Chapter 75

Walking over to Rod, Old Walker first gestured to the side counter. The bartender, understanding his intention, quickly brought out a large glass of cool ale. Old Walker then tilted his head back, drank it all in one go, and wiped his mouth in satisfaction, flashing a smile at Rod.

"Done. That guy is now waiting for you at the base. Do you want to go back and take a look? Three hundred gold coins, that's no small amount."

"I hope that person truly meets my requirements."

As Rod took the money bag that Old Walker tossed back to him, he said,

"Otherwise, I will have to deduct your salary to cover the loss."

"Wait, kid."

Old Walker's expression stiffened upon hearing this.

"I never heard you mention this before!"

"You didn't ask, so I didn't say."

Rod put the money bag in his pocket, his face as calm as ever, which made Old Walker grit his teeth.

"You actually dared to deceive me!"

"I didn't deceive you, Mr. Walker."

Faced with the old ranger's anger, Rod simply spread his hands and replied innocently.

"If you had really done as I asked, that person would definitely meet my requirements. If they truly meet my requirements, you wouldn't have to worry about anything. Or... are you just being perfunctory?"

"O-of course not."

Old Walker was so angry that he blew his mustache, but he couldn't say anything. Indeed, if he had been confident, he wouldn't have to worry about his salary being deducted. But his current angry state made it seem like he had done something wrong! What was this all about!

Thinking about this, the old ranger took a deep breath. He glanced at Marline, who was standing with her arms crossed, watching the scene. He knew the noble lady wouldn't take his side, so it was better not to mention it.

"In any case, I'm very confident. Don't look at my age; I'm not senile yet. You can verify that guy's strength yourself. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"Good."

Rod didn't intend to dwell on the topic. He nodded and turned around.

"Then let's go find Lise and head home."

Lise lived in a very ordinary private room within the mercenary guild. According to Hank, she had been studying spirit techniques in her room these days, working very hard. Indeed, when Rod and the others arrived at the door, they could even hear faint chanting from inside.

Rod stopped Old Walker from knocking on the door and listened for a moment. Once the sound inside completely disappeared, he knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Lise."

"Ah?!! Mr. Rod! Please wait a moment, I'll be right there!!"

Upon hearing Rod's voice, the voice inside the door suddenly became shrill, followed by a chaotic noise, as if an earthquake was happening inside. This chaos lasted for about four or five minutes before finally ending. Then, the door slowly opened, revealing Lise's smiling face.

"You're back, Mr. Rod, Marline."

Seeing the two return safely, Lise smiled with joy and jumped out of the room, grabbing Marline's hands.

"That's great, you're finally back. I've been so worried about you... Is everything okay? Did everything go smoothly?"

When Lise held Marline's hand, the young mage's face showed a hint of discomfort, but Lise didn't seem to notice. She excitedly examined the two, and only after confirming they were unharmed did she breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, after Rod left, Lise worried about them every day. Although Rod told her not to worry, they were from the Land of Light, which was not as easy to deal with as bandits.

"Everything went smoothly."

In response to Lise's question, Rod nodded and glanced around before speaking.

"But now is not the time to talk about it. We'll discuss the details when we get back. For now, pack your things, and we'll head home."

"Okay!"

Lise immediately nodded and turned to pack her belongings.

It was strange, but before, when she stayed in the guild's guest rooms during missions, she didn't mind it. But now that she had her own home, staying here made her feel uncomfortable. Although she didn't have to clean the room herself and meals were provided, she increasingly missed her own room. Hearing that she could finally go home, she was incredibly excited. She quickly packed her things and left the mercenary guild with Rod.

It was already late at night, and the streets were deserted, with only the patrolling soldiers riding their horses around. As they walked, Rod, with nothing else to do, began to ask Lise about her progress.

"I'm working hard, Mr. Rod. Just give me a little more time, and I'll learn the Arrow of Light!"

Mentioning her studies, Lise was full of confidence. Learning spirit techniques was not easy, let alone pushing her limits to delve deeper. Although Lise's strength wasn't weak, the lack of skills held her back. After learning more skills, Rod was sure Lise's strength would improve significantly. However, seeing the excited look on the girl's face, Rod thought it was best to give her a warning.

"Striving for improvement is good, but I hope you pay attention to your body. The consequences of rushing are very dangerous. To become a powerful caster, you must first have a calm mind. Don't be too hasty; take it step by step. I heard from Uncle Hank that you haven't left your room these days and have been studying hard. While your spirit is commendable, this approach is not advisable. Remember, you are still an indispensable support for the mercenary group."

"…Yes."

Hearing Rod's words, the excited Lise immediately lowered her head. Marline, walking beside her, quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

"Mr. Rod is right, Lise. Learning magic is most taboo when you're impatient, let alone spirit techniques. I can feel your power. If you can calm down, mastering it won't take long. But don't rush; otherwise, it will lead to big trouble. Mr. Rod is thinking of you…"

"Um, I understand. I was just a bit excited. Thank you, Marline."

Lise looked up, stuck out her tongue, and gave a wry smile.

"You're welcome, but speaking of which…"

Marline smiled and then looked at Rod suspiciously.

"Mr. Rod, have you ever studied magic? How do you know all this?"

"Of course not, but for a swordsman, swordsmanship practice also requires patience. I imagine it's the same for mages. In short, being careful is always good. Being too overconfident will only end in tragedy."

Facing Marline's question, Rod answered without changing his expression. He had never practiced swordsmanship, but in the game, players could upgrade any skill with skill points, so they didn't worry about the consequences of rushing. Rod's warning was partly out of caution and partly because he had once received a similar quest in the game. An NPC female mage, seeking a breakthrough,冒险进行了高级召唤术的练习，结果召唤出了一条巨大的触手怪———嗯，那个副本虽然难打，不过从各个方面来说，福利都算不错。

If this happened to someone else, Rod wouldn't mind enjoying the show, but if it happened to someone close to him, it would be a completely different story...

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the base's entrance. Under the moonlight and the light curtain, they could see a figure standing there, leaning against the door, idly enjoying the night view. Upon seeing them, the figure suddenly stood up and waved.

"Ah, old man, you're finally back!"

"Ha!"

Hearing this, Marline and Lise couldn't help but giggle, while Old Walker's face turned ashen. He gritted his teeth, glanced at Rod, and shouted.

"How many times have I told you! Kid! Don't call me old man!"

"If you can call Annie 'kid,' why can't Annie call you 'old man'?"

At this moment, they finally saw the figure clearly.

It was a vibrant young girl.

She wore a white light armor, with emerald green eyes that darted around, and golden curly hair that flowed naturally over her shoulders. What was even more eye-catching were her beautiful legs, healthy, round, and long. In Rod's world, this girl would certainly be a prominent idol or model.

The only thing that didn't match her appearance was the one-meter-long mithril shield on her right arm. Rod immediately recognized it as a standard shield warrior's equipment—the Impact Shield. This was a very useful and intricate piece of equipment, divided into two parts. Normally, the two heavy shields were almost overlapping. The shield warrior would grip the handle inside the shield to attack. In dangerous or violent collisions, they could activate a mechanism on the handle to separate the overlapping parts, extending it into a large full-body metal shield. At the bottom of the shield, there was a small metal stake that could be inserted into the ground in emergencies to maintain a defensive stance. Overall, it was a very ingenious design, and the inside of the Impact Shield was hollow, allowing the shield warrior to enhance its defensive capabilities by embedding other ordinary shields. This also avoided the problem of not being able to replace or repair the shield immediately if it was damaged.

However, Rod knew that the Impact Shield was one of the heaviest pieces of equipment on the Dragon Soul Continent, and most people couldn't even lift it. The weight of one Impact Shield was equivalent to two two-handed swords. Even for players, unless they chose a barbarian or dwarf class, it was difficult to lift.

Looking at the girl now, one couldn't help but wonder if the massive, heavy shield in her hand was a paper-made imitation—could you imagine a girl single-handedly swinging a motorcycle in the air?

"Mr. Walker? Is this the strong support you told me about?"

Rod's face showed no surprise or joy, but his question clearly indicated his attitude.

"Of course, kid!"

Although he had just been arguing with the girl, Old Walker immediately aligned with her.

"Don't judge by appearance. I tell you, this kid is quite capable. If you hadn't offered the money, hey, you wouldn't have gotten her!"

"…Oh? Then I really want to hear how capable she is… And why didn't you find a man?"

"Hehehe."

Hearing Rod's question, Old Walker rubbed his hands and looked at Rod with a sly smile, whispering in his ear.

"Simple, do you think shield warriors are easy to find? If they were, you wouldn't have given the job to me, right? And… hehehe, I considered that you're a young man… How about it? No need to thank me, we're all men, I understand… Just looking at this kid's appearance, your money wasn't wasted, right?"

"……………"

Rod turned his head away, ignoring Old Walker's gaze, but before he could say more, the girl had already bounded up to him.

Upon comparison, this girl was indeed very tall. Rod, at 1.8 meters, was not short, and Marline and Lise were both about half a head shorter. This girl was almost as tall as Rod. She smiled warmly and extended her hand, gripping Rod's hands firmly.

"Are you the leader of this mercenary group? You look so young. I'll be counting on you, big sister!"

The air froze in that moment.