Chapter 26 (2/2)
The waitress turned her eyes and suddenly understood a bit. She smiled and asked, “Are you looking for a companion to hunt for treasure? Why not look for an experienced mage?”
“We have a mage here,” Gerrard pointed to Palin, who was reading a book not far away, “Young as he is, he is quite reliable.”
The waitress carefully observed Palin but shook her head slightly. She had been working in the Association of Adventure for several years and had long developed an unusual perspective. This young pygmy mage might be very talented and strenuous but obviously didn’t have much strength.
Mages were divided into two categories, academic ones and practical ones. The former had the advantage of knowing a lot of spells and tricks, claiming to be capable of defeating all enemies when fully prepared. The latter was specialized in the practical use of spells, claiming to far excel academic mages. This claim was not a boast in that in some extreme and unexpected circumstances, more than ten academic mages might not be able to defeat a practical mage. Both were good at different areas and there were no absolute merits or demerits.
There was no difference of ranking in terms of the type of mage, but there was a gap between different magic casters. At the first glance, she knew that the young pygmy mage lacked experience and had a limited knowledge reserve. Even if he was not a complete novice, at least he was far from the name of an “experienced mage” or “war mage”.
It wouldn’t be realistic to count on such a young man to help at a crucial time!
“To be honest, I think you should look for another magic caster.” She whispered, “In that way, we can be prepared. And we won’t be at a disadvantage even if you’re prepared for it because we can allow that young mage to learn more about the useful experience of his predecessors.”
Gerrard meditated for a moment and accepted this advice.
“Then please wait a moment, I would arrange for you the information and give you the list of qualified staff.”
“It doesn’t have to be so complex,” Sounded a voice with a little forced smile. But there came an elderly person wearing a light leather armor, whose face was filled with traces of hardships, “As for hunting for treasure, only the three of us will suffice. This big man, that little master, and me.”
Surprised, Gerrard turned around and looked at him, thinking that this person was too old. He could not help but doubt this old man’s strength. The waitress was shocked, so she hurriedly bowed her head for fear that her surprised look would be seen.
But in fact, her look had long been clearly sensed by the soul of Sui Xiong.
“Gerrard, this old man is probably not a normal person. Be careful.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Seeing Gerrard’s look of inspection, the old man seemed very calm without the slightest panic, “My name is Ryan, ‘Quick Hand’ Ryan. I believe this nickname is sufficient to prove my strength. In these four towns, you absolutely cannot find thieves who are more powerful than me. ”
Gerrard frowned, “The nickname ‘Quick Hand’, though powerful, might not be related to traps and tricks. Are you a Golden Finger (pickpocket)? I want specialists with knowledge of traps and tricks.”
This world was not a game, so of course, there were no levels therein. The strength and fame of adventurers often needed to be judged by their nicknames.
The nickname was not created by them. It was the Association of Adventurers that selected some nicknames based on the adventurers’ past experiences and then let them choose. These nicknames were divided into several levels so that experienced adventurers could tell each other’s strength just by judging from the nickname.
The adventurers at the lowest rank had no nicknames, just like Palin at the moment. These adventurers were fledglings without awesome power or convincing achievements. They were mere novices.
After passing the period as a rookie, adventurers got a nickname of the lowest grade. Such nicknames were described in terms of their appearance or equipment, such as the “Bald” Nyen during the past times. The nicknames meant that the adventurers had had a reputation and were regarded as somebody, which also meant they had no decent results but only could be recognized by others.
The title at a higher level was marked by a convincing achievement. Previously, the leader of Gerrard’s adventure team was nicknamed “Shoot the Tiger”, because he once shot dead a fierce tiger alone with a bow and arrow, which proved his strength. There were similar ones like “Chase the Wolf”, “Chop the Bear” and so on, which were all evidence of battle achievements.
Above the above-mentioned levels was a level summarizing the adventurers’ expertise. The adventurers who owned a nickname of this level had been distinguished in some respects and were regarded as one of the best in his class. For example, one adventurer called “Sharp Knife” must have a sharp knife, with which he would have cut off the head of an ordinary rookie when the latter only saw a flash of the knife. One who was called “Fleet-footed” certainly ran fast and it was almost impossible that you could escape his chase.
This was the case with the old man nicknamed “Quick Hand”, whose nickname proved that he had a pair of very flexible, quick hands and was a first-class pickpocket. However, what Gerrard needed was a man who could help him to find out the pitfalls and crack down on the tricks. So no matter how powerful a pickpocket was, he would not be helpful.
In the face of Gerrard’s questioning, Ryan raised his eyebrows, looking proud. “Young man, it seems you don’t know the situation in our four towns that well! The reason why I am called ‘Quick Hand’ is not that I am only good at stealing things, but that there was no second person with a pair of faster and smarter hands than I do in the four towns, whether we talk about stealing, trapping, or … fighting. ”
As he said it, with a chilling flash, six or seven daggers had been plugged on the ground around them in a messy way. Not to mention the waitress with an average strength, even Gerrard himself failed to see what exactly he did.