The moon hid behind the dark clouds, and the night got even darker. After killing the Alpha beast, what ensued was an eerie silence. The small creatures in the area either died or fled due to the earlier destructive battle.

Alex saw the knights burying the dead hyenas. However, Alex noticed the bodies of the Alpha and the Fierce beasts were put in a small leather bag.

Space Magic!

Alex was a little excited. Alex guessed he entered this magic world due to an anomaly in space. During his time here, Alex always felt like a person stranded on a remote island. Finally, there is hope to go back to earth. Alex felt light as if a terrible burden was removed.

The knights quickly disposed of the bodies, and Alex invited them to the cave. The stone cave was large enough to fit all of them. Simon, for once, made himself useful by setting some magic traps and alarms outside the cave.

The wizard cast a spell, and a small light orb floated to the ceiling and illuminated the whole cave. Alex watched it in wonder as Miss Rose began to speak.

"Alex, let me introduce you to my teammates. This is Tom Smith and Gary Foreman. They are both the knights of my Elmore family." said Rose.

Tom Smith was a handsome middle-aged man with a sharp face. Gary Foreman was an average young man with an unremarkable face and a strong muscular body.

"Nice to meet you," said Alex while nodding politely.

"These two gentlemen are mercenaries hired from the Vulture group. Simon Black and Declan Rolfe. Simon here is the young master of the Vulture mercenaries," said Rose

Simon raised his head proudly and showing an arrogant look. Miss rose continued.

"Declan is a well-known genius wizard in the free city of Tyros. He is already an Elite Wizard at the age of seventeen and is about to go to the Aegard empire to continue his studies."

"It's not decided yet," said Declan cooly from his black hood. However, the Simon guy's face became stiff. Alex also admired the young wizard. Declan was the same age as himself but was two ranks higher than him.

All six of them started eating dinner. Varis was perching beside him while nibbling some grilled meat. Miss rose offered him some roasted duck, but Alex rejected it.

"I am curious, Mr. Ryder. You are just a Rookie, yet you have already activated your mana. How did you achieve it?" said Declan, his voice a little warmer.

Alex recalled his practice with the Vicious Vines and shuddered involuntarily.

"Well, I practiced really hard and was continuously near-death."

Alex proceeded to tell them how he practiced using the Vicious Vine. All of them were dumbfounded.

"The Devil vines are notorious to suck their victim's blood dry. You are very lucky that you are not just a nameless skeleton in the crater, Mr. Ryder," said Declan nonchalantly.

"Don't they just suck mana?" asked Alan puzzled.

"Yes. However, since our birth, the mana around us is constantly integrating with us. So when the Devil vines try to suck the mana, they will also involuntarily suck the blood, " said Declan.

Probably because Alex was only here for few days. His mana did not integrate into the blood completely. Alex shivered. But he would do it again if he had to.

"I had no choice," said Alex.

After finishing the dinner, Rose initiated the business discussion.

"Alex, As I asked earlier, can you show me the plants you are carrying?"

"Miss Rose, what types of plants are you looking for?"

"As long as they are rare magic plants. I want to buy them to complete my mission. Don't worry, I will pay you at market price."

Alex pondered for a while before asking.

"What is your mission, Miss Rose."

"Well, we came here due to a mission from my family. They heard rumors that the extinct flower Rafflesia was sighted in the Howling crater. So they sent me a Wood Elementalist to check it."

Then Alex heard the guy Gary speak:

"Those elders are mad. A student of the Celestial Elemental college was sent on a wild goose chase. They are bullying our Miss," said Gary.

"Anyways, I know that I cant complete the mission, but I don't want to go empty-handed either," said Miss Rose.

"I understand. I can sell it to you. But I have a request. I hope you could take me with you to the city." Alex requested.

Before, Alex assumed he can safely travel at the edge of the territories, but the Crazy hyenas gave him a scare. Traveling with a team looked more reliable.

"Sure, if you help us complete our mission, we would gladly take you with us. We could also include you in the team contract," said Miss Rose.

Contract- Alex heard the term again. As he was contemplating, he heard Miss Rose spoke again.

"Don't worry, it's a high-level contract. All five of us had signed it."

Alex no longer hesitated and opened the shabby rucksack and took out the small plant with few blueberries. Rose was the first to exclaim, followed by Declan.

"Is that...," said Declan absentmindedly.

"It's the Etherisium plant. These plants can only grow in special environments. It's a very rare plant,"

"Ok, how much are you willing to pay for it?" Alex asked what he cared most.

"2700 gold coins."

Alex gauged the reactions from the other people and knew it was not up to the mark. So he started haggling.

"Miss Rose, I picked the plant in the middle of the Howling crater. Risked death. I think your offer is very low."

"3500 gold. It's the market price." Seeing the envious Simon, Alex quickly agreed.

"Deal. But I have a total of six plants," said Alex.

"I want three plants," interjected Declan. Miss Rose did not object to it.

Alex then sold three to Declan and three to Rose. He gained 21,000 gold. He does not know how much it is worth, but he is happy.

"Here is your money," said Rose, while handing him a bag of clinking gold coins and ten transparent azure cards the size of credit cards.

The transparent azure card felt warm in his hand. On the upper left, there is a '1000G' printed in gold. At the center of the card, the letter 'A' was written in a stylish old font using gold. Alex appreciated its elegance, but he did not know what it is.

'What is it?" asked Alex foolishly.

"It is a 1000 gold Crystalcard issued by the Bank of Aegard," said Simon scornfully.

"Can I use it in other banks too?"

"Of course. But, if you want to check its authenticity, you could inject some of your mana into the card."

Alex injected some mana in the card, and a golden magic array engraved in the card emerged. Alex was once again amazed.

"But if you are uncomfortable, I can give you the gold coins when we reach the border," said Rose.

"Thank you. But there is no need," said Alex pocketing the crystal cards.

Declan also gave him ten crystal cards worth 10,000Gold and five hundred gold coins. 

As he put the 1000 gold coins in his backpack, Alex understood why they created the crystal cards. The gold coins are noisy, takes space, and are a major inconvenience during an adventure.

Soon, Rose took out an ancient parchment and sent it towards him.

"Well, as per our deal, I ask you to join our team."

Alex opened the parchment.  It's similar to the employment contract from the earth. Mainly asking him to help rose to complete her mission. It also had a clause to not harm the teammates and follow the Adventure guild guidelines.

After reading it carefully, Alex signed it with the fountain pen. A blue magic array appeared on the parchment briefly. Alex felt his mind buzz slightly but soon recovered.

"Alright, you are a member of our team. Thanks to you, we don't have to go to the Howling crater anymore," said Miss Rose happily. Alex also felt a little relaxed.

"Well, we should start resting. We will set off for the Moon fox tribe in the early morning. I will take the first watch," said Tom, while others started to pick places to sleep and discuss their watch shifts.