Chapter 361: Maybe They’re Nice

Rachel POV

It was a family tradition to send out their children on a pilgrimage of sorts. Some believed it to be an archaic practice and was more risky than what you would gain in the end, but her parents were firm believers in it. They themselves had been sent out on their own adventure when they were Tier 3. It was actually how they met each other.

Rachel didn’t quite know how she exactly felt about it. On one hand, she was excited because it gave her a level of freedom that she never had before. While on the other hand, it was scary.

There wouldn’t be a backup or someone to rely on if something went wrong. If she wasn’t careful, it was very possible that she would die out here. Her parents knew of this as well and did their very best to train her to increase her odds of survival.

The thing that made her feel slightly less worried was that her older siblings had all gone on their pilgrimages and came back fine. Only Endo had come back with severe injuries, but thankfully her parents were able to figure out a way to heal him so he wasn’t crippled for life.

It also helped that she knew she was quite strong for her age and tier. Even compared to her impressive siblings, she was considered talented. Still, she had never been exposed to any actual danger before.

Even when she delved, she often had her parents or other guards ensuring she was safe. It didn’t help that Endless Forest had a notorious reputation, even all the way back home in Corvus.

While the Endless Forest was technically considered a part of the Empire’s territory, everyone knew that it really wasn’t. It was just too wild and hard to tame. It would cost more to civilize it and keep it managed properly than it would be worth in the long run.

But it was also a great spot to train and build her way up to Tier 4. It was where most of her siblings had come for their pilgrimage and why her parents had decided she should as well.

That said, Rachel had already seen a few people her age around Peralt. These people were likely in a similar position to her and were trying to gain some experience.

That tall brunette she had seen at the guild was a good example. Rachel was certain that she had been someone important. You didn’t gain an aura like that or such sensitive aura senses without proper training. It was unfortunate that Rachel made the mistake of probing the other girl carelessly. She wasn’t used to dealing with other young kids who could sense when she extended her aura.

She didn’t like to brag, but she had a real talent for aura control. Even her parents, who were light on praise most of the time, assured her that she was better than most people her age.

However, it was because of this that she became much more curious about the young black haired boy who was walking ahead of her. His aura intrigued her, despite it appearing to be the aura of a normal Tier 3.

The fact that he was clearly close friends with a girl who was very talented was another thing that interested her. She had come to learn that there was always some kind of dynamic in friendships.

It was common to see the stronger person take a more dominant role in the relationship. However, she didn’t see that in their relationship, and considering how brash the girl had been to her not too long ago, she believed the girl was the type to take charge if she was stronger.

Yet, she had done so, and Rachel didn’t know what to make of it.

In the meantime, she kept on following the mysterious boy at a polite distance. Since they were going to be doing the same mission, she didn’t see a reason why it would be weird if she followed him. It was also a perfect opportunity for her to carefully probe his aura.

She made sure to be more conscientious of her aura since the girl had caught her red-handed. That being said, she couldn’t help but feel like something was off with the other young teen’s aura.

At first glance, it wasn’t anything different than a typical Tier 3’s aura, but that was what made her very skeptical. It was too plain. There was basically no character to his aura. It was as if his aura was made up only of black and white, with no other colors.

She couldn’t pick up on any of his emotions like she would expect from someone with such a lackluster aura. She would have sensed some fluctuations if he were truly that normal, even if he had a focus skill to help him.

He was too perfectly normal.

Unfortunately, she had to stop examining him so closely as they had entered the field where the herbs they were supposed to gather were. Right away, she spotted the reason why this mission was still available.

There was an intensely sickening scent wafting through the field. It didn’t smell necessarily horrible like a sewer, but it was like someone had shoved her face into the most potent bottle of perfume. There was also something the scent was doing to her body. Her stomach felt jittery and began to roll around uncomfortably.

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It got bad enough that she was forced to create a barrier around herself. Once she was isolated, she used her aura to cleanse the scent from the interior of the barrier. She didn’t get everything, but it was enough that the nauseous feeling dissipated, and all she was left with was a slight hint of sweetness.

This ability of hers made her comfortable enough to accept the mission despite the warnings of the guild. It was also the skill that had allowed her to delve into an undead rift a few months back with relative safety from the death mana environment. Cleansing with pure aura was a rare skill that provided her with many opportunities.

She turned to look at where the boy had walked off to and spotted him not too far away. She was curious how he was faring with the unpleasant odor and if he was okay.

However, to her surprise, she wasn’t able to feel him put up a single barrier around himself. He was just navigating through the fields with a weird grin on his face and reached down occasionally to pick up some herbs without a care in the world about the scent.