'There are too many Rank-4 Mystics... Hmm, they are also distancing themselves from us.' Charles glanced at them curiously from time to time and soon noticed that they had already arrived in front of a sizeable three-storied house!
No, this one appeared more like a mansion!
After showing their identity cards, they walked on the concrete path and soon arrived in front of the mansion.
Then, they stepped into the building and saw more than 60 people appeared in the main hall. All of them wore different types of formal outfits and looked more like professionals.
The hall was spacious and impressive, and the ceiling was filled with carvings of unique fishes and marine life forms.
More than hundreds of chairs were placed in the main hall, and most mystics were already seated.
Charles and Destiny Lady moved towards a corner and sat down.
On the other hand, more mystics came from the entrance, sat on their seats, and waited for Beckett to appear.
He was the one in charge of giving all kinds of jobs.
A few minutes later, Beckett and an obese man came from the second floor through the split staircase, reached the main hall, and soon arrived in front of the crowd.
The obese man appeared to be around 50-years old, had brown hair, amber eyes, and had tan skin. He wore a luxurious silk dress and held a small black box in his hand.
At that moment, Beckett took out a brown-covered book from his void pouch, flipped open the page, and started to read names.
"Mateo Lewis, Sebastian Young, Samuel Green, and Grayson Hall... Four of you'll be going to 56C Lucy Street and meet Sir Axel. He'll give you more details about the job." He paused for a moment as he flipped the page and continued to shout out another batch of names.
For the next few minutes, he selected a total of 30 candidates and told them to different kinds of locations to do their job.
"That's it for today's quota. Others can go back and wait for the next quota." Beckett said in a cold tone and waved his hand.
Meanwhile, Destiny Lady glanced at Charles and spoke in a low voice.
"It seems your plan is not working."
On the other hand, Charles shook his head and stood up from his seat.
'I have done everything all I could. Haa, it seems I'm still not good at making plans.' He muttered inwardly and started to walk towards the exit.
Destiny Lady also followed after him, and soon both of them reached the exit.
But just when they were about to walk out, a short figure ran in their direction and soon blocked their path.
It was none other than Beckett.
"I have a suitable job for both of you. Do you guys want to take it?" He asked with a stiff smile on his face.
Upon hearing his words, Charles and Destiny Lady glanced at each other and nodded their heads.
"Tell us more about the job," Charles ordered.
"Yes, I'll give you more details. Please follow me."
Saying so, Beckett brought them back to the main hall and turned his gaze towards the obese man.
"His name is Weston." He paused for a moment and gestured the other party to go on.
Meanwhile, Weston nodded his head, opened the small black box, and showed it to them.
A thumb-sized bluish crystal appeared inside.
"Water elemental crystal?" Destiny Lady widened her eyes in surprise and asked.
"Yes. I heard from Richie that both of you are powerful Mystics." He sized them up and down and added.
"I want you guys to deliver a batch of this crystal to a customer. Currently, he is staying on an island called 'Halewick Haven.'"
"We don't know how to sail a boat," Charles spoke.
"You don't have to worry. I already employed a Barque ship to do that job. All you've to do is protect the ship from other pirate ships and deliver the crystals to the customer. As long as you did this job, I'll give you 3 Azure coins." Weston said in a calm tone.
Meanwhile, Destiny Lady furrowed her brows and shook her head.
"It's impossible to place these elemental crystals in a space ring because of the fierce elemental fluctuations. A single crack in the space ring and all those crystals will disappear into the void. So, we've no choice but to carry these crystals in open. Unfortunately, carrying them in the open will not only attract the nearby pirate ships' attention, but it will also attract the patrol ships' attention. This job's risk is too high." She paused for a moment and then added.
"20 Azure coins."
Upon hearing the amount, Weston's eyes went bloodshot.
"T-This is one-twentieth of those elemental crystals value!" He shouted in a raging tone.
But just as he was about to decline, Beckett grabbed his hand and gestured him to agree.
With no other choice, Weston nodded his head and agreed.
"Go to the Exside Piers and look for a ship called 'Gold Demon.' The Barque ship will depart tomorrow around 7.A.M. Also, don't be late."
Saying so, he took out 10 Azure coins and passed them to Destiny Lady.
"You can get the remaining amount from the customer." He added.
Upon hearing those words, Destiny Lady and Charles nodded, moved towards the exit, and soon left the mansion.
Meanwhile, Weston let out a deep sigh, glanced at the nearby room, and spoke.
"I hope your men would do their job properly and confiscate the elemental crystals, Richie."
The next second, a tall man in his late thirties walked out of the nearby room and smiled at Weston.
"As long as Sage didn't find out that you are playing a double-game, everything will be fine. I'll also return the elemental crystal by the end of this month." Richie said coldly and started walking towards the split staircase, leaving Weston and Beckett in the main hall.
...
On the other hand, Charles and Destiny Lady returned to the ownerless Inn and started buying necessary things for the first job.
The next day, they woke up early morning, left Runaway Street, and soon moved to Exside Piers harbor.
Unlike before, they wore regular pants and shirts, leather shoes, a bandana to keep the sweats out of their eyes, a red sash that tied around their waist and fell on one side, and knitted caps.
Both soon reached the other end and became stunned by the beauty of the sea.
It was an artificial harbor with constructed breakwater and seawalls. Tens of naval ships, cargo ships, boats, and even regular ships appeared in the dock.
Charles and Destiny Lady entered the harbor through a small path and soon moved towards the nearby shore.
Currently, most of the non-authorized ships and boats were docked near the shore.
As they stepped on the sandy shore, waves crashed onto them from time to time and soaked their feet in seawater.
At that moment, the morning sun also shone brightly from the sky and illuminated their faces.
Destiny Lady squinted her eyes, followed the crashing waves, stared into the bluish sea, and took a deep breath.
"Sea... This is the first time I'm seeing such a large water body." She muttered, shockingly.
But what made her feel more shocked was that a strange familiarity appeared in her mind.
It was as if this was the place where she belongs!
She then causally extended her hands, raised them, and waved.
The next instant, the crashing waves started to subdue and soon pulled back as if the sea's anger turned calmer all of a sudden.
A strange silence appeared on the shore!
"This is going to be exciting." She said with a smile and turned her gaze towards Charles.
Meanwhile, Charles looked at the docked ships one by one and soon focused on a particular golden-painted one.
"Found it. That must be the Gold Demon." He said as he took a step forward and started walking.