"What do mercenaries do here?" This man asked as he looked at Seth, feeling that this question was rather stupid.
But he answered in a tone that made it sound like it was the best question in the world. "We do what a mercenary would do in other cities, sir. We sell our services to people who can pay our bounties.
Some of us have fighting skills, while others in the city need bodyguards for their own reasons.
Others know how to build things, while some don't but are willing to pay for the services of those who do.
Those registered with the guild can offer whatever skills they have, and those with the means to pay can hire those who can meet their expectations."
The people in Seth's group listened to what the man said, and they all expressed the same reaction, making not only that guard but others in the area feel as if they were being joked with.
"So we can sell our services according to our abilities?"
"Hmm, that doesn't sound bad, although it's a strange model to live by." A woman commented to one of her peers.
"What are the rewards for these services?" Dax asked the guard. "Is there a standard amount?"
The guard looked at Dax and replied in the same respectful tone as Seth. "Not exactly. If you were selling an apple, you'd obviously have to charge a price close to what other apple sellers charge. But every service has its price, depending on what you think is fair and what the customer is willing to pay.
A mission that has the potential to take your life should be priced at the price of your own life, and a good part of the payment should be paid in advance so you can leave something for your family. But if the price is ridiculously high, no one will ever give you that."
"What are the local powers like? Are there Sky People here?" Moses asked seriously, frightening the guard as he seemed much more hostile than Seth and Dax.
"Oh, yes, yes, there are." The guard said, wondering if these were Sky People mercenaries.
There were two types of mercenaries in this place if you exclude the kind of services that existed. There were those with extraordinary abilities and those without.
Most mercenaries, like this guard, were people without special abilities but with skills that were useful in society.
There were fighting techniques and special training for various things in this world that would allow one to sell their work even without having special abilities.
The guard in question didn't have any special skills like Sky People had, but he was a skilled warrior who could quickly kill a lion with his bare hands.
"I can't tell you exactly what the local forces are like. What do you mean by that? Are you talking about the level of local mercenaries or local families, clans, and organizations?"
"Everything."
"Most of the mercenary guild must be at levels 2 or 3, but the guild leader is at level 4. I don't know anyone stronger than him among the local mercenaries." The man said, not bothering to open his mouth to answer the group's questions, as this was the kind of general information one would discover after spending a few days in this city.
"As for the local forces, I can't say for sure. It could be that the strongest local powers live in the 'dark' or in seclusion, and people like me might not even know about them. But I would say that the average power should be close to the guild's strength."
"Level... What does that mean?" Seth looked at the man and asked, causing the guard to stop walking down the sidewalk and stare at him with his mouth hanging open.
Gulp!
"What's level? Doesn't the Senior know?" He asked softly, feeling that if he spoke loudly, he would cause unnecessary embarrassment and end up annoying this person.
"Exactly. I don't know." Seth said, seeing no reason for the man's nervousness.
The conversation was very pleasant and enlightening!
The man remained silent and walked back to the mercenary guild, a place he could already see from where he was.
"Level... That's how we classify the abilities of mercenaries, Senior. Not only that, but you might also hear this kind of designation in other situations that don't necessarily involve the activities of a mercenary guild.
A level 2 mercenary can do things that a level 1 mercenary cannot do. A level 3 mercenary can do much more than a level 2 mercenary. And so on.
But within level 1, there are mercenaries with very different skills, even if we only consider warriors. So, being level 1 doesn't make a mercenary equal to all the others who are also at level 1."
That was a simple explanation of how the Mercenary Guild worked, and all the survivors of the Misty Woods Tribe understood its simple logic.
"So in this society, you divide yourselves like this... What level are we at?" An elder, the oldest of the group, so old that he looked like a mummy, asked in a tone full of curiosity.
The guard replied. "No, Elder. That's how the guild divides its members. We classify people's general abilities a little differently in our society.
The logic isn't that different, but the names are. For example, level 1 refers to people who are in the first stage of soul or body cultivation.
Someone who cultivates their body at the first stage is called an Official. Someone who cultivates their soul is said to be at the stage called Consolidated Realm.
These names refer to the first stage, which is divided into 9 levels.
Level 1 refers to people at the first stage, which have between 9 stars.
The other stages are divided in the same way, and each one has a different name in terms of body and soul cultivation.
But it's not that hard to understand it."
When the old man heard that, he understood things were a little more refined than he thought, but the logic was still the same.
However, he and the others realized that there was more than one type of path for a person to follow in this place.
Moses fell silent at these words, feeling more confident in his theory that the tribe elders had lied to them.
How far behind had they fallen by not knowing this information? He didn't know, but he wanted to find out by entering that mercenary guild.
"What's after that?" Seth asked curiously.
"The 2nd level is Master/Ascended Realm, then comes Grandmaster/Spirit River Realm..." As the guard was speaking, the guild master appeared in the entrance hall of his building, realizing that these newcomers were unique.
"Guests, let me show you the area in this young man's place..."