Chapter 77: Chapter 19 Mercenary Guild_5
Xuan Yue took the two bronze badges and complained, "Why am I only a third-level mercenary? This is too low."
"Upgrading your mercenary level is very challenging, and the higher you go, the harder it gets. If you tried to upgrade through completing ordinary missions, you’d probably only go from a fourth level to a third in a year. The Mercenary Guild has already given you a massive favor because you are magicians. I, for instance, have worked as a mercenary for twenty years and am only at the first level." This was none other, but the captain of the Red Charming Mercenary Group’s first war team, Ka Rui.
Xuan Yue looked at him and said, "Why are you still here? I’ve already told you we’re not joining your Mercenary Corps."
The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, "Business is business, kindness is kindness. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to find me. If difficult missions require cooperation, we would be more than happy to join in."
Cooperation? That’s a good idea. Xuan Yue’s tone softened a bit as she asked, "Alright, but may I ask, Uncle, what’s your name?"
The middle-aged man touched his not-so-rough face, feeling embarrassed, "Am I really that old? You should call me Big Brother instead, my name is Ka Rui."
Xuan Yue laughed and said, "Compared to us, you are obviously old, Mr. Ka Rui. If we ever need to cooperate on a mission, we will definitely find you. We’re going to pick up our missions now." Speaking, she grabbed Ah Dai’s sleeve and ran to the mission pickup counter, eager to see the task board behind it. Earlier, they hadn’t had the chance to look at it before being interrupted by the middle-aged man. Now they were able to look carefully.
The board was divided into four sections; the bottom section was for ordinary missions, mainly to escort merchants or goods with relatively low rewards. The next layer up held second-level missions, an assortment of different tasks with varying degrees of difficulty. For example, finding the fragrant wind grass Ah Dai was familiar with was indeed among them. Moving up further were first-level tasks. These had higher difficulty and were mostly about finding rare items. Surprisingly, one of the rewards for finding the Nine Dragon Respect was as high as 10,000 gold coins. The top layer displayed S-level tasks with only one mission: to retrieve a high-purity, top-grade magic crystal rumored to exist in a cave on the edge of the Death Mountain Range, located at the junction of the Tian Yuan Clan and Empire of Huasheng. The reward for this mission would be dependent on the quality and attributes of the retrieved magic crystal, with a bottom line reward of 10,000 amethyst coins.
Ah Dai knew about magic crystals. Goris’s notes had mentioned that magic crystals, depending on their attributes, contained different magic elements and had the ability to absorb and store these magic elements. It was like adding a container for magic power storage for magicians, very precious, and the best material for making magic items. Magic items made from top-grade magic crystals could significantly enhance a magician’s power, sometimes even promoting one’s magic level. Although not as powerful as divine artifacts, Goris had collected a few magic crystals in his collection, though they were only of the regular grade. This mission stirred Ah Dai’s interest, not for the money, but he thought that if he could get a top-grade magic crystal and present it to Mr. Goris, he would surely be very pleased.
Xuan Yue noticed the same task and muttered to herself, "So, top-grade magic crystals are so expensive!"
Ka Rui leaned in and said, "Of course, top-grade magic crystals are expensive! Even ordinary magic crystals are very rare on this continent, and a magic wand crafted from an ordinary magic crystal can be worth up to 10,000 gold coins. A top-grade magic crystal is a treasure among treasures, its scarcity making it near impossible to obtain. The magical items crafted using it are so valuable that they are almost impossible to estimate. This task was posted long ago, said to be issued by a master alchemist. However, nobody has been able to complete it."
Xuan Yue asked, "With such high rewards, why doesn’t your Red Charming Mercenary Group take the task? Aren’t you guys the number one Mercenary Corps on the continent? Don’t you need money?"
Ka Rui smiled bitterly, "Who doesn’t need money? To run a large mercenary group with tens of thousands of people requires massive funding. The difficulty and high level of risk of this task, though, dissuade us. Our leader strictly prohibited us from taking it for the sake of everyone’s safety."
Xuan Yue looked puzzled and asked, "Are magic crystals that hard to find? With so many people in the Red Charming Mercenary Corps, isn’t it possible to carry out a carpet search? 10,000 amethyst coins is not a small amount."
Ka Rui sighed, "The issue is not about difficulty in finding the crystals, but about the danger involved. Didn’t you look at where the top-grade magic crystals are located? It’s the Death Mountain Range!"
This time, even Ah Dai’s interest was piqued, and for the first time since they entered the Mercenary Guild, he asked, "Is the Death Mountain Range very dangerous?"
