Rare Profession

"Master Loren! Master Loren!"

Just as Fiana was lost in thought, an urgent shout came from behind. The small-framed thief from earlier ran over to the two of them in extreme excitement.

Loren was in a fairly good mood. Looking at the young thief he had rewarded with 1,000 Puke, he spoke calmly.

"What else is it?"

Without the other party's precise intelligence, he would not have been so confident tonight.

This fellow had earned his price, at least.

"I'll lead the way. The next merchant guild is in the other half of the district."

"Mm. Lead on."

The thief nodded excitedly at the affirmative answer. Seeing that Loren was not as unapproachable as he had imagined, he gritted his teeth, as if making some sort of decision.

He suddenly stepped forward and shouted.

"Master Loren, my name is Anor. I heard that you established your own territory in the Endless Wasteland. I am willing to pledge myself to you and become your most loyal subordinate!"

After saying that, he dropped to one knee and looked at Loren with a face full of unease.

Loren was taken aback. This was the first time he had seen someone kneel and pledge allegiance just like that.

His first thought was, Who sent this guy as a spy??

After thinking for a moment, he recalled that the original owner's memories seemed to contain similar experiences. Professionals who were not doing well often sought refuge with Nobles for better opportunities. It was not uncommon.

Besides, with his distinguished status, this fellow was actually getting a huge bargain.

Looking into the other man's uneasy yet hopeful eyes, Loren spoke slowly.

"Tell me your reasons, Anor."

Seeing that Loren had not rejected him outright, Anor heaved a great sigh of relief and hurriedly said.

"Because you are a descendant of the Orchid Family. Your status is noble, and you are worthy of anyone's loyalty. If you value me, I will surely gain a future hundreds or thousands of times better than my current one.

"And you were so generous even in hiring a mere thief like me. It is clear that your character is worthy of praise."

When he finished, he saw that Loren's expression remained calm and unchanged. His heart sank, and his eyes grew even more nervous.

Thinking quickly under pressure, he recalled the intelligence Loren had asked about today and immediately changed direction.

"Master Loren, you are a Pioneer Lord and have only just arrived in Decker City. You probably do not have many information channels in the city.

"I happen to belong to a small gang with over twenty thieves. Though the gang is not powerful, it is uniquely capable when it comes to gathering intelligence. I am willing to use the gang to gather information for you."

Loren gave the clever little thief a half-smiling look. Not bad, kid. You knew how to broaden your path.

He had flattered him well at first, then presented his own value afterward. He understood the essence of negotiation.

With mild curiosity, Loren used the Eye of Truth to inspect the little thief's attributes.

Anor

Level: Bronze Beginner

Bloodline: Human (Unawakened)

Loyalty: 65

Description: An utterly unremarkable thief. Perhaps if someone threw a brick from upstairs, it could hit three people like him.

His attributes were abysmal, but interestingly, he already had 65 points of loyalty before even pledging himself.

This fellow did not seem entirely useless.

"You are very clever, Anor."

The indifferent words made Anor hold his breath. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists as he looked at Loren with extreme nervousness, like a criminal awaiting final judgment in court.

He knew that the young man before him, who had dominated the entire situation in the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild, would decide his fate in the next moment.

"Your choice today will surely become the proudest decision you make in your life. Even your descendants will take pride in you."

Loren's expression turned solemn.

"I accept your allegiance. Swear to me in your most devout posture, Anor."

At those words, Anor's mind boomed. Blood rushed to his head, and his eyes filled with wild delight.

From today onward, he would become a subordinate of a descendant of the Orchid Family!!

Goddess above, praise be to you!!

Anor abruptly dropped to one knee, placed his right hand over his chest, lowered his head, and swore in a trembling voice with a humble bearing.

"I swear upon my soul that I, Anor, will be eternally loyal to Lord Loren and use my life to protect Lord Loren's honor!"

The instant his words fell, Loren felt a wisp of Soul Power float out from Anor's body before being absorbed by the system.

In that instant, information came from the system. Loren immediately sensed that Anor had become a member of the Gray Eagle Territory.

After taking the oath, Anor felt his mind tremble, as if his entire being had undergone some indescribable transformation.

When he looked at Loren again, his eyes were filled with respect and worship.

Seeing Anor's gaze, Loren used the Eye of Truth once more.

This guy's loyalty had actually surged directly to 80 points—highly loyal.

"Anor, I currently lack a pair of eyes. From today onward, I will place you in charge of intelligence work in Decker City.

"You must understand that a Bronze Grade thief is of little value to me, but a thief who controls a vast amount of intelligence is extremely valuable."

As Loren finished speaking, the system prompt suddenly rang out.

"Ding~ You have subdued a thief. You may change your subordinate's profession. The currently available Rare Professions are: Bloody Assassin (C+ Grade), Shadow Thief (B- Grade)."

There were five main professions in the Noer World—warriors, Spellcasters, knights, archers, and thieves. These were the standard professions.

Beyond these professions, there were also many advanced professions and Rare Professions. Such professions often possessed extremely special abilities and were always sought after by professionals.

Rare Professions were also divided into grades. The higher the grade, the stronger the skills and power gained.

Loren had not expected a subordinate he subdued to be able to change professions directly. For a moment, he was overjoyed.

At the side, Fiana watched Loren's beaming smile with an unpleasant expression.

Wasn't it just a Bronze Grade little thief? Was that enough to make him so excited?

When I became your guardian, I never saw that expression on your face.

Could it be that a Platinum expert like me could not even compare to a thief?

With a cold snort, she raised her head high, her slender neck as elegant as a swan's.

Seeing Loren's expression, Anor was deeply moved. He had never expected Lord Loren to be so happy merely from accepting him.

For a moment, a thought arose in his heart that even dying for Lord Loren right now would be worth it. His loyalty rose again to 85 points.

Only after taking several deep breaths did Loren come back to his senses. Looking at the two people beside him, whose expressions were completely opposite, his face was full of confusion. What was wrong with them??

"Let's go to the next merchant guild."

Without another word, he climbed directly into the carriage that had been waiting for them.

Though he greatly wanted to see the results of Anor's profession change, the street was clearly not a suitable place for it. It would be troublesome if it caused some commotion.

Besides, tonight's task was to make money. The other matters could wait until they returned.

With the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild setting the foundation, all of them were confident.

Under Loren's complete control of the situation, they easily secured three more merchant guilds.

However, they could not visit the fifth merchant guild because its President had already gone out on a trading trip, leaving no one able to make decisions.

Loren did not dwell on it. Seeing that it was already late, he decided not to continue.

By the time they finished and returned to the Wanderer's Inn, the clock made by dwarves was already pointing at half past eleven.

On the third floor, candles mixed with Magic Beast fat illuminated the room with exceptional brightness.

Loren sat alone in an armchair beside the round table. Fiana and Anor stood at the side. Fiana did not want to sit with Loren, while Anor did not dare to.

Having witnessed Loren sweep through everything with unstoppable force, Anor's loyalty had now risen to 89 points. He looked at Loren with complete worship and lavished him with praise.

"Lord Loren, your negotiation skills are truly incredible. Those merchant guilds will probably be waiting at your door before dawn tomorrow morning."

Hearing the undisguised flattery, Loren could not help but smile.

"Negotiation is a zero-sum game. Whoever holds the initiative gains greater benefits.

"We control scarce resources, and they are irreplaceable scarce resources. Naturally, we control the initiative.

"If time were not so pressing and I did not need a large sum of money to maintain the territory, they definitely would not have paid such a small price.

"But there are benefits to keeping the initial franchise fee low. Once others see the profits those affiliated merchant guilds earn next year, how could they not be envious?

"When it comes time for a second round of affiliations, those merchant guilds will certainly offer double the price. By then, this qualification will not be something 5 million can buy."

After hesitating for a moment, Anor asked softly.

"Lord Loren, why don't we establish a merchant guild ourselves?"

Loren smiled.

"Establish one ourselves? We lack funds, connections, and the energy to manage one. What would we use to establish it?

"You need to understand priorities. A merchant guild is not something we can operate right now."

What was a zero-sum game?

A flicker of confusion passed through Fiana's eyes, but she listened coldly from the side without speaking.

After hearing him out, she gave an almost imperceptible nod, acknowledging his reasoning. Yet the expression on her face did not soften much, remaining as cold as ever.

Loren had disappointed her far too many times. The prejudice in her heart could not be erased by one or two incidents.

After talking for a while, Loren did not dwell on the matter. The bait had already been cast. Of the four merchant guilds, at least three would arrive tomorrow morning.

Once more than ten million in funds arrived, the Archdemon Bloodline awarded by the mission would surely activate ahead of schedule. With money and strength, he would have enough confidence to face Bloody Day on the final day of this month.

The territory's development would enter the right track.

As his thoughts raced, his gaze turned toward the small-framed Anor.

Thinking of the system's profession-changing function, an idea suddenly came to him.

"Anor, I never mistreat my subordinates.

"Merit must be rewarded, and faults must be punished!

"You rendered sufficient merit today, and now I will reward you.

"The reward is—a Rare Profession."

At those words, Anor's body trembled. He looked at Loren in disbelief, his eyes turning red with excitement.

A Rare Profession?!!

Loren ignored him and continued.

"I currently possess two methods to change into Rare Professions.

"The first is Bloody Assassin. It possesses powerful assassination abilities, capable of killing with a single strike. The second is Shadow Thief. It enhances stealth, allowing one to come and go without a trace.

"You may choose one Rare Profession to change into."

A Rare Profession was already astonishing enough, but there were actually two for him to choose from!!

"Lord Loren, you... you truly intend to grant me a Rare Profession?!!"

On the Nol Main Plane, most Rare Professions were monopolized by Nobles. For ordinary people, changing into a Rare Profession was as difficult as building a fortune worth tens of millions from nothing.

Yet he, a lowly thief who had only just pledged himself to Loren, was actually going to receive such a reward!

Praise the sun! Praise the earth! Praise Master Loren!!