Mercenaries

As the caravan entered the Oasis Forest Path, looking at the natural surroundings, one would never guess that all of this was artificially cultivated.

Once inside the oasis, patrol guards occasionally appeared on the trade route. Clearly, entering the oasis meant falling within Stanrosai City's jurisdiction.

Many people traveled with the caravan—folks from nearby towns heading into the city, lone peddlers. This was a common sight. Xuan Ye had also prepared a cover story for himself: a freelance mercenary separated from his companions.

After all, whether it was the Gobi, the desert, or the plains nearby, all were easy places to lose one's way. When a normal team got scattered, most would head for the nearest human settlement to regroup. This wasn't unusual.

For instance, the dark-skinned, gaunt middle-aged man walking beside him now, who shared his 'resonant' language, was in exactly that situation.

"That's a nice bow you've got there, young friend. Looks damaged, but it should still be worth at least a hundred or two silver coins."

The man, somewhat shifty-eyed and sleazy in appearance, kept glancing at Xuan Ye's bow and the tattered bundle he carried for show, speaking as if casually.

Well, with Xuan Ye's Perception Core already condensed, these little tricks were completely transparent. The man's shifty eyes, nimble fingers, and the calluses on his hands—

Going by what Luo Luoji had taught him, this was likely a thief skilled with daggers and hand crossbows. A mediocre frontline fighter but a troublesome type, probably at the Sixth or even Level 7 Knight Attendant level, or an apprentice thief.

That disgusting look, like he wanted to strip Xuan Ye bare, made Xuan Ye want to beat him up.

Clearly, Xuan Ye wasn't yet able to hide his emotions. His undisguised disgust made the gaunt middle-aged man look a bit awkward.

"Don't misunderstand, young friend. Occupational habit, just habit. I've got principles—I won't lay a hand on traveling companions. Let's get acquainted. Name's Sen. Heh, as you can see, I'm a thief."

Sen was used to people's reactions to him. His appearance was just too unappealing. He spoke casually.

On Reizel, thieves were disliked but indispensable. Mainly because they cultivated the 'Agility' Inner Palace. Their specialties and traits let them shine in the shadows, but naturally, those on this path often picked up bad habits.

For them, with their agility specialty, seeing something in someone else's purse was like an ordinary person spotting coins on the ground—just a reach away. Over time, it became second nature.

But because of that same agility specialty, they were indispensable for setting and disarming traps, scouting, infiltration, ruin exploration, and many other tasks.

Seeing this guy being so clingy, Xuan Ye rolled his eyes at him and said flatly, "Just don't set your sights on me. I don't care about the rest. This bow's almost useless. What's it worth?"

Well, the bow Xuan Ye was using now was the heavy bow Luo Luoji had given him. Weighing over seventy jin, its draw strength could serve a One-Star or Two-Star professional Ranger. But after he'd used it like a club to knock away Ye Man's axe and smash it into his face, the bow itself was now warped.

It was still usable thanks to its original quality, enough for a Sixth or Seventh Grade Knight Attendant. But for Xuan Ye, who had already stepped into the Professional Rank, it felt quite lackluster.

"Oh, almost useless, huh."

Sen put on a look of sudden understanding, but his eyes flickered. As a thief, he had to have sharp judgment. A simple conversation and his own observations could yield interesting information.

"Meeting on the road is fate. Here, take this token of recommendation. If you run into a problem you can't solve and can't post a quest at the Mercenary Guild, you can come find us."

Tossing a dirty, blackened button to Xuan Ye, Sen smiled and took his leave, slipping out of the caravan ahead and darting through the city gate, vanishing into the crowd in a few quick steps.

"Damn it, where's my wallet?!"

An angry shout came from a fat merchant ahead, making Xuan Ye twitch his mouth. So much for not targeting traveling companions. Hah, just after parting ways, huh? And he was pretty nimble too.

Just passing by and he'd already lifted it. Back when he'd first crossed over, even with a Sixth Grade Knight Attendant's physique, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

Problems the Mercenary Guild couldn't solve? Go find them?

The Thieves' Guild in the gutter, huh...

Xuan Ye crafted a simple disguise for himself: a buzz cut that made him look like he'd just gotten out of prison, plus a sandproof hooded cloak. That was it.

Simple steps, but enough to ensure no one who knew him would recognize him without a close look. Besides, from what he remembered, there weren't many who knew him anyway.

Entering the city and seeing the neat stone brick roads, Xuan Ye could sense the strong productivity behind it all.

Maybe there was no technological research or machine assistance, but with magic and individual strength rivaling machines, production capacity in some areas was surprisingly high—far more prosperous and splendid than medieval Europe.

Prominent signposts marked the directions to several key buildings:

'Woya' Temple, Mage Tower, City Hall, Mercenary District, Commercial District. After only a brief pause, Xuan Ye headed toward the Mercenary District.

First, his current disguise was that of a missing mercenary—commit to the act. Second, he planned to withdraw Luo Luoji's assets and inquire about the difficulty of obtaining an Earth Magic Core, whether by posting a quest or auction.

Looking at the dried bloodstains forming words on the parchment, Xuan Ye sighed softly. He couldn't rest easy until this matter was settled...

The nobles left over from the end of the Human King Era, the newly risen wealthy families, the various guilds formed by different professions under external pressure, the temples of different gods, and the relatively neutral academies—these were the main power structures among humanity.

But the Mercenary Guild was a bit special. It was a quest agency found in almost every human settlement. Because its scope was so vast and involved so many interests, although nominally a chain, local Mercenary Guilds were actually controlled by local powers.

The nominal Mercenary General Guild was coordinated by representatives from various factions in a council form. Except for red lines that could greatly affect the guild's reputation, its control over local branches was quite limited.

Neither nobles and wealthy families nor other guilds would allow a unified Mercenary Guild to emerge. It was one of the loosest types of guilds.

The Mercenary Guild in Stanrosai City was jointly managed by the local Merchant Guild and City Hall. The imposing guild hall reflected the management's wealth.

At the very least, local mercenaries didn't dislike this model. On the contrary, because of its close ties with the Merchant Guild, high-reward quests often appeared. After all, merchants had the most gold coins, and money brought a common trait: fear of death.

Looking at the grand guild hall, as soon as he stepped inside, a sour, pungent smell of sweat hit his nose. For Xuan Ye, who had condensed his Perception Core and greatly enhanced his sense of smell, this was torture.

Well, no matter how nice the guild hall was built, the people coming in to take quests were mostly rough, unkempt men.

Clusters of burly men gathered around bulletin boards of different difficulty levels, looking for cost-effective quests. Occasionally, someone would tear one off and head to the front desk to register.

Fights would break out now and then, but it seemed management was decent. Even when disputes happened, they were just small scuffles, nothing loud. Only Xuan Ye's sharp eyes could catch these details in the chaotic environment.

Sweating waiters ran back and forth, carrying various quest scrolls and items, either posting or removing them. Above the front desk were small wooden boards that could be flipped and wiped clean, marked with words and information. Though everything was handled manually, it was well-organized.

Still, it was quite a gap from the fully automated, magic-controlled quest process Xuan Ye had imagined.

After pausing briefly in a corner to observe, Xuan Ye moved toward the valuables storage.

After the two or three people ahead of him in line had either deposited or retrieved their items, Xuan Ye stepped up to the counter.

"Deposit or retrieval."

The pretty counter girl, probably because she had been sitting here all day, had a smile that seemed a bit stiff, with fine beads of sweat on her forehead and a faint, fragrant scent that slightly diluted the strange odors mingling nearby.

"Retrieval. Number C4164."

Xuan Ye spoke from behind his sand-proof robe in a hoarse voice. His fuzzy, unkempt head and tattered sand-proof cloak—never particularly handsome to begin with—made him look even more ordinary.

Still, there were plenty of others in similar attire around, including a fair number of bald heads, so the counter girl didn't find it unusual. She simply searched through the densely packed numbered drawers behind her.

"C4164? That's a valuable item. It requires a high-level cipher, but please don't recite it to me—that's outside my scope. Kindly wait a moment."

Upon seeing the note on the drawer's label, the counter girl's face showed a flicker of surprise. Her attitude improved noticeably as she spoke respectfully, and she tugged at a red cord beside her, apparently summoning someone.

Xuan Ye found nothing odd about this. Luo Luoji was a Professional Rank Expert, ranked in the top fifty of Stanrosai City. Even if his wealth was among the lower tier for his rank, he was still a major client here.

Soon, a handsome young man in his early twenties, dressed in crisp attire, arrived at the counter. He gave Xuan Ye a brief, indifferent glance before taking the numbered slip from the clerk.

After reading the number, he looked Xuan Ye up and down again, then frowned almost imperceptibly.

"Where did you hear this number?"

His tone was accusatory, catching Xuan Ye off guard as he had been patiently waiting to retrieve his item.

"Hey, retrieving something is none of your business. As long as I have the number and the cipher, who I am doesn't matter."

If the other party had spoken politely, Xuan Ye would have responded in kind. But this man came in hot with a confrontational tone, so Xuan Ye wasn't about to be pleasant—he was a Professional Rank master now, after all.

As if he hadn't heard Xuan Ye's retort, the man stared at him intently again, focusing especially on the exposed parts of his face—forehead, eyes, and nose—visible outside the sand-proof cloak.

A sneer curled on the man's lips. When he spotted the worn heavy bow peeking out from the torn sand robe, his smirk grew even more pronounced, and he spoke with evident confidence.

"Oh, sure. With the number and cipher, anyone can take the item. So let me tell you—this item has already been claimed. I don't know where you got that number, but I'm warning you: the Mercenary Guild of Stanrosai City is no place for petty scammers trying to exploit loopholes!"

By the end, his expression had turned righteous and stern, as if Xuan Ye were some petty thief attempting to test a cipher and fraudulently claim the goods...

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