It only took two hours before the adventurers came back. Li was in the fields with Old Thane, doing some good old weeding and watering. The wheat was voracious, its enhanced roots literally draining any water that fell into the soil within seconds, so the watering process was actually somewhat of a chore, involving Li having to routinely take the massive barrel-like basin they used to store water to the nearest well for refills.

As Li heard the clamor of armor nearing the cottage again, he patted his hands together, clumps of dirt and weeds falling off of them. He turned to Old Thane. The old man was lugging the sizable basin overhead, his muscles straining as he maintained an even, steady pace of water across the wheat.

"Hey, old man, I'll be taking my scheduled break now," said Li.

Old Thane had heard their approach as well. He gave Li a nod. "Aye, lad, I wish you luck. Let them have their glory, though, as I know right well that an adventurer's pride is a strong thing."

"Yeah, I got it. Trust me, if everything goes well, they won't even know I'm there. I'll be leaving the farm to you."

Old Thane gave Li a thumbs up with his free hand. "I would want for nothing more."

______________________

Li watched as the adventurers made one last pit stop at the herbalist stall. Surprisingly, there weren't too many of them.

He could spot triple threat, Vahid and Amelie as well as Launcelot and his trio of ranged supports. At their lead was a knight on horseback, likely guiding them to the wyrm. All the adventurers formed a semi-circle around the stall, their backs to Li.

"Any of you need anything?" said Li as he approached them.

They all turned to face Li, their faces rather stern and serious. At first, he was a little surprised, but then he tried to see from their perspective. They would be heading to fight a wyrm that would require their concentrated efforts to effectively dispatch, and a mistake would cost them dearly. Of course they would be serious.

"We were merely checking whether there were more [Restorations] available before we ventured within the woods," said Sylvie as she came up to Li, passing the others. Her fukumen was on now, and her silver hair had been tied back in a ponytail, ready to handle swift movement. "But your assistant had [Antivenom] on hand, so we were negotiating prices."

"Negotiating?" Li saw Iona at the stall, her hands gliding over several bottles of emerald green [Anti-venom]. "Iona, what did you set the price as?"

"I saw five gold coins for each a fair price," said Iona. "After all, these will be their lifelines. I should say five coins are comparable to the value of their lives."

Li shook his head. Gold coins were extremely expensive in this world, equivalent to a hundred coppers or ten silvers. If he had to try and equate the worth of a gold coin to money in his own world, it would be like one hundred American dollars.

Iona had only ever taught how to make elixirs – she didn't know how to price them. Of course, [Anti-Venom], by virtue of being a magical tier item, was much pricier than [Restoration], but this was basically price-gouging. On a side note, this made it a little clear that she really did not believe mortal lives to be worth much, or else she would have charged for more.

"Let's lower the price to one gold for each," said Li. That was a far more reasonable and competitive price that didn't seem like he was out there to abuse their desperation. The adventurers murmured in agreement.

"Alas," said Launcelot as he shrugged, rustling a deep blue cloak at his back. "I would have paid for it all, but this is agreeable too."

Sylvie narrowed her eyes at him. "We may take your charity in drink and celebration, but on the trail, we can manage ourselves."

"The missy's right, little man," said Vahid. He reached into his waist satchel and rummaged out a gold coin. "Your intentions are pure, but we've our own pride too."

"Ain't that right," said Azhar as he nodded at Vahid. The two exchanged acknowledging looks, their eyes scanning the intricate, animal-shaped tattoos lining each other's bare upper bodies.

Li saw as the adventurers paid their share, each taking a single [Anti-venom] for themselves. Iona had made ten bottles, but there were only eight adventurers, leaving two spare.

"Why so few of you today?" said Li.

Jeanne crossed her arms and cocked her head. "I do not know. At the meeting, there were so many! But when I said we would head out, they all left. Was my plan simply not clear enough?"

Sylvie sighed. "We're the strongest adventurers in this city, but you must realized that many of them are unused to slaying little more than wolves or goblins. They cannot muster the will to travel with so little preparation, even if it is under the call of a gold-rank like you."

"Oh," said Jeanne. She frowned in genuine concern. "Shall we lay this hunt off for another day? It shall be terrible for their reputation if we are to hunt the wyrm without them. They will be called cowards! And all of you as well, I fear I have dragged you into this hunt too recklessly."

Vahid grunted. "Don't bother yourself with them. If they weren't strong enough to come out here now, when then wyrm is close to the city, then they weren't cut out for this in the first place."

"Come now, don't be so harsh on them," said Amelie as she adjusted her somewhat oversized witch's cap so that it didn't cover her eyes. "They made a calculated choice to save their lives, knowing that monsters do not have it within their natures to strike at city walls."

"But what of the farmers and villagers between the woods and the walls?" said Launcelot. He shook his head. "I will not condemn them, but I will not praise them either. However, what is more important is that we hold this disastrous wyrm at bay now. Do not call this hunt off, Jeanne. Know that my shield stands strong behind you as it did before."

"As does my blade," said Vahid, jerking his head backwards to motion at a greatsword larger than a man sheathed at his back.

"And I have to save him, wherever he goes," said Amelie as she pointed a tired finger at Vahid. "So I suppose my magic is also at your cause."

Sylvie and Azhar came up to Jeanne.

"And you ain't ever seen us leave your side," said Azhar as Sylvie gave Jeanne a firm smile.

"Thank you." Jeanne livened up as she saw the support flowing towards her. She straightened her posture and donned her characteristically bright and wide smile. "This is my promise to you: I will protect all of you, no matter the cost, no matter the effort!!"

"Now, now, that's my job," said Launcelot as he waved his greatshield about. "Let us tarry no longer. Noon shall be when the wyrm is at its sleepiest, when the sun has just started to warm its cold blood. We must strike soon."

The adventurers left, and as they did, Sylvie, trailing behind all of them, waved at Li and said, "Don't forget, we'll be back for the harvest!" She turned her back quickly, upping her pace to join the rest of the adventurers.

Li nodded as he saw them off.

"Will you aid them?" said Iona from the stall. There was no accusation in her voice, merely curiosity.

"Yeah," said Li. "Only if I have to, though."

Iona nodded and seemed surprisingly okay with it despite her opinion of mortals. "Then I wish you the best of luck. Li."

____________

Li followed the adventurers once they entered the forest. He glided across the forest floor with superhuman agility, weaving through trees as if they weren't there. Every so often, he would stay still and close his eyes.

He had summoned a Shadowfly to keep an eye on the adventurers. It was an extremely weak familiar, as far as combat went. It was only level 40 with zero offensive capabilities and average defensive capabilities.

What it did have, though, was the ability to render itself invisible through camouflage, and because it wasn't a particularly strong familiar, it didn't invoke any connection loss as did the Myrmeke, allowing him to see through its eyes regardless of how far away it was. One annoying thing was that since the fly couldn't hear anything, Li couldn't either, but its sight was almost at a telescopic level, so he couldn't complain much.

The adventurers moved surprisingly far. Far above an hour into the woods, in fact, and off any of the main paths. The paths existed for a reason – they signaled trails where the woods were safest, and in reality, they explored precious little of the vast Winterwoods. Off the beaten path and into the thick of the woods, the usually safe forest became a far more formidable environment.

The ground became much colder, with spots of frost lacing the dirt despite the summer sun bearing down upon it. The trees became more bare, unable to grow leaves in the chilling temperatures. Here, monsters were far more common.

When Li checked up on them, watching them with an overhead view with the fly, he could routinely see them fighting off packs of direwolves or even a Frost Spider, a formidable level 30 giant insect.

But thankfully, no monster seemed to drastically exceed level 30, and the adventurers were well-equipped to deal with them.

Triple Threat had grown stronger with their mountain drake quest. Jeanne was now level 48 while Sylvie and Azhar had levelled up to 40. In contrast, the adventurers that had stayed behind in peaceful old Riviera were weaker. Vahid and Amelie were level 36. Launcelot stood strong at level 45, evidently having trained himself thoroughly since his defeat at the hands of the Myrmeke, but his other party members were level 32.

Still, combined, this was a thoroughly powerful combination of parties with varied abilities and skills easily capable of clearing through a good part of the Winterwoods. Li even figured that it was a little overkill for the Venom Wyrm. At best, it would be slightly over level 50 if it was of a red variant, but a party like this would manage to deal even with a Red Venom Wyrm with just a bit of a struggle.

Even so, Li made sure to be cautious because in this world, poison didn't just go away after a battle's end. It continued to plague the body until fully treated, and the only healer in the whole party was Jeanne. In a worst-case scenario, he might need to help them heal.

Mostly, though, Li was taking a passive role here, just watching the adventurers deal with the situation themselves and intervening only when he had to.

Li leaned against a tree trunk. It was cold and gnarled – he too was deep in the Winterwoods now, though still far away from the adventurers. Unlike them, he hadn't encountered a single monster. All of them knew by instinct to stay away from him, even in his human form where much of his power lay concealed.

Li closed his eyes and watched through the shadowfly again.

He could see the now that the adventurers had stopped, taking hiding positions before a clearing. In the middle of the clearing lay a deep ravine, as if a giant cleaver had slammed into the earth and carved a great chunk from it.

By now, the knight that had been leading the adventurers stood far back, all his armor on as he clutched at the reigns of his horse, bidding it to be silent. Li knew then that this was where they were to fight.

Li bid the shadowfly to hover over the ravine and peer into it. The fly obeyed, its silent wings propelling its invisible body. Deep at the bottom of the ravine, shrouded in shadows and surrounded by a rushing stream, there lay a venom wyrm.

Its body was massive, easily the size of a two-story house. It laid with its four legs tucked under its green-scaled belly. At its back were two draconic wings folded above the water so as to not get wet. With a guttural growl, the wyrm's long, serpentine neck wiggled, the horned head at the end flitting out a forked tongue as its beady yellow eyes rolled around in its sockets, adjusting their vision. A leathery, white-skinned pouch at its throat bulged, indicating where it stored its deadly venom.

Green scales with black horns – this was a regular venom wyrm. A decent bit larger than the ones from the game, but overall, the same. Not quite level 50 - 48, to be exact with [Power Sense]. Yet as the wyrm roused itself awake, using its claws like picks to scale the ravine to get some nice sunlight to warm itself up, Li got a foreboding sense that he was forgetting something.

To ease his concerns, he had the shadowfly float around the surrounding area. It was decent terrain. Plenty of cover with the trees, and the wyrm didn't have much space to maneuver once it climbed up to the clearing as it would have the ravine at its back.

It could fly, of course, but it wasn't too difficult to ground a wyrm with a critical ranged strike as compared to dragons, their wings were underdeveloped, far softer and weaker than the rest of their body.

Still, there was that foreboding sense gnawing at him, but all he could do now was wait and see the adventurers at work.

And to work they went.