Glow-Worm Toxic Spider King

Upon learning that Ye Chuan hailed from the distant land of China, with entirely different cultural customs, the receptionist quickly composed herself, pushing up her glasses as she lowered her head.

"No, no problem. In that case, it makes sense... after all, you did perform that strange dance earlier."

"Just out of curiosity, even though I'm only Bronze-ranked right now, can I take on slightly higher-difficulty quests? Like escort missions or hunting monsters?" Ye Chuan glanced at the nearby quest board.

No matter how he looked at it, cleaning jobs were beneath him. Hunting monsters seemed far more fitting.

"Of course. For higher-ranked quests, you can choose to receive only half the reward in exchange for having your adventurer rank upgraded to match the quest’s requirement," explained Eisien, the bespectacled receptionist, though she added that most adventurers never opted for this.

"I see..." Ye Chuan’s eyes scanned the board until they settled on one particular request.

[Hunting Request: Glowspider King

Deep within the Sunset Caverns lurks a Glowspider King. Eliminate it.

Reward: 7,000 silver coins

Recommended Rank: Silver]

"Silver rank..." Ye Chuan mused. He was at the 4th Tier, and surpassing rank requirements was trivial for him—plus, seven thousand silver coins just for this?

Didn’t that succubus say a full-service package only cost ten silver coins?

...Wait, why was he thinking about succubi again?

"Miss Receptionist, I’ll take this quest," Ye Chuan declared.

"A Silver-rank one?" The receptionist blinked in surprise. "The Glowspider King is a mission that usually requires a party of 3rd Tier adventurers to barely complete. Are you sure you want to take it alone?"

"3rd Tier?" That only reassured Ye Chuan further. "Yeah, this one’s fine."

Seeing his confidence, the receptionist didn’t press further. She removed the request and stamped it. "Oh, sir, you haven’t registered your name yet."

"Name?" Ye Chuan replied offhandedly, "Xi Xi."

"Xi Xi?" The receptionist noted it down.

After collecting the quest and his identification card, Ye Chuan left the Adventurer’s Guild without delay.

Pushing open the oak-scented wooden door, he was greeted by the sight of low-rise Western-fantasy-style buildings lining cobblestone streets. The clatter of carriage wheels echoed occasionally, while lanterns glowed softly on either side, their light flickering as firefly-like creatures danced inside.

It was late, and few people wandered the streets. Ye Chuan glanced up at the familiar moon hanging high in the sky.

A full moon—like an ink-stained lantern illuminating the heavens.

"There’s a moon in this world too? Come to think of it, the Tianxuan Continent also had one..." Ye Chuan murmured before shaking off his thoughts.

Transitioning from text-based adventures to a fully immersive experience gave him a peculiar thrill.

"These worlds are vast," he mused, feeling as though he hadn’t even scratched the surface.

And that wasn’t a bad thing.

"You’ve been following me long enough, haven’t you?" Ye Chuan paused mid-step as he entered an alleyway, not bothering to turn around.

Bathed in moonlight, a short-haired girl emerged from the shadows, landing gracefully with a soft "Hup!"

"You actually noticed me?" The girl—none other than the one he’d seen earlier at the guild—placed a hand on her hip, looking genuinely surprised. "Well, I guess someone who takes on a Glowspider King quest isn’t a total idiot."

"What do you want?" Ye Chuan sensed no hostility, so he kept his tone neutral.

"Just curious." She grinned, then pointed at her own cheek. "Isn’t it nice being tailed by such a cute girl?"

"Not really." Ye Chuan flicked his wrist, sending a blade of sword energy slicing through the air.

BOOM!

The cobblestones in front of the girl split cleanly, though she didn’t flinch, clearly aware the attack wouldn’t hit her.

"Stop following me," Ye Chuan said.

"Oho?" The girl smirked, halting him in his tracks. "I don’t know where ‘China’ is, but since you’re new here, wouldn’t a guide be helpful?"

"I’m broke."

"That’s fine," she said. "I can do it for free."

"Nothing’s truly free." Still, a guide would be useful—though this girl seemed anything but reliable. "Reason?"

"I think you’re handsome."

"The truth?"

"The Glowspider King is guarding something I want." She spread her hands. "Why so aggressive? Fighting here would just attract the city guards."

"Something it’s guarding?" Ye Chuan had no interest in a 3rd Tier monster’s treasure, but if it bought him information, he could compromise.

"Deal?"

"Fine."

The girl—light on her feet—bounced closer like a sprightly fairy. "I heard you call yourself Xi Xi earlier?"

"Yeah." Ye Chuan side-eyed her. "And you?"

"Niya."

"..."

Now that they were partners, Ye Chuan began asking questions—about the continent, the empires, the hierarchy of monsters—until Niya’s expression grew increasingly baffled.

"Are you... sure you’re from this world?" She stared at him as if he were an alien. "You don’t even know the basics."

"My hometown’s just very remote."

"Must be some hidden village with zero outside contact."

"Something like that. About 1.4 billion people live there."

"Huh?!" Niya could only assume he was joking.

Eventually, Ye Chuan got what he wanted—a map.

Niya held out her hand. "Ten silver coins, thanks."

"No money. You’ll get it after the reward." Ye Chuan barely glanced up as he studied the map, quickly locating their destination.

"Tch..."

"Let’s go. The Glowspider King first," Ye Chuan said.

"It’s too late now, and it’s a half-day trip by carriage," Niya drawled lazily. "We’ll start tomorrow."

"Why not just fly?"

"Fly? Flight magic is 6th Tier, and scrolls cost a fortune." She gave him a skeptical once-over. "You’re full of jokes."

But the next moment, her jaw dropped as Ye Chuan stepped onto his sword and soared into the air.

"Wait—how?!"

"Immortal arts. Amazing, right?" Ye Chuan smirked at her stunned expression.