Is That A Wisp?

Krune then spent his next few days training with his shields and awakening Equipment Spirits in the Spirit Awakener Guild. Only when he was confident in his control over the shields did he finally decide to leave. Of course, he had long since thought about his destination.

"So, you're planning to take mission jobs in the Mercenary Guild, huh?"

Krune nodded, saying.

"I've thought a lot about it. But in the end, I can't really decide on a place to try out my abilities. There are just way too many options available. Since that's the case, I might as well use the Mercenary Guild's mission to go around it."

Krune decided to do this because that was how he started his cultivation back in Makui Planet. After he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, he left the forest and joined the Mercenary Guild. Only then did he begin to travel everywhere. 

Dima didn't think it was a bad idea.

"That's good enough. The situation in our Zamuria Empire is quite peaceful. That said, most of the missions will take place inside demon beast territories or areas where the Empire's laws don't mean anything. Fortunately, there's plenty of places like that. The most common ones are trade routes between cities. I believe you've heard that just 23000 kilometers from here, you have the four sectors' trade route. That's one where you should try your missions out."

Krune nodded after hearing that. That was one of the reasons he decided to take the Mercenary Guild's missions as he did in the past. Taran had talked with him about this place. As always, Krune wouldn't go out of his way to battle others on his own without reason. However, if others attacked him first, then that was another story. 

A few moments later, someone knocked on the door to Dima's office.

"Come in."

Krune looked behind him and saw a man come inside. He looked to be around his forties. Well, that wasn't considering his cultivation level and lifespan, of course.

"Krune, this is the protector I arranged for you. As I mentioned, we can't allow anything to happen to you, so he will follow you for the time being. Also, he will give you the God Foundation Star Equipment for awakening during your time out."

Krune already expected that.

"Hello there. I'm Krune."

The man nodded at Krune as he introduced himself.

"You can call me Yulian. I already heard about your situation. That being said, I will follow you, but I will not intervene unless your death is certain. Otherwise, this training of yours will make no sense."

Dima was satisfied with that.

"Good. Yulian is at the 9th Stage of the God Core Realm. That is more than enough to protect you against most things that your missions might bring to you. But above all, he is there to watch you and make sure you won't stop the Spirit Awakenings while you're at it."

Krune didn't mind.

"That's fine by me. Well, then. Shall we head off?"

Krune then bid farewell to Dima and left the room with Yulian. The first place he passed by was the market, where he bought many food ingredients. Sure enough, more important than his training was his food.

"Why do you need all of this? You should be able to live without food after the God Foundation Realm."

Krune shook his head as he replied.

"I'm also a Spiritual Chef. Naturally, I can use the food for cultivation."

Other than Blacksmithing and Spirit Awakening, there was one side occupation that Krune never relaxed in his training, being a Spiritual Chef. Well, anyone who knew Krune would know that he put a lot more importance on it than any other thing.

Yulian was surprised, though.

"Spiritual Chef? Not only are you a Spirit Awakener, but a Spiritual Chef as well?"

Even in the God Realm, being a Spiritual Chef was hard. Not to mention that there weren't many who wanted to become one to start with. However, it was no problem for Krune, who loved food.

"Hahaha! There's nothing impressive about it. It's just that I love cooking and food more than anything. Even if I wasn't a Spiritual Chef, I would still bring food with me. Well, you can look forward to many days of good food and drinks. Besides, although I'm only a God Foundation Stars Chef, it should still help you a little with your cultivation as well."

Yulian thought that his days following Krune would be quite a waste. If the payment wasn't high, he wouldn't tag along. However, his opinion already began to change. After all, Spiritual Food was also expensive in the God Realm. Once again, that was because there were way too few Spiritual Chefs. 

Krune then bought a lot of meat and other ingredients at the God Foundation Stars level. In the end, they were quite expensive, but Krune didn't care. The return for his cultivation... well, who was he fooling here? It had nothing to do with his cultivation. He simply wanted to cook high-level Spiritual Food. The cultivation improvement was only a side effect.

After he was done with that, Krune finally went to the Mercenary Guild. Yulian, of course, tagged along.

The building was also located in the center of the city, so Krune and Yulian didn't have to walk for much longer. This was Krune's first time in the mercenary guild, so he went to the counter to ask more about it.

"Hi, I would like to take a few Mercenary Missions."

The attendant checked Krune's cultivation with his Divine Sense and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure? You're just in the First Stage of the God Foundation Realm. Chances are that you will die pretty fast. Just so that you know, if you get in a dangerous situation, no one will come out to save you."

Yulian wasn't by Krune's side since he wasn't going to take any mission. He simply waited at the guild's entrance. Naturally, the attendant thought Krune was alone. 

"Yes, I'm sure. Even if I die, I wouldn't mind."

Well, no one knew that Krune was strong enough to fight an entire realm above his cultivation level. If he still had Luvile's Purple Tribulation Lightning, he would be even stronger.

The attendant sighed as he shook his head. However, it wasn't his place to stop others.

"Very well. You will need to pass the test first. It would be useless to have a mercenary who can't even fight to start with."

Krune already expected as much.

He was then sent to another area of the guild, where he found a few other people and demon beasts. From the looks of it, he wasn't the only one talking about the test today either. The guild was quite busy, so they held one test every day, which was good for Krune.

Of course, Krune found other God Foundation Realm participants there. It's just that the lowest level between them was 5th Stage, while he was in the first. Also, all of them looked a lot younger than Krune. There were even three participants at the 1st Stage of the God Core Realm, who also looked younger than Krune.

As anyone could imagine, Krune's cultivation caught a lot of attention. Not that Krune wanted it, of course.

Yulian then came along but didn't join the group of participants. He was only there in case the test presented some danger for his client.

Not long after, the guild's elder came forward to start the test.

"Alright, my name is Goken. All you need to know is that I will judge your trials. As you know, the guild has one test every day, so you should know how it will work. Still, in case you are new here, I'll give everyone a quick explanation."

Goken continued.

"We can't afford to pay for combat puppets due to how many participants we have every day. That said, we will have you fight against each other. The rule is simple, win three battles, and you will become a mercenary. That being said, one-fourth of you will pass while the rest can try another day again."

Goken then showed a serious expression as he continued.

"However, we don't want half-assed mercenaries here. That being said, you are allowed to fight each other to the full extent of your abilities. If the other side dies, it was his fault for being too weak. Just make sure that you keep enough energy for the next two battles."

Krune then raised his hand to ask.

"How do we decide who we will fight against?"

"By drawing lots. I don't care about the cultivation difference between the participants. Besides, luck is also part of one's strength."

"Another thing. You can admit defeat if you want. In that case, the battle will be won by your opponent. If you think you have no chance, just do that."

"Last but not least, no defeats are allowed. That said, if you admit defeat even once, you are out. Come back tomorrow."

It was very straightforward and far from being fair. However, that was the Mercenary Guild. There was nothing fair here to start with. Missions had never been fair. You might be attacked by groups several times your numbers during a task, and it won't mean anything to your enemies if you tell them that it isn't fair. The whole idea about that is that it wasn't fair. That said, the Mercenary Guild's Test doesn't want to be fair either.

The participants then quickly took their lots, which had a Formation to prevent anyone from using Divine Sense to cheat. However, just as Krune was about to take his one, his mouth twitched. Just now, he felt the presence of the Calamity Laws the moment he was going to draw his number.

'You can't be serious!'