Chapter 5

"Mr. Hale, are you sure he can do it?" The middle-aged man frowned, his gaze toward Shawn filled with more distrust.

Shawn felt a bit helpless about this. In the game, the impact of the "Malice" profession penalty was limited to repairing equipment, buying potions, and other expenses. Although it affected some NPCs' attitudes, it wasn't particularly severe. However, when this data was applied to the real world of Miraculous Continent, the situation became entirely different. While he wasn't exactly a rat everyone wanted to beat, there were many times when no one dared to approach him. This situation only slightly improved after he found Cecilia.

Now, after more than half a year, Shawn had finally managed to raise his reputation in the Seville region to friendly through completing many commission tasks.

The middle-aged man's attitude made Shawn realize that he wasn't from the Seville region; otherwise, he wouldn't be so hostile. After getting used to the cold and distrustful nature of this world over the past year, Shawn wasn't particularly angry, but he had decided that if he was truly indispensable for this task, he would definitely take advantage of the situation. Thus, his gaze shifted from the middle-aged man to Hale.

"This is really a job only he can handle." Seeing Shawn's gaze, Hale knew exactly what Shawn was thinking. They had dealt with each other before, so he had a wry smile on his face. "This is Mr. Druen. Strictly speaking, he is the actual employer for this mission."

"He's too young." Druen still looked distrustful, his noble arrogance evident.

"He is indeed young, but in the entire Suril region, only he can help us." Hale frowned for the first time, clearly irritated by Druen's attitude. "Mr. Druen, please don't forget the purpose of our journey."

Druen glanced at Shawn again but didn't say anything, implicitly leaving the negotiation to Hale.

Seeing Hale turn his gaze to him, Shawn suddenly smiled, but this smile made Hale shiver. "Only I can help in the entire Suril region... It must be the Starfall Forest, right?"

"Are you trying to raise the price?" Druen immediately reacted.

Shawn glanced at Druen and then continued to look at Hale, smiling. "Let's talk about the details of the commission first."

"We need to cross the Starfall Forest." After exchanging a look with Druen, he continued, "We heard you came from there..."

"Cross it?" Shawn was taken aback. "You're going to the Minod region?"

"Not the Minod region, but the Podoroya Kingdom."

Hearing Druen's words, Shawn finally frowned. "This is going to be quite difficult."

The Starfall Forest, located in the Serian Kingdom, is said to have been formed by a star falling at the end of the Dusk Era, creating a forest with powerful magic. The trees in this forest grow abnormally tall, blocking out the sky, and no matter when you enter, you always see a night sky dotted with stars.

Logically, such a scenic place should be a famous tourist destination. However, the reality is quite the opposite. The forest is filled with chaotic and violent magic, and all the beasts living there have been transformed into terrifying monsters. Additionally, the Serian Kingdom and the Podoroya Kingdom once fought a long war over this forest, and the soldiers who died there were turned into undead creatures by the magic. Thus, the danger of the forest is well-known.

If you cross the Starfall Forest from the Seville region in the northeast, you reach the Minod region of the Serian Kingdom. If you cross it to the southeast, you head to the Podoroya Kingdom.

For Shawn, who knew all the secrets of the Starfall Forest, the former would not be too difficult, as the highest-level monsters were only level 40. Even without Hale's guard team, Shawn and Cecilia could safely escort people. However, going to the Podoroya Kingdom would be much harder. Not only would they encounter monsters of level 50 or higher, but they would also need to clear a "dungeon" to reach the Podoroya Kingdom. This was why Shawn frowned.

"A bit difficult?" Druen's eyes showed surprise for the first time.

In fact, before following Hale's advice to come here, Druen had asked others, but no mercenary group dared to take on this commission. Whether in the Seville region or the Seanchi region, all mercenary groups refused when they heard about crossing the Starfall Forest. The famous large mercenary groups didn't even consider such a commission.

So, when Druen heard Shawn say "a bit difficult" instead of "impossible," he was indeed surprised.

"Are you sure you can handle this commission?"

"What did you say your name was?" Shawn ignored Druen's question and asked, "Could you repeat it?"

"You!" Druen's face showed anger, but he quickly suppressed it, though his expression became slightly colder. "Listen carefully, I am Druen de Rois!"

No one knew that as Druen said his full name, Shawn's eyes flashed with a faint golden light.

[Name: Druen de Rois]

[Race: Human]

[Identity: Viscount of the Podoroya Kingdom]

[Age: 37]

[Combat Class: Knight (3rd Tier)]

[Personal Attributes—Strength: 25 (28); Endurance: 34 (35); Agility: 20 (24); Intelligence: 27 (29); Willpower: 30 (32)]

Shawn was looking at Druen, and a panel floated beside him, displaying all his attribute data.

This was another ability Shawn gained after coming to this world.

[True Sight (Bloodline Talent): No history hidden by time can escape your eyes.]

Shawn still didn't fully understand this ability's description. On his personal panel, the bloodline data always showed a question mark, indicating that Shawn hadn't activated his bloodline. However, a bloodline talent was activated without activating the bloodline, which confused him. Nevertheless, this didn't stop Shawn from exploring it with a player's mindset.

After a long time, Shawn discovered that as long as someone said their true name to him, he could view their status. The more intimate the relationship or the more knowledge he had about the person, the more information he could see.

Cecilia had never revealed her surname to Shawn, which was why Druen's data was more detailed than Cecilia's.

However, after seeing Druen's data, Shawn realized that the middle-aged man had a very slim chance of advancing to the 4th tier.

This was one of the differences between the real world and the game world.

No one could stay at the peak forever.

In the game, NPCs would die over time, but their attributes would never decline. However, on the Miraculous Continent, Shawn observed that people's intelligence attributes increased with age, while strength, endurance, and agility declined. Willpower usually remained unchanged, except for those with weak or timid personalities, who might see a decline. On the other hand, nobles, who were accustomed to political intrigue, often saw their willpower increase with age.

Druen, at 37, was in his prime, and his noble background had greatly enhanced his attributes. According to Shawn's knowledge, a normal [Knight]'s growth limits for the five attributes were 22, 30, 20, 24, and 24, but Druen clearly exceeded these limits, and his current attributes were already close to the growth limits.

However, considering Druen was an "NPC," and there were differences between NPCs and players, this could be understood as a form of cheating.

But this world was not a game but a real one. On the Miraculous Continent, the 3rd tier was just the starting point of a formal profession. Many people achieved this level by their twenties or even earlier. From Shawn's perspective, if Druen couldn't advance to the 4th tier by 40, he would never reach the growth limits of his attributes, even if he managed to advance to the 4th tier later.

"How many people are going to the Podoroya Kingdom?" Shawn had a general idea of his employer's strength and was ready to discuss the commission details. However, he was a bit uncertain about one thing.

"Twelve, including you," Hale said. "Don't worry, they are all elite, and I guarantee they will follow your arrangements and commands."

"Are they all from your caravan's guard team?" Seeing Hale nod, Shawn suddenly felt the journey would be challenging.

Hale's guard team consisted of 3rd-tier [Guards], a profession that specialized in defensive skills, derived from the 2nd-tier [Warrior]. Their offensive capabilities were predictable.

"Mr. Hale, are you going with us?"

Shawn asked, and after receiving a positive response, he continued, "To cross the Starfall Forest and reach the Podoroya Kingdom, the team size should not exceed ten. I will definitely bring Cecilia, so you can only bring six people. ... However, I must give you a suggestion. This journey is very dangerous, and we might face a large number of undead creatures. It would be best to bring a priest, and if possible, two archers with good skills, not necessarily able to hit targets from a hundred paces, but at least not miss within fifty meters."

"You have quite a few requirements," Druen sneered.

"Let's discuss the compensation when you decide to set out." Shawn smiled elegantly and made a gesture to dismiss them. His movements were so standard and his manners so refined that they seemed to belong to a disciple from an ancient noble family, which made Druen's noble arrogance subside.

; {Piaotian Literature}