19: Impeccable performance

Chapter 19: Impeccable Performance

On the day of the mission, three carriages loaded with goods slowly drove out from the South Gate.

The carriages were covered with thick waterproof tarps, and a perception-shielding barrier was placed at the bottom, making it impossible to see the contents from the outside.

Besides the coachmen, the only escorts were Dick's three-person team and Ulla, who was responsible for supervising from behind.

Dick rode an old horse, walking slowly beside the carriages. His robe was a bit worn, with many patches.

Everyone else, including the coachmen, was dressed similarly.

They all looked like poor commoners going to the market to sell goods, and it was highly probable that the carriages were not carrying anything valuable.

Although there would be no actual bandit attacks, every detail was part of the assessment, and Dick had to perform for Ulla to see.

Mina sat in front of Dick, held tightly, her face slightly flushed, as they shared a horse.

"Dick, when did you learn to ride a horse? Why are you so skilled..."

As poor people living on the edge of the outer city, they had almost never touched horses, which were a mode of transportation they couldn't afford.

"It's just riding a horse. I had the servants in the manor's stables teach me before, and I learned in a few hours."

Mina was a bit surprised. She had been learning to ride for the past two days and still couldn't control the horse skillfully, always falling off the horse's back.

Seeing Dick's nonchalant appearance, Mina muttered, "Maybe I'm too stupid to keep up with Dick."

Lately, Mina had started to feel a bit inferior because Dick was too outstanding, almost good at everything, and the gap between them was constantly widening.

"Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not good at. You just need to focus on being yourself."

Hearing this, Mina subconsciously asked, "Then... is there anything Dick isn't good at?"

"Emmm..."

Dick thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Doesn't seem like it."

Mina sighed, not doubting that Dick was bragging.

"Dick, one day, you will reach the peak, a height that might be beyond my reach..."

Sensing that Mina was feeling depressed, Dick comforted her gently, "Don't worry, you are in my future plans, always have been."

"Re-really?" Mina beamed with joy and turned her head to look at Dick.

"I never lie."

Unless absolutely necessary.

"Hehe, Dick, we're going to be together forever..."

Looking at the giggle Mina in his arms, Dick had a fleeting memory of his seventh life.

Back then, Mina also set off on an adventure with him with such innocent eyes, and they confessed their feelings to each other, vowing to stay together for life.

As a result... Hmph, let's not mention it.

But in this life, Mina would never betray him again, not because of burning love, but because of a strict Magic Contract!

No one would ever gain his trust again, never.

Not far behind them, Alice also rode an old horse, following slowly.

Seeing Dick and Mina cuddling together, Alice felt inexplicably unhappy.

If she also couldn't ride a horse, if she were in Mina's position, if she were also held tightly by Dick from behind, whispering sweet words...

As soon as she thought of this, Alice immediately shook her head frantically, trying her best to shake off these romantic fantasies, her face flushing red as she glared at Dick's back.

It must be the soul contract acting up, her mind is being influenced, that despicable Dick...

"Hmm?"

Dick possessed the Archer talent "Heightened Alert," which allowed him to detect any hostile gaze within a certain range, so he immediately turned his head to look at Alice.

"Something wrong?"

"N-nothing!"

Alice answered in a panic, then looked around unnaturally, whistling intermittently.

Dick didn't press further but was somewhat displeased. A mere slave dared to cast a hostile gaze at her master.

It seemed she hadn't been trained enough. He would deal with her after this mission.

Half a day later, as evening approached, more than half of the journey had passed, and nothing had happened yet.

Alice was in a good mood, believing there would be no more danger, especially since Stephen had reported that all the bandits and Beasts in the vicinity had been cleared out.

Dick did not relax his guard, keeping his attention fully focused on the surroundings. He knew Ulla must have made arrangements to test his abilities.

"Awoo—"

Sure enough, as the caravan passed through a dense forest, a loud wolf howl echoed.

In an instant, Dick determined it was a Swift Wolf, and a Wolf King at that. It should have dozens, if not hundreds, of wolves under its command.

"Awoo—"

"Awoo—"

"Awoo—"

Indeed, dozens of wolf howls echoed from the surrounding dense forest, each one louder than the last.

"Stop! As I instructed before we set off, gather the carriages and horses together to form a simple defensive line!"

"Alice, you stand on top of the carriages and cast spells to support. Swift Wolves are pack Beasts; they will attack from multiple directions!"

"Mina, you guard the gap, raise your shield to defend, don't let any wolf break into the inner circle!"

Soon, Dick issued several commands, and Alice, Mina, and the coachmen all received their tasks and quickly began to act.

Since Dick had conducted drills beforehand, everyone was orderly, and Ulla nodded repeatedly from the side.

When encountering a Beast attack, Dick's approach was the most correct.

Using the carriages and goods to build a temporary defensive line, prioritizing the protection of people, only then could effective counterattacks be organized to protect the goods.

This order must not be wrong. Although the mission's goal was to protect the goods, if the people died, the goods would naturally be lost as well.

However, while Dick had arranged everything clearly for everyone, he was the protagonist of the assessment at this moment, so how would he...

Ulla looked at Dick with some anticipation, only to see that he had directly rushed into the dense forest, followed by various terrifying explosions and the wails of many Swift Wolves.

In less than ten seconds, Dick returned from the depths of the dense forest, holding a wolf head in his hand, looking majestic.

This was no ordinary wolf head; it was the Wolf King of this Swift Wolf pack. Dick had actually just 'got rid of' their leader.

With the Wolf King dead, the remaining pack of wolves quickly showed fear and scattered after Dick blasted a few magic bombs.

In less than a minute, Dick had efficiently resolved this Beast attack incident.

"..."

Ulla's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He finally understood that Dick's previous commands were entirely a performance for him.

Dick was powerful and could easily resolve this Beast attack on his own, without needing anyone's help at all.

However, if Dick had actually done that, he would have been deducted points, because that would be an act of individual heroism, which is a major taboo for Adventurers.

It's like taking a driving test. You can clearly step on the gas and drive off immediately.

But you still have to get out and check around, starting the car step by step according to the rules.

Dick really didn't need to arrange anything for others; he could solve everything himself. But for a perfect assessment score, he had to go the extra mile.

With the crisis resolved, the group continued on their journey, with the wolf head hung in front of the carriage by Dick to warn other Beasts.

The rest of the journey was not peaceful. The caravan was attacked three more times, once by Beasts and twice by bandits.

Facing the bandit attacks, Dick did not kill them, nor did he even seriously injure anyone, because he knew they were actors hired by the Guild.

Dick's performance was impeccable. After a day's journey, the caravan arrived at its destination late at night.

After delivering the goods, Dick's practical assessment for Elite status was completely finished.

Now, Ulla would send the mission report to the Guild headquarters for experts to evaluate Dick's qualifications.

Before parting, Ulla couldn't help but say, "Dick, the Adventurers Guild has branches all over the world. Serving in the Guild is far more promising than staying in one corner..."

This time, before Dick could politely refuse, Alice jumped out.

She stood in front of Dick, glaring at Ulla without backing down.

"Dick will have a future in the Bison Family too. The Guild Master doesn't need to worry. I value talent highly and will definitely give Dick treatment no less than that of the Guild!"

After saying this, without waiting for Ulla to speak, Alice directly pulled Dick onto the carriage, looking quite impatient.

Looking at the carriage gradually moving away, Ulla sighed helplessly, "Why didn't I discover this kid first..."

On the carriage, Alice looked serious, staring at Dick and saying, "What I just said is true. My Bison Family has always valued talent, and you will definitely shine here!"

"Heh heh," Dick shook his head and chuckled lightly, leaning close to Alice's ear and whispering, "What are you talking about? Even you are mine, so the Bison Family is naturally mine too."

"You, you..."

Alice pursed her lips, looked at Dick, and whispered, "Can't we just be normal friends? I won't harm you..."

Hearing this, Dick shook his head, looked at Alice's perky backside, and said meaningfully,

"You've been a bit jumpy lately. Come to my room tonight."