Haggling

Xia Nan raised his glass and took a sip, pretending to remain calm.

The aroma of malt filled his nostrils, while the tip of his tongue caught the faint bitterness unique to hops and the crisp sweetness of chilled beer.

Yet he had no mood to savor this flavorful drink from another world.

He even felt vaguely tense.

Only after another five or six seconds, when the sharp gaze behind him vanished, did he visibly let out a breath of relief.

"This feeling..."

Xia Nan recalled what he had seen moments ago—the utterly ordinary, unremarkable man.

It definitely hadn't been an illusion!

That faint presence that made him seem like a passerby, subconsciously overlooked even when standing at the center of one's gaze;

And the instant that he noticed Xia Nan looking at him, the intense, warning-filled look that had gathered in his eyes.

It was like those dazzling high-level pieces of equipment in online games from his Previous Life. There was no need to even fight—one look was enough to sense the other party's formidable strength.

"Perhaps he's a Professional who has truly completed his class advancement?"

Xia Nan speculated inwardly.

Fortunately, he had merely noticed the man's existence and had not done anything rash.

That gaze had therefore only sharpened for a brief moment before dispersing into the tavern's clamor.

A minor interlude.

No longer turning around to deliberately observe the Half-Elf party by the window, Xia Nan drained the Ale in his glass.

His heart was somewhat unsettled.

"I wonder how this so-called 'Profession Level' is obtained?"

Maji seemed to have mentioned before the original owner that one's "profession" was related to the "Combat Skills" one chose to practice.

However, he had not explained exactly what that connection was.

Xia Nan had also roughly skimmed through the Adventurer's Manual, but it contained no relevant information.

"I'll try asking experienced adventurers when I meet them later. If that doesn't work, I can accept paying some price."

As he pondered, Xia Nan shook his head.

It was still too early for a novice adventurer like him to think about such things.

"Better get a good night's sleep first."

The tavern's lodging conditions were far from good.

A hard wooden bed with a faint unpleasant odor, terrible soundproofing that let him hear even the rocking of the bed next door clearly, creaking stairs, the noisy Tavern Hall below, and even the occasional rats scurrying through the space above the ceiling.

Never mind the star-rated hotels of his Previous Life—even lying on a park bench with a newspaper spread beneath him would have been far quieter and more comfortable.

Yet Xia Nan slept straight through until noon.

On one hand, he had stayed up late the previous night, spending a long time flipping through the Adventurer's Manual and carefully learning much useful information about River Valley Town;

On the other hand, his body had simply been too exhausted.

Thin Mist Forest was filled with danger. Even when Elki and Ga Gu were still alive and the party had four members, they had needed to take turns keeping watch at night and could not rest peacefully.

Now that he had reached the safety of town, Xia Nan finally enjoyed his first good sleep since crossing into this world.

After enjoying a hearty lunch at the White Tit Tavern,

he once again arrived before the Adventurers Association.

For Xia Nan, who had only been an ordinary office worker in his Previous Life, the dangerous profession of an "adventurer"—a life lived on the edge, never knowing whether one would survive the day—was naturally neither something he could adapt to nor something he particularly yearned for.

But likewise, when a mortal who had spent his entire life in a world of non-magical technology suddenly arrived in a fantasy world where supernatural power truly existed,

it was hardly realistic to expect him to take the hundred-odd Gold Coins in his possession and return to a peaceful rural life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

What was more, the Attribute Panel, the only thing Xia Nan currently had that was even remotely connected to a Golden Finger, only worked on matters related to adventurers.

Naturally, he had to make use of it.

"I'll start with the simplest quests."

Looking at the bustling entrance of the association before him, Xia Nan muttered.

Having made up his mind, he stepped forward.

His figure vanished into the crowd.

"Is something wrong, Wood?"

Hearing Hai An's puzzled call beside him, Wood withdrew his gaze from Xia Nan's retreating back and replied softly,

"It's nothing, Young Master."

Yesterday, that person had noticed him even while he was in a state of "concealed breath." Today, they had run into each other again at the entrance of the association as if by chance.

As a qualified Guard known for his caution, how could Wood not be suspicious?

But he had also observed him carefully yesterday.

That black-haired, sharp-featured young man showed traces of some training, but whether in his clothing or his habits, he was unmistakably a novice.

Could it be... that he was simply overthinking things?

Wood frowned slightly, uncertainty showing on his face.

On the other side, the silver-haired, gray-eyed Half-Elf Hai An naturally had no idea what his Guard was thinking.

At that moment, he was explaining the details of this mission to the party's new member:

"Roughly within this area. If you don't find anything, you can expand the search outward."

"So, you don't actually know what you're looking for either?" Hearing this, the lean, dark-skinned man standing before Hai An, dressed in Leather Armor and boots like a classic adventurer, could not help asking in surprise. "Thin Mist Forest isn't a place where you can just wander around."

"We'll only be on the outskirts, we won't—"

Hai An was cut off halfway through by a rather loud voice.

"Three days!" The somewhat plump Youth in the party, dressed in a luxurious gilded robe, held up three fingers and declared loudly. "We don't need you to help us search. Once the time is up, you can leave whenever you want. I don't know what there is to fuss over."

"As for safety..." The plump Youth glanced at Wood, the Guard beside Hai An. "That isn't something you need to worry about."

At those words, the lean, dark-skinned man stared hard at him and said through gritted teeth,

"Fine, but I want seventy Gold Coins!"

"Seventy?" The plump Youth's voice abruptly turned shrill. "Fifty! This Adventurers Association is huge. If you won't do it, plenty of others will!"

Without lowering their voices, the argument between the several people outside the association gradually drew the attention of passersby.

Perhaps because of that, the Blonde Girl beside the Youth, who had remained silent the entire time with impatience written all over her face, suddenly urged,

"Larry, we've already been in town for days. It's not interesting at all—I want to go home!"

The moment she spoke, the plump Youth named Larry immediately reined in his previously aggressive expression. Dragging his expensive custom-made robe behind him, he sidled over while twisting his hips and fawned,

"Don't worry, Doris, we'll be leaving soon! I heard the Guards at home say that the white mist inside Thin Mist Forest is actually concentrated Magic Power. They say that if you take just one breath of it..."

With a helpless expression, the Half-Elf Hai An withdrew his gaze from the two and looked again at the lean, dark-skinned man before him, who had raised his price after Hai An had only just recruited him into the party.

"We can only offer fifty Gold Coins. If you won't accept that, then I can only apologize."

His emotions remained steady.

In a sense, the fat Klee had actually done something useful.

After this, the lean, dark-skinned man did not want such an easy, lucrative job to slip away, so he put on a reluctant expression and nodded.

"Fine, fifty Gold Coins it is."

"When do we leave?"

"Today. We've already prepared the supplies."