Bard?

The picnic spot was close to the campsite. The Foreign Language Club students spread out four picnic blankets and sat around them chatting and laughing. Of course, a small number were more introverted, either silently eating or looking down at their phones.

Xu Nan noticed that several of the Foreign Language Club members in charge, including Zhang Yingluo, seemed rather grim. They must have indeed heard something.

However, contrary to what Senior A-Kun had said, they had never intended to discuss it with anyone else.

The food was lavishly prepared. The Foreign Language Club was rich; apparently, every event had ample internal funding, and members only needed to pay for round-trip transportation.

Even the camping tents had been provided by the Foreign Language Club. At Shang University, the Foreign Language Club had always been a mysterious club that many dreamed of joining, but it was not easy to get in.

According to A-Kun, anyone who could join the club had to possess something exceptional.

Take Xu Nan—he was exceptionally handsome. Take that Pumpkin Girl—she was exceptionally fat. Or Chen Shasha—she had quite a knack for playing men. And then there was A-Kun himself... forget it. That was too painful to mention.

There were performances during the picnic as well.

Everyone competed to show off their talents beneath the small spotlight, giving Xu Nan an especially warm feeling.

By evening, the unpleasantness from the day seemed to have vanished. Even the boys who had been jealous of Xu Nan seemed to have forgotten all about it and came over to sling their arms around his shoulders.

They were all in the same club, so naturally, it was best for everyone to get along happily. A nice guy like Xu Nan fit in easily, but he felt a little sorry seeing A-Kun all alone and usually made sure to pull him along too.

After the picnic, some energetic people began organizing activities. Some wanted to explore Maple Leaf Forest, while others played Werewolf on the lawn.

Xu Nan had already taken a walk through Maple Leaf Forest with the seniors. In the pitch-black night, he did not find it particularly exciting, so he joined the Werewolf group.

The Werewolf moderator was the girl in the pumpkin outfit, Chen Shasha's friend.

When she handed Xu Nan his cards, he distinctly felt that something was off.

After two rounds, he seriously suspected his cards had been rigged.

In both games, he had drawn one of the divine roles in Werewolf: Witch once and Hunter once, both extremely powerful cards.

Even more irritatingly, during the games, Xu Nan had cast Appraisal Technique on every player in order to test how many classed individuals there were in the club.

Who would have thought that he would not find a single classed individual, but would instead clearly appraise the cards they had drawn for the game.

Gao Jing / Female / 20 years old / Werewolf

Chen Shasha / Female / 21 years old / Werewolf

Qiao Zhigang / Male / 20 years old / Werewolf

A-Kun / Male / 21 years old / Werewolf

Xu Nan: "..."

Sure enough, only those who had come into contact with Lü Junyi, or even undergone surgery with him, could possibly become classed individuals?

Now that he knew the hidden cards of both sides, this game of finding wolves among the villagers became utterly dull for Xu Nan.

He could not even be bothered to use the Negotiation Expert specialty to persuade everyone. When he played the Witch, he simply poisoned Chen Shasha with a vial that night. When he played the Hunter, after being killed, he immediately fired his gun and took away Chen Shasha, who was a Werewolf again in the second game.

Chen Shasha looked utterly baffled. Why was it me again?

Xu Nan shrugged. He could not help it. Everyone had more or less identified the remaining Werewolves, and only Chen Shasha had the best acting skills. Most people had been fooled by her. As a godly role in the game, Xu Nan naturally had to eliminate a Werewolf hiding among the good guys.

After the two games, people had initially been confused by Xu Nan's actions. But when everyone revealed their cards and reviewed the games afterward, they were all convinced by him.

"What a pro! I really couldn't tell Shasha had drawn Werewolf twice!"

"Carrying the whole game twice in a row, and he's still so low-key."

"As expected of Xu Nan. He's handsome and smart, and he's even this good at Werewolf."

Xu Nan felt embarrassed. Hadn't he won by cheating?

With a cheat like Appraisal Technique, a game like Werewolf became completely boring. When everyone clamored for a third round, he casually made an excuse and slipped away.

The restless quest panel flashed again—

Ron Sorcerer Bloodline Awakening Optional Quest

Quest Name: Sanctimonious

Quest Description: Complete a perfect act of cheating in a game without anyone else noticing. Leave when it is done, leaving behind a crowd of admirers.

Quest Reward: 1 Shame Point

Quest Progress: Completed

He gained 1 Shame Point!

Xu Nan rubbed his chin. "Does that mean as long as I do something that violates my sense of shame, succeed at it, and meet certain requirements, I can gain Shame Points? These optional quests are normally hidden. Before I complete an optional quest in the quest list, no new ones will refresh. But as long as I do something similar, I can complete the quest instinctively. One Shame Point may not be much, but every little bit counts."

"Could it be that I really have to go farther and farther down the path of abandoning shame?"

Xu Nan looked at the quest requiring him to snatch a Colorful Lollipop from a brat and felt a headache coming on. He wondered when he ought to finish it. Otherwise, the next optional quest would not appear, and relying on blindly fumbling around by himself was far too inefficient—not to mention dangerous.

Just then, Qin Lele suddenly popped out from who knew what corner. "Xu Nan! My sister and the others are looking for you!"

Xu Nan paused. "What for?"

"How would I know? My sister's guarding against me now." Qin Lele pouted. "They're having a meeting up ahead. Hurry over. And don't forget to find me later—I still need to practice Pickpocketing Technique on you."

"You're not wearing Winnie the Pooh today, are you?"

Xu Nan gave a cold laugh. "I'm wearing leopard print today. You dare?"

Qin Lele covered her face and ran away. "You really are a pervert!"

When Xu Nan arrived, he found that everyone present was a Foreign Language Club minister, all of them big shots. He was the only ordinary member there, which made him feel rather uneasy.

However, Zhang Yingluo, the Vice President, had far too much presence. She said she had personally called Xu Nan over to help, so no one else dared say a word.

To his surprise, Xu Nan spotted Senior A-Kun among the group.

"...Here's what we know. A highly dangerous wanted criminal has appeared near River Bend Park. My family told us to leave immediately."

Zhang Yingluo spoke softly. "But it wasn't easy to get our camping event approved, and it would be bad to ruin everyone's fun like this. I was thinking that this place is still quite far from Riverbend. Our luck shouldn't be so bad that we actually run into the wanted criminal, right?"

"What kind of wanted criminal is it? I heard even troops from the East Bay Military Region have been stationed in Riverbend." The club president was a petite girl who looked gentle and frail. Her presence was nowhere near Zhang Yingluo's, and Xu Nan had no idea how she had ended up in that position.

"I don't know. I'm still asking my family to look into information about the wanted criminal." Zhang Yingluo looked somewhat grave. "Strictly speaking, for everyone's safety, we should evacuate immediately. But the bus has already left, and if we walk back, I'm afraid most people won't be able to handle it. After all, our Foreign Language Club has a lot of girls."

"I've thought of a solution. We should increase the number of night watch personnel. Turn the previous token night watch activity into a genuine guard duty, making sure no strangers approach the camp in the middle of the night. Does anyone have any objections?"

Xu Nan realized that the upper ranks of the Foreign Language Club were practically ruled by Zhang Yingluo alone. Whatever she said, everyone else simply agreed with.

"Is it some kind of intimidation skill? I can resist it through the Sorcerer's saving throw resistance, but everyone else can only be immersed in her powerful aura, unable to resist."

Xu Nan thought to himself.

No one objected, so Zhang Yingluo began discussing the night watch roster.

Yingluo Senior was as decisive as ever. Before long, a brand-new watch schedule was drawn up. Xu Nan went over to take a look and found that his shift started after two in the morning.

Senior A-Kun had been assigned to the first half of the night. It seemed the two of them would not have the chance to talk heart-to-heart in the tent tonight.

Xu Nan felt rather regretful. He thought A-Kun was a man with interesting ideas. A-Kun, on the other hand, smiled freely and patted Xu Nan on the shoulder, signaling that a good man need not fuss over trifles. There would be plenty of time in the future.

After settling the night watch arrangements, everyone went their separate ways. Only Xu Nan was left behind alone by Zhang Yingluo.

No one else dared look too closely.

Once nearly everyone had left, Zhang Yingluo fixed her gaze on Xu Nan.

"Bard?"

Xu Nan's body trembled. He did not know what to say. A senior was still a senior—she had found out after all. He did not want to deceive her, but instinctively, he did not dare reveal all his secrets either.

"Stop pretending. I just checked. Only Bards have the skill Confession."

Zhang Yingluo looked at Xu Nan with a half-smile. "You used a charm-type spell on Lele and me earlier, didn't you? My Will save actually failed. Your spell is quite powerful."

Xu Nan was sweating profusely as he tried to explain, but Zhang Yingluo casually patted his shoulder. "You dispelled the spell immediately after farming your skill, so at least you have a conscience."

"Next time you need to farm a skill, don't be so secretive about it. We have ways to help."

"Since you're also a classed individual, be careful tonight. That wanted criminal is very likely a classed individual!"

Xu Nan pondered for a moment. Since his senior had mistaken him for a Bard, he might as well keep up the misunderstanding.

After all, Ron Sorcerer was such an embarrassing class that he simply could not bring himself to say it aloud!

"Senior... I have a question."

He looked at Zhang Yingluo. "You ultimately decided to continue camping. Although you found other reasons, the truth is that you want to run into that wanted criminal, right?"

Zhang Yingluo smiled beautifully. "Very clever. My class is Templar, and my ultimate advancement template is Legendary Valkyrie. I'm already level three. I want to see whether there's really anyone in H City stronger than me."

"Since you're an early-game useless Bard, if a fight really breaks out later, remember to hide behind me. Just use your skills to give me a few buffs."

Then she suddenly looked puzzled. "If you're a Bard, what instrument do you specialize in? Why haven't I seen you carrying one? (Note 1)"

Xu Nan thought for a moment.

"Does whistling count?"

Zhang Yingluo stared at him.

Xu Nan coughed, feeling guilty.

"I sing a cappella."

Note 1: Bards have the level-zero spell Summon Instrument, but it is generally believed that one's primary instrument should be carried at all times, and sacrificing a spell slot for a level-zero spell is not worthwhile. In this book's setting, mana-bar casters and spell-slot casters coexist; this will be explained in detail later.