"Is everyone ready?" Shiro asked with a small smile. Currently, Lyrica, Madison and Silvia were around her, preparing themselves to enter the Sword Myth Springs.

"Yeah." They nodded in sync.

While Silvia was only level 40, both Lyrica and Madison managed to hit level 45 after some early morning dungeon grinding.

"Then let's go."

Pulling out a key, Shiro turned the key and a large portal appeared in front of them.

They entered the portal one by one while Kanae was seeing them off.

"If you want, I can leave Yin with you to protect you." Shiro asked. Only she hadn't entered the portal yet.

"Yes please." Kanae agreed. She enjoyed playing around with the lazy bird after all.

"Take care of her ok? As for her food, here's 3 days' worth of supplies. Don't let her eat all of it.." Shiro smiled before entering the portal.

###

Opening her eyes slowly, Shiro saw that they were in a town of sorts. Looking at the architecture, they couldn't help but notice the resemblance to old eastern type villages.

Wooden houses were positioned side by side with wooden signs telling what kind of shop it was.

If they looked a little further away, they would see some large houses with tall concrete walls.

"Hmm… seems like the Sword Myth Springs is set in Ancient Asia." Silvia said whilst looking around.

Shiro nodded her head and glanced at their mission.

[Sword Myth Springs – Team Trial]

Legend has it that in the town of Nan Qi, there lays a spring that will grant those who pass all its trials a suitable reward regarding the path of the sword.

Your missions begin as you just arrive in the town as travellers.

Raising an eyebrow at the mission, Shiro checked her inventory to see if they had provided them with things to help them.

'Mn? A golden pouch?'

Bringing out the pouch, she opened it to find 10 gold and silver blocks that looked like weird boats.

She decided to inspect them since she didn't know what they were.

[Sycee/Yuan Bao.]

A type of currency.

'Simple enough.' She thought with a shrug.

"Alright girls, let's have a quick team meeting first." Shiro called them trio over.

"First, we need to blend in so these clothes are a no go right now.

"Next, we need information. We ask the surrounding residents about the legends but try not to draw too much attention." Shiro whispered.

"Hmm… Where should we ask for the information though? We can't just ask some random people off the streets." Lyrica frowned.

"That I can take care of in the tavern. But as I said, let's go get some clothes." Shiro grinned and pointed at the shop that displayed clothes.

The girls, especially Lyrica, were excited at the opportunity to try some new clothes.

Lyrica was more excited about seeing Shiro in the clothes rather than herself but that was obvious to both Silvia and Madison. Unfortunately for Lyrica, Shiro did not know of her intent.

Entering the store, the attendant was about to greet them but paused in shock seeing four beauties enter her shop.  

"Excuse me, we'd like to buy some clothes." Shiro smiled cheerfully.

The group was surprised to see Shiro's aura change into a playful young girl.

"Of course. Just follow me." The attendant smiled.

They were a little surprised that the Asian looking attendant spoke fluent English but dismissed it as the trial making things easier for them. Following the attendant, they saw a bunch of clothes that had pretty much the same design but different colours.

"I know what these clothes are. They're called Hanfu. They are in essence, the clothes that people wore back in ancient China." Silvia whispered to the group.

"Heh~ Then let's go pick some." Shiro smiled and walked over to the section that contained the most amount of white Hanfu.

Browsing through the selection, Shiro eventually settled with one that transitions from an ice white to sky blue and finally, to a light magenta. There were embroidered patterns along the sleeves and the skirt which gave the outfit more flare.

In addition to this, it also came with a magenta ribbon that paired well with the overall outfit.

"Is there a changing room?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, just go up the stairs and turn left. It is there where you shall find a room to change into the clothes." The attendant replied with a small bow.

Nodding her head as thanks, Shiro followed her instructions and changed into the new outfit.

She tried to conjure up an ice mirror but frowned when she realised her magic had mostly been sealed away.

Narrowing her eyes, she had a small suspicion on what's allowed and what's not allowed in this world.

'Maybe because it's 'Sword' Myth Springs, we can only use swords and sword skills?' She thought whilst rubbing her chin.

Tapping her necklace, she was able to summon her Ascendant Dream without a problem.

'Well I guess we can handle it with just our sword skills.'

While she wasn't a swordswoman, she could use her Orange Grade Swords to help her out. Lyrica was a sword focused class so she's fine and Madison had her attack knight for the greatsword.

That only left Silvia with her being a healer. She didn't have any sword or skill to help her out in this trial.

"Perhaps we'll be able to buy her a sword or something similar." Shiro muttered as she prepared to walk back downstairs to pay for her outfit.

"Walking out of the changing room, she saw the three of them ready to change into their new outfits.

"The changing room's all yours." Shiro smiled.

Silvia and Madison nodded whilst Lyrica burned the image of Shiro in a Hanfu into her brain.

"Is there anything off?" Shiro asked seeing Lyrica's intense gaze.

"No, it's perfect." Lyrica replied.

"Perfect? In that case then phew. Go get changed while I pay for this." Shiro said whilst walking towards the attendant.

"So how much is this?" She asked.

"Including the clothes that your friends chose, it'll be 5 silvers." The attendant smiled.

"Hou~ 5 silvers huh? Are you sure that's the right price?" Shiro smiled with slight amounts of killing intent.

The attendant paled slightly as she knew she poked the wrong nest.

"*cough* Look at me. I must have grown old and remembered wrong. All of this is only 3 silvers." The attendant corrected herself. She had initially wanted to swindle a few more silvers from Shiro and the group since they looked new to this town. However, she didn't think the little girl in front of her would be so terrifying.

"Mn, is that so? Then how about you give us 4 of those veils over there?" Shiro said, pointing towards the stand that displayed a variety of veils.

"Sure sure, pick whichever one you want." The attendant fawned over Shiro, hoping to not earn her ire anymore. Especially after feeling her killing intent.

Gently throwing the attendant three silvers, Shiro walked over to the stand and picked up four veils.

While it wouldn't hide their countenances completely, it was better than nothing.

Waiting for a short moment, Shiro saw the trio walk out of the changing rooms.

Lyrica chose a light green Hanfu with white and yellow highlights, Madison chose black and red whilst Silvia shock a simple white one.

"Take a veil and put it on." Shiro called out and passed them three veils to split amongst themselves.

She chose a white veil since it matched Hanfu.

After putting on their veils, the group left the building.

"So where are we going now?" Lyrica asked whilst fiddling with her veil a little. Since it was her first time wearing one, she wasn't used to it.

"I'll be going to the tavern to try get us some intel. You girls can come with me if you want." Shiro replied, looking over her shoulder in the process.

"Nah we're good. I'm thinking we should just go around the town and learn more about it for the first day. Like the way things work around here." Madison suggested.

"Good idea. While you girls do that, I'll go to the tavern over there for some info and I'll also get us a few rooms for tonight." Shiro said whilst pointing towards a building in the distance.

"Got it. See you later." Madison nodded as she walked away with Lyrica and Silvia.

They decided that it was best to move as a three since Shiro can handle herself.

Watching them leave, Shiro made her way to the tavern.

'In settings like this, there will always be people who will talk once you share some alcohol with them. Plus, they're going to drink with this miss.' She mused to herself.

Entering the tavern, she saw that it wasn't the same kind of tavern she knew.

Instead of a main counter where you can sit down and drink, there were tables and waiters instead.

'Hmm… In that case, things might be a little more annoying.'

Sitting down on an empty table, Shiro gestured for the waiter to come over to her.

"Hello miss, how can I help today?" He asked politely whilst trying to suppress the blush that crept up onto his face.

"How much is your strongest alcohol?" She asked with a soft tone.

"Ah that'll be a few coppers for the most basic Baijiu (White Spirit)." He replied with confusion.

'Why would a beautiful girl want Baijiu?'

"Hmm… then can you give me enough Baijiu for a single silver?" Shiro asked.

"Gladly, coming right up!" The waiter replied. Since she was going to pay, why would he worry about why she wanted their best wine?

Looking at the vase that had a Chinese character written on the side, Shiro unplugged it and smelt the aroma.

'Hm, not bad I guess?'

While she couldn't taste it, she could most certainly smell the strong alcoholic scent from the container.

Shrugging her shoulders, Shiro brought the container to her lip and drank a few large mouthfuls.

The scene shocked the surroundings guests since Baijiu would normally be drank in small wine cups. Not to mention the fact that one would normally have a large break between shots.

However, looking at Shiro who was downing the alcohol, they couldn't help but cringe just from the thought of how it would taste.

"Little waiter, why don't you tell me some interesting stories about Nan Qi." Shiro asked, placing the container back on the table.

"…" The waiter couldn't respond since he just saw a young girl down around half a container worth of Baijiu in one go.

Shiro frowned a little before waving her and in front of his face.

"Ah! Sorry, can you repeat that please?" He apologised.

"I said, why don't you tell me some interesting stories about Nan Qi."

"Well other than the Sword Myth Springs, Nan Qi doesn't really have anything else." He shrugged since everything about Nan Qi was average.

If it wasn't for the legend of the Sword Myth Springs, hardly anyone would know about this place.

"In that case then tell me about the Sword Myth Springs." Shiro said, gesturing for him to sit down opposite her.

"Where shall I start…"

###

In the end, Shiro had listened to the waiter talk about the sword myth springs for an entire hour. However, the worst part of this was that she could simplify everything she heard in the hour.

A powerful warrior, unmatched in the world, told everyone where he got his power before being killed by the onslaught of over 100,000 men.

After him, there had been several other powerful swordsmen who said the same thing which solidified the legend. Therefore, Nan Qi would get visitors all year round looking for the sword myth springs.

While only a few have managed to find the springs, they've never divulged the actual location resulting in other people having to look for it themselves.

Some would spend years here with no success.

"That makes our mission harder doesn't it?" Madison sighed.

"Not necessarily." Shiro grinned.

"I've managed to gather a bunch of main locations that people visit to look for the sword myth springs. Since other people managed to find the springs without knowing about where it is, there's no reason for us to fail here either." She said unfolding a map she bought.

On the map, there are several crosses that represent the prime locations.

"Is there more that we should know?" Silvia asked.

"In fact, there is. Some of these locations might feature a boss that we have to beat. Apparently it's randomised so I'm not too sure about their spawns. However, we'll find out tomorrow once we go to the locations." Shiro smiled before dismissing them back to their rooms.

Storing everything away, Shiro decided to sit by the window for a bit and watched the night sky.

'Lyrica seemed to want to talk to me about something else today. I wonder what she wants.' She thought whilst waiting for Lyrica to knock on her door.

*Don Don Don

As expected, she heard a knock after a rather short wait.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Shiro asked with a smile whilst opening the door.

"You found out?"

"It was pretty obvious from my point of view." Shiro shrugged with a chuckle.

"What I wanted to talk to you about is a strange feeling I've had since entering this place. It's like when your attention is dragged towards an item even though you don't know what it is. I keep having a feeling that I should head towards the north."

"Hmm… that is rather strange. So you say you keep on having the feeling of wanting to go north?"

"Yeah."

"We'll make our way to the north tomorrow and see what's going on then. Is there anything else you want me to know?" Shiro asked.

"There is actually another thing. I think I might be having a breakthrough in my hidden proficiency."

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