Chapter 192: Upgrade


    As the group chatted and laughed, except for Quik who hadn''t found his task yet, Han Ming and the other four had all found suitable tasks for themselves.


    The five of them planned to each take on two D-level tasks and complete them separately.


    When they returned, combining their efforts, they would have completed ten tasks in total, which would allow them to smoothly advance to a C-level mercenary group.


    After all, although their mercenary group sounded like a team, it consisted of only five people.


    Without enough manpower to take on different tasks separately, each person had to take on two.


    Quik paced back and forth in front of the wall, constantly making sounds of dissatisfaction.


    "Kid, have you found a task you like yet?"


    Han Ming asked impatiently. Quik had been wandering around for most of the day without finalizing his task, causing the other four to wait for him and waste time.


    "Sigh... They are all simple tasks, so annoying. Damn it, look at this one, delivering a message? Come on! Is delivering a message even considered a task? I''m so awesome, and they want me to deliver a message? And this one, taking care of a rich family''s child for three days. Damn it! Do they think I''m a nanny?"


    Quik cursed while looking at the tasks.


    Han Ming laughed and said, "These are the lowest-level tasks, not difficult at all. They are nothing but this kind of tasks. What kind of task are you looking for?"


    Quik straightened up immediately, patted his chest forcefully, and said, "Naturally, I''m looking for tasks where I can fight. Fighting is fun; otherwise, it''s boring."


    Hearing this, Han Ming broke out in a cold sweat. This kid wasn''t looking for tasks; he was looking for excitement.


    "Forget it, Han Ming, you guys don''t need to worry about me. Just go and do your own tasks. When I find a task I like, I''ll do it myself. We''ll meet here later."


    Quik felt a bit embarrassed seeing Han Ming and the others waiting for him.


    "Alright then, it''s settled. You''d better hurry up. We don''t have much time; we must reach at least the level of a C-level mercenary group in the short term."


    Han Ming gave Quik some final instructions and then went with the other three towards the task handover location.


    The tasks on the task board were divided into three types. One type had the word "New" written in big letters behind it, meaning the task was newly posted and anyone could take it.


    Another type had the word "In Progress" written in big letters, indicating that the task had been accepted and was being executed.


    The last type had the word "Failed" written in big letters, which clearly meant that the previous mercenary group that accepted the task had not completed it, and the task had failed. Others could continue to accept it.


    All completed tasks would be directly erased.


    Han Ming accepted two new tasks.


    He remembered the task numbers and reported them directly to the staff at the task handover point.


    The staff member looked down and searched for a moment, then said, "Hmm, these two tasks haven''t been accepted yet, so you can take them. Show me the emblem representing your mercenary group, and pay a 30% deposit first."


    Han Ming had already learned about this from other mercenaries during the meal and had applied for five emblems, which he had distributed to Quik, Sorrow Sparrow, and the others. He also took out some gold coins to use as a deposit.


    The bounty for the two tasks Han Ming accepted was actually very small, totaling only sixty gold coins, so he only needed to pay a twenty-gold-coin deposit.


    Moreover, to save time, the locations of the two tasks he accepted were very close.


    One task was to escort a small convoy, which would take only one day to complete. The other task was at the endpoint of the small convoy, escorting another small convoy to a city close to Black Cloud City, which would take two days.


    In other words, after completing these two tasks, he could conveniently return to Black Cloud City. This was also the first factor they considered when choosing tasks.


    Two escort tasks were naturally a piece of cake for Han Ming. Those two convoys were quite lucky to encounter a master like Han Ming, who had just joined the Demon Hunt Mercenary Group and could only take low-level tasks.


    Three days later.


    Han Ming successfully completed his tasks and returned to Black Cloud City.


    He thought he would be the first to return, but when he got back to the guild hall, he saw that Gamory had left him a message, costing one gold coin.


    When Han Ming handed in his tasks, retrieved his deposit, and received his bounty, the staff handed him a message book left by Gamory.


    It was Gamory''s message, naturally about the successful completion of the task, and it specified the meeting location. It seemed that Gamory was the first to complete the task, followed by Sarsoor, and Han Ming was third.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Gamory, the first to complete the task, had left a message for each of the other four, with identical content.


    For each completed D-level task, one could stay in the Mercenary Guild for five days.


    Han Ming went to a room marked with the words "Demon Hunt" in big letters.


    Inside, he saw Gamory and Sarsoor sitting at opposite ends of the room, meditating.


    "You''re done too? That was fast," Sarsoor said, standing up with a smile.


    Han Ming nodded at Sarsoor and said to Gamory, "You''ve closed your eyes again. It seems you only open them when looking for tasks."


    Gamory remained silent.


    Han Ming didn''t feel embarrassed, understanding Gamory''s nature and knowing that this was just how he was.


    Half a day later, Sorrow Sparrow and Quik arrived.


    "How about it!? How about it!? How much bounty did you get?"


    Quik asked excitedly as soon as he entered.


    Han Ming smiled and said, "Sixty gold coins."


    The other three, Gamory received fifty gold coins, Sarsoor also received fifty, and Sorrow Sparrow received forty gold coins.


    "What about you?" Han Ming asked with a smile.


    Quik waved his small pouch triumphantly and said, "I got a hundred gold coins!"


    Han Ming and the others were taken aback. For the lowest-level tasks, it was rare to see a bounty exceeding fifty gold coins. Quik completed two tasks, and the combined bounty was actually a hundred gold coins, making him the one who profited the most among the five.


    "You guys don''t know, haha! The two tasks I took were both for avenging someone else!"


    "Revenge..."


    Han Ming broke out in a cold sweat. This kid really did take a task involving fighting others.


    Quik slammed the gold coins heavily on the table, making a loud clanging sound, then sat down casually and took a jug of water, gulping down several mouthfuls.


    "You guys don''t know, our Demon Hunt has already been targeted. After you four left, I went to handle the task procedures, and a kid came up to me asking for a share of the bounty, saying if I didn''t give it to him, he''d make sure I regretted it later. Haha, I didn''t expect to actually encounter this kind of thing. I tricked him into talking, asking how he found me, and he said they have many informants and noticed that on the same day, our Demon Hunt Mercenary Group''s five members accepted ten tasks. Naturally, it caught their attention."


    Hearing this, Han Ming frowned slightly and asked, "Then what?"


    Quik waved his hands excitedly and said, "Then? Of course, I knocked that kid out with one punch! Then, when I was executing the task, they really came to cause trouble. I think there must be informants from these people among the Mercenary Guild staff. Otherwise, the details of our tasks we accept are secret, and outsiders couldn''t possibly know. Guess what? Those guys actually went to the side of the enemy of my task issuer, which is, the group of people my task issuer wanted me to fight. The result was obvious; that group of mercenaries joined the side of my target and fought me. Unfortunately, they were just a bunch of weaklings, and I took them down easily with just a few punches."


    Sarsoor tapped his index finger rhythmically on the table, pondered for a moment, and said, "It''s best to end this matter here. If it''s just some insignificant small mercenary groups causing trouble, that''s fine. But if they belong to a large mercenary group, it might get troublesome. Right now, our most urgent task is to quickly upgrade our mercenary group''s level."


    Han Ming agreed, "That''s right, let''s see what happens. For now, we can only take it one step at a time. There''s no other good solution. If someone really insists on making trouble for us, we won''t be polite."


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    Quik was especially excited, secretly wishing that those people would come to cause trouble for him again.


    The group rested for a while and then went to the Mercenary Hall, submitting proof of their completed tasks at the service desk and successfully upgrading their mercenary group to C-level.


    After resting for a night, Han Ming and his group returned to the Mercenary Hall to look for suitable C-level tasks.


    The C-level task board was located on the west wall of the Mercenary Hall.


    There were many more mercenaries gathered here than in front of the D-level task board.


    Han Ming and his group squeezed in with difficulty, and upon looking around, most of the tasks on the numerous large task boards had the word "In Progress" written behind them, indicating that they had already been accepted. It was likely that most of them were monopolized by some large mercenary groups. The tasks available for ordinary mercenaries to accept were mostly extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive, with not much bounty.


    Han Ming glanced over them silently and nodded. C-level tasks were already considered medium-level tasks, no longer as simple as the trivial D-level tasks.