Pillar of Yita

Moreover, he had no choice but to design and build the Dragon Knight Rigging himself, and now he had an additional duty of shipbuilding, which simply meant he was walking further and further down the path of becoming an Artisan Master.

Indeed, the path of the Artisan Master is the most orthodox career trajectory for an Alchemist.

So, he nodded.

He probably counted as a professional Alchemist, although his Alchemy Level might not be as high as his overall character Level.

”Then that’s just perfect,” the man said with undisguised joy upon seeing him nod, ”Mr. Alchemist, we might need a little help from you, but rest assured, we’ll pay you the market rate for your services.”

Compensation?

Fang Hong was slightly taken aback by the mention of it.

”What’s happened?” At this moment, Atira, who heard the noise outside, also came out of the room to ask.

”A Forest Elf?” The man was surprised. Giant Tree Hill did not belong to the Cloud Sea Region, and Forest Elves, although not as rare as the People of Rotao, were not a common race here either.

However, this discovery surprised him less than it gave him a sense of unexpected joy—the presence of an Adventure Group that had traveled from another region to the Cloud Sea at least indicated that they were certainly not Rookies.

Never had he expected to encounter a high-Level Adventure Group led by an Alchemist in the northern forests of Fenris, a place where hardly a bird would poop. It truly solved a pressing issue for him.

After the man’s explanation, Fang Hong and Atira finally understood the situation.

The man and his companions, as expected, were all members of the Rain Listener Guild, and the blue battle robes with a cross were naturally the insignia of the Rain Listener Guild.

Their entourage included members of other Guilds, both large and small, from Fenris Isle. It was fair to say that most of the Guilds of any notable reputation from Fenris had gathered here.

The largest of them, of course, was undoubtedly the Rain Listeners.

As Princess Briana had said, they had come to participate in the spring and autumn tours. According to the man, they would set sail every year at this time from Cloud Harbor and arrive at Golden Bay, then venture deep into the Green Dragon Mountain Range.

The ancient ruins of the Serpent People Empire were located in a valley deep within the mountain range.

Since it was a Trainee tour, naturally, about half of the group consisted of Trainees from various Guilds. In addition to that, about one-third were the seasoned Guild Members responsible for protecting the Trainees.

This type of activity was carried out twice a year and had been performed countless times already, but unexpectedly, they encountered trouble this time.

Like Fang Hong and his party, they had also been attacked by the Night Lizard People last night. Although almost every year on their journey through this area, they would attract attacks from the Night Lizard People, these skirmishes involving a few or a dozen attackers were negligible in front of such a large force made up of a coalition of Guilds.

But this time was different—

”It seems you too have been attacked by the Night Lizard People,” the man observed the surrounding situation. As an old hand, he could easily recognize the signs of a post-battle scene, ”We had the same issue, those beasts seem to be particularly numerous this year. Although we repelled them, the losses were severe.”

”I understand,” Fang Hong finally grasped the man’s implications as the fiercer the combat, the heavier the consumption of Magic Guided Conductor equipment, ”So you want me to help maintain your Magic Guided Conductors? Don’t you have any accompanying Alchemists?”

The man shrugged at the question, ”Mr. Alchemist, as you know, a typical Adventure Group like ours wouldn’t bring a professional Alchemist with us on the road. Those apprentices might be good for minor repairs and the like.”

The man shook his head, ”If possible, I was hoping to buy some replacement Weapons and Armor from you. Even basic, unenchanted Equipment would do.”

Fang Hong was taken aback again.

It struck him how intense the combats must have been to wear down so much equipment to the point where it couldn’t be repaired.

”Could you buy Weapons and Armor?”

Fang Hong was momentarily unsure.

It was normal for the man to think so, as an Adventure Group led by an Alchemist is usually considered somewhat of a moving store when out in the field.

Because after collecting materials, they tend to turn them directly into finished products. Not to mention many practice items, except that the finished product’s style might be somewhat adapted to the environment and may not be as varied, in other aspects, it wasn’t much different from a Magic Guided Store in town.

Such traveling Alchemists are also happy to trade with Adventurers in the wilderness—firstly, because they don’t have to pay taxes, and secondly, because Adventurers are willing to pay a higher price in the wild.

But Fang Hong was different.

Ever since he left Traveler’s Rest, he hadn’t had enough time to study Zero-Type and Type-One Crystals; let alone how little free time he had left between maintaining War Gear for his team or modifying platforms—like installing those two Crossbow Cannons.

If he had any personal time left, it was usually taken by a smiling Lady Noble under the guise of helping him understand the design blueprints for the Airship.

Where would he find the time for anything else?

He was barely managing to squeeze in his studies of Alchemy Knowledge between sleep and meals.

In fact, his rare appearances on the Berio were not because Fang Hong wanted to lock himself inside a room all day.