As Xu Feng briefly admired the working process of the association, he began inspecting the mercenary individually.
Since he wanted to hire some of them to work for him, then naturally he had to pick the best. Otherwise, what was the point of hiring a slacker or inadequate mercenary?
'Hmm, based on their ranking, these few should be in the Tier 1 category.' Xu Feng analyzed. The tier rankings are numbered from 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.
Of course, in a beginner town like this, it would be a miracle to even find a mercenary in the Tier 3 category. After all, such a tier mercenary would usually reside in a city or bigger location, and not some beginner town.
Taking a few more glances around, Xu Feng was ready to go to the registrar for help, until he heard a commotion.
"Woman, are you joking with me? You expect to hire me, a Tier 1 Mercenary for just 10 copper coins? Do you take me for a fool?" One of the Tier 1 Mercenaries shouted loudly in a displeased tone.
"N-No, that's not it." The woman in question timidly shook her head and responded. "It's just that I only have 10 copper coins with me."
Seeing the timid reaction, the displeased Tier 1 Mercenary was utterly speechless. Clearly, it didn't expect someone to come in here with 10 copper coins and expect to hire a Tier 1 mercenary.
Sure, Tier 1 was the lowest ranking, but that didn't mean they were weak by any means.
The mercenary's ranking was not just based on the skills of the individual, but also on the number of missions completed and success rate.
Additionally, they also needed to pass a ranking test assessment to rank up. And if they were to fail the assessment, they would need to wait half a year before they could retake the test.
It was especially difficult to pass the assessment, given each one of them was different to prevent any mercenary from being prepared and cheating.
"Ah, forget it." Finally, the Tier 1 Mercenary waved his hand to dismiss her.
"It's just my luck that I expect a greenhorn like you will have any money. Don't bother me any longer, otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."
With that said, the Tier 1 Mercenary promptly went upstairs, clearly trying to get some booze to calm his emotions.
The second floor of the association could be said to be a bar, similar to a tavern-type style that offered booze and food. In a way, it was the association's devious style to keep the mercenaries longer and have them spend their money back on the association.
As for the woman who was reprimanded earlier, no other mercenaries paid attention to her. She had already admitted to only having a wealth of 10 copper coins, which was equivalent to trash in their eyes.
Just one simple or easy commission job posted on the bulletin board here would get them at least 1 silver coin.
Who would care about 10 copper coins?
Curiosity aroused in Xu Feng's mind as he wondered who this courageous woman player was.
To hire someone with a wealth of only 10 copper coins, only amateur and noob players would do that.
After all, these NPCs have long been used to their life, so not a single one of them would be retarded enough to hire a Tier 1 Mercenary with 10 copper coins.
Taking a step forward, Xu Feng asked, "Hi, why are you trying to hire a mercenary?"
Startled, the woman took a few steps away before glancing at Xu Feng, "A-Are you a mercenary?"
Xu Feng shook his head.
"A player?"
He nodded his head in response.
"O-Oh, nice to meet you." The woman suddenly bowed slightly and introduced herself, "I'm Carmen, a Summoner class."
"..."
Silent, Xu Feng was unable to respond right away. Never once had he seen such a naive player before, but that wasn't the main reason why he was speechless.
Instead, it was the fact that he didn't recognize her name, Carmen.
'Ahh, what bad luck I have.' Xu Feng thought to himself, feeling like he had wasted his time. Normally, in such a scenario, he would encounter a bona fide expert in the future when they were still in their naive or weak state.
However, the name Carmen never rang a bell in his mind, which meant she wasn't good enough for him to remember or recognize.
Not trying to go to the conclusion right off the bat, Xu Feng decided to inspect and analyze her more thoroughly this time.
Carmen wore simple robes, her colors still bright and unmarked by battle.
A modest wooden staff, freshly carved with minimal adornment, was clutched nervously in her hand.
Her facial appearance wasn't that special, but she wasn't ugly either. It was just that he had a high standard, but still, there was nothing helpful in his recollection.
Meanwhile, his eyes darting at her left and right made her nervous and suspicious of his actions.
"I-I might be timid, but don't think I'm easy to target." Carmen suddenly warned, pointing her staff at him.
"You misunderstood my intention." Xu Feng explained softly. "It's just that no player gives out their username in the first interaction to strangers right away without any guards up."
"Oh, I know which is why I gave my real name and not my username," Carmen said, lowering her staff slightly.
Baffled, Xu Feng didn't know what to say. Her so-called defense was even worse.
Who would give out their real name?
Isn't she afraid of being traced or tracked based on her real name?
"If that was the case, then one should give their game username instead of their real name. The world is not some colorful life, but one filled with many nefarious people." He kindly gave her some advice.
As if realization struck upon her, Carmen nodded and said, "Ah, is that how it works? Then, in that case, I'm Lunar Wraith."