"A Professional Tutor, you say? Just give me a moment."
Upon hearing his request, the lady at the counter stood up and went to ask someone else at the back.
Professional Tutors were a kind of welfare policy of the guild, which allowed one to receive guidance from formal professionals at a relatively low cost. It was also considered one of the most likely ways for ordinary people to master Extraordinary Power.
However, because of the large number of applicants, the teaching quality of Professional Tutors was a concern as they catered to many students at once, and success largely depended on the individual's own comprehension.
It wasn't long before the lady returned and said to Lis:
"The Mage, Warrior, and Hunter Professional Tutors are currently available at the guild. The assassin Professional Tutor has gone out to handle a commission and is not in the guild."
At this news, Lis frowned. His goal was to learn the dagger under the guidance of an assassin Professional Tutor. Now, just his luck, the assassin tutor was absent. Was he supposed to wait indefinitely?
Seeing Lis frowning without a word, the lady thought he was pondering which Professional Tutor to choose and suggested:
"I'd recommend you start with either the Warrior or Hunter tutor. Although there are fewer Mages and their status is higher, too few have the Talent for it..."
The lady paused for a moment and then added, "Besides, a Mage Tutor charges 10 Gold Coins for a single session, which is ten times more than the other tutors!"
Wow!
Lis hadn't expected the Mage Professional Tutor to be so profitable, especially since he had not transitioned to Mage through this method in his previous life!
Ten Gold Coins for one person,
Teaching ten people in a session,
Running ten training sessions a week,
That's 1000 Gold Coins a week!
Thinking of the mere three hundred Gold Coins he had left in his storage ring after ordering Joyce to withdraw them, Lis's eyes nearly turned into the shape of Gold Coins (✧∇✧)!
Though Lis knew this calculation definitely wasn't that straightforward and the actual situation certainly wasn't as ideal, with maybe a hundred Gold Coins at most per week and it taking up a lot of time.
After considering, Lis still forcefully suppressed the words about applying to be a Mage Professional Tutor that were on the tip of his tongue. After all, it was a very time-consuming job, and he guessed that most of the profits would have to be turned over to the guild. Besides, he wasn't as desperate for resources as he had been in his past life as a player.
But now came the problem: what should he do about learning his last weapon skill?
Just as Lis was getting a headache over this, a rather sleazy voice came from behind him.
"Hey hey, young man, are you looking for a Professional Tutor?"
Lis turned his head to see a man standing behind him, donning standard mercenary gear, his face even sleazier than his voice as he rubbed his hands together and grinned at him.
The man's somewhat abstract appearance made Lis feel slightly ill, and he took two steps back before delivering a triple dismissal:
"No, not interested, thanks (get lost)!"
"Ah, come on, lad, don't reject it so quickly! Look here, this is my big brother Albert. He's about to break through to become a Silver Warrior."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Signing up for my big brother's one-on-one coaching is only 5 Gold, and he guarantees that you'll become an Extraordinary Warrior!"
Behind the abstract-looking man, the one who must be Albert was prancing about, showing off the muscles on his arms!
Before Lis could even respond, the lady behind the counter spoke coldly:
"Sere, Albert, you two dare to scam people here again? If you don't leave now, I'll have the guards throw you out!"
To prevent mercenaries from getting drunk and causing trouble indoors, the Mercenary Guild was equipped with a substantial security force.
"No, no, we're leaving, we're leaving, Miss Lia, please don't be angry."
Before they could finish speaking, the two of them quickly scuttled away from the mercenary hall, puzzled in their minds as normally Lia wouldn't bother with such matters; after all, they were just trying to make a little extra Gold, and they would still teach whatever needed to be taught.
"Hmph!" Lia watched as they hastily retreated and gave a soft snort.
These two had been here deceiving new mercenaries into spending more money to learn professional skills, and now they had managed to deceive their way to his presence.
Moreover, could he, the receptionist who came into contact with hundreds of people every day, not see what these two fools with poor eyesight had failed to notice?
Could the youth in front of him, named Moriarty, be anyone ordinary?
Although he was dressed in plain cotton clothes, they were neatly kept and his complexion bore hardly any marks of exposure to wind and sun, his skin even looked enviable to Lis.
Most importantly, the ring on the boy's hand was clearly a precious storage ring at a glance, and one of no low level at that!
He guessed it must be another privileged young master out to experience the life of a mercenary.
Lis was unaware of Lia's intricate thoughts and, with a hint of gratitude, he said:
"Miss Lia, right? Thank you for just now."
"It's nothing, Mr. Moriarty, have you decided which professional tutor you'd like to learn from?"
"Not yet," Lis hesitated and then said, "I want to learn about the assassin profession, but the tutor isn't here. Miss Lia, do you have any other assassins to recommend?"
"An assassin, huh? There are indeed very few who choose this transcendent profession. Let's see..."
As Lia was trying to recall if there were any assassins available for mentoring within the guild, another voice rang out from not far away.
"Lis!"
This surprised voice made Lis pause. He hadn't expected to be recognized here, and the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Thump thump thump~
The crisp sound of leather shoes hitting the ground grew louder as they approached, and a familiar face leapt out from the crowd of mercenaries.
Ya'er!
The spirited girl he had met at the Mora's house soirée.
He hadn't expected to encounter her here.
"Hello, Ya'er, I didn't expect to run into you so soon!" Lis said with a smile, raising his hand to greet the girl.
"Hey! I just had a feeling that someone familiar was around, and it turned out to be you!" Ya'er looked at Lis with her gorgeous gray-violet eyes filled with surprise.
Lis took her in, noting the simple, practical brown leather armor tightly enclosing her slender figure, only her snow-white, delicate arms and calves were exposed, a black longsword strapped to her back. Her fiery red hair was carelessly tied into a bun at the back of her head, with a few stray tresses falling alongside her face, giving her a lively and adorable look.
"What are you looking at?" Seeing no response from Lis, Ya'er waved her wrist in front of his eyes.
"Nothing, I'm here to register as a mercenary. What about you, Ya'er?" Lis said with a smile.
"Silly, just look at what I'm wearing, and you'll know. I've been a mercenary for a while now."
Lis wasn't surprised by Ya'er's status as a mercenary; after all, he had realized during their last meeting that the girl was no fragile woman and had even mastered extraordinary power to become a full-fledged professional.
Lia, standing aside, now spoke respectfully:
"Miss Ya'er is perhaps the most talented person to have joined our Mercenary Guild in the last decade, advancing from a basic mercenary to a gold-level mercenary in just one year."
Lis was somewhat taken aback by this. A gold-level mercenary was no trivial matter, especially one who had advanced so quickly within a year. Achieving such a ranking couldn't have been satisfied by completing numerous simple quests alone.
That meant Ya'er had completed a considerable number of high-level extermination and commission tasks on her own!
Moreover, it seemed from Lia's implication that Ya'er had the capacity to complete high-level tasks and didn't just make her way by being part of a team.
She had that sort of strength?
Ya'er... Could she possibly be an advanced professional?