder if you’d consider a temporary invitation to join our squad."

Giant Blade Squad?

The few adventurer squad leaders who were hesitating whether they should try inviting her were taken aback when they saw the heavy-armored man with a leather-bound great sword approach.

Because it was clear that the man was a class, a Black Iron Level adventurer frequenting the second floor.

And the reputation of the Giant Blade Squad was something they had heard of.

They hadn’t expected him to also take an interest in the priestess.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Schneider, but I already have a team."

Compared to dealing with a whole crowd, Elise was more adept at handling one-on-one interactions. She nodded slightly and kindly declined with a smile.

"Oh? Is it that young gentleman?" Schneider followed Elise’s previous gaze. He first examined the heavy plate armor on Raine’s body, then remarked.

"Your companion is quite young, and his abilities are impressive. Here’s the situation: I have a mission on hand, but due to the departure of a druid companion, we’re in need of a member from a healing profession."

"Could you perhaps discuss this with your companion? It’s just for one mission."

"I greatly appreciate Mr. Schneider’s repeated invitation, but really, I must decline. Additionally, if I were to join, my companion would have to come along."

"This..." Schneider couldn’t help but hesitate.

Although the equipment on the young man with the horned helmet looked quite good, the problem was that he clearly wasn’t a class.

Allowing a rare priest class member to join the squad, even if newly appointed, he would still be confident in persuading his teammates. However, if it meant also including a warrior apprentice who hadn’t reached the level of a class, then it would...