The inn Herag chose is actually located just west of the City Lord's Mansion, less than three kilometers away in a straight line.

It's much quieter here, and the price is significantly higher, comparable to a wealthy district.

Herag doesn't care about the price; his Space Ring is filled with more Gold Coins than he could ever spend.

After settling in the inn, he spent a few days strolling around Amy City, thoroughly familiarizing himself with the situation here.

Exorcists remain a scarce profession here, easily finding work.

Only after learning thoroughly did Herag realize how severe the demon problem here is.

Centered around Amy City, numerous small towns or human settlements are scattered all around.

Correspondingly, demons are also attracted by the humans here, with demon attack incidents happening almost daily in various places.

Ordinary people can barely handle weak demons at best; any slightly stronger demon turns them into lambs to be slaughtered.

At such times, only exorcists can be relied upon.

These days, Herag also wandered around near the City Lord's Mansion, strolling casually, not attracting anyone's attention.

He mainly observed and recorded the structure within the City Lord's Mansion.

Herag discovered that the wizard who had been captured was imprisoned in the dungeons below the City Lord's Mansion.

He originally planned to make contact with that wizard while Arios was out.

Since he has the ability to perform space travel, it's relatively easy for him to enter the dungeon.

However, after a scanning probe of the environment, Herag discovered that there is a hidden chamber next to the room where the wizard is imprisoned.

The door to the hidden chamber is extremely concealed, appearing on the surface as just a wall.

Even if an ordinary person stood in front of the wall, they wouldn't see that there is a door there.

Just having a hidden chamber would be fine, but Herag also found someone inside the chamber, silently resting with eyes closed, unmoving.

Herag keenly observed and discovered that the person looked exactly like Arios, matching in height and body type, as if carved from the same mold.

"Didn't Arios leave?"

Herag clearly remembered that a few days ago, Arios had left Amy City with a group, and Jim was also in that team.

The group hasn't returned yet, and the matter in Thousand Lakes Town surely won't be resolved so quickly.

Moreover, a round trip from here to Thousand Lakes Town would take at least four days.

Who is the person in the hidden chamber within the dungeon?

Herag is somewhat puzzled, as the person seems to be in a long-term state of slumber or meditation, unmoving.

But this is a living person, with breathing.

After observing this person's existence, Herag directly abandoned the idea of making contact with the wizard.

It turns out the wizard in the dungeon is just a trap, waiting for someone to fall into it.

The person who looks exactly like Arios in the hidden chamber is likely lurking, waiting to see who will try to contact the wizard.

Herag quickly understood Arios's intentions.

On that day, when Arios announced the matter in the square, besides intending to let more people know about this, he was also probing to see if there are hidden allies in Amy City.

He intentionally didn't kill the wizard, waiting for someone to rescue him and handle them together.

If Herag hadn't discovered the existence of that hidden chamber through environmental scanning, his reckless attempt to contact the wizard would have led him into a pre-arranged trap.

No wonder Arios could leave without worry; he was already prepared with a backup plan.

Herag quietly left the vicinity of the City Lord's Mansion, for now having no thought of the wizard in the dungeon.

All he wanted was some intelligence.

If the person in the dungeon was from the Expedition Team, there would indeed be a need to make contact, but if they were a wizard participating in the Cradle Campaign, it wasn't necessary.

The wizards participating in the Cradle Campaign might not know as much about this world as he does.

Herag just wanted to contact the Expedition Team's wizard, to find a way back to the Wizard Plane.

He isn't in a hurry to return now, so there's no need to rush into danger.

Herag arrived outside a bar named Old Tree Bar.

This bar has a rather unique design, resembling an old tree that's been long withered on the outside.

The bar is built inside the already hollow trunk, making it a well-known place in Amy City.

Herag came here mainly to gather intelligence and undertake tasks.

Old Tree Bar is a place that many exorcists frequent, consistently offering tasks that only exorcists can undertake, with decent rewards.

Many people seeking to commission tasks also come here to find people from Old Tree Bar.

As Herag walked in, a few individuals glanced at him before continuing to sip their drinks.

The tables here are all wooden stumps, quite fitting for the ambience of the place.

Herag walked straight to the counter, where a neatly dressed young man stood, wiping a glass with a white cloth.

"Do you have any good commissions lately?" Herag asked directly.

The young man glanced at Herag and asked, "Exorcist?"

Herag nodded.

"I'm Tiva. Please follow me." Tiva put down the cloth and glass, leading Herag to a room behind.

This room appeared like a file room, with a row of cabinets filled with documents.

Tiva asked, "What type of commission do you want? Any specific requirements?"

"The ones with lots of demons," Herag replied.

Tiva chuckled and said, "Tasks with many demons mean high risk. Without sufficient strength, I wouldn't recommend undertaking them."

Tiva knew many exorcists want to slay more demons to quickly enhance their strength.

Many novice exorcists are like that, eager to succeed without a clear comprehension of their own abilities.

The demon aura on Herag was faint, and Tiva keenly sensed this, confirming Herag was just a novice exorcist.

"You don't need to worry about that, just introduce them to me." Herag said.

Tiva nodded, without saying more.

Respecting others' destinies and letting go of the urge to assist.

"How about this task: guarding Fire Land Ranch, with a term of three months, and a reward of twenty Gold Coins." Tiva presented a piece of parchment in front of Herag.

Herag took the parchment and examined it carefully.

Fire Land Ranch is located to the south of Amy City, housing many cattle, sheep, and horses. It supplies meat and dairy to the vicinity.

Due to raising many animals, it often draws demons in for food, causing considerable losses to the ranch.

The ranch consistently hires exorcists to guard, making it a long-term task.

However, most exorcists won't stay too long, since the number of demons is unpredictable.

Sometimes there might be many, and sometimes few; it's entirely up to chance.

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