Troublesome Encounters      

"Seagull's Nest is a town that is being built again. It is surrounded by high areas of land that stick out into the sea and has cliffs along the coast. The town sits on top of these cliffs and has a view of a bay that is known to be dangerous," explained Triton as they walked towards the town.

"Seagull's Nest has a unique landscape with some old remains from the Baskan kingdom and big rocks. The town has a population of around 8,000 people, including visitors. Most of the residents are humans and half-elves with a connection to the sea. One interesting feature of the town is a market located on a floating rock. The rock is tied to the coast and sea to prevent it from floating away.

"You can reach the Luckernaught Coast either by boat from Seagull's Nest or by crossing the hills that encircle the town. This coast is quite large and hazardous, as it is inhabited by various dangerous tribes of monsters. There are also the Reef Raiders, who are skilled at navigating the dunes and have taken control of important locations along the coast. The farther you are from Seagull's Nest and the more you explore the sandy hills, the greater the danger becomes."

"Do you want me to tell you the history of this place?" Triton asked Xin.

"Would I get an item as a reward if I say yes?" Xin asked back.

Triton blinked and chuckled, then gave Xin a hard slap on the back. "Unfortunately, no."

Xin coughed. "In that case, I'll pass."

If Xin didn't have his [Relationship Level] with Triton reached [Intimate] Triton would have turned off and went back to shore.

But since Xin's [Relationship Level] with Triton was MAX, Triton pretend not to hear anything and continued anyway, "The Baskan people got their name from the Baskan Kingdom, which was made up of humans and half-elves and used to be in charge here. Unfortunately, the kingdom was destroyed by strong seastorms and strange rocks falling from the sky, and you can still see those rocks around the area.

"After the destruction, a small group of survivors worked hard to rebuild the fishing town, Seagull's Nest. The surrounding area is now called The Abundant Shore because people who explore the beaches in Luckernaught have begun finding old relics and valuable treasures there.

"There was once a powerful empire that wanted to conquer the Baskan Kingdom. They sent a large fleet of ships to attack, but their ships were hit by the same strong seastorm and falling rocks that caused the downfall of the Baskans.

"The scholars in Seagull's Nest believe that around five hundred enemy ships were destroyed by the storm. According to the oldest half-elves in the town, the Baskan court mage called upon a mighty celestial titan to fight off the invading fleet, but things didn't go as planned.

"The titan not only caused huge waves and whirlpools that sank the fleet, but it also destroyed the kingdom that had summoned it. Afterward, the titan disappeared to another world or sank to the bottom of the ocean.

"Only recently, the shifting currents of the northern sea have carried the lost treasures from the sunken ships to the shore. There aren't many pirates in the area because it's difficult to navigate, and there isn't much maritime trade happening.

"The region is mostly populated by humans and other humanoid races, as well as a few tribes of monsters who live along the coast. They don't pose much of a threat to Seagull's Nest and instead engage in trade, exchanging handmade goods and fish with the settlement."

Xin glanced to the side and quietly muttered to himself about Triton's talkativeness. But their conversation was interrupted by a group of players calling out from behind.

"Hey! Hold on, friend!" one of the players shouted.

Xin and Triton turned around and waited for the approaching players to catch up.

"What can we help you with?" Triton asked, standing confidently with his muscular arms crossed.

The group of players felt intimidated by Triton's imposing physique and instinctively took a step back. Triton's tall and buff stature made him appear like a giant compared to them.

Summoning the courage, one of the players turned to Xin and asked if Triton had given him a quest. Xin shook his head in response.

"No, he's just accompanying me," Xin replied.

"Accompanying you?" another player questioned, clearly curious. "How is that possible?"

How . . . huh. Xin was unsure himself.

Maybe it had something to do with his infinite CHA?

However, he had a nagging feeling that he shouldn't reveal that information until he confirmed it with Xiaxia. Even a non-gamer like him knew that the situation was unusual and definitely not the norm.

The group of players persisted, urging Xin to share the information with them.

"Come on, we're all players here," one of them pleaded.

"Yeah, you don't have to hold back," another chimed in.

"Help us out, fellow newbie," a third player requested.

Xin stayed calm and didn't let it bother him, keeping his expression the same as he scanned through the names of the players. But he didn't dwell on them for long and quickly forgot them as he moved on to the next one.

Before the situation escalated, Triton stepped forward, his frown directed at the others who were attempting to approach Xin.

"Leave! If you know what's good for you, stop bothering my friend," Triton sternly warned them.

"Friend?"

The others exchanged confused glances and huddle together in haste.

"Hey, can NPCs actually hurt players?" one of them asked.

"I think they can, but only if your [Relationship Level] with them drops to [Ruffian]," another player replied.

"What should we do then?"

"Uhm . . ." Xin tried to intervene but couldn't.

"I know! Let's challenge him to a PvP fight and make him spill the information!"

"You're an idiot. PvP fights aren't available in newbie villages. We have to leave this tutorial area before we can do that."

"We're leaving now," Xin said but he was still ignored.

As the players continued their secret discussion, Xin and Triton simply walked away, oblivious to their plans.

A player saw them leaving and bravely stepped in their path and tried to grab Xin's hand to stop him.

"Hey! We're still talking to you--!"

Suddenly, a notification appeared on the player's screen.

[WARNING! Your Relationship Level with Triton decreased to Ruffian!]

Before he could understand what was happening, a massive halberd swung through the air and smacked him right in the face. He went flying into the sky and disappeared in a burst of particles.

The other players stood there, too stunned to say a word, while Xin's face remained expressionless, although he was secretly amazed.

Whoa . . . He literally flew into the air. Xin mused to himself. It was the first time he had witnessed something like that.

If Xin remembered correctly, dying here resulted in losing EXP. EXP was important for leveling up and increasing your stats. The stronger the enemy, the more EXP you lost upon death, and if you lost enough, your level and stats could even decrease to zero.

I guess that guy would have to remake his account again. Xin thought. At least he would start at Level one and not zero.

The other players hurriedly retreated as Triton confronted them.

"Who's up next?" Triton declared.

Everyone stumbled over themselves to get away.

Triton sneered. "Heh! I thought so." He then cleared his throat and turned to Xin, a smile on his face. "Now, where were we?"