Chapter 58

Chapter 58: The New Prize Pool is Online, Prepare for the Grind

Actually, Rui Mengmeng couldn't quite explain what "Super Seminary" was either. She had only heard Adrian mention the term "Super Seminary" and had also heard about the Pirate King of this world, so she put together a cool-sounding title.

As soon as she arrived, she had declared her desire to save the world with everyone, exhibiting symptoms of "Chuunibyou" (Delusions of Grandeur).

In response to her words, Adrian could only offer an awkward but polite smile.

But soon, he would find it hard to keep that smile.

Thanks to Tom's efforts, a table full of delicious dishes was laid out in front of everyone. Since there was a new member, Tom had prepared three servings of food.

"Come, welcome Rui Mengmeng to the tavern!"

They clinked teacups, and Adrian warmly invited, "Eat as much as you want, treat it like you're at home, don't be shy!"

He knew that the three of them had big appetites, and he didn't want Rui Mengmeng to hold back and go hungry.

But, half an hour later...

Adrian patted his own belly, "Tom, how about making some more?"

Tom nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

Rui Mengmeng lowered her head as she cleaned the plates, "I'm sorry, I ate too much. This isn't like me. Maybe you should deduct the food expenses from my salary."

"It's alright. You're a super warrior now, and after using superhuman strength, you need a lot of energy."

"Are you talking about when I hit that thug earlier? So that's why!" Rui Mengmeng suddenly realized, "I get it, the more I eat, the more I can do. I'll work hard in the future!"

It's probably more than just that. That one hit wouldn't have consumed this much.

Adrian knew that the Super Seminary had its own super warriors, and becoming stronger here required not only super genes but also a vast amount of resources. Looking at today's situation, he could guess how Rui Mengmeng would acquire resources in this world.

Looks like he'll have to feed another big eater...

And there's another issue. He had suspected before that he might gain some abilities or attributes from the characters he summoned. If he received an attribute boost from Rui Mengmeng, he might end up being able to eat even more...

The tavern's business had been getting better, and they had raised the prices for their drinks. Besides covering food expenses, they could also save some money. Plus, they occasionally got a little extra income from small-time crooks. They caught a bounty criminal a few days ago and made a small profit from a human trafficker's store today.

Adrian thought he might be able to live a comfortable life from now on, but it seems that within a month, he'd be worrying about food again.

When there's a will, there's a way. He could always continue to deal with human traffickers, or even take on some bounty hunting part-time jobs. With his strength, he should be able to handle small-time pirates with bounties in the millions.

After a satisfying meal, Adrian and Rui Mengmeng washed the dishes together in the kitchen.

"Boss, you're washing dishes yourself?" Rui Mengmeng handed a clean plate to Adrian.

He took the plate, rinsed it with water, and dried it before placing it aside. "What boss? The money for buying this tavern was earned by Tom. If we have to put a label on it, I'm more like working for Tom."

"Huh? Wasn't Tom your pet?" Rui Mengmeng initially looked incredulous, but then she realized that Tom's abilities seemed fine, "So, how did you meet Tom?"

"It was about two months ago." Adrian then told her about his survival story at sea with Tom.

"Sounds like it was tough."

"Yeah, but things are better now."

As they chatted, they finished washing all the utensils, and then Adrian took Rui Mengmeng out to buy clothes.

Compared to the pre-travel Earth, the Sabaody Archipelago was much quieter at night, and the light pollution from 59GR wasn't as severe. Only a few scattered shops would stay open late.

Of course, there were areas in the Sabaody Archipelago where the lights remained on until midnight, mainly concentrated in the commercial and some hotel districts.

There wasn't much to say about the process of buying clothes. Adrian noticed that although Rui Mengmeng appeared delicate, she was unexpectedly skilled at bargaining.

Perhaps he could entrust her with the task of procurement in the future.

On their way back, they encountered a few suspicious characters who seemed interested in Rui Mengmeng, but upon recognizing Adrian and Artoria, they quickly left.

Their gang leader had taught them that when you're in this line of work, you need to know whom to provoke and whom to avoid.

This small piece of information had already spread widely. The beautiful girl guard in the tavern had never needed a second move to handle troublemakers. As for "Running Adrian," he preferred to knock people senseless with a folding stool until they didn't even recognize their mothers. It was quite brutal, and it was better to steer clear.

Some of those who had been beaten were already secretly using the nickname "Running Adrian" to refer to him. It was a consistent naming system, just like "Big Cleaver Sword Swort."

But because Adrian hadn't beaten up enough people, the nickname hadn't spread widely yet.

Back at the tavern, Rui Mengmeng meng returned to her room to tidy up, and Adrian continued his daily training.

After practicing with Artoria for a while, they each went about their own tasks. Lately, besides drinking tea and reading newspapers, Artoria had been practicing her swordsmanship. She also had a small goal - a few days ago, she had bought a notebook to jot down all the culinary recommendations from the newspaper's food column. She intended to use her afternoon tea allowance as a reward to ask Tom to cook those dishes.

The most contented of them all was probably Tom. Lying on his side, head propped up by his right hand, left hand holding a snack, he would eat while watching Adrian sweating it out. Occasionally, he'd flip through the newspaper, reading serialized comics and short stories.

The sporadic bursts of laughter were somewhat eerie, and several times, it almost caused Adrian to choke while exercising.

Once his energy was replenished, Adrian started the lottery, expecting a new prize pool to open based on his experience. He was quite excited:

**Congratulations, you have obtained: Rui Mengmeng's Shoulder Guard, Ge Xiaolun's Personal Computer**

**Items have been stored in your inventory.**

Seeing the first item, Adrian immediately had a bad feeling. This thing reminded him of many money-sucking mobile games: a set that seemed to be divided into a thousand pieces, encouraging players to

either grind or pay to complete it.

**Rui Mengmeng's Shoulder Guard: One of the pieces of the Black Armor worn by the brave soldier Rui Mengmeng, boasts astonishing defense. The full set must be collected to achieve maximum effect.**

As expected, it was another case of needing to collect a full set. Let's see the next one:

**Ge Xiaolun's Personal Computer: An ordinary computer containing Ge Xiaolun's games and study materials from university days.**

This computer was probably useless now. It had no internet access, so playing games was likely out of the question. Ge Xiaolun was a liberal arts student, and his study materials probably wouldn't be of much use in this world. Without shared cultural knowledge, things like history and literature would likely only be for entertainment.

Putting away the items, Adrian continued his physical training for a while before finally washing up and resting.

Speaking of light pollution, I recall the concept of the "Never-night Island" on Enies Lobby, but I never found out its purpose before it was destroyed by the Buster Call Marine Fleets.