Caalmira Kingdom encompasses the entire heartland of the continent and its territories were divided into two parts, the capital region and sixteen provinces.
Every province was further divided into eight prefectures and each prefecture has nineteen counties within it. A county has 27 townships while every township has exactly 36 villages under its jurisdiction.
By this divisional standard there were exactly 128 prefectures, 2432 counties, 65,664 townships, and 2,363,904 villages in total.
It was safe to say that the commotion that happened yesterday in the Little Clover Town was merely a microcosm of this vast kingdom.
Behind an abandoned building.
Three hooded figures knocked on the half-broken door in a certain rhythm. The door opened with a creak and a bald man wearing a face mask that covered the lower half of his face came out with a tensed expression. He stretched his hand, clearly asking for something.
One of the hooded figures reached into his wide sleeve and took out a wooden token.
Seeing this token the bald man's vigilance didn't lessen a bit, he asked a question as he took it to examine it, "Two birds sitting on the branch. One gives a worm to the other so what should the other bird do in return?"
"There are no birds. Everything is an illusion."
The same hooded figure gave the answer instantly. The bald man paused for a second before stepping away and ushered the three of them to head in.
The interior of the abandoned building looked pretty much as one would expect. Filled with dust and trashes, broken glass shards here and there, also a strange odor in the air that was pervasive. The only thing that seemed out of place was the spotless stool kept on the side of the entrance.
Clearly that bald man's sitting area to guard the door.
Three of them didn't look around. They had a destination in their mind. After passing the "entrance room" they headed to the end of the hallway and entered a particular room which outwardly had nothing noteworthy about it.
Another one of the figures promptly moved an inconspicuous stone at the corner and suddenly floor tiles at the front caved in to reveal a stairway that went underground.
Two of them moved at the front while the last one who had the wooden token earlier walked behind them slowly.
The stairs ahead had multiple sections at the end and only by taking the correct path did the three enter the "bounty room" which was their main goal for the night.
It was a vast room with the interior of a tavern!
There were nearly two dozen individuals with dark attires wrapped around their whole body, wearing masks or hoods, and sometimes even strange helmets. They were sitting in twos and threes at the table, drinking and eating, chatting in low voices.
Unlike the customs aboveground, they all had their wands out in the open, seemingly wary of their "buddies" who shared a table with them.
The new entrants drew the attention of the whole crowd.
Two hooded figures at the front also took out their wands as they escorted the one behind them safely towards the counter. Behind the counter stood a woman with decent looks but clearly in her middle age. She was dressed scantily, her identity was the proprietress of this whole establishment.
"Three esteemed guests, how may I serve you on this lovely night?"
She spoke with an alluring charm, her words implied with deep meanings.
Unfortunately, all three visitors wouldn't buy into it as they were well aware of this woman's terror.
Two of the figures stepped away and the one behind them stood at the front. He took out another token, the one made of solid silver, and placed it on the counter.
"Woah! A silver-class bounty!!"
She exclaimed in shock and quickly took it to check the authenticity.
The crowd steered at the mention of silver-class. They whispered and discussed while trying to guess the identity of this client. To produce a silver-class bounty token in this small town those three were definitely from a strong background.
After all, not just anybody could get a hold of such things related to their organization.
"I am putting a bounty on this individual."
The guy said before handing over a portrait and a vial of white mist.
"I want to hear the news of his death spreading through the town within a week. The silver-class bounty token will belong to the one who gets this job done."
Most of the shadowy figures rushed to the counter to check the bounty details while some of them remained seated, just observing coldly.
In the portrait a chiseled face of a young man with hawk-like eyes was seen wearing a dark robe with purple star patterns on the collar. All of them instantly understood the affiliation of this target but none backed away because of this.
They instead had an expression of eagerness and challenge on their faces or at least what could be observed through their exposed eyes.
"If this bounty order has not been fulfilled within the time limit then the proprietress of this branch must personally take action to honor the silver-class token's worth within a day's time or else I, the client, will file a complaint to the supervisor to uphold Deliverance Altar's reputation!"
After seeing that the assassins had initially seen the target the hooded figure, the client, continued to add his terms.
The proprietress raised an eyebrow and gave a deep look to this person. It seems that it wasn't their first time interacting with their organization.
Only those with a profound background could possibly know the existence of a supervisor let alone have a way to contact them.
"If I may ask, esteemed client, what is the arcana realm of this target? It will help screen out some competitors for this token early on and will surely expedite the completion time."
"That kid is just a Two Symbols Novice Mage—"
When the client mentioned his low realm all the assassins were visibly startled. Just what type of a Novice Mage could possibly be worthy of the expenditure of such a precious token. While some became wary others were chuckling gleefully already considering this bounty in their grasp.
Before they could impatiently set off the client added, "—However, he couldn't be easily dismissed as an average joe. He inherited a Three Symbols Valiant Mage's entire legacy. He must have many trump cards on him so dealing with him would depend on your capability."
The entire tavern fell silent.
The confident ones suddenly became hesitant. Seeing this, the client didn't urge them but looked at the proprietress.
Behind the counter, the proprietress frowned for a second and started considering whether she should accept it personally.
Although it would be akin to snatching food from her subordinates mouth, the special nature of this target indeed required someone of her caliber to take action to ensure success.
Though it will lower her evaluation for the next quarter and some fines would probably have to be paid but if she could successfully snatch the legacy that kid had inherited then it would make her purse big enough to make it worth the effort.
Just as she was about to take this bounty the door behind the counter was pushed open and a towering man nearly seven feet tall, beard like a lion's mane, body stout like an adult bear, walked out with steady steps.
The proprietress looked at the new arrival with a solemn expression and wisely kept her head down.
"This bounty, I shall take it."
The silver-class token in her hand was picked up by him as he declared his intention.
None of the assassins interjected and the proprietress also took a step back to yield. Now at the counter, the client and the man stood face to face.
"To think he is in this small town instead of operating in the prefecture."
Upon hearing this murmur, the client glanced at the left guard who came with him and raised an eyebrow to inquire about this new guy's identity.
The left guard replied with some trepidation, "He is… the 28th rank mage of Purple Dusk List! Codename… 'Deep Ogler'!!"
"Oh!! With a rising star of the assassins world presiding over this bounty I can now stay rest assured. I will leave that kid's fate to you, Mr. Ogler!"
"..."
The proprietress was trembling all over, her facial muscles twitching while the other assassins near the counter quickly kept their head down lest they suffer an unprovoked calamity.
Even those aloof assassins still seated at the back nonchalantly were now desperately trying to reduce their presence to the lowest point possible.
"It's 'Deep Observer'. My codename… is 'Deep Observer'."
"Oh… my apologies. We will take our leave then."
The client and the two guards hurriedly turned around and exited with brisk steps leaving behind a tall figure whose face had now turned extremely grim.
It was only when they exited the abandoned building safely did they breathe a sigh of relief.
"You idiot! You almost cost me my life!!"
"But young lord that was exactly what was written on the Purple Dusk List's new issue last month."
"Really? Show me that magazine."
The left guard quickly reached inside his underwear and took out the stuff.
"What the hell are you doing!? Are you still using that damned storage underwear?"
The young lord was visibly shaken.
The right guard beside him quickly slapped the guy's head as he reprimanded, "Didn't you receive the replacement for your lost storage bracelet from last week's supply? Why are you using this outdated thing again!"
"Sorry, sorry! It's just a bad habit. Here's the magazine from last month's issue."
"You open it. I am not touching it."
The left guard could only give an awkward smile as he fumbled about to turn the sticky pages. Finally, the page where the 28th rank's introduction was written appeared in front of the young lord's eyes.
"Don't say, don't say. It really is 'Deep Ogler'. Did they make a spelling mistake perhaps?"
"Damn it, their mistake almost ruined our lives tonight. Who the hell was in charge of writing this section? Do they have a grudge with this Ogler guy?"
"It's Observer."
"..."
The three of them froze at the sudden unfamiliar yet familiar voice that came from behind them.
They woodenly turned their heads and saw that guy again. He actually followed them out!
Deep Observer snatched the magazine and read the entire content carefully. Every time he saw the word "Ogler" an unknown fire seemed to rise from his chest threatening to consume his rationality in monstrous rage.
"The one who wrote this you better pray not to fall in my hands!" He uttered viciously before looking at the "client" and his two guards.
"And you! House Sanders brat! Don't appear in my line of sight again otherwise I wouldn't give any face to your old man! Scram!!"
With a roar a sound wave actually shot from his mouth sending them flying in the distance.
Deep Observer left the place while grumbling under his breath, "I didn't expect that Million Beast Mountain had so thoroughly rooted itself over here to actually feel safe to send a brat like him to gain experience in this place."
Thinking of the arrangements Deliverance Altar had started making only at the beginning of this year he couldn't help but feel pessimistic towards the odds of success.
He shook his head to throw it at the back of his head. Anyways the events about to unfold is still not something someone in the Lower Three realms like him could rashly get involved in.
He instead took out the silver-class token and tried to put his ether imprint on it only to fail. It seems that the brat came prepared lest someone reneged and absconded with the reward.
Deep Observer pondered his next course of action, "This town would soon be plunged into misery from those people's contention. So, this token will be my escape route to a far prefecture. With this, they couldn't possibly reject my transfer request again."
"Damn, I shouldn't have offended that girl. Is she still searching for my traces in Coldstone City? If not for her, would I have been hiding and recuperating from injuries in this remote town and remaining unaware of the monthly issue's mistake for this long!?"
Just thinking about the chains of events that lead to his current predicament made him want to vent his anger on someone. It seems the proprietress had to suffer again tonight.
"Alas! I am still an emotional boy who hasn't touched the threshold of my master's aloofness!!"
He lamented at his incompetence and at fate that brought him to this town.