Occupational Trial

"Hmm, a ship... there will always be one." Liam felt quite troubled and gave Vanessa a perfunctory reply.

As for ships, Liam recalled the small boat he had brought from Gilneas three years ago. "It must have been confiscated by the sheriff of Southshore by now, and it was far too small anyway. Forget it, we'll discuss the ship later. Who says pirates must have a ship, anyway..."

Liam had a merit: if a point couldn't be argued, he simply wouldn't argue it. The little girl who always loved to oppose him was forcibly appointed by him as the first mate of "I-don't-know-what-ship," and she was extremely dissatisfied with this. In the end, all objections were suppressed by Liam's force, and Vanessa VanCleef was gloriously "made" the third member of the Bloodsail Buccaneers.

Although she was unwilling on her face and refused to admit it with her mouth, Liam saw through the little girl's heart at a glance. It was nothing else; he could already see the little girl's attribute panel, and the loyalty column was a miserable 20 points, even lower than Vailton's had been. Clearly, for him as the captain, the little girl in her rebellious phase was definitely not the obedient type.

"Hmm, loyalty and favorability shouldn't be the same thing." Liam thought narcissistically. Given his relationship with the little girl, if it were favorability, it would never be this low...

Having solved the biggest obstacle to future development, Liam was in a great mood. He felt it was time to leave Ravenholdt Manor and go out for a look around.

Vailton, who hadn't been home in three years, also wanted to go back and see what his eldest brother had turned their home into after successfully "getting rid" of him.

In fact, over these past few years, Vailton Barov, whose worldview had just been forming, had been taken away from a family filled with daily backstabbing, and his personality had changed drastically. He had truly seen what it meant to have a world beyond the world, and he was no longer the frog in the well trapped on the island in the middle of Lake Darrowmere.

In the eyes of the current Vailton, the family's land, wealth, and everything else were merely playthings that the top-tier people in the Assassin League would look upon with disdain. True power came only from oneself; money and land could never guarantee the long-term prosperity of a family.

Now, he was very grateful to Liam for bringing him here, and he wanted to follow him to see the outside world. Therefore, when Liam proposed establishing that speechless "pirate crew," Vailton didn't offer any opinion. Whether it was a pirate crew or a thief gang, it was just a name. The Liam he had known for three years could not commit the evil deeds that those blood-stained pirates did.

Since they became apprentice thieves over a year ago, the two had roamed the Hillsbrad Foothills for training, during which they saved many civilians and their farms persecuted by the Syndicate. Liam's style of conduct was all seen by Vailton. This teenager, who clearly came from a high-aristocracy background, had a very enthusiastic heart for civilians and spared no effort in meddling in "idle affairs," which was very rare in Vailton's view. Influenced by him, he himself had learned many "bad habits" from Liam, and it seemed they would be hard to change.

"You two want to apply for the promotion trial? You need to think clearly; the trials in the manor are extremely rigorous, and they are completely different from the little scuffles you've had before."

As their mentor, Farad felt he had an obligation to remind them.

"Yes, we have decided, Mr. Farad. Vailton has been away from home for too long and needs to go back and see, and I have some things to handle myself." Since they had already decided, Liam and Vailton naturally wouldn't change their minds and nodded directly to indicate they understood what they were facing.

Seeing that the two had made up their minds, Farad nodded slightly and said, "Wait a moment, I will go see the Duke." After speaking, he walked upstairs without looking back.

The two didn't wait long before Farad came down with two envelopes. Clearly, Duke Jorach had been prepared for this, or there wouldn't have been a result so quickly.

Handing the two envelopes to them, Farad looked at Liam. "There are two missions here. Destroy them after reading. You can decide for yourselves which one to complete, but the mission must be completed independently; no one else is allowed to intervene. After completing these two missions, you will officially become low-level thieves. If you fail, then go back to the manor and serve as guards for a few years."

Ravenholdt Manor stipulated that those who failed the trial mission could not leave the manor and had to wait for the next opportunity. Farad saying this was also to remind them of the importance of this mission; it allowed for no carelessness.

"Rest assured, sir, we know what to do." Liam nodded in response, took the two letters, and walked out of the castle gate with Vailton.

"Liam, Vailton, I heard you are going for the trial?" Vanessa stood by the herb garden, wearing leather gloves, clearly having just handled poison. Seeing the two come out of the castle, she quickly took off her gloves and walked toward them quickly while speaking.

The little girl Vanessa had always addressed them by their names, and now was no exception. However, looking at the three parts of worry and three parts of urgency on the little girl's face, Liam knew she cared deeply about their safety.

"Yes, we are going for the trial. You behave yourself at home, and I'll bring you something good when I return."

Liam looked at the little girl with a smile, thinking that once he left through this trial, he didn't know when he would see Vanessa again, and he felt a bit sad.

The little girl's eyes were red. She took a small medicine bottle from her bosom and handed it to Liam. "This is the 'paralytic poison' that Aunt Simone and I concocted. It works very well against spellcasters. Take it with you... be very careful."

Presumably thinking of the impending separation, Vanessa puffed out her cheeks again and said, "You two better come back alive."

After speaking, she even raised her foot and kicked Liam's calf hard, then ran back to the herb garden without looking back, forgetting even the gloves she had dropped on the ground.

Watching the little girl run away, Liam shook his head and smiled bitterly. He took out the two letters, opened them, handed one to Vailton, and read the one in his hand.

"Infiltrate the old Alterac castle, investigate intelligence on the Syndicate organization, and determine whether the mission is achieved based on the degree of damage to the organization."

Liam read softly, his brows furrowing slightly, feeling a bit strange about this ambiguous mission requirement.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and turned to look at Vailton. "What is the content of your letter?"

"Enter Durnholde Keep and find evidence of Aedelas Blackmoore colluding with the Syndicate." Vailton read softly.

The mission in his hand was relatively much clearer, and it was just right for Vailton to complete...