Chapter 23: Preparations

Zaos approached the small group of mercenaries by the mission board. Most of the mercenaries stopped their actions and observed him.

He wore a set of casual clothes which included a black shirt, ash trousers, and black boots. Together with his small stature, Zaos looked out of place compared to other mercenaries.

Surprisingly, after observing him for a while, the mercenaries continued their previous actions, they completely ignored him.

[It seems these mercenaries aren't stupid.] Zaos thought. He had expected them to underestimate him or poke fun at him, but neither of those things happened.

Zaos arrived before the mission board and browsed the mission notices stamped on the board.

[Fetch the eyes of a gilgahim. Reward: 40 poor-quality mana gems.

[Protect a merchant's caravan. Reward: 4 good-quality mana gems. Requirements: Mercenaries must have at least two stars.

[Find a rogue member of the Erberos clan. Reward: 10 good-quality mana gems.

[Get rid of the savage beast nest blocking the western trade route. Reward: 3 good-quality mana gems…] After a quick read, Zaos gained a basic understanding of the missions.

[Most missions like protection missions and rescue missions require the mercenary to have a good rating. This is probably a condition set by the employer…

[The other missions that don't, are missions that require cannon fodder instead.] Zaos speculated. In his mind, if the employer had no requirements, then it was because they didn't expect the mission to succeed.

Zaos shook his head and silently left the guild. His destination was the Qildor clan's hideout.

[Oh! I need a training dummy.] Halfway through the journey Zaos stopped, he searched around and found a fallen tree. The dead tree trunk wasn't large, and after confirming there were no bugs in it, Zaos hoisted the tree trunk on his shoulder and continued on his way.

Before long, Zaos arrived at one of the hideout's entrances. He quickly made his way inside, going straight to the room he practiced in.

He set the tree trunk on a wall and began his training.

Contrary to last time, Zaos didn't practice his elemental weaves, instead, he focused on his mana control and combat techniques.

Mana control and his combat techniques were the things he struggled with the most, his elemental weaves would also benefit if he had better control over mana.

Zaos spent the next six hours using a dagger mana construct to practice his combat techniques. He took breaks in between to avoid collapsing from mana overuse.

[*Phew*. I should probably rest for today,] Zaos felt his muscles becoming sore and his head spinning because of the constant use of his mana constructs.

He lugged his tired body to the bathroom where he soaked in a hot bath. Although dark elves loved the cold, they didn't mind heat either.

After his bath, Zaos changed into the spare clothes he brought with him and exited the hideout.

He returned to Ronik's house, took his leather assassin outfit, and went to the market. He wanted to see if he could get it repaired.

The market was bustling as always with bright street lanterns illuminating the faces of the elves that cluttered the street.

Zaos headed to the left side of the market. He searched around before finally spotting a small single-floor wooden armorer's shop.

Inside the shop, Zaos saw a variety of leather armor and iron armor. The majority of them were lightweight armor, but he also spotted a few heavy metal armor on display.

[Perhaps only an earth elf could move comfortably in those. Zaos thought after a glance at the heavy metal armor.

He walked directly to the counter and addressed the earth elf behind it.

"Can you fix this?" He took out his leather outfit from a sack and showed it to the male earth elf.

"Hand it to me, lad." The earth elf was a bulky individual, he had his long hair tied into a ponytail, and he had an eye patch over his left eye.

Zaos complied with the former's request and waited patiently for him to finish his inspection.

"One good-quality mana gem. The attire is badly damaged; I'll need to purchase materials to replace the damaged parts." The earth elf armorer spoke after a while.

Zaos' face stiffened.

[I don't have enough mana gems…] Zaos thought. A good-quality mana gem was equivalent to 100 poor-quality mana gems, Zaos only had a total of 70 poor-quality dark mana gems after he spent most of his savings getting supplies for the hunt in the forsaken woods.

"I'll return later." He replied as he retrieved the outfit from the armorer.

The earth elf armorer simply nodded before busying himself with something else.

Zaos exited the shop and went directly to Ronik's store; he intended to borrow some funds from the latter.

[*Sigh*. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth.] Zaos lamented as he entered Ronik's shop.

Ronik was behind the counter, immersed in a book.

[Does he make a living off of his information network?] Zaos thought as he observed Ronik's variety store which was devoid of customers.

He walked to the counter and asked Ronik in a polite tone.

"Mister Ronik… may I borrow some mana gems from you?" Zaos asked, inwardly cringing.

[I'll need to embark on a mission tomorrow to gather funds!] This was the first time Zaos was forced to borrow money, he didn't like it.

"Of course! How much do you need, lad?" Ronik set down his book and asked with a smile.

"30 poor-quality mana gems," Zaos responded.

"Alright, give me a second." Ronik reached for the sack on his waist, retrieved a single polished-looking mana gem, and handed it to Zaos.

"Here. You don't have to pay me back." Ronik smiled as he said.

"But–" Zaos was cut off before he could speak.

"No need to reject it. You can consider it your payment for the task you helped me with." Ronik instructed with a light tone.

Zaos simply nodded as he received the Mana gems and exited the store.

[What a weird old man…] He thought while returning to the armorer's shop.

Upon arriving at the store, Zaos handed the leather outfit and the good-quality mana gem to the armorer.

"How long will it take you to finish it?" Zaos asked the armorer.

"Hmm, in a day or two." The latter responded simply.

Zaos nodded and exited the store.

[I have one other stealth-oriented outfit, I can head to the guild tomorrow to complete a mission or two.] Zaos thought as he returned to Ronik's house.

Since the city had no form of entertainment, and because he still felt a little tired, Zaos went directly to bed despite it being the afternoon.