Doug did not say it outright. Instead, he rummaged beneath the counter, took out paper and a pen, wrote a note, turned it around with his fingers, and placed it before Dole, one finger still pinning it down.
Dole lowered his head and saw the address. Then Doug took the note back, rubbed it lightly between his hands, and reduced it to scraps. He casually tossed the scraps into the wastebasket beside him.
At that sight, Dole's heart tightened. This Doug was no weak warrior.
Without saying anything, he turned and prepared to leave.
Doug spoke softly again. "Since you're already here, aren't you going to take a job? You completed one first-level mission and one second-level mission. You've now been promoted to a second-level assassin and can accept second-level jobs."
Dole had no desire whatsoever to take first-level jobs. Hearing that he could accept second-level ones, he stopped at once, turned around, and said with interest, "Bring them out for me to see."
Doug smiled faintly and took out another booklet.
The booklet was not thick—only two or three pages, at most.
Dole took it and carefully flipped through it from beginning to end.
Second-level missions were far more difficult than first-level ones. First-level missions only involved killing ordinary people like Fele; the highest targets were intermediate apprentices, and most were commoners. Second-level missions were on another level. Most targets were senior apprentices, down-and-out nobles, or even nobles with genuine power and influence.
Such targets were not easy to choose. The deaths of one or two commoners, or even ordinary officials, were nothing much. But the death of a noble—even a fallen noble—could provoke a backlash from the entire noble class. That was no laughing matter. Bondi's death last time had triggered a citywide purge.
After reading through the