25: Chapter 25 New Adventurers

Blackwater City had arrived.

The salty, fishy scent of the sea breeze rushed towards them, and the familiar masts of the harbor were packed densely in the distance.

Seagulls perched on the pier pilings, eyeing every traveler entering the city with a scrutinizing gaze.

As he stepped back into this city, Richard felt as if a lifetime had passed.

When they left, they were a four-person adventure team; when they returned, one was dead, one had quit the team, and one had even turned into a Vampire.

In Blackwater City, Cecilia had her own connections—a middleman specializing in handling special identity registrations, located in a small alley in the dock district that didn't even have a sign.

The middleman took five gold coins, asked no unnecessary questions, and handed her an adventurer identity document sealed with wax. It read:

Name: Lia Vivian.

Race: Human.

Class: Warrior.

There were no additional notes, no special markings; it was processed no differently from a genuine one.

Then, the two of them took the remaining gold coins and headed straight for the pawnshop.

Cecilia's precious sword had been locked in the pawnshop's iron cabinet, and it was returned to her along with a parchment detailing the pawn date and the redemption deadline.

Three gold coins for interest and late fees, plus the fifty gold coins for the mortgage.

When she received the sword with both hands, she stood in front of the pawnshop, looking at it happily for a long time, as if reuniting with an old friend.

It was an heirloom enchanted sword with a blade about a meter long. An ancient inscription, mostly worn away, was carved onto the blade, refracting a pale silver luster under the sunlight that didn't belong to ordinary steel.

She gently traced the enchanted groove along the spine of the sword with her fingertips, and her expression brightened.

At the same time, Richard habitually used Appraisal to check it.

The feedback was concise and clear: Enchanted Longsword, Enchantment Effect: Sharpness +1.

This sword was nearly a third lighter than an ordinary longsword, yet its hardness and sharpness were a whole level higher; it was definitely an elite weapon that any warrior would covet.

It was precisely because of this sword that she had been able to hold her own for so long against enemies far stronger than herself in previous battles.

Richard leaned against the pillar at the entrance of the pawnshop, watching her test the sword, and smiled.

"That really is a fine weapon; it even makes me envious, haha. The feeling of getting something back after losing it must be nice."

"It is. Thank you, Richard."

Cecilia hung the sword on her left hip. The speed at which she drew the sword with her hand was much faster than when Richard had first met her.

Possessing the strength and agility bonuses of a Vampire, even if she only consumed animal blood, she was already more than a notch stronger than before her transformation.

It was just that she was still adapting to her body; she hadn't even touched the threshold of racial skills like transforming into a bat, mist form, or summoning nocturnal creatures.

These required time and guidance, and Count Morta had turned to ash without giving her any guidance at all.

She had been turned one second, and her progenitor had died the next. Such a scene of dark humor probably couldn't be found in many instances throughout the entire history of the Vampires.

On the way to the Adventurers Guild in Blackwater City, Cecilia took a specially crafted light-shielding apparatus from her bosom and put it on in a small alley by the street.

Inside was a thin veil that covered the lower half of her face.

Outside, she wore a nearly fully enclosed cavalry helmet. The eye slit was extremely narrow, just enough to see the road ahead, and it could block out the vast majority of direct sunlight.

Under the scorching sun, this equipment made her look like a flashy young knight, but at least no one would associate her with a Vampire.

The two arrived at the Adventurers Guild in Blackwater City once again.

There were many adventurers in the hall, many new faces, and the task requests on the bulletin board were much more numerous than when they had last visited.

Richard was browsing the available tasks in front of the bulletin board while also observing suitable adventure teams when a voice came from behind him.

The voice was young and carried a kind of easy-going familiarity: "Excuse me, are you looking for teammates?"

Richard turned around and saw a man standing three steps away from him.

To be precise, it was a man who was excessively beautiful, even more so than most women.

He was about twenty years old, with long white hair that wasn't tied up, draped casually over his shoulders and back, shimmering with a silvery-white luster that didn't belong to the light of oil lamps or candles.

His skin was very fair, his features delicate, with a high, straight nose bridge, and a lip shape that was well-defined but not overly harsh. His eyes were an extremely rare light purple, like diluted amethyst.

He wore a clean, dark gray mage robe, which didn't have much dust or signs of wear, suggesting he might have just started the profession recently.

A small brass badge was pinned to the collar of the mage robe; it was the mark of a Mage Apprentice.

"My name is Morpheus." The young man with white hair bowed slightly, his posture polite and elegant.

"I am a Mage Apprentice, with research interests in aberrations, ancient ruins, and ancient languages."

"I must admit that I do have significant shortcomings in combat, but my knowledge base might be able to compensate for some of those deficiencies."

"Our team currently lacks a reliable... or rather, a fearless warrior who can engage the enemy head-on."

He spoke at a measured pace, but every word was carefully chosen, possessing a linguistic habit cultivated by a good education.

Then, his gaze shifted from Richard to Cecilia beside him.

The veil and helmet obscured all of her facial features, but he showed no curiosity and displayed no strangeness.

He simply smiled and added, "Of course, this female warrior beside you is also welcome."

"By the way, our team has two other members." Morpheus stepped aside, signaling the two people not far behind him to come forward.

"Please allow me to introduce them."

Richard looked at this familiar Mage Apprentice and gave Cecilia a helpless look.

Cecilia just shrugged, signaling that they could continue to learn more.

The first to step forward was a young human female with wild black hair, cut short enough that the stubble on the back of her neck was faintly visible.

She had a curvaceous figure and wore a tight-fitting black leather armor, with two intersecting tool belts tied around her waist, hanging full of various Rogue tools—lockpicks, fine steel needles, a few short daggers, and so on.

Her features were not delicate, but combined, they had a cold, attractive quality.

The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and the corners of her mouth naturally had a slight downward curve; standing there, she looked like a wild cat that didn't want to get close to anyone.

She said one word, her voice as cold as her expression: "Black Cat."

Morpheus smiled slightly, filling in the rest of what she hadn't said:

"Black Cat is an indispensable Rogue in our team, skilled in stealth, lockpicking, disarming traps, and all work requiring nimble fingers."

"Her skills allow her to hide behind the enemy in places you would never expect."

Black Cat remained expressionless; she seemed to be a rather cold person.