After having a nice meal, Felix slept like a baby, and midnight came swiftly.
He woke up as a slight cough startled him from his dreams.
"You ready, Felix?" Marquess Liron had a low voice.
"Yes, Marquess Liron!" Felix smiled and showed his Tri-space ring and a new black opal space ring.
"I see that you have prepared thoroughly! Now wheres that friend of yours?"
Felix smiled wryly and pointed at the mountain of fat, snoring in a corner.
"Fine... Let's move out." Liron just shook his head.
They traveled on foot, as Marquess Liron made them invisible to any prying.
"We will go through the secret space corridor! Now you should know that the Westgate Clan has expertise in space mastery! This corridor will bring you to the central realms conglomerate! Our Westgate Clan's Realm is the most western borders the infinite void. The Central Conglomerate is where several superpowers like our clan are staying. One of those powers is the Mercenary Guild." Liron talked fast.
Felix and Marcus quickly followed the man through the secret passages and labyrinths.
"Mercenary Guild was just a mortal association in the distant past. Then, however, several generations of powerhouses appeared, and they became the best place for anyone to earn money!"
Marquess Liron opened a secret underground tunnel and continued his explanation.
"Now, Mercenary Guild is a place where even superpowers send youths to experience real-life situations! I will send you to a middle-grade realm called Pulcri Realm. There are several strong powers inside and countless treasures and resources. You will work in the Mercenary Guild, and maybe something good will come out of it! I also will give you clan's missions from time to time, as they are much more profitable and worthwhile!"
Felix looked around and saw a weird ancient hall.
"Okay! I won't go through with you. Instead, you will go to a small city called Panthar, and there will be a branch of Mercenary Guild there. You need to register inside, and that's it! Good luck. I will send information to you through the token."
Marquess Liron smiled and released the chants, and opened the space door.
"Bye, Marquess Liron!" Marcus said with a jiggly face as Felix just nodded to the man.
Felix felt the space door close behind him as he entered a weird state. He was sure that time passed, but the distance of this corridor was just inconceivable.
"How long will it take? I am hungry!" Marcus was whining after what seemed like a few days.
"I think we will have to wait for a while longer." Felix showed some compassion but felt that this distance was insane.
"I read those space corridors could travel through realms in minutes, but now this is like traveling through countless realms." Felix was beginning to understand that the cultivation world was vast beyond belief.
They traveled for what seemed two weeks as Felix and Marcus shared their prepared rations.
"I also can't comprehend these space-time workings!" Felix was stumped for the first time as his remarkable comprehension had no effect in this extended space tunnel.
They saw a small specter of colors in front, and they slammed out from the dark space corridor and heavily hit the ground.
Felix had some bloody wounds, but Marcus was in a lot better shape, as his body was Innate Titan's fifth transformation.
Felix looked around and saw a pillar with WG initials on its sides.
"So this is the ancient Westgate totem. They are handy!" Felix finally understood how this space corridor was so secret.
"Felix, where are we?" Marcus had a dumb frown.
"I have a map. Let's look!"
Felix quickly took out a map and looked around Panthar City. He quickly noticed the mountains he was in and took a look at the totem, which had the west part engraved with initials.
"I got it. Let's go!" Felix led the way, and they traveled through desolate mountains.
"There are no living things for so many days!" Marcus frowned after their journey extended to the second week.
"Well, the map says it is Desolate Mountain Range, and it was sucked dry of lifeforce in the past."
Felix was also creeped out by this environment but kept going nevertheless.
Their travels kept for seven months, as the neverending mountains wore out their mentalities and lifeforce.
"TREEEES!!!" Fatty screamed in joy as he saw the faraway greenery.
"Haha!" Felix laughed in joy as this challenging journey through the Desolation Mountains was taxing.
"I did comprehend Life magic a lot. However, this place is filled with mixed powers..." Felix sighed and just rushed towards the forest.
"Marcus, the Panthar City, is just ahead of this forest. We will be there tomorrow, so let's make a camp." Felix was happy, but he didn't want to camp deep inside a lush dark forest.
"Okay! Let me take care of the food!" Marcus was excited, and he rushed inside the forest to hunt.
Felix had heard from fatty that his father took him to hunt whenever he had time. Therefore, he wasn't worried about fatty's safety so much.
After a few hours, they created a secure camp, where Felix erected metallic defenses and an earthly ditch to protect against predators.
"Felix, you need to learn occupations! I began my training as a Buddhist Beast Tamer! You should find something you like, as it will be enriching in the future!" Marcus began talking about the future.
"Buddhist Beast Tamer, what difference does it make from a simple Beast Tamer?" Felix asked with interest.
"Haha! Monk Tupi'kh from the Bloodline Temple taught me the basics! Buddhist doctrine teaches to be benevolent to all living beings! So the Buddhist Beast Tamers release the Tamed Beasts from their slavery, ensuring undying loyalty from free-willed creatures! We can even dissolve the latent hatred in berserk beasts and even let them begin cultivating as sacred beasts. This occupation is very noble and revered all over the cultivation world." Fatty was proud.
"Haha! That sounds great. However, you still have no tamed beast bag, huh? Nor do you have a tame beast." Felix smiled at this dumb-looking fat lump of a teen.
"Hey! Felix, I will first have to meet a fated beast! That is what Monk Riago taught me! The first beast you bond with is significant and will follow you till the very end."
Felix was surprised by the seriousness of the fatty exuded and continued their talks until they had to sleep.
The morning was uneventful, and they began their passage through the forest.
This place was terrific and full of vitality. The trees had purple, violet, green, and even blue leaves. Some grasses were moving like vines, and even weird bugs, with rainbow-colored wings.
Magical beast birds softly sang in tunes and tones, harmonizing an enticing beauty with sound energy.
"This place is like heaven!" Fatty laughed like a kid and ran around everywhere.
Sadly, they soon heard a scream, and the fatty rushed over to look at what had happened.
Felix saw a small carriage on a forest path, where a young lady and a few guards were looking at a five-year-old-looking boy, who was unconscious.
"Felix, do we go look at what's going on there?" Fatty was still acting a bit skittish.
"Yeah, we will go this very same path, anyway!" Felix stepped out from the shrubbery.
He and fatty were wearing simple black outfits, as their official robes would bring too much attention.
Felix had unique concealing artifacts to hide his spatial rings and even contain the Westgate Token in his mind-space. But unfortunately, he had no weapons, as he was still a rookie mage.
Fatty, on the other hand, had a monk staff. He was on a path of a Buddhist fighter, and his cultivation mentor was Monk Riago.
They had their young teen appearances and looked like excellent traveling kids.
Of course, Felix was smaller than the fatty and looked more like a boy than a teen. However, his eyes and bearing had this majestic aura of a higher being.
The young girl and guards quietly observed the two kids and worried they were enemies.
"Hello, strangers! We are traveling to Panthar City. We mean no harm!" Felix used the etiquette his mother and granny taught. He cupped his fists and elegantly bowed his head a little.
"Yeah, we heard a scream, so we rushed to look at what happened!" Fatty was instead looking like a country bumpkin compared to Felix, but his charm was in the straightforward expressions and cute voice.
The guards and the lady looked at each other, and then the lady nodded. After that, the guards lowered their weapons.
"Young travelers, I am Lady Anna Mergol, from the Panthar City. My family is one of the leading clans of the Panthar City, and we were traveling around, looking for herbs! However, my little brother ate some berry, and now he's unconscious!"
Felix felt the little girl's distress and felt a little bad for her.
"Oh! We understand some plants can have weird effects! But, lady Anna, you should rush to the city then, as we have no expertise in medicine, we can't help you." Felix said with a confident voice.
"I understand that, young traveler! Unfortunately, however, the evening is soon upon us, and traveling at night, is very dangerous in this Hugo Forest! Not to mention the predators, even some bandits prey on the travelers at night!"
Felix frowned as he observed this group. "This lady is just a Supreme Core stage cultivator, while the guards are peak second stage. So they have no safety passing this forest at night." Felix thought and sighed.
"Laddy Anna, do you mind if I examine the boy? I am no doctor, but I can look how much trouble this plant has caused to your brother." Felix decided to help them out, as he was bored from the long journey.
The guards and lady looked at each other again, letting Felix pass through soon.
"I can examine his body with Life energy and a bit of mental energy. If I do it softly, he won't be hurt." Felix carefully controlled his powers as he thought of using his magic.
Marcus stood behind Felix and soon saw an extraordinary sight.
A soft white light appeared on Felix's left palm, and he gently hovered it around the boy.
"So this berry was a poison. I can see his stomach and liver with the black substance inside. It travels into his blood, and the boy loses consciousness when it reaches the brain. I can also see some internal wounds around the gut." Felix quietly observed the boy's internal situation.
"Lady Anna, the plant he ate seems like poison! I see some internal damage, and his brain is under constant corrosion. Let us hurry, or he will die in a few days." Felix said with a calm voice.
"But we can't pass this forest at night! We will die if we try with our cultivation!" Anna said aggrievedly.
"Haha! Lady Anna, we will come with you! I promise you nothing bad will happen to you!" Fatty giggled and patted his jiggly chest.
The guards were confused, as they didn't feel any intense cultivation from these kids.
"Lady Anna, these kids have no power. Let's camp here first!" A guy who seemed like a group leader said with a calm voice.
"Sigh! Lady Anna, do you think we would risk our lives if we had no assurance to stay safe at night? Let's hurry. Otherwise, the boy will die."
Felix felt no reason to talk too much. He just walked on the road together with fatty.
They were strolling and chatting, showing no worry at all.
"Let's follow them! I can't let my little brother die when we can save him!" So Anna decided and ordered the guards.
Felix and Marcus smiled as they saw the carriage following them, and their slow journey began.
"I planned to pass this forest during the night, but with this speed, we will get through only somewhere at midday." Felix talked with fatty.
"It's okay. Saving a life is vital! They seem like good guys as well." Marcus was cheerful.
Their slow traveling was very long, and after a few hours, no light was seen in the sky as night descended in its full glory.
"I feel some beasts around, but they always turn around," Marcus said with a weird expression.
"They are the third stage mostly. I am always observing, so these beasts have an instinct not to go near." Felix smiled as he continued walking.
They soon arrived at the crossroad, where a small stone was to show directions.
"Lady Anna, we are a hundred miles away from the Panthar City." A guard reported as their calm journey was making them reassured.
Unfortunately, they heard metal jingling and creepy laughs as soon as they passed the rock.
"Felix, are you sure you were observing everything?" Fatty said with some uncertainty.
"Haha! Marcus, when have I ever lied to you?" Felix was relaxed.
The guards were in a panic as they saw numerous bandits appear and surround them.
"Hoho?! Mergol family carriage? These people will fetch a good price!"
Felix watched how an ugly-looking man with some teeth missing cackled creepily.
Lady Anna left the carriage and began talking with the bandits. She felt that this leader was in the Soul Transformation stage, but her strongest guard was just a peak Supreme Core.
"Please let us pass through! My brother is injured, and we must reach the city to cure him! I will give all the wealth I have on me and also we can arrange further payment after we reach the city! I promise you!"
Felix shook his head in disappointment at this girl's naive and desperate plea.
"Haha! We can just ask for a huge sum of money for you! We will send this dead child as a bargaining chip! This move will make them squirm and give us more than you could ever arrange! Capture them!"
Felix was disgusted as he heard such statement.
"Fatty, take care of them! I will look after the carriage."
Felix was a bit angry and just let Marcus take care of everything. He knew that fatty was a peak Soul Transformation expert, and he didn't break through yet, because he constantly trained his Innate Titan's physique, which was already at the fifth transformation.
Anna was horrified as she saw multiple bandits attack them. They only had eight guards, and she saw how they had no chance.
As soon as the eight guards were occupied with multiple enemies, several bandits charged at the carriage.
"Hahaha! Come here, little girl! I will show you the beauty of a true man! Hahahaha!"
A disgusting old man with a serrated knife charged Anna and several other men.
As soon as Anna had no way to defend herself and was already desperate, she heard a squashing burst noise.
"You are so disgusting. Why don't you repent in the afterlife." Marcus smashed his staff at the bandit's heads with incredible finesse.
Lady Anna was staring with mouth wide open as the evil bandits heads exploded like melons.
Fatty quickly rushed towards other bandits in the darkness of the night, and Anna only heard muffled bursting noises.
The group leader felt something was amiss and charged towards the carriage himself.
"They have some experts, but if I take a hostage, they will bow their heads!" So the creepy man thought as he licked his lips and quickly passed through multiple trees and people.
Marcus was still away from the carriage, and guards had many injuries. Also, the leader was a Soul Transformation expert, so it was breezy to evade these second-stage guards.
"You all better drop your resistance! Or this girl will die!" The bandit leader screamed and cackled as he took Anna by the hair and pointed a dirty knife at her throat.
"What the hell!?" Marcus cursed as he looked over.
The guards dropped their weapons and saw their lady taken hostage.
"Little girl, please be a good girl, and order your men to fall back!" The bandit leader said while creepily licking his lips.
"Please, please, let me save my brother..." Felix watched how the girl snotted and pleaded for herself and her little brother.
"This girl needs some training! She is a Supreme Core stage but has no fighting experience." Felix observed the situation and decided it was time to end this farce.
"You disgusting old man! Go meet King Yama!" Everyone heard a majestic voice come out from the carriage, and a slight wind blade cut the bandits leader into small pieces.
Lady Anna was horrified to see the man diced into a bloody mush of flesh.
"Haha, wind blade is so satisfying to watch!" Felix laughed, and soon several wind blades chopped all bandits to pieces.
Nobody even had time to dodge, as a fifth stage mage's spell of wind was beyond their reaction speed.
"Marcus, how could you leave the girl alone? Were you hit in the head as a baby?" Felix berated his friend mercilessly.
"WHAT?! I was just fighting. You said you will take care of carriage!" Marcus was in disbelief.
"So what? You should be able to take care of them all without any problem. We will have to train harder!" Felix exchanged glances with fatty and saw understanding in his eyes.
"Well, this was a good experience as nobody died." Felix thought.
He conjured a healing spell circle and healed the guards and Lady Anna.
"Y-you are an M-Mage!" Lady Anna said with a quivering voice.
"Yeah, now let's move. Your brother has little time!"
The guards began to move through the forest again. However, Lady Anna still had some weird thoughts.
"Sir Mage, why can't you just heal my brother?" She asked.
"I would heal if I was confident. However, I have read that some poisons will explode with even more ferocity to healing magic. I also don't know anything about herbs and poisons, so if I made any rash moves, your brother could die!" Felix said with confidence.
Lady Anna showed her realization and didn't bother the two kids anymore.
"Felix, is it true? You couldn't heal him because of poison?" Fatty asked with some interest.
"Yes. I have had some lessons in the healing department. They clearly stated that we shouldn't heal unknown poison if we have alternative ways to save someone. So until he still has some vitality, we will bring the boy to a real doctor." Felix said calmly.
"But dude! We need to hurry. I saw that kid is almost green-colored!" Fatty said with some worry.
"It's okay. I examined the boy. He still has about a day to live. And his brain doesn't have any permanent damage."
Marcus was surprised to see such a cold response, but he still trusted Felix's judgment.
The guards rushed the horses, reaching the exit from the forest.
Laddy Anna sighed from relief as she looked at the familiar walls of Panthar City.
Felix noticed that this city was quite large. About ten million inhabitants could easily live there. The towers, pavilions, and palaces were in the center, and the buildings got smaller towards the rear.
There was even a massive area of slums outside the city walls where the poorest people lived.
The main road led them through the city gates, and the passengers evaded the carriage as they saw the emblem of the Mergol Family.
"We greet lady Anna!" The guards let them through without any questioning.
Felix and Marcus were inside the carriage, for convenience's sake.
"Lady Anna, I believe we should part our ways! However, we still need to register in the Mercenary Guild. I hope doctors will cure your brother successfully." Felix smiled with good intentions.
"What? Do you not want to receive a reward from my father? He will be generous!" Anna was startled to hear such a decision from the youth Mage.
"It is our fortune to help someone! Good karma will reward us in exchange. So go with free heart, lady Anna!" Marcus used pompous words as he jumped out from the carriage with Felix.
Lady Anna had no chance to stop them as they vanished in the crowd.
Felix and Marcus passed through the wide streets and quickly found Mercenary Guild.
It was a sharp building and had five floors. The red-colored shield with Mercenary Guild's words was engraved right above the entrance.
"Let's go inside. Liron said it will be easy to register." Felix leads Marcus into the guild.
As soon as they entered, they saw a small hall, where a lady was sitting behind a desk. She had beautiful brown skin and was in official uniform with a Mercenary Guild badge.
"We came here to register," Felix said calmly.
"What's your cultivation stages?" Lady asked.
"I am in the fifth stage, and he is in the third stage." Felix pointed at Marcus.
"Oh? The third stage goes to door number three, and you go number five. Good luck." Lady showed some curiosity towards Felix and just pointed at the doors.
Marcus went to a different room, so they separated.
Felix soon entered a new room, where several people were sitting at desks and chatting around in groups.
"Welcome, young one! Are you here to register?" Felix saw an aged man with incredible mustache pop up from nowhere.
"Yes, what should I do?" Felix was composed.
"Well, come here." The man led Felix to a small desk filled with silver engravings and a weird mirror.
"Put your hand there." The man pointed at the opening on the side of the mirror.
"Now release a strand of your power."
Felix did as the man guided. He felt a small amount of his energy absorbed in the mirror.
"Now, look at the mirror." The calm voice of this man guided Felix.
Soon, Felix saw the mirror light up, and his picture quickly appeared on its surface.
"Tell me your name and age."
"I am Felix Westgate, twelve years old."
"Marquess Liron said not to change my name, as my training isn't secret, just to stay careful," Felix remembered his conversation with Liron.
"That's it. You are an official mercenary! Here is your badge, and that's it! You can take quests up to your cultivation level, and that's all. Don't use mercenary status for evil, or else you will become our enemy. Any questions?"
"No, thank you!" Felix smiled and took the badge, and placed it on his clothes.
Felix went to the main hall, where all mercenaries mingled. There were some quests on the board there and many tables where maids served food.
"This is more like a tavern!" Felix was surprised at this lively atmosphere.
"Felix!" Fatty appeared behind Felix with a smile.
"Let's go take a quest." Felix smiled and went to look at the notice board.
"Okay!" Fatty jiggled over to the notice board.
Felix soon frowned as he read the tasks. "What is level one or level two quest?" He thought as there was no further explanation.
"Are you new here?" A rough voice sounded as a rugged man arrived at the notice board and noticed Felix frown at the board.
"Yes, we will take our first quest today," Felix said.
"Oh? Well, it is easy! The first level is for the first stage, the second level for the second stage, and so on! The cultivation stage is the main priority every time! The rewards can be adjusted later if the task is more complex than expected. Also, the strongest team member determines what level of mission you can take." The rugged man explained and took one quest notice from the board before leaving.
"Felix, let's not take level five mission now! I want to see my level. Maybe I will learn something." Fatty said with a frown.
"That was my plan! Liron gave me a lot of books to read as I prepared for my breakthrough! We will do easier missions now, and I will help you only when necessary. When I finish studying, we will go for some hardcore training!" Felix smiled and looked at the board.
"Let's take this one, Felix!" Fatty pointed at the third-level quest.
"Level 3 Quest: Escort a carriage to Drarfem City. Reward: 500 middle-grade spirit stones, 50 merit points."
"Okay, also, let's go ask what merit points can do." Felix turned around, and as they were leaving the building, they asked the lady who received them.
"Merit points are a currency for Mercenary Guilds Treasury! You can buy anything you want, as long as you have enough merit!"
Felix was surprised to see such a simple working of this Mercenary Guild.
"They are so relaxed with their management!" Felix found it refreshing when no one was breathing down his neck.
"Fatty, let's go order a room in the inn! The quest will start only three days from now."
Felix and Marcus relaxed, waiting for a new adventure to begin.