Chapter 58
“Here are the members of the escort team and the transport team who are available for hire, along with their respective prices listed behind them.”
As the receptionist introduced the options, another opportunity to spend money appeared—a hiring page featuring both the escort and transport teams.
Ye Bai glanced over the options. Without hesitation, she chose the fastest and most expensive transport team, the Kangle Transport Team, at a price of 20 silver coins per day.
As for the escorts, they were essentially another form of mercenaries, allowing buyers to freely select their candidates and numbers. However, similar to how a wilderness lord would need to gather a certain number of people to open trade routes, the number of hired mercenaries must meet the formation requirements of the escort team, meaning at least 10 individuals.
Each person’s price varied, displaying only their base profession. The highest rates reached up to 10 silver coins a day, while the lowest were as cheap as 50 copper coins.
It was clear that in this scenario, the higher the price, the stronger the individual’s capabilities.
Just as Ye Bai was about to make her selection, a thought struck her. She turned to the receptionist and asked, “I’d like to hire the Kangle Transport Team, but can I choose my escorts in person?”
“Um… that doesn’t quite align with our regulations, dear customer,” the receptionist replied, looking a bit troubled.
Seeing this, Ye Bai sensed an opportunity and feigned dissatisfaction. “If I can’t choose my escorts in person, how can I trust them with my safety on the journey? With such a rule, I can’t imagine many people would opt for this service. Why shouldn’t I just hire my own escort team instead?”
“Wait!” The receptionist hesitated at her words. After a moment of thought, she glanced around and whispered, “I can have willing mercenaries wait for you in the storage area.”
Success!
【You have gained 1 point in ‘Bargaining’ proficiency.】
Ye Bai raised an eyebrow at the system notification. It seemed she had stumbled upon a ‘trick’ to unlock her life skills proficiency…
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The storage area was located just behind the merchant guild’s street, covering a larger space, bustling with carts carrying goods.
Ye Bai walked in and found the spot where her cargo was located. There, she saw the Kangle Transport Team and over twenty mercenaries dressed as members of the escort team waiting.
The receptionist had mentioned personal willingness, but it seemed that due to a lack of business, all the mercenaries on the page had come here to wait.
Upon seeing Ye Bai, they greeted her enthusiastically:
“Boss, take a look at me!”
“Pick me, pick me, I’m the strongest!”
Many struck exaggerated poses to showcase their strength.
Ye Bai ignored their antics and began to scan each one with her identification skill.
The levels, attributes, and professions of these mercenaries, all just above level 20, fell into her view.
Now, this was more like it!
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All the mercenaries present were professionals, but they were all physical classes with relatively short energy bars.
In the worldview of the myriad realms, professions had a hidden hierarchy of discrimination.
In general, the closer a profession’s characteristics were to the three major schools, the more ‘knowledgeable’ it was, and the more powerful and respected it became.
For a magic school capital like Mei Luo City, the physical professions of the mercenaries before her, which had little connection to magic, were undoubtedly at the bottom of the hierarchy among all professionals in the inner city, relying on combat contracts to earn a living.
As for mages, they belonged to the noble class. Who had ever seen a noble lord become a dangerous and laborious mercenary? Not a single one.
Typically, when a player transitions to a magic profession, they first receive the title of [Magic Apprentice]. Only after mastering a certain number of spells from a specific school can they be called an elemental mage, gaining a noble status that would impress NPCs.
Professions like swordsmen, axe-wielders, and archers, which were the most common, had relatively simple transition tasks compared to magic classes. After transitioning, they gained energy bars and typically had one or two professional skills, resulting in a significant leap in both attack and defense compared to before.
These physical professions were easier to develop and cost-effective compared to magic professions. While magic professions could become the ‘parents’ of other professions after maturing, the difficulty of their transition was enough to deter many.
The whole process primarily highlighted one thing: it burned money.
After transitioning, physical professions gained [Physical Penetration], allowing them to deal high damage with normal attacks and skills, while their mana recovery speed could offset consumption. Magic professions, on the other hand, gained [Spell Penetration] after transitioning, which only enhanced magical attacks.
Using magic was also very mana-intensive. After a high-intensity battle, it was inevitable that mana potions would be consumed.
All potions that could restore health or mana during combat in the myriad realms were not cheap. Magic profession players either had to spend money to buy them or learn a secondary profession in potion-making, which would inevitably lead them into a money-burning trap.
Once the player community began transitioning, they would find that those who could afford to become mages would end up equally broke, if not poorer.
Of course, any profession that could continuously rise to the top would undoubtedly become powerful; all paths lead to the same destination.
For players, professions were merely a matter of choice, while for NPCs, they were tied to talent and family background.
Ye Bai’s sudden decision to personally select mercenaries stemmed from the merchant guild’s evaluation standard for mercenaries, which was based on the system’s ‘comprehensive combat power.’ This included their personal levels, number of skills, and all the bonuses from their equipment attributes.
However, for Ye Bai, equipment bonuses could be disregarded. She still had a batch of green equipment obtained from Tu Te City that she could temporarily equip the mercenaries with during the journey.
Sure enough, as she scanned with her identification skill, the attributes of all the mercenaries were displayed.
Many of the ‘bargain gems’ who had low prices due to lack of good equipment were uncovered by her. Ten individuals had a total hiring price of 23 silver coins per day, only slightly more than the Kangle Team.
“You, you, you… you’re all hired by me.”
The ten mercenaries Ye Bai pointed at beamed with joy, eagerly joining her team. The others showed expressions of disappointment and resentment but dared not act out, leaving with regret.
【Mercenary ‘Blaise’’s affection for you +1】
【Mercenary ‘Roland’’s affection for you +1】
【Mercenary…】
After officially establishing the hiring relationship, perhaps due to Ye Bai’s ‘keen eye for talent,’ she gained a point of affection from all the selected mercenaries present.
Seeing this, Ye Bai’s expression shifted. She addressed the team preparing to set off, “I have a few things to take care of. Stay here and don’t move; we’ll depart once I return.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Sure thing, employer.”
Two individuals responded to Ye Bai—one named Dennis, the leader of the Kangle Transport Team, and the other named Blaise, the strongest among the mercenaries, chosen as their representative.
Neither team had any objections; their commissions were calculated daily, and they were more than happy for Ye Bai to take her time in the safe area.
Ye Bai left the merchant guild, heading to find the owner of the tailor shop, Dilina. This high-level professional was far more valuable than her twenty boxes of goods.
However, before reaching the tailor shop, Ye Bai first stopped by a tavern in Mei Luo City.
It was daytime, and the small tavern was still relatively empty.
As Ye Bai approached the counter, a server immediately came over and asked, “What can I get for you, customer?”
As the words fell, a row of shelves appeared before her eyes.
The tavern offered alcoholic beverages and some simple meals and desserts. The goods on the shelves in the inner city taverns were of a higher grade compared to those in the outer city, both in terms of the benefits they provided and their prices.
Her gaze swept over the mage’s favorite drink, the [Absinthe], which provided a quick mana recovery effect. Ye Bai opted for the cheapest [Refined Ale], spending 3 silver coins to buy 30 small barrels. She also spent an additional 1 silver coin on a [Turkey Feast] that could serve 10 people and 45 copper coins on a slice of [Cherry Cake].
After packing all the food into her non-perishable space backpack, Ye Bai left the tavern and headed to the tailor shop.
“You’re here! I’m all set,” Dilina said, now dressed in a practical yet stylish riding outfit, clearly at least of rare blue quality.
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