"The Knights have arrived," Raymond said confidently, his hunter's vision spotting five knights in full armor. They were putting up a wanted poster with a human head and so text on a bulletin board.
Raymond rembered that the guild often posted bounties for criminals who had awakened their powers but remained at large. He also recognized the knights, especially the petite female knight. It could only be Freya.
He turned to Salifi and Lorene. "Let's go check it out. It's Freya and the others. Looks like a new bounty has been posted."
"Hey, Freya!" Salifi exclaid, her eyes lighting up at the ntion of Freya's na. "Let's go find out what it's about!"
The three of them made their way downstairs and headed over to the bulletin board.
By the ti they reached it, Freya and the others had finished posting the notice and were on their way back. When Freya spotted them, her face lit up.
"Raymond! Salifi!" she called out, waving enthusiastically.
Salifi imdiately broke away from Raymond and Lorene, rushing over to Freya to greet her. By the ti Raymond and Lorene caught up, the two were already deep in conversation.
"Raymond, I heard you've awakened the warrior profession again and beco a dual-professional?" Freya asked with wide eyes, clearly impressed.
When she'd first heard the news, she couldn't believe it. Especially when she learned that Raymond had already mastered warrior skills just days after awakening. It confird what Freya had suspected: Raymond's struggle with skill comprehension before was simply because he hadn't yet figured out how.
His talent was truly frightening.
Now, the entire town of Wittes, including the knights, had heard about the extraordinarily talented dual-professional adventurer.
Captain Andel and the other knights behind Freya also turned their attention to Raymond, eager to hear his confirmation.
"Well, it's just luck," Raymond said with a smile.
"Sharp!" the knights exclaid, visibly impressed by Raymond's aura.
Freya shot Raymond a playful glare. "You're not just lucky! You're incredibly talented!"
Captain Andel and the others nodded in agreent, clearly impressed by Raymond's skills.
"It's such a sha!" Freya continued, looking a little regretful. "If we'd known you were this talented, we would've recomnded you to study at the Knight Academy before you beca an adventurer."
Raymond understood her disappointnt. Once an awakened adventurer, no matter how talented, was born, they couldn't join the Knight Academy. The academy usually only accepted commoners if they were recomnded by the temple, the Knights Templar, or noble families.
But for Raymond, it didn't matter anymore.
He smiled and replied, "Actually, being an adventurer is pretty great."
"Yeah! What's so great about being a knight at the Knight Academy?" Salifi chid in. "It's way more exciting and fun to be an adventurer!"
As soon as Salifi spoke, everyone's attention snapped to her.
Only the children of nobles could speak so confidently about the Knight Academy. Commoners, even those who had awakened their powers, could only dream of such a future. After all, who wouldn't want to join the prestigious academy and beco a knight? It wasn't just about a position, it was about status. Being a knight ant gaining noble status, sothing that commoners could only aspire to.
And those impoverished nobles who couldn't afford the academy? They wouldn't be adventurers if they had the chance to attend the academy.
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Freya blinked in surprise. "Sarifi, you...?"
"Ah..." Sarifi's mind raced as she quickly stamred, "I was just joking, hehe... heh..."
No one believed her, but since she clearly didn't want to talk about it, the conversation shifted.
Raymond smiled and stepped in to change the subject. "Freya, why are you here today?"
Freya quickly explained, and Raymond and the others soon understood what had happened.
It turned out that two adventurer teams had a long-standing grudge. One team ambushed the other, and while most of the attackers were caught, one thief managed to escape. The hunter from the attacked team managed to flee and reported the cri to the Knights.
"So, you ca to post a bounty?" Salifi asked.
"Of course not!" Freya imdiately responded. "We went straight to the scene and had our 'hunters' track the adventurers based on the escape routes they left. We caught most of them, but one thief sprinted away too fast... that's why we had to post a bounty."
At the ntion of "Sprint," Raymond's mind clicked. He recalled the description of the thief's skill: *Sprint* a skill that tripled the user's running speed for ten minutes, consuming 150 points of magic power.
Raymond had thought the skill sounded too powerful when he first heard about it, but now it made sense.
After hearing Freya's story, Raymond and his friends understood the situation.
Freya, appearing a bit embarrassed, explained, "We didn't stay long at the scene because we had other duties. But before I leave, I should warn you all—"
She paused, looking serious. "We've received word that a band of about 20 bandits has been spotted in our territory. Their strength ranges from bronze to silver, so be cautious when you go out on commissions, or better yet, don't accept any for now. Our Knights have been tracking them, and we'll notify you once we have more information."
Raymond's heart skipped a beat. He silently thanked his luck for not running into the bandits during his trip back.
He nodded to Freya. "Got it, thanks for the heads-up."
Once Freya and the others left, Salifi turned to Raymond. "How about we hold off on taking any more commissions for now?"
Lorene, looking concerned, added, "Yeah, it seems too risky."
Raymond agreed imdiately. "Alright, we'll wait until Freya and her team find the bandits."
"Then, let's head to the pharmacy quickly!" Salifi said, eager to get going.
But Raymond shook his head.
Salifi and Lorene exchanged puzzled glances as Raymond slowly said, "I need to tell you both sothing important. Should I co to your place, or do you want to co to mine?"
At Rose Street, townhouse No. 34, Raymond had to choose where to go; his place with Arya or Sylph's, where Lorene now lived as well. He didn't want to waste any ti, so he chose to go to Sylph's.
Once inside and with the door shut behind them, Sylph's curiosity couldn't be contained. "Raymond, what's so urgent that you had to co here to talk about it?" she asked, her voice full of anticipation.
Lorene, just as curious, looked at Raymond expectantly.
On the way, Sylph had asked multiple tis, but Raymond only shook his head, saying, "You'll know when we get there."
Now, seeing their curiosity bubbling over, Raymond smiled helplessly. He used his hunter abilities to scan the room, making sure everything was as it should be. After ensuring no surprises awaited them, he closed all the windows and drew the curtains, plunging the room into darkness. Then, he switched on the light by opening the white stone lampshade, illuminating the space again.
With everything set, he walked over to the guest table, gesturing for Sylph and Lorene to co closer. "Alright, co take a look."
Sylph, a little anxious, couldn't help but swallow. "Raymond… is this really that serious?"
Lorene gripped her magic wand tighter, worry and nervousness written across her face.
The strange actions Raymond had taken made them both realize how serious this must be.
"Co and see for yourselves," Raymond replied, already starting to unpack his backpack. He unbuckled it and slowly pulled out a bumpy, black stone, about the size of a human head.
"What is this?" Sylph asked, stepping closer, eyeing the odd stone curiously.
It took only a mont for her to notice sothing unusual. "Hmm? Why does this stone shine like that?"
Lorene's eyes, too, were drawn to the black iron ore. "This…" She stared at it, but then sothing seed to click in her mind. She reached out to touch it, but stopped herself, raising her eyes to Raymond, silently asking for permission.
Raymond chuckled at the way she looked at him, amused by her expression. "Touch it, if you want!"
A smile spread across Lorene's face at his permission. "Yes!"
"I want to touch it too!" Sylph chid in, now equally intrigued, and imdiately reached out to touch the stone.
Raymond, naturally, had no objection.
The mont their palms made contact with the black stone, both of them froze. Even though it was the end of sumr and the weather was warm, the stone felt icy to the touch, cold enough to send a chill through their bones.
Sylph gasped in surprise. "It's so cold!"
Lorene didn't say anything at first. Her palm slid slowly over the smooth surface, and she let out a breath, still silent as she pulled her hand away. Her eyes, however, were wide with shock.
"What's wrong, Lorene?" Sylph asked, noticing her strange expression.
Confused, Sylph reached out and touched the stone herself. Her eyes widened as she felt it too. "This… this stone has so many tiny holes on its surface! How can it be so smooth? What kind of stone is this?"
Lorene looked up, her expression just as stunned. "Didn't you recognize it?"
Sylph paused, focusing on the black iron ore, deep in thought. "It feels… familiar…"
Suddenly, her face lit up in recognition. "I know! It's… um…"
Before Sylph could finish, Lorene quickly covered her mouth, a warning look in her eyes.
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