Chapter Ten: The Third Party

Bang!

A deafening noise cut off the "conversation" between Melina and the Red Dragon. Both of them immediately turned their gaze toward the source. Seeing that the noise had originated from a high vantage point, Melina instantly squeezed her eyes shut.

"ROAR!"

BOOM!

Then came the pained roar of the dragon and the heavy thud of a massive body hitting the ground.

A high-potency flashbang.

Even in the pleasant, sun-drenched afternoon, it was enough to unleash a blinding burst of light.

"Nice shot, A1 high-flash."

Melina wiped the sweat from her face, speaking with a sense of genuine delight. This life-or-death struggle gave her a visceral feeling of being "alive." The sensation was so intoxicating that she felt a lingering reluctance to leave, yet she realized with cold clarity that without her armaments, killing this Red Dragon in hand-to-hand combat was impossible. There was a saying that a Banshee is only truly complete when equipped with her armaments, and Melina felt this truth deeply.

Without her armaments, she was like a wizard stripped of magic—the situation was that dire. It wasn't just about losing a "wand"; it was losing her "magic" entirely.

She tilted her head, gazing affectionately at the Red Dragon struggling on the ground.

*Once I have my armaments, I will come back and kill you.*

The Red Dragon sensed this pure, unadulterated bloodlust. The short-tempered beast seemed to lock onto Melina’s position and opened its maw toward her. Within the hideous, tooth-filled snout, a chilling heat began to rise.

BOOM!

It was as if a wall of fire had suddenly been erected in the air. The intense heat evaporated the moisture in the atmosphere, and Melina felt a searing warmth on her face, followed by the tightening of her skin. The dragon’s breath scorched the ground just inches from her side. She let out a soft chuckle.

"I will come back for you."

BOOM!

Another gout of fire, but this time, Melina had already moved out of range, diving into the dense, complex jungle and running toward the town of Hamlet, guided by her memory.

As she ran, she felt cool, refreshing air against her skin. She reached back to touch the fabric of her black dress and realized something.

Not a single drop of sweat.

Looking at her own clean, petite hands, Melina furrowed her brows.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

...

After excavating a large quantity of crystal ore, the Echo Squad and Sonia hurried back toward Hamlet, hoping to arrive before nightfall. Although the inn there wasn't particularly impressive, the squad still hoped for a hot meal and a warm soup, followed by a night of revelry at the tavern. The world’s abundant productivity meant that the taverns frequented by explorers were bustling with business, far outclassing the local inns. Sonia, however, just wanted to go home and see if she could use today's display of sisterly bonding to invite Melina for a bath, personally verifying whether the claim of her being the "largest among the top five Banshees" was true.

On the way back, the Echo Squad’s attitude had improved significantly. Anyone could see that Melina had a limitless future. For some reason, she seemed to get along well with their "useless" senior, and it was likely she would join their squad in the future. Aside from complaining about the unfairness of fate, they had to wag their tails enthusiastically—this way, when they eventually wanted to rent the "big boss" from the senior's squad, they might actually have a chance.

Since they had cleared the danger zone patrolled by the wyverns, the journey became much more relaxed. The group had been genuinely frightened by the sudden appearance of the Red-Feathered Dragon, so they stopped collecting materials, focusing solely on reaching Hamlet as quickly as possible and avoiding all other dragons along the way.

June and Ray, the two petite girls, walked one after the other, carrying their packs.

...

This had been specifically requested by Sonia. Tar-E crystal ore possessed a truly nasty property: if skin touched it, one would suffer the agony of high-temperature burns within a minute, followed by severe internal organ infection and eventual failure. Even for explorers saturated with magical factors, it was extremely dangerous, as it would constantly erode their internal magic, constructing a parasitic circuit that left the explorer weakened or even dead.

However, this very property made it ideal for crafting control cores.

Melina needed a control core to operate her armaments. The relationship between Melina and the core was akin to Bluetooth; the initial link took some effort, but afterward, it became incredibly convenient and cool.

At the same time, this haul of Tar-E crystal ore was likely the easiest to obtain near Hamlet. With it taken, the construction of her mobile manor could finally be arranged.

Sonia was in an excellent mood.

When they reached the outskirts of Hamlet—a mere five-minute trot away—and saw Melina standing by the roadside in her mourning-style black gauze dress, holding a small parasol, Sonia felt an indescribable sense of joy. She even thought to herself: *Am I the first Banshee to witness the true capability of someone who "could have been..." while in such a healthy state?*

...

Back at the Collector’s Guild, they signed the commission documents. The guild’s impatient, auntie-like receptionist spoke to the beautiful senior Sonia with a sharp, unpleasant tone:

"Tell that squad to hand in their commission log tomorrow. You just need to come over, confirm it, and sign it."

In this world, after explorers finished a contract, they had to write up something resembling a formal record. However, for such tedious tasks, one could use a scribe...

Melina turned her head and saw the Echo Squad’s two "legal lolis" struggling at a counter, standing on their tiptoes and speaking in loud voices to a round, fluffy cat-ball sitting on the desk.

This cat-ball had a wind-up key spinning on its back. It was round and furry, yet it understood human speech and handled a significant amount of paperwork, including writing commission logs.

For just one Silver Lei (with a purchasing power of about 10 yuan), one could hire these round, furry creatures to listen to an oral report and write the log, ensuring the format was correct. If you paid an extra Silver Lei, you could even reach out and pet the warm, fuzzy creature while it wrote...

June handed over a Silver Lei at the counter.

Melina looked away and clicked her tongue, lamenting what a tactless woman she was. To have such a good-tempered living creature—a cat-ball of that size—and not pet it? It was a total waste of a good thing.

Sonia was still tangled up with the middle-aged woman:

"If I want to register an explorer license for my companion, what is the procedure..."

The counter lady snapped:

"We're closing today! Come back and ask tomorrow!"

"Do me a favor, Sister Malu!" Sonia flashed a charming smile. "Can't you make an exception?"

Sister Malu didn't budge:

"It doesn't matter what you say!"

It seemed Malu really disliked Sonia. While Melina was watching the show, Sonia suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her to the counter, smiling ingratiatingly: "It's for her. Look, can't you just register the paperwork now? Tomorrow is a day off, right? Don't you only handle completed commissions on days off..."

Auntie Malu looked like she was about to scold her again, but when her gaze landed on Melina’s face, she paused, her eyes fixed in a stare.

Melina tilted her head, confused.

Auntie Malu’s face actually showed a hint of nervousness.

Sonia leaned into Melina’s ear and whispered, "Smile."

...Melina complied, offering a practiced, formulaic smile.

Auntie Malu immediately displayed a look of shyness, a rosy flush spreading across her cheeks...

"Well... I suppose it's not impossible to process..."

...

Outside the Collector’s Guild.

Holding the registered explorer’s handbook, Melina touched the complimentary candy, biscuits, boxed pastries, and the five extra logbooks the lady had given her just in case, along with a packaged pen set.

Sonia hugged her crossbow, feeling elated: "Done, done, finally done! Hey, we successfully pulled a fast one."

Melina looked at her sideways: "A fast one?"

"Yeah," Sonia said, leading the way toward the manor. "Explorer certification is actually quite strict. They require the applicant to possess armaments, and they send instructors to guide new explorers. This creates a problem: you can't use an armament in the normal way."

She slowly recounted a piece of history:

"It won't be until a year from now that a prodigy like you appears, forcing the Explorer Guild to change the regulations regarding 'using one armament.' And that will only happen after two horrifying dragon rampages force them to compromise. Right now, without a major disaster, the guild would never agree to let someone who 'uses magic factors to control five armaments simultaneously' become an explorer. Honestly, I can understand them."

Melina understood, too.

This wasn't just a simple matter of "using five weapons at once." From a magical perspective, there were people born with dual-armament compatibility, but their fates were often tragic. Their magic factors couldn't sustain two weapons, or even if they could, the weapons would eventually repel each other, leading to their death. It could be said that the guild had set these rules specifically to "prevent tragedy."

Melina asked:

"So, you essentially forced their hand?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The senior made a sound like boiling water. "So bold, Melina..."

Realizing her words had a double meaning, Melina stared at Sonia with her beautiful golden eyes.

The senior nodded: "You could say that. Because you're registered today, they'll ignore the day off tomorrow to finalize it. But since the paperwork is already started, it means you're an explorer now. Tomorrow, you're just submitting your personal data, and since tomorrow and the day after are days off, your registration will be sent to headquarters for approval by default..."

Melina understood the principle:

"And since nobody is working over the next two days, it will default into the database. If they want to pull it out to change it or revoke my explorer status, they'll have to go through the official, painful bureaucracy, right?"

"Exactly, Melina," Sonia smiled brightly. "But this trick only works once. From ancient times until now, you're the first person to exploit this bug."

"I'm truly honored," Melina replied.

"Hey, even though unlicensed explorers can work, I can see in your eyes that you've always wanted to be a legitimate one, right? You respect me, I respect you. Respect, Melina."

She extended her left fist.

Melina looked at her fist for a split second, then extended her own right fist to bump it.

...

Back at the manor, there was already someone in the living room.

A woman who immediately brought to mind the dazzling sun. Her long, golden hair was brilliant and magnificent, and her bright, silver eyes possessed a charming luster. She was a tall beauty, looking every bit like a knight-princess. She flashed a sunny, cheerful smile at Melina, much like a large dog, and then greeted Sonia:

"Good evening, So-So. Is this Melina?"

Sonia, now called "So-So," nodded and introduced her to Melina:

"She's our last roommate, Maria. Though I usually call her Old Ma."

She paused, then added:

"And she’s a cheater, too. Ever heard of system hacks?"