The trip took a little less than two days due to his rushing. Fortunately, their party was big, and they were heading away from the dungeon areas so the beasts were markedly lesser than when they were deeper in the region.

Lotus Town was one of the border towns and was characterized by relatively informal cultures and rich trade. After all, this was one of the nodes where everyone heading to the 'danger zones' would go through.

It was also one of the better fortified places, and naturally so. Between the towns along the borders of the danger zone, there were also sentries or watch towers placed every few hundred meters.

The soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, or guards assigned there were the responsibility of the nearest Town. Whenever there was an attack or a visible threat, signals would emit from there, usually in form of fire or flares, which would warn the citizens in the nearby territories.

While there were only a number of towns at the border, they were at the forefront of the battles in the area. They were also the place where nearby villagers would run to if there was an attack or at least a prediction of it.

Villages, located between bigger settlements like towns and cities, were mostly farmland and farm houses, and they weren't fortified at all.

This was also why there were a lot of informal settlements near the walls, as well as open areas to set up tents. This was where refugees would live whenever they had to be here, whether temporarily (and go back to their villages after) or to permanently live in the slums.

It was mostly the former because, unless it was the Aphelion phase, which was relatively predictable nowadays, the villages were relatively fine to live in. Not to mention, the cost of living was less than a fraction of that in Town.

Most villagers— unless their statures rose by becoming adventurers, mercenaries, or merchants—simply could not afford to stay in towns in the long term.

At the same time, the population in a border town was still relatively manageable, so it wasn't as squeezed as the territories in the rest of the safe zones.

Normal people who didn't plan to fight or make money through gathering dangerous resources—which was a great majority of the population—simply preferred to live deeper 'in land' and deeper into the safe zones. Any territories right next to the danger zone were, for them, extremely unattractive places to live in.

Even if they had to live in poorer villages or in slums due to the higher density of the population, it was still much better than fearing monsters, which could indeed attack every so often on the borders.

This was why, unsurprisingly, a good portion of the citizens in these towns were comprised of fighters, adventurers, mercenaries, and merchants as well.

Finn looked at the 4-meter-tall wall of the town, and he looked at the towers every couple of hundred meters apart, though most were already beyond his viewpoint.

It was only their group entering the gates for today, so they reached the gates fairly quickly.

There were guards and soldiers there, and he recognized some as mercenaries and adventurers, probably doing a simple guarding mission.

They entered the Town and, because he didn't have an identity token, he had to pay a certain fee as a temporary pass.

He didn't mind at all, nor did he have the mind to care too much about costs at this time. He did have to explain a few things, and his basic information was recorded.

In such cases, he just had to say he was there to take the Adventurer's exam, and the other legitimate adventurers corroborated his story.

On the other hand, the adventurers simply had to scan their status gems on a crystal to register their arrivals. It was quite convenient.

Finn didn't have much of a chance to appreciate the town itself, for now. He simply followed the others and was taken to the tavern associated with the adventurer's guild.

It was a wood-and-stone inn that was very similar to what one would see in those medieval documentaries. It was bustling with activity, and they were greeted by the cacophony of chatters and rumbles from the lively adventurers and other diners.

They encountered quite a few people they knew and greeted them. They looked at Finn with curiosity, but the redhead wasn't really in the mood to be friendly now.

"We can rest here and eat while we plan," Victor said, seeing his antsy state. "This is also one of the hubs for our adventurers. Who knows? Maybe we can ask someone for information."

"But for that, we need to know more clues…" he paused, looking at Finn. "Would you mind telling us more?"

Finn appreciated them, really. He smiled lightly as he looked at the mission again, reading it for the nth time. He would check it for any changes whenever there were no monsters.

[Find your Baby Sister (Flexible)]

[Active Mission: Find your Biological Little Sister]

[Information: The slumbering soul of a little girl had lain dormant in her shell for four years. Her body is being nourished in a temporarily safe place in Lotus City.

Note: More information will be provided according to proximity and actual site conditions.

Time limit: 89:34:18

Reward: Find your only blood relative left in this land.

Punishment: Her untimely death.]

What is "in her shell"? Was this a metaphor or something?

His mind immediately came up with various scenarios regarding the 'clues'.

The most likely one was that she was abandoned as a child who didn't know her parents. She was neglected and bullied, and built a shell around herself!

Just thinking of a little girl undergoing this made his heart break.

"I… just know that she's in Lotus Town, probably around 4 years old, a little girl," he said. "She could look like me and my mum with blonde hair, or my dad with brown hair…"

The others looked confused. "Do… you want me to call a sketch artist?"

"I can't," Finn said, flushed in shame. "I… don't know what she looks like…"

"..."

"..."

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