The Witcher: Elemental Lords

The bar was spacious and empty. Only two people sat in opposite corners, silently drinking without any interaction. Behind the bar, a portly middle-aged man sat on a high stool, engrossed in a book.

Dolly and Cardia entered, and the plump middle-aged man finally looked up. He glanced at Cardia, then at Dolly, a professional smile appearing on his face. "We have a new recruit."

The smile was too fake. Dolly inwardly scoffed. Considering he was also wearing a mask, he didn't feel he had the right to mock the man. Besides, the man's aura was strange, and his intuition told him this person was dangerous, so he didn't dare speak.

Cardia slowly approached and sat opposite the plump middle-aged man, saying, "Yeah, Doug, I brought a newbie. Show him around."

Doug looked at Dolly, immediately discerning that he was disguised, likely with a disguise potion. 'Huh?'

His interest piqued. This guy was at least a beginner wizard apprentice?

He smiled, picked up a ledger, and handed it to Cardia, saying, "Here are all the missions, from highest to lowest."

Considering the surrounding environment and the strange atmosphere, Dolly would be a fool not to realize what this place was. He was incredibly shocked that this small tavern was actually the base of the Assassin's Guild in Domon City.

His heart was pounding. This was the underground world, the most enormous behemoth, the Assassin's Guild!

Every profession had its guild, except for wizards. Blacksmiths had the Blacksmith's Guild, warriors had the Warrior's Guild, hunters had the Hunter's Guild, and knights had the Knight's Guild. Some of these guilds were semi-official, while others were purely official. For example, the Warrior's Guild was a purely official guild, with all expenses borne by the empire. The Hunter's Guild, on the other hand, was a semi-official organization, responsible for its own profits and losses, except for reporting monthly statistics. Dolly knew all this.

The Assassin's Guild, however, was a purely underground organization, the kingpin of the dark world. Cardia's second identity was actually that of an assassin.

Dolly felt suffocated, and his gaze towards Cardia changed. This guy was dangerous.

Cardia took the ledger, glanced at it, then shook his head, handing it to Dolly with a peculiar look, saying, "These aren't suitable for me. There should be something that interests you."

Watching Dolly take the ledger, Cardia leaned casually against the bar, still smiling nonchalantly, "You should have guessed that this is the Assassin's Guild. This is the place I mentioned where you can make money. With what you did last time, this is where your abilities can truly shine."

Doug glanced at Dolly, then at Cardia, wondering what the guy was talking about. What big thing had this kid done that he didn't know about?

The Assassin's Guild was also an intelligence guild. It seemed like nothing major had happened recently! Just a few unremarkable people had died.

Dolly held the ledger in his hand, examining it carefully, a slight weight settling in his heart.

It was shocking.

Each line in this small ledger represented a mission, each mission involving at least one life. Some even demanded complete extermination. On just one page, there were at least thirty lives, with prices clearly marked in silver or gold coins.

This was the underground world?

Dolly's heart tightened slightly. Soon, skimming through the pages, he understood what Cardia had meant earlier.

"Bounty: Feller, squad leader of the city gate guards, two gold coins."

He instantly made up his mind, looked up at Doug, and carefully said, "I'll take this mission!"

Doug tilted his head, glanced at the mission in the ledger, and found it a bit strange. People rarely assassinated official figures because it was too troublesome afterward. They preferred assassinating fallen nobles or professionals.

But as an assassin, he didn't think too much about it. He took the ledger from Dolly's hand and said, "Do you have any information on Feller?"

Dolly shook his head, saying, "No, but I'll scout it out myself." He actually did have information, but he didn't dare tell the truth. In this place, he needed to be cautious.

In the quiet tavern, Doug chuckled. He said to Cardia, "This little brother you brought is very interesting."

Cardia remained in his lazy state, ignoring Doug and addressing the somewhat wary Dolly, "The Assassin's Guild also provides intelligence. You can buy it. Information on a squad leader usually doesn't cost more than one gold coin."

Hearing this, Dolly was stunned.

Doug picked up on Cardia's words, looking at Dolly, a knowing expression on his professional face, "Providing all services to assassins is our motto. The information on Feller isn't worth a gold coin; 50 silver coins will do. He's just a lucky nobody."

Dolly was silent, wondering if this guy was hinting at something.

He thought for a moment and said, "Then thank you."

A two-gold-coin mission, and a quarter of it went to intelligence. This assassin business was truly profitable.

After exchanging items and paying the money with Doug, the quiet tavern was silent once more, frighteningly so.

Dolly glanced around, finding this place too oppressive. It seemed like this atmosphere was deliberately created to instill fear.

As a person with mental abilities, he could sense something inexplicable in the surrounding world, suppressing something, and his heart felt slightly heavy.

Today, he had witnessed that even human lives could be bought and sold.

Slightly heavy-hearted, he quickly left the tavern with Cardia.

As soon as they left the tavern, Cardia's lazy demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold and solemn expression.

They quickly left the main road, turning onto another street.

At this time, Cardia reverted to his original appearance, while Dolly maintained his new face.

Cardia was somewhat shocked by Dolly's disguise skills, making many guesses about Dolly's methods.

After entering the main road, Cardia walked along, whispering, "The Assassin's Guild also offers many services, such as money laundering, slave trading, and providing various fighting techniques, as well as some wizard meditation methods. As long as you have money, you can buy them. But remember to be careful and not flaunt your wealth."

Dolly nodded.

Cardia patted him on the shoulder and chuckled, "I have high hopes for you. Actually, there's a referral fee for bringing you there, so you don't have to worry about me wanting anything from you. In the future, when your strength improves, we can even team up. I'm just cultivating a teammate in advance."

Dolly naturally didn't believe his words, just nodded slightly and said, "Then thank you, Lord Cardia."

The two quickly parted ways.

Dolly walked towards the East District.

The streets were very quiet. Few people came out at night. Walking along, he hardly saw anyone, only occasionally spotting the shadows of the security patrol passing by.

Although Domon City wasn't chaotic, few people walked around at night. In the dark corners and complex sewers, there could be several corpses lying at any time, a terrifying mess.

No one wanted to die inexplicably outside.

Dolly carefully walked back to his alley. As he turned the corner, he heard a team of security guards approaching from afar, seemingly about to meet him.

His expression didn't change. He faced the patrol, walking towards them.

He had already changed his attire, wearing ordinary, close-fitting clothes, leaving his head exposed. As expected, he was questioned.