The counter clerk glanced at him briefly before saying, “The second method is to have a guarantor who is a Superclass or higher expert employed at the Magic Academy or the Adventurers’ Guild. With their endorsement, you can directly obtain a high-level Warrior or Mage profession certificate by special exception.”
“…So it’s all about connections, huh?”
‘Does this world have to be this realistic?’
Li Xian felt speechless.
He had just arrived in this world with no backing to rely on.
Was he really destined to end up going to school after all?
“By the way, sir, about the reward for this mission… is she the client?”
At this moment, the clerk behind the counter finally brought up the main point.
Sara immediately shrank her neck, clutching Li Xian’s clothes tightly, feeling very uneasy.
Although Li Xian had agreed before, nothing was finalized yet.
If he turned hostile now, she wouldn’t even have a place to run.
“Well… here’s the situation…”
Helpless, Li Xian could only comfortingly pat Sara’s head and then began explaining the situation to the staff in front of him.
“I see.” The clerk frowned slightly after hearing the full story and finally said, “If you think it’s not an issue, then of course there’s no problem. However, please come back here after signing the contract to let us verify it. Only then will the mission information be officially recorded.”
“Understood.” Li Xian nodded.
The Adventurers’ Guild really did their work thoroughly, leaving no loopholes.
If they ran into someone cruel and dark-hearted, Sara’s fate would be unimaginable.
After leaving the Adventurers’ Guild, Li Xian led the nervous Sara toward the direction of the Slave Market.
As the name suggests, the Slave Market was where slaves were bought and sold.
Every day, slaves of various races from all over the Continent were traded here.
Some were slaves captured and sold by Slavers, while others were poor families forced to sell their children out of desperation.
Regardless of the reason, once someone became a Slave, it basically meant their life was plunged into utter darkness.
Even the rare slaves fortunate enough to meet kind masters might live relatively well, but they would completely lose their freedom.
The meaning of a Slave’s life was not to live for themselves, but for their master—this was the greatest tragedy of slavery.
Sara looked frightened.
Her small body trembled slightly, showing a trace of panic.
Li Xian could only comfortingly pat her shoulder.
The Adventurers’ Guild was still waiting for their news; there was no turning back now.
Inside the Slave Market, shops of various sizes lined both sides.
Some specialized in male laborers, others in young girls.
Most slaves were tightly chained, some even locked in cages, staring blankly at passersby.
Signing the contract seemed to be done at the market’s headquarters, where specialized staff handled it.
Fortunately, with the Adventurers’ Guild’s Seal, Li Xian didn’t have to pay for signing the contract this time.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t even be able to afford the contract fee.
The staff glanced at the contract terms Li Xian handed over, then looked at Sara hiding behind him and asked, “Is this the Slave to be contracted?”
“Yes.”
“Then please choose the location for the contract engraving.”
“Engraving location?” Li Xian was a little confused.
“Slaves must have an identity engraving mark. It’s usually placed somewhere conspicuous, but the exact spot is up to you.”
“Um…” Li Xian recalled the slaves he’d seen along the way.
They all had marks somewhere—some on their arms, others on their thighs, even some on their faces.
They certainly weren’t pretty marks.
Frowning, Li Xian thought for a moment and then turned to Sara.
“How about the back?”
The staff was dumbfounded.
Who ever heard of a master asking where to put the mark on their slave when signing a contract?
Sara was also stunned, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, by the way, we have several patterns to choose from. You can take a look first.”
The staff interjected at the right moment, and Li Xian’s attention was immediately drawn to the pattern book in his hand.
There were many patterns representing the slave engraving.
Most were quite ugly, but a few were distinctive, with a unique style.
For example…
“Uh… I, you, he…” Li Xian looked at the engraving patterns and momentarily couldn’t find the words.
‘Why did these look so much like tattoos!?’
“Ahem, ahem—”
After coughing twice, Li Xian finally stopped hesitating and said to the staff, “Please engrave this mark on her lower abdomen.”
“Oh, alright…”
Sara shrank her neck, feeling a bad premonition.
But she had no choice now.
Gripping her unease tightly, she followed Li Xian and the staff toward the contract signing area.
The contract engraving was done by a Contract Scroll during the contract process.
For the sake of the Adventurers’ Guild’s reputation, contracts in such cases always used relatively high-grade Contract Scrolls, each worth hundreds of Gold Coins.
Li Xian didn’t fully understand the contract process.
He simply dripped a drop of blood onto the scroll, and a complex magic array appeared on it.
He and Sara stood on the magic array, and then the mark appeared on Sara’s lower belly.
Li Xian could faintly see it through the gap in her clothes.
That kind of mark, combined with Sara’s innocent yet slightly nervous expression, stirred an unexpected feeling in Li Xian for a moment.
Taking a deep breath to suppress the agitation, Li Xian then led Sara away from the Slave Market, heading back toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
Along the way, Sara clung tightly to Li Xian’s clothes.
The tension was obvious at a glance.
As they walked, Li Xian took out the two Gold Coins he had left.
With so little money, how was he supposed to survive?
This small amount wasn’t even enough to pay for one night at an inn.
If he didn’t find a way to make money, he wouldn’t even have a place to stay tonight.
Fortunately, it wasn’t hopeless.
In fact, Li Xian had already considered this.
Although he had no money, he had killed plenty of Magic Beasts on his journey—besides that Legendary Expert monster, there were many high-level Magic Beasts too.
Although not all high-level beasts dropped Magic Crystals, he had managed to collect a few along the way.
Selling the Magic Crystals should bring in a good amount of money.
That would temporarily solve his financial problem…
While thinking this, Li Xian took out the pouch holding the Magic Crystals and showed a faint smile.
However, at that moment, a figure cloaked in a hood suddenly dashed out from a nearby alley.
Extremely agile, the figure snatched the pouch from Li Xian’s hand and disappeared like the wind.
By the time Li Xian reacted, the figure’s back was already nearly out of sight.
“Hey! Stop right there!” Li Xian immediately reacted, grabbing the startled Sara and chasing after the fleeing figure without hesitation.