To Silver City

The tent of the Workers' Association was as big as a two story building, while its exterior was plain grey. It had been a long time since Shui last entered a location of the Workers' Association, but even though this was his first time at this branch, the atmosphere was familiar.

There were mission boards on the left, chairs and tables in the center while the receptionist was at the back. There weren't many people here, but considering the time it seemed that a decent amount of workers were operating at the outpost.

Since he was here under the identity of Shin, Shui wore a white mask with better functionality but the same look as the one he had when he first became a worker. He naturally attracted suspicious gazes, but he wasn't that strange among workers.

He started his visit by looking at what was posted on the mission boards. The jobs could be broadly split into two groups, subjugation of shadows and evolved beasts, and herb gathering. This was no surprise since anyone who came here usually had an interest in one of those two things. Through the nature and number of the jobs, Shui got an idea of the outpost's situation, so he went to the receptionist to gain further information.

After presenting his ID, Shui asked for a quick rundown on the outpost.

"The Chimera Outpost was made to keep an eye on the chimera lord and the shadows it released. As both shadows and evolved beasts from Malirin Forest would occasionally attack, workers and mercenaries were hired. Our number was still small at first, but when alchemists found out about the shadows, they started coming to research them, and once enough people gather in a place, the merchants and everyone else are quick to follow."

The man who served as the receptionist didn't have any other work, so he explained patiently. After hearing his perspective on the outpost, Shui asked him about the shadows and the shadow heart pill. The man seemed to expect it, but the exasperation showed on his face.

"Looks like I'm not the only one asking?"

"That's right. Recently, tons of people have come here hunting shadows and looking for an alchemist to make a pill from their hearts. I recommend you don't waste your time by joining them. The earliest ones have already left, and the rest look like they're about to."

"So they haven't had any luck?"

"Not from what I hear. They can kill shadows but can't find the person they're looking for, and though we have jobs to subjugate them, it's not very profitable since it's hard to find buyers for the carcasses."

Although many forces were researching shadows and the chimera lord, few were able to produce enough results to require regular mass purchases, so the market for shadow carcasses was poor. The shadow heart pill encouraged suppliers, but the demand side wasn't in the position to follow yet. Grateful for the free information, Shui was about to leave when someone entered. It was a middle-aged man that looked like a template grumpy miser. His red eyes were supported by the heavy bags under them and there seemed to be red stains in his low black beard. He didn't look malnourished, but seemed to have starved for days. If it wasn't for the pristine coat he wore, he wouldn't have looked much different from a beggar.

"Oh, Ragley, you're finally done with your research."

"For now. I need more samples."

"I thought as much. What type are you looking for this time?"

"I'm hoping for quantity so the Earth Realm ones will do."

"Got it."

Shui couldn't help being intrigued by their conversation, so he stuck around to see what type of job the man was posting. A few minutes later, the receptionist nailed a parchment on the mission board. The job outlined was a mixture of three, subjugation, material gathering and escort. It seemed that the Ragley was hiring workers to protect him and kill the Earth Realm-level shadows that he pointed out. Shui didn't know how common this type of quest was, but he had a feeling that it was the lead he was looking for.

"That job, can I take it?"

Both the receptionist and the Ragley turned to Shui. The pay for the job was good so it wasn't strange for him to be interested, but few would be eager to escort the Ragley at first meeting given how suspicious he looked. Shui looked fairly suspicious himself, but Ragley wasn't reluctant so he looked at the receptionist.

"How is he?"

"He's new here but he's a silver ranker with an combat achievement, so he should be strong enough. I'm not sure about his escort abilities though."

It only took him a few years to get, but reaching silver rank as a worker was generally enough to make lower-rank nobles take note of him. Shui was also showing his cultivation, but since the True Earth Realm was different from the Earth Realm, it was hard to see what exact level he had reached. Nevertheless, the man thought it was good enough.

"Okay, you got yourself the job. Are you ready to go now?"

"Ragley, do you have to be in such a rush? Wouldn't it be better to wait until tomorrow when you can have a proper team with you?"

"I don't want to waste any time, and I can take care of myself if it comes to it. Besides, I'm not interested in giving you a bonus."

As the receptionist coughed awkwardly, Shui recalled hearing that the receptionists of the Workers' Association received benefits when they wrote up high paying jobs. In which case, he couldn't blame him for wanting to wring out a couple gold from Ragley's pocket.

"So, can you come?"

"Yes."

Although Ragley said they would leave immediately, they split up to finish their preparations first. Shui had little need to prepare thanks to his storage ring, so he took the time to get information from the underground guild. This information included the state of Silver City and the fallen known as the chimera lord, as well as Ragley. The fallen and its shadows hadn't made any significant moves so he quickly moved on to the information on Ragley.

'I thought as much.'

The specifics would cost extra but the short version was that he was one of their suspects for the alchemist that made the shadow heart pill. Apparently, the guild had already identified the middleman, but they were connected to Coin Storm so it was hard to dig into it forcefully.

Shui knew that Ragley was an alchemist from his coat and the herbal scents on him, so this gave him more hope that he could profit from this trip. Shui considered paying for more details, but he still hadn't sold off the goods from the underground auction so his wallet was pretty dry. If he tried to learn more in his poverty-stricken state, he would have to use his contribution points, and that was a definite no.

Shui wandered around for a little longer before heading towards the rendezvous spot that Ragley told him about with a big bag that held his fake supplies.