Our Dharma Masters are like this.

Chapter 86 Lead the way
Zellir canceled the charge, but Vales' arrow remained aimed at the young man's head.

Marcus stepped forward, blocking Zeril with half of his body, his deep voice carrying a strong sense of oppression.

"Who are you, and why are you here all alone?"

Locked onto by Vales' arrow, the young man trembled as he raised his hands, his voice even becoming stuttering.

"I...I...I'm called Kaden...I'm an adventurer...but we...but we..."

"But your team's mission failed, and some teammates died at the hands of monsters, right?" Gray continued, picking up where he left off.

Gray's words finally broke Kaden's composure. He turned down at the corners of his mouth and burst into tears like a child.

Seeing this, Vales was too embarrassed to point the arrow at his head any longer, so he reluctantly put it down.

"What's going on here..." Zellier's expression was also a bit conflicted.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that a grown man would cry so tearfully.

"Oh, okay, okay, okay."

Gray scurried over to Kaden, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "What's wrong with a grown man like you crying? Tell me the details, what happened?"

Kaden sobbed for a while before finally stopping, and he spoke in a hoarse voice.

“We took on a mission to exterminate the Earth Lizard Beast… We initially thought it was just… just a slightly stronger monster, but we didn’t expect it to be so terrifying… Doug accidentally got hit by it, and his chest was smashed open… and Amy…”

When Amy was mentioned, the sadness on Kaden's face deepened.
"Amy tried to save him, but was struck by the Earth Lizard's tail... It can also spray venom, and Robin's face was directly corroded off, and all my teammates..."

Kaden sobbed uncontrollably, "They're all dead... Waaaaah..."

"Earth Lizard Beast?"

Marcus frowned slightly. "Do you have a power of attorney?"

Kaden fumbled around in his tattered leather armor for a while before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.

Marcus took it, and the others crowded around to look.

It is indeed a quest issued by the Blackrock Town Adventurers' Guild, with the objective of clearing out the Earth Lizard Beasts in the swamp. The quest difficulty is one star (lower level).

It can be basically confirmed that what Kaden said is true; he is indeed a pitiful adventurer whose mission failed and whose teammates died tragically.

"Are you... are you going back to Blackrock Town?"

Kaden looked at the group of people before him, his face full of sorrow, and asked, "Can I go back with you? I really can't go on my own..."

The team members glanced at Kaden, then turned away to discuss amongst themselves.

“Let him come along, it won’t cause any trouble…” Vales said.

“Yes, let’s take him with us,” Gray said.

Marcus nodded as well.

“I think… since we’re already here, let’s just take care of that earth lizard beast as well,” Zelier suddenly said.

"Huh? Are you serious?" Gray looked at Zellir in surprise.

"Of course, it's just a land lizard beast, a monster with a difficulty rating, it won't take much effort," Zellier said.

Gak's eyes revealed admiration; he liked this kind of energetic young man.

"However, we have just been through a battle."

Marcus pondered for a moment, still somewhat concerned, "Zeril, do you still have enough magic? Won't participating in battles one after another be too tiring?"

"It's alright, it's enough." Zellier smiled confidently.

Even if something unexpected happens, he still has the source energy crystals given to him by his mentor Marvin and Lant, which can quickly restore his magic power.

After all, it was Zellier's suggestion, and everyone had witnessed his abilities, so Marcus Valesgrey didn't say anything more and agreed. Zellier walked up to Kaden.

"You're safe now, we can take you back with us."

"Thank you so much!" Kaden exclaimed with delight.

"But before that, you have to show us the way."

"Lead the way?" Kaden asked, puzzled.

“We need to go and kill that earth lizard,” Zellier said.

……

Even though Kaden was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to lead Marcus's team toward the previous mission location.

If he doesn't agree, he might have to walk back on his own. In his current state, what if he encounters something unexpected on the way? That would be disastrous.
It's probably not going to be much better.

Led by Kaden, the team left the relatively dry forest area and headed towards the low-lying swampy region.

The environment here is quite humid, with a stuffy feeling, and the ground underfoot has become muddy, like a thick, soaked carpet.

The tall trees around them had disappeared, replaced by large swaths of strangely shaped dead trees, their roots twisted and stuck in the black water puddles.

Before long, a wide-open marshland came into view.

In the center of the swamp was a huge, murky pool of water. At this moment, a huge, ugly and ferocious creature was lazily lying in the mud, occasionally rolling over, looking very content.

The moment Zellier saw the creature, the word "Komodo dragon" popped into his head.

Adventurers' Guild General Monster Encyclopedia

[Sequence 31]: Earth Lizard Beast

Individual Threat Rating: [Difficult]

Appearance features:

A large reptilian monster, typically over four meters long, covered in rough, hard, dark brown scales, and possessing powerful jaws and sharp claws.

Lifestyle habits:
Wetland predators typically inhabit swamps, mudflats, or damp river valleys.

special power:

Earth lizards like to wallow in mud, and their scales, when mixed with mud and sand, provide them with excellent protection.

It can also spew out highly corrosive acid, which is extremely harmful to the human body and can even quickly corrode metal.

Core weakness:

No particular weakness of the Earth Lizard Beast has been found yet. To kill it, the only way is to destroy its scales layer by layer and then damage its body.

Association Notes:

Don't underestimate the Earth Lizard's mobility just because it has short legs. In fact, its burst speed is extremely high, so please be sure to keep a safe distance.

It is not recommended for teams to challenge the Earth Lizard Beast without a strong ranged class.

"So this is what the Earth Lizard Beast looks like..." Gak was a little surprised.

This earth lizard is even larger than described in the encyclopedia, estimated to be nearly five meters long. Its body is very robust, its head is broad, and its long, forked tongue occasionally pops out from its massive, gaping mouth.

"Your teammates are all..." Vales looked at Kaden hesitantly.

“Look, they should all be inside its belly.” Gray pointed to the bulging belly of the Earth Lizard Beast from a distance.

(End of this chapter)