The Mage's Sternest Father

The bounty for just the three Orc Goblins and the White-Haired Goblin had already reached a considerable twenty-three gold coins.

There were also over a dozen ordinary goblins.

Add to that the twenty gold coins in extra bounty offered by the guild.

It was truly hard not to be tempted by such a reward...

And after killing so many monsters, he should be able to advance smoothly from lv.5 to lv.6, taking another step toward becoming a lower-rank mage.

"Alright, then let's see if we can find suitable teammates first." Zeliel temporarily agreed.

Not long after, Vales and Gray also arrived at the guild.

After Gray finished reading the commission, his tone was full of regret.

"Whoa... Rod's Party. I knew them—we'd even had drinks together. I really didn't expect this... If I remember right, weren't there four people in their party?"

"They must have underestimated the enemy. They should have brought more people."

Vales shook his head. "Goblins are extremely cunning."

Zeliel looked around and began selecting possible new teammates.

But after looking for a while, he found very few who suited his tastes.

They were all ordinary adventurers who did not look particularly reliable. And without even asking, he could tell that most of them were lower-rank.

After all, this was only a town-level branch. There were no especially large monster habitats or ancient ruins nearby, so naturally there were few powerful experts.

Suddenly, Zeliel spotted a conspicuous figure in the crowd—Gak, the half-orc!

As usual, he carried a massive battle axe on his back, his burly frame standing out sharply from the crowd.

"Hey! Gak!"

Zeliel waved at Gak, catching his attention.

"Over here!"

Hearing someone call his name, Gak turned expressionlessly to look over.

After recognizing Zeliel, his expression softened somewhat.

"Hey, Zeliel."

Gak easily pushed through the crowd and came to Zeliel's side. "What is it?"

"Interested in forming a party with us?" Zeliel tilted his head toward the commission.

After carefully reading it, Gak narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking in a deep, muffled voice.

"I could, but how many people are in your party now?"

"Four. Five with you."

Zeliel gave him a brief introduction.

"Our captain is Marcus, a lower-rank warrior responsible for the front line. Then there's Gray, a swordsman and also a lower-rank warrior, and Vales, a mid-rank ranger."

The others politely nodded at Gak.

"A mage... and a mid-rank ranger..."

Gak seemed thoughtful. "Sounds pretty good. I'm in."

"Big guy, what's your class?" Marcus asked.

Marcus was over 1.9 meters tall, yet he still looked somewhat small in front of Gak.

"I think it's pretty obvious just by looking at him. My guess is mage." Gray laughed.

"My name is Gak. I'm a warrior."

Gak grinned as well. "A lower-rank warrior, but I can already use a little battle aura. This time, there are three Orc Goblins on the other side. That'll put a lot of pressure on holding the line. Marcus, you definitely can't block them alone as the sole frontliner. I can help you."

"Welcome to the party." Marcus patted Gak on the arm.

Marcus was quite satisfied with Gak joining them.

He had wanted to find another reliable warrior to help hold the front line anyway. It was unrealistic to have him alone carrying a shield all the time.

Half-orcs possessed considerable natural advantages in physique.

And orcs were brave by nature. Once battle began, they would never speak lightly of retreat, nor did he need to worry that Gak would run away if the party fell into trouble.

"That makes five people... But to be safe, shouldn't we find one more?"

Zeliel counted on his fingers. "Another warrior or ranger?"

"Not considering an assassin?"

A somewhat lazy voice suddenly sounded beside them.

The group turned toward the sound.

The speaker was a woman.

She had a tall figure. Her upper body was completely covered by a short hooded cloak, while her long legs, clad in tight leather armor, were exposed below.

After removing her hood, her face was revealed as well.

Her skin was fair, her features gentle, and her lips clearly defined, their corners carrying a slight upward curve.

Like a cat—lazy and elegant.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hill, a mid-rank assassin."

She smiled. "I wasn't intentionally eavesdropping, but if you're looking for a teammate, perhaps you could consider me?"

Hill. A crisp, clean name, just like her image—simple as a straight blade.

As though she had noticed Zeliel's gaze, Hill tilted her head slightly, and their eyes met.

"Hello, Zeliel." Hill smiled softly.

"How did you know my name...?"

"Because I've been watching you for a long time." The curve at Hill's lips became increasingly pleased.

For no reason at all, a sense of tension rose in Zeliel's heart.

Ever since crossing into this world, he had heard more or less a few rumors.

Assassins were a mage's sternest father.

This class rarely appeared at the Adventurers' Guild, because compared to fighting monsters, they preferred missions that targeted people.

If combat were divided into the two fields of PVE and PVP, then assassins were players absolutely specialized in PVP.

Everything they honed was more aptly described as being for killing people than for dealing with monsters. Even their battle aura attributes were the same.

An assassin's battle aura usually carried special effects such as "aura concealment," "swift movement," and "stealth." Hidden and swift, they were impossible to guard against.

Just as Hill had silently listened to their entire conversation from beside them, not a single party member had noticed her.

At the height of the assassin class's prosperity, they had even established the Assassins' Guild.

Within the guild, countless unsavory assassination commissions were openly laid out one by one, waiting for the right people to complete them.

However, aside from certain prominent figures with exceptionally high bounties, the easiest targets for assassins to set their sights on were naturally mages.

Rich but fragile—one stealthy strike and a critical hit could take them away. No matter how powerful your magic was, there was nothing you could do. They were impossible to guard against.

But this blatant class-based targeting immediately drew the attention of the Mages' Guild.

On the surface, the Mages' Guild was an absolute behemoth compared to the Assassins' Guild.

The former spanned several nations and possessed countless resources and treasures. You were so openly killing my people—wasn't that a little too disrespectful?

Thus, the Mages' Guild began taking severe suppression measures, and the various kingdoms followed suit, successively enacting laws.

The Assassins' Guild soon disappeared from public view and was forced underground. Although its organizational structure still existed, its scale was far inferior to what it had once been.

"You want to... join our party?" Marcus asked hesitantly.

"Oh, there haven't been any new jobs in the guild lately, so I came out to pick up some side work."

Hill waved a hand. "Don't worry. I'm very professional. I definitely won't hold you back."