Chapter 113 Greenblood

"Are there any suitable parties?"

Chapton looked at the black-haired young man in front of him, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Isn't it Hunting Day?" Xia Nan sat on a wooden chair at the bar, wearing a helpless expression. "I only found out at the Association today that you need at least a four-person party."

"Otherwise, they won't even let you take quests."

He had picked up the concept of "Hunting Day" from the adventurers in the tavern and hastily gathered information on it through various channels.

But time was tight, and he had ultimately stumbled over a piece of "common knowledge" among the local adventurers.

"It's fine. Hunting Day has just begun, and the vast majority of the parties are still in town. It won't hold you up for long," Chapton said consolingly, wiping a glass in his hands.

Xia Nan had lived at the tavern for a long time, eating almost every meal here. To Chapton, he was far more than just a "regular."

Even if they couldn't be called close friends, their relationship went well beyond the ordinary.

In truth, as the owner of the White Chickadee Tavern—a place frequented by crowds of adventurers year-round—it was incredibly difficult for someone to even become a familiar face to him.

After all, only by surviving multiple quests and earning handsome rewards could one afford to spend regularly at the White Chickadee, where average prices far exceeded those of ordinary taverns.

And only by returning alive from the Misty Forest—a highly dangerous place teeming with monsters—could someone possibly earn the right to be "familiar."

Xia Nan's image as a dual-wielding Swordsman had already drawn Chapton's extra attention.

Every time he came to the tavern to eat and drink, he was alone. He would disappear for a while, return a few days later covered in blood, and continuously upgrade his equipment...

From these details alone, the experienced tavern owner could already make a judgment about him:

He operated alone frequently and was rarely seen interacting with other adventurers—a "lone wolf."

He had deep pockets, able to stay at the tavern long-term without skimping on food and drink—indicating abundant quest rewards.

He went on frequent adventures with intense combat, yet was never seen suffering severe injuries—indirect proof of his strength.

Even though his appearance was still very young, not even twenty years old, the abilities Xia Nan had displayed so far were already enough for Chapton to actively reach out and befriend him.

"Don't worry too much. Even if you wait a few more days, there will be plenty of opportunities."

"It's Hunting Day, after all. The danger is much greater than usual. Especially in the latter few days; no matter how much preparation they make, parties lacking manpower will still end up short-handed."

The massive hordes of goblins were a lethal threat to the vast majority of adventurers, capable of wiping them out if they were the least bit careless.

After suffering losses, nearly sixty percent of the parties in town would need to temporarily recruit members during this period to maintain their competitiveness.

"You aren't traveling far recently, right? I'll keep an eye out. If there's a suitable party, I can introduce you."

"Thanks." Seeing that the owner was willing to help, Xia Nan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It happened to be mealtime, and his gaze instinctively swept over the menu on the wall behind the bar.

Without much hesitation, he spoke out of habit: "The usual. One Set Meal No. 3."

"Alright, coming right up!"

After acknowledging him, Xia Nan left the bar and returned to his usual seat in the corner of the tavern hall.

Speaking of which, having stayed in Rivervale Town for so many days since his transmigration, he had already ordered every item on the White Chickadee Tavern's menu, expensive or cheap.

Quite a few of them could be considered "pretty good."

But perhaps because it was the first proper meal he had eaten after transmigrating, Xia Nan still favored the Set Meal No. 3 combination of cream mushroom soup, white bread, and stewed meat.

Leaning back against his chair, the familiar bustle echoing in his ears gradually relaxed his mind and body.

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes, pondering his next plan:

'First, I'll use Hunting Day to make a wave of money. It's best if I can push my [Fang Hunt] proficiency up to Level 4, close to max level.'

'Then I'll ease up on the training intensity a bit and allocate some time to finding the next combat technique. Speaking of Nym...'

Thud—

A wooden mug suddenly landed on the table, the soft clatter snapping Xia Nan's consciousness back to reality.

A robust figure had approached the table at some unknown point.

Without waiting for Xia Nan's permission, the person sat directly across from him.

Crystal-clear, pale red liquor sloshed and splashed onto the tabletop as the brim-filled wooden mug was pushed in front of him.

He subconsciously swept a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Magma's Sigh," the White Chickadee's recent signature strong liquor.

Quite expensive.

His gaze shifted upward to look at the uninvited "guest" sitting directly across from him.

Messy crew-cut hair that had been roughly sheared short, coarse dark-brown skin dotted with scars, smooth Scale Armor worn over faded linen clothes...

The newcomer was precisely the female adventurer he had met once at the alchemy shop and briefly encountered outside the Goblin Lair a few days ago.

"Adeline," the woman introduced herself proactively, her voice low yet revealing a thin hint of softness.

Coming over specially with an expensive drink meant she shouldn't have any hostile intentions.

It was even less likely to be a flirtatious pass.

Xia Nan had zero interest in the woman before him. Even putting aside the fact that they had only met twice and couldn't even be called nodding acquaintances, her appearance alone fell entirely outside his aesthetic preferences.

Hair several inches shorter than his own, sharp and rugged facial features, and arms the same circumference as the half-orc young man at the next table...

Except for her lack of a beard and an Adam's apple, along with a slightly softer voice, she was practically indistinguishable from the ordinary male adventurers in town.

To some extent, if it really came down to it, his own body might actually look more delicate.

His thoughts drifted as he guessed at the woman's motives.

Yet his face maintained that same sharp, impassive expression. Frowning slightly, he said coldly with a taut face, "If you have something to say, spit it out."

Not planning to waste time with her here, Xia Nan cut straight to the point.

The female adventurer named Adeline had clearly anticipated his reaction. Foregoing any nonsense, she said directly, "I happened to see you over at the Association just now. Are you looking for a party?"

"Our party is currently missing a frontline fighter. Are you interested?"

'Oh, she's trying to recruit me.'

Knowing her intentions, Xia Nan's gaze drifted past Adeline's shoulder and looked behind her.

At a wooden table near the tavern entrance sat her two companions, whom he had also seen a few days ago.

Noticing Xia Nan's gaze, one of the adventurers—a middle-aged man carrying a longbow on his back—smiled amicably and raised his cup in greeting.

Beside him, a visibly greener young man about his own age didn't even lift his head, burying his face in his bowl as he wolfed down his food.

"Do you know me?" Xia Nan suddenly asked, somewhat abruptly.

Adeline froze for a moment before realizing what he meant.

She shook her head.

"Then should I know you?"

She shook her head again.

Xia Nan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

He had thought she might have learned about his combat record from his past few quests through some channel.

Or perhaps she herself had quite a reputation in town—the kind where merely stating her name would make him willing to join.

Now it seemed that neither did he know anything about Adeline's party, nor did Adeline know anything about him.

Let alone their party composition and respective combat specializations, he didn't even know the names of the other two members in her party.

Even if Xia Nan truly needed a temporary party right now to take on the related quests, agreeing just like this would be far too careless.

He pushed the liquor mug on the table in front of him back toward her, just about to refuse.

Crash—

The harsh sound of dishware shattering against the floor suddenly rang out not far beside him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" two scrawny, frail children dressed as servers apologized profusely, their voices tinged with tears.

On the floorboards by their feet lay liquor spilling from an overturned wooden mug and several chunks of stewed meat coated in dirt.

In front of them stood a stout dwarf wearing an iron helmet.

He was currently using a piece of gauze with a pained expression to wipe his "exquisite" braided beard, which had been splashed with liquor.

Fortunately, because it was Hunting Day and they were about to leave the town to enter the Misty Forest, the dwarf—who usually loved alcohol as much as his own life and wouldn't budge an inch until he drank himself senseless—wasn't actually drunk.

Although the surrounding floor was a mess of spilled food and liquor, and even his precious braided beard had suffered "heavy damage," he simply waved his hand dismissively after his teammates offered a few words of persuasion. Too lazy to cause a scene, he just told the two young servers to clean it up quickly.

'New servers? Why are they so young?'

Having lived in the tavern for a while, this was the first time Xia Nan had seen them, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

For some reason, they even gave him a faint sense of familiarity.

"Moses, Faye," Adeline suddenly spoke up from across the table, as if sensing his thoughts.

The familiar names caused images to instinctively flash through Xia Nan's mind.

—Two frail little boys hiding behind their mother, staring blankly at him with wide eyes.

It was on his way back after completing his very first quest, shortly after his transmigration.

Seeing that they looked chronically malnourished and reduced to skin and bones, he had given them a few spare pieces of dried meat.

However, the children's mother hadn't seemed to like them interacting too much with an adventurer like him. Her attitude was so subservient that it felt distant, so he hadn't lingered.

Later, as all sorts of matters piled up in front of him, he had gradually forgotten this trivial incident from his journey.

Only now, prompted by Adeline's reminder, did he remember it again.

"I remember these two lived outside town with their mother, so how..."

"Dead," Adeline replied.

The image of a simple mother inevitably surfaced in his mind—a woman in her thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a plain braided pigtail and a patched apron, shielding her two children behind her.

"Was it because of the monsters near the town?"

He recalled they lived on the outskirts. If they encountered monsters that had risked leaving the forest to forage due to hunger, it was entirely possible they would suffer such a disaster.

In response, Adeline merely shook her head.

Her yellowish eyes shifted slightly, looking aside at the loud, bustling adventurers gathered around the tavern tables, recklessly venting their desires and emotions.

"You should know him. Bernie, the famous town drunk from before."

Xia Nan immediately realized.

"Didn't he provoke the wrong person that one time, get his arms and legs broken by a Class Holder, and get thrown out?"

He remembered the guy had even provoked him before, but thanks to his teammates stepping in, the situation hadn't escalated.

"His teammates were decent. They used the gold coins they saved up from quests to buy him a Healing Potion." Adeline raised her cup and took a light sip, her face revealing no expression. "His life was saved, but he was left crippled."

"Every day, he just loafed around in the tavern, relying on handouts from his former teammates."

"That night, Bernie, dead drunk as usual, happened to run into those two children's mother coming home from night work, and then... well, I don't need to say more."

Xia Nan frowned deeply, the Decapitating Longsword on his back refracting a sharp iron-gray glint under the tavern's lighting.

He was just about to ask a question when he heard Adeline speak again.

"It was quite a coincidence."

"The day Kalanfor exploded, Bernie happened to be gambling in the 'Bagful of Gold.'"

"Bang!" Having shown no change in expression from start to finish, she suddenly brought her hands in front of her and mimed an explosion, a strange look appearing on her face.

"Not a single bone was left. His corpse was melted down completely."

Learning that the man was dead, the slight suppression building in Xia Nan's heart eased, but he quickly caught a blind spot in the story.

"This Bernie murdered someone, yet he could still go to a tavern in another town to pass the time?"

"He paid some gold coins in compensation, got locked up for a few days, and came right out. Rivervale Town is the adventurers' Rivervale Town." Adeline revealed a hard-to-describe smile tinged with mockery. "Those were his exact words while drinking the night he was released from jail."

Slowly standing up, this party leader—who still carried a lingering scent of blood—didn't press the matter further.

She simply left behind a few words, "I sincerely invite you to join our party. Think about it. I'll be at the White Chickadee for the next two days."

Then she turned and left, returning to the table where her two teammates sat.

As Xia Nan pondered in his mind, the sound of footsteps approached him again.

"Your Set Meal No. 3!" Chapton, the tavern owner, said as he personally walked over carrying the food tray, since the two servers were busy cleaning and couldn't spare a hand.

As if thinking of something, Xia Nan pulled him close, gestured with his chin toward Adeline's direction, and asked in a low voice, "That female adventurer near the door over there—how is she? Is she reliable?"

Following his gaze, Chapton looked over and couldn't help but grin. "What a coincidence. I was just about to bring it up to you. 'Greenblood' Adeline's party happens to be short one person. I was going to ask if you were interested."

"Greenblood?" Xia Nan asked in confusion, noticing that Chapton's reference to Adeline included a nickname he had never heard before.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You haven't been in town for long," Chapton said. "So it's normal that there are some things you don't know. The reason this Adeline is called 'Greenblood' is because..."