Chapter 24: Hidden Class

On the way, Old Li asked the merman why he trusted him so much.

Sykes lowered his eyes to look at the machete.

“This is the first-clear reward machete, right? Actually, I recognized you as soon as I saw it. Old Li from the cloud site.”

“This is a repayment, and also a request. I need your help to complete the mission.”

Old Li was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha, no wonder. After the video was released, many people remembered this machete.”

He quite liked the youth’s honesty and felt that he hadn’t misjudged him.

“Let’s talk about your intelligence when we get there. I have two other teammates there. Since you know me, you should know them too.”

The two fish soon arrived at their destination, which was Old Li’s house.

To be honest, seeing it through the magic mirror and experiencing it in person were completely different.
Although he had seen what this house looked like long ago, when the merman actually stood in front of the door, he was still shocked into silence by Hua Yibing’s magical painting skills—

How should he put it?

This green roof paired with this big-headed beast wall painting, the combination was really…

For a moment, Sykes couldn’t think of a suitable adjective.

Seeing that he hadn’t caught up, Old Li poked his head out of the door.
“Scott? Stop spacing out, come in.”

“Coming,” Sykes came back to his senses and swam through the door with a flick of his tail.

As soon as he entered, two gazes of unknown meaning shot over and fixed on Sykes.

“Who is this?” This was Yan Shuangwen, standing against the wall.

“Did Old Li pick up someone again?” This was Hua Yibing, who was lazing on the sofa and slowly turning himself over.

Old Li laughed heartily for a few moments.
“Hahahahaha, this is the player Scott I met in the coral forest. He has news about the next event.”

“Next event? Is Sea Realm having a new event?”
Huahua, who had been lying on the sofa like a salted fish just now, jumped up.
The next second, he was already beside Sykes, grabbing his arm.

“Newbie, right? Hurry up and tell us. I was just worrying about not having a place to use my newly acquired skills. You’ve come at the right time!” he enthusiastically pulled Sykes to sit down on the sofa.

Sykes looked at the spot where Hua Yibing was holding him, his fingers twitching slightly.
He felt a little uncomfortable with such close proximity, but he held it in.

Yan Shuangwen, on the other hand, said nothing, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze and swimming over to Old Li’s side.

“What’s his background?”

“Scott was trapped by a trap over in the forest, and I helped him. In return, he insisted on telling me news about the next event.”
Infected by Yan Shuangwen’s seriousness, Old Li couldn’t help but lower his voice.
“He’s a good kid.”

Yan Shuangwen: “…”

His eyes only swept over the player named Scott once, and he understood what Old Li meant by ‘good kid’.

As teammates, having spent the past few days together, they more or less understood each other.
Yan Shuangwen naturally saw that although Old Li looked sturdy and hard to mess with, his heart had no resistance to cute things, such as—

That ahoge.

Old Li also understood his distrustful gaze and smiled.
“Although… ahem, he is indeed very cute, he is indeed an honest child. He also has conditions as an exchange.”

Yan Shuangwen retracted his gaze, noncommittal.

“What’s the next event? Will it be a new dungeon?”
Over here, Hua Yibing was already chatting with Sykes very familiarly.

“Not a new dungeon,” the merman shook his head.

“Then is it a new daily quest? Or some kind of raid event?”

Sykes shook his head again.
“The next event will take place in a place where no one has ever been.”

“A place no one has been?”

Huahua expressed his confusion, but Yan Shuangwen over there seemed to have thought of something.
“Are you talking about outside the air wall?”

During his time in the game, he had explored almost the entire map and naturally knew that the players’ activity range was limited—there was a transparent wall at the outermost edge of the territory, protecting this sea area tightly.

“Air wall? That’s not wrong, I guess,” Sykes was stunned for a moment, then quickly accepted the player’s terminology.
“The new event is related to what’s outside the wall.”

“According to the information I have, it’s very dangerous on the other side of the wall. The number of deaths may increase rapidly. You should save up reputation points in advance and buy any tools related to digging and mining you can. They might come in handy,” the merman didn’t keep them in suspense any longer and quickly got to the point.

“How can you prove that what you’re saying is true?” Yan Shuangwen pressed.

“I have no reason to lie,” the merman lowered his head, his choppy hair falling to the side of his face, covering his expression.
His gray tail rubbed restlessly on the ground—back when he was being reprimanded by a merman professor, Sykes remembered a fish doing just that, and that one had quickly received the professor’s forgiveness.

This appearance earned praise from the little butler—
[According to human terms, Master is really adept at playing the role of this type of ‘little white flower’.]

‘Shut up, Ella,’ the merman mercilessly muted it.
‘According to human terms, it’s time to run an antivirus on Ella.’

The few people opposite him didn’t know the inside story, but they were somewhat moved by the merman’s performance—even Yan Shuangwen, who still held a skeptical attitude, had his gaze soften quite a bit.

Huahua even went as far as to stand between his roommate and the merman.

“Don’t mind that guy. Scott, you continue.”

“It was news I learned while doing a profession quest,” the merman described the scene at that time.
“I’m a scenery player. While wandering around, I encountered the lord near the merman tower and triggered a special quest.”

As he spoke, he opened his panel and shared it with everyone present.

This panel was completely different from everyone else’s.
What was displayed on it was not any of the known schools, but the name of a profession—Appraiser.

“Appraiser?” Hua Yibing exclaimed.
“Is this some kind of hidden profession??”

“This is a hidden profession?” Old Li leaned forward.
“Can I take a picture?”
He realized this was good material and sought the other’s opinion.

Sykes nodded.

Yan Shuangwen also bypassed Hua Yibing and walked closer.
“Have you undergone the magic test?”

“I’ve been tested. I’m nature-type,” Sykes acted according to the script, weaving a lie without blushing or his heart skipping a beat.

“Then you now…”

“Nature-type?” Huahua squeezed over in a few moves, pushing his roommate, who was about to ask something, to the side again.
“It seems you are destined to be a talent for our team! 3=1, we’re just missing a nature-type!”

“But actually, I can no longer be called a nature-type,” the merman explained with difficulty.
“Because the new profession’s panel will cover the original magic talent, which means I am no longer a nature-type mage, but an appraiser from beginning to end.”

“Then, what about those magics?”

Sykes shook his head.
“Naturally, I can’t use them either.”

Whoa.

For a moment, Huahua didn’t know what to say.
The profession of an appraiser didn’t sound very combat-oriented.
Compared to the novelty of a hidden profession versus being able to use magic, it was hard to say which was more important.

As the mature and reliable team leader, Old Li directly changed the subject.
“Then what is the quest you said you need our help with?”

“His original words were ‘Dear subject, I hope that in your exploration of the outer lands, you can pay attention to some noteworthy things for me,'” the merman cast his gaze out the window, as if he could see the distant horizon.
“The system’s quest shows that finding one item that the lord is interested in can complete the profession change.”

“In this land, the only place that can be called the ‘outer lands’ is the other side of the air wall. I hope you can take me with you when you go to explore. Although I can’t use magic, I won’t hold you back.”

The three of them looked at each other, confirming their inner judgments.
Finally, Old Li stepped forward and took the lead.

“No problem,” he extended a hand, his eyes full of tolerance and trust.
“Welcome to our team.”

The merman also extended his hand and placed it on the other’s.

The moment they touched, his heart trembled.
A certain unspeakable premonition emerged from the bottom of his heart, and before it could be fully sensed, it sank again.

It was as if the messy woven threads of fate had finally converged, and as if the historical gears of two worlds were slowly aligning.

The prelude had been drawn.