Upon seeing the old man, one of the two Level 150 guards hurriedly stood to greet the old man, while the other quickly opened the large metal gates.
"Master Owen, welcome back!" the guard said respectfully.
Shi Feng was slightly surprised by this sudden development.
Of course, his surprise was not due to the old man's identity. After all, this was not the first time he had met Owen. The true source of his surprise stemmed from Thoughtful Rain, the purple-robed beauty beside the old tamer.
Although Owen was not a noble, he had a higher status in White River City than ordinary nobles. He was an Advanced NPC that current players could not meet easily. Only a major noble like himself might be able to arrange a meeting with Owen. Thoughtful Rain, on the other hand, had yet to become a major noble in White River City, yet she had obviously become acquainted with the old man. It seemed that the girl was more capable than he had initially thought.
"I've come to make a request of Master Owen," Shi Feng explained as he watched Thoughtful Rain approach.
The last time he had met Thoughtful Rain was when she had introduced him to Everlasting War.
Back then, Thoughtful Rain had only had the level and equipment of an elite player. However, after this short time had passed, not only had the girl reached Level 35, but she also wore equipment that elites would envy.
She was almost fully geared in Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. The deep-red staff she held was known as the Elemental Requiem, and it was a Level 30 Dark-Gold ranked staff. In addition, she had a slightly more daring temperament than before.
Moreover, as she walked towards him, her footwork was both light and natural. Her actions lacked any excess movement.
Even if Thoughtful Rain had not yet reached the Half-step Refinement Realm, she was not too far, either.
Shi Feng found it truly hard to imagine that the girl had grown this much in God's Domain in such a short period.
"A request for Master Owen? Did you receive the quest as well?!" Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Thoughtful Rain could not help her joy as she said, "I've had a headache trying to figure out how to complete it. If we do it together, we should be able to complete the quest very quickly."
"Quest?" A realization struck Shi Feng. "Are you talking about the Silver Legend quest in the Crystal Forest?"
"Mhm. Isn't that your quest as well?" Thoughtful Rain nodded.
"No. I have not accepted that quest. I'm looking for Master Owen for something else." When Shi Feng saw Thoughtful Rain nod, although he appeared quite calm on the outside, he admired the girl's great luck.
The Silver Legend quest was one of the few super-rare special quests in White River City. It was not easy to obtain. One needed to encounter a certain NPC to obtain this quest. However, this NPC appeared at random locations within White River City. Players needed luck to find this NPC.
As Shi Feng understood it, this quest had caused quite a commotion in White River City in the past.
After this quest had been completed, players received a Mount as a reward. However, the quality of the Mount depended on the player's quest completion rate. The higher their completion rate was, the higher the Mount's quality would be.
To players, even obtaining a Common Mount was a massive expenditure, not to mention a high-quality Mount.
Back then, this quest's discovery had led White River City's players to a frantic search for that NPC. Unfortunately, very few players had found that NPC, not to mention those who achieved a high question completion rate.
"What a pity." Thoughtful Rain sighed lightly when she heard Shi Feng's words.
She had been working on this quest for a long time now. The next part of the quest was even more difficult than the previous parts. With her strength alone, this quest was difficult to complete. If she had an expert like Shi Feng helping her, she would have a far easier time with it.
However, she had only met Shi Feng a handful of times before. They could hardly be considered friends. They were acquaintances at best. Naturally, she could not trouble an expert like Shi Feng to help her complete a quest.
Suddenly, Blue Bamboo, who wore a pure-white dress over a delicate, but curvaceous, body, appeared behind Thoughtful Rain.
"Rain, what's taking you so long? Everyone's starting to grow anxious," Blue Bamboo urged. However, her gaze quickly fell on Shi Feng, and she began to evaluate him. Narrowing her eyes as if trying to recall something, she turned to Thoughtful Rain, revealing an expression that seemed to say, "Ah, I see."
"It's not what you think! We just met by coincidence!" Thoughtful Rain explained hurriedly.
"Doesn't our party just so happen to be missing a member?" Blue Bamboo grinned at her friend. She then turned to Shi Feng, smiling sweetly as she asked, "Big Brother Ye Feng, won't you please help us? After we complete the quest, I'll have Rain treat you to a meal at Morning Dew Restaurant! I heard the food there is even better than the food of a 7-star hotel's!"
"Blue!" Thoughtful Rain could not help her embarrassment, miffed that Blue Bamboo was always trying to poke fun at her.
"If you two can wait two hours, I can go with you," Shi Feng offered after giving it some thought.
Currently, Thoughtful Rain was already an elite member in Zero Wing. Since they were allies, he would naturally lend a helping hand if he could. Moreover, the Silver Legend quest was very special. If the quest completion rate was high enough, Thoughtful Rain might become a powerful force in Zero Wing in the future.
"It's only two hours. Since this quest isn't particularly urgent, we'll meet up at the Flame Bar later," Blue Bamboo answered before Thoughtful Rain could react.
Following which, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo departed from Owen's mansion, while Shi Feng entered the courtyard alone.
Led by the Tier 1 guards, Shi Feng reached the courtyard's central garden. Owen already sat comfortably inside a gazebo, waiting for him.
A Count ranked at the top of White River City's social pyramid.
Owen was merely a Master Tamer. His status was not as high as a Master Forger's. Hence, he still showed Shi Feng some respect. If any other player stood before him, he'd only show them a cold shoulder.
Seeing Shi Feng approach, Owen took the initiative to greet the Swordsman, bowing slightly as he said, "Lord Count, how may I be of service today?"
"Hello, Master Owen. I'm here to invite you to become Zero Wing's tamer consultant. I wonder if you can agree to this request?" Shi Feng asked.
In God's Domain, Guilds with Stables generally sought to hire a tamer, having the tamer work in the Guild at all times. However, hiring a Master Tamer was very difficult. It was impossible to tie a Master Tamer to a single Guild. Hence, one could only hire a Master Tamer as a consultant. Moreover, there was still no guarantee that the Master Tamer would agree.
"This…" Owen hesitated for a long moment, unsure of how to respond.
"Take a look at this." Shi Feng took out the Stable Certificate and handed it over to the old man.
To hire a Master Tamer, a Guild must first possess a large-sized Stable. Otherwise, the effort would be futile. Even with Shi Feng's status, a Master Tamer would refuse. This was the main reason why he had opted to construct a large-sized Stable.
Only after Owen saw the Stable Certificate did he agree to Shi Feng's request, saying, "It would be my honor to accept Lord Count's invitation. We can see to the formalities immediately."
Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Owen. In return for Owen becoming Zero Wing's tamer consultant, Zero Wing would pay Owen a monthly retainer of 200 Gold.
After the contract was official, Shi Feng led Owen to Zero Wing's Guild Residence.
Meanwhile, a huge commotion tore through the Guild Residence.