Chapter 6

"Mr. Hale, do you really believe he can do it? He's just a mercenary, not even a warrior," Durun said, his expression becoming very calm inside the carriage, unlike his previous cold demeanor in Shawn's cottage. It seemed that his previous change in expression was just a nobleman's tactic.

Hale's expression was not as calm as Durun's; instead, he seemed somewhat uncertain: "According to my investigation, he did indeed come from that forest. And at this point, we have no choice but to trust him. If we can't deliver the goods on time..."

"I understand," Durun nodded, saying no more, "Then we'll do as he says."

At Hale's signal, the carriage that had stopped in front of Shawn's door finally moved forward.

Back in the house, Shawn, watching the carriage leave, did not look as relaxed and carefree as he had when talking to Hale and Durun. He knew very well that no one in the world could understand the terror of the Starfall Forest better than he did. If it were just a matter of crossing the Starfall Forest to reach the Minode region, he wouldn't be too worried, as he had crossed the Starfall Forest many times in the early days of the game to avoid taxes and sell goods in the Minode region.

So, he knew exactly how to safely and effectively cross the Starfall Forest to reach Minode.

But going to the Kingdom of Padoria was a different story, and the difficulty was indeed quite high.

"Or should we just not take this commission?" Cecilia, seeing Shawn's furrowed brow, suggested, "After all, I don't like that fat man."

Seeing Cecilia's worried look, Shawn's brow finally relaxed: "This commission is indeed challenging, but we can also take advantage of it to make a lot of money. We are in dire need of it right now."

"But even if we don't have money, aren't we living well enough now?"

"We might be doing well now, but do you want to be a magic apprentice forever?" Shawn rubbed Cecilia's hair and smiled, "Your talent is very good, so I can't let you waste your time here. Following me on commissions can give you some practical experience, but it also affects your meditation and study time. To make up for this, we need a lot of magic crystals to speed up your training."

Cecilia pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Though she was young, she wasn't ignorant. At least, she could tell who genuinely cared for her.

"Besides, the Kingdom of Padoria is a kingdom that reveres magical power. We might find more magical materials there, at a lower cost," Shawn winked.

Hearing this, Cecilia finally burst into laughter.

"Prepare well. I believe we'll have a decision from Hale and that nobleman in a day or two."

"Yes!" Cecilia nodded seriously and then turned to leave.

Watching Cecilia's back as she left, Shawn's gaze once again turned to the direction where the carriage had gone.

In fact, there was one more thing he hadn't said: he needed a lot of experience points to level up. Only by doing so could he better survive in this world, where the strong ruled. On the Continent of Miracles, young people like Shawn were at least second-tier professionals, and some so-called geniuses had even reached the fourth tier or higher.

But he was stuck at the first tier due to a lack of experience points, which naturally made him feel helpless. After completing the 'Wandering Darkness' dungeon, his level had risen to 13, but to advance to the second tier, he needed to reach level 30. Therefore, he needed a lot more experience points. Shawn knew that what truly limited his development was not the class barrier that people in this world feared, but the 'experience points' that they couldn't understand.

Although Shawn didn't know the exact method of gaining experience points, through a year of training and the 'Wandering Darkness' dungeon, he knew one thing: the higher the difficulty of the commission, the more experience points he would gain. Additionally, battles in the dungeon seemed to grant experience points as well.

Knowing this, Shawn believed he could quickly reach level 30 and advance to the second tier.

This was one of the main reasons he took this commission. The other reason was that the Kingdom of Padoria was one of the few major kingdoms in the northern part of the Continent of Miracles that relied heavily on magical power. For Cecilia's future growth, he had to visit this kingdom at least once.

In the following days, Shawn didn't do much else. He and Cecilia continued their usual routines, and if any clients came to them with commissions, Shawn wouldn't refuse, even if it was something as trivial as helping find a lost cat or dog. After all, any commission would bring in a few hundred experience points, and the cumulative effect was significant.

In fact, there were a few mercenary groups in Hadas Town, but it wasn't that Shawn didn't want to join them; it was that these groups didn't want him. After all, Shawn was only a first-tier mercenary. So, he didn't bother to seek them out. However, a few mercenary groups, upon hearing about Cecilia, tried to invite her to join, but she mostly refused, which led to resentment against both Shawn and Cecilia.

But neither Shawn nor Cecilia cared about these things.

On the fifth day after Hale and Durun left, Durun knocked on Shawn's door at dawn.

"Are you ready?" Shawn glanced at Durun, who was already in full armor, and asked calmly.

"Everything is ready. I just want to ask if we can leave immediately," Durun said solemnly, without the lightness and impatience of their previous meeting. He exuded a true knight's aura, not a nobleman's. "If possible, we'll leave right now. The others are already waiting at the edge of the forest."

"Of course, no problem," Shawn nodded.

In fact, he and Cecilia had already prepared everything a few days ago. He had seen the serious expressions on Hale and Durun's faces, and he had expected them to come within two days, but it turned out to be six. Clearly, they were treating this trip very seriously.

Without any idle chat, Shawn and Cecilia each took their pre-prepared items and got into the carriage that had brought Durun.

Soon, the carriage headed toward the Starfall Forest.

The Starfall Forest was not too far from Hadas Town, but it wasn't particularly close either. Even with the carriage, it was already nightfall when the three of them reached the edge of the Starfall Forest.

As soon as they got out of the carriage, Shawn saw a temporary camp set up at the edge of the forest. Many people were busy, and shouts could be heard, as if they were preparing something. From the scene, Shawn could tell that there were definitely more than ten people in the camp, and there were a significant number of goods and supplies, indicating a medium to large-sized caravan.

This made Shawn frown.

"This is just a cover," Durun, seeing Shawn's frown, guessed what he was thinking, "Only ten people, including you, will actually cross the Starfall Forest. I couldn't invite a priest, so besides you, me, and Mr. Hale, the other six include three of Mr. Hale's guards, two archers, and a warrior who knows some first aid."

"First aid?" Shawn asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes," Durun replied, a bit surprised by Shawn's reaction, but not confused, "I also know some first aid, but not as well as old Pete. He's a real warrior."

Hearing this, Shawn understood: this old Pete was not a second-tier warrior but possibly a third-tier elite soldier or a veteran. If so, Shawn felt more confident about the trip, as he knew that both elite soldiers and veterans were formidable in the game, though only NPCs could reach those tiers.

Soon, under Durun's lead, Shawn met the other six people who were already prepared in the camp.

However, the meeting was not very friendly.

"You mean we have to follow this kid's orders the whole time?" A middle-aged man with a beard frowned after hearing Hale and Durun's introduction, "He's just a mercenary! How can a greedy scum like him be trusted?"

Shawn glanced at the wooden bow on the middle-aged man and then turned to another middle-aged man who exuded a deadly aura, "What's your name?"

"Pete," the man looked at Shawn, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, but years of military service made him not oppose Shawn's authority, "They call me old Pete."

A golden light flickered in Shawn's eyes.

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