Kaouron Hill

After settling the date to visit his workshop with Jiang, Zhang Ruofeng carried his newly purchased equipment to the cake shop where he had arranged to meet the goddess Fura and Xin Mu. Because Magic Stone could be used as an energy source in this world, there was an unexpectedly wide variety of baked goods. Furthermore, since the towns and countries near Orario were rich in wheat and livestock, the prices for various cakes and cookies were quite affordable. Even a poor adventurer like Zhang Ruofeng could occasionally afford to eat at such a street-side shop.

"Are they not here yet?" Zhang Ruofeng walked into the shop and looked around. He found a few customers scattered about, but he did not see the figures of the two women he was familiar with. Not dwelling on it, he found a seat and sat down.

"Are you by yourself?" At this moment, a person dressed as a maid walked over and asked. Zhang Ruofeng looked up and was surprised to see that this female adventurer was a demi-human—a cat person. Demi-humans truly possessed a unique aesthetic. Watching the cat person's occasionally twitching ears and the tail swaying behind her, Zhang Ruofeng thought silently that such dream-like creatures were indeed unimaginable in his own world. He then thought of the Guild receptionist in charge of him and Xin Mu. Although Heluo seemed to have a somewhat irritable temper and got angry just looking at Zhang Ruofeng, one could not deny that her white hair, pointed ears, long white tail, and heroic features made that wolf-kin receptionist look very beautiful. However, Zhang Ruofeng guessed that perhaps it was just the novelty of the demi-human species that added points to her appeal.

"Customer, staring at the server is not polite behavior!" Zhang Ruofeng immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing the warning. Although his gaze had not been fixed on her, he figured he would only be more disliked if he spoke out, so he could only offer a sheepish apology.

"Sorry, sorry. It's my first time here; your shop's uniforms are really pretty." Zhang Ruofeng said casually, then looked at the menu the maid had just placed on the table. "Bring me a glass of iced lemon water. I'll order the rest when my companions arrive."

"Understood!" Although Zhang Ruofeng was a bit curious as to why the previously aggressive cat-girl now seemed to have lost all her fire, he had wasted a lot of energy talking to the craftsman Jiang. This left the mentally exhausted Zhang Ruofeng feeling weary, so he didn't think much of it and simply looked out the window.

Although his energy had been drained by that man, getting to know a craftsman friend certainly had its benefits. "It seems that becoming a craftsman in this world isn't just about having good skills." Zhang Ruofeng recalled the Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer in his mind. It seemed that becoming a craftsman required the development of an ability—a special skill that only appeared upon leveling up—which allowed the weapons and equipment they forged to possess better usability and durability. Otherwise, standard weapons and equipment could not keep up with increasingly powerful monsters, and low-level gear would eventually become a burden.

"That guy is on par with me in terms of strength, and he even seems a bit better than me," Zhang Ruofeng recalled the test he made while joking with Jiang. Although his mental state was poor, his physical attributes had not weakened much, so for someone to surpass his strength, he wondered if it was a testament to him being a craftsman, or if this person also possessed excellent aptitude as an adventurer. After all, Jiang had mentioned he had been an adventurer for only a little over a year. If he himself did not possess the skill "Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer" that even the goddess had never seen, there was no way he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

At this moment, his order arrived. The cat-girl server set down the glass and seemed to steal a glance at Zhang Ruofeng before walking away. Zhang Ruofeng frowned slightly and touched his face. There was nothing unusual on it. He touched his chin and hair and sighed softly. He had forgotten about this; although his beard grew slowly, half a month was enough for some stubble to appear.

"My hair is getting long too. I'll find time to get a haircut later." Zhang Ruofeng rubbed his hair casually but didn't pay much attention to it. "It would be great if I could pull Jiang into the party, but the pressure of going into the Dungeon with members of other Familia is simply too great. Besides, that guy is really not very reliable." As he thought about it, Zhang Ruofeng couldn't help but feel a headache coming on; after all, there were many factors and uncertainties involved in this.

"Ding." As the bell on the door rang, Xin Mu and Fura entered the shop named "Kaouron Hill." Seeing Zhang Ruofeng staring blankly out the window, they just smiled and sat down. Both of them had already witnessed Zhang Ruofeng's ability to zone out.

"Hm?" Zhang Ruofeng heard the laughter and recovered from his deep thoughts. Seeing Fura smiling as she snatched a strawberry off Xin Mu's cake, he frowned slightly. "How long have you two been here?"

"How long?" Fura ate the strawberry and said, "It should be about 15 minutes. Besides, it's not like this is the first or second time you've zoned out, so why are you so surprised?"

Zhang Ruofeng didn't feel that way himself. Usually, he would have reacted no matter what if two people sat across from him, but today he hadn't noticed at all. The side effects of mana exhaustion were truly terrifying.

"What did you do, Ruofeng?" Xin Mu still maintained her cold expression. In an instant, she speared a cherry off the goddess's cake and popped it into her mouth without changing her expression. "The servers have been sneaking glances this way ever since a moment ago."

"Ah, maybe it's because my black hair is rare," Zhang Ruofeng said casually. He generally didn't care about such things, and since he was feeling very exhausted today, he didn't put any thought into it. "Also, my beard has grown out. I'm going to get a haircut this afternoon." Zhang Ruofeng pointed to his hair; his bangs and sideburns had grown out quite a bit.

"Mm." Although Xin Mu responded, she immediately went back to dealing with her cake.

"Hm?" Zhang Ruofeng hadn't been with Xin Mu for a short time, and it was usually very easy to tell when she wasn't happy. However, Zhang Ruofeng really didn't know what had happened. What was wrong? Did Xin Mu not like his hair being long? Zhang Ruofeng couldn't help but wonder.

"It seems you really aren't in the right state of mind today." Fura shook the fork in her hand and said lightly. Zhang Ruofeng was usually not someone with such a slow brain, but today he was like a block of wood.

"One of those cat-girl servers seems to have a strange look in her eyes when she looks at you," Fura said with a teasing tone. Zhang Ruofeng was even more confused. "Did you seduce that girl?"