While Li Xi was excitedly unable to sleep at home due to his unprecedented improvement in strength, three shadowy figures appeared in the basement of the tavern where Li Xi had previously completed quests.
The first, wearing a high-necked trench coat that obscured half his face, spoke first, "I've investigated everyone connected to Delabonte's death. Only that young mercenary who was the first to turn in the quest is the most suspicious. He hid a lot of things from us, and his strength has increased incredibly in this period, far beyond normal limits. I think we can take some measures against him."
From the darkness, a hoarse voice that sounded like it was on the verge of death emerged, "Send Unit Three. Ensure the truth of the matter is revealed, along with the whereabouts of those items. Silencing them is permissible if necessary."
"Understood."
The second obscured figure spoke, "The materials have been gathered. Once the time is right, we can initiate the plan."
The hoarse voice fell silent for a moment, "Wait. We'll make our move when Demanga, that old geezer, is too preoccupied to interfere. It won't be long. According to reliable intelligence, he recently hunted another dragon. Knowing him, he won't show his face again for at least half a year until he's consumed it all."
"I understand. Our previous operation failed precisely because of his interference. That won't happen again."
"Good. Prepare a contingency plan, primarily focused on probing that old man."
"Understood."
As the voices faded, the basement fell into silence once more.
...
The next morning,
Li Xi, who hadn't slept due to excitement all night, first visited Ais's house. After leaving a stream of mushy words and breakfast, and receiving a playful punch to the chest, he then happily headed to the C-rank quest room in the mercenary hall.
The first time Li Xi came here, he noticed that the highest quest rank in the quest hall was B-rank, with no A-rank or S-rank quests available.
At the time, he didn't understand why, assuming it was due to Kador City not being important enough. Now, due to his relationship with Ais, Li Xi had learned much of the inside story.
A-rank and S-rank quests were the highest tier quests in the Mercenary Guild, and they were extremely rare. The number of mercenaries capable of undertaking these ranks was also very small, hence they were not publicly available. Only mercenaries who reached B-rank had the authority to view quests above A-rank.
Li Xi was currently a D-rank mercenary and could only take on C-rank quests at most. A-rank and S-rank were still a long way off.
Upon entering the C-rank quest room, the scrolling tasks on the large screen were significantly different from before.
If F-rank to D-rank quests leaned towards reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, clue collection, escorting, and killing small demonic beasts, then C-rank quests were more inclined towards direct combat.
'Slay the Earth-splitting Prisoner Tiger, a Rank 4 demonic beast in the Forest of Forgetfulness. Reward: 2000 gold coins.'
"This is easy for me, it's just that the Earth-splitting Prisoner Tiger is hard to find," Li Xi mused, then looked at the next one.
'Slay any member of the cult. Reward will be commensurate with their rank.'
"It's best not to get involved in inter-religious affairs. You never know who's backing them."
The cults in this world essentially had the shadow of deities behind them. Of course, these deities were not benevolent and lawful, but evil and chaotic. From Li Xi's own understanding, these evil gods were insane, capricious. Provoking their followers was akin to declaring war on an evil god. Killing a low-ranking priest might even provoke the deity itself. Li Xi just wanted to live peacefully and didn't want to put too much pressure on himself.
'Hunt down the evil mage Burn. All of Burn's personal belongings will belong to the mercenary. Additional reward: 3000 gold coins.'
Li Xi had heard Ais mention the name Burn before. He was a necromancer, like the ones he understood from his previous life, capable of summoning the undead, creating plagues of the undead, and deriving pleasure from tormenting intelligent beings, building his happiness on human suffering. He was a loyal follower of the God of Death and a dangerous individual who was a target of all major divine sects and city lords.
"This quest is also difficult, and it's related to deities again."
In this other world, once individuals reached a certain level of power, they almost always became involved with deities, with a few exceptions. One could say they were like investment seeds for deities, cultivated from a young age. When their strength grew to a certain extent, they could then feed back to the deities, allowing them to increase their divine power.
These individuals, seemingly powerful and renowned, sung about by wandering minstrels, actually had their lives planned out. Few managed to break free from the deities' control and attain freedom.
This could be seen even in myths. No matter how many hardships a hero endured in the early stages, they would ultimately be saved and accepted by various deities, returning to the divine realm to enjoy eternal life. While it might be a hero's storyline, when you look at historical records, it's the same everywhere. Isn't it obvious that there's a problem?
As Li Xi scanned the quests one by one, he suddenly felt someone watching him from behind. Li Xi didn't turn around immediately. Instead, he pretended to be dissatisfied with all the quests and about to go home. He turned around and saw Garyo, the captain of the Beros merchant caravan he had previously traded with, waving at him. "Brother Li Xi, I have something I'd like your help with. Do you have some time?"
"My strength is weak, I might not be able to help you much," Li Xi politely declined.
Garyo smiled obsequiously, "Brother Li Xi, you jest. Others may not know your strength, but how can I not? Listen to what I need your help with first, and then consider it yourself. I guarantee the commission will be generous."
"Then, tell me."
"Our caravan has a guest elder who discovered an extremely rare medicinal herb deep within the Forest of Forgetfulness. However, it is guarded by a Rank 6 demonic beast, the Deepwater Ice Dragon. He's not strong enough to handle it alone, so we're looking for a strong mercenary to help lure the Deepwater Ice Dragon away. You don't need to fight it, just lure it away. Once he retrieves the herb, the mission will be considered complete."
After Garyo finished speaking, he looked at Li Xi. Seeing Li Xi's lack of enthusiasm, he emphasized again, "The reward can be a combat skill manual or gold coins. You only need to lure away the Deepwater Ice Dragon, no fighting required. We will post the quest on the Mercenary Guild, ensuring its fairness and authenticity."
Li Xi thought about it. The mission seemed relatively simple, and more importantly, it was in the Forest of Forgetfulness, his territory. "How much time will it take?"
"No more than twenty days."
The time was a bit long, and Li Xi hesitated about taking the mission. "Why don't you just post the quest and find someone else?"
Garyo explained with a wry smile, "Brother Li Xi, high-level quests are usually undertaken with people one knows well. How many people would post a quest and have strangers do it with them? Entrusting a mission to an unfamiliar mercenary is essentially reducing your own success rate for no reason and is irresponsible to oneself."
Li Xi understood what Garyo was saying. The higher the quest rank, the more difficult it was. To complete the quest, it was natural to find people one could trust and cooperate with smoothly. It was the same with Sinis and the Black Tiger Mercenary Group back then. Initially, they were all displeased when they saw Li Xi. Machines need to be calibrated, let alone people.
Seeing that Li Xi still hadn't agreed, Garyo continued, "Brother Li Xi, you also know that this is the busiest period for mercenaries. The mercenaries we are familiar with all have quests, and we temporarily lack suitable personnel, which is why we approached you."
Li Xi knew Garyo was telling the truth. The mercenaries he knew were all swamped and he hadn't seen them for days. "Alright, when do we depart?"
"Tomorrow. You don't need to prepare anything, Brother Li Xi. We will prepare everything."
"You're quite thoughtful."
Garyo smiled confidently, "It can't be helped. As the largest merchant caravan in Kador City, we have some gold. We can't let friends who help us with our quests think we are stingy."
"Then, see you tomorrow."
"Then I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow, Brother Li Xi."
Li Xi returned to Ais's house and saw Madam Aiviel and Ais leisurely enjoying their afternoon tea.
"You two are so leisurely. Unlike me, who has to risk my life on quests, working hard to earn gold so that someone can live a carefree life." Li Xi's words were as sweet as a plum candy.
Madam Aiviel smiled without speaking, watching the scene. Ais glared at him with playful annoyance, "I don't need you to earn money to support me, I have my own money."
Li Xi widened his innocent eyes, "I never said it was you I was earning money for."
Ais knew Li Xi was teasing her, but it didn't stop a woman's joy from turning into anger.
"You're shameless! You're never allowed to come to my house again."
She turned her head away and ignored Li Xi. Li Xi sighed, women in this world were tricky.
After a period of coaxing and promises, Ais smiled again and asked, "How did your quest search go today? It must be hard to find suitable quests alone without a mercenary group, right? If you don't find any, just stay home. I can lend you money."
"How can a man like me, who is 1.8 meters tall, let a woman support him?"
"I found a quest. A guest elder from the Beros merchant caravan wants to collect medicinal herbs in the Forest of Forgetfulness, but it's guarded by a Rank 6 demonic beast, the Deep Sea Cold Dragon. They want me to help lure the Deep Sea Cold Dragon away, not kill it, just lure it away."
"Beros merchant caravan?" Hearing this name, Ais's eyebrows furrowed, and she fell into deep thought.
"What's wrong? Is there something troublesome about this quest?" Li Xi asked.
Ais pondered for a moment and said, "Do you remember the incident with Borel before? His identity was the butler of Beros. Although we didn't find anything after the fact, my intuition tells me that this Beros is no ordinary merchant."
"Furthermore, the guest elder you mentioned should be Soros, a Rank 4 Swordsman. His swordsmanship is incredibly powerful. He once defeated a Rank 5 Sky Warrior with his Rank 4 strength, earning him the title of Kador City's strongest Rank 4 and one of the most formidable experts in Kador City. It's precisely because of his prowess that Beros hired him at a high price."
"I know your strength is also considerable, but there is still a gap compared to Soros. For your safety, I think it's best you don't take this quest."
Ais looked at Li Xi with concern. Since they were ambushed last time, their investigations had encountered constant obstacles, as if a fog had descended upon Kador City. The major divine sects had already issued urgent notices, closely monitoring all developments.
Currently, the main suspects for causing trouble in Kador City are the cults and the abyss. The most suspicious parties are the Beros merchant caravan and the City Lord's Mansion. All evidence points to them, one having produced a traitor and the other being entirely uncooperative.
After Ais finished explaining these matters, Madam Aiviel became a little frightened. "Perhaps we should move to another city? It's too dangerous here."
Li Xi laughed heartily, "Where isn't dangerous? The Great Chaos has just passed, the abyssal demons haven't been completely driven back to the abyss, and all the gods are studying how to return to the divine realm. Evil gods are seizing the opportunity to cause trouble, and various forces across the continent are pursuing their own agendas. In this vast world, there is no truly peaceful place. Our strength is insufficient, it will be the same wherever we go."
Then, he assured Ais, "Don't worry. I am confident in my strength. If worse comes to worst, I can call upon Lord Mourinho. If you don't trust me, you must trust Lord Mourinho's strength, right?"
"I trust the Lord's strength. I also have a few potions here. Since I won't be using them, you should take them all with you when you leave tomorrow," Ais said, taking out five different potions from her spatial ring, including those for internal and external injuries and detoxification.