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Hearing this, Exiled Immortal looked at John with curiosity. "Really? Alchemists can do that?"

"I can turn a pile of scrap metal into a steel behemoth in my hands. Making counterfeits is just a trivial matter; I just don\'t stoop to such things."

"John, we could make a fortune doing this!"

"Are you that short on money? Willing to do something so unethical?"

"Not really... I just thought it would be fun."

Exiled Immortal shrank back, not daring to bring up the subject again.

"I\'m just so bored. We\'ve been cooped up in our rooms for days since we arrived in Talcavano with nothing to do. I\'m bored out of my mind. If I had known it would be like this, I would have stayed in the Deep Forest."

"Be patient. I\'m gathering information. Soon, there will be plenty to do, and you won\'t even have the chance to say no."

"Speaking of which, where are Helena and Elaria? They\'ve been gone a long time. And Qing is missing too."

"They took Elaria shopping for clothes. Girls have those kinds of interests, you know? They should be back soon. As for Qing, he got roped into being a bodyguard and a porter."

Exiled Immortal tossed the magic cube aside and walked to the window, taking a deep breath.

"I can\'t stand it any longer. I\'m going out to get some fresh air. John, want to come along?"

"Hmm... alright, let\'s go. Let\'s head to the Adventurers Guild and see if there\'s any work to kill time that isn\'t too boring."

With this in mind, John and Exiled Immortal got up and left the hotel, heading towards the Adventurers Guild.

The so-called Adventurers Guild wasn\'t a guild open to players.

In fact, it was mostly composed of NPCs from the game world who regularly issued challenging tasks with equally generous rewards.

At the Adventurers Guild, players could also recruit NPCs to join their teams, becoming powerful allies.

This was one of the ways to strengthen a team within the game\'s rules.

However, with every gain, there was a cost.

Adding NPCs to the team would reduce the experience points and rewards earned, roughly by ten percent for each NPC.

Accepting one or two NPCs was manageable.

Pushing open the door of the Adventurers Guild, a strong smell of alcohol hit them, causing John to wrinkle his nose and step back instinctively.

"Damn... what a stench!"

Exiled Immortal pinched his nose, but the smell seemed to permeate through his skin, hitting his soul directly.

"Keep your voice down, do you want to get kicked out?"

John glared at Exiled Immortal, took a deep breath, and entered the Adventurers Guild.

Truly, it was a testament to the diversity and inclusiveness of the city.

From the Talcavano Adventurers Guild, one could glimpse the bigger picture.

Lizardmen, dwarves, elves, half-beasts, and humans—races completely different and often hostile to each other—were sitting at the same tables, drinking and laughing together.

Naturally, no one paid any attention to the two humans who had just arrived.

"Welcome, adventurers! Can I get you a drink?"

"No, thanks. We\'re here for a mission."

John politely declined the receptionist\'s offer and turned to the mission board. The sparse number of tasks made John frown.

"Are there only this many missions?"

"Talcavano has been quite peaceful lately, so there aren\'t many missions available for adventurers. Most people are just drinking here. Only a few low-difficulty, low-reward tasks are left. Would you like to consider any of those?"

"No, thanks. I\'ll keep looking. Hmm... we\'ll have two Slime Ales."

"Certainly! Two Slime Ales, 80 silver coins."

"Here\'s 100, keep the change."

"You\'re very generous!"

Taking the drinks from the receptionist, John and Exiled Immortal found a random place to sit, observing the Adventurers Guild while waiting for new missions to appear.

"Ugh, this tastes awful. Don\'t they have any juice or sparkling water?"

Exiled Immortal took a tentative sip, his face scrunching up in disgust as he pushed the drink aside.

"It\'s not meant for you to drink. Holding a drink is just to help us blend in. Wait a bit longer; there might be personal missions posted by adventurers. These are usually very challenging but come with high rewards."

As he glanced around, John noticed a dwarf NPC who seemed anxious, clutching his drink tightly and glancing towards the entrance now and then.

This piqued John\'s interest.

"Go to the bar and order the most expensive drink."

"Got it."

Exiled Immortal nodded slightly, not questioning John\'s motives.

He walked to the bar and returned within a minute, carrying a glass of deep red liquid.

"You stay here; I\'ll go check out the situation."

"I\'ll come along and join the fun."

"Fine, but remember to watch and listen more than you speak, got it?"

John picked up his glass and walked slowly over to the nervous dwarf. Pointing to the seat opposite, he smiled, "Is this seat taken?"

"No, feel free."

"Thanks."

John nodded slightly and sat down, placing his glass in front of the dwarf.

"You\'re constantly glancing at the entrance. Are you waiting for someone?"

"That\'s none of your business. No comment!"

"There\'s no need for hostility. We\'re all adventurers here. I\'m just trying to help. Let me buy you a drink; it\'s already paid for."

Placing the Flaming Blue liquor in front of the dwarf, John continued, "Care to elaborate?"

"...Are you sure you want to hear?"

"Of course, unless you prefer not to share."

"You\'re an outsider, aren\'t you? You look unfamiliar. But that\'s to be expected. If you were a local of Talcavano, you\'d know that few people here want to be associated with me."

The dwarf downed his drink in one gulp and slammed the glass heavily on the table.

Leaning in, he lowered his voice, adopting a conspiratorial expression.

"Young man, have you heard of... Shadows of the Past?"

As he spoke, a dialogue box simultaneously popped up in front of John and Exiled Immortal.

[Side Quest: Shadows of the Past Accepted]

[Quest Reward: ???]

Seeing this, John\'s eyes lit up.

"Shadows of the Past? Can you tell us more?"

"Those are the apparitions of the deceased. Only a few can see them, and those who do usually die shortly after. But I am the exception. I saw the Shadows of the Past when I was thirteen, and yet here I am, still alive."

"May I ask, how old are you?"

"177. I\'ll be 178 next month."

John: "..."

Seeing Shadows of the Past at thirteen and living until now?

Either this dwarf was lying, or the Shadows of the Past weren\'t as lethal as the rumors suggested.

"Go on, continue."

"At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but over time, whenever I left Talcavano for the blazing plains, that shadow would always appear beside me. This was no hallucination—Shadows of the Past are real!"

"Oh, old Mac, spinning your tales again?"

Just as old Mac finished speaking, a group of lizardmen approached, their slitted eyes full of mockery.

"Always muttering about Shadows of the Past. Even a three-year-old knows it\'s just a myth. You only manage to fool the newcomers."

One of the lizardmen swaggered over and sat next to John, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

He laughed, "Brother, don\'t believe him. There were others like you who believed old Mac, and they all ended up dead."

"Dead? Doesn\'t that prove the existence of Shadows of the Past?"

"Of course not! Those people died at old Mac\'s hands, not because of some Shadows of the Past. We\'re just trying to warn you—stay away from this fraud."