I became the king of villains in the game

Outside the town bridge.

Chen Lun sat inside the carriage and took one last look at Jadeite Town.

In the faint light of dawn, the town looked utterly peaceful.

[B-rank side quest completed: The shattered jadeite apple]

[You successfully destroyed the Red Apple Church's Jadeite Town branch. Quest rewards received: 5,000 EXP, 20 Gold Pounds, Froy's affection, [Low-sequence flesh-faction mysterious substance] ×3, and 1 regional renown point]

[The Red Apple Church's affection toward you has decreased. They will regard you as a sworn enemy and hunt you to the bitter end, until one side is dead!]

Chen Lun smiled faintly at the last notification.

The quest had triggered when he infiltrated the Red Apple Cathedral and killed the first guard.

He was very pleased with the rewards, especially the regional renown.

It was essentially a kind of reputation, and it worked on all NPCs.

Its benefits went beyond something like a charisma boost; it also offered more unexpected advantages.

For example, after joining a faction, he would need a certain amount of renown to qualify for some rare items and valuable rewards.

On the other hand, earning renown was exceptionally difficult. Most people never even got the chance.

"Where are we going now?"

Sitting beside him, Froy asked softly.

"Toward the future."

Chen Lun answered jokingly and chuckled.

Then he called out of the carriage:

"Uncle Walsh, let's go!"

"Of course, sir. As you wish."

Amber

Chapter 25: Six days

The carriage traveled along the main road.

Although it was called a main road, it was only a relatively wide gravel track, and the ground was uneven.

The carriage's iron-rimmed wooden wheels rattled over the bumps, making the ride rather uncomfortable for Chen Lun. Fortunately, soft leather cushions beneath him and behind his back were stuffed with cotton, sparing him some of the painful jolting.

Froy, however, seemed very happy.

She leaned by the window, looking this way and that. If not for the black silk covering her eyes, anyone might have thought she was curious about the scenery around them.

Chen Lun noticed Froy lift her chin slightly and twitch her little nose twice, as though sniffing the fresh air outside. The faint light of the rising sun fell across her face, making her skin look translucent.

"Uncle Walsh."

Chen Lun poked his head out and called to the bald man driving the carriage up ahead.

"Sir Jack."

Walsh turned around, lifted the round hat from his head, and responded respectfully.

"Jack" was merely an alias Chen Lun had made up on the spot. He had also realized that he might need other identities in the future. The reason he had given the Silver Dragon Trade Association for hiring them to escort him and Froy to Amber City was another fabrication.

They were a brother and sister from the countryside, heading to the big city to seek help from relatives...

As for why they could hand over five Gold Pounds for travel expenses without batting an eye, well, the siblings had been lucky enough to move the Red Apple Church with their plight.

The Red Apple Church had funded these impoverished siblings.

Thanks were due to Monk Will, Monk Stuarton, and Father Carter... oh, and Bishop Newman, far away in another land.

They were all such wonderfully good people!

Chen Lun had already decided that if anyone asked about his background, he would shower them with thanks, acting as though he couldn't wait to tell everyone he met. As for villains burning down the Red Apple Church in his "hometown" of Jadeite Town, Chen Lun knew nothing about that.

All he had to do was wail his heart out, and he was sure to move people to tears.

"How long will it take us to reach Amber City?"

Chen Lun asked.

"If everything goes smoothly, we should arrive on the evening of the seventh day."

Walsh thought for a moment and answered honestly.

Generally, ordinary civilians traveling such a long distance to another place would take a train or a ship, then walk the rest of the way.

But Jadeite Town was far too remote.

Even reaching the nearest train station or dock required crossing mountains and rivers. The place was quite backward and isolated. Travelers also had to watch out for bandits and robbers appearing out of nowhere along the wilderness roads; one careless moment could cost them their lives.

The world of Age of Mysteries was quite fantastical.

Developed cities were steampunk, backward villages were all swords and sorcery, and strange places went straight into impossibly advanced technology. It was practically an era that mashed Elizabethan times, Victorian times, and Yharnam together across time and space.

"Seven days..."

Chen Lun couldn't help glancing at Froy beside him. He knew the girl had less than two months left to live.

The journey alone would consume more than a tenth of that, leaving even less time to find the materials required for the quest. The situation was urgent.

Froy seemed to notice Chen Lun's gaze. She turned to "look" at him and smiled. Naturally, she had heard what Walsh said too.

"It's all right. We can think of it as a trip... I've never been anywhere very far away. Now that I think about it, I'm really looking forward to it."

"Then I have even more reason not to let you die. Since you love traveling so much, once your 'illness' is cured, I'll take you somewhere even farther away."

As Chen Lun spoke, a scene suddenly came to mind.

In his previous life, he had trekked alone through remote, deserted places, encountering plenty of breathtakingly beautiful scenery along the way. If he brought Froy with him, wouldn't any players who saw them drop to their knees on the spot?

Oh my god, the boss is taking someone out for a stroll!

Of course, that was impossible now...

With his intervention, the course of Froy's destiny had already begun to shift. That hollow, cold-blooded woman, the Red Apple Church's Silent Nun, would no longer exist.

There would only be Froy herself.

Froy seemed to sense Chen Lun's amusement. Although she didn't know what he was thinking, his upbeat mood rubbed off on her, and her smile grew brighter.

Walsh, serving as their coachman, felt rather moved. Sir Jack truly was a good elder brother!

He was willing to travel such a long distance to seek treatment for his gravely ill sister!

Walsh was so touched that he even thought of his trade association's young lady and young master. He considered charging a little less and refunding part of the escort fee.

But then he reconsidered. Sir Jack was a supernatural being, so he surely wasn't short of money. The thought of a refund vanished at once.

Then he reconsidered again. I want more money.

Six days later.

Someone suddenly stopped the carriage.

Being interrupted so close to Amber City was irritating, and Chen Lun couldn't help frowning.

After days of dusty travel, he hadn't managed to take a proper bath or enjoy a good meal. The inns where they had stopped along the way hadn't been particularly pleasant. Chen Lun had been looking forward to treating himself properly once they reached Amber City.

Just then, a clamor rose outside the carriage.

Someone knocked twice on Chen Lun's carriage, then lifted the curtain.

One of the escort guards stood outside with his head respectfully lowered and said to Chen Lun:

"Sir Jack, unfortunately, we've encountered bandits.

"But please rest assured. On the reputation of the Silver Dragon Trade Association, we swear to protect you and Miss Froy, even at the cost of our lives."

Chen Lun nodded silently.

"I trust you."

Escort jobs like this generally came with seven or eight fully armed guards. A small band of robbers was nothing to fear.

The curtain fell again, and Chen Lun heard Walsh negotiating with the other party.

For some reason, however, the negotiations broke down. The sharp scrape of metal rang out outside, accompanied by curses.

Then came the clash of blades.

"Should we go down and have a look?"

Froy asked softly.

Chen Lun suddenly found something odd about this. They weren't far from Amber City, so why was there a band of robbers here? And despite seeing their well-equipped, disciplined escort, these bandits still dared to fight them head-on. Either they had numbers or something else to rely on, or they were simply idiots.

"Stay in the carriage. I'll go take a look."

Chen Lun nodded as he spoke, then lifted the curtain and stepped out.

As soon as he got out, he saw the guards fighting the bandits a short distance ahead.

The situation was exactly as Chen Lun had expected: the guards were slaughtering the dozens of bandits in a one-sided battle.

Their rusty axes and sickles hacked at the guards' armor without doing any real damage, while the guards' sharp swords easily sliced through their leather armor and coarse clothing, drawing blood with every strike.

"Sir Jack."

Walsh, standing beside the carriage, bowed to Chen Lun.

"Why did a fight suddenly break out?"

Chen Lun nodded in acknowledgment, then asked.

Walsh seemed a little angry. He pointed at the bandits and said:

"I was going to give them some money to send them on their way, but these fellows insisted on inspecting the carriage..."