章 23: Jason is very competent.

Naturally, Jason's arrangements would be swiftly made, but the speed at which it was done... My God, this man was incredibly competent!

In just one day, Jason managed to fix several things he didn't necessarily know this town had. Firstly, on horseback, he went to one of the nearby towns and placed a special order at the adventurers' guild.

This guild was a general entity that hired cultivators and other guilds to carry out missions requested by citizens, mayors, barons, and dukes. This worked very well, and there were several guilds in this world that offered the same service.

In a general view, they were people who worked as hired mercenaries to improve the quality of life. After all, even though the world was a place of cultivation and danger, not everyone was suited to follow that path. Look at the citizens of the Barony of Steinhardt themselves; hardly any cultivators lived in the city. Even in the mines, where cultivators could emerge due to extreme effort, due to the low concentration of mana and energy from the sky and the earth, here in Steinhardt, cultivators were almost impossible to find.

Of course, it wasn't an exception for one or two to exist, but they would be really rare and would have to be wealthy... like Beatrice, who really had a lot of help from her non-cultivator parents. Influence and money were still very much needed for the individual growth of a cultivator. Of course, the story would be different if you were someone like Strax, whose latent talent was directly linked to his lineage.

Jason hired a guild to accompany them to the Duchy of Vorah. He would love to go alone, but the journey was really long. At this moment, he was talking to the leader of the Flame guild. As the knight in charge of completing an official mission, everything was on his shoulders, and Strax... just focused on having some more "private" time with Beatrice while Jason did his job. After all, they would soon be parting ways and wouldn't see each other for a few weeks.

Jason was now in a tent set up on the outskirts of the town near the barony. He was having a meeting with a mercenary famous for her strength.

"Twenty, and I'll guarantee the whole way," said the female voice as she tossed a gold coin into the air, casually playing with the money without any concern.

"That's steep. Twenty gold coins is too much," Jason said as he drank beer. "My men are more reliable than that whole guild you were trying to negotiate with. We guarantee complete security," she said with a proud smile on her face.

"Yes, your reputation is very high, Samira Blaze," Jason said. "However, I don't have time to negotiate with a mercenary who has barely the experience of a knight," Jason said, getting up to leave, opening the tent flap to step out.

"Coming from a Vorah Knight, who are well-trained, you're quite hot-headed, aren't you? Sir. Jason," Samira said, quickly grabbing Jason's attention. After all, at no point did he mention he was a Vorah Knight, in fact, it was impossible to know that in this location.

"How do you know that?" he questioned her with a tense and serious look, yet it only widened the smile on the woman's face. "Strax Vorah, he's the contractor, isn't he?" she quickly questioned, and Jason didn't answer. "Looks like it, so you better hire me," she said, still smiling like a cunning fox.

"What do you mean by that?" Jason questioned, and suddenly, from a ring - yes, a spatial ring, an extremely expensive item that almost no mercenary in this place would have -, emerged a worn-out pamphlet with Strax's image.

[Wanted - Alive or Dead]

[Strax Vorah]

[Reward: 15 Gold Aions, 50 Silver Aions]

"Who issued this? Who dared to place a bounty on the young master's head!" Jason quickly roared and Samira just shrugged. "Hard to say. Lots of guilds throw things like this out there, I presume. Possibly some of the Duchy's brothers and commanders hired to stop Strax from going. The succession competition must already be starting, as Xenovia Vorah has announced that she has given up being the Matriarch ."

This information caught Jason by surprise; his whole body burned with anger. "Of course... If you want an alliance... we can pass your young master through the mountain range and no bandit or mercenary will bother you," she said predatorily, cornering him against the wall, after all, probably no guild would accept this commission.

"What do you gain from this, woman?" Jason said, and she smiled sweetly, yet maliciously. "Who knows? I like to have fun," she said. Jason, however, didn't give in for a second.

"Come to Steinhardt. My young master will decide this. I have no power over this negotiation, since the conditions have changed," Jason said. Indeed, it was Strax's order. If anything changed, he was to bring people directly to him and he would check what could be happening.

In fact, Strax already intended to use "Analyze" to get personal information about people, and if it were a woman... He wouldn't hesitate to do his best to read her completely and discern whether it would be good to hire her or not. Well, it was one more of Strax's plans that sought to quickly understand the System and the world around him. He needed subordinates, and if he could get them, he would hire them to make everything easier.

He had already foreseen the internal dispute among the Vorah Commanders; his brothers could be preparing something like this. So, at this moment, Jason knew... Strax was already starting his plans.

'You managed to think of all this in just a few hours... You're not the Young Master I knew, you... are almost a different person... yet, still Strax... Damn, what a mess! How did you change so much in six years? Have you been studying? Weird bastard!' Jason thought and turned, seeing Samira's serious face, which seemed to calmly consider the decision. After all, it wasn't just her involved in this problem; her subordinates were also being drawn into this escort.

"Ah, alright, I'll go along with what you want. After all, I'd love to meet your young master," Samira said, while her eyes and mouth seemed mocking. She was thinking of some fun things that could happen, and that was what really mattered... Money? She already had money, she wanted adventure!