Mercenary Wars

Chapter 240 Transmitting the Divine Oracle
In order to create a Lesser Enlightenment Elixir, Gaucano not only studied alchemy but also kept a close eye on all kinds of news about the Tidelands every day.

There are two sources of information: the Fitzroy Prophet's Express and the Mystery Exploration Society's group announcements.

The former has the advantage of a wide range; whether in the Kiso Mountains or the Kingdom of Norton, all known tidal lands are the focus of Fitzroy's divination office.

In comparison, the amount of information that the Mystery Club can provide is so small as to be negligible.

However, the announcements from the Mystery Club often come with a lot of other information, some of which may be very valuable.

For example, on this day, when Gao Jiano stopped to browse the club notice board, a notice from the Exploration Club quickly caught his attention.

He read the contents of the announcement carefully.

"Captain Adrian Orsini, a seventh-level named individual... will soon travel to the 'Valley of Judgment,' a fourth-tier tidal land in Gadgetzan, to carry out a divine decree, for which he will be paid four thousand gold coins. The plan is to form a four-person team, but we are currently short one person..."

"Joining requirements: Level 6 or above, no conflict with divine deities, priority given to members of the Mystery Exploration Club... Registration will be held on the morning of November 3rd at table number 5 in the club hall."

"Distribution: Collected items belong to the gatherer; loot is split equally by default, and any disputes will be handled according to the Adventurer's Code; rewards are split equally, with the team leader receiving double. Teleportation to Gadgetzan, with each party bearing their own portal costs."

After reading the above information, Gao Jiano couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

He was originally planning to go to the Valley of the Deceived Kingdom.

If you can join this team, you can also earn some extra money. Four thousand gold coins are split among five people, so each person gets eight hundred gold coins!
So he immediately decided to sign up for the team.

Soon after.

Central clock tower of Ax Magic Academy, club hall.

The club hall is a meeting place provided by the college for all clubs. It is furnished with many tables and chairs, where students gather in twos and threes to discuss topics related to their respective clubs.

Gaucano went to table number five.

A tall, dark-skinned young man sat at the table. When Gao Jiano approached, he raised his hand in greeting, "Are you here to sign up for an adventure team?"

“Yes.” Gaucano sat down.

After a brief introduction, the young man revealed himself to be Adrian of the Orsini school.

Gaucano first asked, "What is the oracle mentioned in the announcement?"

“A hunting mission,” Adrian said. “Because it involves some confidential information, I can’t reveal too much until you join the team. It will certainly be challenging, but four level six or seven Named Beings won’t be in any danger.”

He added, "This isn't my opinion, it's the assessment from the adventure broker."

Gaucano nodded without saying anything.

Adrian then said, "Tell me about your abilities."

"A sixth-level named individual, blessed with the Wind and Stone Skin spells, a part-time second-level warrior, and a full-fledged third-level hunter..." Gao Jiano introduced his abilities and experiences, "Having had many adventure experiences, I can make minor stabilizing potions, and I am good at identifying various herbs."

Adrian seemed to be a complete slacker, utterly oblivious to the rarity of possessing both wind and earth elemental blessings simultaneously. Of course, he might have realized it, but simply didn't care; after all, for a seasoned adventurer, news about the Tidal Lands, teams, and the market was far more important.

He listened and nodded slightly. When Gao Jiano mentioned his expertise in identifying herbs, his expression changed noticeably, and he almost blurted out, "How good are you?"

Gaucano: "No more than one percent of the students in Laziville are better at identifying herbs than I am; I swear to Mosa. In fact, that's precisely why the Exploration Society accepted me." Adrian thought for a moment: "Aren't you also quite skilled at gathering herbs?"

“Of course,” Gao Jiano said.

Adrian seemed to be thinking about something and remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, he asked again, "Tell me more about your adventures and combat experiences."

Gaucano then selectively recounted some of his past experiences.

His experiences are undoubtedly quite rich, and even though a large part of them are confidential and cannot be disclosed, the parts that can be told are still quite fascinating.

Adrian couldn't help but ask, "So most of your holy titles were acquired in battle?"

"More or less," Gao Jiano replied noncommittally, then asked, "Senior, I guess you're about the same, right?"

Adrian smiled and said, "That's right. My reputation, tuition fees, and honors mostly come from adventures and battles."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice: "To be honest, even in the Exploration Society, there aren't many people with our kind of experience. Many of those pampered rich kids grew up drinking Enlightenment Elixir!"

Gaucano remarked with a touch of melancholy, "The life of an aristocrat is to drink Enlightenment in youth and Elder's Elixir in old age."

"If you're ugly, you can drink the 'Transformation Elixir,' if you're short, there's the 'Titan Elixir,' and if you're stupid, there's the 'Refined Wisdom Elixir'..." Adrian continued, "Unfortunately, there's no 'Noble Morality Elixir'!"

“Even if there were a ‘potion of high moral character,’ probably no one would drink it,” Gao Jiano said.

In fact, he had seen a similar concoction in a book. Although its authenticity was questionable, the book gave a rather convincing description of the fate of this concoction: those who needed it did not want to drink it, and those who wanted to drink it did not need to drink it.

The two chatted for a while.

Finally, Adrian extended his hand and said warmly, "Welcome to my team."

"Now can you tell me the contents of the divine message?" Gao Jiano asked.

“Of course.” Adrian nodded, then seemed to suddenly remember something, “By the way, you’re not a Hydra recipient, are you?”

"No."

Adrian cast a soundproof spell and continued, "A multi-headed serpent, level seven or eight, is hiding in the swamp of the Valley of Judgment. If we kill it for our employer, we will receive a reward of four thousand gold coins."

Gaucano thought for a moment: "What should we do with the hydra's carcass? Should it also belong to the employer?"

“Of course it belongs to us,” Adrian said. “Rich people have no interest in disposing of corpses; they even have to rely on oracles. Besides, without a corpse, this deal wouldn’t be worth four thousand gold coins.”

Warcraft are generally significantly weaker than intelligent creatures. Hydras are stronger than ordinary warcraft. A four-person team with an average level of six and a half can indeed handle a level seven or eight hydra.

With the reward plus the hydra's corpse, each person received at least a thousand gold coins.

Gaucano: "When do we set off?"

“This weekend, the timing is just right.” Adrian said, taking out a piece of paper and waving it in his hand, smiling. “We also have a special leave slip for the Exploration Club.”

(End of this chapter)