Mercenary Guild—Hilia never thought she'd come to this place to pick up commissions.
The same assignment, if posted by the Academy or the Holy Court, pays much more than the Mercenary Guild. That's one reason. Another is that the Guild's commissions are often garbage.
Like helping a granny find her cat, or helping an old man recover a lost bracelet, or assisting young couples with their relationship drama...
These tedious daily commissions take up the majority of the guild's job board.
Currently, even though the Four Great Empires are eyeing the Holy Court like hungry wolves, and the Holy Court is itching to reclaim their lands, there hasn't been any large-scale friction. The sects act up sometimes, but not much—overall, it's relatively peaceful.
No beast tides or other heart-stopping events have happened either, so the most common commissions around the Guild involve domestic tasks, with the most dangerous being merchant escort or cargo transport.
"Huijin City is the heart of the Holy Court. The commissions here barely have anything related to demons..."
Hilia browsed the commissions for a long while before ultimately giving up and deciding to talk to the guild receptionist.
"Hello, do you need any assistance?" Jessica, the Mercenary Guild receptionist, greeted her with her usual politeness.
The girl standing before her was dressed in a simple mage's robe; the wide garment masked her figure, but her exposed cheeks were pale and pure. Even Jessica, as a woman herself, couldn't help but be drawn to her looks.
What a beautiful girl... Is she a student at the Academy?
"Hello, Miss Jessica. I'd like to look for some commissions."
Hilia showed the Adventure Badge issued by the Divine Magic Academy. This badge signified that the student could complete commissions independently; with it, she could accept jobs from the Academy, Holy Court, or Guild. The Mercenary Guild recognized the badge, too.
"What kind of commission are you looking for?"
Spotting that Hilia was indeed from the Divine Magic Academy, Jessica's smile grew even friendlier.
"Anything suitable for a Tier One or Tier Two Mage is fine," Hilia replied.
What she meant was, Jessica should filter out all the daily tedium for her—and only show commissions with value, and some challenge.
The Guild isn't just for mages; ordinary folks can become mercenaries too.
Otherwise, how else would all those daily chores even get picked up by 'mages'?
Originally, Hilia only planned to ask for Tier One commissions.
But Rose told her to bump it up by one tier.
Hilia wasn't confident facing Tier Two demons, but he was.
He's an Evil God, after all. Even with a bunch of restrictions, and limited to using other people's bodies to cast magic—no way he'd get stumped by challenges above his rank.
"Relax, with this puppet body, I can handle not just Tier Two, but even if a Tier Three beast shows up, I'll deal with it for you."
Those were Rose's exact words.
Back when he was sealed in that pitch-black land, Rose spent his days farming data and using magic to create all sorts of random nonsense, trying to master his own power.
After so much training, even the clay puppets he made on a whim had the power of a Lower God.
Rose figured, if Hilia hadn't shown up, and he just kept leveling up, he could have broken that indestructible seal himself eventually.
Though that would take a very long time.
He wasn't willing to wait anymore.
Especially after glimpsing this colorful world over here.
"Tier One to Tier Two commissions received—please hold a moment... All right, I've listed them for you now. Please take a look."
As she spoke, Jessica threw in a pitch: "Miss Hilia, may I suggest registering as a mercenary with us as well? Mercenaries get 10% off our commission fees!"
"Also, in the future, when you take commissions with us, you won't need to visit the guild in person. If you use your spell ring, you can take jobs directly on our Star Spirit Network."
Hilia, who hadn't planned to register, paused for a moment. "Okay, go ahead and register me."
A 10% fee reduction meant little to Hilia. If she had wanted to make money, the Academy and Holy Court paid far better.
But being able to browse commissions anytime, anywhere on her bracelet? That was tempting.
Suppose she ran into some injustice somewhere—just browse the Mercenary Guild Star Spirit Network and see if there's an active commission. Accept it instantly, fix the problem, two birds, one stone.
Like if she came across a magical beast in the wild—if it wasn't one she needed, she could always see if there was a related commission and take care of it on the spot!
Mercenary registration was fast. All she needed to fill in was her name, tier, and academy badge number.
A few minutes later, after registering, Hilia began searching more closely for suitable jobs for First and Second Tier Mages.
These commissions weren't limited to Huijin City anymore.
"There are… quite a few."
Hilia muttered to herself.
"Don't bother. None of these are what we're looking for," Rose's voice sounded in her mind.
"Huh?" Hilia's face showed disappointment.
Jessica noticed her expression. Realizing something, she smiled, "Miss Hilia, you're seeking more challenging commissions, right?"
She noticed that Hilia registered as a Tier One Mage, but was scanning Tier Two jobs. That meant the usual jobs weren't enough for her.
She probably wasn't in it for the money.
"Some commissions aren't posted openly because no one's taken them, for one reason or another. Would you like to take a look?"
"Bring them out," Hilia said with keen interest.
In front of her, all commissions on the magic screen vanished, leaving only five.
"These five commissions haven't been picked up because of various reasons. If you need an explanation for any of them, just let me know."
Jessica was very enthusiastic—if she could get these tough commissions settled, the bonus she'd receive was not small.
"The third one—the 'Help Investigate Village Water Source Problem' one. I'll take it,"
Rose's voice sounded, and without hesitation Hilia pointed at the third one. "This one—help investigate the village water source problem."
Jessica opened the commission, furrowed her brow slightly, but soon smiled again. "This job was hidden because the pay is too low and the danger could reach Tier Two. Are you sure you want to take it?"
Hilia glanced at the listed payment.
Didn't seem that low—it said ten gold… Silver coins?
Risk level Tier Two, payment only ten silver coins?
No wonder nobody wanted it.
"Is the payment listed here correct?" Hilia could barely believe it.
Maybe a First Tier job would be cheap, but ten silver for this kind of commission?
Especially at Tier Two danger.
Rose saw the payment and chuckled as well.
"This client is a cheapskate."
How to put it... It's like you produce real gold but only get paid gold-plated prices.