Chapter 234 Rogue, Commission, and Culinary Skills

Compared to the faint sense of weary powerlessness he had shown during their last meeting in Nym, Wood's appearance at the tavern entrance reminded Xia Nan of the very first time they met.

The extremely low presence brought by his class characteristics made the middle-aged man's already ordinary face even more inconspicuous. His sharp figure, clad in close-fitting black clothes, looked as if he might melt into the street shadows the next second. His waist bulged slightly, and two leather sheaths hung by his legs, their hidden sharpness faintly mirrored in his steady, resolute eyes.

Ordinary people might not discern his current state from his seemingly unchanged attire. But with his extremely keen Perception, Xia Nan realized at a single glance that Wood was in the fully armed adventuring state of a Class Grade Rogue.

His entire demeanor was completely different from when he was in Nym.

Xia Nan had a rough idea of what was going on.

Just as he raised a hand to greet him, that gaze—whose presence had been reduced to the absolute minimum—swept over.

His cold, expressionless face instantly softened. Wearing the smile of a familiar friend reuniting after a long time, Wood walked straight toward Xia Nan.

'This posture... did he come here specifically for me?' Xia Nan guessed.

"Greenblood" Adeline had yet to become a Class Holder, and her Perception was only average.

She stared in the direction Xia Nan was looking. It wasn't until Wood walked up to the table and deliberately released his aura that she could finally focus her attention on him.

"Why so sudden? You didn't even write a letter to let me know you were coming," Xia Nan greeted with a smile.

"If I were out on a mission, we would have missed each other."

"Heh, time is tight, and I really didn't have the luxury to worry about that." Wood casually found a seat and sat down. "If the timing had been that unfortunate, I could only blame my bad luck."

Seeing the two exchange pleasantries and sensing they had matters to discuss, Adeline showed great tact.

She stayed at the table for only a few brief words before taking the initiative to excuse herself and leave.

Looking away from her retreating, sturdy back, Xia Nan focused on the middle-aged man across the table.

"Just tell me what's going on. I'll definitely help if I can."

He already knew Wood was the personal guard of the Wycliffe Family's second son, the half-elf Hai'an, and his duty was to protect his young master's safety.

Right now, Nym was in the midst of upper-level turmoil, and the City Lord's position was tottering.

An important figure who should have been caught deep in the center of the storm had inexplicably appeared in Rivervale Town—more than half a month's journey away from Nym—fully equipped for adventuring.

He had even gone out of his way to find him at the White Chickadee Tavern, which served as his mailing address.

Even before the man said a word, Xia Nan already had a rough guess about the topic they were going to discuss.

After all, during their last meeting a few months ago, Wood had mentioned there might be a commission he would need help with in the future.

After such a long time, the moment had indeed arrived.

And it was exactly as he expected.

Faced with Xia Nan's direct approach, Wood was stunned at first, seemingly not expecting him to be so straightforward.

Then he reacted, realizing that the young man's personality had always been like this.

Without a word, he slowly nodded.

He took a wax-sealed envelope from his breast pocket, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Xia Nan with his fingertips.

"Read it yourself. I trust you. Remember to burn it after reading, or you can just return it directly to me later, if there is a chance..."

"Coming to Rivervale Town this time, I do indeed need your help. But the specific details of the commission might carry some risks."

"Please consider it carefully."

Looking straight into Xia Nan's eyes, Wood was serious and sincere.

"Of course, we definitely won't be stingy with the quest rewards. You can rest assured on that."

"Since we can't provide exchangeable Points like the Association, we will settle it in gold coins. The amount will definitely be much higher than an Association quest of the same level."

"Three days." Wood held up three fingers to Xia Nan. "We will be staying in town for these three days."

"After you read the quest details in the letter and think it over, if you are willing to accept, you can find us at the address written on the back."

"Of course, if you're not interested, or if you have concerns about the quest, refusing is completely fine too. We will leave on our own after three days."

"As an adventurer, you have the right to choose your own quests, and I have no authority to force you to accept this commission."

"Believe me." Wood looked earnest, clearly not offering empty platitudes for the sake of appearances. "This won't affect the relationship between us."

Xia Nan naturally understood what he was trying to convey.

It simply meant he should think it through clearly, with no need to force himself to accept an unwanted quest just because of their relationship.

He nodded to show his understanding.

He didn't open the envelope right there, simply tucking it into his jacket.

Wood had arrived in a hurry, and he left even faster.

With important matters to attend to, Wood didn't even take a sip of alcohol before hurrying off again.

He appeared urgent and busy.

However, from Xia Nan's perspective, the man's overall state was countless times better than his burdened, gloomy appearance back in Nym.

It was as if he had found a goal to fight for.

A thoughtful expression surfaced on Xia Nan's face.

Xia Nan wasn't in a hurry, either. He sat calmly by himself in a corner of the tavern, finishing every last drop of the creamy mushroom soup he had ordered to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his transmigration, and swept the table completely clean of food.

Only then did he greet the tavern owner, Chapton, and wander upstairs to his room.

Sitting at his desk, he opened the envelope Wood had handed him and began to read carefully.

Overall, the commission itself wasn't complicated. It could even be considered simple.

It was an escort quest, extremely common among adventurers.

The destination was a territory called the Sticky-Tree Territory, located in the Abyssal Veil Province toward the southwest of the Servia Kingdom.

As for the escort target, it was naturally the person Xia Nan had guessed: the City Lord's second son, the half-elf Hai'an, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

No wonder Wood had told him to consider it carefully and that he could refuse without worry.

There might not be anything special about the quest itself, but the people and matters involved were quite complicated.

At least according to the news he had recently heard in the tavern, the matter of the Nym City Lord's position was far from settled.

The City Lord's Estate, the major nobles, the Church... various factions were clashing, and undercurrents were surging through the city's upper echelons.

Under these circumstances, as the City Lord's second son, Hai'an was undoubtedly a focal point for all factions.

And seeing Wood's appearance just now, it seemed he had already slipped out of the city with his young master, and they were currently right here in Rivervale Town.

Out of fear of exposure, they hadn't shown up at the tavern, instead having Wood—who was good at staying hidden—deliver the message.

Although he didn't know what they had gone through along the way, this journey from Nym to Rivervale Town clearly hadn't been an easy one.

Looking at it this way, the two of them really did trust him. Even though he hadn't agreed yet, they had still given him the complete quest details.

'Aren't they afraid I'll leak the secret?' Xia Nan shook his head, joking inwardly.

He naturally wouldn't do such a thing.

They were, after all, among the few friends he could trust in this world. How could he possibly betray them for some illusory benefits?

In fact, having carefully read the contents of the letter along with the address on the back, he had already begun to weigh the pros and cons of accepting this commission.

Sizzle—

The candlelight, washed out by the bright sunlight outside the window, wasn't very bright. It swayed gently, using its remaining heat to scorch the letterhead above it.

Flames suddenly sprang up on the fragile, pure white paper, curling and charring it at a visible speed.

On one hand, there was the logical and emotional standpoint.

Hai'an and Wood had both helped him a lot; there was no doubt about that.

The Barbarian mentor who was close to the Legendary rank, Forgan, [Fang Hunt], and even during his previous Advancement Quest, it was with Wood's help that he had obtained crucial clues from the Gray Badger Gang and found traces of the Lycanthrope Buck in the Nym Sewers.

Now that the two needed help, he definitely had to lend a hand as much as possible within his capabilities.

On the other hand, thinking from a relatively rational perspective.

What was his point of hesitation in accepting this quest?

It was nothing more than the fear of getting sucked into the whirlpool of Nym's upper echelons, putting his life in danger.

But thinking carefully about it, he actually didn't need to worry too much about that.

Xia Nan was just an ordinary person born into a peasant family. He had only just attained his Class Level and didn't possess any noble title, territorial army, or political allies.

He had absolutely nothing to do with the power distribution and factional loyalties of Nym's upper echelons.

In the eyes of others, he was just a peripheral adventurer who took money to do a job.

Sending a high-level Class Holder just to assassinate him simply because he participated in Hai'an's escort quest—it seemed highly unlikely.

To put it bluntly, he was just the most inconspicuous fry in the whirlpool, possessing absolutely no value as a target.

The focus of upper-level struggles was usually centered on controlling the city and grasping the army or financial resources. The priority of guarding a City Lord's offspring (especially a non-eldest son) who had already fled the city was extremely low.

If anything, the probability of Nym sending professionals to Rivervale Town to investigate him over his connection with the Sheep-Deer Figurine that had wreaked havoc in the city was much higher than the chance of him being hunted down over his relationship with Hai'an and Wood.

In terms of danger, ever since his transmigration, other than his daily leisure time in the Goblin Lair after becoming a Class Holder, which of his quests had been completely without risk?

The Petrification Lizard, the Owlbear, and even that eerie Elf named Windstring had all been unexpected emergencies.

If he really stopped in his tracks because of a bit of potential danger and hid in the town without daring to do anything, perhaps he should just retire from being an adventurer.

Countless thoughts spun through his mind.

When the final corner of the letter in his hand turned into a charred fragment under the devouring candlelight, Xia Nan had already made his decision.

[Gravity Control] silently took effect.

An invisible vortex suddenly surged from his fingertips, pulling in and shredding the charred paper scraps that had fluttered onto the table, along with the sparks that flared before they could fully burn out.

With just a light tap, the paper, already burned to a crisp, turned into fine, dust-like debris under the pull of gravity.

A gust of wind blew, and it vanished into the air.

...

...

On the outskirts of Rivervale Town, inside an inconspicuous, shabby cabin.

"Glug... glug..."

Tangerine flames burned fiercely. Accompanied by rising smoke and bursting bubbles on the surface of the broth, a rich aroma of food filled the narrow room.

Luca stared intently at the iron pot in front of him. His muscular arm, as thick as an ordinary person's thigh, tightly gripped an iron ladle, stirring the broth.

Judging from the ladle handle, slightly bent from him gripping it too hard in nervousness, and the somewhat dull, off-looking color of the broth in the pot, he probably wasn't very good at cooking.

And in fact, that was indeed the case.

An orphan by birth, he had been with the Wycliffe Family ever since he could remember.

His decent talent had allowed him to be trained as a close personal guard from a young age. No matter how grueling his professional training was before stepping onto the path of a Class Holder, the wealthy and generous Mr. Wycliffe had never let him go hungry, meaning he never needed to worry about food.

Precisely because of this, he might be able to effortlessly wipe out an entire goblin tribe or brawl head-on with a similarly burly Bugbear.

But facing the unfamiliar stove in front of him, he could only tense his body, sweating profusely as he fished the unsliced ingredients back out of the pot while fretting over whether he had added too much water earlier.

Luca believed that in this house right now, there was definitely a teammate whose culinary skills were better than his.

But due to various circumstances, the one standing guard in front of the stove could only be him.

What else could be done?

Let the young master cook for him personally?

Even if his young master truly had that intention, Luca would absolutely never allow it. Otherwise, how could he face the many years the Wycliffe Family had spent cultivating him?

As for Mr. Wood...

He had already done too much. Throughout the journey from Nym to Rivervale Town, Luca knew just how hard he had worked.

To bother him over such a trivial matter and encroach on his precious resting time was something Luca himself was unwilling to do.

As for the other two, that was even more impossible.

God knew if that dragonborn, covered in scales and looking like a giant lizard with icy eyes, would sprinkle something unclean into the pot while he wasn't looking!

Even though the young master and Mr. Wood had repeatedly assured him of her trustworthiness, Luca still felt he should be careful; he absolutely couldn't let the young master be harmed because of his negligence.

As for the final member of the party, the mysterious young mage named Verol, ever since she boiled that pot of indescribable matter a few days ago—which remained completely untouched until the next day even after being thrown into the pigsty—no one dared to let her near the stove again.

"Knock, knock, knock."

There was a sudden knock on the door.

Luca instantly grew alert, his expression, originally distressed over the stew, suddenly turning serious.

The heavy axe handle was already gripped tightly in his palm.

Moving his feet, he edged toward the door.