"Hey, brat... was that your doing?"
Humiliated, the two adventurers flushed with anger. One of them swung a fist straight at Moke's face.
Moke didn’t retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, sidestepped, and crouched slightly.
Already shorter in stature, his sudden drop made the attacker miss completely, his punch slicing through empty air.
Without hesitation, Moke drove his elbow into the man’s gut, then snapped his palm upward, striking the adventurer’s chin and sending him crashing to the ground.
The adventurer writhed in pain, clutching his stomach and curling up like a shrimp.
"You little—" His companion’s eyes blazed with fury, but the cold glint of a dagger pressed against his throat instantly silenced him.
The man forced an awkward smile. "L-Let’s talk this out, alright?"
Moke scoffed, stomped on the man’s knee, forcing him to buckle, then kicked him square in the chest, sending him sprawling backward.
As a high-tier rogue, Moke’s skills were nothing to scoff at—though compared to Xia Lun and his crew, he often seemed outmatched.
In the world of adventurers, minor scuffles rarely drew attention unless they escalated into serious injuries or damage.
"Hey, kid! Which guild are you with? You’ve got some nerve messing with us—" The two thugs spat threats even as they retreated.
"Dawn’s Wing," Moke shot back without hesitation, naming his guild outright.
The duo faltered, exchanged glances, then scrambled away without another word.
"That guy’s from Dawn’s Wing?"
"Dawn’s Wing? Aren’t they the guild making waves lately? Heard they saved Olie City from some terrifying monster."
"Rumor has it their captain’s blessed by the goddess—insanely powerful..."
Since the incident with the Death’s Hymn was too sensitive, the Adventurers’ Association had covered it up, publicly attributing it to a fearsome high-tier shapeshifting fiend.
Regardless, Dawn’s Wing had earned a reputation—one that kept low-tier guilds from picking fights.
Shila glanced gratefully at the figure before her.
"Th-Thank you, um... Mr. Pervert." Clearly, her memory was spotty—she’d forgotten Moke’s name but remembered his earlier... antics.
The memory of Moke’s off-key, vulgar singing brought a flush to her cheeks.
"Hey! ‘Mr. Pervert’? I have a name—it’s Moke!" he grumbled.
"Shila, that’s rude. Apologize properly," Vic chided, giving her shoulder a light tap.
"Sorry, Per—er, Moke," Shila mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
"Whatever. I was just here to eat. Those two happened to piss me off." Moke scanned the room—most tables near the beastfolk were empty, while the rest were packed.
Unfazed, he slid into the seat across from Vic. "This spot taken?"
"Of course, Mr. Vic, what would you like to eat? This meal is on me." Vic grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs in a smile that looked somewhat intimidating.
"Ah, thank you..." Moke was startled but managed to keep his composure, not standing on ceremony.
Vic struck up a conversation with Moke, chatting familiarly.
Moke soon realized that this fierce-looking lion-headed man was actually quite thoughtful, speaking in a refined and polite manner... occasionally showing just the right amount of boldness. Spending time with him was quite pleasant.
Shila sat quietly beside them, head lowered, poking at her plate of vegetable salad with a fork without saying a word.
Halfway through the meal, someone else barged in.
"Ha, Moke, so this is where you are!" Liyana plopped down casually beside Moke. "Ah, Mr. Vic, Miss Shila, fancy meeting you again. How are you?"
"H-Hello..." Shila seemed a bit shy.
"Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with Xia Lun and the others?" Moke asked suspiciously.
After arriving in the city, their group had mostly split up to do their own things.
"Ugh—that guy’s all lovey-dovey with Aina right now. Wouldn’t it be awkward if I stuck around?" Liyana pouted, then glanced at Shila across the table. "What, did I interrupt your date or something?"
Moke: "We just happened to run into Mr. Vic and the others."
"Pfft, figures. No way a guy like you would be on a date with a girl... You’re way too cute—I bet you’d only catch the attention of men." Liyana laughed, slapping Moke’s shoulder teasingly.
"You little..." A vein throbbed on Moke’s forehead.
"Mr. Moke isn’t like that! He helped us chase off some thugs earlier. I think he’s very manly!" Shila suddenly spoke up, raising her voice in his defense.
Moke blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Shila to stand up for him.
He scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze shifting away. "It was nothing... I just couldn’t stand those two jerks..."
"Ah, sorry, my bad. I shouldn’t have said that—the joke went too far..." Liyana tapped her own head lightly. "Well, I’ll leave you to your meal. I won’t disturb you any longer..."
Before Moke could respond, Liyana had already stood up and headed for the door.
"I’ll go settle the bill." Vic also rose slowly, walking over to the counter to order a drink and taking his time with the payment.
"Um..."
"Um..."
Moke and Shila spoke at the same time.
Moke cleared his throat. "You go first, Miss Shila."
"I’m sorry for meddling. That elf girl is your teammate, right, Mr. Moke? I think I made things awkward between you..." Shila kept her head down, her expression unreadable.
"I was just about to say that. It’s fine. Liyana’s carefree—she jokes around like that all the time. I don’t mind... Oh, and I’m not blaming you either. I really appreciate you speaking up for me. I’ve been wanting to punch that idiot for a while now..." Moke rambled nervously.
Shila suddenly giggled. "You two really get along well, Mr. Moke."
"Huh? No way? That girl is the most annoying." But once Moke started complaining about Liyana, he couldn't seem to stop. "Don’t let her fool you—despite how she acts, she’s actually a pretty decent shot. As a teammate, she’s reliable enough… but you’d better keep your distance."
"Why’s that?" Shila tilted her head curiously.
"That elf is a lesbian! She’s the real weirdo. Next time you see her, make sure to protect yourself…"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
