Mercenary Camp

For Xian Xuan , since he tread cautiously , he didn't get himself in any trouble while he was crossing Longriver Forest .

After Longriver Forest , there came a large plain of land where grass and lush plants dominated the area of ten kilometers.

At the center of this plain land is a small town located where stone walls are protecting the town .

The town has no fixed shape but looking at this town from far , Xian Xuan felt like he was looking at some medieval - history .

"So this is the Jackal Town , I hope nothing goes wrong "

After that he approached the town . The town has an entrance gate located to the south where guards are on duty .

Young men equipped with steel armor and a spear stand on each corner of the entrance gate while a middle aged man equipped with steel armor and a sword rests on his chair while a table can also be found In front of him .

There are lines of visitors waiting to enter the town but they first need to go through inspection .

Xian Xuan also walks to the line and waits for his turn .

After a very long time , Xian Xuan finally got his turn .

"Take out your identification card and show it to me "

The middle aged man looks at Xian Xuan and waits for Xian Xuan to show his identification card but Xian Xuan smiles as if everything is normal and replies swiftly.

"I was traveling Longriver Forest and was on my way to Jackal Town but as you and me are aware of the danger on the path where I once trekked "

"I met a group of wild hyenas , fortunately I managed to escape the death and arrived here safely, unscathed "

"But unfortunately my belongings were left behind to become tethered"

"So , can you just fine me and let me enter the town for once ? "

"I have few bronze here "

Xian Xuan cleverly takes out three bronze coins but hides a silver coin in the middle of those three bronze .

The middle aged man noticed Xian Xuan's slyness and smiled slyly like an old fox .

Taking those 'bronze' from the table , the middle aged man named My Fan coughs twice , slyly sending signals to his subordinates .

The young guards open the wooden door for Xian Xuan with a big smile and let him enter .

Xian Xuan smiles as the middle aged man opens his mouth .

"Thank you for your cooperation this time "

The middle aged man chuckles and replies back .

"Make sure to be cautious next time during your traveling"

With that , Xian Xuan manages to enter Jackal Town without any hindrance.

He has received a few expenses from the old lady Han during his departure which is why he took out those 'copper'.

The town is not beautiful to the point where it can rival a city but at least the town is larger and much more beautiful compared to Thatched Village .

The street is constructed with cheap material , the buildings are taller and much more advanced compared to a village .

The residents of Jackal Town are living in prosperity .

"Excuse me kind brother , I am actually new here so can you point the direction to Town Guild Hall here ?"

With a gentleman's smile , Xuan Xuan stops a young man who is clad with simple and plain clothes.

"Oh , Town Guild Hall "

The young man is surprised at first but he soon nods his head and answers Xian Xuan's question. Since Xian Xuan's attitude was friendly and was asking him politely , the young man could not refuse to answer Xian Xuan .

"From the straight here , turn right and there you will arrive at Southern Jackal where Town Guild Hall is located "

Town Guild Hall is also known as minor Guild Hall Branch .

Similar to Guild Hall , the minor Guild Hall Branch manages the affairs of Adventurer and other official affairs.

Xian Xuan nods his head and follows the direction.

After a while , he arrives at Southern Jackal where a water fountain is constructed at the center and tiles are used to decorate the street .

Park benches and beautiful flowers are adorning the peaceful town .

There he sees a two floor hall constructed from wood and has architecture resembling a church .

But there is a signboard hanging above an archaic door — Jackal Town Guild Hall .

Many people are entering and leaving the hall .

After a while , Xian Xuan also entered the hall but was surprised to see the next scene .

He sees lines of benches and tables placed around while many people have come to enjoy meals and dishes of the guild Hall .

While the guild members are all executing the job of waiter and waitress .

"What the — "

In Xian Xuan's imagination and perception , the Guild Hall should have been a dignified and famous sacred hall where the brave and strong come .

And this applies to all , no matter if it's big or small .

But his perception of the world has just gotten brutally crushed by what he is seeing right now .

"Is this Fairy-tail ? "

"Did I crossover into the world of Fairy-tail ?"

"Where is Natsu ?"

"Where is Happy ?"

Xian Xuan soon shakes his head and slaps both of his cheeks with his palm , awakening him from his petrification .

After a while , he looks around and observes the guild Hall very carefully .

He has noticed that his Naruto System has a unique function that can let him see the stats of his target so he tries to see through his targets .

The guild hall is a single floor suite where customers are enjoying their drinks and goofing around .

There is a staircase leading to the top floor where occasionally men and ladies would ascend and descend .

There is also a board on the left side of the hall which must be Mission - Board which is built in every guild hall .

"Welcome young man , are you new here ?"

Suddenly a blond haired lady with a tall and sexy stature , voluptuous body with a mature aura around her talks to Xian Xuan .

Just like a typical smart lady , she also has glasses which amplifies her beauty by a thousand times .

"Oh , yes "

"And may I ask who you may be ?"

Xian Xuan looks at this black suit lady and asks her for her Identity before he introduces himself .

"My name is Yu Shulong , I am the manager of this guild hall "

"Are you here to register yourself as a new adventurer or are you here to take on a mission ?"

Xian Xuan carefully observes Yu Shulong and reads her stats .

[ Yu Shulong

Age : 25

Race : Human

Power Level : ordinary Apprentice Knight ]

'so she is a Knight '

Xian Xuan has heard about Knights and Mages through the word of villagers from Thatched Village .

It is said that Knights are very powerful and strong since they are said to be masters of Heart and Body .

As for the Mage , they are not an ordinary existence but a very noble and high esteem existence.

Unlike Mages mentioned in stories or shown in television , the Mage of this world is very terrifying .

Mages have bodies as strong as iron and magic power capable of summoning rain and thunder on mortal worlds . Their wisdom is vast and boundless , similar to an ocean with no end .

Mage has a very high battle IQ , their hand to hand combat prowess can make them resemble martial masters while their inhumane body makes them no less than a Knight .

Although there are Mages in small quantities compared to Knights in this world, these Mages are extremely formidable .

"I want to register myself as an Adventurer ,what is the procedure for me to become an Adventurer ?"

Xian Xuan was guided inside a separate room from the entrance hall . There are two sofas facing each other while a tea-table in the middle , also an official table on the side .

Resting on the sofa , each party faces each other . While the manager Yu Shulong looks deeply at Xian Xuan , Xian Xuan does the same as well .

With a light smile , Yu Shulong starts to pick up a paper from the table and prepares a pen to write something .

After that , she slightly pushes colorless marble in the direction of Xian Xuan with her right index finger .

The colorless marble on the table moves forward and reaches for Xian Xuan . As for Xian Xuan , he slowly reaches his eyes to look at the colorless marble and tries to identify the object .

[ Affinity Marble

Grade : Special - C Rank Artifact

Description : Is used for detecting the target's affinity and power level ]

Just like how his Naruto System has described him , he soon receives information about Affinity Marble through Yu Shulong .

"This is the guild's Special Class C - Rank Artifact that is mainly used to detect ones affinity and scale their power "

"Please use your blood drop to activate the artifact "

Yu Shulong is a professional and she knows what to do .

As for Xian Xuan , he looks at a small knife placed on the table and thinks about something .

After carefully contemplating about something , he finally reaches his right hand for the knife and cuts his left palm in a small scale

After that , fresh blood leaks through his skin and muscle , finally creating a tiny stream of blood that condenses into drops of blood .

The drop of fresh red blood drops down and splash on the colorless marble but instead of becoming red the colorless marble soaks the blood and soon emits a radiance.

Followed by crimson flame burning at the center of the marble with invisible power fulling the same flame that burns .

"It is fire "

Yu Shulong managed to notice the fire affinity which even a blind person can tell that it is fire affinity.

But she failed to see through Time-space Affinity .

How can she , with her inferior strength and power , even be worthy of seeing through the mystery of the high level element of the world .

Fire will extinguish one day , perish with time .

But Time and Space are eternal , they are masters of their own .

Eternity begins when Time is born and Immortality dies when Time vanquishes .

Infinity was born when Space was created and Infinity will disappear when Space will meet its destruction .

"As for your level , you are a junior apprentice mage !!"

When Yu Shulong noticed that Xian Xuan is actually a junior apprentice mage , she gasped for air .

Her breath nearly met her death .

A Junior Mage Apprentice is a Mage Apprentice who has just started his never ending journey on the path of Magic and Mystery.

Although they are not a senior level Apprentice Mage , they are still someone who has the ability to use Magic .

This Magic cannot be described with just simple concept of [ Utilization of mana inorder to burn the existing force and borrow or summon otherworldly element ]

This Magic is something unique , very magical .

"Ah... Yes , so ?"

Xian Xuan was wondering what his affinity and his level will be displayed in this Affinity Marble . But he did not think that this artifact was broken .

Why would this fucking thing even say that he is a Mage ?

In his life , he has never seen a Mage before . Let alone becoming a Mage himself ?

He is confident that if he meets a real Mage Apprentice who is only a Junior , even that level of existence will beat the crap out of him .

Why ?

It is because although he has those abilities from Naruto, he has still not managed to master them to the level of a beginner let alone reaching Apex .

"Since you are a junior apprentice of Mage Profession , you can directly have privilege of joining a Mercenary Camp or even accepting upper E - Rank Mission "

Xian Xuan was soon introduced to guilds and stuff . After that he was asked to sign on the official paper .

Of course , he gave a false name .

He named himself Gu Hai .

"So , your name is Gu Hai ?"

Yu Shulong blinks her shimmering eyes and reads the paper .

"....yes "

Although Xian Xuan felt like correcting himself, he didn't .

After that , Yu Shulong takes out some papers through her table drawer . With that , she places those papers on the tea-table , showing them to Xian Xuan .

"These are the official documents of the Mercenary Camp existing in Jackal Town . Currently there are five Mercenary Camp in our town "

"Followed by lower E - Rank to lower D Rank "

"Knighthood Mercenary Camp , lower E - Rank . The leader is a young man in his late 24 , a junior apprentice knight with three members "

"Invincible Mercenary Camp , lower E- Rank . The leader is a middle aged man in his late 30 . He is a senior apprentice knight and has total of five members "

"Iceland Mercenary Camp , lower E - Rank . The leader is a young maiden in her late 21 . She is an Ice - Affinity sword lady although her mercenary camp used to have five members but recently because of some conflict they have gotten separated . Her camp has also received a notice to disband or find a new member before she is forced to disband "

"Sky Beast Mercenary Camp , lower D - Rank. One of the only two lower D - Rank mercenary camps of our town . There are a total of thirty five members and the leader is a young man with some background . He is actually a powerful Junior Knight and has formidable skill for his age "

"And the final mercenary camp belongs to an oldman who is actually a powerful Junior Knight as well . His camp is known by the name of Unbreakable Sword Mercenary Camp . Similar to Sky Beast , his camp has a total of forty nine members . Currently , this camp is the leading star while Sky Beast is a rising star "

Xian Xuan listens carefully and begins to calculate lots of things in his mind .

'First of all , these two lower E seem to be at a neutral power scale . If I join them , I may have chance to experience ordinary yet smooth path to glory '

'but the risk is , ten minds on the way , hundred paths follow the way . They may not have same opinion as me which may cause dispute between two party and more than that , they may not be to my liking '

Xian Xuan calmly meets his eyes with Yu Shulong while Yu Shulong also does the same .

Both of them are not ready to back off .

' But should I really join a camp ? Do I even need to join ?'

'But wait , since this ice swordlady has the risk of disbanding her camp should I take this opportunity to smooth the thing between me and her ? Should I use this opportunity to get to know her and become close with her ?'

'But what will I gain by becoming close with her ?'

'wait !! Didn't this manager Yu Shulong say that this ice swordlady is the leader of lower E - Rank camp ? Doesn't that mean this lady is a powerful expert in her field ?'

Should I use this opportunity to play with her ? '

Even Xian Xuan didn't notice but the more he was thinking about all this , the more his expression was distorted and was changing into creepy but uncanny.

Yu Shulong felt like she was seeing a devil in a person !!

She wanted to scream but no voice was coming out of her .

If she was a senior knight , she would have the power to resist Xian Xuan's aura but no , she is inferior against Xian Xuan in both strength and spirituality which is why she felt like she was seeing something terrifying.

This is also one of the terrifying aspects about high level experts and masters . Their mere presence can create an illusion for the weak warriors .

'But why don't I just join this upper D ?'

'no , since these group has already risen so high , they must also have birth arrogance and high self-esteem which will be extremely difficult to crack '

"I will join Iceland Mercenary Camp , please help me fix a meeting between the leader and me "

With a polite smile as if nothing has just happened , Xian Xuan asks Yu Shulong to fix a meeting between him and the ice swordlady.

"O—kay"

*****

"Swoosh"

The sound of a sword splitting a body into two halves can be felt everytime a young maiden slashes her divine sword .

Her sword seems to be the embodiment of death itself , not ready to back down . On each slash , the sword asks for sacrifice from its victim .

The sword has a long yet thin blade with some mysterious pattern engraved that can not be seen by naked eyes .

The young maiden herself has long and beautiful frost hairs that reach her slim and curvy waist .

Her sharp yet cold eyes store that silver eyes which is no less than an immortal ruby from heaven .

She has snow white skin with milky cream touch . Her tall and voluptuous body reaches around 5'8 feet tall , truly a giant amongst every woman .

Wearing a long shiny iron armor that has the shape of a human - dragon , she reflects the image of an ice dragon lady from legend .

Currently she is hunting outside the town , in an affiliated village of Jackal Town.

Recently there have been waves of wild wolves attacking Goleman Village and the villagers have been dying . Facing so much mortality , the village chief paid a huge sum of money to hire an adventurer in Jackal Town .

Coincidentally , Aoi Yue also happens to be in need of money . The mission was only ranked upper E - Rank which is why , as an upper E - Rank Adventurer she decided to accept the mission.

After all , the reward was 10 silver . For an upper E - Rank Adventurer , upper E - Rank missions are usually challenging which is why an Adventurer normally only takes on lower rank missions .

But for Aoi Yue , she is special . Although her rank is upper E , she has strength of lower D .

After all , she is born special .

After killing a total of sixty five wild wolves , Aoi Yue finally heaves a sigh of relief. After all , even for her , killing sixty five wild wolves is no joke .

Because wild wolves are not just a simple hunter but a very social and high battle iq beast .

"This ends here "

With monotonous eyes that can freeze anyone's soul. The young maiden coldly murmurs . Her voice is enough to freeze ages and the future eons may stay the same forever .

Her Ice - Dragon Queen Armament shines and reflects the sunlight, the snow reflects on her armament .

Gazing at that far horizon , Aoi Yue frowns deeply . With that , she returns back to the village .

"I feel that , something is going to happen soon "

"This feeling , it is both ominous and auspicious "

*****

"Let's see , what mission should I do for my very first step ?"

Xian Xuan stands In front of the Mission Board and keeps on looking for a mission that is suitable for him .

"Hunt 1 wild boar , reward 1 bronze . Mission Rank lower E "

"Hunt the goblins that have been creating chaos in Sunray Village . Reward 5 bronze . Mission Rank lower E "

"Escort Golden Cotton Merchant from Jackal Town till they arrive at Melting Youth Town . Reward 15 Silver Coins . Mission Rank upper E "

"Maybe I will take this escorting mission "

" But the requirement for this mission is for me to be part of mercenary camp "

"So I can only take this job after I join one "

Xian Xuan shakes his head while reading those missions .

"For now this goblin hunting seem to be the easiest one "

After taking a goblin hunting mission , Xian Xuan turns around and leaves the guild hall .

Sunray Village is located on the eastern side of the Jackal Town which only takes half an hour to reach .

Just after arriving at the town , he is ready to take on a mission .

"It seem my enthusiasm is just restless "

Xian Xuan shakes his head and heads toward the entrance gate .

"Oh , if it isn't you young man "

The middle aged man from before smiles when he sees Xian Xuan approaching .

"Yeah , it's me again "

Xian Xuan and the middle aged man talk to each other . Some here and some there , it is nothing important. Just trivial things to talk about .

"So you are heading for Sunray Village , I heard that the village has been in chaos since the time goblin has been starting to appear "

Guard leader Mu Fan nods his head and rubs his chin , deeply thinking about the subject of Sunray Village .

"Although the threat is not high but this little thing can truly grow into catastrophe in the future "

Xian Xuan smiles when he hears such righteous words coming from Mu Fan .

"If you truly feel sorry for this village , why don't you join me to save this village from the terror of goblins ? But make sure I am not gonna give you anything in return "

Xian Xuan slyly smiles at Mu Fan .

As for Mu Fan , he sighs deeply and looks at the sky .

"If my old bones were to go hunting goblins , who will protect the residents living in my town ?"

After saying that , he innocently meets his eyes with Xian Xuan . Xian Xuan shakes his head and feels funny .

"What if someone offered you tons of money to do this mission , like a million gold ?"

Xian Xuan continues to meet his eyes with Mu Fan .

As for Mu Fan , he chuckles and replies .

"Who will care about this little town when you have the duty of protecting the lives of such poor and innocent villagers ? "

"Hehe"

Both parties laugh a little . With that Xian Xuan leaves the town . There are not many visitors left waiting outside .

Only a few visitors are left on the line .

After he left for the east , around fifteen minutes later , someone arrived at the town .

"Look over there , that's the famous Ice Princess , isn't she ?"

"Wow , she is so beautiful "

"Gorgeous , she is so otherworldly "

An otherworldly young maiden that is blessed with beauty and charm that transcend the perception of mortal walks to the entrance gate while ignoring everyone on the line .

The middle aged man , Mu Fan, trembles at the sight of Ice Princess Aoi Yue .

Aoi Yue coldly glares at Mu Fan , freezing his soul and forcing him to hold his breath .

Her indestructible armor reflects the images of her surroundings and reminds everyone that they are on her surveillance so they dare not try to be over smart .

"I have return from my mission , here is my identification card "

She takes out her identification card where her Identity and information is printed .

"Y—"

"You can enter "

When Mu Fan uttered these words , he was endlessly trembling in tripedation.

After that , Aoi Yue walks in . When those young guards feel the presence of Aoi Yue , they experience death looming over their head .

"This —"

"Sigh "

Mu Fan says nothing . Even those visitors were left in awe and fear when Aoi Yue showed herself in public

Her beauty transcends the world and her presence reaches heaven .

After she reaches the guild hall , she enters the hall and slowly walks toward the reception hall .

Her presence attracts the attention of everyone inside the guild hall which causes them to whisper to each other .

"Hey , isn't that Ice Princess ? Why did she return ? I thought she will leave the town taking mission as her facade "

"Ice Princess ? More like Cursed Princess . After all it is said that whenever she loses control over her high level Ice - Affinity , she goes into rampage and she starts to freeze everything "

"Although she is born with high level Ice - Affinity but she has no control over such high level affinity "

"If it wasn't because she was the princess of Holy Dragon Kingdom , she would have already been hunted down by those with ulterior motives "

Many rumors and countless whispers , this never ending trend of society makes one execute the beautiful art of vomit.

Since her childhood , Aoi Yue has always been experiencing such things.

Hence , she has become numb to such behavior of society where she lives .

Being born with high level Ice - Affinity , she should have been destined to live the life of supreme master of her generation .

But unfortunately there are some stories of her own that became the reason for her current lifestyle .

After submitting the proof of her mission completion , Aoi Yue receives her reward . Even the female receptionist does her best not to fall weak in the presence of Aoi Yue .

Although Aoi Yue is not a high level expert , she still is a person born with high level Ice - Affinity .

Similar to how a weak warrior becomes weak and powerless in the presence of a high level master , the concept exists for the affinity as well .

Before the presence of high level affinity , a weaker affinity will always scramble away in terror and weakness .

"Aoi Yue , do I have your time for a moment ?"

Suddenly she is called by manager Yu Shulong, forcing her to frown deeply at Yu Shulong .

After that , she follows Yu Shulong and enters a separate room from the entrance hall , the same room from where Yu Shulong guided Xian Xuan before .

"Gu Hai ? Hm... ?"

Aoi Yue expresses her confusion when looking at the information document of a young man .

"Yes , this young sir seems to be a young yet junior apprentice mage. If you take him as the member of your camp , not only will you gain a mage with potential but also a strong member for your team "

"With that , you don't need to fear of disbanding your camp as well "

"Although you will need five members to officially run your camp but for now , you can at least have the hope of reviving your camp "

"Maybe in the future , with your high level affinity and this young mage's potential , your camp could also become a powerhouse of A Rank or above ?"

Yu Shulong maintains a deep smile when suggesting some advice for Aoi Yue but inwardly she is still shocked whenever she remembers the scene from before .

That expression — can only belong to a demon and no human can make such an expression .

"Although what you say is beautiful but that is but a mere fantasy of a maiden "

Aoi Yue places the paper back on the table and looks at Yu Shulong .

With her cold and icy voice , she continues.

" Don't try to show me a dream which cannot be reflected on a mirror , otherwise I may forget to recognize my own shadow someday"

With that she stands up and turns around to leave but is stopped .

"But don't you wanna give it a try ? Maybe , something interesting will happen in your life"

The ray of sunlight enters through those large yet beautiful windows and reaches for Aoi Yue .

Painting a picture of a goddess looking down on a mortal world through the sky , everything becomes nothing but mere Illusion .

"Expecting some changes in life is alright but expecting some change in destiny is more than you can ask "

Without listening to Yu Shulong , Aoi Yue leaves the room .

While Aoi Yue leaves the room and walks toward the entrance door of the guild hall , Xuan Xuan on the other hand is on his way to Sunray Village .

These two who seem to be connected by fate , how will their life continue from here ?

"Suddenly out of nowhere , I feel like some big event is about to happen ?"

Xian Xuan shrugs his shoulders while traveling to Sunray Village.