Wildness and Masks

In the following days, Ogre and his team's tasks went very smoothly. As they became more skilled in coordination and preparation, the speed of task completion increased significantly.

Before long, they became a three-star adventure group.

Here are Ogre's records of the past few days:

Monday: Nothing much to do, exercised and fought goblins.

Tuesday: Foucault had something to do, so just exercised today.

Wednesday: Exercised and fought goblins... Didn't fall asleep during meditation today, seems like I was doing it wrong before.

Thursday: Exercised and fought goblins. Someone from the arena came looking for me, I chose to brush them off for now.

Friday: Exercised and fought goblins. Lange became more confident today, so I sparred with him again.

Saturday: Exercised, went out with Foucault to take on a commission, spent the day capturing a runaway hybrid werewolf mutant.

Sunday: Exercised, fought goblins. Foucault mentioned he has something to do tomorrow, so we'll rest on Monday.

...

"Haven't had any income for a while."

While organizing his small treasury, Ogre realized he might be running low on money—the gold coins earned from commissions were all with Foucault.

Ogre was currently in a working state, with no income, as he had already received his payment, along with a nice weapon.

He could probably ask Foucault or Lange for some money, but Ogre didn't want to do that.

He felt that freeloading meals was enough, and asking for money without a reason seemed a bit too much.

Ogre cherished this friendship, so he decided not to do it.

"Buying a forbidden potion would cost at least a thousand gold coins... might also need materials like magic cores."

Ogre took out a portion from his small treasury—since he had nothing to do today, he planned to earn some money.

Gold coins aren't everything, but without them, life becomes inconvenient.

"Still have to go back to that place..."

Ogre had hidden his disguise items well—it was crucial for his ability to make a quick escape.

However, his identity as a 'Gourmet' was no secret.

The arena people could easily find out about it.

They even came knocking a few days ago.

Thanks to his connections with Yard and Leidy (Uncle Foucault), the arena wasn't sure about Ogre's background and didn't dare to do anything to him.

They just left a message to continue the discussion later.

"Better change the mask..."

Ogre glanced at the items in his room and sighed. Without spatial items, he couldn't take most of his things with him.

"Unfortunately, it's also hard to get spatial items on the black market, and it's even more troublesome to obtain them from the Professional Association. Hopefully, they'll be available in a big city."

Ogre's hand passed over the patterned mask he used frequently before, and instead picked up a multi-hole mask—this was the identity he often used at the Professional Association recently.

"Let me see how strong those arena professionals are."

Picking up his spear and putting on the mask, Ogre left the room through the back door.

...

"Gourmet, finally you're here. Why the change in attire... Have you thought about our offer?"

Even though Ogre changed his mask, the spear on his back still gave away his identity.

But this was intentional on Ogre's part; he didn't even disguise his voice.

His disguise was just another layer of protection.

It also helped prevent some wealthy young nobles who lost money from causing trouble.

The 'reality' seen by the arena was only what Ogre wanted them to see.

"I recently took a commission from someone in another city, can't leave for now." Ogre used Foucault as a shield: "It's a contracted job."

Initially, the fat spokesperson was excited to see Ogre return, but upon hearing that Ogre couldn't leave, his enthusiasm dimmed.

The arena wouldn't risk offending a silver-level professional for Ogre.

"Oh, dear... Then why are you back here? No apprentice-level fighter dares to challenge you anymore. Wait, you're not planning to change your identity, are you? I advise against it; that's cheating, and if you're caught, we can't protect you."

The fat spokesperson thought he had guessed Ogre's reason for changing masks and quickly dismissed the idea.

Ogre's current status was awkward. As he defeated more opponents, the challenge threshold and compensation kept rising, almost losing its profitability, leaving only a deterrent effect.

This was why the higher-ups wanted to transfer Ogre.

They had checked Ogre's age and connections.

Their initial goal was to train Ogre for the professional-level arena and recruit him.

But Ogre's evasive attitude made the higher-ups lose patience with this rising star.

Helping to fake a match? Ogre wasn't qualified for that yet.

"No, you misunderstood." Ogre removed the cloth wrapped around his spear.

The arena was a fast way to make money, but it wasn't easy.

The arena wasn't a charity; to make money, one had to take on various risks.

"Then why are you here?" Seeing Ogre fiddling with his spear, the fat spokesperson instinctively shrank back.

"I want to try the professional-level arena." Ogre adjusted his mask and said.

"You've advanced?" The fat spokesperson's eyes lit up at Ogre's request.

The strongest apprentice advancing to professional level for his first match—what a great selling point! This could be a big win!

Maybe arrange a medium-difficulty match to create some buzz?

Although the duel arena in Meteor City was more suitable for professional-level fighters, it didn't mean there were no professional-level arenas in the borderlands.

They just weren't as developed.

After all, regular professionals weren't cheap labor, and their status wasn't low, which made professional-level arenas not very large.

High costs, few participants, and a small market, especially in the borderlands.

But arranging a debut match was still possible.

"No." Ogre poured cold water on the fat spokesperson: "Energy level detection should show that I haven't become a regular professional."

The gap between professionals and non-professionals (apprentice level) was significant, and once in battle, it couldn't be hidden.

However, in the face of profit, some daring individuals tried to disguise themselves as apprentices to exploit this loophole and earn quick money.

The energy level detection Ogre mentioned was used to prevent professionals from suppressing their strength to participate in apprentice-level arenas.

Mixing apprentices with regular professionals—how would the money be made?

Ogre had initially been suspected of being a disguised regular professional.

"You want to challenge above your level!" The fat spokesperson's face jiggled with surprise, his small eyes widening.

"That's right." Ogre's voice came through the mask's small holes, carrying a hint of monetary temptation: "An apprentice challenging a regular professional, that's quite a headline."

"Cheating would get you..." The fat spokesperson thought Ogre wanted him to arrange a fixed match.

If Ogre fully joined the arena, he might consider it, but without a firm commitment, he didn't want to take responsibility.

"No cheating, just arrange for a weaker professional." Ogre interrupted the fat spokesperson.

The fat spokesperson wasn't angry; no one would turn down performance: "Are you sure?"

"Yes, but I want to change my title..." Ogre tapped the multi-hole mask on his face.

"What title?"

"Call me—" Ogre paused for a moment.

Finally, he slowly uttered three words.

"Ogre."