Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

After a satisfying meal, Lance's fingertips glowed faintly. He used [Mage's Hand] to pick up the bowls and chopsticks and send them flying to the kitchen, where he used [Magic Trick] to clean them.

Sissa leaned back in her chair and yawned, a satisfied smile in her eyes.

"Rest for a bit, then head out." Lance wiped away non-existent crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

Cielsa sat up straight instantly, her eyes lighting up: "Lord Lance, shall we go shopping?"

"Celsa, stop thinking about playing around." Lance put on a serious face and said in a deliberately heavy tone, "Our primary task is to fight evil, uphold justice, and help those in need."

He paused for a moment: "It was just a casual stroll around town."

Sissa nodded as if she understood, her eyes filled with anticipation: "Oh... then let's rest quickly and set off as soon as possible."

After resting for a while, the two walked side by side on the streets in the west of the city.

The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, casting two close shadows on the stone path.

Like a curious little bird, Cielsa would sometimes peer through the window of the general store, staring at the small brass bells inside, and other times sniffing as she looked towards the bakery: "Lord Lance, smell this! It smells so good, like freshly baked bread."

"Want some?" Lance turned to look at her.

Sissa shook her head: "I'm still a little full..."

Lance smiled but remained silent. His senses were fully activated as he scanned the pedestrians on the street, puzzled: 'How come after wandering around for so long, not a single person with an exclamation mark above their head?'

"Back when I played games, I could trigger quests just by taking a couple of steps, and buying a scroll would bring up seven or eight exclamation marks. Why is it so hard to be a good Samaritan in real life?"

"Lord Lance, look at that!" Cielsa suddenly tugged at his sleeve, her voice filled with surprise, and pointed to the jewelry stall on the street corner.

The stall was spread out on an old cloth, displaying some silver earrings and necklaces; the workmanship... looked so-so.

Cielsa's gaze was fixed on a pair of earrings—small silver pieces inlaid with a few pale purple crystals that shimmered softly in the sunlight.

Lance followed her gaze.

"want to?"

"Uh-huh!"

Lance walked straight to the stall and asked the vendor, "How much are these earrings?"

The stall owner was an old woman with a wrinkled face and white hair. When she smiled, the lines at the corners of her eyes were all squeezed together: "Two silver coins. Young man, you have a good eye. This broken crystal suits this young lady perfectly."

Lance pulled two silver coins from his purse and tossed them onto the cloth: "Wrap it up."

The old woman deftly picked up a small piece of linen, carefully wrapped the earring, and handed it to Cielsa: "Girl, take this carefully, don't drop it."

"Thank you, Madam." Cielsa accepted it with both hands.

The two continued walking along the street. occasionally, Cielsa would quietly ask about the little trinkets by the roadside, and Lance would always oblige, but his eyes were still scanning the crowd, his perception range expanded to the extreme.

He noticed a few details.

The owner of the fruit stand on the street corner would subconsciously shrink his neck whenever a certain number of people passed by.

The middle-aged woman selling fabric had a short stick hidden under her stall.

There were also three burly men dressed in coarse cloth, wandering around the stalls one by one.

They didn't say anything, they just stood in front of the stall, and the stall owner would turn pale and take out a few copper coins and stuff them into their hands.

The movements were practiced, clearly indicating this wasn't the first time.

"Is this... a gang collecting protection money?" Lance thought to himself.

"Huh?"

Lance suddenly realized that these gang members were actually a great source of experience points!

There aren't many professionals, but their overall numbers are considerable. Their combat strength isn't high, and as for their backgrounds... even if they did have backgrounds, it's impossible for them to offend a formal mage for a bunch of thugs.

Moreover, it can uphold justice and rob the rich to help the poor.

This gang is awesome!

I need to grind them hard, otherwise I won't get any experience points when I level up and kill them.

Cielsa saw it too, and a hint of disgust flashed in her beautiful purple eyes.

The two continued walking until they reached the edge of the market. There were fewer people and fewer stalls here.

A lone used book stall stood in a corner, the owner a thin and handsome boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, squatting on the ground arranging books.

Lance's gaze fell on him.

To be precise, it landed on his head—where a pale gold, constantly spinning exclamation mark appeared.

Lance's heart skipped a beat.

He stepped forward, picked up an old book from the stall, and flipped through it. The boy looked up, revealing a handsome but haggard face.

He was wearing a coarse cloth garment with several patches, but it was very clean.

"Sir...would you like to buy some books?" the boy asked timidly. "They're all very cheap, twenty copper coins a book."

Lance didn't answer, but instead mentally clicked the exclamation mark.

A pale blue light curtain unfolds:

[Multi-stage quest trigger: The Shadow of the Market]

[Phase 1: Eliminate the Blood Wolf Gang members who frequently bully teenagers]

[Mission Description: Young Ivan sells books to raise money for his sick grandmother, but is extorted and humiliated by the Blood Wolves gang. Eliminate the Blood Wolves gang members who are extorting him, protect him, and obtain gang intelligence.]

[Phase 1 Reward: Zero-Ring Trick - Aard Sign!]

Lance raised an eyebrow.

interesting.

Just as he was about to ask a question, an unfriendly shout came from the street corner:

"Hey! Kid!"

Three men swaggered over; they were the same group who had just collected protection money.

The leader was a scarred man with a hideous scar on his left cheek, running from the corner of his eye down to his chin.

He walked up to the bookstall and kicked over several books that were stacked on it.

Lance: "Oh ho, this guy doesn't seem friendly."

"Today's protection fee!" Scarface grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth. "Fifty copper coins!"

Young Ivan visibly trembled. He stood up, his voice shaking, "M-Sir...I already paid this week's protection fee the day before yesterday..."

"Then pay again!" roared one of Scarface's henchmen. "Can't you understand human language?"

Scarface reached out, grabbed Ivan by the collar, and lifted him up.

"So you ate yesterday, but you're not eating today?!"

"I...I really have no money left..." the boy said with a mournful face.

"No money?" The scarred man leaned closer to the boy, his breath reeking of alcohol, making the boy want to vomit. "Then you can use a book as collateral... or..."

He pinched Ivan's cheek with his other hand.

"Your delicate skin and adorable appearance... you'd definitely earn more than selling a few tattered books here."

"How about it? Think about it? If you agree, I'll definitely patronize your business every day!"

Ivan's face was deathly pale, and tears welled up in his eyes.