As soon as Anna heard the request, she left the president's office to summon Henry, the president of Star Trail Trading Company.
After watching Anna leave,
The documents were all business ledgers for Star Trail Trading Company—purchases, shipments, and so on—but everything had been arranged in perfect order by Anna.
An NPC with an intelligence stat of 91 was exceedingly rare. If converted into a guard, her potential would be absolutely staggering.
That was why Shi Feng wanted to have a word with Henry.
Tasks issued by NPCs weren't entirely without room for negotiation—it just depended on whether the player had the strength to push for more.
The original agreement was a fourth-tier magic scroll as a reward, which would have let him easily reach the Dark Caverns and retrieve the Book of Darkness.
But something felt off to Shi Feng.
Managing Star Trail Trading Company looked like part of an epic-tier quest chain, and the final reward was merely an item that led to the next stage? That was practically no reward at all.
So Shi Feng felt he could push for a better deal. There might be something hidden in the details.
Especially Anna, the assistant.
After the clash with the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion, every major guild in the Divine Realm had been scrambling to acquire powerful guards.
But where could you find such formidable guards so easily?
Anna was exactly the kind of incredibly capable guard, yet who would have guessed that such a delicate young woman had extraordinarily high potential as a guard?
If Shi Feng hadn't happened to glance at Anna's stats, he never would have known just how powerful she was.
If Anna were made an adventurer, with her intelligence, her demonstrated potential would be truly astonishing. She might not be as strong as Kate, but she could very well turn out to be a Gold-grade guard.
Dark Gold guards were the stuff of legend across the entire Divine Realm. As far as Shi Feng knew, very few people had ever obtained one. Most players made do with Bronze or Iron Rank guards. Finding a Mythril Rank guard was considered lucky, let alone Gold-grade.
A Gold-grade guard might not be invincible against same-tier, same-level opponents, but against same-tier monsters, the gap in power was still significant. Against same-tier, same-level players, it was child's play—and that was on top of the fact that Anna was a magic-class combatant.
Most NPCs in the Divine Realm were physical-class combatants. Magic-class ones were rare.
Magic-class and physical-class combatants were fundamentally different. The former couldn't be used to fight bosses head-on and were relegated to the rear lines.
However, for a guild, the value of a magic-class NPC far exceeded that of a physical-class one.
Magic-class NPCs possessed numerous area-of-effect spells and even strategic-tier large-scale destructive magic. In guild wars or when fighting open-world bosses, they were terrifying assets. That was why every major guild prioritized recruiting magic-class NPCs as direct guards.
As a result, on the open market, a Bronze-rank magic-class guard was worth roughly the same as an Iron-rank physical-class guard.
If Anna was a Gold-grade magic-class combatant, her value would be no less than Kate's.
"No matter what, I have to get Anna." Just the thought of it made Shi Feng's pulse quicken.
As a viscount, he only had two direct guard slots—one Dark Gold physical-class and one Gold-grade magic-class. If he had walked around with those two in his previous life, he would have scared people half to death.
With just those two direct guards by his side, defeating same-tier open-world bosses would be a walk in the park.
In the opulent president's office, Shi Feng had waited only a brief moment when he saw the dignified and refined President Henry walk in.