[Bounty quest: Collect the heads of ten Desert Crocodiles. A distinguished resident of the city likes to use them as decorations.] [Reward: Gold coins x10.] [Time limit: Five days. (Three days remaining.)]
Hanks obtained a bounty quest from the beautiful woman behind the counter.
He placed it in front of An Kai.
"Kid, you're in luck! You've actually found a time-limited quest. You might not see more than a handful of these bounty quests in an entire year!"
Desert Crocodiles were Lv5 creatures.
An Kai had just slaughtered one before coming here.
Although he wasn't worried about their strength, An Kai reckoned he wouldn't have enough time...
The round trip alone would take about four days.
Then there was the time he would need to spend searching for Desert Crocodiles.
The oasis where his secret base was located might not have enough Desert Crocodiles, either.
So, after thinking it over, An Kai decided to pass on this quest.
He planned to choose another one, although the reward for the Desert Crocodiles was certainly tempting...
"Stop looking. Take this one!"
"Give me your membership card!"
Hanks stopped An Kai from looking any further and snatched the membership card from his hand.
He walked over to the aloof beauty and, after a brief exchange, accepted the Desert Crocodile quest on An Kai's behalf.
Hanks stuffed the membership card back into An Kai's hand, but An Kai remained unmoved.
From the moment Hanks had made the decision for him, a hint of distance had appeared in An Kai's eyes as he looked at Hanks.
Holding his membership card, An Kai followed Hanks at an unhurried pace toward the exit of the Bounty Tower.
Yet judging by the way An Kai moved, he was already prepared to strike at any moment.
Once outside the Bounty Tower, Hanks walked on without looking back, reassuring him, "Don't worry. I know where to find Desert Crocodiles. As long as you're strong enough, you'll definitely have time to finish this quest!"
An Kai said nothing. He had already mentally connected with the [Meditation Staff] in his Storage Ring, ready to attack with everything he had at any moment!
Walking one behind the other, the two took more than twenty minutes to leave Chaos City.
Throughout that time, An Kai remained silent.
Hanks, on the other hand, chattered the whole way, telling An Kai all about Chaos City.
Neighborhood gossip, local customs, and amusing stories.
There were also the conflicts between the four major factions, and so on.
An Kai barely took any of it in, however. His entire attention was fixed on Hanks's movements, ready to conjure a Fireball and hurl it at him at any moment!
The reason was Hanks's unusual behavior!
From their reunion to accepting a quest at the Bounty Tower, Hanks had shown An Kai far more consideration than their relationship warranted.
It didn't fit the way Hanks had always behaved, either.
When someone's actions defied common sense, it meant they were hiding something.
Especially after Hanks had taken it upon himself to choose An Kai's bounty quest.
An Kai felt all the more certain that this quest was a trap!
He wasn't overthinking things. He had been fooled before and suffered for it. That one act of "trust" had nearly cost him his life!
They had only taken a few steps beyond Chaos City.
An Kai stopped. "I need an explanation." It was only because this was Hanks that An Kai was giving him a chance to explain. Anyone else would already have had a Fireball hurled at them!
"An explanation?" Hanks turned around as though he were very surprised, looking at An Kai with feigned confusion.
Unfortunately, to An Kai, who knew Hanks somewhat, his performance was full of holes.
An Kai retreated a few steps, pretending that, as a mage with a frail body, he needed distance to fight.
At the sight of this, Hanks understood.
So he'd seen through my strange behavior!
Still, he had never intended to keep it from An Kai. He had originally planned to tell him once An Kai completed the quest, but now it seemed he wouldn't be able to wait that long.
Hanks rummaged inside his clothes, pulled out a map, and tossed it straight to An Kai.
"A ruined Mage Tower belonging to a Third-Tier Mage. Only a First-Tier Mage can enter.
Forcing your way in would only destroy what's inside."
"You can have the resources inside. I'll only take one thing. Don't worry, it's definitely not the most valuable item. It's just an ordinary letter."
Hanks spoke very frankly, and his honesty earned him a sliver of An Kai's trust...
"A letter?" An Kai didn't ask an idiotic question like, "Why choose me?"
The two had dealt with each other in the desert more than once or twice. Choosing the other person meant there was at least a little trust between them.
"A letter. I'd advise you not to get curious. Even my job is only to find it, not open it," Hanks reiterated!
An Kai fell silent again.
Hanks's words revealed a great deal.
First, An Kai was now essentially certain that Hanks was working for someone else.
Furthermore, the faction backing Hanks was probably powerful, and the letter was no ordinary letter.
Otherwise, Hanks wouldn't have so openly revealed that he had backing just to discourage An Kai from getting curious about the letter.
While An Kai was thinking, the map in his hand suddenly burst into flames for no apparent reason. In the blink of an eye, it became a scattering of ashes on the ground...
"Well? Are you taking this deal or not?"
An Kai pondered for a moment, then answered in a grave tone, "I am!"
Even a ruined Mage Tower belonging to a Third-Tier Mage was bound to contain considerable wealth!
An Kai had read in the old guild master's books that Mage Towers were the exclusive domain of Fifth-Tier Mages.
Only a Fifth-Tier Mage had the wealth and strength needed to support the construction of a Mage Tower.
That alone showed just how precious a Mage Tower was.
So, to An Kai, the information Hanks offered was something he couldn't refuse.
"Keep heading west. In an hour, you'll see an oasis. There's a Desert Crocodile habitat there."
"Three days will be enough."
Hanks pointed An Kai in a direction.
At that moment, An Kai understood why Hanks had chosen the quest for him.
He was testing my strength!
An Kai said nothing more. The two had reached a preliminary agreement, and the necessary trust had been established.
He headed in the direction Hanks had pointed.
With steady steps, his figure receded into the distance...
"There are other magical beasts in that oasis, too. I didn't tell him. Surely he won't hold a grudge against me?"
"Hehehe. That'll teach you to run your mouth. You even dared to take liberties with Widow Wang!"
About two years ago, at the entrance to Nameless Town, An Kai had said, "Widow Wang invited me to peek through her window..." Hanks had remembered it to this day.
All the information he had given was true, including the Mage Tower belonging to a Third-Tier Mage.
The only thing Hanks had forgotten to mention was that Desert Crocodiles weren't the only magical beasts in the oasis...
An Kai headed west the whole way.
He walked for about forty minutes.
An Kai spotted the oasis in the distance.
At a glance, this oasis was dozens of times larger than the one where his second secret base was located.
An Kai stopped to look. The lake lay in the center of the oasis, and the Desert Crocodiles probably lived there as well.
Faint roars occasionally drifted out of the oasis...
It was as though they were warning An Kai, an outsider, that this place was dangerous and he should leave at once...
"Old bastard, I knew you hadn't told me everything!"
"Next time you're not home, I'm definitely peeking through Widow Wang's window!"
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