The Third – Mission
Rumors of an expert appearing in an unremarkable village and of his heroic acts spread through different cities. A figure cloaked in black and his stunning sky blue eyes.
Soon, different practitioners set out for this village in hopes of meeting the said expert. Unfortunately, by the time any of these practitioners arrived, the expert had already left. He had terrified the rest of the members of Arachnid so much that they were forced to submit and lower their heads. He had also made it so that they wouldn’t attack the village in the future. The group naturally disbanded in the course of time.
After several weeks, the rumors died down. The people weren’t so overjoyed since in this world of combat, experts were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Some of their deeds would be intentionally spread to the common people to encourage them to keep training. But it wasn’t so often that the people would get used to it. After all, experts had infinite lifespan and could be considered immortals. The normal citizens on the other hand, would reach to an average of ninety years in their life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a land to the north, in a city called Northwing, a young man was browsing through the different shops.
“Ayo, young man! How about some armor? You could use some.”
“Young man, try out these pills. I’ve got a variety of them.”
Different merchants called out to him in hopes that he may have some money to spare on items. However, this young man simply smiled to the merchants and left for the next street. He entered a simple shop with little to no decorations and headed for the counter.
“Yes, what can I do for you, sir?” A woman professionally greeted him. She looked around thirty or so but the young man’s thoughts came to a stop. Some practitioners are capable of altering their features, and all experts are capable of completely changing their appearance. So there is no way to be certain of someone’s age unless you personally ask and they decide to tell you the truth.
Clearing his throat, the young man replied, “Do you have any [Snake’s Poison] in stock?”
The woman frowned. “My apologies, sir. That item is sold on big cities unlike here. What’s more, [Snake’s Poison] can only be extracted from a Six-Headed Silver Snake. It is very dangerous and requires Diamond Generals to subdue them. Our shop is unable to procure such a precious item.”
The young man sighed. “Is that so? Then, I’ll take my leave.” With a heavy heart, he exited the store and looked up at the sky. This was the eleventh city he has visited in hopes of acquiring the [Snake’s Poison]. But it seems they are only available in heavily populated cities where he could not even step into. However, no matter what, he must get his hands on a bottle of it.
“What should I do?” he muttered to himself in anxiety. “I don’t want to waste any more time. . . It can’t be helped. I suppose I need to visit the Guild.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Welcome to Northwing’s Guild! Is there anything you need?” A frail-looking young man greeted him. He was dressed in light bronze armor and the emblem of the guild was present at his breast pocket.
The young man nodded. “Are there any subjugation requests for Six-Headed Silver Snakes?”
“Please wait a moment. I will search through the Guild’s records.” The frail-looking young man brought out a thick book as wide as a small table and scanned through it using a formation array. “There are currently no requests to subjugate the five-rank Six-Headed Silver Snake.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Not even one?” Agitated, the young man fervently questioned the man in front of him who held a thick book in his hands. “I’ll take anything as long as I can encounter a Six-Headed Silver Snake. Please, won’t you search once more?”
The frail-looking young man stared at his costumer and slowly nodded. “I’ll try once more.”
The wait was killing the young man. This was very important for him. If he couldn’t acquire a bottle of [Snake’s Poison], then. . .
“Unfortunately, there are no such requests . . .”
The young man frowned, panic showed on his expression.
“However,” the young man perked up, “there is a request to accompany and guard some people through the Armayan Cave.”
“What use would that be?” the young man frowned.
“The Armayan Cave is known to house a lot of strong monsters including the Six-Headed Silver Snake. However, it is rare to encounter one as such snakes prefer to hide themselves and seldom are they seen above ground.”
“Then, I’ll take that!” The young man was overjoyed. Even if the chances were rare, it was already worth it for him. At the very least, he just has to leave the team when they arrive at the cave.
“Very well. Please show me your identification card.” The frail-looking young man held out a hand and received the card.
“Hack Beta, Gold Master. Body guarding request through Armayan Cave, approved. Job description: Guard the client until he safely arrives to PotHold City. Requesting practitioners of at least the General level. Route: from Northwing City to Ginyan Forest, into the Armayan Cave, through Scattered Village, then to PotHold City. Assembly date is three days from now and the place to meet is at the entrance of the Guild. The reward after the completion of this request will naturally be collected at the Guild in PotHold City. Simply present your identification card and receive your reward.”
“Right. Thanks.” The young man—Hack, as his identification card states, nodded with a smile. He then proceeded to leave.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
“I pray that you may accomplish this request safely,” with a respectful bow, the frail-looking young man sent him off.
After he successfully left the guild, Hack let out a sigh. “Good thing my identity wasn’t revealed. Quickly, I should leave before anyone starts making assumptions.”
Thus, Hack hastened his steps and left for a place to eat. He entered a simple building with a shabby-looking sign that says, “The Bears’ Inn”.
Inhaling the appetizing smell, he was quite surprised as he walked in. “Not bad. There’s actually this many people here.” As he muttered to himself, he looked for a table and sat down.
“Welcome to The Bears’ Inn, dearest sir. What would you like to order?” A lovely lady with braided hair approached him with a smile.
Hack smiled back. “What would you recommend, miss?”
“I recommend our specialty, Bear’s Jar! We have received great response from first-time customers with this meal, sir.”
He raised an eyebrow. What a peculiar name, he thought. “All right then, I’ll have that.”
“Very well. Is there anything else, sir?”
"Hmm. Oh. That's right, is there any vacant room in here? I would like to stay for three nights."
The lady with a braided hair chuckled. “We most certainly do, sir. However, we have a separate counter for those who would like to use our inn. Feel free to approach the man at the desk.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
With a smile, the lady left to take care of his order.
Is it common knowledge for practitioners?, Hack thought. In that case, he really needs to familiarize himself with the ways of common practitioners.
After he ate and got himself a room, he immediately decided to spend the rest of the time in there.
“Three days from now, huh?” Hack was lying on the bed and his eyes were closed. He quietly muttered to himself.
The wind blew through the open window and ruffled his chestnut hair. The gentle touch of the wind slowly lulled him to sleep.
“No matter what, I will definitely acquire that [Snake’s Poison]. . . For Father . . .” and then, he gave control to his subconscious.
Three days later. At the entrance of Northwing’s Guild.
When Hack arrived, he saw that there were also eight people waiting by the entrance. He wanted to ascertain if there were potential spies among them but because the client wasn’t there yet, he decided to check them out later.
About an hour later.
“Greetings, everyone.” What spoke to the group of practitioners by the entrance was a gentle old man with an amiable smile. The muscular man beside him who introduced himself as the guild’s officer called out and gathered this group of practitioners. By now, there were fourteen people in the group including the old man.
“I am your client for this request. My name is Lomin. I hope that we all reach PotHold City safely.” The amiable old man slightly bowed and introduced himself.
After that, the muscular man spoke. “As I have said earlier, I am an officer of the guild, Loro. I am here to take charge of this body guarding request. Initially, our task is to safeguard this gentleman until he reaches PotHold City. Therefore, our utmost priority is to keep him safe until the destination. Now, let me affirm the members of this group.”
The muscular man came to the practitioners individually to affirm their identities. Once this was settled, the whole group, led by Loro headed to the city gates.
After two hours of walking, they entered Ginyan forest. Encompassing a circumference of around four miles, the Ginyan forest was a fairly large woodland in the Sky Continent. It was a garden of beasts where verdant fields abounded. Mountains soared high into the sky and trees dotted the land. But despite the beautiful scenery, travelers must beware the beasts. If one is not careful enough, he just might become a beast’s supper.
Through the length of the trip, Hack observed the people he traveled with. The client himself seemed like a harmless old man. The guild officer, Loro, on the other hand was emitting a valiant aura. His muscles bulged and his steps were firm as he stepped on the ground. On his back was a sheathed war blade that was in proportion to his muscular build. Aside from the two of them, Hack also observed the rest of his group; eleven people. Among them, only three people caught his eye. One was a slim, handsome man with a sword on his waist. Another was a bearded man with bronze armor. The last was an elegant lady who kept to herself.
While he was thinking this, he suddenly noticed a hooded figure that was walking quite a distance from him. From the start of the journey, this man was quite peculiar; he didn’t speak a word to anyone and strayed at the back of the group. Hack couldn’t see his face too well either, but he was certain that the figure was male.
As if the hooded man could read his thoughts, he turned to glance at Hack for a moment and didn’t pay him any more attention. However, that moment allowed Hack to observe his facial features. After all, as a practitioner who was at the Master level, his memory was already quite good. The hooded figure turned out to be a young man. His nose was tall and perfectly arched. His dull blue eyes shone with a flash of something and quickly disappeared. Despite the bored look in his eyes, they seemed to be masking a chilling aura, enough to frighten other people away. The only unpleasant thing was that his mouth was curled into an ugly frown.
This guy must be a hidden expert or a spoiled young master, Hack thought.
However, the chances of a hidden expert accepting a request as tedious as this don’t seem to be too high. After all, they are prideful people. They would only accept missions that match their strength. So, Hack decided that this should be a spoiled young master who wanted to try his luck outside his mansion. He disregarded any further observations from him.