Chapter 45 Believe It! (Thumbs Up)
The next day, Eznho gathered all his thoughts and formulated his plans. The first thing he needed to do was earn money while tempering and strengthening himself at the same time. The only way that would cater to his needs was to become a mercenary, most cultivators with no backing would resort to this kind of strategy, it was the only way for them to gain a footing in the cultivation world.
Most of them end up being a mediocre cultivator or worse – dead, but of course, there were those who rose to the challenge and made a name for themselves and gained the backing of Mercenary City. The City had a considerable influence throughout the continent, of course with the large number of mercenaries, very few would gain the City’s recognition.
Mercenary City eh?
Eznho brought out the token Talong had given and mused.
With senior’s strength, I wonder if what kind of influence he holds inside the so-called Mercenary City. Sigh, I can only meet him if I meet his requirements.
Eznho put away the token and made his way towards the branch office of the Mercenary Guild – this was the overall name of all the mercenary groups throughout the continent and its headquarters was located at Mercenary City.
There were three offices located inside the Red Sparrow City, the outer district branch office, the middle and lastly, the inner. The outer district branch handles recruitment and affairs regarding mercenaries with rank E and D while the middle district branch handles rank C and B. As for higher ranks, they were handled at the inner district branch. All of this knowledge had been gathered by the combined effort of him and Budoy.
Eznho has a curious mind so he liked to walk and take his time while observing his surroundings. The city was busy as ever especially that spring had come early, everyone was lively. The more he observed, the more he learned about the world, it was already past noon when he arrived at the entrance of the Mercenary Guild branch office.
The building was a little shabby and worn out, it was obvious it was not being maintained properly. People went in and out nonstop, some were in a hurry while others carried random things for their missions. A guard lazily sat beside the door, his spear even leaned against the wall, it was as if he didn’t care about his job at all.
He was a middle-aged man with a medium build, he had sleepy eyes that could shut off any moment and would even occasionally yawn as if he was bored to death. Eznho slowly approached him and could smell the stench of alcohol from the man.
“Excuse me, senior, I would like to become a mercenary,” Eznho spoke politely.
“Huh?” The man looked at him for a second with his lazy eyes.
“Go back home kid and wipe off that milk from your mouth, stop bothering me,” he waved his palms gently back and forth as if he was shooing a fly.
Eznho’s cheek twitched but did not dare to show disrespect, he made it a habit to stay low key and endure as long as people do not cross his bottom line. He breathed out his irritation and ignored the man then entered the building.
The middle-aged man did not care and just followed Eznho with his lazy eyes.
“What a stubborn kid, let’s see how long you can last,”
He let the matter evaporate from his mind and continued with his lazy posture, his head was even starting to fall.
Eznho walked inside and saw a large hall with numerous busy people emanating different kind of auras, some were checking out the mission lists while others were queuing up in line to submit their mission reports. The hall was at least fifty meters high and with how wide it was, it could easily accommodate thousands of people at once.
His curiosity was once again piqued and his eyes started to wander, there were quite a number of counters that accommodated different kinds of needs. Some people looked at him with cold eyes while others showed contempt but nobody bothered with him, the law was strict inside the hall and people who cause troubles were severely punished.
It took him quite awhile to calm down and found what he was looking for, the recruitment area. There was a little more than forty people who stood in line, he composed himself and walked towards the back of the line.
“Hey kid, we were here first, back off and get behind our back,”
A group of three youngsters aged not more than fifteen were walking towards Eznho. They were being led by a boy dressed in a green robe with spiky hair and an arrogant face, the type of people who liked to bully others. Some people noticed and shook their heads but did not bother to interfere, this type of thing often happened.
Eznho furrowed his brows but he backed off and let the youngsters go first before him. Feeling proud, the arrogant youngster sneered and showed him a face full of disdain and took Eznho’s previous spot followed by the other guys who ignored him as if he did not exist.
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“Good boy,” the leader commented then ignored him.
Time flowed on and after half an hour passed without any glitch, it was Eznho’s turn. The female in the counter looked at least like a thirty-year-old woman but she still exuded the passion of a teenager. Her beauty may not be at the top but she had the charm of a fox and a look that liked to tease men. Her clothes were fitted tightly showing her perfect curves and squeezing the two watermelons resting on her chest. This made the new recruits always leave with an intoxicated look on their faces, Eznho was affected but he had a better control over his body than the others, regardless, it still took him a while before he could compose himself in front of the lady.
“Ahem, senior, I am here to apply to become a mercenary,”
Eznho broke the awkward position he was in and tried to look calm as much as possible. The lady smiled teasingly at Eznho with a squinted eye that made his heart beat faster and made it hard to control himself.
“You can call me big sister Lei, what’s yours?”
“Uhmmm, my name is Eznho,” He replied with a slight blush on his cheeks.
“What a lonely name, want big sister to accompany you?” Lei teased again showing a sincere face.
Eznho smiled wryly and didn’t know how to respond.
“Think about it for some time and come back to me when who made a decision,” the woman seemed to be satisfied after looking at the speechless kid and gave him a wooden token with a number fifty engraved on it and the name Eznho at the back.
“Take this and go at the training grounds to have yourself tested, good luck kid, big sister will cheer for you,”
Enzho immediately took the token and bowed then left in a hurry.
Whew, what a scary woman, I should make sure to strengthen my will to avoid being affected by others.
Cold sweats actually ran down his back, if he stayed their any more than he should, he was not sure if he could maintain his self-control and become like the others. After a while, he adjusted his breathing and looked for the way towards the training grounds which did not take long due to the signage.
The training ground was located at the back of the building, it was a wide patch of open land used for sparring, competitions and where tests were held for the new recruits. There were over a hundred people using it right now, some were training with dummies while others fought with each other making the others cheer in unison.
He turned his head a couple of times and spotted familiar faces, the same people who were with him inside a while ago. He made his way towards them and stood again at the back of the line.
Infront of the line was a wooden dummy with the shape of a man but only contained the head and the torso. Beside it was a muscular man with no upper garment showing his body that was full of hardened muscles. He looked fierce and intimidating making the new recruits shiver in fear.
“You’re out! better luck next time and grow some muscles! Next!”
The new recruit who failed showed a downcast expression and silently walked away without looking back with his head bowed down.
“Start!” The muscular man shouted.
The next recruit was a young boy about the age of fourteen, he took a deep breath and shouted making his body muscles bulge, ripping his shirt. This move made the muscular man show a nod of approval.
The boy positioned himself in front of the dummy and gathered energy towards his right hand and punched.
Bang!
A loud sound like a firecracker exploding was produced and wood splinters scattered. The dummy’s chest was mangled and caved in making the other recruits gasp in admiration.
“Passed! Next!” The muscular man shouted and produced another similar dummy. The boy who passed showed a proud look and bowed then joined the others who passed, he was the fifth one.
The next one gritted his teeth and punched producing a ‘thud’ sound but nothing happened to the dummy making him show a look of despair.
“Failed! Go home and plant sweet potatoes instead! Next!” The man was harsh and did not care about the boy’s feeling.
The process continued for another half an hour and it was the boy with a spiky hair’s turn. He stood in front of the dummy and assumed a punching position. With a sharp look on his eyes, he punched with great speed,
Bang!
A loud sound was produced and wooden head flew in the air. Gasping sounds were heard after the head landed on the ground. The muscular man nodded in approval and made him join the others who passed making the boy walk with his nose up high. His two followers soon followed and both passed but not as spectacular as their leader.
People were bewildered and gasped after three consecutive people passed. The dummy was set to endure attacks up to the peak level of the Cleansing Stage, therefore, making it obvious that the boy who attacked was just a step away from forming his ‘halo’.
“Who are those three?” asked one of the spectators.
“If I am not mistaken his name is Paul, the son of the leader of the Axe Gang.” Another one answered beside him.
“Axe Gang?” Everyone who heard it shivered inside.
Axe Gang was the number two gang in the outer district of the city. According to rumors, the gang was overly protective of its members, that is why few people dared to provoke or fight with axe gang members.
A few more people tried before Eznho but nobody passed making the muscular man irritated. At last, it was Eznho’s turn, he tried his best to stay calm but deep inside, he was nervous. According to the rules, once you failed you can only try again after six months. Six months was too long for him that is why he had to pass this test no matter what, he had to give it his all.
Taking a deep breath, he moved in front of the dummy and assumed a punching position. He circulated his energy inside to the maximum and gathered it on his right hand making the air around it distort. Seeing this scene, the muscular man raised his left brow.
Not bad, what a solid foundation and pure heavenly energy.
“Ha!” Eznho shouted and punched producing a ‘thud’ sound. Smoke rose from the dummy’s chest and a centimeter deep fist imprint could be seen. Looking at the seemingly failed attack, Eznho sighed dejectedly.
I guess I have to find other ways to gather money.
Contrary to his expectations, the muscular man shouted the word ‘passed’ with a delight on his face. He immediately collected the damaged dummy and replaced it with a new one. Eznho was surprised but was replaced with wild joy afterward, he bowed deeply to the muscular man and joined the others.
“Pure luck,” Paul commented when Eznho joined the group but the latter ignored him and just stood there in silence while savoring his ‘victory’, he could not wait to go home and share the story with the others back at home.