Watching the staggering unicorn bison flee in a sorry state, Caius weighed the massive horn in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

  That strike had hurt, but at least it hadn’t been fatal to the unicorn bison.

  It wasn’t out of mercy—rather, after this bout of strength, the magic within Caius had settled a bit further, bringing his Magic Core to ninety-eight percent capacity. Since the mission was also completed, he was in a great mood and decided to let the unicorn bison go.

  Everything depended on his mood.

  “Next, we just need to find some Hops Flower,” Caius said.

  “Already found it, Meow,” Kiki suddenly spoke up.

  “Huh?” Caius was stunned.

  “That unicorn bison was just eating Hops Flower, Meow. Over there, I saw it, Meow.” Kiki pointed toward a patch of grass nearby.

  “Damn, that’s some luck!” Caius burst into laughter.

  Coming to the spot where the unicorn bison had been grazing, he found a large patch of Hops Flower. The beast had eaten half of it, but there was still plenty left—enough to complete the mission with extra to spare.

  Caius harvested all of it and checked the time—less than an hour had passed.

  “Let’s go back to the city.” Caius hefted his warhammer and gestured to Kiki.

  With a nimble leap, Kiki landed on Caius’ shoulder.

  Caius sucked in a sharp breath. “Hiss… Little cat, sit on the other side. This shoulder’s got some scrapes.”

  Earlier, he had braced against the unicorn bison’s horn with his right shoulder. That thing wasn’t exactly smooth, and his shoulder had been left covered in abrasions.

  Seeing this, Kiki quickly shifted to his other shoulder. Then she took out a bottle of intermediate healing potion and was about to pour it over Caius’ injuries.

  Healing potions could be used externally or internally. For minor wounds, a topical application sufficed—no need to drink the whole thing.

  Caius waved her off. “No need for that. A good night’s sleep and I’ll be fine.”

  Kiki twitched her ears as she looked at the scrapes covering Caius’ shoulder.

  This counts as a minor wound, Meow?

  It looks pretty scary, Meow…

  If these scrapes were on her body, they’d probably cover half her back.

  However, before Caius even finished speaking, the wounds had already started scabbing over. Seeing how fast he healed, Kiki simply nodded and put away the healing potion.

  On the way back, Caius hummed a tune, clearly in good spirits. Kiki glanced at his lower half and then couldn’t help but comment,

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Big guy.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I think you need to buy new pants, Meow.”

  Caius looked down.

  Well, his pants hadn’t held up in the end. His swelling muscles had torn them apart, leaving him looking like he was wearing a pair of shorts held together with scraps of fabric.

  “Alright, you’ve got a point.”

  So, upon returning to Grilla City, Caius wandered through the market, bought new pants, and replenished his supplies.

  By the time Holan was ready and emerged from the academy, she found Caius already waiting with a carriage.

  “You… changed pants?” Holan asked, unable to help herself.

  It wasn’t that she particularly cared about his attire—it was just that the new pants were far too eye-catching.

  Holan swore that Caius’ original pants weren’t like this.

  The new ones were covered in maple leaf patterns—this one yellow, that one red, another orange—screaming autumn in full blaze.

  And paired with Caius’ rugged yet roguish aura, it was impossible not to notice.

  “Yeah, what do you think?” Caius asked confidently. “Pretty stylish, right? The shopkeeper said this is the season’s hottest trend!”

  Holan couldn’t help but laugh.

  A narcissistic big guy.

  The pants conversation didn’t last long, and soon, the group set off.

  “I thought you had your own carriage,” Caius remarked as Holan sat beside him.

  “I did, but I sold it,” Holan said with a shrug.

  “You sold it?” Caius was surprised. “Are you short on money?”

  “Mm-hmm~” Holan nodded matter-of-factly. “Magical research is expensive. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have haggled over buying a Wolf Demon corpse from you before.”

  “So, what do you say? Care to sponsor our research team, oh distinguished mercenary?” Holan’s eyes sparkled with playful cunning.

  This instructor had a charming side to her as well.

  Caius immediately said, “Of course! I’d love to sponsor you with a million gold!”

  Holan blinked. “Are you serious?”

  Caius grinned. “As soon as I make that much.”

  Holan rolled her eyes with a smile.

  She had meant to tease Caius, but somehow, he had turned the joke back on her. This big guy was far from simple.

  The journey was long, so Holan struck up a conversation with Caius.

  “When did you arrive in Ocean City?”

  “A few days ago.”

  “What brought you here?”

  “To work as a mercenary,” Caius replied. “I heard Ocean City has another name—Mercenary City—so I figured it’d be a good place to establish myself.”

  “That’s true. Ocean City has the highest concentration of mercenaries in the region. But if you want the true Mercenary City, that would be Normanworth,” Holan said.

  Caius was intrigued. “Where’s that?”

  Holan looked at him in surprise. “You’re a mercenary and you don’t know about Normanworth?”

  “Should I?” Caius asked.

  “Of course! That place has produced seven Legendary mercenaries!”

  “Whoa! Then I definitely have to go check it out!” Caius declared. “Once I get there, they’ll be welcoming their eighth Legendary mercenary!”

  Holan laughed.

  She liked his confidence.

  “Well, you’ll need to work hard. Gold-ranked mercenaries barely make the cut there. And it’s not a place you can just waltz into.”

  “Normanworth is on another continent, an independent city-state. To get there, you’d have to pass through three Empires and over a dozen smaller Kingdoms. Just getting through all the border checks is a hassle, especially with the Hepos Empire currently at war with the Ironblood Empire.”

  “To reach Normanworth, you’d have to cross the Ironblood Empire.”

  Caius considered this. The Hepos Empire ruled the region he was currently in, and empires in this land were like blackheads—squeeze one out, and another popped up.

  As for the small Kingdoms, they were like fields of wheat—cut down one, and another grew in its place.

  “Is there another route besides passing through the Ironblood Empire?” Caius asked.

  “There is,” Holan said, gazing into the distance. “By sea. Like Ocean City, Normanworth is coastal.”

  “But while this route is faster, it’s also far more dangerous. The Magic Beasts of the sea are even stronger than those on land, and countless pirates prey on ships along the way. If you want my advice, take the land route.”

  “But if you crave adventure and challenge, then the sea route is a good option too.”

  “Then I’m taking the sea route!” Caius grinned.

  Holan gave him a sidelong glance and continued, “Though I hear the Ironblood Empress is incredibly beautiful…”

  Caius: “Land route. Absolutely the land route!”

  Holan smirked. “But the Pirate Queen of the sea is just as stunning…”

  Caius: “Holan, Instructor.”

  “Hmm?” Holan looked at him with amusement, thinking she had successfully messed with him.

  Then Caius said, “Do you know any cloning magic? If you do, please, you have to teach me!”

  Holan: “…”