Enhancement [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

"Is the effect really that immediate?"

Listening to Gandalf shift rapidly from hesitation to eager assurance, Morgan was stunned by the sudden change in attitude.

In Gandalf's heart, he did indeed feel that this bounty hunter named Morgan before him was quite decent.

But that was all; after all, he had only known the man for a very short time.

He was headed to Bag End in Hobbiton, Shire, to find the final member of the Company, a Halfling burglar named Bilbo Baggins.

At the same time, he was to rendezvous with the dwarf party led by the Turin dwarf prince, Thorin Oakenshield.

Hearing that Morgan wanted to take on a commission, Gandalf did indeed consider introducing him to Thorin Oakenshield.

After all, the journey to the Lonely Mountain was long, arduous, and dangerous; having an extra bounty hunter of decent strength would be beneficial.

However, because the destination of this journey was the Lonely Mountain, the former kingdom of the Turin dwarf race, Gandalf had to obtain the consent of the dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield before adding any members to the Company.

Originally, Gandalf intended to bring Morgan to meet the dwarves first, then see if he could find a way to persuade Thorin Oakenshield to let Morgan join the Company.

This might have provided a commission for the bounty hunter, who had been without work for a long time.

But, just a moment ago, Gandalf suddenly felt that Morgan was quite excellent: a stranger who offered him roasted bear meat upon their first meeting, humorous in speech, and open and generous in character.

At the same time, he felt pity for Morgan: as a bounty hunter, he possessed great strength but had become destitute due to a long lack of commissions, even getting lost; he felt Morgan's luck was abysmal.

Influenced by these two strong emotions, Gandalf felt he simply had to help this lad, Morgan.

Just like that, he gave Morgan his word that he would certainly find him a commission.

Although he didn't state it explicitly, this commission was, in fact, to have Morgan join the Company.

Yet, the moment the promise left his lips, a sense of impropriety arose in Gandalf's heart.

Of course, he didn't go so far as to regret it.

But such a matter really should have been discussed with Thorin Oakenshield first.

After all, this was no small affair.

However, since the words were already spoken, Gandalf naturally couldn't go back on his promise.

At worst, he would just have to put in a good word for Morgan when the time came.

Besides, he truly felt that having a powerful bounty hunter in the Company was a good thing.

In any case, he wouldn't be the one paying the commission.

"Oh, Gandalf, you aren't joking with me, are you?"

Morgan quickly regained his composure, looked up, and spoke to the grey-robed wizard before him.

"Of course not, I never joke about serious business."

Gandalf took a puff of his pipe, slowly exhaled the smoke, shrugged, and smiled.

"Alright then, I must say, you have a keen eye, Gandalf!"

"I am absolutely one of the best bounty hunters in this world. Your choice will not be wrong."

"It's a pity my wine is finished, otherwise I would certainly treat you to a drink."

As Morgan spoke happily, he began to pat his pockets naturally.

Morgan's acting had been excellent from start to finish, and his wine was indeed gone.

"No matter, we are not far from where we are headed."

"We should arrive tomorrow evening; it won't be too late to treat me to a drink then."

Finishing the last of the pipe weed, he exhaled smoke and tapped his long pipe with a smile.

"Of course, one glass won't be enough."

Having achieved his wish of participating in the plot, Morgan laughed heartily.

Although Gandalf had not yet specifically mentioned what the commission would be.

Based on Morgan's observations of Gandalf and his knowledge of the plot.

He guessed that this journey was the opening of the first part of The Hobbit Trilogy: "Gandalf and the members of the dwarf Company led by Thorin Oakenshield gathering at Bilbo Baggins's Bag End."

This was the beginning of the grand, epic story of the entire Middle-earth.

As the night deepened and they were full, the two did not chat further, each leaning against the tree trunk behind them to close their eyes and rest.

There were no fierce monsters nearby; with the scent of the massive dire bear carcass, ordinary beasts dared not approach.

Moreover, with the strength of Morgan and Gandalf, they would be able to react even if something tried to launch a night raid, so there was naturally no need for a night watch.

Whether Gandalf was asleep, Morgan did not know, but he himself was still awake.

Because at this moment, the virtual panel of the Time Traveler System appearing in Morgan's mind was different from before he met Gandalf.

[Time Traveler: Morgan]

[Race: Human]

[Biological Level: Tier 1]

[Soul Power: 1]

[Attributes: Strength+; Constitution+; Agility+; Spirit+]

[Abilities: Common Language; Muay Thai LV2; White Crow Swordsmanship LV1; Archery LV1]

[Talent: Intimacy (Special Skill)]

[Current World Exploration Progress: 0.1%]

At a glance, it seemed no different from when Morgan's bear paw was charred earlier.

But upon closer inspection, one could see that the "Current World Exploration Progress" bar at the bottom of the virtual panel had changed.

The exploration progress, which had originally been only "0.01%," had strikingly jumped to "0.1%!"

Ever since the bear paw was charred—ahem.

Since that moment, Morgan hadn't really moved much.

In fact, from the time he soul-transmigrated and killed the two guards to obtain the Time Traveler System, the world exploration progress had been stuck at 0.01%.

Half a month had passed since then.

Morgan had ridden his horse for an unknown distance, yet the world progress on the virtual panel had remained at 0.01%, never changing once.

Now, in just a few short hours, the world exploration progress had surged wildly from 0.01% to 0.1%.

Other than meeting Gandalf, he couldn't think of any other reason.

This also aligned with the thoughts he had been pondering earlier.

The world exploration progress on the virtual panel was closely tied to the plot characters of Middle-earth.

If Morgan wanted to increase the world exploration progress, he had to get involved.

This was likely what the system required.

Moreover, Morgan could increasingly sense the importance of the world exploration progress.

This thing was perhaps equivalent to the missions assigned to him by the Time Traveler System.

As long as the world exploration progress continued to increase, he would definitely be able to unlock more information about the system.

Having figured this out, Morgan stopped overthinking.

He quickly shifted his gaze to the Soul Power column.

Should he strengthen and upgrade the four major attributes?

Or should he strengthen and upgrade the three ability skills?

Morgan fell into deep thought.

Regarding the four major attributes, this body was only twenty-one years old this year, filled with the youthful vigor and vitality of his age.

With only one point of Soul Power right now, strengthening the four major attributes probably wouldn't provide a very significant boost to his combat power.

Gandalf had already said that they would reach their destination tomorrow.

According to his plan, by tomorrow, or the day after at the latest, he should be able to meet that stubborn and incredibly proud Dwarf Prince Thorin Oakenshield.

The other party valued this expedition immensely; joining the Expedition Team would be no easy task.

Morgan knew of that man's stubbornness; relying solely on Gandalf's recommendation would definitely be difficult if he couldn't demonstrate the strength to impress him.

Therefore, he should now strengthen the one thing that would provide the most obvious boost to his strength and be considered the most important.

Thinking of this, Morgan immediately dismissed the idea of strengthening the four major attributes.

He focused his gaze on the abilities column instead.

Muay Thai was a martial art he had painstakingly practiced for over a decade in his past life; although its individual attack power and lethality were decent.

But considering this fantasy, magical world and the enemies he would face in the future, Morgan immediately shifted his gaze away.

White Crow Swordsmanship and Archery were abilities this body was already familiar with.

Over the past half-month, Morgan had also mastered them proficiently.

These were the two abilities he most wanted to strengthen right now.

And to achieve the most obvious and eye-catching increase in strength, so as to make Thorin Oakenshield and his group of dwarves sit up and take notice.

Morgan's gaze decisively settled on the skill "Archery LV1."

The next second.

A pale white light flickered.

"Archery LV2"

Newbie asking for recommendation tickets~~~~