Chapter 8: The Crafty Good Samaritan

The Fourth Hour Since Meeting Liliruca Arde

Based on the hunger pangs in his stomach, Qie Shaoyun estimated that it was already past 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Although there was still some time before it got dark, he planned to return to Orario earlier today.

In addition to wanting to avoid the peak period for exchanging magic crystals, he also needed to make a trip to the magic potion store and find a clothing store that offered affordable options.

After a day of battling, the shirt that was originally just a simple peasant work garment had now become a fully tattered version resembling a beggar off the street.

It was more like a collection of cloth strips than an actual shirt.

"What a miscalculation, I only have 72 magic crystals."

Qie Shaoyun roughly counted the magic crystals in his quiver, and his expression turned somewhat disappointed. It was 28 crystals less than his minimum expectation.

Killing low-level goblins and gnomes wasn't too difficult, but he had wasted a lot of unnecessary time in the process of finding magical creatures.

The density of higher-level creatures in the upper levels was much lower than he had imagined, and there were also numerous Lv1 competitors.

"Enough, let's call it a day here."

After neatly storing away all the magic crystals, Qie Shaoyun immediately prepared to return to Orario.

After carefully collecting all the magic crystals, Qie Shaoyun immediately prepared to return to Orario.

Although he had a slight sense of direction impairment, he managed to navigate through the relatively uncomplicated upper levels after going through them once before. It took him a little over half an hour to exit the dungeon, during which he effortlessly dispatched eight creatures that came his way.

Thanks to his visit yesterday, Qie Shaoyun easily arrived at the Adventurer's Guild.

As soon as he stepped through the guild's doors, his bloody beggar-like appearance caught the attention of many adventurers.

Given that they were all engaged in the business of shedding blood with their blades, no one would be repulsed by his attire, but rather intrigued by its peculiarity.

"Hey, young lad, you didn't get lost in the maze again, did you?"

A voice suddenly sounded from nearby, catching Qie Shaoyun's attention. He turned towards the source and saw a somewhat familiar adventurer staring at him in disbelief.

After a moment of recollection, Qie Shaoyun remembered that this adventurer was one of those who had queued with him to exchange for Valis yesterday. The adventurer had also extended an invitation for him to join their clan.

However, upon noticing that the equipment the adventurer wore did not bear the insignia of "Hephaestus," Qie Shaoyun realized that the person was not a member of the Hephaestus clan.

Qie Shaoyun responded with a smile and calmly uttered four words, "Life requires it."

Afterward, he casually joined a queue with fewer people.

Coincidentally, today's receptionist was still the pink-haired girl, Misha Flott.

Perhaps the image he left with her yesterday was deeply ingrained, as Misha immediately recognized Qie Shaoyun. Her small mouth opened in surprise as she exclaimed, "Sir, you didn't go back to the maze again, did you?!"

Without giving the same response to the similar question, Qie Shaoyun adjusted his quiver to the front and took out the remaining five arrows. Then, he emptied the magic crystals from the quiver onto an iron tray.

"Could you please exchange all of these for me?"

With nearly eighty magic crystals, it was apparent that the quantity was considerably larger than yesterday's dozen or so.

Surprised, Misha glanced up at Qie Shaoyun, then lowered her head to count the crystals on the tray. She hurriedly went to the exchange counter located at the back.

When she returned, there was a small pile of Valis of different denominations neatly arranged on the tray.

"These are the Valis you've exchanged, totaling 16,730," Misha said.

As Qie Shaoyun looked at the tray with over 10,000 Valis, a sense of satisfaction rose within him, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Thank you."

He wrapped all the Valis in a cloth bag resembling potato balls and was about to leave when Misha behind the counter suddenly called out to him.

"Sir, please wait!"

Stopping in his tracks, Qie Shaoyun turned back with a hint of confusion.

"Is there something... that you need?"

However, Misha didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her head and took out a sheet of higher-quality paper. Then, she hurriedly spoke up, "Sir, it's very dangerous for you to venture into the Dungeon alone."

"I suggest that you join a clan first before proceeding. Here, we have a clan that is currently recruiting members. You might want to take a look."

Hearing this, Qie Shaoyun raised an eyebrow.

In fact, he really wanted to ask directly if the Hephaestus Clan was recruiting members, but the words lingered on his tongue without being spoken.

If news of his intention to join the Hephaestus Clan got out, there was a chance that his performance earlier at the blacksmith's shop in the morning would be exposed, resulting in the opposite effect.

Reaching out to take the paper, Qie Shaoyun lowered his head to read it.

[Apollo Clan]: 2 people.

[Shiva Clan]: 1 person.

[Freya Clan]: 3 people.

[...]

"Thank you very much, but none of the clans listed here are the ones I wish to join," he said calmly, expressing his gratitude before setting the paper down and turning to leave.

Tossing the bag of Valis into his versatile quiver, he looked up at the sky. Qie Shaoyun had no intention of going directly to the clothing store or the potion shop. Instead, he decided to pay a visit to the blacksmith shop he had been to earlier in the morning.

What was he going to do there?

Dressed as a beggar, he naturally planned to sell his misery and deepen the "friendship" while trying to obtain an internal recommendation as soon as possible.

On his way to the blacksmith shop, Qie Shaoyun casually bought two bottles of a liquor called "Gūlú Dǎo" , with one bottle being mostly filled with water, which was prepared for himself.

"Ding ding! Clang clang!"

Just as he arrived near the street where the blacksmith shop was located, he heard the crisp and rhythmic sound of forging.

Approaching the entrance of the blacksmith shop, he saw the blacksmith holding a forging blade and thrusting it into a black liquid-filled barrel with a "sizzle" sound.

"Is the barrel filled with oil?"

The blacksmith, who was oil-quenching the blade, smelled the familiar voice coming from behind and instinctively turned his head towards the entrance.

When he saw Qie Shaoyun's smiling face, a hint of joy flashed through his heart, followed by the sight of his extremely disheveled appearance.

If he wasn't too busy, the blacksmith couldn't help but come forward to investigate.

"What floor did you reach to end up in such a sorry state?" The blacksmith asked, turning his head while tempering the blade.

Unlike the slightly concerned inquiry from the blacksmith, Qie Shaoyun, the person in question, didn't pay much attention. He chuckled lightly and said, "I just went to the third floor."

"Thanks to your short sword, otherwise it would have been disastrous."

That was the truth.

In the afternoon today, Qie Shaoyun was surrounded by nine goblins. If it weren't for the short sword gifted by the blacksmith, he would have suffered at least a minor serious injury.

Stepping into the blacksmith shop, Qie Shaoyun raised the bottle of "Gūlú Dǎo" in his hand and wore a genuine smile on his face. He said, "This is my gratitude to you. Don't think it's cheap."

Placing the bottle of "Gūlú Dǎo," with an alcohol content of at least 50%, casually on the forging table, Qie Shaoyun opened the other bottle filled with water and took a big gulp.

After the quenching process was completed, the blacksmith placed the semi-finished blade aside.

Seeing Qie Shaoyun drinking the liquor without hesitation, the blacksmith also picked up the bottle of "Gūlú Dǎo" from the forging table, pulled out the cork, and tilted his head back, guzzling it down.

Listening to the sound of the gulping drinking, Qie Shaoyun felt a bit embarrassed.

He had considered that adventurers in Orario had a high alcohol tolerance, but the blacksmith chugged down half a bottle, roughly half a pound of strong liquor, without any change in his face.

"Damn, it looks like a bottle of liquor won't get him drunk."

Thinking that to himself, Qie Shaoyun silently abandoned his next plan and changed the topic. He said, "By the way, could you do me a favor and forge a few iron arrows for me?"

As he spoke, he took out the remaining five arrows from his quiver, one of which had its arrowhead completely broken.