Chapter 46: Dock and the Disappearing Water Wraith
“Are we almost there?”
“Should be. Let me check.”
At noon in the wilderness, on a road that stretched to the horizon, several figures were walking slowly behind an old draught horse pulling a cart.
As Gauss walked, he observed the surroundings—not admiring the scenery, but comparing it to the map in his mind.
Wherever he passed, the surrounding area would be illuminated.
So, when traveling, he instinctively named and marked landmarks or distinctive locations to enrich the map.
That way, the map information would look a little more detailed.
Now, in his mental map, everything except Graystone Town was pitch black.
Several winding paths stretched outward from Graystone Town, connecting to several villages at the ends.
These were places he had traveled through on past missions.
This map ability didn’t sound very useful, but when you were in an endless forest or open wilds with no man‑made structures in sight, you’d appreciate the reassurance of always knowing where you were and how far you were from a town.
You never had to worry about getting lost.
That in itself was a powerful skill, especially for low‑rank adventurers.
Moreover, once he became a professional and had the strength to venture into more complex ruins, secret realms, dungeons, and so forth, the map could provide even greater help.
Mazes, caves, underground worlds, sea adventures—no matter what environment, as long as he passed through, he wouldn’t lose his way afterward.
After casually marking a water source, he exited the mental map.
In his view, the outline of a sparkling river had already appeared in the distance.
That was their mission destination this time: the Ennis River.
The task was to clear out a group of water wraiths lurking along the riverbank—around twenty in number.
They needed to search around the dock and kill the monsters.
This was the group’s second mission after the heavy rain. The last mission was clearing skeletons in a graveyard.
Normal skeletons were arguably the weakest monsters he had encountered so far.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many of them; Gauss had already killed many, but in the end there were only eight.
And there were few skeleton‑related commissions; it was mostly by chance that Gauss and the others got it.
Perhaps it was because skeletons were so weak that villagers didn’t even bother hiring adventurers; they could just grab pitchforks and handle them themselves.
A pure disgrace among monsters.
Fortunately, those eight skeletons also bumped Gauss’ kill count forward a bit. Now he was only ten kills away from reaching a total of fifty.
Ten monsters sounded doable in a single mission.
“Everyone, be careful. This rain might have brought more than just water wraiths.” Levin reminded everyone, as always, before officially entering the dock.
Gauss nodded upon hearing that.
The river already contained many monsters, and with the continuous heavy rain, it was indeed possible that other monsters had been swept here.
On the high ground above the dock’s shoreline sat a small fishing village.
Below was a flat wooden trestle bridge, dozens of small boats moored at the dock; beneath the hulls, colorful water plants swayed, and sunlight pierced the water, creating a breathtaking scene.
Sailors, dockworkers, and fishermen were working hard on the dock.
“Looks like nothing unusual.”
From their elevated vantage point, they looked over the nearby riverside scenery at length, but could not find any water wraiths described in the commission lurking along the bank.
“Let’s go ask in the tavern first.”
The group headed toward the village’s only tavern.
This mission was commissioned by a trading guild in Graystone Town, which also managed this dock.
The village’s tavern was part of this guild’s holdings as well.
Going to the tavern to gather information was a surefire approach.
“Mermaid Tavern.”
The tavern sign depicted a beautiful fairy with a fish tail and a human body.
Even though it was daytime, the tavern was already bustling with noise.
Workers eating meals, merchants drinking, and some locals with arms around each other clinking cups and laughing.
“Squeak—”
Accompanied by a teeth-grating sound from the door hinges.
The door opened, and glaring sunlight poured into the dim, noisy tavern.
The sudden movement drew the attention of everyone inside.
Amid everyone's stares, a steady, heavy rhythm of footsteps echoed as a group of fully armed men and women entered the tavern.
The leading burly man had a serious expression.
Walking in head-on, he was like a cold, hard city wall.
The others following him didn’t look easy to deal with either.
The group's imposing presence caused most of the people present to instinctively look away and return to what they were doing.
The once boisterous atmosphere suddenly quieted, voices lowering significantly.
Gauss discreetly glanced at Levin, who had deliberately put on a stern face.
He thought to himself, “Lesson learned.”
Putting on a bit of a front could reduce unnecessary trouble from others—especially in a tavern full of all sorts. If you looked too easy to pick on, some drunkard might just come looking for trouble.
What Gauss didn’t know was that, to others in the tavern, he looked even more unapproachable.
Leather armor, round shield, a rapier at his waist—aside from his striking emerald-green eyes, he seemed quite ordinary.
But anyone who locked eyes with him would feel an inexplicable pressure slowly rising from deep within their mind.
That was the pressure his 7 points of Spirit stat exerted on ordinary people.
Even if Gauss didn’t do it intentionally, it would still happen from time to time.
“You must be the adventurers who accepted the quest. I’m the owner here, Harvey.”
“Hello.”
After the group stood in the hall for a bit, the tavern owner quickly came to greet them.
“Let’s talk in the private room.”
To avoid disturbing the tavern's regular business, the owner led them into a VIP booth.
“We didn’t see any water wraiths. Weren’t there supposed to be over twenty lurking along the riverbank?” Gauss asked casually after the door was closed.
“Heh...”
Hearing Gauss’ question, the tavern owner Harvey revealed an awkward smile.
After meeting Gauss' eyes, he felt a nameless pressure and quietly shifted his gaze away.
“There were, but yesterday a group of sailors from the village had a few drinks, and while tipsy, they went off together to slay the water wraiths.”
“Did they wipe them all out?” Gauss reflexively asked, thinking perhaps they came all this way for nothing.
Harvey shook his head with a bitter smile.
“Of course not. A few sailors got injured, two water wraith corpses were left behind, and the rest of the wraiths vanished—haven’t been seen on the riverbank since.”
“In a few days, several merchant ships are docking to unload cargo. Brave adventurers, could you help search out the hidden water wraiths and eliminate them completely?”
Everyone looked at each other.
They were somewhat speechless—what were those drunken fools thinking, stirring up the enemy like that?
Now the wraiths were scared and hiding, which only added to their workload.
Perhaps noticing their silence, Harvey proactively spoke again.
“How about this—I’ll apply to the guild for an extra commission and provide you with an additional 20 silver coins as compensation. How does that sound?”
At those words, the group began reconsidering.
Water wraiths were already high-reward monsters, which was why they chose this quest.
The original reward was 1 silver coin per water wraith. Now, with an additional 20 silver coins, and potential loot from the wraiths themselves...
The total payout for this quest might spike to 60 silver coins or even more.
Each member could possibly walk away with over 10 silver coins.
Honestly, a single mission yielding more than 10 silver coins per person was quite substantial.
“We’ll need to discuss it further.”
“All right. Let me know once you’ve reached a decision.” Harvey tactfully left the room, giving them space to talk.
“What do you guys think?”
“An extra 20 silver coins... sounds like we can continue.”
“Besides, we can loot quite a bit off the water wraiths—weapons, supplies salvaged from shipwrecks, even their gall bladders, innards, tongues, and brains can be used as raw materials for poison.”
“If no one objects, let’s go ahead with the mission.” Levin nodded after gathering everyone’s thoughts.
“But stay alert. Something feels off to me.” Ever since arriving, Levin had felt a tightness in his chest and a lingering irritability.
His instincts as a Shield Bearer seemed to be kicking in again.
He couldn’t quite explain the feeling, so all he could do was remind the team to be cautious.
The others nodded but didn’t take his unease too seriously—Levin gave them this kind of warning often.
Gauss, on the other hand, was still mulling over whether he could hit his last 10 monster kills this time if he pushed himself.
Monster Kill Count: 40/50
Monster Kill Types: 3/5 (Goblin, Slime, Normal Skeleton)