Adventurer's Guild

The Adventurers' Guild was a vast organization that nearly every warrior and mage on the continent had to deal with. Every day, tens of thousands of adventurers passed through its doors, and tens of thousands of quests were issued from within. The Adventurers' Guild was like an enormous machine, always operating at full speed.

Xia Ming deliberately spent the night meditating and resting on Azure Flame Island, only arriving at the Adventurers' Guild early the next morning.

The rising sun shone upon the Adventurers' Guild's grand entrance. Though it was still early, the guild was already packed so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

Xia Ming struggled his way into the Adventurers' Guild and could not help giving a wry smile. "Good thing the Adventurers' Guild is fairly orderly. Otherwise, this robe of mine would be ruined."

Seeing the many creases already on the Starry Robe he had just bought, Xia Ming's heart ached.

Forget the robe for now. Better take a look at the Adventurers' Guild's quests first!

"Travel to the Magic Beast Forest and capture a Flame Lion cub, a level-three Magic Beast. Quest reward: two hundred gold coins."

"Go to the Sunset Mountain Range and find a necklace I have lost. Quest reward: three hundred gold coins."

There was an endless stream of quests like these: finding lost items, locating missing pets, even hunting down elven female slaves... Xia Ming was left speechless by the sight.

These days, even finding a proper, reliable quest was hard!

Quests that were too low-level had no value as training, while quests that were too high-level were not something Xia Ming was foolish enough to take on just to throw his life away. For a moment, he fell into a dilemma.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Adventurers' Guild—

An exceptionally tall figure stood in the hall. A massive, razor-sharp greatsword was strapped across his back, and his entire body was packed with explosive muscles. His skin was somewhat dark, but he looked solid and powerfully built. Clearly, he was a young warrior.

Yet what this fellow was doing did not quite match his identity as a warrior. The young warrior was chatting animatedly with three young female adventurers. The four seemed to be getting along well, breaking into laughter from time to time. On the surface, they looked like good friends, but the young warrior's thieving eyes kept roaming over the girls' most sensitive areas.

Whenever the three girls turned their heads, the young warrior's lecherous gaze would ruthlessly sweep over their breasts, thighs, and buttocks. The instant they turned back, he would swiftly replace it with a smile of righteous dignity. The speed with which he changed faces was enough to leave one dumbfounded.

Just as the young warrior was getting on swimmingly with the girls, a young mage draped in a magical cloak walked over. With a wry smile, he pulled the warrior aside. "Tang Ge, we didn't come here to flirt. Don't forget the commission we've already accepted."

The warrior called Tang Ge gave a chuckle and patted the young mage on the shoulder. "No rush. Look, Sherlock, aren't I finding suitable companions to go to Green Caterpillar Forest and complete the quest with? Ah, what a pity. The quality of the girls at the Adventurers' Guild gets worse every year, and their strength keeps getting more pathetic. I was hoping to find a couple of beauties to accompany us on the road."

The mage named Sherlock rolled his eyes. That last sentence was your real goal, wasn't it? Remembering his friend's obsession with beautiful women, Sherlock could only sigh helplessly and remind him, "Tang Ge, this quest may not be especially important, but we only have five days to complete it."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Tang Ge's expression grew a little more serious as he swept his gaze across the hall. Suddenly, he noticed Xia Ming, dressed in a Starry Robe and holding an Earthflame Staff, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Sherlock, look at that mage!"

Following Tang Ge's gaze, Sherlock spotted Xia Ming, whose robe and staff alone were worth at least five thousand gold coins.

"That mage's set of magical equipment is truly enviable." Sherlock was also a mage, but everything he owned put together was certainly worth no more than two thousand gold coins. Only an upstart like Xia Ming would be willing to spend five thousand gold coins on a set of magical equipment.

Tang Ge nodded. "Yeah, that mage looks promising. There's a good chance he has an inheritance."

A so-called inheritance referred to the master-disciple relationship between mages and their students.

To ordinary people, magic was a mysterious and powerful force, one that had always been held in the hands of only a small number of experts. When a mage taught disciples through such a method, it was called a magical inheritance. Every mage differed in the spells and meditation formulas they possessed. The stronger the master, the stronger the disciple they taught would naturally be.

A mage with a legitimate magical inheritance was undoubtedly far, far stronger than those mages who had entered the path halfway through.

"Hey, friend. I see you're here alone. Looking for an adventuring quest?" Tang Ge walked over enthusiastically and asked with a smile.

Seeing someone greet him, Xia Ming nodded politely. "Yes, but unfortunately, I don't seem to have found a suitable quest."

Xia Ming's calm answer made Tang Ge's smile grow even more enthusiastic. He waved an arm, showing off his muscles. "Look, friend. I'm a level-five battle master, and my friend is a level-three mage. We happen to have accepted an adventuring quest as well—go to Green Caterpillar Forest and hunt a level-five Magic Beast, a Sabertooth Tiger. As long as we obtain the Sabertooth Tiger's fangs, the quest is complete. The reward is three hundred gold coins. We happen to be short one mage. So, friend, interested?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Ming was already somewhat satisfied.

They were going to Green Caterpillar Forest to hunt a level-five Magic Beast. Green Caterpillar Forest was a Magic Beast forest on the western side of Azure Flame Island. Magic Beasts above level six were almost extinct there, so there was no need to worry too much about safety. Moreover, hunting a level-five Magic Beast would provide Xia Ming with a certain degree of challenge.

Xia Ming looked Tang Ge over. The young battle master appeared to have a straightforward temperament, so Xia Ming no longer hesitated and nodded. "All right. Count me in."

"Haha, straightforward!" Tang Ge laughed triumphantly and introduced himself. "From now on, we're one of our own! My name is Chris Tang Ge—just call me Tang Ge! This mage beside me is Sherlock. We're both students of Azure Flame Academy and came out to gain experience. We'll have to look after one another along the way!"

The mage beside him, Sherlock, also nodded to Xia Ming in greeting.

These two were actually students of Azure Flame Academy? Xia Ming's heart stirred. It seemed Azure Flame Academy's students truly were not to be underestimated. Despite their young age, these two were already level-five and level-three professionals respectively.

"Hello, I'm Xia Ming." Seeing that both of them were quite warm and friendly, Xia Ming smiled.

"May I ask what level mage Brother Xia Ming is?" Tang Ge was extremely familiar by nature, throwing an arm over Xia Ming's shoulder as he asked.

Xia Ming smiled and answered truthfully, "I'm a level-three mage."

"Oh? Then you're the same level as Sherlock. The two of you can exchange pointers properly. Sherlock's magic is pretty good."

The three of them chatted as they left the Adventurers' Guild together, heading toward the Magic Beast forest known as Green Caterpillar Forest.