Wind Moon Tavern.
The pungent scent of ale mixed with sweat, along with a clamor as loud as a herd of wild boars, filled every corner of the tavern.
The rolling of dice and the clinking of glasses interlaced into a background of irritating noise.
Feng Qin stood behind the bar, wiping a glass with a rag that was not exactly clean.
His silver-white wolf ears twitched sensitively, flattening occasionally to reveal a hint of impatience.
However, his facial expression remained its usual flat—bordering on cold—self, appearing entirely out of place with the heated atmosphere around him.
As a top-tier professional power-leveler in the industry, his current mood was far from pleasant.
**[Memo]**
**[Urgent Custom Order: Silver Wolf tribe. Extra requirements: Zero death record, all hidden skills unlocked.]**
**[Time Remaining: 64 hours]**
**[Final Payment: 10,000 credit points]**
For this commission, the client demanded a “cold and aloof” persona to trigger specific class quests. He had to maintain a deadpan face at all times. *Eternal Realm* was a Western fantasy-themed, sandbox immersive virtual online game.
Here, the terrain, random events, quest logic, and even the NPCs were all randomly generated by the system.
However, no matter how sophisticated a random system was, there were always patterns to follow. The underlying structure still adhered to fixed logic templates.
Experienced players could deduce the final direction of a quest from a mess of random events with just a single glance.
But the power in the game was fake; eventually, one had to face reality.
Feng Qin was once a professional player. After retiring, he tried streaming, but unfortunately, he never gained much traction. In the end, he turned to power-leveling.
‘Tch, money from shut-in otakus is really hard to earn.’
Feng Qin snorted inwardly. For the sake of that doubled final payment, he had to stay vigilant at all times.
In the early stages of Purgatory difficulty, even a goose by the side of the road could kick a player into critical health.
To ensure a perfect delivery with zero deaths, he was forced to hide out in this starter village tavern as a part-timer to leech off the “Safe Zone” buff while grinding hidden reputation for this area.
Feng Qin looked around, carefully observing every corner of the tavern.
The environmental sound effects were excessively loud. Lowering the system volume would cause him to miss other necessary sounds—it was a terrible setting.
Then there was the sticky texture of the bar counter; sometimes, high realism was a form of torture.
‘Is this another bug after the world was randomly generated?’
Since entering the game, the experience had been exceptionally strange. Especially the first time he was hit by a slime; there was actually 100% pain feedback. It was absolutely absurd.
Fortunately, he had adjusted the pain settings to 20% in time.
‘Once I get through this difficult early stage,’ Feng Qin grumbled to himself, ‘I’m definitely going to the forums to have a long talk and give the developers’ families my warmest regards.’
“Hey, look who we have here? A new little she-wolf.”
A set of frivolous footsteps slowly approached.
The flippant tone carried a distinct hint of drunkenness. Along with a strong stench of liquor, the voice drifted beside Feng Qin.
Feng Qin didn’t even lift his eyelids.
Here we go again.
The classic “drunkard provocation and harassment” plot. The trigger probability increased based on tavern crowding, alcohol intake, player attributes, and so on. It was boring.
A burly human mercenary with a face full of scars leaned in, almost pressing his greasy face right in front of her.
“Stop wiping that trashy glass, how boring.” He shook the few dull copper coins in his hand, letting out a light *clink*. “Come, have a drink with Master Walker. These shiny things will be yours. How about it?”
Feng Qin finally stopped his movements and looked up. His gaze lingered on the copper coins for a moment as he quickly calculated in his head.
‘Ten copper coins. Not even enough to buy a set of the cheapest recovery herbs. The profit from wasting time dealing with him is negative. Extremely low cost-efficiency.’
Feng Qin looked away and stated an obvious fact in a flat tone: “This establishment doesn’t provide fantasy services. Please keep your distance. If you want to vent your filthy desires, I suggest you go find a slime in the wild. They might be more to your taste.”
Walker clearly hadn’t expected such a rejection. In particular, that attitude of completely disregarding him caused his alcohol-inflated vanity to take an instant hit.
His companions nearby burst into a fit of laughter.
“Walker, your charm isn’t even worth a cup of ale!”
“Hahaha, a slime? He’d probably be a pile of clean white bones by the next day.”
“With Walker’s strength, it’s possible. As for whether there’d be a second time, who knows?”
Walker looked around. The crowd’s jeering made his face turn beet red. He reached out to grab Ailiya’s wrist. “Giving you face but you don’t want it! You’re just a lowly demi-human.”
Feng Qin slapped his hand away. His pupils seemed to contract slightly in the dim light, reflecting a luster belonging to a wild beast.
In an instant, Feng Qin had already made a decision.
His current level wasn’t high, and dealing with high-level monsters might be difficult, but dealing with this kind of bottom-tier mercenary who had no mechanics or stats?
That was just a mosquito’s leg worth of experience points. The only trouble was that harming an NPC would lead to a “Wanted” status, which would disrupt the early-game plans.
However, clearing out trash NPCs could be seen as a way to relieve stress.
Immediately, an invisible pressure quietly began to spread.
The laughter in the tavern died down instantly, replaced by a sense of keen interest in the potential spectacle.
However, just a moment before Feng Qin was about to strike…
“Walker, do you not want those filthy hands of yours anymore?”
A lazy, slightly nasal voice came from the corner.
The speaker let out a yawn and scratched his messy hair. “Harassing our beautiful part-time worker on my turf? Do you think I, Balke, don’t exist, or do you think my sword is too blunt to cut through bone?”
Everyone turned toward the sound. They saw a middle-aged man wearing a shabby leather breastplate, with stubble on his face and hair as messy as a bird’s nest.
At some point, he had leaned against a pillar not far from the bar, cradling a sheathed longsword.
The scabbard looked just as worn out as he did, but the way he narrowed his eyes at Walker was like a tiger that had just woken up—careless, yet trailing a hint of danger.
Walker sobered up significantly.
He wasn’t afraid of a slender-looking maid, but he couldn’t help but fear this Balke, who, despite being disheveled, had a formidable reputation.
Walker retracted his hand resentfully, offering a forced smile. “B—Boss Balke, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! We were just joking with the new girl, just joking…”
“Joking?” Balke tilted his head and walked forward slowly. He used the tip of his scabbard to poke Walker’s chest with moderate force.
“I don’t find your joke funny at all. How about I play a joke on you? For example, I’ll use you as a ball and see how many times you can roll on the ground?”
“I wouldn’t dare! We’re leaving! Leaving right now!” Walker retreated repeatedly, almost crawling back to his table. He didn’t dare glance toward the bar again.
A round of boos and laughter echoed through the tavern.
“Get back here and drink, you coward!”
“How about the brothers find you some slimes tomorrow, hahaha!”
Just as the noise surged again, nearly lifting the roof off…
*BANG!!!*
The tavern’s already rickety wooden door was kicked open violently from the outside.
All the noise was cut off as if by a blade. Everyone’s gaze shifted simultaneously toward the entrance.
Against the heavy darkness of the night outside, a figure stood there arrogantly.
It was a boy, roughly 13 years old, wearing a velvet coat made of expensive fabric that was currently covered in dust and grass. His short blonde hair was a messy nest, and his emerald eyes were strikingly bright.
With one hand on his hip, he scanned the room like a knight returning in victory. Then, he swaggered in and plopped down on a high stool right in the center of the bar.
Balke stared at the nearly broken wooden door, then glanced at the boy’s smug expression. He couldn’t help but rub his temples.
“You again, kid. Today you outright kicked the door off its hinges. Let me tell you, if you don’t pay a price that satisfies me this time, I swear I’ll use my mud-covered leather boots to kick your ass until it’s swollen!”
“What are you shouting for? Everyone shut up! Bring out the best ale, and make it fast! I’m dying of thirst!” He completely ignored the various looks being thrown his way and slapped the table with a loud *smack*.
Just before Balke was about to explode, the boy suddenly grinned. He took a gold coin from his coat and tossed it casually to Balke.
“Is that enough? Don’t keep shouting about kicking people’s asses all day; it’s so inelegant.”
Balke caught the gold coin, and his attitude shifted instantly. He laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Fine, then you better drink fast. Enjoy it while you still have time.”
The boy pushed his hand away and said impatiently, “Go, go, don’t spoil my mood.”
Balke stopped bothering him and whistled as he walked away.
The bartender seemed used to this. Although his face was written with helplessness, he silently and quickly poured a large mug of foaming ale and pushed it over.
The boy took it, tilted his head back, and gulped down more than half the mug. He let out a satisfied breath and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Only then did he notice something novel: the unusually quiet maid at the other end of the bar who seemed out of place with her surroundings.
“Hmm?” His eyes flashed with curious light. He carried his mug over, unceremoniously leaning in front of Feng Qin and tilting his head to look her over without any attempt to hide his scrutiny.
Then, he was captivated by the pair of wolf ears that twitched occasionally and the fluffy tail hanging behind her.
“Whoa! One of the wolf tribe? A girl? Working as a maid here? Now that’s fresh!”
Feng Qin continued his movements of wiping the glass, his breathing rhythm not even changing.
‘A new NPC? The noisy, childish, bratty type. Looks like a high trouble index. Ignore.’
Feng Qin’s silence instead piqued the boy’s interest even more.
He leaned in closer, almost lying on the bar counter. “Hey! I’m talking to you! Can’t your ears hear me? Little wolf maid, get me a drink too. The most expensive, most powerful one you have!”
The kid’s tone carried a natural sense of entitlement.
“The most expensive drink in the shop is Fire Dragon’s Breath. It’s thirty silver coins a cup,” Feng Qin stated the price like a business transaction, his gaze still fixed on the glass.
“Silver coins? Ha! Small change!” The boy acted as if he had heard something funny. He reached into his bulging purse and grabbed a handful of coins with a *clink*.
He casually scattered a handful of shimmering coins onto the bar. A quick glance suggested there were at least five gold coins.
“There, is that enough? It’s not just for one cup; it’s enough for many cups. It’s more than enough to buy a drink for everyone here!” He tilted his chin up, his face filled with a boastful look as if waiting for praise.
The sound of people gasping and swallowing could be heard throughout the tavern. For most people present, this was a massive sum of money.
Feng Qin’s gaze was finally drawn to the glittering pile of gold.
He quickly did the math.
‘It’s enough to buy a full set of basic equipment. It might be good for the transition period. But… this NPC’s behavioral logic is abnormal.’
‘He’s being too generous with his money, which doesn’t fit the typical setting for characters in a low-level zone. Is it a trigger condition for a hidden quest? Or is there some troublesome fallout? Maybe a robbery event will occur.’
Feng Qin was still weighing the pros and cons.
Seeing her staring at the gold coins, the boy thought she was tempted. He became even more smug and grinned as he leaned forward even further.
He lowered his voice, but it was still loud enough for anyone nearby with sharp ears to hear. “How about it? I have plenty of money! But… just drinking is so boring.”
He winked and revealed a mischievous smile.
“You look pretty special, not like those vulgar types. How about this: you mimic a few wolf howls for me? Or… wag your tail? Do something interesting to liven things up for everyone, and this money—”
He pointed at the pile of coins. “—will all be yours! How about it? It’s a great deal, right?”
His face beamed with expectation, as if he had come up with a brilliant idea for a prank.
Feng Qin stopped all movement completely. For the first time, he truly looked directly at the blonde boy who was as noisy as a sparrow.
In those ice-blue eyes, an emotion surfaced without any reservation.
It was an extreme form of contempt, so thick it felt tangible, as if he were looking at unrecyclable trash.
Clearly, as a “provocative NPC” designed to irritate players, the designers had been absolutely successful.
Furthermore, as a player, Feng Qin had never seen anyone so pathetic as to bow down and bark like a dog for an NPC in a world made of nothing but data.
The boy was stunned by that merciless gaze, and the smile on his face froze.
“Pfft—hahaha!” Someone nearby couldn’t hold it in and spat out their ale while laughing.
“Young Master Leo, even your gold coins won’t work this time!”
“She’s not buying what you’re selling at all! Haha!”
The tavern instantly erupted into even louder laughter, the air filling with merriment.
Someone raised their voice to tease him. “Little Young Master Leo! Sneaking out for a drink again? Carrying so much money this time, did you sell the vase your mother kept in the living room again?”
“Careful, your mother might show up any minute with her precious switch and chase you down the street until you’re howling!”
The boy called Leo turned bright red. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he whipped his head around and shouted at the source of the noise, “Mind your own business! I’ll drink whenever I want! She… she doesn’t have time to come here right now.”
But his shifting eyes and slightly hunched shoulders completely betrayed his lack of confidence.
It seemed this scene had played out more than once, and the ending was almost always the same.
Leo seemed to want to vent his frustrations on the maid who had embarrassed him in public. But once he met her cold gaze, the harsh words at the tip of his tongue got stuck.
In the end, he just gave a huffy “Hmph!”
He swept most of the coins on the bar back into his arms.
Returning to his seat, he deliberately began to brag loudly about how “heroically” he had evaded his tutor’s watch today, as if that could regain his face.
The tavern’s atmosphere became even more heated and rowdy amidst his antics and the crowd’s jeering.
At that moment, the tavern’s long-suffering wooden door let out another sound of breaking under heavy weight.
A lady stood at the entrance.
She wore a well-tailored, sophisticated dark red dress. Her hair was meticulously done up in a bun, and her face was dignified, yet a layer of frost was frozen between her brows.
In her hand, she held a long, thin rattan switch that had been polished to a smooth shine.
The noise in the tavern came to an abrupt halt. Many regular customers wore expressions as if they were settling in to watch a good show.