Close Combat Mage

Chapter 312 - Parting Ways Part 1

Originally, Suo Jia had thought that after dumping so much money on the ground, there would definitely be someone audacious enough to come out and look. However, he hadn’t imagined that even after waiting for quite a while, not a single village left their homes. It seemed as if they didn’t even see the money-covered ground.

Suo Jia helplessly sighed. He knew that these villages must have encountered something; otherwise, they definitely wouldn’t be so cautious. What Suo Jia was depressed about was that he would have to bear the consequences of a disaster created by someone else. It was really too upsetting.

With the lack of a better option, Suo Jia pulled out some tents and set them up on the public square at the center of the village. At the same time, Roger also pulled out some ingredients and tools, and started to cook.

That night, Suo Jia and his three companions gathered together, drinking the fresh juice that Roger had blended. They sat around in a circle, drinking while looking at a map, as well as listening to Suo Jia’s explanation.

Suo Jia looked at the others and said, “Starting from tomorrow, there’s no need to gather together anymore. I’m the only one necessary to carry out transactions. Even if you guys followed, you wouldn’t be of any use. We might as well all split up and act separately. That way, our efficiency will increase.”

“Yea…” Xiang Yun nodded in agreement and said, “That’s right. It should’ve been like this from the beginning. If you made us follow you all around while doing business, it would be way too troublesome. Moreover, since we cannot avoid magical beasts, our movements would get problematic. Our progress would probably be so choppy that we wouldn’t get anything done.”

Suo Jia nodded while smiling and continued, “At the moment, Nicole and I have already drawn maps according to everyone’s objectives. I have marked the important locations on it, so if you just follow the map, there definitely won’t be any problems!”

Suo Jia turned to Xiang Yun and warned, “Xiang Yun, your map has all the places that any group must pass through in order to get to the first checkpoint. You just need to travel back and forth between these places to discover the movements of most adventurer groups at the first checkpoint. You’ll definitely have enough people to fight!”

“Hehe…” Xiang Yun put away his map with a bright smile, and praised Suo Jia, “In the end, Boss knows me best. You know that I can’t stand being stifled. Thanks a ton!”

Suo Jia nodded, and turned to look at Nicole. “Nicole, I marked the more mysterious regions around the first checkpoint for you to search around. Head out tomorrow morning and properly look through those areas!”

Nicole excitedly nodded without saying another word. From her appearance, one could tell that she was clearly already longing for the adventuring life starting from tomorrow.

Next, Suo Jia shifted his gaze to Roger and said in a low voice, “As you you, I’ve already marked the villages that are easier to harass. You can hurry up over there and receive some missions under the identity of a mercenary, and suppress some of those guys that cause commotion.”

“Mhmm…” Roger nodded furiously and joyously replied, “Many thanks, Boss. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely try our best.”

After giving instructions to all three of them, Suo Jia furrowed his brows and said, “Before you head out, I have some words I want to say. Everyone will be moving independently, so if you make a move, it’ll be one vs a group. So there are several principles I want you guys to abide to under all circumstances!”

“Boss…if you have anything you want to say, go ahead. We’re listening!” Roger happily agreed.

Suo Jia nodded and urged, “Firstly, everyone must be extremely cautious. Don’t go too overboard; all three of you are like that. If the opponent isn’t one you can challenge at the moment, don’t challenge them. Even if it’s training, you must act within your own capabilities. I hope that the next time we gather together, we won’t be missing a companion!”

Xiang Yun smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, Boss. This is something that all of us know. After all…we aren’t children anymore. We’ve all wandered around this kind of environment for a long time now. We know what to do and what not to do!”

“Mmm…” Suo Jia relaxed, and nodded in response. He then continued, “Secondly, you must all raise your strength as quickly as possible. Use any method necessary, and try to obtain the magic fruits you want and strengthen yourselves. I hope…that after 3 months, when we’ve all gathered together once more, everyone’s strength will have doubled!”

“Aha!” Roger laughed and stated, “Boss, we know that. Wasn’t the reason we came here to improve ourselves? We wouldn’t possibly let such a good opportunity go to waste.”

Nicole interjected, “What do you know? Do you know what kind of fruits you should be eating? Really, if you don’t understand anything, don’t go around randomly promising things.”

“That…” Roger couldn’t help but stutter at this. He really wanted to refute, but he actually didn’t know what kind of magic fruit to eat.

Suo Jia added, “Mm…Roger and Xiang Yun, you two should mainly eat Toughening Fruits. Although these fruits are very average, they are extremely important to you guys. Defense is always a warrior’s lifeline!”

“Yea…” Nicole agreed and supplemented, “Before you decide what type of fruits you’re going to target, it would be good to eat Toughening Fruits for the time being. You guys must remember not to eat too many different types; the magic fruits can clash with each other, as there are many that are incompatible. If you eat them together, you’ll instantly die!”

Suo Jia, Roger, and Xiang Yun couldn’t help but sharply inhale at Nicole’s words. At the same time, Nicole continued on, “Generally, aside from the most average Toughening Fruits, all the other magic fruits cannot be eaten at the same time. That’s why, I hope that everyone understands that, unless you’ve already decided on which direction you want to develop towards, Toughening Fruits are the best choice!”

“Mmm…” Suo Jia agreed and added, “That’s right, Nicole is correct. Putting aside the conflicts between the fruits, we should focus on the point of eating only one fruit per week. We can’t eat too many miscellaneous things, otherwise we’ll be called jacks of all trade but masters of none.”

After a while, Suo Jia firmly declared, “I think that everyone should just eat Toughening Fruits for the time being. While improving your defensive abilities, you can understand more about the various types of magic fruits and their characteristics. Once you reach a certain point in understand, you can decide exactly what kind of fruit you want to have!”

“I understand…” Xiang Yun nodded firmly and stated, “You mean to say that aside from the Toughening Fruits, we can only eat one other type of fruit. That’s why we must choose it very seriously!

“Yes, yes, yes…” Roger furiously nodded and agreed, “It’s just not biting off more than you can chew. Once we really decide what kind of fruits are most important for us, we’ll make another decision. Before this, everyone should still eat Toughening Fruits.”

Seeing everyone finally agree on something, Suo Jia happily nodded and said, “However, there are exceptions. Although the four of us haven’t yet decided what kind of fruit to eat, I’ve already decided that my Diamond Dragon needs to eat Freezing Fruits!”

“Oh?” The three companions couldn’t help but look at Suo Jia in confusion.

Under their gazes, Suo Jia firmly stated, “The most important thing to a Diamond Dragon is temperature. The lower the temperature, the higher its defense and the more powerful its attack. Thus…there’s no need to think over what kind of fruit it should eat.”

“That…” Nicole asked in uncertainty, “I admit that what you say is reasonable, but I think that Young Master Suo Jia should also be eating these Freezing Fruits, right?”

“Haha…” Suo Jia bitterly smiled and shook his head as he helplessly replied, “That’s right, originally I wanted to eat them too. But you should know that magic fruits aren’t easy to find. If we both eat the same type of fruit, there definitely won’t be enough to go around. That’s why I can only switch to another type.”

Nicole couldn’t help but grow curious as she asked, “Yea, you’re right. Obtaining a fruit is already difficult. If the both of you eat the same ones, it’ll be hard to decide who eats it. However, as an ice mage, if you don’t plan on eating Freezing Fruits, what do you plan on eating?”

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