After teasing the landlady, Field was in a fantastic mood. He hummed a tune while looking at the task list and walking. There were two material collection tasks: one for High Mountain Peach Blossoms and the other for Nine-Dragon Bugs. Field remembered that High Mountain Peach Blossoms could be used to brew tea, which Hollan liked, so he planned to collect a few extra. As for Nine-Dragon Bugs... Despite the imposing name, they were actually harmless little insects that fed on fungi, easy enough for even children to catch barehanded. The reason it was a Silver-level task was because these bugs could only be found in the Red Mushroom Forest, forty miles south of Grylla City. The danger of the Red Mushroom Forest was much higher than the forests around Haidou. Even on the outskirts, many Silver-level monsters roamed, and within, there were even Gold-level monsters. But as long as he didn't encounter a Platinum-level monster, Field could handle it.
In addition to these two tasks, Field also planned to pick up a few additional tasks along the way.
"Field?" Just then, a voice called out.
Field looked over and saw his old friend Geov. His eyes lit up as he walked over to greet him. "Hey, Geov, no missions today?"
"No, no long-distance orders lately," Geov chuckled.
"I see... By the way, your boss's name is Eli, right?" Field asked.
"Yes, his shop is just around the corner. I was heading there," Geov replied.
"That works out perfectly. I need to replenish some potions. Let's go together," Field said, casually draping his arm over Geov's shoulder.
"Sure." Geov nodded.
The two of them arrived at a magic potion shop named Eli's Elixir. Inside, they saw a middle-aged man with a single-framed glasses sitting behind the counter, reading a book. His hair was neatly combed, giving off a gentlemanly vibe.
"Welcome to Eli's Elixir," the man said automatically upon seeing someone enter. When he noticed Field standing next to Geov, his curiosity was piqued. "Captain Geov, who is this...?"
"Boss, this is Field," Geov introduced. "Field, this is our boss."
"Oh, it's you!" Eli quickly walked out from behind the counter and warmly shook Field's hand. "I apologize, I've been understaffed in the shop recently, so I couldn't personally thank you."
"No worries at all," Field waved it off.
"No, no, you don't know. Although Captain Geov is one of my employees, he's also my friend. I would be very upset if I lost them because of Wolf Demons," Eli said with genuine regret.
"So, to show my gratitude, from now on, when you buy potions from my shop, I'll only charge you the cost price!"
"That's fantastic!" Field laughed heartily. Then he raised his eyebrows at Geov. "You've got a great boss!"
"Who's denying that?" Geov also laughed and nodded.
"Perfect. I need Healing Potions, Stamina Potions, and Wakeful Potions, ten bottles of each, all intermediate grade," Field said.
"No problem!" Eli said, immediately going to fetch the potions. In no time, he returned with a basket full of potions. "These are all custom-made by me, the best intermediate-grade potions available. Would you like to try them out?"
"No need. Your potions are known for their effectiveness. Mercenaries in the city are all saying so," Field said with a smile.
Eli was delighted to hear this, and his smile grew even brighter. "That's very kind of you."
"How much for all these?" Field took out his money pouch.
"As I just said, cost price. Four hundred gold coins for thirty bottles of intermediate-grade potions!"
Impressive, the cost is so low!
Field knew that a single bottle of intermediate-grade potion would normally cost over a hundred gold coins, but the cost turned out to be just a little over ten gold coins each, resulting in a tenfold profit.
It made Field feel like opening a magic potion shop himself.
Field happily paid the money, but instead of leaving, he stayed and chatted with Eli. Eli was evidently a talkative person, and Field found him very easy to get along with.
"By the way, Mr. Eli, you mentioned an employee named Veena earlier. Do you know her well?" Field suddenly remembered something and asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" Eli looked puzzled.
"Oh, I have some connection with her," Field smiled.
He had heard from Grandma Lunla that Veena was working at a magic potion shop while attending school, so when Eli mentioned that an employee had resigned, Field immediately thought of her.
"What do you know about Veena?" Field asked.
"I don't know much," Eli thought for a moment and said, "I just know that her family isn't very well-off, so she has to work while studying."
"No, no, no, it's nothing. Just a small favor!" Eli waved his hand quickly.
"Vina used to be my best employee. She helped me a lot, and the meager salary I paid her always made me feel a bit guilty. So if I can help her, I'm more than willing to do so."
"No, no, no, you've helped me greatly. This is a thank you from an excellent mercenary. Please don't refuse," Field said earnestly.
Eli pondered for a moment and said, "Well, I do have a task commission that requires an excellent Gold-level mercenary."
"That's great!" Field smiled and said, "Go to the Mercenary Tavern on East Street to post the task. Tell the landlady that I recommended you. You can pay the commission to her first, and I'll refund it to you in full upon completion!"
Eli looked puzzled, "Don't you take private commissions? This way, you won't have to pay a portion of the commission to the Mercenary Guild."
"Of course, but I have some rapport with the landlady of the tavern. She needs the title of a Gold-level task," Field winked.
Eli, being an old hand at this, quickly understood Field's meaning and nodded with a smile, "I'll leave it to you then!"
"Of course, it's my honor to do business with a gentleman like you!"
Listening to the cunning laughter of the two, Geof only felt like a naive little lamb.
So, not only did Field learn about the campus bullies, but he also managed to snag a Gold-level freelance commission. With this, he was only six Gold-level freelance commissions away from upgrading the tavern's rating.
"Goodbye, Mr. Field. Welcome back anytime," Eli said with a smile as he watched Field leave.
Being able to make friends with a Gold-level mercenary made him very happy.
But soon, Field came back.
"Mr. Field, do you have anything else?" Eli looked puzzled, then saw Field approaching and making a playful gesture.
"Oh, one more thing. Have you ever seen what Vina looks like?" Field asked.
Eli was taken aback, then exclaimed, "Now that you mention it... I've never actually seen Vina's face because she..."
"I understand, she's always wrapped up tightly..." Field looked disappointed and then waved his hand, "No other business, goodbye, Mr. Eli."
"Goodbye, Mr. Field."
Leaving Eli's potion shop, Field looked at the portraits in his hand.
The girls looked average, except for one who was quite pretty, probably a 7.5 out of 10.
But to Field, she scored a 5.
Yes, there's more to beauty than just looks.
Field always felt that the soul was more important than appearances.
Of course, if both were present, that would be even better.
Next up, he needed to find a way to get into the Haidou Academy.
Hmm... he already had a plan. He had noticed it at the tavern, so now there was a delivery task to the Haidou Academy on his task list.
With this pretext, he could enter the Haidou Academy and then find those girls.
And then...
"I need to prepare a few sacks," Field murmured to himself as he walked.
Then, suddenly, he turned his head and realized that he had walked to the Renra Welfare Institute without realizing it.
So he pushed open the door and walked in briskly.
Seeing Field, several children playing in the yard immediately screamed and ran back into the house.
"Run, the bad guy is here!"
Field: "???"
Bad guy?
When did that happen?
So Field took a step forward, stepping over a few little girls, and stood in front of them.
With his arms open, the girl who ran the fastest couldn't brake in time and crashed into his arms.
Field gently caught her, then grinned and said, "Little miss, how did I become a bad guy?"
The little girl was a bit scared but still bravely raised her chin and said, "You made Sister Vina leave for a faraway place, and she can't stay. So you're a bad guy!"
Field was amused. So that's why.
He released the little girl and ruffled her hair, but she vigorously resisted and dodged left and right. The other little girls also ran over to pull Field, as if trying to free their sister from Field's clutches.
"What if I give those who bullied your sister a good thrashing?" Field chuckled.
The little girl was momentarily stunned, then excitedly exclaimed, "You know that my sister was bullied?"
"Oh? So you know too?" Field asked.
"Of course, although my sister didn't say anything, we all know!" the little girl said, then looked somewhat crestfallen.
"We sleep with my sister, and at night, I noticed her crying secretly..."
"And she's injured too. She said she fell, but I don't believe it. You don't get an injury on your ear from falling. That's clearly from someone twisting her ear. There was a big kid who twisted my ear once, so I know," she explained.
"My sister must be bullied at the academy, so the academy is a bad place. I don't know why my sister still wants to go to school there..."
"Originally, my sister wasn't going to school anymore, so she wouldn't get bullied. But you made her go to school again. You bad guy!"
"But... but if you can give those who bully my sister a good beating, then I'll..."
"I'll admit you're not a bad guy!" she concluded.
"Haha," Field laughed, "You said it. I accept your commission!"
"What's a commission?" the little girl asked, puzzled, but Field ignored her and went inside.
The little girl hurriedly caught up, "Are you called Field? I'm Tina!"
"Nice to meet you, Tina."
"Is your sister Vina at home?"
"She went to buy rice. Only Grandma is at home," Tina said, obviously the leader of the group of children who followed her.
"That's good. Just in time," Field nodded and walked into the house, where he saw Grandma Renra knitting.
Seeing Field, Grandma Renra put down her work and prepared to get up. But Field said, "You can stay seated. I came this time to ask when Vina will go to school?"
"She's on vacation these days. She'll go to school tomorrow," Grandma Renra said.
"Tomorrow?" Field paused for a moment, then nodded, "I see..."
A bit rushed... but it's not a problem.
"The bullies who targeted Vina have been identified. It's these few people." Field took out the portraits and handed them to Grandma Renra.
Grandma Renra was somewhat surprised. Was Field this efficient?
Taking the portraits, Grandma Renra frowned.
"What's wrong?" Field asked.
"I've seen this girl before," Grandma Renra pointed to one of the portraits, the girl Field had given a score of 50.
"When I took Little Vina to school, it was her who came to pick her up. At that time, she was very enthusiastic. I thought Vina and her were very close, so I asked her to take care of Vina more..." As she spoke, Grandma Renra's eyes turned red.
She felt like she had personally delivered Vina into the hands of a demon.
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Don't worry, she'll pay for what she's done soon," Field comforted.
"Please..." Grandma Renra rubbed her eyes and said, "But you also need to be careful. Some students at the Haidou Academy have unusual identities. That girl is said to be the daughter of a high official in the city..."
"Don't worry, even if she's the daughter of the city lord, it won't matter," Field smirked.
The daughter of a high official?
Revenge?
Mercenaries are least afraid of revenge. By then, I'll make sure she doesn't even know who beat her up!
Just then, the sound of the door opening came, and Field looked over to see Vina walking in with a small bag.
When she saw Field, she froze in place as if she had been hit by a petrification spell, looking somewhat at a loss.