That's right, that's what adventure is like!

"A touching story."

Inside the antique shop, after listening to Roland's story, old Ero took off his fine gold-chain glasses, wiped them, and gave this assessment.

Roland watched quietly.

Upon returning to the town, he rushed over without even having time to deal with his spoils.

He has used up all his extraction attempts with the Lost Coin and now needs a new extractable item.

In addition, he also wanted to see how effective the upgraded extraction ability would be.

However, just as he expressed his desire to continue buying items, the old man Ero made a new request.

He wanted to take another look at the lost coins.

The merchant seemed to want to ensure that his goods would continue to be cherished in the hands of his customers, otherwise he would refuse to sell any more antiques.

Fortunately, the appearance of the lost coin did not change much after extraction; in fact, it could be said that it was "well-preserved," which made old Ero very satisfied.

Using this topic as a springboard, Roland took the opportunity to raise some questions he had about chivalric tales, in order to satisfy his own curiosity.

"That Edwin family," he said softly, "I think I've heard of them before. Are they also part of the kingdom?"

In the original owner's memory, the name Edwin had appeared once before when his father spoke of him, which is why he made this guess.

Old Ero put his glasses back on, his expression softening slightly: "It's kind of you to go to such lengths to find the story behind the coin... Yes, Edwin was once a count's family in the kingdom, but they have since declined."

"That……"

"I know your question," old Ero raised his hand to interrupt Roland, and sighed softly, "Although I don't know where you learned about this story, I suppose you're curious about what happens next."

"I have indeed heard some rumors about this, but I have never made any contact with that knight. I only realized this now."

Roland's expression was sincere: "I would like to hear the details."

Old Ero seemed eager to talk to this young man, and slowly recounted the rest of the story.

"Based on your description, blond hair and blue eyes, and the fact that a count's son died on your territory, only the Berg family fits the description."

"This is a viscount family that was once very glorious more than fifty years ago, and its territory expanded more than three times under a young lord."

"Unfortunately, the Berg family's heyday lasted only a little over a decade before it too began to decline rapidly."

Old Ero looked at the worn coin, his tone tinged with reminiscence.

"The viscount who brought prosperity to the territory mysteriously disappeared when he was fifty years old. Some say he was assassinated by his son who coveted the title, some say he went on a pilgrimage to the north, and others say he went to deal with an old matter... In any case, he never returned."

Roland's fingers trembled slightly.

"His eldest son inherited the title, but he only held onto the territory, which had expanded three times in size, for five years."

"The neighboring nobles seemed to have made a pact to gradually erode the Berg family's territory. Today they would seize a village, tomorrow a forest... The viscount launched several wars, but lost more than he won, and in the end he lost the entire territory."

"What about the missing viscount?" Roland asked.

"I don't know," old Elro shook his head. "The new viscount forbids anyone from talking about it, and no one dares to investigate."

Roland remained silent.

His fingers traced the patterns on the coin; the dented areas seemed to have weathered countless storms, bringing a scalding coolness.

"That knight," he asked again, "have you seen him?"

Old Ero looked at him, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Then, he slowly said, "Thirty years ago, a homeless man walked into this house."

"He was wearing a tattered cloak, had a deep scar on his face, and a slight limp in his left leg... I don't know if he was the owner of the coin, but he told me that the coin once belonged to a poor knight."

"And then?"

"And then?" Old Ero chuckled softly. "Then, seeing that I was very interested in the coins, he stayed and turned to walk north."

"I remember that night, just like today, it was raining cold rain."

Roland remained silent for a long time.

"Thank you," he said, bowing slightly to old Ero. "Thank you for generously sharing the rest of the story with me."

He handed over the newly selected extraction item.

Old Ero took the white crystal card containing 220 gold coins, smiled as he calculated the price, and then called Roland back just as he was about to leave.

"Tell me, young man," the old man said calmly, looking at Roland, "if you were the knight in the story, would you have gone in at the banquet that night?"

Roland stopped in his tracks.

It didn't respond until a little rain splashed in through the cracked door.

"I have no idea."

"Because I am not him."

Old Ero smiled as he watched the young adventurer leave his shop.

After a long while, he finally let out a soft sigh.

"You are not him, and neither am I... In every story, even the protagonist may not know their own choices, let alone us."

The words echoed in the narrow shop, striking countless mottled antiques and producing a low, resonant sound.

The scroll unrolls, the ink spreads, turning into a new bill. After a brief moment of reminiscence, old Ero continues with his life.

The knight has long since gone.

This is now.

……

……

……

Roland left the shop.

The clouds in the sky were thicker than they had been a few days ago, almost completely blocking out all the light. Dense rain streamed down, enveloping the entire town in a curtain of rain.

Travelers hurried along the street, while women in shops called out urgently, frantically trying to bring their goods back into the store.

It was a sudden downpour.

Roland did not return to the hotel immediately; his luggage was too bulging and would easily attract the attention of thieves, so he had to get rid of it in time.

On his way to the market, he looked at the extracted item he had carefully selected, or rather, at the last line of writing.

The newly emerged ability is very useful, providing great assistance in choosing future career abilities and making him more adept at the selection process.

— Extractable Ability: Ring Blade Strike

This is a warrior-type ability.

After much deliberation, he finally decided that regardless of how his career path might develop in the future, meeting the employment needs of one type of job was the most important thing for him at present.

If the fighting spreads here, they will be able to save their lives.

The warrior class undoubtedly best fits this description.

After careful consideration, the "Ring Blade Strike" ability seemed to fit his current needs, so he decisively chose an item that could extract this ability.

Problems then arose.

——Extraction requirement: Redemption story ×1

"The story requirements this time are a bit tricky," Roland frowned slightly. "Although it looks easy to do, it will probably be quite difficult to generate buzz and make it exciting."

After much deliberation, he didn't rush to figure out how to shape the story, but instead turned his attention to what lay ahead.

The market was sparsely populated, and the dim yellow lights looked somewhat murky in the darkness.

"Let's go collect the spoils first."

Thinking to himself, Roland touched his bag again.

He had a feeling that this harvest would be very rich.