Insufficient balance

  I've finished collecting, I went back to the living room, and the old man seemed to be waiting for me. "Finished, come with me to take you to your resting place." We came to a small house on the left side, although it was very simple but clean.

  "Hey young fellow, you can stay here, it's simple but it'll do. By the way, I don't even know your name yet, my name is Lei Jie Na, just call me Uncle Na, I've never married and lived alone all my life."

  "It's good enough here, Uncle, I'm Chang Gong Wei, thank you."

  I sat on the bed and started chatting with that uncle, listening to him say that this is near the border of Aisha Kingdom, and going further will reach Shuda Kingdom. The folk customs here are very simple, everyone is very hospitable, after all, it's a border area, so there aren't many people who can use magic here. He also said that if I want to go to Shuda Kingdom, I must be careful, recently there have been some unrest on that side, and in the border areas with our country, there are some small groups of bandits lurking around. Due to being a junction of two countries, the issue of territorial sovereignty is more sensitive, so it has never been properly resolved.

  Hearing him say this, I couldn't help but ask: "So now there's no way to get over there?"

  "Not really, usually we gather a large number of people in our border city of Prilep and hire some mercenaries to travel together, it's much safer that way."

  "Oh, then I'll go to Polyma too." Haha, there's such a good thing, I'll also try being a mercenary, maybe I can even earn some pocket money, hehe.

  The old man apparently misunderstood me: "Yes, you want to go to the Xida Kingdom, or it's better to walk from there, and walking with those merchant groups is much safer."

  I didn't explain anything, and after asking clearly that there was a small river behind the village, I got up to take a bath.

  I washed away the dust and fatigue from my body with the clear river water, feeling so comfortable. After washing up, I felt refreshed all over, took out a clean set of clothes from my dimensional bag and changed into them, then carried the clean clothes back to that old man's house.

  Lying in bed thinking about today's encounter, although it is said that beautiful women should not be wives in the future, but that fairy-like face has been lingering in my mind, and I fell asleep dazedly.

  Early in the morning, I had breakfast with that uncle and said goodbye to him. Then, following his directions, I headed towards Pokhara city.

  Perhaps because merchants from both countries have to pass through here, although it is a border city, Polima is also very prosperous, with bustling streets and various shops. I asked a passerby for the location of the Mercenary Guild.

  The emblem of the Mercenary Guild is a diamond coin with a long sword slanting through it, probably symbolizing that mercenaries win money with their own skills. I wonder if I can find a job to go to Shita here.

  As I walked into the Mercenary Guild's entrance, a large hall appeared before me. The hall was surrounded by various counters, and in the middle were many people dressed in different attire. There were warriors, mages, even some pointy-eared elves and stout dwarves. (Elves and dwarves are both minority groups that tend to love peace. Elves are naturally skilled archers with keen insight and exceptional eyesight, able to learn any natural magic. Dwarves are representatives of powerful warriors and have excellent craftsmanship, many high-level weapons were forged by them.)

  I came to a counter-like counter and asked the lady behind the counter, "Excuse me, how can I receive mercenary missions here?"

  The waitress looked at me and, seeing that I was just a normal person's attire, didn't seem too enthusiastic. She lazily said: "First go to the left side to get the form, apply to become a mercenary, then get the mercenary task card, and then go to the right side to receive the task."

  "Oh, thank you." I replied, taking the form. It was just a simple questionnaire with name, occupation, and skill level, etc. Under the skill section, I wrote "Great Magician". When I handed the form to the receptionist, she looked surprised and said: "You're a Great Magician?"

  "Yes, what's wrong." I, who have been studying at the Royal Magic Academy where magic is very strong for a long time, of course don't know about the rarity of great magicians.

  "Is there proof of the Magic Guild?"

  "Of course." I pulled out the Magic Guild's ability card from my chest. (A magician's abilities and experiences are recorded on a magic card verified by the Magic Guild, each magician has only one of their own magic cards.)

  The waitress hastily verified it, and she muttered to herself: "Chang Gong Wei, graduated from the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, graduated as the top student, due to his excellent performance in the academy, he was exempted from the test and awarded the title of Grand Magister. Wow, you're a Grand Magister who graduated from the Royal Magic Academy?"

  Because her voice was quite loud, everyone present heard it, and for a moment I became the focus of attention. It made me feel a bit embarrassed.

  "Really? What's up? Can I be a mercenary?"

  She was taken aback for a moment, then hastily said: "Okay, of course, since you are a great magician, so directly become a C-level mercenary, can undertake any task that you think can be completed."

  "C-class mercenary? Are mercenaries even ranked?" I asked in confusion.

  She smiled slightly, probably because of my ignorance. "Of course, mercenaries are ranked from high to low as S, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The tasks they undertake are also classified in the same way. According to the difficulty, quantity, and promotion of the completed tasks."

  "Oh, I see. Thank you." I took the mercenary card from her and went to the right counter to check if there were any missions to Shuda. It's still quite fun being a mercenary.

  The service staff at the counter on the right knew I was a Great Magician and had a very friendly attitude towards me. Seeing me walk over, they proactively asked: "What level of task do you want to receive?"

  "It doesn't matter what level it is, has anyone gone to repair the kingdom? I want to go there and travel around, and do it conveniently."

  "Just a moment, let me check for you."

  As she searched, I saw that the first task on the task board was actually the task given to me by Teacher Di - to obtain the holy sword used by the creator god, with a difficulty level of SSS and a reward of 10 million diamond coins, which is roughly equivalent to my annual national tax.