Chapter 1130: Chapter 85: The Maid Reappears
Ah Dai looked at the revulsion on the young girl’s face, his heart filled with a bitter sorrow as he said softly, "I’m not here to become a mercenary, I am already a mercenary. With the blood of the Divine Dragon as a guide, open the gates of time and space." A blue halo emanated from Ah Dai’s chest, and the Mercenary Card he had registered with the Red Charming Clan flew out, gently landing in his hand. He handed the card to the young girl, awaiting her response.
The girl was somewhat surprised to see the blue glow emanating from Ah Dai. She hadn’t expected this seemingly down-and-out man to possess such capabilities. Taking the card, she opened the thick registry book of the Mercenary Guild and started to look through it. After a while, she seemed to find Ah Dai’s information and exclaimed in astonishment, "Ah! Are you a member of the Special Class Mercenary Group, Evil Sky?"
Ah Dai was startled and said, "We should be just a regular Level Three Mercenary Group, how did we become Special Class?"
The girl replied, "These are records sent from the headquarters, there is no mistake. It is written here that you completed a special-class mission, and the Guild made an exception to upgrade you to a Special Class Mercenary Group. Both the group leader Xuan Yue and the deputy leader Ah Dai have been upgraded to Special Class Mercenaries. Ah, the mission you completed was retrieving a Top-Grade Magic Crystal from the Death Mountain Range. That mission’s reward is very high! If it wasn’t because you and the Moon Scar Mercenary Group completed it together, perhaps you might have even been promoted to a Superior Mercenary Group. After all, it’s rare for anyone to complete a special-class mission."
Ah Dai then realized that it must have been Moon Scar who, when delivering the Top-Grade Magic Crystal for the mission, had also reported him and Xuan Yue’s involvement. After all, they had initially taken on that mission. He wondered how Brother Moon Scar and the others were doing—it had already been two years since they last saw each other.
Noticing that Ah Dai was a Special Class Mercenary, the girl’s tone became much more polite as she tentatively asked, "Would you like to take on a mission?"
Ah Dai, snapped out of his thoughts, "Oh, I want to take on a mission. Is there anything that can be completed quickly? The reward doesn’t matter; ordinary is fine."
The girl looked at Ah Dai with confusion and said, "Something that can be completed quickly? Such tasks are usually low-level, and accordingly, the rewards are much lower. Are you sure? With your current level, you should be taking on higher-level missions."
Ah Dai only needed enough to cover his travel expenses to the Illusive Forest and wasn’t eager for money. He nodded and said, "I’m sure, any task is fine, as long as it can be completed quickly."
The girl nodded, pointed to the task board behind her, and said, "Then you can choose for yourself. Ordinary missions are generally easy to complete, like delivering letters, which are quite simple. Since you have been promoted to Special Class Mercenary, your card also needs to be changed. Please choose a task, and I’ll help you change the card." With that, she turned and walked towards the backroom.
Ah Dai looked at the Mercenary Guild’s task board, starting from the bottom up. There were many tasks, but after a long search at the bottom, he found none suitable for him. Gradually, he looked upwards and finally, in the area for Level One tasks, he found one. The task required the mercenary to deliver an item to the City Lord’s Mansion. Once the city lord opened the item, it would be considered complete. Yes, this task would do. The reward was sufficient, and it would save time.
By that time, the girl had returned. Ah Dai’s original card was replaced with a Gold Card, engraved with the emblem of the Mercenary Guild and exquisitely made. The treatment for Special Class Mercenaries was indeed different. When Ah Dai told the girl about the task he wanted to take, she said, "This task was just posted not long ago, and it’s strange—the reward is paid in advance, totaling fifty Gold Coins. Isn’t this task too simple for you? We also have special-class tasks here; you might consider them."
Ah Dai shook his head and replied, "I’ll take this task. I have other matters to attend to and can’t delay any longer."
The girl agreed and quickly registered Ah Dai, handing over the item to be delivered along with the reward of fifty Gold Coins.
After leaving the Mercenary Guild, Ah Dai found a nearby tavern and spent three Gold Coins on a big meal. He transformed his frustration from being mistaken for a beggar into an appetite, eating the portions of three people before he was satisfied and paid the bill to leave. Once out of the tavern, Ah Dai thought to himself that since he had spent the advance payment, it was time to do the job. He examined the wooden box he was to deliver; it seemed unremarkable. The box was beautifully crafted with auspicious patterns engraved on it and the corners wrapped in metal, yet it was very light. Shaking it lightly, he heard no sound inside. Although Ah Dai was curious, he knew the rules of mercenaries not to tamper with delivered items. Asking a passerby for directions, he headed straight for the City Lord’s Mansion.
Duru City Lord’s Mansion. This year’s Lord of Duru City, Fagle, who was in his early sixties, was not only the lord of a city but also the Governor of the entire Duru Province, overseeing all provincial affairs as a Hereditary Marquis. Duru Province, being a large province within the Empire of Tian Jing and strategically located next to the southernmost Mica Province of the Empire, showed the high level of trust the upper echelons of Tian Jing had in him. Today, he was especially pleased as the grandson and adopted granddaughter of his good friend, Governor Terhos of Mica Province, visited him on behalf of Terhos, bringing many precious gifts. He had set up a banquet in their honor. He and Terhos had been friends for decades; back in their youth, they were both up-and-coming nobles who successfully inherited their fathers’ titles and gradually climbed to their current positions. As they aged, their respective duties meant they seldom saw each other, but it did not affect their friendship. Although Terhos could not visit due to his busy official duties, he always sent his trusted representatives, and likewise, Fagle did the same. The close relationship between Mica and Duru had made them a solid block within the entire Empire of Tian Jing, wielding significant influence. Even The Emperor of the Empire would not make significant administrative changes to these crucial provinces lightly; everything was managed by themselves. Fagle and Terhos had become the de facto local emperors of their regions, and a third of the military power of the entire Empire was in their hands.
