[Name: Little John Franklin]

[Race: Human]

[Danger Level: 2, Not Bad]

[Personality: Cautious]

[Title: Future Hero]

Shire looked at Little John’s panel and saw that he had grown a bit during this time.

"Here’s the stuff you wanted, Boss." Little John unloaded the goods from his mule.

He had rented a mule for this meeting, and between that and what he carried on his back, he had a total of 100 kilograms.

"Thirty kilograms of rice, ten kilograms of jerky, ten kilograms of salt." Little John then took a large bundle of sheepskins off the mule’s back.

"Plus the crossbow arrows, four long spears, rope, and an axe. It’s all here."

"Thanks. Good work." Shire nodded and ordered his subordinates to carry the goods away and keep them safe.

When the goblins appeared earlier, they had nearly spooked the mule, but thankfully Little John had managed to hold it steady.

"I have a total of fifty kilograms of Blue Thorn Grass this time." Shire said with a smile, "This shipment should be worth quite a bit."

"And here’s some equipment for you." He had his subordinates help Little John load the items onto the mule.

"This much?" Little John raised an eyebrow. He had teamed up with other Adventurers to gather herbs before, but they never managed to collect much. Ten kilograms was considered a good haul, and that was split among several people.

The Boss and his men had casually gathered fifty kilograms. ’This trade route really is great,’ Little John thought. ’It has a lot of potential.’

"Also, we have some things to take care of, so we can’t accept any gathering commissions for a while," Shire said.

"Is that so, Boss?" Little John had already taken out the commission form. Hearing that they wouldn’t be gathering this time, he felt a little disappointed.

"Yes, we need to prepare for winter ourselves." Shire took the commission form. "Wind Charm Grass tubers, 20 silver a kilogram."

"Right. I heard it’s a relatively rare medicinal herb because it grows low to the ground and is hard to spot among the other grasses," Little John said.

"Mm, do you have a map?" Shire asked.

Little John looked down and fumbled for a map sold by the Adventurer Association for 10 silver coins.

It was just an ordinary map, the kind given to rookie Adventurers. Veteran Adventurers were said to have their own treasured, private maps.

Shire closed his eyes for a moment, then unfolded the map and studied it carefully. "Here, here, and here. These are all places where Wind Charm Grass is concentrated. This spot has the most."

He tapped several spots on the map in succession, and Little John quickly marked them down.

’The Boss is so reliable. I should bring a portable pen next time and just ask him directly. That way I won’t have to tag along with those old-timer Adventurers and let them take the lion’s share,’ Little John thought.

"Here’s the procurement list." Shire handed it to Little John.

Little John took it with both hands and glanced at it. The list was full of pelts, long spears, and short swords, but surprisingly, it also included three large glass tanks.

"Glass tanks?" He raised an eyebrow. ’What do goblins need these for? Pickling vegetables?’

He didn’t doubt that the Boss might be storing food for the coming winter.

"Yes. Make sure they’re protected on the way here next time. Don’t let them break," Shire instructed seriously.

"Okay, Boss." Seeing Shire’s serious expression, Little John’s smile vanished, and he nodded heavily.

"Also, I wanted to ask, do you know the price of Healing Potions at the ’Drink Undying’ Alchemy Workshop?" Shire asked.

"Uh, they’re not cheap, Boss." Little John shook his head. "There are only two Alchemy Workshops in Yangjiao Town, and both charge outrageous prices. Especially that Drink Undying place. Adventurers joke that they hope a teammate will actually die from one of their potions. That way they could drag the profiteering owner to the Public Security Bureau and see him sentenced to ten years of mining."

"Never mind then," Shire said with a laugh.

"There’s something else I need you to do." He took a piece of paper from one of his subordinates. "Help me contact a blacksmith. I need something made."

Little John took the paper, unfolded it, and saw it was a blueprint. It was finely drawn, with dimensions and instructions noted on it.

In the center of the blueprint were two small pots, small enough to be held in one hand. Their surfaces were covered in a bumpy, tortoise-shell-like pattern, there were threads at the mouth of the pots, and a handle was drawn on top of one.

"It’s made of two pieces of thin sheet iron. The two components can be fitted and locked together. They might not be very proficient at first, but they’ll get faster after making a few." Shire patiently explained, pointing at the blueprint. "Go talk to them. It shouldn’t cost much, and it doesn’t use a lot of material. Have them make ten to start."

"Okay. Is our next meeting still in three days, Boss?"

"Yes, in three days." Shire nodded.

"Boss, a Magical Beast has appeared in the forest recently—a Fearsome Claw Bear." Little John folded the procurement list and the blueprint a few times and tucked them into his pocket. "The Association has posted a 1 Gold Coin bounty for information on its Ability."

"The Adventurers are all speculating. Some say it’s Shadow Entanglement, others say it’s Suppression. There are all kinds of rumors."

"Right now, no one knows the Magical Beast’s territory, so everyone is being very careful."

"It’s Eye of Confusion. Making eye contact with it will throw you into a dazed state. The duration depends on your personal Magic Resistance," Shire said calmly.

"Eye of Confusion... Eye of Confusion." Little John’s eyes widened. After repeating the name a few times, he asked in an amazed tone, "You’ve seen the Fearsome Claw Bear?"

"A few times." Shire said nonchalantly, "I drove it off."

"You’re saying you drove off the Fearsome Claw Bear?" Disbelief was written all over Little John’s face.

"That’s right. The Magical Beast stands over 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder and more than two meters when upright—maybe even 2.4 meters. A dark aura radiates from its body. It’s incredibly strong, powerful, and fast." Shire continued, "The main thing is that it’s very cunning and savage. It likes to hide behind trees or in the bushes and launch surprise attacks."

"Hehehe, as expected of the Boss." Little John chuckled along on the surface, but inwardly he was roasting him. ’Knowing your personality, you probably beat the Fearsome Claw Bear to a pulp. I can even picture it: Shire cracks a whip—CRACK!—on the ground, and the clumsy Fearsome Claw Bear leaps—WHOOSH—from a platform, jumps through a ring of fire, and lands on another pedestal.’

’Entire teams of veteran Adventurers have been wiped out, yet when you encounter it, you just casually ’drove it off’ as if it were nothing. I’m running out of words to describe you.’

"Besides, that beast mainly operates on the forest’s edge and is extremely sensitive to the smell of blood."

"Okay, I understand, Boss." Little John nodded solemnly, his previous suspicion now a certainty: the Boss was the king of the outer forest.

"Since the Association knows about the Fearsome Claw Bear now, have they issued any notices?" Shire asked.

"Notices? You mean the notice for the promotion assessment?" Little John asked. When the Boss nodded, he continued, "Yes, it’s been posted. I heard some people are already preparing to kill the Fearsome Claw Bear to get a Black Iron Badge."

’So the forest is about to get chaotic again. And these promotions always cause trouble,’ Shire mused.

He instructed Little John, "Stay out of it for now. The situation is too murky and chaotic. Your life is more important."

"Mm, I’ll listen to you. If you say stay out, I’ll stay out." Little John nodded.

"That’s all for today, then. See you here in three days," Shire said with a smile.

"Remember, make sure you get the things I want made exactly according to the blueprint," he reminded him again.

Little John nodded in agreement.

Shire watched him leave, then immediately ordered his subordinates, "Put the stuff back in the tunnels. We’re going to catch some monkeys." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He planned to take his men to gather more Bang-Bang Fruits in the afternoon. Tomorrow, he would go check out the place marked with a question mark on his Domain map.

A question mark wasn’t the crossed-swords symbol, so it probably wouldn’t involve combat. It should be safe, and if handled properly, it could benefit the tribe in some way.

What would be there? A sounder of wild boars? A herd of deer? Or perhaps fluttering Little Elves?

"It’s not going to be another nest of Slimes, is it?" Shire muttered to himself.