Chapter 44

Chapter 44

After inquiring with Ms. Judith about the battlefield's location, they thanked her and left Ningkang Fort.

"Shall we go? Through the teleportation array? Or via a spatial channel?" Sipo asked eagerly.

"Right." Sipo temporarily dismissed the idea.

Arnold chuckled and interjected, "You could go to the Mercenary Guild to take on tasks. I bet many nobles or factions will post tasks related to flesh golems there, like bringing back a flesh golem. You know how those idle, wealthy nobles are—bored yet ambitious."

He shrugged. "To avoid unnecessary trouble, you'd better disguise yourselves before going. Being an elf is too sensitive, and some adventurers don't take kindly to elves."

"Understood." Sipo glanced at him but didn't argue. "You said 'you' just now? Aren't you coming?"

"Why would I go?" Arnold was silent for a few seconds. "I'm just an ordinary intermediate mage who unfortunately awakened a dark attribute. That doesn't mean I can only study Dark Magic, right? The battlefield is too dangerous for me. As your companion, surviving would take a great deal of luck."

Lou Guanyue tilted his head slightly, scrutinizing Arnold. "You really are a lucky half-elf."

Arnold twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't mind Lou Guanyue's sarcasm much. He straightened his clothes and said with a smile, "If there's nothing else, I should be on my way too."

"I've got this urge to get back to Gero City quickly, or my clinic will be cleaned out by those petty thieves from the West District. Well, no need to say goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

With that, he waved and walked off toward another street.

Watching this "temporary companion" depart calmly, Lou Guanyue snorted softly, said ambiguously. "Just letting him leave like that? He knows quite a few of our secrets."

"He's been friendly enough so far, and we have no irreconcilable differences with him. Of course, his identity as a dark wizard is also not something he can reveal. Without sufficient understanding or enough benefit, the likelihood of Arnold betraying us is very, very low." Pelan withdrew his gaze, analyzing calmly.

"I also believe no elf would betray Ithilien." Sipo said optimistically. "Alright, let's go too."

"Hopefully so." Lou Guanyue said with a smile. They continued along the road, making their way toward the Mercenary Guild.

The Mercenary Guild was not bound to any nation, answering only to "contracts" and "money." It had branches in major cities across Yakalanst. Unlike the Rhine Guild, it was not formed by an alliance but answered solely to its own management, exercising very loose control over its members.

The Mercenary Guild mostly cooperated with various major factions. Besides individuals, kingdoms and the church sometimes commissioned the guild to post tasks.

Pelan looked up at the plaque of the Mercenary Guild's Gollent Port branch, which bore the guild's brass emblem—crossed longswords and a staff encircling a lion.

He inwardly sighed, impressed, as befitted one of the continent's five major powers. Although not as obscenely rich as the Rhine Guild opposite, its entrance was equally imposing, making the neighboring buildings seem dwarfed in comparison.

He stopped Sipo, who was about to walk over, and whispered, "Suppress your magical aura a bit."

Sipo was puzzled. "Suppress? Why?"

Pelan explained, "The dark-attribute mana around you is too dense. It can easily be sensed as anomalous by mages with strong spiritual sight."

He wasn't in Ithilien or the mage-scarce town of Saide now. If recognized, things could get quite troublesome.

"Alright, how do I suppress it?" Sipo nodded and asked, somewhat sheepishly.

Izavel softly recited an incantation, and a transparent film enveloped Sipo.

"Your Highness doesn't need to suppress your aura. My magic will ensure your presence doesn't leak out." Izavel said.

Sipo happily patted his shoulder. "Thank you! Izavel is still so reliable!"

Making sure there were no other issues, the four stepped through the Mercenary Guild's doors.

The Mercenary Guild had three floors. The first floor mainly handled reception and task acceptance, while the second floor and above were for meetings and rest. Pushing the door open, they saw adventurers of all kinds gathered in the hall. The wall at the far end was densely covered with parchment notices.

Lou Guanyue frowned slightly at the crowd and didn't move until Pelan tugged him, and he walked toward the reception counter.

Behind the counter sat a woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with the Mercenary Guild's emblem pinned to her chest.

"Next."

She said without looking up, her voice calm, a quill in hand, writing in a thick ledger.

Sipo hurried forward.

"Hello, we'd like to take a task. Are there any tasks related to 'flesh golems' available now?" He asked in as calm a voice as possible.

The clerk finally looked up, her gaze sweeping over each of them.

"There are, but tasks related to flesh golems can only be accepted by adventurers of Silver rank or above." She stated simply. "Please provide your name, profession, level, and qualification certificate."

As she spoke, she tapped her finger on the counter where a smooth crystal panel lay, apparently for identity verification.

Pelan and Sipo exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.

"What's a qualification certificate?" Sipo repeated hesitantly.

The clerk's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a hint of impatience in her tone. "The Adventurer Qualification Certificate, issued by the Mercenary Guild, proving you possess basic adventuring competence, not just being useless."

Her sharp eyes fixed on Sipo. "Without a certificate, you cannot register or accept any guild tasks."

Sipo opened his mouth, about to plead further, when the clerk added rapidly, "It's the rule. If you haven't decided on a task yet, please step aside to discuss. There are many others waiting behind you."

Hearing this, they had no choice but to leave the counter and stop in a relatively open area.

Sipo let out a long sigh. "Ah! We should have asked someone beforehand. What do you plan to do now? Find Arnold and borrow his certificate? Hmm... he probably doesn't have one either."

Pelan was about to speak when a figure bumped into him from the side. Before he could react, he was firmly embraced.

Lou Guanyue's brows suddenly furrowed, and he was about to pull the person away when his outstretched hand stopped.

"Pelan! It really is you!"

A voice as clear as a silver bell rang in his ear, filled with undisguised delight.

Pelan was stunned for a moment. Looking down, he saw a cascade of brilliant golden hair and a bright, radiant smiling face. The girl wore fitted leather armor, a slender rapier hanging at her waist. Her posture was upright, and she exuded vitality.

"Isadel?" Pelan looked at her incredulously.

"It's me! What a coincidence!" Isadel released him, her smile so bright it seemed to light up the hall.

"How did you recognize me?" Pelan asked, puzzled. He had used a transformation potion; Isadel shouldn't have seen his current appearance.

"You'll never guess!" Isadel laughed, winking at him, her gaze falling on Sipo beside them. "Long time no see, Sipo! You're still as handsome as ever!"

Sipo smiled gently. "You are more beautiful than before, Miss Isadel."

"A poet's praise is always so moving." Isadel's tone grew even more cheerful. She looked at Pelan with a smile. "Actually, I didn't recognize you, but I recognized the elf gentleman! I guessed you'd be near him, and sure enough, I found someone whose demeanor and build were very much like you!"

Then, she looked curiously at the two men opposite. "Are these two also elves?"

Sipo pointed at Izavel. "He is an elf. The one next to him is Pelan's student, also a human."

Hearing the word "student," Isadel's lake-clear eyes instantly lit up. She exclaimed excitedly, "Pelan, you've already taken an apprentice?! That's amazing!"

Lou Guanyue's mouth quirked up in a smile as he nodded at Isadel. "Hi, you can call me Yue."

"Hello! I'm Isadel, a friend of Pelan and Sipo," Isadel said with a smile.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she asked curiously, "What task are you planning to take? Maybe we could team up!"

Sipo shrugged. "We don't have adventurer qualification certificates, so we can't take any tasks."

Isadel waved it off. "That's a minor issue. Just have one of you register—forming an adventurer party is quick and doesn't take much time."

She continued enthusiastically, "To form an adventurer party, you need a rank certification badge from either the Mage Association or the Warrior Association. Only someone with at least an apprentice-level badge can serve as the party leader. Does anyone here have one?"

Pelan shook his head silently. As a necromancer, why would he ever take the Mage Association's exams for a mage badge?

He looked hopefully at the others, only to find them all equally silent.

Sipo cleared his throat awkwardly. "As you know, until a week ago, I'd never even left Seed Town. I never had the chance to take the exam."

"I don't have one either," Lou Guanyue sighed, giving Pelan an apologetic look. "Teacher says I'm not even at the level of a magic apprentice yet."

Izavel remained silent throughout—clearly, as the former captain of the knights in the Elven Forest, he'd had no reason to take any mage rank exams either.

Isadel shook her head. "I'm afraid there's no time for that now. How about joining my party instead? Don't worry, our party is pretty strong! And we've already accepted the 'Collect a Flesh Golem' task."

What a coincidence!

Pelan was surprised but quickly understood. With golems reappearing after a thousand years, many would be interested—likely, numerous adventurer parties had taken similar tasks.

"I have no objections," Sipo was the first to agree.

"Me neither," Lou Guanyue said, looking at Pelan. "Wherever Teacher goes, I go."

"Then it's settled!" Isadel clapped her hands lightly, beaming. "Let's go! My party has already accepted this task, and it's getting late. How about we grab lunch first?"

"There's a great restaurant in Port Colent! After lunch, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team!"

Sipo's eyes lit up as he patted his stomach. "Let's hurry to the restaurant—I'm starving!"

Having successfully tricked Pelan into joining her party, Isadel smiled triumphantly and led them out of the Mercenary Guild hall to a tastefully decorated restaurant.

The restaurant was moderately sized, filled with both ordinary people and a few adventurers.

Perhaps due to the war, despite it being peak dining hours, there were still empty tables, sparing them the hassle of waiting in line.

"How lucky! Normally, I'd have to queue here two hours in advance," Isadel remarked, handing one of the menus to the elf.

"My treat today—no need to be polite! Don't rush to refuse. This is your first time in Port Colent, right? Consider this my hometown in a way—let me have the chance to be a good host!"

Author's Note: Lou Guanyue: Even sweeter-talking than me! This feels bad—could she be a rival?! [Scared][Scared]

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