"Oh, right..."
As they collected their respective spoils of war, Bain continued, "To be honest with you, the quest our team accepted this time is most likely related to what we do next."
"That emergency search and rescue mission for the commerce association?"
Lin Mo had already guessed as much from his earlier questions.
"I knew it. You saw that quest too."
Bain wasn't surprised. "I initially guessed they'd run into a large number of Goblins, or maybe some powerful Demon. But now, it looks more likely that they were robbed by the Blood Sea Gang."
He took out the quest map and pointed to the caravan's originally planned route. "Look, the Yuri Commerce Association's intended route is directly to the southeast."
Lin Mo understood what he was getting at. "If they were really robbed by that group, then the commerce association's boss's daughter is most likely still alive."
In that case, the quest reward wouldn't be just 10 gold coins, but a full 100 gold coins!
"A fifty-fifty split if we succeed?"
"I'll be fine with a forty percent share. After all, there are more of you, and you're contributing more."
'The other party offering fifty percent was a show of respect, but Lin Mo couldn't just shamelessly nod and accept.'
'After all, they had more people, and in terms of strength, the older man before him was clearly superior. Not to mention, they had just lost a member. Honestly, even forty percent was him getting the better end of the deal.'
'The fact that Bain brought this up himself was a sign of his sincerity, so of course, Lin Mo had to return the courtesy.'
'Sometimes, proactively making a concession isn't necessarily a bad thing.'
"Alright."
Bain nodded in satisfaction. Looking at the young man before him, he felt a wave of emotion.
'If only his own nephew could be like him, it would save him so many headaches.'
"It's getting late. Let's find another spot to rest and set out tomorrow..."
Bain glanced at the sky, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up on the idea of a night raid.
A forced march overnight might indeed be unexpected, but it also carried too many uncertain risks. Setting aside the fact that the forest itself was more dangerous at night, they were heading to the enemy's camp. If there were traps around, they could at least try to avoid them during the day. At night, they wouldn't see a thing and would step right into them.
Besides, they had just been through a fierce battle and weren't in top condition. The enemy's numbers and strength were also clearly superior to their own.
'Better to play it safe. Find a place to rest well for the night and then decide.'
The group hastily left the scene and found a good spot nearby to make camp.
As dusk fell, Lin Mo took out a flint and started a campfire. Meanwhile, Bain set up traps and scattered powder to repel wild beasts in the vicinity.
Lin Mo watched him the entire time, committing each step to memory.
The campfire was lit, the camp was set up, and it was time to eat.
"Lin Mo, that move you pulled earlier was so damn cool!"
They had chatted about many things on the way and had gotten to know each other much better. Evan spoke excitedly as he gnawed on the bread in his hand.
"SWOOSH! And you lopped that Ranger's head right off..."
It was no wonder Evan was so excited. It had been almost two years since he started his life as an Adventurer, following his uncle on expeditions at the age of sixteen.
Two whole years had passed, and he still hadn't mastered a single Skill of his own.
"Uncle Bain has the Knight Profession, and his Shield Strike is really powerful, but it's not suitable for me to learn... If only I could get a Professional Skill someday."
Even as Evan said this, he didn't really hold out much hope in his heart.
For low-level Adventurers like them, with mediocre talent and little money, it was highly probable they would never be able to learn a Professional Skill in their entire lives.
Even his Uncle Bain had just gotten lucky. On an adventure in his youth, he happened to stumble upon a Knight who had died unexpectedly and found the "Shield Strike" Skill Scroll on his body.
"Who told you to pick Warrior instead of being a Knight?"
Millian, who had barely spoken the entire way, suddenly chimed in with a retort.
"Warriors are cooler... Besides, we already have a Knight in our party, Uncle Bain."
Evan scratched his head, embarrassed.
"What's so cool about it if you don't even have a chance to become an Official Professional?"
Millian rolled her eyes, her face full of disdain.
"Don't be like that, Millian. Maybe I'll have a sudden epiphany soon and figure out a Skill on my own."
"If you're going to dream, at least wait until you're asleep."
With that, Millian stood up and walked away.
"Where are you going? Wait for me..."
Evan immediately chased after her.
"To the bathroom."
"Then I'll protect you."
"Get lost!"
Watching this scene unfold, a word suddenly flashed through Lin Mo's mind.
Youth.
'It's great to be young...'
Although he was about the same age as Evan and the others, it felt like his life, both in his previous world and this one, had never had this feeling of "youth."
He took a hard bite of the freshly heated jerky. It was a bit tough, but it didn't taste bad, especially when the grease soaked into the bread, making it delicious as well.
Although it was still a little hard to swallow.
After taking a gulp of water to wash down the food in his mouth, Lin Mo found himself missing the meal he'd had at the inn on Flower Beds Street.
"Here, try this."
Uncle Bain came over and handed him a small, paper-wrapped cube.
"What's this?"
"Dried cheese."
Lin Mo's eyes instantly lit up. 'Whoa, they have cheese?'
He unwrapped it, tucked the cheese into his bread, and slowly toasted it until it melted and soaked into the jerky.
'A low-budget bacon and cheese sandwich.'
"You can eat it like that?"
Bain, who had only ever eaten cheese plain, had his eyes opened. He followed suit and tried it himself. The melted cheese released a richer, sweet aroma, making him give a thumbs-up. "You really are a genius."
"About tomorrow's operation..."
Lin Mo could tell the older man had something to say, and as it happened, so did he.
"It will be extremely dangerous. Far more dangerous than today!"
Bain's expression instantly grew grim. "There were only five of them today, and it was still a close call. Plus, their leader wasn't even there."
But they had no choice. If they didn't take the risk, all they could do was wait to die.
"Their leader... could he be a Professional?"
Lin Mo voiced his greatest fear.
Bain paused, then smiled and shook his head. "I doubt it. Professionals aren't a dime a dozen. Even the Blood Sea Gang doesn't have many. I estimate their leader's strength is, at most, about the same as mine."
"Level 0.8?"
Lin Mo had heard this description from Evan more than once on their journey.
Bain looked a little awkward. After all, that term was entirely his own boast.
"Is it hard to become a Professional?"
Lin Mo asked curiously. So far, he still lacked understanding about these so-called Professionals—for instance, how one becomes a true Professional, and why there was said to be an almost insurmountable gap between an Official Professional and a Non-Professional.
Hearing Lin Mo's question, Bain's face filled with emotion. "Extremely hard! Compared to most people, I consider myself incredibly lucky. Even so, it took me a full twenty years of hard work to finally see a glimmer of hope of officially obtaining a Profession..."
"Can you tell me more? About Professionals."