"Cough."
Rod coughed, and although being actively asked out by a girl was a very happy thing, he hadn’t easily co out for three days to hit on girls.
Even though she declared herself to be very "watery" and easy to soak.
"Ado, actually, I’m really short on money..."
Ado blinked her big eyes and softly asked, "Brother Soron, as a hunter as formidable as you, how could you be short of money?"
Rod’s thoughts flashed like electricity, and he imdiately ca up with an answer, "Actually, I bought a property in the Upper City and owe quite a bit..."
"Wow!"
"A house in the Upper City?"
She suddenly covered her mouth, carefully looking around as if she feared that this information would leak out.
The hunter’s tavern was empty, not a soul in sight.
She leaned closer to Rod, her big eyes swirling with a strange light, and she asked in a lowered voice, "Brother Soron, where is your property?"
"Hmm... on Queen Street, I guess..."
Ado’s entire face quickly turned red, she unconsciously wrung her small hands, and every breath she released carried a burning heat, setting Rod’s cheek ablaze.
"Brother Soron, the house must have been very expensive, right?"
"Yeah."
"Brother must have owed a lot of money to the Mahara rchant, right?"
"Uh... that’s right, I owe a lot. The monthly repaynts are a huge pressure."
Ado suddenly turned serious, straightened up, and swiftly moved a thick pile of mission briefs from under the counter.
"Brother Soron is right, making money is the most important thing. Brothers should focus on missions first. The water-spraying lilies can be seen anyti, and if brother wishes, I can even move the flowers to your house."
She lowered her head and flipped through the mission briefs quickly, but her reddened ear tips betrayed her thoughts.
So there was also trendous housing pressure in the Royal City?
Rod touched his nose, feeling sowhat conflicted.
Was that Mahara rchant the Royal City’s real estate developer?
No, no, it seed a bit different, I shouldn’t apply my experience rigidly.
However, it was a good excuse. The higher the pay for a mission, the greater the danger, and the higher the likelihood of encountering powerful monsters.
Rod smiled.
Then I’ll leave it to you, little sister Ado.
I’ll visit to appreciate your flowers when I’m free.
It must be said, having a good friend as the person in charge of a hunter’s branch made many things simple.
The hunter’s headquarters would receive many missions every day, so from various defense zones, so from the large legions, so from the General Military Departnt, and so from private commissions.
Without soone familiar, it would be impossible to find a suitable one among so many missions.
And the Hunter Group itself has many rules to constrain the behavior of hunters.
So, if Rod wanted to hunt down stronger monsters more efficiently, Ado was a very important assistant.
If necessary, sacrificing so personal charm was also acceptable.
"Ah, right."
Ado suddenly said.
"Brother Soron, your Hunter Star Level has reached the Third Level, you can choose a new title."
Rod exclaid, "There’s such a thing?"
Ado flipped through the missions, lowering her voice to explain, "It ans you are officially recognizing your Hunter’s License, and we have a record of your purchase."
She placed a thick book in front of Rod.
"Find a suitable one on it."
Rod opened the book, which was full of various hunter titles, but most were already marked in red.
The remaining nas were all bizarre, with strange nas like "Rotwood," "Crossdresser," "Underpants," "talplate."
After searching for a while, there was only one that caught his eye.
"Then I’ll take this one."
"Big Sculpture? That’s a strange na, nobody has ever picked it."
Ado’s finger quickly slid across the crystal control panel embedded in the counter.
After a mont, Rod suddenly felt a warmth on his waist, took out his Hunter’s License, and saw the words "Dawn Blade" slowly lt away, replaced by "Big Sculpture."
Quite impressive, this Hunter’s License is really sothing special.
Another half clock hour passed by. Ado happily said, "I found one, this commission should be suitable." She handed over a mission brief with a red seal.
"This is a commission from the stonemason’s workshop; they’ve suffered attacks from an unknown Evil Spirit and need an experienced hunter with strong tracking and investigative abilities. The mission remuneration is ten thousand silver coins; Brother Soron has high Spiritual Vision, sharp observation, strong propulsion, and logical ability, making him an excellent scout and tracker, just right for this mission."
Rod quickly read through the mission brief.
The stonemason’s workshop was located at the foot of the eastern part of the Dead Ash Mountain Range, its main task being to process stones solidified with Spiritual Energy.
It was a very small human stronghold, with fewer than ten thousand people, situated in the innermost part of the Red Soil Plain, generally considered safe.
But three days ago, an Evil Spirit with elusive tracks appeared out of nowhere and attacked the workshop, killing twelve stonemasons consecutively.
The guards of the stonemason’s workshop were helpless, and the two hunting squads sent by the Sixth Defense Zone returned without success.
On the advice of the Military War Departnt, they could only submit a commission to the Hunter Group.
Rod knew that the threat level of a mission was indicated by the color of its seal; the deeper the color, the greater the threat.
And the red seal represented a threat level of "serious," a First Level.
In the context of Royal City, this was no small matter.
However, this also posed a problem, Rod’s star level wasn’t high enough.
Ado whispered, "Iron Wolf and the others haven’t recovered yet, we must find a new teammate. Any deep-color mission must be completed by a hunter team of at least two people."
"I understand. Can you help find a teammate, Ado?"
Rod didn’t know anyone here, so he could only ask Ado for help.
Ado said, slightly apologetic, "Brother Soron, many hunters have been forcibly conscripted during the Black Tide, so the tavern has been consistently empty. There’s only one hunter suitable for this mission."
Rod replied casually, "That’s alright, he’ll do."
While having more teammates would save effort, it would also significantly increase the difficulty of the kill, and if he wasn’t the one to kill the monster, the chances of obtaining a complete soul were slim.
A two or three-person team was the best choice.
Ado whispered, "Her na is phit, a Seven Stars hunter with the title Death Knell."
Rod felt a twinge of regret, such a cool title, why didn’t I have it?
But Ado didn’t seem to think the title was very cool; her voice beca somber.
"Brother Soron, the fatality rate is very high for hunters who travel with her. Many see her as a harbinger of disaster and misfortune. So even slander her as a Doomsday believer, accusing her of harming her comrades. But Sister phit is actually very kind. She just often undertakes very dangerous missions, so naturally, the fatality rate is high."
Ado looked at Rod seriously.
"If you really mind, I can try to find soone from another branch, but it might take longer."
Rod smiled and said, "Don’t bother, she’ll do. I am a firm... uh, Firekeeper Warrior, I don’t believe in all that stuff. With fire’s protection, we’re never afraid of ill fortune. Besides, how could a friend of Ado’s be a Doomsday believer?"
Ado’s joy 62
Humanity 6
"Brother Soron truly is a good person."
Ado’s smile blossod like a flower; she propped herself on the counter, leaned over, and kissed Rod on the cheek.
She then personally made him a "Blue Nebula."
This blue, cloud-like fruit wine symbolized freedom, hope, reason, and healing; it was Ado’s blessing for the hunter about to embark on a journey.
The wine wasn’t strong, smooth on the palate, tart and sweet, with an aftertaste that lingered.
By the ti he finished the drink, she had arrived.
"Sister phit!"
Ado waved enthusiastically behind him, smiles spilling onto her face uncontrollably.
Rod turned to look and saw a tall hunter approaching them.
She was wearing a standard hunter’s coat, standard hunter boots, a broad-brimd felt hat, and wrapped in a thick scarf that hid her face in shadow.
One could only see a pair of light silver eyes, exuding a coldness like frost and snow.
Rod frowned slightly.
She didn’t look very strong.
Nevermind, evil spirits generally aren’t strong, and it’s just a matter of casting the "Spiritual Power Fifth Layer lody". As long as she can just help hold it off.
"This is the Brother Soron I was talking about," Ado said enthusiastically. "His star level may not be high, but he is very strong and has high Spiritual Vision. He excels at observation, tracking, and deduction. He is definitely a great partner and can help you complete this mission."
The rather aloof female hunter said softly, "Thank you, Ado."
Her voice was crisp and cold, likewise carrying an air that kept others at a distance.
She turned to Rod and said, "Hello, I am Death Knell phit. It’s our first eting. I hope you understand that many hunters who have worked with have died, have been irreparably crippled, or suffered irreversible infections."
Rod replied with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’ve got a tough life; you can’t jinx ."
phit silently looked at him, her light silver eyes bearing an intensity that seed to penetrate the soul.
"Let’s hope so. If you’re ready, we should set out," she said.
Rod nodded.
"Ti waits for no one, let’s go."
"Ado, see you in a bit."
Ado called out from behind, "Brother Soron, Sister phit, may the fire accompany you and shine upon you always!"
----
This ti, they didn’t use a rickshaw and simply walked out of the city.
Rod’s traveling speed had improved significantly; with a tap of his toes, he could leap dozens of steps, and his use of Spiritual Energy was as smooth as breathing.
phit’s speed was similar to his, but she always stayed a half-step behind.
"Haha, I’ve indeed beco stronger," Rod mused with a mix of joy and urgency.
"I need to max out ’Justice Execution’ and handle the ’Spirit Boat’ next, then I can consider how to ignite new stars."
"Hmm... I also need to accumulate more trump cards to show the invaders what true strength is. ’Puppet Wood’ and ’Soul Ashes’ are really useful."
"I can have the dicine Woman make the Puppet Wood, but there aren’t many living Spirits left. I also need to find a way to slaughter a bunch of Doomsday believers, but they’re all in hiding now, hard to find."
"Sun Stones are the trickiest, how am I going to get more of those?"
All along the way, Rod pondered his future silently, considering various strategies to counter the invasion.
In the darkness, both were silent, hardly speaking.
Their twin glows illuminated each other, neither too close nor too far, like two parallel lines that would never intersect.
Several clock hours later, they arrived right below the eastern Dead Ash Mountain Range, in front of the great doors of Lars’s Stoneworks.
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