You Bumping Into Me Is Provoking Me

He pushed open the wooden door!

All sorts of noise and foul language flooded into Ul's ears, making him frown involuntarily.

Although both the "Pati Tavern" and "Fairy Tail" were rowdy, the noise in "Fairy Tail" was more of a cheerful atmosphere, while this "Pati Tavern" was simply chaotic...

"Welcome!"

As soon as he stepped through the door, a voice reached Ul's ears.

Ul glanced toward the sound and saw a scantily clad, flashy waitress smiling at him with a full face of cheer.

He took a few looks at the waitress, then a few more at the motley crew scattered around the tavern.

Ul suddenly realized that perhaps this waitress was the only "decent person" in the entire tavern.

Ul's arrival didn't stir up much of a commotion in the tavern. Only a few people near the door glanced over after hearing the waitress's voice.

Then!

Those gazes froze in place.

As mentioned before, in the town of Stigug, a handsome man was like a bright flame in the darkness, utterly impossible to blend into the surroundings.

And this was especially obvious in the Pati Tavern.

Because here, a pretty boy like Ul meant one thing: easy to bully.

And that was "easy to bully" on every level!

As Ul walked into the tavern, everyone who saw his face unconsciously stopped what they were doing, fixed their eyes on him, and wore expressions that said, "Let's sit back and watch the show."

Sure enough!

Ul hadn't taken more than a few steps into the tavern.

Before he knew it, a burly, ugly man suddenly stood up from the crowd, strode over to block Ul's path, crossed his arms, and looked down at him with a mocking grin...

"Hahaha... I told you Hande would be the first to pick on a newbie. You lost, pay up!" From one corner of the crowd, a gleeful voice rang out.

Right after that, another voice followed, full of annoyance: "Fine, you got lucky. Here's your money!"

"Hahahaha..."

The two men's betting voices weren't deliberately hushed. When the crowd heard the annoyed reply, another wave of jeering laughter erupted.

The surrounding noise didn't affect Ul.

He kept his head down and walked forward, as if he hadn't even noticed the ugly man in front of him.

As the distance between Ul and the ugly man shrank, the expressions of the tavern's patrons grew even more mocking...

Thump!

Ul, still walking, bumped straight into the ugly man. Only then did he seem to realize someone was standing in front of him. He lifted his head slightly, glanced at the ugly man, and asked in confusion, "You bumped into me?"

"???"

Seeing Ul's reaction, not only the onlookers but even the ugly man Hande himself was stunned for a moment!

"This kid... is a bit reckless!"

Just as that thought popped into everyone's minds.

Ul spoke again!

His expression shifted like a magic trick, suddenly turning extremely "angry," as if he were the one being wronged. He demanded, "How dare you bump into me? You bastard, go to hell!"

"BAM!!!"

With a "roar," Ul struck out in fury.

A heavy punch slammed directly into the ugly man's abdomen. The brutal force instantly bent the man's body into a shrimp-like curve. He clutched his stomach with both hands, let out a few pained whimpers, and slowly sank to his knees!

The scene unfolded like a third-rate play, leaving everyone present utterly stunned.

Obviously!

They had never imagined things would turn out like this. It completely exceeded their expectations.

After all, in their eyes, this "newbie" should have chosen to either walk around Hande or beg for mercy. As for the "newbie" taking the initiative to pick a fight, they hadn't even considered it...

"You coward, attacking by surprise... cough cough!" The ugly man had decent physical resilience. Though Ul's punch had driven him to his knees, he recovered quickly and spoke with a pained, furious expression.

"Surprise attack?" Ul sneered.

"Who said this was a surprise attack?"

"You dared to bump into me just now—that was a provocation!"

"Provoking me means you want to fight!"

"Since you came looking for a fight with me, you can't expect me not to fight back, can you?"

"This is at most self-defense on my part, and you dare call it a sneak attack?"

"Thump thump thump..."

Ul's mouth was like a machine gun, and the more he spoke, the more agitated he grew, the angrier he became. By the end, he lost control and gave the ugly man another thorough beating.

Watching Ul's brutal display and the ugly man's unending screams, everyone in the tavern couldn't help but shiver!

"He's a ruthless one. Hande has really stepped in it this time!"

In truth, people who often hung around Stigug town generally had sharp instincts. Most of the time, they wouldn't recklessly provoke others; they'd pick their targets carefully before making a move, almost always with certainty.

But there were always exceptions!

Some people were hard to read just by appearance alone, and when someone ran into that situation, they could only count their losses.

Clearly!

Right now, Hande was that unlucky bastard.

After several minutes of beating, until even Ul's hand was starting to ache, he finally let the ugly man off.

Walking up to the bar counter!

Ul casually ordered a cheap drink and started chatting (and probing) with the bartender...

"Hey, kid, you've got some skill! Which guild are you from?" The bartender was also talkative, and after a few exchanges, he was already on familiar terms with Ul.

"Fairy Tail. Heard of it?"

"Fairy Tail? You're a Mage?" The bartender seemed surprised.

"That's right! By the way, do you know where that guy Jeris has gone lately? I haven't been able to reach him recently!" Ul deliberately used the name Gu Yi had told him, rather than "Jericho" from the wanted poster, figuring it might yield unexpected results.

Sure enough!

When the bartender heard the name "Jeris," his face showed no unusual reaction, and he said casually, "Jeris? That guy ran off. I heard he stole some treasure a while back, and now he's fled to the Jiying Kingdom!"

"Fled the country?" Ul was a bit taken aback; this outcome caught him off guard.

"This is getting troublesome now!"

Ul felt the task he'd taken on was starting to become more and more difficult.

After chatting a bit more with the bartender for news about Jericho, Ul finally turned and left the Pati Tavern.

Not long after Ul left, the Pati Tavern welcomed three "newcomers"!

"Hey, everyone, come take a look! What's going on today? So many 'newcomers'! And there are even two lookers..." As soon as the three "newcomers" stepped into the tavern, a commotion erupted.

The ugly man Hande had finally recovered by then!

When he heard someone say "lookers," his eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted, "Nobody move, leave this to me! There's no way this old man can misjudge twice in one day, right?"

The ugly man Hande swaggered toward the tavern door.

Just then!

A gust of wind blew, pushing open the wooden tavern door...

Light streamed in, slowly revealing three silhouettes—one man and two women.

Short golden hair, long red hair, a white ponytail.

Three different hair colors shone brilliantly under the sunlight, glaringly conspicuous...