Patric immediately stood up to speak with the new group, as he was the leader.

Before saying anything, he assessed the other party. But while he took his time, Evan and Natalie had already finished evaluating them.

The leader is Peak 2-star, and the rest range from Peak 1-star to Mid 2-star... together, they form a Pseudo 3-star Adventurer Party like ours... but slightly stronger, Evan inferred.

"Who told you that we have any interest in going to Tilgarth?" Patric asked, narrowing his eyes.

The man in the black suit immediately raised his hand.

"Wait, you've got the wrong idea. We don't know anything; we're just walking around the city looking for people who are heading to Tilgarth. Haven't you heard the news? A dangerous dungeon outbreak happened along the route to Tilgarth. So we're looking for fellow adventurers, hunters, and mercenary teams who can band together and travel to the city."

Seeing Patric lower his guard slightly, the man let out a relieved sigh.

"This way, we can look out for each other and hunt stronger beasts along the way to earn more!"

"Again??" Junni frowned in irritation.

"Why haven't the authorities found the secret dungeon yet? Those things just keep spewing out beasts every now and then!"

Even the black-suited leader's teammates sighed.

"It's literally a pain in the ass. We never know when we might die if we travel alone."

Patric nodded in agreement.

At that moment, the leader introduced himself, extending his hand with a smile.

"I am Lamar. Good to meet you. Does this mean we'll be travelling together?"

Patric shook his hand.

"I am Patric. Good to meet you too. But before we agree, I need to know who else will be travelling with us, and how many of them there are."

Patric might be casual, but he was cautious. He wouldn't travel with Lamar's team alone when his own party's strength was a notch lower than theirs.

"Ahh, don't worry about that. We already have more than 20 adventurers, 10 hunters, and 2 mercenary groups who have agreed. And to make things even better, we've received a huge escort mission from the City Lord that guarantees a maximum reward of 50 Silver Coins for everyone participating, regardless of whether we end up fighting any beasts or not."

Patric's interest grew; this meant there was no danger of an ambush.

"What are we escorting? And 50 silver is the maximum? What's the minimum, then?" he asked.

Lamar scratched the back of his head.

"Haha, a Low 1-star individual shouldn't be getting the full 50 Silver payment as a Peak 2-star, right? In other words, the payments will be distributed based on each individual's strength."

"As for the escort mission, we'll be escorting the City Lord's son along with carriages loaded with beast corpses and materials."

Patric frowned at that.

"Corpses? That... will attract too many wild beasts..." Patric muttered, weighing his options.

Lamar quickly spoke up.

"That's why I'm rallying as many people as possible, and the payment is high, you know? You seem to have the strength of a High 2-star, so you're guaranteed to get 40 Silver alone. On top of that, you'll receive your contribution reward from the escort mission, and you'll get to keep any beasts you and your party hunt! And you know what? There will be 10 empty carriages travelling with us that can be used to rest during the journey and store any beast corpses you hunt."

Now, Patric was genuinely interested.

"That's great news, but why spend so much? They could just wait for a better opportunity and save money."

Lamar waved his hand as though it were nothing unusual.

"This beast problem has been around for ages, and there's still no sign of knowing the whereabouts of the secret dungeon these beasts keep coming from, so there is no perfect time. Missions like this happen regularly. You must be new here."

Patric nodded. He had indeed arrived in the city only a few weeks ago.

At that moment, Lamar looked toward Evan and Natalie.

"Haven't seen these two around before. Are they even newer than you?" Lamar asked Patric.

Patric nodded.

"He's new here. His name is Evan, and he's a very strong man. He even defeated me. The woman is his slave."

"Ohh... then why didn't he take the opportunity to become the new leader? Why did he join you?" Lamar asked. Then, realizing his blunder, he quickly gestured toward his own men.

"Feel free to ask about any of them. You shouldn't be the only one revealing information about your party."

Patric looked toward Evan, who simply shrugged, indicating he wasn't bothered.

"No problem. He doesn't mind. It's just his weird skill that allowed him to beat me. Otherwise, his swordsmanship is pretty bad. That's what he's learning from me for the time being."

Lamar nodded.

"Alright then. Get your party registered at the Adventurer's Guild. Our journey will begin in 3 days."

With that, Lamar and his team departed. Patric's gaze lingered on them for a while until he saw them approach another group of adventurers and offer the same deal.

Only then did he relax, convinced that their group hadn't been specifically targeted.

But Leo and Lily already knew something was fishy.

After that, Patric quickly settled the matter between Evan and Shreya using his authority as the team leader, and Shreya ended up giving up that 2.5%.

But to everyone's surprise, Evan offered the money to Liam.

"If not for you taking all the hits, we would've never defeated the beast." He held out the money with a smile, which only irked Shreya further. Not only had Evan taken a portion of her earnings, but he was also making her look bad in front of the rest of the party.

Liam repeatedly thanked everyone. Now, combined with the amount he had already saved, he wouldn't be falling into debt.

"So it's decided? We'll travel alongside them?" Patric asked after discussing things with the party.

"Yes, but I will be leaving the party if you take this man along," Shreya said firmly, pointing at Evan.

"Bitch, don't you think you're talking too much?" Evan said in a threatening voice.

"I am? I'm talking too much?!" Shreya snapped. "Fucker, you haven't even been here for a proper week, and you're already disrupting the party's harmony. So shut your crap and get out! You've already gotten your money's worth from the 10 silver you paid to learn swordsmanship!"