There are all kinds of tasks posted on the wall, from crusading against evil cultivators to finding lost pets, which are full of tasks selected by the sect for their disciples, of course, if the elder has been strapped for money recently, he can also make a little extra money.

"That's it, the investigation mission, plus the mining of minerals, bring back soil minerals, and give the sect to study the anomalies that have occurred in the local area. ”

Removing the task, the white-haired young man came to the counter and handed the paper task to the counter lady who dealt with the affairs of the sect, she was also a monk and a disciple of the sect.

As for why it's female, that's a condition attached to this counter task.

"This mission requires three people to form a team to participate, and fortunately, before the two of you came, one of the disciples chose this mission...... Wherever you are, you can team up with her. ”

Pointing out the direction to the two teenagers, this counter lady is very polite, of course, what she thinks in her heart, no one knows, at least she didn't show her heart, okay, stop the malicious speculation about her, the two teenagers sighed their luck, and took the task to the teammates who might join.

“...... Is it really you, would you be interested in joining our team? ”

The person who said this was Xiyi, and as for the white-haired boy who was halfway there, he handed over the contract to Xiyi to record the task, and ran to the other side, a place where a large number of people were talking, and there were bursts of cheers.

"Of course, you should have chosen this task for the sake of the Sky Crystal, the purpose is to create a special flying sword prepared for the Edgeworth Competition, and I declare in advance that the winner is me!"

"Fair competition, get the scorching crystals to get what you need. ”

"That's how it should be, the guy who teamed up with you is probably the deputy leader of the jungle area?"

"Well, there's nothing to hide, it's him, but Rankhime Michiyu came to collect the task alone, it seems that your teammates are busy with other things, and they plan to advance the progress together on both sides?"

"There are also considerations in this regard, and there is no comment on the deeper things, which is the killer feature of our team. ”

With a meaningful smile, the shoulder-length blonde girl seemed to be sure of her victory, and no one knew what the outcome would be until the last minute.

In this way, the first sect mission was a task without any romance such as mining ore.

......

The tunnel that I usually pass through is now like an abyss that swallows the light, if I accidentally step into it, I will be swallowed up in darkness and die, such thoughts continue to linger in my heart, and my young self can only curl up by the lamp, but the light will eventually go out.

What should he do, should he muster up the courage to take the first step, but someone helped him decide, the middle-aged lizardman who came out of the dark tunnel, his father.

"Father's ......"

When he stepped into the range of the lamplight, his young self noticed the scars on his body, blood had already flowed from his eye sockets, and the ground was bloodstained by the usual cocked tail.

"You must protect yourself...... This is a talisman...... Tell the people of your clan about yourself. ”

From his trembling hands, he took the blood-stained red crystal, which was different from the scorching crystals he usually saw, not in four directions, but in hexagons, like snowflakes.

The sound of tick-tock, dripping blood, seemed to be mixed with other sounds, and with keen hearing they were perceiving their approach, the plurality of footsteps, tapping on the tunnel, passing through the soil.

"Hurry up and don't look back...... Remember to take care of yourself, I may not be able to accompany you on the next road, as a father is a little dereliction of duty, but you must remember to go forward, don't care about the sound behind you, keep your head down, and run as hard as you can...... Bye. ”

Pushing the young lizardman like a frozen statue, helping the boy take the first step, then the second step, the boy followed his father's teachings and kept running.

The words of his father were repeated in his mind, the roar behind him, and the echo of the blade piercing through the scales, and the darkness around him seemed to stretch out tentacles, and fear turned into substance, but the boy still ran with his head buried in it, because his father said so.

Wailing, the smell of blood, howls of pain, multiple blades piercing through the body, and the sound from behind it became smaller and smaller.

The light behind him was gone, and there was no light source in front of him, but with the memory of the past, the boy could still identify the direction.

Finally, he couldn't hear anything other than his own footsteps and breathing, the boy was still running, his feet were already blistered with blood, his lungs felt as if they didn't belong to him because of the frequent high-intensity breathing, and every breath carried the pain of a blade cutting his airways.

Obviously this is the case, but the boy doesn't care at all in his heart, and all he thinks is his father's words before parting.

No matter how strong the mental power is, there is still a limit to the body.

Burst.

Unconscious, the body reached the limit, the tail had long since lost the strength to, lying in the tunnel like a corpse, even so, the strength to grasp the "talisman" in his hand did not decrease in the slightest.

......

There are only two familiar people in a strange street, but it is strange that I don't feel uncomfortable, because the two familiar guys are very nice guys, maybe, maybe it's just plain noisy.

"What the hell are you doing! We are very short on time, hurry up and find the locals to be our guides, or with the three of us, I am afraid we won't even know the way to enter the secret realm. ”

"I don't know what to do when I come to a new place and take shopping for granted?! I came out alone, and it was my responsibility to prepare a local souvenir as a gift for my companion. ”

"Hey, hey, we're not good at traveling, Xiyi, you can also talk about her...... What about people?"

“...... Yes, what about people? Lost. ”

"Ha~ I know, it must be because of your grinding, Xiyi took the first step to find the tour guide. ”

"Isn't it because my friend was arguing with a woman on the street, and he couldn't stand it and ran away, thinking that he didn't know him? ”

“...... Okay, okay, don't make any noise, stupid, it's really the two of us, the key is Xiyi?"

Feeling a little abandoned, the white-haired boy grabbed his slightly curly long hair, and regarded it as a step back to open the sky and end the possible endless shirk in his words.

"I've already bought a map to go to the secret realm, and the secret realm has changed recently, and the tour guides here are reluctant to go, so we can only identify the road by ourselves. ”

"Tell me upfront, I'm a road idiot. ”

Like a student rushing to answer in class, the blonde girl actively raised her hand to answer.

"Rankhime Michitomo, this is not something that should be said with a smile on his face, this is not something to show off. ”

"What should I do? Snow Evil Daoist Friend...... I'm also a bit of a road idiot. ”

"I understand the distinction between south, east and west, as long as the road is not too complicated, there will always be a way, besides, there are also humanoid races in the secret realm, and the language problem is solved with a translation talisman, so it would be good to let him lead the way when the time comes. ”

The white-haired boy looked at Xiyi, who looked apologetic, feeling a little uneasy about the path of this adventure, the problems of this team were even bigger than expected.

"I didn't think you're smart. ”

The shoulder-length short-haired girl carrying bags of specialties looked like she didn't have a backache when she stood and talked, which made the white-haired boy feel that he should go back to the sect first, and find other monks as companions, which might be a good way to save time.

"Don't say such things like this, you crazy girl. ”

The three of them prepared the items they needed and followed the instructions on the map to set out on their journey.

......

It was as if I had a nightmare, wandering through a dark tunnel all the time, with no junctions, and every breath was scented with blood.

As the consciousness gradually wakes up, the young lizard realizes that it is not a nightmare, but an inescapable reality, and can still feel the temperature of the hexagonal crystal in his hand, and wants to get up from the bed, but the limbs seem to belong to him.

"You're awake, if I hadn't found you in the tunnel, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and I don't know what your parents would have thought about letting such a young child run around in the tunnel. ”

"Father, he ......"

"Let's drink some medicine first, and the body needs to recuperate for a while before you can move. ”

It was a kind old man, and the scales on his body had lost their luster, but the tail that represented the spirit of the lizardman looked very powerful and waved.

The taste of the medicine was very bitter, and after drinking it in one go, I felt sleepy again, but I couldn't sleep, and I still had something very important to say.

"Here they are...... Came through the tunnel, and they killed ...... Father. ”

His voice was slightly choked, mixed with fear of what had happened in the tunnel, and the frail boy, Mezar, tried to explain what he didn't want to remember.

"They?!"

"Another secret realm, the guy who claims to be from the 'ancestral land', obviously the same race, why kill each other?"

"It's all right, kid, I'll go and inform the people in the village, you can sleep and recuperate. ”

Comforting the mentally unstable boy, the old man chose to believe his words, recently the minerals of this secret mountain range have changed, and some visions that are usually invisible have appeared, so the possibility of what the boy told is not impossible.

Looking at the boy who was still frowning in his sleep, the old man covered him with a quilt to prevent the boy from catching a cold.

"This kind of information should not be conveyed by children, cruel things should not be heard by children who are still growing, now that those lizardmen who call themselves 'ancestral land' have appeared...... Is the war about to begin?"

As he made the door, the old man glanced back at the boy lying on the bed.

"War should not be carried by children. ”

With this sentence, the old man embarked on the road to the Council of Elders, and wanted to report the invasion of the "same clan" to the upper echelons.

"Why do people of the same race kill each other? I'm afraid in their eyes, we are like aliens, we are also lizardmen, but we can't understand each other. ”

The belated answer of self-talk is unspeakable in front of the boy.