Chapter 289 "What are you muttering about?"

The past three days had been the happiest of Abi's life.

Money!

He couldn't have imagined it just a few days ago—bag after bag of gold coins, more than an entire backpack could hold.

Before this, he never dreamed a country boy like him could afford the luxury of eating all three meals a day at the White Chickadee.

He could order any appetizing dish off the menu without a second thought. He could effortlessly buy a full set of gear from Rockhammer—a blacksmith shop he had never even dared to step into before. He could grab a handful of gold coins without counting them and stuff them straight into the envelopes he sent home.

In the past, he had spent his days tying his head to his belt, risking his life fighting all kinds of monsters and enduring countless hardships just to earn a few meager gold coins.

Now, those hard-earned coins amounted to less than the tips he casually tossed to the casino waiters.

In just three days, he had transformed from a down-and-out, bottom-tier adventurer and absolute pauper into the envy of every gambler and the happiest man in all of Rivervale Town (or so he believed).

Abi had made a full five hundred gold coins!

And the only price he paid was the tiny bit of stamina it took to stand at the card table and sweep piles of chips into his arms.

He didn't realize that when a mere flick of his wrist to reveal his cards could earn him half a year's savings in half a second, his concept of money had already silently warped.

He couldn't even grasp the concept anymore.

Driven by human instinct, his swelling desires had long since buried his already murky rationality in a dark, unseen corner of his mind.

Make money! Let loose! Indulge!

That was all Abi cared about right now.

"That building next door is the Rivervale Town Adventurers' Association, isn't it?"

A hoarse, magnetic male voice echoed faintly in his mind, its tone intimate and carrying an inexplicable allure.

"You must have gone in there quite a few times."

Abi paused, no longer showing the panic from the first time he had heard this voice. He simply raised a hand to his chest, subconsciously pressing a hard object hidden beneath his shirt even deeper.

With a guilty conscience, he deliberately glanced left and right. Seeing no one paying attention to him, he lowered his voice and pretended to talk to himself.

"Didn't I tell you not to talk to me when I'm outside! What if someone finds out—"

"The Association Second Floor. You've never been up there, have you?"

The magnetic male voice interrupted Abi at just the right moment, its tone so gentle it felt completely inoffensive.

"The second floor, where only a Class Holder can step foot. Have you ever wondered what's up there?"

"Is it more attentive and charming receptionists? Bounty quests with much richer rewards? Or perhaps—combat techniques you can't even find on the open market?"

"Do you want to go up?"

The hoarse voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unknown magic, compelling him to listen closely and engrave every echoing word deep into his heart.

Having stayed up all night at the casino, drowning in the thrill of winning and losing, Abi's excited, exhausted, and incredibly fragile mind was instantly drawn into that beautiful fantasy of the future.

They used to be in the same party. If Greenblood and Greysword could both obtain a Class Level, there was no reason he couldn't.

His current weakness was only because he lacked experience and hadn't gone through enough adventures. It didn't mean he couldn't catch up to them in the future.

And once he became a Class Holder, things definitely wouldn't be like they were now—getting drunk and singing in the tavern hall without anyone recognizing him. He might even earn an awe-inspiring moniker like Greenblood.

When that time came, once he had earned enough gold coins, he would—

Suddenly, the last shred of sanity remaining in his mind pricked him like a needle, jolting him completely awake.

A clear look of vigilance appeared on his face.

"Why are you asking?"

"I'm still a long way from obtaining a Class Level. There's no need to think that far ahead!"

He might just be a country boy, but any child who grew up in this land—from the princes and princesses in the royal palace to the vagrants in the slums—had heard the tales of evil passed down by word of mouth.

A chance encounter, temptation, the initial gains, ecstasy—then a sudden plunge, despair, and finally having one's soul taken and falling into hell.

The same underlying tone and the lessons of thousands of years had been passed down through generations, giving people an instinctive wariness toward entities that hid in the shadows, tempting others with profit and greed.

Abi considered himself very clear-headed.

He knew that the thing currently contacting him very likely harbored some hidden danger.

But since he was still standing here safe and sound, it meant the entity couldn't actually do anything to a bottom-tier adventurer like him.

As long as he didn't sign any written contract with it like in the legends, his life wouldn't be in danger.

And in the meantime, he could borrow its power as much as possible to reap benefits for himself.

The vigilant part of his brain was quietly blinded by the effects of magic particles, leaving him unaware that his thoughts had already slipped toward a dangerous edge.

Abi seemingly lucidly analyzed the pros and cons, vainly attempting to exploit powers beyond imagination with his mortal body.

In reality, the demonic claws reaching out from the depths of hell had already gripped his soul, tightening with every gold coin he stuffed into his pockets.

"Oh~ That's true, but don't Class Holders also reach the top one step at a time?"

Sensing the faint resistance in Abi's words, the voice shifted its tone, changing from a deep seduction to an uplifting, encouraging push.

"Now—let's ruthlessly squeeze the first bucket of gold for your future Class Holder path out of those damn casino owners!"

His emotions were invisibly guided, and the sliver of vigilance that had just surfaced was buried by desire in the blink of an eye.

Under the sunlight, Abi's slightly pale face filled with sheer excitement and thrill for the gleaming gold coins he was about to pocket.

He set off toward another casino in town.

On his chest, a glimmer of magic flashed across the surface of the hard object hidden inside his shirt.

Humans were, in the end, only human.

No matter how many precautions they were taught, how many times they were warned, or how many tragic examples were placed right in front of them.

Envy, lust, gluttony... As long as greed remained deep in their hearts, they were as conspicuous as fireflies in the night to entities that fed on desires and souls.

Everyone was like this, maintaining the highest level of vigilance at the very beginning.

But all it took was gently squeezing their desires in the palm of a hand, accompanied by a few incredibly simple, seductive words, and they would be just one step away from complete corruption...

There was no rush. "His" target was absolutely not this cheap soul who hadn't even obtained a Class Level yet.

Patience was the prerequisite for everything.

"Do you think I've won too much at the same casino? Will people notice something wrong? Maybe I should take a trip to Nym. I hear the casinos there are far better than in Rivervale Town, both in number and scale."

Gradually walking toward the abyss, a voice swept up by desire rang out in the air.

Without even needing to think, experience repeated countless times over thousands of years and the world's most top-tier persuasive rhetoric instinctively organized "his" words:

"Of course you can! In a big city like Nym—"

The hoarse voice in his mind abruptly stopped halfway through, completely out of character.

Abi paused and instinctively opened his mouth to ask:

"What about a big city like Nym?"

"Say something!"

"What's wrong?"

But the only response he received was an icy, dead silence.

Terrified that this entity—which had brought hope to his rock-bottom life—would disappear, Abi's expression turned frantic.

Just as he thought of finding a deserted alleyway to take the object out of his shirt and inspect it carefully, A slender, powerful hand wearing Silver Rings on its index and ring fingers quietly landed on his shoulder.

"What are you muttering about?"

Abi's body jerked in fright.

He instinctively turned around, and what met his eyes was an all-too-familiar face.

"M-Mr. Xia Nan... w-what are you doing here?"

Xia Nan cast a suspicious glance over the youth's exceptionally panicked face. He didn't answer directly, merely pursing his lips toward the Adventurers' Association across the street.

"What do you think?"

"Ha, haha." Laughing dryly and extremely awkwardly, Abi wore a stiff expression as he deliberately tried to change the subject. "That was a dumb question. Where's Boss Adeline? Is she not with you?"

"She has her own things to do."

Unwilling to let him deflect, Xia Nan asked again,

"I said, what were you muttering to yourself about?"

"N-Nothing," Abi stammered, his eyes darting around wildly as he scrambled for an explanation.

"It's just that I won some money at the casino last night, so I got a little too excited."

As he spoke, he patted the bulging coin pouch at his waist, as if that would make his explanation more credible.

"Are you free these next few nights? How about I treat you to a meal?"

Hesitating for a moment, Xia Nan thought of the Petrification Lizard quest he had just accepted from the Association Second Floor and shook his head.

"I won't have time recently. Let's catch up when we have a chance."

"However—"

Under Abi's extremely nervous gaze, Xia Nan glanced at his waist pouch.

"Although there are sheriffs in town, it's a gathering place for adventurers, so it's not entirely safe."

"I suggest you hurry up and deposit those gold coins in an inn or a bank. Don't carry too much cash on you; if the wrong person notices, it's dangerous."

"Yes, yes, you're right! I'll go deposit the money right away." As if heaving a sigh of relief, Abi nodded repeatedly.

Noticing his rushed behavior and realizing he was desperate to end the conversation, Xia Nan didn't say anything more.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he bid farewell and left.

Right before he left, however, his gaze flicked toward the chest of Abi's shirt once more.

And it was exactly this last glance that struck Abi's weak spot, making him break out in a cold sweat and freeze in place.

He didn't come to his senses until Xia Nan completely disappeared into the distant crowd.

His right hand subconsciously reached up to feel the front of his shirt.

Before he could even touch the hard object, the familiar voice rang out in his mind once again, making him sigh in relief.

"You know that black-haired guy?"

The previously deep, hoarse voice was now laced with an indescribable, subtle tone.

This caused Abi's confusion about the sudden silence to involuntarily dissipate, and driven by instinct, he answered the question without hesitation:

"That's Greysword Xia Nan. He's considered a relatively famous adventurer in Rivervale Town. He obtained a Class Level last year, and I actually happened to run into him on my last quest."

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with him?"

Bizarrely, the magnetic voice—which had answered every question and been more enthusiastic than a casino waitress since they made contact—fell into a long silence at his question.

He stood there waiting for a long time, until Abi almost thought something had gone wrong again.

Only then did the voice finally echo in his skull once more.

It wasn't complicated. It was just three words:

"Stay away from him."

Carrying a Green Pine wooden sword on his back, Xia Nan walked down the street, recalling his interaction with Abi.

Having accepted a quest from the second floor and finished buying a [Petrification Resistance Potion], he happened to see Abi across from the Association. Since they used to be teammates, he figured he would go over and say hello.

With his Perception attribute reaching double digits—far exceeding that of Class Holders of the same level—he naturally detected the unnaturalness in Abi's behavior.

The youth seemed to be hiding something he didn't want Xia Nan to know. Based on what he perceived, that object was hidden inside Abi's shirt, close to his chest.

So, did he have to uncover the secret of this gradually drifting former teammate? Track him, interrogate him, or even use torture to force out what he was hiding?

Naturally, no.

He didn't have that much curiosity, and that simply wasn't his nature.

In this world, it was perfectly normal to have a few secrets.

If he had to investigate every time someone around him acted strangely, he could forget about enjoying his time off. Not to mention, he was currently preparing for a quest.

Moreover, his year of experience as an adventurer, along with the information he had gleaned from tavern patrons, made him clearly aware of one thing:

Recklessly letting curiosity control his actions would easily drag him into unnecessary danger.

What if Abi was carrying a devil or something similar? If he got involved and became a target, wouldn't he be in deep trouble?

He only needed to confirm that the secret posed no threat to him.

And regarding that, Xia Nan had carefully and secretly perceived the situation during their conversation, and hadn't sensed any dangerous aura.

That was enough.

Dispersing his stray thoughts, he identified his bearings and walked toward the Rockhammer blacksmith shop.

His Decapitating Longsword was heavily damaged. Having accepted the Petrification Lizard hunting quest, he still needed to buy a transitional longsword before officially setting out.