The sun was shining brightly. It was going to be a good day.
As soon as the academy let out its break, Fatty Shi took on a private job and ordered Laurist around. After working himself to the bone for three days, he finally managed to get everything he needed. Now, he and Yuri were loading iron cages from the rented house onto a four-wheeled carriage. These iron cages were required for this mission, and were mainly used to set traps to deal with small magical beasts.
Yuri was a student at Dawn College and an assistant horsemanship instructor. He was iron-level rank-2. Just like Laurist, he was a part-time student. They would often take on low-level missions from the Mercenary Union to earn some extra money.
After loading the 14 cages onto the carriage, they were fastened to the carriage with ropes. Laurist checked what he needed to bring along. After making sure that nothing was missing, he got off the carriage and took a water bag. He opened the pine cork and drank a few mouthfuls of water. Everything was ready. They could depart once Fatty Shi and the rest came back.
The so-called private work usually referred to the mercenaries who did not go through the Mercenary Union's notarization and approval, and privately negotiated with the employer to accept the mission. Although this way, the mercenaries could avoid the commission of the mission from the Mercenary Union, it increased the risk of the mission. It was not uncommon for mercenaries to go back on their word, turn their backs on other mercenaries, or even act as robbers. However, the commission from the Mercenary Union was too high. They would eat the mercenaries after taking advantage of the employer. Some of the missions with high rewards could add up to 30% to 40%. Therefore, if the conditions were good, the mercenaries would not mind taking on private jobs.
"Hey, Brother Locke, what are you guys doing?" Ell strutted over with a coat. He looked at the cages in front of the carriage and peeked into the carriage. "Oh, you guys are going on a mission again?"
Laurist's head hurt when he saw Ell. He had met Ell twice in the past six months, and he was unlucky twice. The first time was when he lost money. Of course, Laurist would never admit that he was lustful at that time. He thought that if it was not for Ell who refused to admit defeat and hugged his leg, he would have returned to his room long ago. That b * tch would not have had the time to steal so many things. The second time was purely an undeserved calamity. He kindly lent Ell an outer cloak, but he was mistaken for Ell's accomplice and got beaten up for nothing. The most annoying thing was that he couldn't fight back. They were all ordinary people like old ladies, old men, young wives, and uncles. He didn't dare and couldn't attack them. He could only watch helplessly as he suffered losses.
Thus, in Laurist's eyes, Ayer was a living calamity. Nothing good would come out of meeting him. He had to be more careful today, lest he got into trouble again.
Yet, Aire didn't have the slightest self-awareness of being a jinx, wandering around in broad daylight. After interacting with Laurist twice, he thought that they were already friends, and they called each other brothers intimately. Looking at the items on the carriage, Aire felt that it was time to give his younger brother some pointers as a senior.
"Ahem, I say, Brother Locke, there's no point in always dealing with these low-ranked magic beasts, and there's no future for you either. As a mercenary, he should set his sights further. Places like the Magic Beast Forest in the depths of the Sunset Mountains, Chiqueda Kingdom's Doomsday Beach, Ulubaha's underground caves, and the Ruins of the Sea of Tranquility are places that mercenaries should venture into. Although these places are a little more dangerous, the rewards are very bountiful. Didn't the Unicorn Mercenary Band return from the Magic Beast Forest last time? They made a fortune that time. The entire group of forty-three people got more than a hundred gold coins each. "Ayer's saliva flew everywhere.
Laurist rolled his eyes. This brother was just standing there and talking. The places he mentioned were all publicly recognized dangerous places on the continent. You want me, an Iron-ranked mercenary, to go to those places? You're just sending food to the magic beasts' doorstep. He only listened to the gossip of the marketplace, but didn't he think about how many people the Unicorn Mercenary Corps originally had? One hundred and twenty-five Silver-ranked and above experts entered the Magic Beast Forest, but only forty-three returned in less than a month. After handing in the mission, the two Gold-ranked experts, the leader and the vice-leader, squatted in the Mercenary Guild's hall and cried like five or six-year-old children.
"I say, as a gang leader, do you have nothing better to do? Why are you wandering around in broad daylight? What are you supposed to do? Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand mercenary matters. "Laurist was not polite at all.
"Heh, you're not convinced, right? I'm a mercenary too, and a Silver-ranked one." Ayer proudly took out a Silver-ranked badge from the Mercenary Guild and pinned it on the chest area of his coat.
"Eh? Why would a gang leader like you have a Silver-ranked mercenary badge? It's not like you can use it. "Laurist was puzzled.
"He got this badge when he completed a mission in the academy. It was originally an Iron-ranked badge, but after he became a gang leader and advanced to Silver-ranked, he exchanged it for a Silver-ranked mercenary badge from the Mercenary Guild." Fatty Shi's voice came from the side, answering for Ayer.
Laurist looked up and saw Fatty Shi and Terman returning on two horses.
Terman was a member of the academy's law enforcement department. He was Silver-ranked and one of Laurist's few good friends in Dawn Academy.
When they came closer, Fatty Shi pointed at Ayer and said to Yuri and Terman, "You guys should get to know each other. He's Brunan Evan Gilbert. He's also from Dawn Academy, so he's your senior. We were in the same class back then, but he became the boss of the society here after graduation. "
"Hello, I'm Evan Leeders. You can call me Yuri."
"Hello, I'm Verpoli Terman."
Ayer nodded at them in greeting, getting to know each other. Then Ayer asked curiously, "Fatty, where are you going to do your mission?"
"Christopher Hills," Fatty Shi said. "We found Goldbiter Rats in a mine there. We have to go and exterminate them. "
Goldbiter Rats were low-level, gregarious magical beasts that liked to eat metal ores. They were the size of cats and dogs, but they looked like rats. They were cowardly, but they were naturally fierce. Once they were triggered, they would not stop until they were dead. When an ordinary person encountered a Goldbiter Rat, the first thing they should do was not panic. They should try their best to pose a threat, form a standoff, and then slowly retreat. Only then could they escape danger. If they had awakened their fighting aura, even a 1-star bronze rank could easily deal with a lone Goldbiter Rat. However, there were very few Goldbiter Rats that were alone. When they encountered an enemy, they would often call for their friends and get many of their kind to surround and attack.
In Lollister's Knowledge of Magical Beasts, Goldbiter Rats were very famous. It was said that the fierce magical beast that the first warrior to awaken his fighting aura encountered was a Goldbiter Rat. Luckily, it was a lone one. Goldbiter Rats would only leave the group to find a mate when they were in heat. Otherwise, the warrior wouldn't have the chance to awaken his fighting aura, and humans might have to live in darkness for another thousand years.
On the list of magical beasts underground, Goldbiter Rats were mostly at the top. Therefore, for human mines, the discovery of Goldbiter Rats was a big deal. The Goldbiter Rats had to be exterminated, or at least the female rat king. Only then would the rest of the Goldbiter Rats leave the area. Otherwise, if the number of rats increased, they would definitely attract other fierce predators underground, which could easily bring disaster to the mines.
The Romon Empire, one of the Three Great Empires of Galinthea, once had a famous mine incident. It was the largest gold mine in the Romon Empire, but due to poor management, the Goldbiter Rats had caused a disaster. As a result, two huge horned rock pythons had taken over the mine, killing more than three thousand miners. In the end, the Romon Empire dispatched a Sword Saint and more than sixty Gold-rank experts, but they only managed to kill the two horned rock pythons at the cost of heavy casualties. After the incident, more than forty noble families were beheaded and their properties confiscated. After this incident, all the mines in the continent took it as a warning and killed every single Goldbiter Rat they found.
"What's wrong, Steve and the rest didn't come?" Lollister saw that Fatty Shi and the other two returned, so it was a little strange that they didn't come.
"Yeah, these guys are only interested in the opposite sex. Isn't that Year 2, Class 3 going to Benzgang to paint? Steve had brought Cole and his brother to protect the flower. That's right, protecting the beauty is better than going with us to the mines. " Fatty Shi was very vexed. He had been busy preparing the items after taking this private job and forgot to inform the team earlier. In the end, he found out that they were short on manpower.
El's eyes lit up when he heard Fatty Shi say that they were short on manpower, "Hey, hey, Fatty, what do you think of me? Do you want me to go with you? "
Fatty Shi was stunned, "El? You want to go? You're doing well as a gang boss, why would you want to take the risk with us? Besides, this is a private job, it's very risky. "
Lollister firmly objected, "Fatty Shi, don't listen to his nonsense. Other gang bosses would go to the Magic Beast Forest or Doomsday Beach if they wanted to go on an adventure. They wouldn't care about a small business like killing Goldbiter Rats. He's just joking. "
El said seriously, "I'm not joking. To tell the truth, Fatty, you know that I was forced to become a gang boss. My brothers forced me into this position, and I had no choice. They're in charge of everything. As a gang boss, I'm sick of wandering around the streets every day. Even in my dreams, I want to go on an adventure. I really miss the times when I went on mercenary missions with everyone at the academy. You've known me for many years, and you know what kind of person I am. How about it, can you do it? You're short on manpower now anyway, and with my strength, it should be enough to deal with the risks. "
"This …" Fatty Shi was a bit hesitant.
"No." Lollister objected again. If they were to be entangled by this jinx, then it was best not to do this mission. Everyone should go back to wash up and sleep, or else they would definitely be unlucky.
"Fatty, you know what type of combat aura I train in, and you know my innate skills very well. Bringing me along with you to the mines will be very beneficial." Ayer added another weight to the scales.
Hm? This guy has an innate skill? Lollister was curious.
"Locke, what's your reason for objecting to him joining?" Fatty Shi asked Lollister.
"This …" Lollister thought to himself, I can't say that he's a jinx, right? Letting him join the team would be unlucky. "Well, he hasn't done a mission with us before, and I'm afraid that we won't be able to cooperate."
Finally, he found a reason. Lollister wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"I'll definitely follow orders," El said.
"You promise?" Fatty Shi asked.
"I promise."
"Alright, then welcome to this adventure team. I'm the captain, Shredder. I'll give you half an hour to prepare, then come back and gather. We're about to leave. This trip to the Christopher Hills and back will probably take more than twenty days. No problem, right? "Fatty Shi made the final decision.
"No problem. Um, Fatty, oh no, Captain, I think it's best that we gather at the Red Raven Tavern. It's a place for private jobs. Ask my uncle to show you the commission booklet. If there are any missions along the way, you can accept them. Just tell him that I told you to go. Actually, that damn old man will believe you when he sees Locke. "El gave Lollister a big gift as soon as he joined the team.
Fatty Shi was tempted. It turned out that the Red Raven Tavern had such a secret plan. They were trying to poach people from the Mercenary Union, but it was a good place for mercenaries like them. After all, the risk of accepting a mission in the tavern was lower than doing it privately. Besides, the owner of the tavern wouldn't vouch for someone he didn't know.
"Alright, let's meet at the Red Raven Tavern."
In fact, before Fatty Shi could think of what to say to the owner of the Red Raven Tavern, Galiland saw Lollister. When he heard that they were going to complete a private job, he took the initiative to take out the small booklet that recorded the commissions and asked Lollister and the rest to see if there was anything they could do along the way.
Fatty Shi looked at the small booklet and found that most of them were commissions to run errands and buy things on behalf of others. If these commissions were posted at the Mercenary Union, they would basically be errands for bronze or black iron mercenaries. However, if they accepted these commissions from the Mercenary Union, they wouldn't be able to earn much. At most, they would be able to help them along the way. If they accepted these commissions from the Red Raven Tavern, the remuneration was enough for one person to make a special trip.
Fatty Shi discussed with everyone and accepted seventeen commissions. If they were to complete all of them, each of them would earn an extra Gold Ford. It was indeed not bad. Galiland also said that although these commissions weren't large in amount and the remuneration wasn't high, there were many of them. He often had a headache when he couldn't find trustworthy mercenaries. If they completed these commissions well this time, he would welcome everyone to take up private jobs to earn extra money in the future.
Ayer came in wearing a brand new Salamander leather armor. This type of leather armor made from the skin of the Salamander could effectively maintain the temperature and repel mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions. It was a very good piece of equipment for underground exploration. It wasn't cheap, and it was a high-end equipment that ordinary mercenaries and adventurers couldn't afford. There was a silver mercenary badge pinned on the left chest of the leather armor.
Ayer loudly greeted everyone he knew in the tavern. He couldn't wait to let everyone know that he was a mercenary and was going on an adventure. What surprised Laurist was that his uncle, the owner of the tavern, Galiland, didn't seem to mind at all that Ayer wanted to join Laurist's adventure team. On the contrary, he was happy to give everyone a glass of black plum ale and wished them a smooth journey.
After leaving the city, Fatty Shi rode his horse to the carriage and asked Ayer, who was sitting next to the driver's seat and was bickering with Laurist, "Why does your uncle trust little Locke so much? He even took the initiative to take out the commission book when he saw him."
Laurist was also puzzled by this question. He had only met Old Garr twice, and the first time was a fight. Why did Old Garr treat him differently?
Ayer glanced at Laurist lazily and replied listlessly, "The old man said that little Locke has a good character. Although he was tricked by a b * tch the first time, it was because he's an upright person and was willing to help others that he fell for it. The second time, he was wrongly accused and beaten up by ordinary people, but he restrained himself and didn't fight back. He would rather be beaten up badly than hurt others. It's rare to see a young man like him who knows his limits and does things on his own. That's why the old man admires little Locke so much and even asked me to learn from him. However, he didn't know that I'm a silver master, and I would rather run away than attack the ordinary people chasing me. His tolerance and generosity are much better than little Locke's. "
"Tsk …" Laurist retorted, "Don't forget that you were naked at that time. You didn't even have time to run away, and you still dared to turn around and attack?"
Everyone laughed.
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