"Five silver coins, thank you." Brian Carter took a gold coin out of his spatial pouch and handed it to the shop assistant, who quickly gave him five silver coins in change. (In this world, the currency is unified: 1 gold coin = 10 silver coins = 1,000 copper coins = 10,000 copper pieces. A single silver coin is enough to support an ordinary family of four for a month, with some left over.) Special places have special prices, and Brian Carter knew that although the quality of this clothing was good, it wouldn't be as expensive elsewhere.

Brian Carter went out and found a general store, intending to buy a map. Although the store was small, it was "small but well-equipped," and its selection was quite complete.

Upon entering, Brian Carter asked, "Boss, do you have any maps here?" The shopkeeper replied, "What kind of map are you looking for?"

Brian Carter answered directly, "I want every kind of map, as long as they aren't duplicates."

"What?" the shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise.

"You want all the maps, as long as they're not duplicates?" The shopkeeper, afraid he had misheard, asked again.

"Yes, I want all the non-duplicate maps, no matter where they're from." Brian Carter repeated himself.

The shopkeeper took out every type of map he had in the store for Brian Carter. After paying, Brian Carter stored the maps in his ring. As he was leaving, he asked the shopkeeper which inn in town was the best. The shopkeeper told him it was the Kaye Inn, the best inn in the whole town.

Brian Carter rented a room at the Kaye Inn and asked them to bring up bathwater. After washing himself clean, Brian Carter changed into the swordsman outfit he had just bought, hung the Snowdrift Sword at his side, and left the room to head to the local mercenary guild. When he saw the mercenary guild in town earlier, Brian Carter had already decided to register as a mercenary and look for a mission to the Tianxiang Imperial City.

Stepping out of his room, Brian Carter saw the group of guards from the caravan in the courtyard, arranging their posts. It seemed they were staying here too. He decided to go say hello and walked over to the leader. "Mr. Foster, are you all staying at this inn too?"

"Yes, Brian Carter, you look like a completely different person now. You look really cool like this," Mr. Foster replied upon seeing Brian Carter's new look.

"Mr. Foster, don't say that. I'm not cool at all. You're the one who's imposing and admirable," Brian Carter replied instinctively. He'd said this kind of polite remark many times back on Earth.

"Heh heh..." Mr. Foster chuckled. "Are you staying here too?"

"Yeah, let's look out for each other."

After exchanging pleasantries with Mr. Foster, Brian Carter left the inn and headed to the mercenary guild. He didn't know that Mr. Foster and Charles Brooks were talking about him.

Charles Brooks said, "My feeling was right. When we parted ways earlier, I thought we'd meet again, and sure enough, it's only been a little over an hour and we've run into him again."

Mr. Foster asked suspiciously, "Could he be following us?"

Charles Brooks replied, "No, he got here before we did. When we went to the mercenary guild to post a mission, he was already here."

Mr. Foster said, "That's true."

Charles Brooks thought to himself, "Maybe we'll meet again in the future."

At the mercenary guild, Brian Carter went to the window to apply for his mercenary license. He said to the lady inside, "Miss, I'd like to register as a mercenary." The guild lady replied mechanically, "One gold coin."

Brian Carter handed a gold coin to the guild lady, cursing inwardly at how greedy the mercenary guild was for charging a whole gold coin for this.

Only then did the guild lady look up at Brian Carter and ask, "Name? You can use an alias if you like." "Brian Carter"

"Age?" "Nineteen."

"Gender?" "..."

"Profession?" "Swordsman."

"Title?" "Advanced Swordsman." "Advanced Swordsman!?"

"Yes." Brian Carter thought to himself that Ethan Harris used to have the title of Advanced Swordsman. Although he could now easily defeat an Intermediate Sword Saint, he hadn't officially earned the title, and besides, he didn't want to draw attention.

Brian Carter registered as a mercenary, a G-rank mercenary. There happened to be a mission to the imperial city with no level or number restrictions, so Brian Carter accepted it. The mission was to escort a caravan to the imperial city, with the reward divided by rank. As a G-rank, Brian Carter would get only one gold coin. The mission was B-rank and would depart from the town gate the next morning.

Not bad—at least the cost was already covered.

Chapter 9: First Mercenary Mission

After returning from the mercenary guild, Brian Carter went back to his room to do his daily practice, training the Proud Dragon Technique.

Early the next morning, Brian Carter packed his things and headed to the town gate. As he left, he saw the caravan members also preparing to set out, and noticed a woman standing beside one of the carriages. The woman wore a veiled hat, so Brian Carter couldn't see her face, but guessed she must be the person from inside the carriage.

Brian Carter politely greeted Mr. Foster, who was standing beside the woman. After Mr. Foster returned the greeting, he asked, "Brian Carter, where are you headed? If we're going the same way, we can travel together." Brian Carter thanked him and replied, "I accepted a mission yesterday, so I'm off to do that now."

"Oh, then go ahead. If fate allows, we'll meet again."

"Yes, if fate allows, see you again. I wish you all a safe journey."

After bidding farewell to the caravan, Brian Carter walked straight to the town gate. There, he found several others waiting as well—presumably mercenaries who had also accepted the mission, just like Brian Carter.