Could this kid have fainted from hunger?
"Help... help... Is there... anything to eat? Damn Hydro Slimes..." The girl in the large hat lying on the tavern floor raised her head, revealing a delicate, adorable face as she looked at Chen Luo expectantly.
Ding! You have a new commission! I Want to Die Full: Feed Mona. Anything is fine, as long as it's food. Reward: 20 Primogems. Difficulty: Zero-star Ding! The number of guests has reached 5. "Bar Snacks" unlocked.
"Bar snacks?" Chen Luo froze for a moment.
"There's food. Wait a second." Even as he stood there in a daze, Chen Luo was still tending to his guest.
After all, this was the first time Chen Luo had seen a commission that had reached the upper limit of a zero-star task.
Zero-star tasks were the most ordinary daily commissions. The rewards varied according to the strength of the person issuing them, but the upper limit was roughly 20 Primogems. Any higher, and it would become a one-star task.
Besides, to be fair, Mona really was easy to feed. She would eat anything.
And he had just unlocked bar snacks.
Chen Luo tapped the Bar Snacks button. Suddenly, the wine cabinet behind him that had originally held bottles slid roughly two meters to the left, revealing a small space behind it.
Sometimes, drinking required snacks to go with it, so having a kitchen was perfectly normal.
Just like how a tavern did not merely sell alcohol; it also sold meals.
And restaurants did not just sell food. They sold alcohol too.
Alcohol and food went hand in hand.
That was the explanation given by the talent panel, but Chen Luo felt that none of it was normal. It was complete nonsense.
Still, completing the commission came first, so he stopped dwelling on it.
At the same time, a cooking section appeared in Chen Luo's shop.
The ingredients were much the same as those used for mixing drinks. For 0.1 Primogems, he could make one serving of food.
The difference was that the liquor shop had Void Wine.
Meanwhile, the cooking shop had a skill that cost five Primogems per use: Mother's (××) Flavor.
In other words, once he used this skill, it would recreate the most perfect flavor in the guest's heart.
This time, Chen Luo chose to make—rice balls.
She was practically starving to death. Surely she would not care what she was eating, right?
Thus, twenty seconds later, a rice ball as big as a human head and a large cup of juice sat in front of Mona.
"Tank you... lifesaber..." Mona wolfed down the rice ball before her, tears of gratitude welling up in her eyes.
It was food she had never seen before. It looked like an Inazuman specialty, but it was delicious.
Ding! Commission completed. Major success. Primogem reward doubled.
Whenever a guest was especially satisfied, there was a chance that the Primogem reward would be doubled.
Mona and the Hydro Slime's Great Escape
"Thank you, my lifesaver." After finally filling her stomach, Mona sincerely thanked Chen Luo once again.
"Hello, I'm Chen Luo. You can just call me Boss."
"My name is Astrologist Mona Megistus, though you can just call me Mona. Oh, and by the way, can I take the rest with me?" Mona asked Chen Luo with an embarrassed expression.
A rice ball bigger than Mona's head was not something she could finish in one sitting, no matter how hungry she was.
"Also, I didn't bring any money with me. Could I put it on my tab for now? I'll definitely pay you back." Mona spoke with some embarrassment.
As she spoke, she tugged at the brim of her hat, seemingly a little ashamed.
Mona was thin-skinned and rather tsundere. At least in front of outsiders, she still cared about saving face, unlike Venti.
Thinking of that, Chen Luo glanced at Venti, who came here every day to mooch drinks.
"How about this? I like listening to stories. As long as you tell me how you ended up like this, I'll waive your bill. What do you think?" Chen Luo completely neglected to mention that the food had been free to begin with.
And Venti did not remind her either, because he was curious about it too.
Besides, Venti himself was a troublemaker who enjoyed a good show.
"That works too? All right, then." Mona was startled by Chen Luo's condition.
"It actually went like this. I hadn't eaten enough today, so I went out... Cough, cough, I misspoke. I went out this morning to gather material for inspiration. But my luck was terrible, and I got trapped in a secret realm. It was a secret realm with absolutely nothing inside, and the most infuriating part was that it was full of Hydro monsters. A whole bunch of Hydro Slimes. Who could handle that? Fortunately, that secret realm seemed to have some kind of challenge limit. It kept me trapped for an entire day before letting me out."
"Then, by accident, it teleported me onto a mountain. Judging from its shape, it was probably Mt. Aocang. That place was completely deserted. There were quite a few Qingxin flowers, but they did not seem edible, so I nearly starved to death. If I hadn't met you, my benefactor, I don't know how much longer I could have held on." Mona still felt lingering fear as she spoke.
As everyone knew, Hydro users—especially Magi—hated nothing more than Hydro monsters and Cryo monsters.
The former were immune to every hit, while the latter could even make it impossible to break through their shields before freezing them...
"Luckily, I may not be able to beat them, but I can run fast. Otherwise, if those Hydro Slimes had wrapped themselves around me... Just thinking about it is troublesome." Mona seemed to recall something and showed a disgusted expression.
"But because I ran too fast, I spent an entire day running. By the time I got out, I was about to faint from hunger. But you said you wouldn't charge me for the food, Benefactor. You'll keep your word, right?" Mona looked at Chen Luo hopefully.
"I was joking." Chen Luo smiled.
"Huh?"
"Even if you hadn't told me the story, I wasn't going to charge you anyway."
Talking about money hurt feelings.
Chen Luo increasingly felt that not charging extra had been the right choice.
Just look at these two Genshin guests who came to the tavern. Each was poorer than the last. If he charged them even one Mora, he could forget about them ever returning.
Compared to Primogems, what did Mora matter? Could Mora pull a Paper Waifu?
Then again, were there really Paper Waifus in this prize pool?
"Th-this... this tavern really doesn't charge money?" Mona looked as if she had heard something unbelievable.
"Of course not. If it charged money, the poor bastard next to you wouldn't be able to come here every day."
"Hehe!" Seeing both of them looking at him, Venti stuck out his tongue.
"Then... then... Great Benefactor, can I come here every day? Ah, no, um, once every two days would be fine too. If I eat once every two days, make one meal last two days, and pack some to take away, I should be able to keep going..." Mona muttered quietly.
Ding! You have a new commission! Just Trying to Get a Meal: Mona, a highly skilled astrologer so poor she is nearly eating dirt, has found a tavern that charges no money. This is simply a match made in heaven. Mona hopes to come to the tavern once every two days and enjoy a free dinner. Reward: 50 Primogems + random item Difficulty: One-star
"..."
"What is it? Is my request too much?" Mona cautiously glanced at Chen Luo.
"No, you're practically my lucky star. How about this? Don't come once every two days. Come once every day. Not only will I give you dinner, I'll pack you a breakfast too." Chen Luo slapped the table as he spoke.
Good grief. Chen Luo had seen two limits in a single day.
One was the limit of a zero-star commission, and the other was the limit of a one-star commission.
The maximum reward for a zero-star task was 20 Primogems, while the maximum reward for a one-star task was 50 Primogems.
This Mona was practically a lucky star.
Though it seemed the girl really was starving badly.
And people in ancient times ate two meals a day. Chen Luo felt that arrangement suited Mona quite well.
"R-really? Boss, you're too kind! You really don't want anything?" Mona stared at Chen Luo in disbelief, as if she had heard something impossible.
"A promise once made cannot be taken back."
Ding! Commission completed. Great success. Primogem reward doubled. The random item is guaranteed to be a three-star or higher catalyst-type item.
"You two really are made for each other..." Venti quietly muttered as he watched Chen Luo and Mona look at each other with gratitude.
Chen Luo needed Primogems. The stronger someone's obsession, the more they gave.
Mona needed to fill her stomach, and she had found a tavern that charged no money.
Tsk, tsk.
"Now Chen Luo finally won't come torment me every day."
With Mona as a more useful tool for farming Primogems, Chen Luo shouldn't come torment me anymore, right?
In high spirits, Venti drained the remaining apple wine in one gulp and shouted.
"Another glass!"
Ding! You have a new commission!
"Come on, then. What do you want to eat tomorrow morning? I can pack it for you right now. Or you can come to the restaurant tomorrow yourself. My restaurant never closes, though sometimes no one is here." Chen Luo looked at Mona gently.
Where had this little money-giving sprite come from?
"Thank you so much, Boss. I knew there were still more good people than bad in this world." Mona was deeply moved as well.
"Now I can finally save all my meal money to buy astrology equipment..."
"..." Chen Luo fell silent for a while after hearing Mona's words.
Mona was not actually that poor. She was different from Venti; her poverty was entirely self-inflicted.
The reason Mona was poor was because the tools she used for research were expensive, and she always wanted to buy the newest models.
She was basically like a compulsive shopper.
Still, she truly was working for her career, so Chen Luo could not really say anything.
And if Mona could come to the tavern every day to bring him Primogems, Chen Luo would be more than happy.
Special Guest?
Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the three-star catalyst "Dragon Slaying Handbook" (Refinement Rank 1).
"Emmm..." Chen Luo looked at the catalyst in his hand and fell silent.
Dragon Slaying Handbook (Three-Star Catalyst): After switching weapons, increases attack by 24% for 10 seconds. Can only trigger once every 20 seconds. This buff can be transferred to others.
The stat increase provided by this three-star catalyst was low, but its buff was powerful.
Calling it a support artifact would not be wrong at all.
Chen Luo had not expected to draw this thing.
But he felt that he could not use it, because he did not understand magic at all. How was he supposed to use a catalyst?
Should he attach a ram to it?
That actually seemed feasible.
Although the moment Chen Luo obtained the catalyst, he had mastered how to use the grimoire thanks to Furniture Mastery—after all, books really were household items—
the problem was that this grimoire did not record any spells at all. It really only contained a story.
If Chen Luo used it, at most he could throw out a wind ball. Its attack power was not even as strong as stabbing someone with a sword.
Just like Chen Luo's swordsmanship after learning Tai Xu Sword Qi: although it was still only at the mastery level, he could absolutely defeat his past self, who knew no sword techniques at all and only had Swordsmanship Mastery.
You had mastered how to use a grimoire, but did not know a single spell. Wasn't that infuriating?
Chen Luo was rather glad that he had drawn Dragon Slaying Handbook. If it had been another catalyst, it would have been no different from a decoration. At least this catalyst could give him a buff.
Still, should he go learn magic from Yun Lian'er?
Wasn't she an elemental Magus? She should know Anemo magic too, right?
Before you continue