Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

Lance glanced at it.

This notification seemed a little different from the previous ones?

But he didn’t dwell on it—now was not the time to study the system’s wording.

The place was dark and damp; staying too long could easily make one sick. Besides, today’s monster-clearing quota hadn’t been completed yet.

“Alright, it’s clean.”

Lance casually tossed aside the dirty paper ball and put his glove back on.

“Next, we’re heading to the next task point. The path won’t be easy—watch your step.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the edge of the forest.

Cecilia stood there blankly, lowering her head to look at her wrist.

Although the mud was gone, the spot that had just been touched by Lance’s warm fingers now carried a faint, unusual blush.That lingering warmth seemed to still cling to her skin.

Too strange.

Aside from her father, this was the first time a man had directly touched her like that.

Hearing Lance calling from ahead, Cecilia snapped back to her senses.

Flustered, she tugged at her cloak, hiding that hand completely within her sleeve.

“C-coming!”

She hurried to catch up.

The two passed through the oppressive dark forest, and their view gradually opened up.

Ahead lay a wide and gentle river shoal.

Sunlight poured unobstructed onto the water’s surface, shimmering brightly, while the shore was covered with white pebbles.

It looked like a scenic and safe resting place.

The only odd thing was—

Across this flat shoal, many gray-brown boulders were scattered abruptly.

Each of these stones was about the size of an adult’s back, their surfaces rugged and uneven, covered with moss and aquatic plants, densely occupying half of the riverbank.

“We’re here.”

Lance stopped, his gaze sweeping across those large stones—those stones were their targets.

Stone-Shell River Crabs.

His eyes quickly scanned the riverbank.

There weren’t too many Stone-Shell River Crabs within sight—just over twenty scattered along the shore.

This number was perfectly within his control.

Soon, Lance selected an ideal combat position.

It was a massive fractured rock that formed a natural V-shaped gap, its opening facing the riverbank while its back was a solid rock wall.

This kind of terrain was known as a “natural funnel.”

By positioning himself at that gap, he would at most face the frontal attacks of two crabs at a time, perfectly avoiding the risk of being surrounded.

“Next, I’ll handle the main extermination. I’ll use that area as the combat point.”

Lance raised his hand, indicating the rock gap about ten meters from the shore.

Cecilia followed his gesture, nodding obediently, but then let out a puzzled sound.

“Senior, what about me?”

Since this was an extermination task, wouldn’t she need to provide firepower support?

“You’ll stay here and observe.”

Lance didn’t turn around as he checked the shield in his hand.

“After the battle, you’ll go back and write me a detailed observation report on the monster’s habits.”

With that, he prepared to step toward the rock gap.

However, before he could lift his foot, he felt his clothes being lightly tugged.

Lance turned back.

Cecilia was tightly holding onto the corner of his clothing, her red eyes filled with determination.

“Senior, I can help.”

There was a hint of urgency in her voice, as if she feared being treated as a burden again.

“I got excellent grades in Basic Shaping Studies and Spell Model Construction at the academy. I’ve already mastered Fireball—my firepower is definitely sufficient.”

“If it’s a hard-shelled monster, my Fireball can deal significant damage. I can definitely help you.”

Among apprentice mages of her age who had not yet advanced into a class, being able to independently cast a high-burst, single-ring spell like Fireball was extremely rare.

Her Spirit attribute had also reached 10.

That had always been her pride.

But Lance simply looked at her quietly, then shook his head without hesitation.

“No.”

“Why?”

Cecilia froze, her grip on his clothing loosening unconsciously, her face filled with confusion.

Lance sighed and pointed toward the riverbank below.

“Take a good look at this environment.”

“This is a river shoal—humidity is extremely high, and there’s standing water everywhere.”

“In this kind of environment, using Fireball means the high temperature will instantly evaporate the water, producing a large amount of high-temperature steam.”

“That white mist won’t just block my vision instantly—more dangerously, it’ll cook me alive in close combat.”

“Are you trying to help me kill monsters, or trying to boil me along with them?”

This series of questions hit like a bucket of cold water.

Cecilia’s expression froze instantly, her heart tightening.

This was something she had never encountered in the academy training grounds, and the textbooks had never mentioned side effects caused by environmental interactions like this.

In her original assumption, she had believed she was already capable of standing on her own as a mage and would surely be able to help.

She hadn’t expected she might actually make things worse.

Before she could recover, Lance continued:

“Also, I chose that rock gap to use terrain positioning, minimizing the monsters’ numerical advantage.”

“If you cast from a high position, the massive fluctuation of mana will immediately attract the aggro of every monster on the shoal.”

“In this open area with no cover at all—”

Lance spread his hands, his tone practical.

“I’ve only got two legs and one shield. There’s no way I can block that many snapping claws.”

Only then did Cecilia fully realize how foolish her suggestion had been.

It was a classic academic mindset—focused only on output, ignoring the battlefield entirely.

“S-sorry!”

Cecilia lowered her head in shame, her voice filled with self-blame.

Seeing the girl on the verge of tears, Lance knew the timing was right.

Suppressing her wasn’t the goal—teaching her was.

“It’s fine. Beginners all make mistakes. What matters is learning from them.”

His tone softened again.

“So I need you to observe carefully. This is your new task.”

“First, observe the target monster’s biological traits—where its weaknesses are and how it attacks.”

“Second, after we return, I want you to write a tactical analysis.”

“Assume that you must cooperate with me in battle. With me still holding position in that rock gap as bait, what kind of spells should you choose, and when should you act, so that you can support me without causing friendly fire?”

This not only gave her a way out but also set her a highly challenging problem to think about.

It ensured that even while observing, Cecilia wouldn’t feel too frustrated—instead, she now had a clear direction to strive toward.

A blue panel popped up on the retina at just the right moment.

【Through guidance, you made the Half-Elf deeply reflect and follow your instructions. You have gained insight into the thought patterns of the Demi-Human Race · Half-Elf. Half-Elf Research Progress +2】