Rommy smiled broadly. "I heard you discussing magic bags in front of the shop earlier. Is your money not enough to buy one?"
Keyzier sighed. "Yes. The bags we could afford are sold out! The remaining ones are sky-high in price."
Rommy's eyes sparkled, as if finding a profitable business solution.
"In that case, do you want to take a mission from me to collect 6 Anome flower stalks and 7 Oprasida mushrooms?"
Keyzier and Donovan looked at each other. The names of those materials sounded foreign.
"Why us? You look rich, why not hire a high-ranking party?" asked Donovan.
"Because high-ranking parties ask for money. I prefer barter," answered Rommy casually. "If you can get them, then I will give that bag to both of you! I have a stock 'House' capacity magic bag in my private warehouse that is unused."
Keyzier's eyes widened. House capacity bag? Free?
"Really? But, we have to take the mission through the guild, and transactions outside the guild are prohibited! That's the rule," said Donovan, trying to stay law-abiding.
"Alright, I will immediately make it an official mission!" said Rommy without hesitation.
Not long after, he returned from the direction of the administration building carrying a special letter sealed with red wax. It was an official mission introduction letter that we had to hand over to the guild.
Upon arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, they went straight to Anna's desk. Anna broke the seal on the letter and read it. Her face changed drastically. She saw the letter and was very shocked by the content of the request coming from Rommy, the owner of the famous magic equipment shop in the capital.
Usually, Rommy only gave missions to veteran adventurers. However, seeing Keyzier and Donovan's enthusiasm—and perhaps feeling a little pity for Keyzier's pleading face—Anna finally agreed.
"Be careful, Malbo Forest is a bit... strange lately," Anna warned while giving the approval stamp.
After confirmation, they immediately went to Malbo Forest to look for the required ingredients.
Their footsteps were so eager to carry out the mission. Keyzier hummed along the way, imagining how easy his life would be later.
"If this mission is finished, I will get a magic bag for free. Novan and I won't have to bother dragging our hunted monsters anymore. We could even put an elephant in it!" raved Keyzier happily.
Upon arriving in Malbo Forest, the atmosphere was a bit different from a normal forest. A thin mist blanketed the trees. But they didn't care. They immediately searched for Anome flowers and Oprasida mushrooms here and there, overturning stones, parting bushes, and climbing trees.
However, they found nothing.
One hour passed. Two hours passed. The sun began to dip, but the light in the forest actually grew brighter and more blinding. Without realizing it, the fog around them thickened and swirled slowly.
The two of them continued to explore the forest, going deeper, penetrating the dense undergrowth. Until finally, they broke out of the thicket and arrived at a place very foreign to them.
The view before them made their breath hitch.
The place had a very high and large mountain whose peak was covered in glistening snow. In front of them lay a very deep ravine, the bottom invisible because it was covered in thick white clouds. Across the ravine, floating islands of land could be seen in the air, fed by waterfalls spilling from the sky.
The forest behind them had now turned into a forest with giant trees whose leaves were golden. The air was so vast and cool, far purer than the air of Malbo Forest. The two of them felt astonished by what they were seeing.
Keyzier rubbed his eyes. "Hey Novan, we were just in a forest, right?"
Donovan looked around in confusion. "Yes, that's right. But now we are at the edge of a cliff! And look... the clouds are below us."
"Don't you think this is very strange? So, where are we?" asked Keyzier, his voice starting to tremble.
"I don't know where we are right now," answered Donovan honestly. "For sure, this is very strange, as if we both passed through a teleportation gate or dimensional rift when passing through the mist earlier."
Confused by the events they were experiencing, they tried to explore the foreign place. They walked along the cliff edge, hoping to find a way down or at least a way back to Malbo Forest.
However, what they found was just a cliff edge that met another cliff wall towering high, slippery, and impossible to climb. They were trapped on a giant floating plateau.
Panic began to overtake Keyzier.
"Hey, Novan, this is a dead end. Where else should we look for a way out of here?"
Donovan looked up, staring at the stone wall behind them. "Look up! It's another cliff wall. We will definitely have trouble climbing up! And jumping down is suicide."
Keyzier's face went pale. His wild imagination began to work.
"What do we do? Are we going to die here, Novan? Die slowly from dehydration and hunger? At least I want to eat my mother's cooking again... I haven't married yet... I don't have that magic bag yet..."
"Key, calm down! We must think clearly in a situation like this! Panic won't help," said Donovan, trying to calm him, even though his own heart was pounding.
But Keyzier had lost his mind. He threw himself onto the ground and hugged Donovan's leg tightly.
"HEY NOVAN, HOW CAN I BE CALM? I'M GOING TO DIE A SILLY DEATH HERE WITH YOU. THIS IS NOT FUNNY...!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITH A FOOL LIKE YOU!"
Donovan tried to step, but the weight on his leg was too heavy. "HEY, LET GO OF ME! DON'T HUG MY LEG LIKE THAT, I CAN'T MOVE..!!"
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE SILLY BECAUSE OF STARVATION IN A STRANGE PLACE WITH YOU! WAAAA... MOMMM!!"
"THAT'S WHY CALM DOWN AND STOP SHAKING MY LEG, STUPID! YOU'RE MAKING ME DIZZY!"