My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 8: Combination is Awesome

"The treatment isn't very effective, so let's try to avoid getting hurt as much as possible," Father Galen said.

"Thank you." Rod didn't refuse his kindness and silently accepted it.

When you're out and about, your life is in your own hands, and having an extra bottle of medicine means having an extra layer of protection.

As for the favors he owes... he has now grasped the basics of fusion, and his strength will continue to grow. One day, he will be able to help Garen in return and repay this debt of gratitude.

"When did you learn this skill?" Lucius's eyes widened. "Wait, why didn't you give me something this good first?"

"You didn't ask me for it," Father Garen said casually. "Anyway, you're just staying in the city all day with nothing to do, so you might as well give it to Rhodes. At least he can give me some useful advice to improve the process and increase efficiency."

Lucius: ?

Are you two isolating me?

Faced with Lucius's resentful gaze, Rhodes had no choice but to pull out a hand-drawn map and push it in front of him.

"The map you wanted before."

"So I got a piece of it too," Lucius said with satisfaction, glancing briefly at the drawing. "Not bad."

Upon hearing this, Father Galen leaned closer and curiously looked at the contents of the document.

"Go away, this is from Rhodes, what right do you have to look at it?" Lucius made a move to take the map away.

Father Garen ignored him, looking at the markings above with a furrowed brow, and said, "It seems the monsters' activity area is getting closer and closer to the town?"

“Yes,” Rod paused, “I recently spotted a group of goblins on the outskirts.”

"I was wondering why there were so many people coming to the church seeking treatment," Lucius asked Father Galen. "I'm not familiar with this place. Are the monsters in the Misty Forest going through a period of agitation?"

Seeing him looking at him, Father Galen instinctively turned his head away, his eyes darting around. "Perhaps so. The date is a bit earlier this year."

"Is that so?" Lucius smiled at him. "I've heard that there are often signs before a disaster strikes; maybe something big is about to happen."

"Yeah, monster bounties have gone up too," Rhodes suddenly added from the side. "The goblin bounty alone is..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw their surprised expressions: "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly looking at me?"

"Don't you think your focus is weird?" Lucius couldn't help but retort first. "With your current strength, you shouldn't be thinking about bounties. You should just stay away from monsters."

"Don't let that little bit of money make you act rashly and rush to your death," Father Galen echoed. "Do you know how many adventurers lose their lives every day because of greed?"

"I understand." Rhodes thought for a moment, but still didn't mention that he already had a job.

Even if he can combine, it doesn't mean he can roam freely in the Misty Forest; their advice was correct.

"Never mind, I have a discarded chainmail suit here. I don't need it anyway, so I'll give it to you," Lucius scratched his head and casually pulled a small box from his pocket, handing it to Rhodes. "Consider it payment for helping me draw the map."

"Yours is too valuable..." Rod shook his head and took out his own hand-drawn map, which was made up of several sheets of scrap paper pieced together, to show him. "I just copied a map, it's not worth much."

"So what? Do you think I, Lucius, a knight, need to take your things for free?" Hearing that Rhodes seemed to be refusing, Lucius immediately slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"An apprentice," Father Galen added from the side.

"I wasn't talking to you," the apprentice knight glared at him fiercely, then turned to Rhodes and said in a booming voice, "Who do you think you are! You took Garen's potion, why don't you take mine?"

"Isn't my armor a million times better than his haphazardly concocted potions? There's no time for drinks on the battlefield!"

Garen: ?

If you're so capable, then don't want it.

Faced with the excited Lucius, Rhodes sighed and then put away the heavy little box in front of him.

"I just wanted to say," Rod said, somewhat helplessly, "that this is on my loan."

While at the weapon shop, Rhodes had considered getting himself some armor in addition to his bow and arrow, just in case.

Unfortunately, armor is generally expensive, and some pieces are even passed down as family heirlooms. Rhodes' current budget is naturally insufficient to afford it, so he can only make do with the cloth armor he is wearing.

"I'll leave it with you for safekeeping for now," Lucius waved his hand dismissively, without mentioning when it would be returned.

Rhodes thanked him again, carefully put away the potion and chainmail, and told Alina to wait where she was before turning and leaving the church lounge.

He still had to go to the city gate for an appointment, and John and his two companions must have been getting impatient waiting.

Only after Rhodes' footsteps had completely disappeared did Father Garen finally turn to Lucius beside him and ask, "Why were you so nice to him?"

He had heard a little about Lucius's background; he was said to be the second son of a wealthy family who was not short of money, but there was no need for him to be so nice to a corpse collector of unknown origin.

Moreover, Garen didn't think someone as ambitious as Lucius would stay in a small place like Misty City for long.

"And what about you?" Lucius retorted casually, "Why do you always seem to be kind to him for no reason?"

"...These are just practice pieces, it doesn't matter who I give them to," Father Garen turned his head away from him, "Compared to your chainmail, my little things seem stingy."

"Don't make me sound so generous," Lucius said self-deprecatingly, leaning back in his chair. "I'm just a speculator."

"How so?" Father Galen asked, puzzled.

"Don't you think Rod is a really strange person?" He seemed intrigued at this point. "Should someone with amnesia really possess so many skills?"

"Putting aside physically demanding tasks like collecting corpses, how many people in Misty City can even recognize a chess piece?" Lucius chuckled, toying with the pieces. "Let alone be able to put them back in their place after just one glance."

"And this too," he asked, pointing to the map on the table, "Do you think a vagrant could draw such a well-organized map? So clearly depicting the terrain, rivers, wild beast and monster roaming areas, and resource gathering points on the outskirts of the Misty Forest?"

Father Galen finally realized what was happening upon hearing this.

Yes, this map was compiled by Rhodes from information found among countless corpses. For those low-level adventurers, it's a treasure map, practically priceless.

"The biggest problem is, he actually wanted to give me the map directly!" Lucius said, his voice rising several decibels. "He actually thought it was a trivial matter!"

"Hehe, hehehe..." Lucius laughed, as if both envious and self-deprecating, "I don't know whether to call him stupid or praise him for his generosity."

"From any perspective, this is not the state that an amnesiac should be in who is completely unaware of his or her own situation."

"You mean he's deceiving us, that he hasn't actually lost his memory?" Father Galen's face darkened, as if in disappointment.

"He might be able to fool you, but he could never fool me," Lucius said confidently. "After all, he's just an ordinary person."

"When my talent [Vision of Truth] is activated," he tapped his temple lightly, "no one in this world can lie to me."

"But," he changed the subject, "a guy like him who can so readily share knowledge with others must have a very impressive background."

Lucius continued his enthusiastic analysis: "What kind of people would generously share knowledge? The poor? The nobles? Or those mages who are obsessed with knowledge?"

"Nobles?" Father Galen said uncertainly.

"No, no, no, the wealth of nobles comes precisely from their monopoly on a large amount of knowledge. They would never give away what they have worked so hard for," Lucius said decisively.

"Although this speculation is a bit far-fetched, I think..."

"Perhaps he originally lived in an extremely wealthy place, so wealthy that knowledge could be freely exchanged and shared," Lucius exclaimed, marveling at his own absurd analysis, "and that even became his instinct."

"Give him a hand now, and you might reap unexpected benefits from him in the future."

…………

…………

Not far from the church lounge, Rhodes quickly found Alina waiting in a secluded corner, intending to head to the city gate to meet John and the others.

Without any further delay, a faint golden light emanated from them, and in an instant, only one tall figure remained in place.

[Swift Ranger has logged in]

With a light tap of his toes, he darted out like an arrow, weaving through the streets and alleys at such speed that he left only a blur.

As they traveled, Alina's puzzled voice echoed from her consciousness: "Why do I feel like there's something extra on me?"

The chest, which was originally covered by green leather armor, now had an additional layer of cool chainmail, heavy and giving one a sense of security and peace of mind.

Thinking of this, Rhodes remembered the skill he had just acquired last night: [Armor Upgrade].

Unexpectedly, the [Armor Upgrade] not only covered his original cloth armor, but also covered this chainmail with a layer of power. There was no difference in appearance, but the defense was genuinely stronger.

Rhodes briefly explained to Alina, who suddenly understood and didn't ask any more questions. She simply kept up with Rhodes' pace and sped up her journey.

Before long, the outline of the city gate came into view. Calculating the time, Rhodes slowed down and began to look for the companions he had originally agreed to travel with.

John, Burke, and Tom had been waiting for a long time by the city wall at the city gate. The three of them leaned against the wall, each with a different expression.

John silently gazed at the bustling city gate, a stark contrast to his earlier enthusiasm and eagerness when facing Rhodes.

Burke looked anxious, occasionally making chopping motions with his axe while muttering, "I hope this kid doesn't run away."

As for Tom, he stood aside, his eyes darting around, trying to minimize his presence as much as possible.

The person in charge of tracking didn't dare tell the truth. He only lied and said that he had followed the other person into a house to get something, and was afraid of being discovered, so he didn't dare to get too close and came back first.

"Phew...it's here."

Just as Tom was feeling uneasy, John, who was next to him, suddenly let out a long sigh and whispered something.

The three of them turned to look, and saw Rhodes still wearing his blue-gold ranger outfit, carrying a longbow, walking over with steady steps and a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.

Tom breathed a sigh of relief, his back already covered in a cold sweat. He was secretly glad that Rhodes had actually come, which helped him cover up his lie.

Seeing the fat sheep return, John quickly went to greet him, his face once again displaying that憨厚 (honest and simple) smile, his tone a mix of complaint and joke:

"Brother Hiro, you've finally arrived! The three of us have been waiting for you for ages, thinking you'd changed your mind and didn't want to come with us to earn the bounty!"

Burke chimed in, his voice booming, "Yeah, if you hadn't come soon, we would have thought you'd run off, wasting all our time!"

Tom tried to appear calm, chuckled twice, but dared not look Rhodes in the eye, afraid that the other party would see through his act.

Based on his extensive experience as a thief, he suspected that the other party had noticed something, which was why they chose that method to evade pursuit.

I just don't know if the other party has discovered that they are the one following me...

In response to their complaints, Rod simply looked up at the height of the sun.

"I shouldn't be late as agreed," he calculated the time. "What's the matter? Are you in a hurry?"

Upon hearing this, the three men's expressions changed slightly. After exchanging quick glances, they all smiled and laughed it off.

"Of course I'm in a hurry! If I wait any longer, the opportunity to make money might be snatched away by someone else!"

"Let's go! Let's hurry and set off, try to find the goblin's lair before dark, finish the job quickly, and get our share of the bounty sooner!"

"What does this mean? Are they excluding us and forming a clique?" Alina, a half-elf, was displeased and worried upon seeing this. "Won't they do the same when we fight monsters later?"

Although she often boasted that she had elven blood flowing through her veins, she could not change the contempt of real elves, even with the protection of her elven mother, no matter how hard she tried.

Yet she also possesses elven qualities. Humans might envy her lucky father, admire her noble bloodline, and be suspicious of her stance, but there will always be an insurmountable barrier between them.

This awkward situation indirectly shaped Alina's sensitive personality, making her particularly concerned about how others treated her. For this reason, her mother took her away from the elven settlement where they originally lived and chose to live outside.

"It's alright, our little group is much better than them."

Rod, however, seemed oblivious to this, and instead spoke to her in a proud tone:

"We can communicate with each other using our thoughts, and we can even become one!"

"?"

Alina sensed something was wrong but couldn't quite put her finger on it. After pondering for a while, she realized she couldn't refute Rod.

Thinking about it carefully, what this guy said is indeed correct.

Isn't telepathy more effective than eye contact?

Am I really being too dramatic and sensitive?

Thinking about her overreaction just now, Alina felt a little embarrassed, completely unaware that her thinking was gradually being assimilated by Rhodes.

"The fusion is awesome!" Rhodes' voice echoed in the consciousness space, and even Alina couldn't help but shout along.

"A combined bull... wait, no! That's not the point, is it?!"

Alina, belatedly realizing the problem, finally understood what was going on.