Chapter 535 Tieg

Xia Nan had a mediocre impression of the goatee-sporting man named Flynn.

Limited by their five senses, people usually judged and defined strangers before getting to know them deeply, relying on visual cues like appearance, clothing, and demeanor, alongside auditory cues like speech, to form an initial impression.

Honestly, in this regard—whether it was his natural disposition or deliberately manufactured—Flynn's outward presentation was exceptionally meticulous.

His expensive, tailored suit made of premium fabric, his carefully trimmed goatee, his warm smile, and a tone that deliberately lowered his own status—

For ordinary people in this world, or many lower-tier adventurers with shallow experience, just a word or two would be enough to win their favor.

But if his conversational partner were an adventurer like Xia Nan, whose Perception was exceptionally sharp and who possessed a certain level of worldly experience, the result was different.

He could only sense an indescribable weirdness.

Like a masterful method actor, Flynn had designed even his body language and posture during the conversation to be flawless, showing no openings.

Yet it was exactly this "perfect" state—impossible to maintain in normal human interaction—that made his behavior stand out jarringly in Xia Nan's eyes.

In just the span of a few sentences, Xia Nan silently raised his guard.

Of course, another factor was that Flynn had explicitly revealed his identity: a subordinate of the pirate Dodd, known as Algae Scale.

If the subsequent search for the keys to the [Dream Weaving Corridor] didn't go smoothly, there was a high chance they would stand on opposing sides. Xia Nan was well aware of this.

Still, things hadn't reached that point yet. Ever cautious, he wouldn't prematurely burn bridges.

He didn't act overly friendly, either. He merely displayed a clear sense of detachment—perfectly fitting his cold outward persona—as he handled the man's smooth talk.

Seeing Xia Nan's lack of interest in the conversation, Flynn tactfully ended the topic and began greeting other adventurers who had come to submit their catches.

The event's three-hour time limit soon ended.

When Flynn stood at the fishery entrance and loudly announced the end of the first event, the many adventurers still frantically fishing instantly burst into a chorus of wails.

"Wait, I'm just one short!"

"Give me two more minutes! Just two minutes!"

"Damn it, why aren't these few fish worth a gold coin?!"

As the person in charge of the event, Flynn clearly had plenty of experience dealing with adventurers.

He showed no mercy, decisively announcing that time was up and the event was over.

Even if some unreasonable adventurers wanted to use the opportunity to cause trouble, he only needed to use rhetoric like "extending the time is unfair to those who have already completed the task" or "the raffle prizes are limited." This shifted the conflict away from the organizers and onto the successful adventurers, resolving everything effortlessly.

And in fact, that was exactly what Flynn did.

As for the result, it was extremely effective.

After all, among those who managed to catch a gold coin's worth of fish within the time limit, aside from a small fraction who were truly lucky or possessed solid fishing skills, many adventurers were like Xia Nan—using unorthodox methods powered by their own strength.

Some had even exploited their numerical and physical superiority to seize fishing spots or steal catches outright.

In terms of average strength, the adventurers who finished the task on time were undoubtedly stronger.

Adventurers who always adhered to the law of the jungle and the principle of survival of the fittest had to swallow their anger. Faced with these veteran peers who possessed higher Class Levels and stronger combat abilities, no matter how aggrieved they felt, they didn't dare cause a scene.

Seeing that the commotion had mostly died down, Flynn kept that warm, friendly smile on his face, acting as if the prior tension had nothing to do with him, and began to introduce the rules for the next event.

"First, congratulations to everyone who met the requirements of the first event," Flynn said.

"Next, you can all take a break, grab some lunch, or have a couple of drinks.

"At one o'clock this afternoon, in the central square of Stodd Island, we will—"

Since this was just a carnival held alongside the festival to celebrate the Lunar Tide Banquet, the events were generally free of danger—aside from that one unlucky adventurer who had accidentally been dragged into the water by a fishman.

The intervals between events weren't too tightly packed, leaving ample resting time for the participating adventurers.

Now that the three-hour fishing competition had ended, it was approaching noon. The adventurers who had sat in the sun for so long were feeling the heat.

Hearing that the second event wouldn't start until the afternoon, they quickly formed groups and headed to the restaurants and taverns near the square to eat and rest.

Xia Nan and his group were no exception.

—

Compared to when they had arrived, however, the Blade of Vengeance's intelligence squad had gained a new member.

Ellison had come to Stodd Island alone. Seeing that he had no companions, Xia Nan—after consulting his teammates—temporarily pulled him into the squad so they could move together.

He figured that once today's events completely wrapped up, he could perhaps arrange a meeting between Ellison and his sister, Lorraine. If they could reach a cooperation agreement, it would add a few more points of success to their impending operation against Algae Scale during the banquet.

They didn't go too far. To avoid missing the next event due to delays, the group found a tavern near the square called the Glass Oar to rest and eat.

The building itself was also constructed from Water-Iron Wood. It was entirely dark brown, two stories high, and fairly spacious. Its wooden signboard, painted with the image of a swinging glass oar, was firmly nailed to the beam above the doorframe.

Compared to the Three-Legged Sea Dog and the White Chickadee, this place wasn't a major adventurer hub with an Adventurers' Association branch, so the number of adventurers wasn't nearly as high as in Barracuda Bay or Rivervale Town.

The Glass Oar clearly wasn't a dedicated establishment that usually gathered large crowds of adventurers. Its everyday customers were mostly island commoners, passing merchants, and sailors.

Now, with the Lunar Tide Banquet approaching, suddenly hosting so many adventurers made the entire hall seem rowdy and chaotic.

A few ordinary servers were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. They had to wear ingratiating, humble smiles, yet those smiles also carried a hint of genuine eagerness.

On one hand, when dealing with these overbearing and unreasonable adventurers, giving offense—especially when fueled by alcohol—could very well result in a dagger to the chest on the spot.

Plus, during the Sea Rhythm Festival, the authorities definitely wouldn't offend the core adventurer demographic over an ordinary resident. Most likely, they would smooth things over and bury the matter, leaving the victim's family without even a copper of compensation.

Therefore, they had to be incredibly careful while serving, weighing every word repeatedly.

On the other hand, it was also because these adventurers tipped very generously.

Sometimes, just for performing standard services, an adventurer's casual tip was enough to equal a server's entire monthly wage.

This was exactly why these servers worked under immense pressure, eagerly waiting on the adventurers one by one.

Leaving Sasha and Ellison to find a table, Xia Nan went to the bar with Alton to look at the menu.

Since the Glass Oar was meant for ordinary residents to eat and drink, its prices were noticeably lower than those at the Three-Legged Sea Dog and the White Chickadee.

As the island's specialty dish targeted specifically at passing travelers, the most expensive item, the "Thousand-Pile Fish Stew," was priced at five copper coins.

There was also the "Shoal Stone Pot Rice" for two coppers and the "Slate Grilled Fish" for three coppers—

Many of these were Stodd Island home-style dishes. Some even had obvious smudge marks over the price numbers, clearly altered in advance to raise prices for the influx of adventurers gathering for the Lunar Tide Banquet.

Even so, for adventurers accustomed to spending lavishly in various entertainment venues, the food still seemed cheap and cost-effective.

Xia Nan looked at the menu on the wall, his eyes carefully scanning it as if searching for something, looking like he wanted to speak but was holding back.

Before he could speak, the short fellow beside him proactively asked on his behalf, "Boss, do you sell cream of mushroom soup here?"

The tavern boss sitting behind the bar was a stout-faced middle-aged man with graying hair, in his forties or fifties.

He didn't show any contempt for Alton's short stature or unthreatening demeanor. With a sincere face, he apologized, "I'm truly sorry, you two."

"We haven't prepared the right ingredients, and our kitchen hasn't cooked that dish before. I'm afraid we can't meet your request."

"If you two dine here, I can give you a ten percent discount—"

Xia Nan waved his hand, interrupting the man's apology.

He didn't know if the tavern boss was naturally this accommodating or just deliberately currying favor because they were adventurers.

But since the man had offered, he didn't care about a discount of a few coppers anyway.

"It's fine. We'll pay full price," he said.

In the end, the two ordered a few of the tavern's set meals based on their preferences, along with two bottles of locally brewed light ale and a few cups of herbal tea to beat the heat, before returning to their seats.

Xia Nan had thought Ellison and Sasha would feel awkward alone together due to their connections with Lorraine.

Unexpectedly, when Xia Nan and Alton got back, the two were chatting and laughing. While it wasn't overly enthusiastic, it was far from a cold silence.

"Rattle bait is actually quite decent, especially in shallow waters. The vibrations carried by the current have a strong attraction to many medium-sized fish," Ellison was saying.

"I actually think seaweed balls are better," Sasha countered. "Especially for this kind of time-limited fishing competition, the minimum yield is clearly higher."

"You're not wrong, but—"

Xia Nan really wanted to join their conversation. With his reservoir of fishing knowledge, he could easily jump into the discussion.

But then he thought of the Purple Swirl he had personally hooked earlier, and he decided to wait until the event was over to participate in such topics.

He was just about to chat with the short fellow swinging his legs in boredom across the table when, suddenly, highly purposeful footsteps approached from his side.

Xia Nan looked over. Entering his line of sight was the stout man he had noticed during the fishing competition—the one suspected to be a dwarf half-blood.

A height of 1.65 meters made him look like he had gigantism for a dwarf, but for a Barbarian, he was noticeably too short.

He looked like a piece of steel forcibly hammered short and solid by a Heavy Hammer. Bulging, dense muscles filled his entire body. Lacking the sheer clumsy thickness of a pure dwarf, his slightly stretched, streamlined frame possessed more of the explosive power of a Barbarian.

The thick beard hanging from his jaw was braided into three intertwined tails, adorned with iron rings that clinked crisply as he moved.

Dark blue, almost ink-black tattoos crept out from his collar and cuffs. Though the full image was hidden, one could faintly make out wave-like totem patterns carrying a wild, primal air.

This half-dwarf, carrying an unopened bottle of strong liquor, walked straight toward Xia Nan.

His expression didn't change much, giving away no specific intent.

But with his sharp Perception, Xia Nan didn't detect any obvious hostility from the man.

And just as he expected, under the watchful eyes of everyone at the table, the half-dwarf stopped three paces away from Xia Nan.

"Sea Fang?"

A deep, muffled voice, accompanied by a heaving chest, reverberated in the air.

"Who are you?" Xia Nan nodded slightly, carefully sizing the man up.

The man had clearly approached only after confirming his identity; asking in return was merely polite.

Seeing Xia Nan nod, the half-dwarf grinned. In front of the group, he unsealed the liquor bottle in his hand, stepped forward, and filled Xia Nan's empty glass.

"Heh heh, just call me Tieg!" he said.

Hearing this, Xia Nan's heart stirred.

'Tieg?'

Of course he had heard that name.

Combined with this half-dwarf's physical traits, Xia Nan—who had previously crammed a massive amount of background knowledge in Barracuda Bay—instantly recognized the man's identity.

Tieg: a Barbarian and dwarf half-blood, and a Level 7 Class Holder.

He was also the captain of the Raging Tide Warband adventurer fleet.

In the Southern Archipelagos, he was a famous figure on the same level as Lorraine of the Blade of Vengeance.

But—he had never interacted with this captain before, right?

For Tieg to be acting so passionately right now, looking as though he wanted to befriend him—wasn't it a bit abrupt?

As if sensing Xia Nan's thoughts, the corners of the half-dwarf's mouth widened into a bigger grin. He chuckled and explained, "Mr. Auriel specifically mentioned before we set out that Xia Nan, 'Sea Fang,' would also be attending this Lunar Tide Banquet. He instructed us to lend a hand if the situation allowed."

'Auriel?'

Xia Nan immediately understood.

Because of the [Proof of Diligence], he had a decent personal relationship with the collector.

He had previously asked the man if he would be attending the Lunar Tide Banquet, and Auriel had given a negative answer back then.

He hadn't expected that Auriel merely wouldn't attend in person, rather than not being involved at all.

"So, Auriel hired you to come to Stodd Island?"

"You could say that." Tieg shook the liquor bottle in his hand. "Although he's paying the appropriate remuneration, with my relationship with Mr. Auriel, things aren't that formal."

"You're just here to attend the Lunar Tide Banquet?" Xia Nan asked with pointed meaning.

"Now that would be inconvenient to reveal. Heh—"

Tilting his head back, Tieg took a fierce swig of the strong liquor, not divulging the task Auriel had given the Raging Tide Warband.

Xia Nan had been thinking about trying to coax a few more words out of him, but suddenly, a burst of clamor erupted from the other side of the tavern hall.