Colin walked slowly through the small city, following the address given by the grey-cloaked wizard, to arrive in front of a rare three-story building in the city center.
He was a bit surprised, wasn't this the same place where he had exchanged the Limit Breaking Fire Technique with Wizard Berkeley?
Upon reflection, it seemed quite normal, after all, Berkeley was probably also a member of the Guard Team.
Colin stepped inside and, after asking around, headed towards a room in the middle of the first floor.
Before he got there, he could faintly hear voices conversing inside.
The strength of a Great Knight combined with an Intermediate Apprentice rendered his senses exceptionally sharp.
"...Recently, several Fierce Beasts have emerged from the Dark Forest, our colleagues there are suffering terribly... I heard that another wizard died, seems like it was someone from the Poke Gang."
"Another wizard died?! Sigh, the beasts are getting stronger and stronger..."
"I also heard from a brother in East City that the beaches there have been restless every night lately."
The voices in conversation paused for a moment, then resumed.
"It's still better here... Giant Axe Tavern got some new dancers, you know..."
Knock, knock, knock.
By this time, Colin had reached the door and knocked on the wooden panel.
"...Please come in."
The speaking inside halted for a moment, then one of them called out.
Colin pushed the door open.
Seated behind the dark brown wooden table were two Intermediate Apprentices, one fat and one thin.
"I'm new here to report," said Colin, approaching calmly and passing over his credentials and School Badge.
"Welcome, welcome, we rarely get new people in the Guard Team; please, have a seat," the fatter wizard said with a flash of surprise on his face, smiling as he took the credentials and badge, speaking amiably.
After verifying the credentials and badge, the fat wizard returned them to Colin, then continued,
"Colin, is it? My name is Leiden Jeremy, just call me Leiden, and beside me is Jerome Elton... You go with him first to get your equipment."
"I need to ask Master Red Flame for your assignment."
With that, Leiden gave Jerome a knowing look.
"Come with me," the lean Jerome stood up, smiling as he spoke.
Colin nodded and followed him.
As they went upstairs, walking on the staircase, Colin asked,
"Senior Jerome, I wonder what Senior Leiden meant by 'assignment'..."
"'Assignment' refers to the area you'll work in within the city; Blackstone City is quite large, and the Guard Team has three locations here."
"One is this headquarters, and the other two are in East City and West City."
Colin nodded in understanding, then asked, "Is there any difference between these three places?"
"...No real difference, the treatment is all the same; it's just that East City and West City are farther from the city center, not as lively and prosperous," Jerome paused before replying.
Colin nodded, his expression calm.
They soon arrived at a room at the end of the second floor.
Jerome gestured for Colin to wait outside, then opened the door and went in.
In a short while, he came out with a black Wizard Robe in hand.
"This is the Guard Team's uniform Wizard Robe, needed when on duty; a Cleaning Technique is permanently affixed to it, so you don't need to worry about cleaning issues," he said as he spread out the robe, showed it fully to Colin, and then handed it over to him.
.......
Downstairs.
The fat wizard Leiden was speaking to the Communication Witch Array.
"...That's too little, sixty Magic Stones are too few, at least eighty!"
"...What, too much?"
"You think it's too much, I even think it's too little! You know very well how rarely we get a new person."
"If it weren't for our good relationship, I would have sold them to someone else long ago! Do you know how many people in West City want to transfer back to headquarters?"
"Others have given at least eighty..."
"Fine, fine, why didn't you do this earlier?"
"Don't worry, can't you trust me to do the job? Would I ruin my own reputation?"
Leiden closed the Witch Array with satisfaction. After giving thirty Magic Stones to Jerome, he pocketed another fifty Magic Stones for himself!
He took out a pen and spread the records across the desk.
Then, on the part of the record for West City, he slowly added the name Colin Leonard.
He'd done this kind of thing more than once already. Initially, he was terrified, afraid of getting caught.
But now he was adept at it, especially after dragging Jerome, who also managed the records, into the business, and he grew more audacious.
In his view, it was a situation where no one lost out.
He got his Magic Stones, his friends in West City got their desired transfer to headquarters.
As for Colin,
the young man wouldn't be accustomed to the easy-going life at the headquarters.
West City was more suitable for him.
Not only were the conditions the same as at headquarters, but it was also close to the Dark Forest.
Not to mention the beautiful scenery, occasionally, Fierce Beasts would emerge to provide practice for witchcraft.
Those Fierce Beasts were valuable; their skin, fur, bones, and blood could all be traded for money. The group in West City was much wealthier than them!
Sitting in his chair, the more Leiden thought about it, the more he felt his plan was considerate; no one's interests were harmed... this was clearly a win-win-win situation!
'...With fifty Magic Stones in my pocket now, I can have another grand time at the Giant Axe Tavern...'
'I just can't decide whether to go for the Half-Elf or the Merfolk lady, hehe...'
Creak—
At that moment, the wooden door was pushed open, and Jerome returned with Colin.
Leiden straightened his posture and put on a gentle smile, nodding slightly at Jerome's probing gaze.
"I've already asked Lord Red Flame, Colin, you're assigned to West City," he said, looking at Colin.
Upon hearing this, Colin nodded calmly.
Jerome, standing beside him, sighed:
"What a pity. If you were assigned to headquarters, Leiden and I would definitely take you to the Giant Axe Tavern every day... But West City is not bad either."
He patted Colin on the shoulder and continued:
"It's getting late; you should hurry to West City with your certificate to report in; otherwise, it'll be a hassle once it gets dark."
Colin accepted the new certificate and nodded slightly.
'West City, huh...'
Even though Jerome had earlier told him that all three locations were similar, the conversation he eavesdropped on when he arrived suggested otherwise.
West City, being close to the Dark Forest, was obviously more arduous and dangerous.
The mention of "another Wizard has died" from their conversation heightened his concerns.
This place... was not within the protection of the School. Enemies would no longer hold back like Charlie and Hayward had, refraining from taking his life.
...Here, people could actually die.
Colin, holding the new certificate, turned and left calmly, sighing inwardly.
Unfortunately, the outcome of the assignment was not under his control.
On the bright side, at least he no longer needed to worry about being expelled from the School.
Jerome had also told him that members of the Guard Team received a salary of ten Magic Stones each month.
Completing specific tasks would result in corresponding rewards.
...That was decent enough,
Certainly much better than being a third-ranked Apprentice.
He walked toward the door and left.