Chapter 537 Event Rules

The minor incident at the Glass Oar tavern did not disrupt the event.

Xia Nan and his three companions spent the next few hours sitting around a table, sipping watered-down ale and herbal tea. They ordered a few plates of snacks and chatted, easily passing the time.

As Class Grade adventurers, their physical constitutions were exceptional.

A few bottles of watered-down ale had no effect on them; there was absolutely no chance of them getting drunk.

To them, this so-called fine wine was essentially just water with a hint of alcohol, completely harmless to their upcoming plans.

By the time Xia Nan and the others arrived, the central square was already packed. The crowd included participants who had passed the first event like they had, alongside bystanders purely there for the spectacle.

A dense sea of people surged across the plaza. The air rumbled with the overlapping roar of countless conversations.

"Everyone, please quiet down!"

The middle-aged man with the goatee, Flynn, still wore the same exquisite suit from that morning.

He stood on a temporary wooden stage erected in the center of the square, his voice ringing out.

He was clearly a Class Holder as well. Even without shouting forcefully, his voice easily cut through the buzzing crowd.

As if amplified by some invisible megaphone, his slightly solemn voice echoed through the air above the square.

Oddly enough, whether due to the prestige of the event's organizer or some special power in his voice, the adventurers below—a group synonymous with disorder and chaos—actually quieted down at his shout. Despite a few lingering whispers, the square generally fell silent.

Seeing this, Flynn beamed with a completely genuine-looking smile and stroked his goatee.

He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Brave adventurers, friends from afar, on behalf of the residents of Stodd Island and the organizer of this Lunar Tide Banquet, Mr. Algae Scale Dodd, I extend my most sincere greetings. Thank you all for supporting the festival's events."

It was a string of polite, necessary, yet entirely hollow pleasantries.

But it successfully drew the attention of every adventurer in the square.

Flynn bowed slightly, offering an elegant aristocratic salute, before getting straight to the point. "I imagine you didn't brave the afternoon heat just to listen to me ramble, so I won't waste any more of your time."

"The rules for the second event are actually quite simple."

Flynn stood perfectly straight on the wooden stage, looking composed and entirely unfazed by the crowd.

His right hand felt around his waist for a moment.

A second later, he pulled out a fist-sized, translucent, dark blue rock—an object that looked very familiar to Xia Nan.

Gripping it tightly, Flynn held it high for everyone to see.

"Just a few days ago, we hid exactly one hundred specially processed Deep-Sea Resonance Stones across Stodd Island," he announced.

"They might be hidden in the cracks of a Water-Iron Wood Pile, entrusted to a tavern cook for safekeeping, or even lying right under your noses."

"And your objective is to find them."

"You have ten hours. One Deep-Sea Resonance Stone per person."

"The deadline is the midnight bell. Adventurers who collect a Deep-Sea Resonance Stone will qualify for the next round."

"At that time, I will be waiting right here to raise a glass to every participant who advances."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the crowd.

Clearly, the adventurers were surprised by the rules for this second round.

Completely unconcerned with hiding his intentions, and perhaps wanting to stir up trouble, a scarred Barbarian adventurer suddenly shouted from below, "Hey, what if I snatch a Resonance Stone that someone else found? Does that count?"

His question echoed the exact thoughts of many adventurers in the square.

Many participants who had already started formulating their plans turned their eyes back to Flynn.

Flynn did not look surprised by the question at all. He had clearly anticipated it.

He didn't give a direct answer. Instead, with a smile that felt like tacit approval, he said, "Heh, our friend here has asked a very crucial question."

"To that, my answer is—"

He simply waved the Deep-Sea Resonance Stone at the crowd.

"I've already stated all the rules and restrictions."

"As long as you hand a Resonance Stone to me within the time limit, you will qualify for the third round."

Needless to say, it was practically a blatant confirmation.

The atmosphere in the square instantly grew feverish.

"Alright, time is precious. I won't hold you up any longer," Flynn said.

"Lastly, I hope you all have fun."

"Now, I declare—the second round officially begins!"

His timing was flawless.

Almost exactly as he spoke his last word, the small clock tower at the edge of the square chimed to mark the hour.

In an instant, the adventurers scattered into the surrounding streets like a surging tide, shoving and cursing at each other. The raucous scene made the very air feel blistering hot.

Unaffected by the frenzy, Xia Nan and his group, who were already stuck on the outer fringes of the crowd, had no desire to rush. They preferred to avoid the brunt of the fanatical initial charge.

Taking advantage of the situation, they ducked into a roadside grocery store and watched the mob cram the streets.

"Isn't this way too many people? I didn't see this many at the fishery this morning," Alton said, standing on his tiptoes. His eyes swept over the adventurers rushing by outside, a look of confusion on his face.

"A lot of them are just here for the spectacle," Ellison said, shaking his head. "They aren't actual participants."

And what he said was exactly right.

During the registration for the lottery event this morning, there had seemed to be a lot of adventurers in the square, but they were actually just a tiny fraction of the visitors who had come to Stodd, the Isle of a Thousand Piles, for the Lunar Tide Banquet and the festivities.

Take the Blade of Vengeance fleet, for example. Even though the entire crew had come ashore, Xia Nan, Alton, and Sasha were the only three who happened to sign up in time.

Many adventurers on the island hadn't even known about the event until after the first round—the fishing tournament—was over.

The vast majority of the crowd currently in the square had rushed over to watch after hearing the news.

They weren't eligible to compete, of course, but that didn't stop these bystanders from joining the fray, hunting for the Deep-Sea Resonance Stones hidden across the island right alongside the participants.

If any of them were lucky enough to actually find one of these essential quest items—

Whether they sold it to an empty-handed participant for some extra cash or gave it to an adventurer they wanted to curry favor with, there were countless ways to use it.

In fact, adventurer squads packed with Class Grade members like the Raging Tide Warband and the Windforged had multiple people helping their qualified teammates hunt for Resonance Stones.

Of course, Xia Nan didn't bother asking the rest of the Blade of Vengeance Ship for help.

After all, this was just a warm-up event for the Lunar Tide Banquet. Even if they passed all five events, they would only earn a lottery ticket, not any guaranteed special reward.

There was no need to trouble the crew members, who had their own matters to handle, for something so trivial.

It was a bit of a pity, though. Xia Nan had observed it very carefully just now. The Deep-Sea Resonance Stone in Flynn's hand seemed specially altered—its swirling dark blue luster held a few streaks of silver-white, noticeably different from the Resonance Stones Xia Nan remembered.

Otherwise—he remembered looting an entire crate of them from the merchant ship torn apart by the Wind-Seed Octopus on the way here. If those had met the event's criteria, they would easily have enough for the four of them.

As it stood, there were no shortcuts to take.

Well, strictly speaking, if they really wanted to exploit the rules, it wasn't completely impossible.

As the Barbarian had asked earlier, even if they couldn't find one themselves, they could just camp near the square and wait. If they took a Deep-Sea Resonance Stone from someone else, they would still technically complete the quest.

And given the combat prowess of Xia Nan, the Blade of Vengeance crewmen beside him, and even Ellison, they definitely had the strength to play the waiting game.

But as mentioned before, this was just an ordinary warm-up event. There was no need to needlessly offend other adventurer factions over a lottery ticket that might not even yield anything good.

That wasn't Xia Nan's style, nor was it the style of the Blade of Vengeance Squad.

If possible, it was best to find the stones themselves.

With this in mind, Xia Nan began to brainstorm a search plan.

He turned around, intending to discuss the plan with his teammates.

Only to realize that, at some point, the Halfling Alton had vanished from his side.

As if realizing something, his eyes snapped toward the square ahead, where the crowd was gradually thinning out.

There, the little guy had already sidled up to Flynn, who had just stepped off the wooden stage and sat down in a pavilion.

"Mr. Flynn, so there are exactly one hundred Deep-Sea Resonance Stones on the island?"

"Of course," the middle-aged man in the suit replied with a smile. "I supervised the entire process myself. Exactly one hundred stones—not one more, not one less."

"Is that so?" Alton blinked. "Then... may I ask if the one you just showed everyone is included in those hundred?"

Flynn's smile remained unchanged.

He didn't answer, simply looking at the Halfling before him in tacit agreement.

"Could you please give it to me? I really want to participate in the lottery," Alton requested with a sincere attitude, directly expressing his thoughts as usual.

Their conversation drew the attention of the surrounding adventurers, and the sharper ones quickly caught on to what the little guy was doing.

But before they could rush forward to fight for it...

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Flynn reached into his waist pouch and pulled out the same Deep-Sea Resonance Stone he had just displayed, handing it over to Alton.

Without skipping a beat, the little guy barely held it for a second before handing the rock right back.

"How about it, Mr. Flynn? Did I successfully submit it?"

"Congratulations, lucky little guy." Flynn took back the Resonance Stone and smiled. "You are now the first participant on the island to advance to the third round."

He made no attempt to lower his voice.

The adventurers lingering in the square were stunned at first. After the bystanders who witnessed the whole exchange explained it to them, they beat their chests and stomped their feet in deep regret.

Xia Nan was just as surprised.

But thinking about it, Alton's actions were actually unexpected yet entirely reasonable.

For one, the little guy was a favored believer of Tymora, the Goddess of Luck, so his luck attribute was off the charts.

But anyone who thought luck was his only outstanding trait was dead wrong.

Xia Nan didn't know why the Goddess favored this little guy. It might have been his devout habit of hunting down casinos in every town to perform rituals for her, or perhaps his Halfling race was naturally linked to luck itself.

However, Alton's extremely pure, child-like personality had to be one of the essential factors.

That was exactly why the little guy could outpace everyone else in the square, using his unorthodox thought process to become the first participant to meet the event's requirements and advance.

"How did you even think of that?" Sasha asked, his fluffy long tail swaying behind him as he looked at the unabashedly smug little guy.

"I wasn't really sure at first; I just figured I'd go up and ask." Alton planted his hands on his hips and grinned. "I didn't expect it to actually work."

"Just good luck, hehe."

Now, the four of them only needed to collect three more Deep-Sea Resonance Stones to advance to the next round together.

Leaving the grocery store, they walked down the streets of Stodd Island.

The group carefully observed their surroundings while discussing their search plan.

They weren't entirely without clues regarding the hiding spots of the Resonance Stones.

Judging from the examples Flynn had given while explaining the rules, the rocks weren't just stashed in hidden spots out in nature; the organizers had also entrusted some to the townspeople for safekeeping.

For the former, Xia Nan had a massive advantage. He was the most perceptive of the four, and when it came to the Perception attribute, he was absolutely in the top tier among all the adventurers on the island.

As for the latter, it would test their ability to gather intelligence.

They would need to talk to the townspeople and see if they could uncover any useful leads.

As they discussed this, Xia Nan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He frowned, looking toward the other side of the street.

There, outside a rather shabby wooden house, a group of commoners was anxiously gathered, their faces filled with anger and fear.

Faint pleas and screams could be heard coming from the crowd.