Mercenary Wars

Chapter 237 The real secret

After a brief exchange, Gao Jiano wrote his name on the roster of the Elemental Emergency Response Team.

Gaugano Laziviel.

Although theoretically one cannot use "Raziville" as a surname until graduation, within Ax Academy of Magic, students have long adopted this form of noting their school of thought. It has become a tacit tradition, followed even by professors.

It must be said that this is a rare experience for ordinary people without surnames.

Even Gaugano, who had a unique identity, couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty and vanity when he wrote the name "Gaugano Laziville".

Oscar took out a clay badge, waved his wand, and the name immediately appeared, the magical power making the handwriting exceptionally clear.

Then, a faint flame flickered in his palm, and the clay badge quickly hardened, soon revealing the texture of brick and the four colors representing the four elements: cyan for wind, yellow for earth, red for fire, and blue for water. The badge's surface was also engraved with slightly abstract swirling patterns, seemingly hinting at the balance between the elements.

“This is your member badge.” Oscar handed the now-stone badge to Gaucano. “When an elemental disaster occurs, the corresponding color will light up—and last until the disaster ends.”

“If you are available and willing to participate in the rescue, you can go to the north gate of the college, where we will meet,” he added. “In addition, we post announcements on the club bulletin board every month to summarize our recent actions and release important information.”

Compared to the Elemental Emergency Response Team, the Exploration Club has a much higher entry threshold, requiring exceptional skills or experience to join.

For this reason, the Mystery Club's booth was divided into two parts. The front part was responsible for displaying various adventure loot - monster cores exuding a strong elemental aura, several rare herbs including Eternal Forget-Me-Not, colorful ores and gems, and exquisite artifacts, attracting many onlookers; the back part was where they recruited newcomers, and it was noticeably less popular than the front part.

When Gaucano came to the Explorers Club’s booth to inquire, the recruiter bluntly said, “Our activities are very interesting, but not everyone is suitable to participate… Tell us about your adventure experience, or what unique talents you have.”

Gaucano: "I have the blessings of both earth and wind elements, does that count?"

The recruiters from the Exploration Club were clearly surprised by this as well.

After a brief discussion, they did not immediately welcome Gaugano, but instead said, "This is interesting, but exploration always involves risks, and your unique talent doesn't seem to be of any help in that regard."

A dwarf recruiter interjected, "That's not entirely true. The 'Elemental Labyrinth' really needs this kind of talent."

"really."

"But who knows when the Elemental Labyrinth will open? Maybe it will have to wait until you become an archmage."

As the group discussed the matter, Gao Jiano pondered for a moment.

He then took out an ornament and said, "I have a lot of adventure experience and have been to the Tide Lands several times. This is one of my acquisitions."

A recruiter took the ornament and examined it closely, asking with some surprise, "This is... an artifact from the troll era?"

“That’s right.” Gao Jiano nodded. This ornament was a trophy he obtained from the Desert Bishop’s treasure chest.

Pierce was the previous owner of this item, and according to his description and Gaucano's subsequent investigation, this ornament is quite rare.

However, the other party seemed to be a bit unaware of its value and did not show the reaction that Gaugano expected.

Gaucano then added, "In addition, I am an alchemist who can make various potions and minor stabilizing elixirs, and I am skilled at identifying herbs—including the plant of eternal forgetfulness."

"Oh?" This clearly piqued the recruiters' interest.

And the Mystery Club was clearly prepared for this.

So a recruiter immediately took out twenty kinds of herbs and placed them on the table: "If you can complete the identification within three minutes and maintain an accuracy rate of over 90%, we will recruit you as a new member of the Exploration Society."

"let's start."

If Gaucano wanted to, five seconds would be enough to complete the identification.

But this would obviously lead to unnecessary speculation.

So he picked up the herbs one by one and pretended to examine them.

Although it was all an act, Gao Gano couldn't help but make some judgments while observing the herbs.

It must be admitted that this test is quite challenging.

If he didn't have the panel and relied solely on knowledge and experience for identification, he probably wouldn't be able to achieve "90% accuracy within three minutes".

"This is a level 3 Silverleaf Grass, this is a level 2 Photinia Grass, this is a level 6 Earth-type Forget-Me-Not Moss, this is a level 5 Shining Star Grass..."

Two and a half minutes passed.

Gao Jiano completed all the identification.

Several recruiters nodded in agreement: "He's definitely got some skills, much better than the last one!"

"Welcome to the Mystery Exploration Society. I am Ethan Orsini, the vice president of the society," said the recruiter sitting in the middle.

Gaucano then received the Mystery Club member badge.

The members' badges of the Exploration Club are made of wood and have a unique fragrance—smelling somewhat like the air of the Apothecary Guild, mixed with the scent of various herbs.

The front of the badge depicts a four-leaf clover, with a faint glow seemingly shimmering between its veins.

"Is this the Forget-Me-Not herb?" Gao Jiano asked.

“Yes,” Ethan said with a smile. “I hope you’ll find it someday during your adventures.”

"Thank you," Gao Jiano said politely. It was a beautiful but unrealistic blessing; if he could truly obtain a Forget-Me-Not Grass, he would most likely become one of the most famous adventurers of his time.

“The Exploration Club posts team information on its bulletin board every month, and you can also see the same information at the Adventurers' Guild in Ax,” Ethan added. “In fact, the Exploration Club’s member badges can be used as adventurer badges.”

After joining the Elemental Emergency Team and the Exploration Club, Gaucano immediately went to the Magical Gourmet Club.

He wasn't interested in the Magical Gourmet Club. After all, the club's activities mainly focused on cooking, and he had a much stronger interest in eating than cooking.

However, Darlis is participating in the recruitment for the Magical Gourmet Club—which is also a competition.

New Student Magic Cooking Competition.

The scene was literally bustling with activity, with large pots and ingredients flying around, seasonings dancing with wands, and flames rising from time to time, the rich aroma of food wafting from afar.

Especially a bald, fat man.

Although he was obese, he was as agile as a thief, and his stir-frying movements were like acrobatics. Whenever he drew an arc in the air with his wand, a string of flames would swirl in the pot, drawing cheers from the onlookers.

In comparison, Daryls' cooking process was probably the most boring of all the contestants.

After all, her specialty is making soup.

Making soup requires slow simmering over low heat, demanding patience and meticulous control, making it difficult to achieve a truly outstanding result. Moreover, her petite stature meant she even needed to stand on a makeshift stone platform to operate the various cooking utensils, further diminishing her already unremarkable appearance.

Fortunately, that's not important.

After cooking.

The dozen or so recruiters from the Magic Gourmet Club took out blindfolds and covered their eyes. Then the contestants served dishes randomly, allowing them to taste and comment on them.

Many onlookers also got a chance to get a piece of the pie and taste the contestants' magical delicacies.

“Mosa, this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” one student exclaimed excitedly. “The aroma of this ‘Starlight Stewed Chicken’ is simply intoxicating!”

"Delicious borscht!"

"What kind of ingredient is this? The texture is really strange."

"It's really strange. It doesn't look like meat or vegetables... Could it be a magically synthesized ingredient?"

"Braised pork intestines? Ugh, they smell a bit bad to me. Maybe they weren't cleaned properly!"

"Only by preserving some of the original flavor can you know that you are eating pig intestines, right?"

"Hey..."

After a period of time, the recruiters tasted the food, and the corresponding ratings were released.

The recruiter, seated in the center, rose and announced, "Now, on behalf of the Magical Gourmet Club, I announce the results of the 'New Student Magical Cooking Competition.' The winners of the Bronze Chef's Hat are: John Avis Jr., Rodon Radziwell..."

"The recipients of the Silver Chef's Hat are: Constantine Orsini, Mary Laziville, Daris Alves..."

"There can only be one recipient of the Golden Chef's Hat, and he is the most outstanding chef among all the new trainees—"

People held their breath, a silence mingled with anticipation and discussion.

Instead of announcing it directly, the recruiter cunningly changed the subject, raising his voice: "Before that, let's thank 'Grimaldi Mithril Restaurant' for their generous sponsorship. In addition to prizes and bonuses, those who win the Silver and Gold Chef Hats will also receive an internship opportunity at Mithril Restaurant. At the same time, Mithril Restaurant is holding a grand promotion, where every new student can receive a super discount with their student badge… Archbishop Brandon once said that only those who have tasted Grimaldi Mithril Restaurant's 'Evenly Roasted Queenfish' have truly been to Ax City!"

The advertisement's slogans annoyed the onlookers.

"This ad is way too long!"

Who is actually in first place?

The recruiter took a few breaths before saying, "The one who won the Golden Chef's Hat is Tony Laziville!"

"Tony! Tony!" Cheers erupted.

Tony is indeed the bald, chubby guy. It seems that not only is his performance outstanding, but his cooking skills are also truly exceptional. Winning the Golden Chef's Hat is well-deserved.

"All the winners will be able to join the Magical Gourmet Club!" the recruiter added. "Now, please welcome Professor Damian to present the awards to the chefs!"

"At the same time, we would like to thank 'Grimaldi Mithril Restaurant' once again for their generous sponsorship during the grand promotion..." Several advertising slogans were interspersed during the award ceremony.

Daryls walked off the stage with a smug look on her face, wearing a silver chef's hat.

The chef's hat was clearly too big; if it weren't for her braids, it would have covered her entire head.

Her braids were still unsteady. As she walked off the stage, her chef's hat tilted and blocked her view, simply because she was walking a little faster.

Fortunately, Gaucano stepped forward in time to grab her, otherwise Daryls might have fallen down the steps.

Slightly disheveled, Darlis straightened her chef's hat and said excitedly, "Let's go, boss, let's go to the Tracking Society!"

"Walk."

The two then went to the booth of the Seekers.

Regardless of the level of entry requirements, the vast majority of student organizations choose to set up booths in densely populated areas.

The Seeking Society is an exception.

Its booth was set up in a small grove of trees in a corner of the campus, which was exceptionally quiet. If you didn't ask around beforehand, probably no one would go to such a remote place.

The "booth" wasn't really a booth; it was just a large table with some food on it. A few people were sitting at the table, eating and chatting. You'd think they were having a picnic.

Fortunately, Gaucano and Dariss had already gathered a lot of information, knew the style of the Tracking Society, and believed that it was a society that studied mysticism and necromancy.

Ironically, besides the food, there was also a standing written award on the booth—awarded by the church, which was somewhat of a cover-up to express piety.

Darliss hesitated before asking, "Hello, are you from the Tracking Society?"

"Yes." The group nodded casually.

Sitting in the middle was a girl with long black hair. She asked, "Are you new members who want to join the club?"

“Yes.” Darliss became a little nervous.

The black-haired girl took out a magic wand and gently waved it at the ground beside her.

A hazy gray halo immediately lit up the ground.

“This is the ‘Ring of Honesty.’ If someone standing inside lies, it will alert them,” the girl explained, then changed the subject, “Stand inside, share a real secret, and you’ll have a chance to join the Tracking Society.”

Daryls was taken aback: "The real secret?"

“It can’t be something as trivial as having a crush on someone.” The dark-haired girl looked directly at Darius and added, “Unless you have a crush on someone of the same sex.”

Her tone was somewhat teasing, but her eyes revealed seriousness. After all, according to Mosaic doctrine, homosexuality is a serious sin.

While lesbianism isn't as serious as gay homosexuality, it's not something that can be discussed casually.

The other party's meaning is not difficult to understand.

Only by sharing a true secret—or rather, a "dangerous secret"—can one gain the trust of the Seekers. For a society that studies black magic, this is indeed the most reasonable rule for joining.

Daryls was silent for a moment, then asked, "If I reveal a 'real secret,' can I join the Tracking Society?"

The black-haired girl said, "It depends on what secret you've revealed. If it's a 'secret within a secret,' you can join directly; if it's not that secret, we'll need to share it a second time before we can make a decision. Of course, we can swear an oath to keep it a secret, but you'll have to pay for the oath scroll."

(End of this chapter)