Warcraft: When NPCs Have Player Panels

Chapter 43 Commissioned Tasks

For the next period of time, William's life in Ambermill gradually became more peaceful.

Elena began systematic learning and training under Vikala's guidance.

Every morning, she would go to the Thieves' Guild on time. Because it involved inside information about the Thieves' Guild, William did not know how they trained.

Every day during breaks from training at the guild, Elena would proactively seek out William to go to the grove outside the city to continue practicing basic melee attack and defense drills.

After a week of consistent practice, her changes were quite noticeable. She gradually became less impetuous, her body control improved significantly, and during training with William, she could occasionally unleash a dazzling sword dance reminiscent of a ranger.

William marveled.

William also has his own challenges to face.

In Ambermill, eating became an unavoidable issue. At least, William had never considered it when he was in the army.

Now that he has paid for Elena's tuition, the unavoidable realities of expenses are gradually becoming apparent to him.

That night, William opened his money bag and emptied out all the silver coins inside.

A few dozen silver coins were laid out on the table. William checked them one by one and found that there were only forty-two silver coins left.

A processed wheat cake costs five copper coins, which should last quite a while. However, two people can't live on wheat cakes forever. He's a warrior by nature and has a large appetite. Elena, on the other hand, is undergoing training as a thief, and her daily food requirements are quite high.

Sometimes, watching her eat a whole roast chicken by herself, despite her small stature, William was quite surprised. He didn't know that learning extraordinary abilities required so much energy.

To support the two of them and continue to pay for Elena's studies, he had to start earning money as soon as possible.

This was the first time William had faced such a situation.

If you want to make money quickly without doing hard labor, then you should definitely go to the local warrior guild.

Although it's called a warrior's guild, it's actually an adventurer's guild. Because as long as you can wield a sword, the guild will accept anyone and register you for membership.

In Azeroth, when people encounter problems they can't solve, they tend to send a quest to the local warrior guild and let the guild handle it for them. If you want expedited processing, the guild will even post your quest on the bulletin board outside the town hall.

This is why many travelers, soldiers, and idle adventurers who are short of money, when they urgently need money, will first choose to join the local warrior guild and take on quests to get through the difficult time.

Guilds have strict rules regarding rank and authority.

New users are automatically assigned the lowest level upon registration, and their privileges are restricted. All high-reward hunting and reconnaissance missions are unavailable.

The tasks that beginners can handle are all the most basic and trivial chores.

Helping farmers find lost cattle and sheep, helping neighbors find their runaway relatives, and helping women search for their wandering husbands—that's roughly what it entails.

These kinds of tasks don't pay much, mostly only about half a silver coin, just enough to keep you fed for a day.

As for high-reward quests like hunting the Sons of Arugal, the guild explicitly states that they are extremely risky and strictly prohibited for new players. A disclaimer is clearly stated next to these quests: players are solely responsible for their own safety, and the guild assumes no liability.

William repeatedly reviewed all the commissions on the notice board, figuring out the guild's rules. After completing two bodyguard missions in town, his guild rank rose to level 2, allowing him to undertake some out-of-town missions, and his rewards doubled.

Early that morning, William arrived at the Warriors' Guild again.

Rows of wooden notice boards were covered with densely packed handwritten authorization slips.

His gaze swept quickly across the various trivial requests, finally settling on one in particular.

[Location of Service: Drake Farm]

[Commission Content: Frequent wolf sightings around the farm are disrupting its production operations. The task is to clear out the roaming wolves from the surrounding area.]

[Task Reward: Three Silver Coins]

Three silver coins.

William quickly calculated in his mind.

That's enough to cover a month's rent at the hotel.

It can be done.

William took the task slip, registered his information at the guild's front desk, and accepted the task of clearing out the wolf pack.

Back at the inn, William took out paper and pen, leaving a short note informing Elaine that he had gone out on a mission. He told her to focus on her studies, not to wander off on her own, and to wait for his return.

After packing, he slung the small round oak shield he had bought over his shoulder, took his short sword, locked the door, and headed south toward Drake Farm.

The south of Ambermill is much safer than the north, with vast fields of farmland and pumpkin patches everywhere. Farmers are busy harvesting crops, sweating profusely.

William, holding the simple map given to him by the guild, followed the directions and headed south.

We drove straight ahead, and before we knew it, it was almost noon. We were getting closer and closer to Drake Farm. At this speed, we would reach our destination in a little over two hours.

As he continued along the country dirt road, a figure suddenly emerged from the ridge of the field by the roadside and blocked his way.

"Sir! Sir! Please help me!"

The man was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, his cloth shoes were covered in mud, his face was full of panic, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his breathing was rapid and disordered.

William paused, stopped, and looked at the panicked farmer in front of him.

"Take your time, sir."

The farmer was panting and speaking very quickly.

"Uh... he's my childhood friend. I don't know what happened to him today, he suddenly locked himself in the house and absolutely refuses to open the door!"

"I saw him through the window carrying two barrels of explosives and piling them up inside the house. He even said he was going to blow the house up completely, burning it to the ground along with everyone inside!"

"Why would he do that?" William asked.

The farmer shook his head helplessly.

"If I had known, why would I have asked for help?"

William looked toward the distant village and remained silent for a moment.

"Sir, I don't help people for free." He pointed to the farm in the distance. "I'm an adventurer, and my quest is to go to Drake Farm."

"So, you understand."

Although he wanted to help for free, he realized that even a good person needs to be able to afford to eat.

"Uh..." The farmer hesitated for a moment before saying, "For the sake of the Holy Light, we're all poor. How about three silver coins? Damn it, I can't just watch him blow up the house and then let the fire slowly burn down to my house, can I?"

"That guy's completely out of his mind right now."

"As long as you pay, William won't hesitate any longer."

"Lead the way."

"Then come with me, sir, quickly!"

After saying that, the farmer turned and ran wildly down the country road to the side.

William, clutching the short sword at his waist, quickly followed.

The path meanders and twists, weaving through farmland and houses, with overgrown vegetation on both sides, becoming increasingly remote.

In the distance, William could already see a lone row of earthen and wooden houses standing side by side.

The cabin's doors and windows were tightly shut, and the surroundings were completely silent. A faint smell of kerosene could be smelled, drifting in on the breeze.

The farmer pointed to the small house, his voice very low.

"Shh~ That's it, my friend is inside. He should be asleep."

"I just heard him talking to himself in the house from afar, saying something about how living is too tiring and it would be better to die sooner. Oh, I was really scared to death."

William slowed his pace, his eyes calm, his gaze fixed firmly on the closed little house ahead.

"What do you want to do, sir?" William turned to look at him. The farmer rubbed his clean hands, glanced around, picked up a stubble from the wheat stalks, and said to William, "I hope to keep him under control and prevent him from blowing up the house."

"Where did the explosives come from?" William asked.

"He got it from the mine. He used to be a miner, but he stopped working there and brought it back with him."

"What's his name?"

"Derby".

"Alright then. In a minute, you kick the door open, and I'll rush in and hold him down." William looked at him. "Is that alright?"

The farmer nodded without hesitation, "Of course, but sir, please be gentle. Debis's body can't withstand the strength of you adventurers."

After discussing it, the two went outside. A strong smell of kerosene wafted out, seeping out through the cracks in the door.

William pointed towards the door, signaling the farmer to kick it open.

The farmer took a deep breath, then took two steps back and kicked the door open. But before he could regain his balance, William kicked him back inside.

"ah!!"

Inside, a man wearing a cloak was holding a pitchfork, which pierced the farmer who had been kicked in.

"Karls! It's you!?" Inside, a scarred man with a small braid stared in shock at the farmer impaled on the pole, too stunned to utter a word.

William stood silently in the doorway, watching them. Scarface angrily dropped the argument, drew a short, thin sword from his waist, and stepped out. "You damned bastard! You killed Karl! You'll pay with your life!"

"You guys do this very skillfully," William said, his eyes glancing behind the man, where a dozen or so corpses lay laid out. The reason the ground was covered in kerosene was to mask the stench of the bodies with its odor.

"But the acting isn't good enough. Three silver coins for a task like this?" William continued with a sneer. "You were too hasty in trying to trick me into coming here."

"It's not too late now!!"

As Scarface spoke, he instantly flung off the black cloak behind him with his left hand, swung it sharply towards William's face to block his view, pushed off with his left heel, took a big step forward with his right foot, and thrust his right hand out, stabbing the rapier straight through William's clothes and behind him.

William's pupils contracted instantly. He took a large step back, leaning back as he drew his short sword from his waist and deflected the rapier. Seeing his attack had failed, the latter tried to press forward with a thrust, but William caught the rapier with his short sword, then circled it and delivered a powerful chop!

William knocked the rapier right out of Scarface's hand!

"Oh, you're a nobleman?" William said casually. "A nobleman from Lordaeron? Or from Alterac? Have you stooped so low as to commit murder?"

This swordsmanship style is a common duel tactic among nobles. It emphasizes speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness! If it fails to work, it can be very dangerous.

Scarface spat on the ground, then pulled a dagger from his waist and brandished it at William, but said nothing.

"Give up, and I'll spare your life. Pay up." William said calmly, taking the shield from behind him.

"Do you think I'd believe you?" Scarface stared intently at the dagger in William's hand. "You think I'd take this kind of deceptive trick back with me to fool you?"

"Now, come to your father, Debis!"