Li Xi approached. A burly, dark-faced man, over two meters tall, wore only a pair of trousers, his muscles bulging, showcasing the beauty of humanity.
A twenty-jin (10 kg) iron hammer felt weightless in his hand. This was Meng Lan De, the master who had protected the previous owner of this body, Mi Duo, for ten years. Since Li Xi had become a mercenary, he had to handle other matters well, and he felt at ease with the items in this blacksmith shop.
"Master."
Meng Lan De looked at Li Xi, his hammer still striking the iron ingot without missing a beat. "Mi Duo, why didn't you come today?"
"Master, I've become a mercenary, an F-rank mercenary. I wanted to tell you this morning when I came, but you weren't here." Li Xi recounted everything about his becoming a mercenary.
Andy, on the side, heard Li Xi had become a mercenary, and the swing of his hammer became noticeably erratic. Normally, he would have been severely reprimanded by his master, Meng Lan De, but now Meng Lan De's face also changed several times. His lips moved, wanting to say something, but perhaps remembering something, he swallowed his words.
"I respect your decision. I don't object to you becoming a mercenary. If you can't do it someday, come back. My blacksmith shop may not make you famous, but it can ensure you survive."
Li Xi could feel the deep concern in his words. He nodded with a smile and put the gift aside. "I took twenty steel needles from the shop this morning and used them all. Now I'd like to ask you to forge thirty steel needles and a short knife for me."
"No problem. Tell me the style, and I'll forge it for you. If it's overnight, you can pick it up tomorrow morning." Meng Lan De didn't hesitate, pushing aside other orders to forge for Li Xi first.
Li Xi briefly described the weapons he wanted forged and then took out four silver coins. "Master, use good materials. I earned a lot of money today."
Meng Lan De accepted the silver coins without politeness. "Alright, go home and get some sleep if there's nothing else."
Li Xi left. Andy watched Li Xi's retreating back, his hammer stopped, his eyes full of envy.
*Bang*
Meng Lan De's hammer struck a heavy indentation into the iron ingot, startling Andy.
"If you want to become a mercenary, I won't stop you. I'll even give you a discount on weapon forging."
Andy chuckled foolishly, "Master, I don't have that kind of skill. It's easier to forge iron."
Li Xi didn't go home directly. Instead, he bought a lot of household items and threw away everything he was currently using into the gutter, replacing them with new ones.
After a good night's sleep, he ate his fill the next morning and then headed to the mercenary hall.
He first greeted Aisi, who had just started her shift, and then entered the F-rank mission room.
Most of the missions scrolling on the large screen were already accepted. Only a few were available.
The intermediate mage Monk needed an apprentice mage for experiments, and it was still unaccepted.
The Agriculture Temple needed manpower to clear wild beasts from the farmlands.
There was also the mission to search for traces of bandits.
Looking at these, Li Xi felt none of them were suitable. The Agriculture Temple mission wouldn't offer a lottery chance, and the other two were simply not suitable.
Recalling Aisi's mention that F-rank mercenaries could accept F and E-rank missions, Li Xi went to the E-rank mission room since there were no suitable F-rank ones.
The number of people here was significantly less than in the F-rank room, and their equipment was also much better.
The mission rewards on the large screen were much greater than before.
However, the situation was similar: most missions were already claimed, leaving only a few available.
What surprised Li Xi the most was that the Agriculture Temple's farmland clearing mission was also listed here, but with stricter requirements. Not only did they need to clear ordinary beasts, but there was also a quota for magical beasts, at least one, otherwise, the mission would not be considered complete.
Looking at others:
Search for the traces of demons lurking outside the city. Low-level demons: 10 silver coins. Intermediate demons: 1 gold coin. High-level demons: 10 gold coins. Others depend on the situation.
After reading this, Li Xi thought he hadn't lived enough yet.
Next,
Search for the Violet Flower. There was precise location information. One gold coin. Submit the actual item. Depending on its completeness, at least 5 gold coins.
There were also missions to find traces of mermaids, dragon dung, and so on.
There were also several missions requiring mercenaries to protect merchant caravans under the Lord's Mansion. The destination was the nearby City of Abby, a three-day journey, with a commission of 2 gold coins.
Li Xi felt he couldn't handle these missions that required leaving the city. Just as he thought there was nothing suitable here, he discovered this:
The great merchant Bellos is recruiting mercenaries to guard his manor. One silver coin per day, and a bonus of at least one gold coin if anything is discovered. Only ten mercenaries are needed. Seven people have already signed up.
Seeing this, Li Xi didn't dare to delay. He took out his mercenary badge and went to the counter. "I'm accepting Bellos's guard mission."
The service staff glanced at the badge, a flicker of surprise in their eyes. Although F-rank mercenaries could accept E-rank missions, very few actually did, as the mission difficulty was different, and it was easy to lose one's life if not careful.
However, he said nothing and handed the mission token to Li Xi.
"Bellos's manor is behind the Lord's Mansion. You can go there."
Li Xi, holding his badge and mission token, ran to the blacksmith shop first.
...
"Here are the thirty steel needles you wanted, and the short knife. I also made you a set of leather armor using leftover scraps," Meng Lan De said, placing a set of gray leather armor in front of Li Xi.
Li Xi looked at the items before him. The value of this equipment already exceeded four silver coins.
But seeing the undisguised worry on Meng Lan De's face, Li Xi knew that anything he said would be meaningless. He didn't mention paying more money and smiled, "Thank you, Master."
Li Xi changed into the leather armor directly at the blacksmith shop. It fit him perfectly from his shoes to his upper body and wrists. He then packed the steel needles, tied them to his waist, and held the short knife. He had transformed from a boy playing in the mud into a spirited young warrior.
After bidding farewell to his master, Li Xi took a detour to the manor of the great merchant Bellos. It was more like a small villa than a manor, a small three-story villa with a small garden. Of course, the area of this small manor was larger than a thousand of Li Xi's homes.
The great merchant Bellos was originally a small merchant who made a little extra money by following merchant caravans. But for some reason, he got acquainted with Viscount Jadoro, the city lord. Taking advantage of the chaotic times, he bought a large amount of supplies from the city lord's mansion at a low price and sold them at a high price. In less than twenty years, he had accumulated a considerable fortune. Because his rise was too recent, he had not cultivated any trustworthy guards, hence he posted a mission in the mercenary hall.
Li Xi knocked on the door, and a servant opened it. "May I help you?"
Li Xi showed his mission token and badge. "I'm a mercenary accepting the guard mission."
The servant looked at them to confirm Li Xi's identity and then invited him in. "Please follow me."
As Li Xi entered the gate, he saw a row of dog kennels not far away, housing seven or eight well-fed, robust dogs. These dogs looked at Li Xi as if he were a meal, their coldness chilling.
Li Xi casually glanced at them, unconcerned. These dogs were also meals in his eyes. Who would bother with their food?
He then looked around the meticulously maintained small garden, where many osmanthus trees were planted. The servants walking within were cautious, not daring to make any noise.
The servant led Li Xi to the first-floor hall and addressed an old man with salt-and-pepper hair. "Lord Bauer, this is the mercenary who accepted the mission."
Bauer waved for the servant to leave. He glanced at the badge and mission token in Li Xi's hand, his expressionless face. He briefly explained the situation. "The manor has had strange noises at night. Because of this, the master has not lived here for a long time. Even the servants are unwilling to stay here at night. Many mercenaries have come, but none have been able to find the cause. If you can find it, the master will not be stingy with the commission."
"At night, apart from you mercenaries, no one else will be in this manor. You are not allowed to enter the master's room, but you can go anywhere else. As long as you find the reason for the noises, that's enough."
Li Xi wanted to ask for more specific information, but seeing that the steward was unwilling to say more and turned to leave, Li Xi had no choice but to explore on his own.
Li Xi walked around the manor once but found nothing unusual, except for the strict management.
The servants worked in an orderly fashion, and Steward Bauer meticulously patrolled every corner of the manor. If anything was amiss, he would promptly call the servants to repair it, fully embodying his role as a steward.
Li Xi didn't see any of the other mercenaries. Later, he learned that the affairs of the great merchant Bellos were no longer a secret. The mercenaries who accepted the mission would come at night, earn a silver coin, and leave the next day.
This was why Li Xi, not understanding the full situation, still wanted to do his best to complete the mission and get better lottery opportunities. It turned out to be a mission to just earn a silver coin.
"This is also good, safe and secure."
Li Xi had two meals, lunch and dinner, at the manor. The food wasn't very good. By evening, the other mercenaries started arriving.
More than twenty people, all warriors with weapons in hand, and a few assassins in cloth armor. Professions like priests, mages, and clerics were out of the question; they wouldn't do such minor tasks.
These mercenaries were not lone wolves like Li Xi. They were small mercenary groups, a few people together.
After casually greeting the servants and the steward, they found places to stand loosely, clearly separated, indicating they were not new to this task.
Seeing this, Li Xi indeed realized they were all just doing the mission for the sake of it. So, he also found a corner to hide and planned to just get through the night.
Perhaps sensing Li Xi was a new face, an assassin with an E-rank badge soon approached him.
"Hello, friend. My name is Frank. I am the leader of the Brave Mercenary Group."
Li Xi feigned understanding. "Long time no see, long time no see. My name is Li Xi, a rookie who just joined the industry."
Frank chuckled, his eyes scanning Li Xi's weapons. The weapons were forged by an ordinary blacksmith, and his leather armor was not finely crafted.
"Young man, you can be a mercenary at such a young age, you must have some skills. If there's anything unusual tonight, I'll need your help."
"I'm just here for the food, no real skills. If there's anything unusual, I'll be the first to run. Silver coins are good, but life is more precious." Li Xi made no secret of his timidity and cowardice.
"Heh heh, you jest, young man."
"If you need any help with anything, feel free to ask. I'll help if I can."
After the pleasantries, Frank returned. Li Xi watched him leave with an inscrutable gaze and then hid himself in the shadows again.
Frank returned to the villa entrance, where three burly warriors greeted him. "Boss, how is that kid?"
Frank waved his hand with a relaxed expression. "Just a rookie who just joined. Nothing to worry about. If anything happens, he'll be the first to run."
"That's good."
"If he dares to mess with our business, don't blame us for being ruthless."
The ferocity on one warrior's face was unmasked.
Li Xi was naturally unaware of what was happening here, but his mature soul made him instinctively wary of everyone.