Blue Star was completely taken aback by the guard’s behavior and attitude.

The only time she had ever seen such action was when the city was under siege, and they had no time or mood to cater to anyone.

As for the exorbitant price, she was even more flabbergasted and wondered what was going on.

"Excuse my companion over here, Sir." While she was baffled, Lightning Blade was quick to be chummy with the guards and took out 4 gold coins.

As someone who had been in numerous adventures, he knew better than to just quickly pay up to get on their good side to gather information.

"We were traveling in the wilderness to train ourselves, so it’s been a long day. The money is quite steep for even us to pay, so is there an event going on, Sir?"

When the guard saw that he was willing to pay so readily and even used a polite tone, the guard happily accepted the payment and nodded.

"Indeed, it’s said that an expert will soon come to the city to oversee. With the expert’s protection, many are seeking refuge here." The guard explained and continued, "It’s said this expert is a magic swordsman and might even be willing to teach some classes for others to learn as self-defense."

"A magic swordsman?" Lightning Blade’s eyes lit up.

"No wonder the prices had increased. Just an opportunity to be trained by such an expert was worth more than 2 gold coins."

"Heh, at least you know it well." The guard raised his chin pridefully. "Alright, I’ve said enough, so enter the city and make way for others. Also, watch your companion because such an expert could be easily offended."

"I will heed the warning, Sir." Lightning Blade bowed and hurriedly gestured for Blue Star to follow him to the city.

Once they were inside, Blue Star was naturally disgruntled.

Since she wasn’t a swordsman, she had no interest in this so-called expert.

"I’m not paying you back the 2 gold coins." Blue Star hissed.

"Are you that poor?" Lightning Blade raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "If it wasn’t for my quick thinking, we might be barred from entering the city. By then, how are we supposed to complete our objective?"

"I could have got in some other ways."

"Oh yeah? Please teach me the way."

"Shut up!"

Blue Star stomped her foot and began to dash toward a bulletin board that had the map layout of the city.

Even though there was a system map to offer, it wasn’t as detailed as the one on the bulletin board. After all, the system map no longer offered extensive detail ever since the Colossuses invasion.

It was as if the system was telling the players to hurry up and level up to fend against the Colossuses.

"This should be the center of the city." Blue Star pointed at a location called the Star Plaza.

"Let’s go." She continued.

"Wait a second..." Lightning Blade held her wrist and smiled sheepishly. "Why don’t we wait a bit for the expert? I kind of want to learn the style of a magic swordsman."

"Are you being for real right now?" She was stunned by his suggestion. They were here on a mission and not some tour.

The faster they completed, the quicker they could leave and return to Haven Wind Town.

"Yes, I know, but this could be one of the events where you encounter by chance." He tried his best to convince her to wait it out. If he could learn from the expert of even one skill, he could transform into a new person.

"Fine!"

Blue Star gave in and decided to use this as a repayment of his 2 gold coins.

...

Present Time

"I’m sure the Guild Leader knows the rest by now." Blue Star glared fiercely at Lightning Blade as she concluded the story.

Xu Feng nodded with a somewhat bittersweet smile. The so-called expert they waited for turned out to be Dexter.

So while Lightning Blade was planning on learning some skills from the latter, Blue Star went ahead to plant the incense, unaware that it would instantly catch the expert’s attention.

To summarize, the two could have gotten away, but because they got sidetracked, it ended up in this whole mess.

"Sigh, as much as I want to scold you two... I cannot do so since it’s a human desire to want to learn something new." Xu Feng exhaled softly.

Both Lightning Blade and Blue Star’s eyes lit up. They thought they were safe and sound by confessing honestly.

And indeed, the two of them were in cahoots to discuss this play to avoid punishment. It was better to confess their mistake rather than letting him find out later on what really happened. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Yes, Guild Leader—"

Alas, the two of them celebrated too early.

"But that’s only from my position as an individual. In the position of a Guild Leader, the two of you are in trouble." Xu Feng cut them off and held a stern expression.

Instantly, the two of them lowered their heads in shame.

Just like how children behaved when they got caught misbehaving by their parents, the two appeared no different than them.

"I’ll deal with the two of you later." Xu Feng shook his head and glanced at the sky.

"We’ll be leaving, so take a disguise pill for now. Remember not to do anything or say anything. Just follow my lead." He warned sternly.

He still couldn’t fully trust Dexter’s words and believe the latter might not do anything else.

"Yes, Guild Leader."

"Address me as Messenger until we’re safe."

"Yes, Messenger."

Sometime later, the two consumed a disguise pill and began following Xu Feng outside like an obedient soldier.

As the trio emerged in the open street, they naturally caught quite the attention of curious onlookers confined to their buildings.

"Pay no heed to them and keep your head down." Xu Feng knew they were being eyed at, but showed no care for them. Instead, he began walking in big strides, completely unfazed at being spotted.