The Adventures of Clara

The Adventure Begins

"Anti insects?"

"There's."

"Tents?"

"There's."

"Instruction?"

"Everything is complete."

The sun just showed itself. Uncle and the others standing in front of the inn did a final check.

Clara was wearing her white robe made of steel thread. This material has the unique characteristics of a blend of softness of silk and the hardness of steel. In addition, this material is also lightweight and has properties to help magicians absorb mana more efficiently.

Underneath his robe were some mana healing and recovery potions as well as a secret weapon as his ace.

Clara also wore some accessories with certain effects such as poison neutralizing rings.

His hand held a magic wand supposedly made from the branches of the tree of life. At the end there is a beautiful blue gem that is said to be obtained from certain deep sea monsters and made by people who claim to be the number one craftsman.

Although the authenticity of the story is still in question, the strength of this stick is not in doubt. If with bare hands suppose Clara needed two manas to make a fireball the size of a fist, then with this stick Clara would be able to produce twice the size of a fireball with just one mana.

All of Clara's equipment totaled hundreds to thousands of gold coins. It's strange considering his father is always in debt but has a lot of luxury goods. Yup, all of these are Henry's possessions that have been adapted for Clara to use.

Rhino on the other hand wore metal armor complete with a helmet along with various other weapons. He was also tasked with carrying a giant backpack containing various supplies. This backpack has been given weight-reducing magic so it does not burden the Rhino too much.

"Remember my messages."

"‘Kay!"

Uncle sighed helplessly. However he was Henry's son, his head was both as hard as a rock. He wanted to come along but when he glanced at his stock, he immediately threw away the crazy idea.

"Be careful" said the uncle.

Clara and Rhino, the lovemaking duo made their way towards the north gate.

"It feels more like a tourism tour" Clara thought to herself.

The duo left quite early, but when it came to the north gate the other two people were already waiting for them.

One was wearing a hunter-gatherer brown robe with a bow and short sword as the main weapon. Who else if not Pedro from the Village Left.

The other man was slightly shorter than Pedro with a full body armor and a large sword as a weapon. Clara knew him too. He was the adventurer he met during a night of insanity, Filial from the village of Kanan.

"In the end you came" sighed Pedro.

"Ehe."

"Haa. Let me explain again. Our destination this time is Nagara Waterfall. About half a day from Denia. Any question?"

Rhino raised his hand. "What is your purpose?"

Rhino's question was also very eager to ask Clara. Why would this guy even bother to do this?

"Nothing," replied Pedro, indifferently. "But others may have hostile goals. There's still time to come back."

Rhino was very dissatisfied with an answer that was not that answer. He wanted to come back because it was very clear someone was investigating behind the scenes. But of course his little fellow this one won't agree.

"Let's go!" clara shouted, excited.

Because there are no more questions the group finally left for the destination.

The inspection at the gate turned out not to be as strict as Clara thought. Or it may be that this group is an exception and given special treatment.

Behind the giant gate that Clara had failed to pass before, there was a stone bridge wide enough to be able to accommodate six horse carriages and also unusually long, perhaps around 500 to 700 meters.

Clara with her curious soul peered under the bridge. There he could only see endless darkness.

That said, the demon lord concentrated almost all of his strength to create the strongest attack. As a result the continent split into two and at the gap of the two continents created an endless abyss, a place where the warm sun was not reached, the Abyss.

It seemed to be true because even sunlight was unable to touch the surface of the abyss, as if something was absorbing the light. According to research, not only light is absorbed but also mana.

An idea tickles the little girl's idea, but let's put it aside for now and investigate as time goes on.

"Is it true that someone lives down here?" ask Clara, curious.

"The rumors are so. You know, the fact is almost no one ever comes back after trying to get into it. The only known entrance is through the Dragon Valley. But the valley was guarded by the mighty Asura King and until now only a group of legendary adventurers were able to pass through his guard. So exploring the Abyss is basically impossible" explains Lial at length.

Clara's eyes sparkled. "Sister Lial ever been there?"

"Never. And you never go there either. Unless you want to die."

They continue their journey.

The first obstacle immediately hindered the group.

Clara felt as if her body was being pressed. The further he went, the more the pressure became clearer.

Cold sweat slid from his pale forehead. His breath feels heavy. His head started to turn.

"Hold a minute. We will rest at the end of the bridge" said Pedro, apparently knowing Clara's difficulties.

"Where in the north is wild and difficult to manage. Hold on and let your body get used to it" explains Lial.

There is a theory that the Abyss absorbed the wild mana from the north so that the southern region of the continent was not particularly affected. Maybe that theory is true.

The little girl looked at Rhino in surprise.

"Rhino is nothing!" clara said, surprised.

"Oi! You underestimate me, yeah. I used to be an adventurer too."

Clara tried to apply the meditation technique but was quickly stopped by Pedro.

"Don't. Do that later. For now hold it and get used to it."

The girl did not understand but decided to trust the words of a veteran. This kind of suffering is nothing. He's felt worse.

After walking for a few minutes they finally reached the end of the bridge and rested and ate breakfast. After that Clara did meditation for almost an entire hour.

The reason Pedro stopped him from meditating earlier was probably because it was uncomfortable doing it halfway.

Where here is wild. Several times the sweet girl was hit by a backlash and spewed out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Do it slowly. It's just a matter of body adaptation."

Rhino watched with worry. The effect actually varies greatly on each person. Simply put, the stronger a person was, the longer they would be in this state of hell.

It is strange that Clara, who is only a second-rate witch, has been rejected like this. Maybe this has something to do with his illness?

Luckily Clara was able to overcome this difficulty.

After he finished his body felt lighter. The girl had many questions on her mind. When he tried to chant a spell, the effects of the magic he cast became stronger with the same amount of mana.

"Great!" clara said, satisfied.

Clara said she wanted to take a walk around the area to get some fresh air. So he went with Lial.

The buildings on this side are mostly for military purposes. There is only one place to stay and one place to eat. Honestly, there's not much to see.

In a certain place, he found something that caught his eye. Construction workers are building something. Looks like a train track?

"Railway?"

"Is it okay, ya~?"

Trains have high mobility and range. In addition to being an introduction to logistics, the attack power is also very strong if equipped with various weapons such as cannons for example.

But the trains also have obvious shortcomings, they need special lines to be able to operate. And this deficiency is particularly fatal in harsh regions such as the northern regions. The cost of building and maintaining it is not a play.

"Well, because they dared to make there must have been a new discovery of the basic rail material that is strong and durable," said Lial.

"It seems so," said a mysterious voice coming from behind.

A man with glasses and wearing a black suit approached them. His face looks to be in his mid-twenties with a well-treated body.

Beside him was a figure of almost the same height as Clara, wearing a white robe and mask.

"Ah. Chairman." It seems like Lial recognized this person. "Clara, this man is the current head of the alliance, Erick."

"Hello ...."

"I'm Erick. It's Red. Hey, Red, say hello." The chairman introduced the boy beside him.

"Hello." A monotonous voice came from behind that plain mask.

Clara's effect on this man wasn't very good. He did not like it, because after all this person was the reason behind his failure to join the Adventurers Alliance, with his absurd rules.

Besides, what the fuck does the name 'Red.' mean.'

"Oh! The first time I saw him. Your kid?" ask Lial, nosy.

"... You could say it like that" Erick replied, faintly.

The man looked at Clara closely, like he was figuring out something. This made Clara somewhat uncomfortable.

"Clarina Amaryllis Pragdina. The daughter of the Great Witch Henry Pragdina and the Adventurer Vagabond Daisy, right?"

"Th-that's right."

I don't know why Clara got a little nervous.

"What do you know about your mother?"

The first time I met and the first thing I asked was about her mother ...

Whahuh? What the fuck this guy.

Is he going to be his stepfather?

"Mother? Clara ya~ just found out that Clara's mom is a vagabond."

Erick narrowed his eyes a little. The poor girl became increasingly uncomfortable.

"By the way what are you doing here, chief?" lial said, diverting the conversation.

"Naisu job, sister Lial," praised Clara inwardly.

"Just a short walk."

"Do you know anything about this giant project, chief?"

"No. The Empire is keeping a proper distance from the Alliance, so it's hard to find the latest info."

"But I doubt the Chairman can't dig up any information. Come on, let's leak a little at us" Lial persuaded.

Erick completely ignored Lial. He looked at the construction workers as if he was thinking of something.

Clara who had been listening had finally spoken.

"Will this project work, ya~?"

"It all depends on the response of the kingdom. But it will most likely succeed" Erick replied.

Clara also looked at the distance.

The human empire and the demi-human kingdom were arguably sworn enemies.

People want to reclaim their land. The demi-humans want to defend their homes. There have been many victims of infighting over the past 300 years. Both sides can hardly be reconciled.

The era will soon change. In the next war there will probably be less close combat.

With the current imperial technology they would very easily dominate the war. However, the latest weapons do not require a strong man to control them. Even ordinary people, with proper training and weapons, would be able to defeat C-class monsters in the future.

And Clara was sure the kingdom would not remain silent either. They also have their own ace.

"yeah. I think with this the war will end soon" said Lial, unconcerned.

"Maybe. Probably not." either."

"It's time. We go first, chief."

"Before that let me give you a piece of advice. You're gonna run Detective Delta's plan, right? The Estarosa group began to actively move. Be careful."

"... Thanks for the advice."

Lial and Clara go to the place they promised. In the middle of the road the girl was no longer able to hold back her curiosity.

"Who is Estarosa?"

"The Falling Hero Estarosa. Have you never heard of it?"

Clara thought for a moment. The name sounded familiar to her ears.

"Estarosa the Guard. It is said that I once held a horde of monsters alone," explained Lial.

Clara finally remembered it. The heroic story of this man is well known. He stood gallantly with only a sickle capital in his right hand and a hammer on the other, bare-chested as well. With himself standing firmly in front of the gate not a single monster made it through.

"But why ya~ the chairman told us to be careful," asked Clara, puzzled.

"Uncertainly not known. What is clear is that he made a fatal mistake and betrayed the empire." Filial let out a heavy sigh, there was a tinge of disappointment in his words. "Right now he was leading a group of people and belonged to the fugitive with the highest head value."

Clara also sighed. It was a pity that a great hero fell like that.

I hope they don't meet them ....

Wait, why does that girl feel like this is a death flag?

"Even this plan has been leaked to the chairman. That person is mysterious."

"Uh?"

"What's wrong. Come on."

They finally regrouped and continued on their way.

After passing through the outer wall they were greeted by a green expanse as far as the eye could see. In this vegetation there are various forests with their own characteristics and locations close to each other. Finally grouped into one and named the Great Forest of Zura.

Clara stopped right in front of the forest.

The little girl inhaled a deep breath many times and then patted both of her cheeks hard.

"Good!"

Clara's first adventure finally begins.