When Yize poured out enough gold coins from his money pouch to pay for the meal, clinking them onto the tavern’s rough wooden counter, Vivian, who had been following behind him with a shifty gaze, her body slightly tilted as if ready to slip away the moment he wasn’t looking, froze in her tracks.
Her crimson pupils were instantly and completely occupied by that dazzling golden glow, little stars practically sparkling in them.
The tavern boss finished counting and politely pushed back a few silver coins.
Yize casually put the silver coins back into the bulging pouch and tucked it into his robe.
The heavy weight of that pouch, along with the glimpse of even more golden light when he had poured it out earlier, completely captivated Vivian.
“You… you human!”
She forgot all about pretending to prepare her escape. She leaned close to Yize, her lowered voice filled with disbelief and intense interest. “You’re actually this rich?!”
She had clearly seen that there were at least several dozen gold coins left in that pouch!
Several dozen gold coins!
That was enough for her to eat her fill for a month!
Yize turned his head to look at her money-grubbing expression and found it somewhat amusing.
He patted the secured pouch, his tone still flat. “I told you, it’s only a tiny bit.”
He emphasized that word.
“Alright, stop staring. Your eyeballs are about to fall out.”
Yize turned and walked towards the tavern exit. “Back to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Vivian hurried to follow, but her little face was full of confusion.
“Back to the Guild? Why? Aren’t you very rich already?”
In her simple mind, having money meant not having to work hard on quests.
Yize didn’t stop walking, explaining as he went. “To go back and do quests. How else do I rank up?”
Vivian was even more puzzled. She took two quick steps to walk beside him, looking up to ask, “You have this much money, why are you still doing quests? Those gold coins on you, if spent carefully, are enough for us… uh, for you to live comfortably for quite a while!”
She almost said “us” out of habit and quickly corrected herself, but the expectation in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Yize glanced at her, deliberately drawing out his tone. “Oh? ‘Us’? When did I agree to support… I mean, be responsible for your meals?”
Vivian’s little face flushed red, but for the sake of a long-term meal ticket, she immediately put on an expression that said “you’re getting a great deal,” trying hard to sell herself. “W-we agreed I’d go back to the Olay Empire with you, didn’t we! On the way, and once we’re there, I can be your bodyguard! The Queen of the Bloodkin as your bodyguard!”
She puffed out her flat chest, trying to add persuasion. “Who in this world has that kind of luck? It’d be super impressive if word got out!”
“Bodyguard?”
Yize couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He stopped walking, looking up and down at this little loli who was “selling” herself for a meal. “You remember you’re the Queen of the Bloodkin? To be a bodyguard for a human like me, for a meal?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Vivian said righteously. “Besides, I’ve lived this long, and besides sleeping, I don’t have any special hobbies.”
“Since I’m bored anyway, I’ll just treat it as passing the time, experiencing a different life!”
She said it lightly, as if being a human’s bodyguard was some fun entertainment.
Yize shook his head and continued walking. “Even if you become my bodyguard, we still have to go back to the Adventurer’s Guild first and honestly do quests to rank up to Silver.”
“Only Silver-rank adventurers are qualified to use the Guild’s Teleportation Arrays.”
“Otherwise, are you planning to run tens of thousands of kilometers back with me?”
He paused, then added, “Besides, I just registered today. I’m still an Iron-rank newbie.”
“Oh, oh, I see.”
Vivian suddenly understood, then showed a little pride. “I only officially became an adventurer a couple of days ago too, but I turned in my rank-up quest today, so I’m Bronze-rank now! A little better than you!”
She raised her little head, her silver hair swaying slightly in the sunlight, with a childish air of showing off.
The two walked side by side on the way back to the Guild. Yize suddenly thought of a question and asked curiously, “By the way, you’re a Bloodkin… how did the Guild allow you to register as an adventurer?”
Vivian gave him a look that said “are you stupid.” “I’m not an idiot! Of course I registered using a human identity!”
She pointed at her current appearance—silver hair, crimson eyes, but overall still a human girl’s form. “I slightly altered my aura and eye color. As long as I don’t use Bloodkin-specific magic or obvious traits, who would know I’m a Bloodkin?”
As she spoke, she gave Yize a wary look and warned in a low voice, “Hey, don’t you dare sell me out!”
Vivian wasn’t afraid of being hunted; she just worried that without her adventurer status, she wouldn’t be able to earn money or eat delicious food in the future.
Yize chuckled wryly and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m still counting on you… well, for help.”
He had originally wanted to say “counting on you to be a bodyguard,” but felt it was a bit like bullying a kid, so he changed his wording.
They stepped back through the heavy doors of the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters.
Their appearance, especially Vivian who had just “fled in panic” returning and walking with that new black-haired human, immediately attracted quite a few glances again.
Several demi-human adventurers who looked like they’d had quite a bit of ale and were gathered in the lounge area making a loud commotion clearly noticed them.
The alcohol amplified their usual slight disdain and exclusionary feelings towards humans.
A Lizardman warrior let out a loud belch, pointing at Yize and Vivian, and mocked in a deliberately raised voice that could be heard across half the hall.
“Hey! Everyone, look! We’ve got two rare specimens! One’s a ‘Full-element Archmage’ with an Elemental Affinity of only five, who can only toss little Fireballs and water arrows!”
“And the other one… tsk tsk, filled in ‘Basic Physical Augmentation’ for her Martial Arts? Look at that tiny frame, how much strength can she augment? Enough to twist off a bottle cap? Haha!”
“Two human duds found each other! A perfect match indeed!”
“Are these kinds of guys even worthy of being called adventurers? Taking quests is just wasting Guild resources! Better off rolling back to your human farms to plant crops!”
The raucous laughter grew louder.
Many adventurers of other races in the hall also cast looks of curiosity, indifference, or similarly tinged with a bit of scorn.
In a place like Stana where a hundred races mingled and strength was respected, humans truly didn’t have the advantage. And the overly “brilliant” data on Yize and Vivian’s files had become perfect material for mockery.
Hearing this, Yize’s expression didn’t change. He just turned his head and asked Vivian quietly, “You filled in ‘Martial Arts’ for your specialty?”
Vivian was so angry her little face was pale, her fists clenched tight, sparks practically flying from her crimson eyes.
Hearing Yize’s question, she answered in a low, annoyed voice. “Yeah! What else? Should I write ‘proficient in Blood Magic’ or ‘specialty is living a long time’? That would expose me!”
“I had to write the most common ‘augment physical ability’!”
She thought her disguise was flawless, but being mocked like this still pissed her off.
Yize: “…”
Good grief, her file really did match his.
At that moment, the Lizardman warrior who had been shouting the loudest, who had been eyeing Vivian with a somewhat lewd gaze, seemed to feel that just mocking them verbally wasn’t satisfying enough.
He swayed as he stood up, taking a few steps towards the path Yize and Vivian were walking, then deliberately stretched out his thick, scaly tail, laying it horizontally across Yize’s projected path, the tip of his tail twitching smugly.
A malicious grin was on his face. He clearly wanted to see this “weakling human” trip and fall flat on his face.
The surrounding laughter grew even louder. Many were waiting for the show.
Seeing this, Vivian’s temper flared. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to charge forward and let this clueless Lizardman taste whether the Queen of the Bloodkin’s fists only had bottle-cap-twisting strength.
“Don’t move.”
Yize, however, grabbed her wrist, his voice calm.
Vivian looked at him, confused and furious, but saw that Yize acted as if he hadn’t seen the obstructive tail on the ground at all. His pace didn’t change in the slightest as he walked straight forward.
Just as his foot was about to come down, seemingly about to step on that tail—
The sole of his foot, by a hair’s breadth, made precise contact with the ground a split-second early.
No, not the ground. It was with the tail that had suddenly changed position intending to trip him.
In the next instant, a faint but clear crack sound, accompanied by the Lizardman’s abruptly distorted, choked-off shriek of agony, exploded!
“Hsssss-ROAR!!!”
The Lizardman’s originally smugly outstretched thick tail now had a section in the middle collapsed at an extremely unnatural angle!
Scales cracked, and dark purple-black bruising rapidly spread under the skin. Clearly, the tail bone inside had suffered a crushing blow in that split second!
And Yize, only now seeming to have discovered something underfoot, stopped walking. He looked down, his face showing just the right amount of “surprise” and “innocence.”
He didn’t even fully lift his foot, just applied a bit more pressure with the sole, grinding it slightly against the deformed section of tail.
“Oh dear,”
Yize said as if realizing belatedly, his tone apologetic but his eyes calm and unruffled. “I stepped on your tail? My apologies.”
The Lizardman was writhing in pain, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He pointed at Yize, his tongue tied, his forked tongue flickering wildly. “You… you… you!!!”
The intense pain prevented him from forming a complete sentence, leaving only shocked and furious hisses.
At that moment, the Lizardman’s two companions noticed something was wrong and rushed over.
“Bastard! What are you doing! Get your foot off!”
Yize then leisurely lifted his foot, even casually wiping the sole on the nearby rug as if he had stepped in something dirty.
He looked at the two angry men, still wearing a harmless, puzzled expression. “What’s the matter? The path is only so wide. He didn’t keep his tail tucked in, deliberately stretched it into the middle of the walkway. Who can he blame?”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Lizardman rolling in pain on the ground, his tone even carrying a bit of “well-meaning” advice.
“Luckily, I’m just a weak human Mage, not very strong.”
“If some physically powerful demi-human brother accidentally stepped on it… tsk tsk, wouldn’t the whole tail snap into several pieces? How painful. You should be more careful in the future. In public places, don’t leave your things lying around.”
After saying that, he ignored the three of them, took Vivian—who was still stunned—by the hand, and walked straight towards the quest counter, as if what had just happened was merely an insignificant little interlude.
The Lizardman’s companions wanted to step forward to argue or even fight, but the injured Lizardman on the ground grabbed their pant legs with his good hand, holding on desperately.
“Don’t… don’t go!”
The injured Lizardman squeezed the words out through gritted teeth, his face pale, his eyes filled with terror.
He signaled for his companions to look at his tail—the middle section was clearly deformed and sunken, scales shattered, dark purple-black swelling rapidly spreading. Even with a Lizardman’s recovery ability, this injury would probably require a long period of rest.
His companions, seeing the injury, couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
A Lizardman warrior’s tail wasn’t just decoration; it was an important balancing organ and attacking weapon, far more resilient than ordinary flesh and blood.
And this seemingly “weak” black-haired human had “accidentally” stepped on it and turned it into this state?
The instantaneous force and control…
The two companions exchanged a look, seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
They immediately shut their mouths, sullenly helped up their injured companion, and slunk away through the crowd, not daring to glance in Yize’s direction again.
The previously jeering and mocking voices in the hall came to an abrupt halt.
The demi-human adventurers who didn’t know what happened were puzzled.
They didn’t understand why this usually quite arrogant Lizardman, after being stepped on by that black-haired human, didn’t do anything and just swallowed this bitter pill?
“At least they have some brains.” Yize muttered softly, releasing Vivian’s wrist.
Vivian finally snapped out of her shock. She looked at the three demi-humans leaving in disgrace, then at Yize, pouting her little mouth high in dissatisfaction, and snorted.
“You’re something! You held me back, wouldn’t let me act, then went and secretly vented your anger yourself! I still have a bellyful of fire I haven’t let out!”
She waved her little fist. “Besides, I’m your bodyguard now! These small fry should be left to me to handle!”
Yize glanced at her, his tone flat. “I stepped on him, made him shut up quietly. Isn’t that better? If I let you act…”
He paused, implying something. “What if you didn’t control your strength, or used some ability you shouldn’t have, exposing your identity… do you still want to eat your fill?”
Mentioning the words “eat your fill,” Vivian instantly deflated like a punctured balloon.
She wilted, lowering her head, muttering quietly. “Fine, I get it… I won’t act without your orders.”
For the long-term meal ticket, she’d endure!
The two arrived at the front counter. It was still the gentle-mannered human girl, Emily, on duty.
She had clearly noticed the earlier conflict as well, a trace of worry on her face. She lowered her voice, speaking to Yize and Vivian. “You two, open fighting is strictly prohibited inside the Guild.”
“Although those demi-humans sometimes have foul mouths, they generally don’t dare to actually fight here, or they’d face severe penalties. You… it’s best to just try to endure it.”
Yize nodded and asked, “Miss Emily, if a fight does happen, what exactly are the penalties?”
Emily explained seriously. “It depends on the severity. For minor offenses, temporary suspension of all adventurer rights and benefits, including accepting quests, using certain Guild facilities, enjoying discounts, etc., plus a fine.”
“For serious offenses, permanent ban from becoming an adventurer, or even… possibly being listed by the Guild as an ‘Unstable Factor’ or ‘Potential Threat,’ posted on the quest board, becoming a legitimate target for other adventurers to hunt.”
She glanced at Vivian. “Especially in situations where non-human races provoke humans, the Guild, to maintain superficial balance, sometimes penalizes the human side who strikes first more severely.”
Become… a hunt target?
Yize’s eyes flickered slightly.
It seemed this Adventurer’s Guild had quite the confidence in maintaining order. Even the definition of “Magical Beast” could be quite flexible.
So, in the end, Magical Beast was just a label.
He couldn’t help but feel glad he had stopped the impulsive Vivian earlier, and also glad he had only “accidentally” stepped on a foot, leaving no clear evidence of an active attack.
“Thanks for the reminder. We’ll be careful.”
Yize thanked her politely, then changed the subject. “Miss Emily, could you trouble you to give us an overview of what types of quests are generally available for Iron and Bronze ranks?”
“Am I able to accept multiple quests at once?”
His gaze was already directed towards the huge magical quest board in the center of the hall, constantly scrolling and refreshing with information.
He had to use the most efficient method to quickly rank up to Silver adventurer.
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