Chapter 7

Sitting up in bed, the Tersan girl with silver hair down to her waist glanced at her fellow sister who was making the same move, and they exchanged a knowing smile. The two beings, who appeared to be children but were actually young girls, lifted the covers together, got out of bed, and helped each other put on the silver chainmail breastplates from the armor stand by the bed. They then took the chainmail skirts and tied them around each other's waists.

Next came the soft leather breastplates, which required more help because they were divided into front and back halves. The older sister patiently fastened the shoulder straps and front and back buckles for the younger sister, and then the younger sister reciprocated with meticulous care.

Finally, they tied two silk threads, with the older sister bundling up the younger sister's long hair and the younger sister tying up the older sister's silver locks.

Fully equipped, the sisters each took a short mace and a square hand shield from the weapon rack, then pushed open the door.

"However you look at it, it still seems so real." The older sister looked at the crowd walking on the street below the door, twirled a lock of her long hair with her finger, and sighed contentedly, "Sister, all of this is truly... impressive."

"Indeed, but before that, we need to find Maso." Just as the younger sister said this, she spotted a moving kitten in the crowd. The distinctive black hair and white-tipped tail made the girl raise an eyebrow: "Ahead, on the right side of the street, seventy-seven yards, see it, sister?"

"Ah, our pet seems to be adapting well to the new life." Noticing her sister's target, the older sister smiled and led the way down the stairs, "It was a piece of cake."

...

Maso, who had received a commission, left the Adventurer's Guild and was strolling down the street to pass the time when he suddenly noticed two silver-haired girls standing in front of him, both slightly shorter than him. The two girls, who were grassland elves, one with her arms crossed and the other with her hands on her hips, were complaining: "Hey, Maso from the Sophie family, my sister and I have been calling you for hours, why didn't you answer?"

"Sorry, I forgot to pay for the video communication channel." Maso explained softly—he couldn't tell the girls that he had spent half a game day preparing for a robbery, and even if he did, whether they would believe him was another question.

The two beautiful and cute girls in front of him had Tersan blood, like Maso's father. The Tersan people were also members of the Loralxi extraterrestrial civilization. They were slightly shorter than the cat people, but the Tersan's intelligence in business and science was unmatched by any other race except the Galor people.

Unlike Maso, they came from a perfect and happy family. Their father was a wealthy Earth businessman who had expanded his business to the Loralxi extraterrestrial civilization, and their mother was a Tersan woman from the Loralxi extraterrestrial civilization. Maso had heard of this lady, and her reputation was invaluable. With her joining, the Lin family's business in the Loralxi extraterrestrial civilization was smooth sailing, and people said the Lin family's fat ancestor had burned high incense for a thousand years.

Now, the Lin sisters, Mingmei and Ming'en, who were about to come of age in five years, had captured the hearts of many noble families in the Federation... Of course, none of this had anything to do with Maso at the moment. They had their sunny path, while Maso felt he only had a narrow bridge ahead.

Five years later, at a party celebrating the sisters' birthdays, the two drunk girls argued about wanting to marry him... But Maso naturally thought they were just drunk because he had no father and his mother was just a third-rate novelist, while their father was a wealthy merchant and their mother was a noble from the extraterrestrial civilization.

The huge difference in status made it impossible for him to be with them, even though Maso had a crush on them... Because, as a philosopher once said, some dreams that don't belong to you will never belong to you.

But some people didn't think so. Many outsiders naturally assumed that the 'Azure Sword' Sixth Elite Team, which belonged to the Radiant Alliance Guild, recruited him not because of his skills but because the two girls in the team only favored him as a shaman.

Thus, Maso also understood why he was blown up by a roadside bomb on his way home after the girls confessed to him at the party—there was an ancient proverb: "A man without sin is not to be blamed, but a man with jade is to be blamed." After being reborn, Maso deeply believed this because, for many people, Maso from the Sophie family that night became a target that had to be eliminated. All the failed competitors would unite to deal with him to gain another chance to compete.

In their eyes, without the power of the Pan family, the third-rate novelist Sophie and her illegitimate son Maso were nothing... Maso felt this was why death came at him without any dignity at that moment.

Now, Maso still had no power, and he could only be careful with his words to avoid drawing the attention of the 'noble sons' who were eyeing the sisters.

"What a fool." The other girl, who looked the same and was dressed the same, frowned and brought up a virtual screen, "I'll open the channel for you... It's not your fault, you're such a newbie, you probably haven't even gone out to level up yet."

Maso nodded obediently. This was the older sister, Mingmei, who, though a bit sharp-tongued, was actually a gentle girl. Compared to her straightforward and outspoken younger sister, she was a quiet, classical, and gentle good girl. Maso also missed the beef meatballs Mingmei made because, for a kitten who only knew how to grill fish, it was a taste he would never forget.

Maso remembered being beaten, but he remembered food even more.

"Alright, follow us, we have a good team, I'll have our team leader, Xiaoshi, add you."

As usual, the older sister, Mingmei, threw a leather collar at him. Maso knew it wasn't a pet accessory but real equipment—the Leo Lovanta's Loyalty Collar: +1 Perception, Immune to Throat Slitting.

The first attribute wasn't high; many pieces of equipment had +2 or even +4 effects, and some legendary equipment had even better effects. But the most important part of this equipment was the second attribute—Immune to Throat Slitting. Because before learning spell quick-casting, silent casting, and instant casting, a spellcaster couldn't cast spells if their throat was cut unless they received high-level healing, which treated severe injuries.

Maso obediently put on the collar and followed the two girls. For him, he needed to be low-key now. He... only remembered that he had died once.

Soon, Maso met the leader of the elite team. The warrior, who was discussing with other members at a round table in the tavern, noticed the trio entering, "Aren't you the Lin family's girls? Why are you back? And this... this shaman, is he your friend?" He smiled and put down the map in his hand.

This was the leader of the Azure Sword Sixth Elite Team, Xiaoshi. In the game, warriors could use their names or nicknames, so he had a nickname called Half-Life. On that night, he was one of the few who didn't show any hostility towards Maso... at least, the perceptive Maso didn't sense any malice from him.

"Yes, aren't you looking for a shaman?" Mingmei smiled and pushed Maso forward, "We found one for you."

"Lin family's product, absolutely top-notch." The younger sister, Ming'en, added.

"Captain, the shaman in our reserve team..." "Enough, since the Lin family's girls brought him back, he's not likely to be a burden. What weapons does the kid know?" Half-Life interrupted the dwarf's argument and looked at Maso.

"Throwing axes, crossbows, two-handed hammers, long knives." The kitten, who could make archery look like art, answered calmly.

Of course, there were also the sword and hammer techniques and dual-wielding short blades taught by his master, which were his trump cards and didn't need to be revealed in front of so many people... As for archery, everyone knew the Sophie family's kitten was a Paralympic champion.

"Try the throwing axes first." Xiaoshi said, reaching out to the dwarf beside him. The dwarf, who had just argued, silently unhooked the throwing axe bag from his waist and threw it to Maso.

Everyone at the long table stood up, and a few people went out the back door of the tavern to bring in a target from the training ground—apparently, they had rented the tavern, as the tavern owner just sat there watching the show.

"The range for throwing axes is mostly within 15 yards. You're a small race, so I'll give you a 5-yard reduction. If you hit three out of five axes within 10 yards, it's a success." Half-Life handed the throwing axe belt to Maso.

"Boss! Three out of five is for regular teams!" The dwarf warrior immediately shouted.

"Maso is a hybrid class, Qiancuozi, do you want our priest team to collectively blacklist you? Speak up, and I'll make it happen." The older sister, Mingmei, didn't say anything, but the younger sister, Ming'en, immediately retaliated, silencing the dwarf—although druids, shamans, and paladins could heal, the pressure of being blacklisted by thousands of female and male priests in the entire guild was too great.

"No problem, I'm best at 40-yard throwing axes." Maso said while stepping back, until he stepped out of the tavern. The dwarf grumbled again. The warrior, however, remained unmoved and glanced at the ranger beside him, "A'gan, go check it out."

"Sure." The elf ranger walked out of the tavern, and a moment later, his voice echoed back, "40 yards, genuine."

Along with the voice, a weighted throwing axe nailed the center of the target—soon, five throwing axes lined up in the center of the target. This performance made Half-Life look at Maso, who had returned to the tavern, with satisfaction and nod, "Kid, I don't know your specialization or talents, but you're the best thrower I've seen so far. Five out of five at 40 yards with weighted throwing axes, you deserve to join our guild's elite team."

"It seems we're on the same page, that's great." The older sister, Mingmei, smiled and nodded, though her tone was calm, her satisfied smile showed that the kitten had done the girls proud.

"I told you, how could the person we recommend be a newbie?" The younger sister, Ming'en, said, coming to Maso's side and hugging his left hand, "Maso, you really made us proud."

"… You're only a day older than me." Maso smiled awkwardly—he could only be awkward because he needed to be low-key, "Really, you've been making me call you sister since kindergarten, and you're still doing it now."

The previously quiet tavern immediately burst into laughter, realizing Maso was the girls' childhood friend. The previously silent young people laughed, and the elf ranger named A'gan and another companion brought over two mugs of beer, "Come, let's welcome our new member."

Maso smiled and took the beer, looking at these familiar yet strange teammates, he drank it in one gulp.

"Deep friendship, one drink! Good kitten! Come, you said you can use military crossbows, I use a musket, so I'll give you this military crossbow!" Another white-haired dwarf laughed and took a black military crossbow from his backpack, "Kid, it requires 10 Strength, do you have enough?"

This was Bai Mei Hongfei, a very good dwarf player and the deputy leader of the Sixth Elite Team. Maso remembered him because, at the party, everyone found out he was an old man. Bai Mei had a good temper, and the Radiant Alliance Guild, to which the Azure Sword belonged, had nearly a thousand members, and the elite team was even more numerous, but he had friends wherever he went. His good relationships made him the team's diplomat.

Military Crossbow

Item Type: Heavy Crossbow

Item Level: White Weapon

Effective Range: 120 yards

Attack Type: Piercing

Required Attribute: Strength 10

Damage: 1-10 (1D10)

Critical Range: 19-20

Critical Damage: x2

Weapon Weight: 10 pounds

Weapon Material: 100% Military Tempered Steel

"Enough, and I have a temporary Buff now." Maso put away the military crossbow and posted his +4 Strength Buff (Blessing) in the newly joined team channel, immediately drawing exclamations from two druid players.

"High-level Strength Berries, good stuff, how did you get them?"

Maso, of course, revealed the quest to gather the divine berries—he knew the guild would reward members who published quests that could provide Buffs. He also explained the details of the quest, but the fact that only druids and small races could receive the planting method and physical rewards for the Strength Berries... why would Maso mention it? After all, quests always have successes and failures.

"Such a quest exists." Half-Life nodded, turning to the two druids, "If you have time tomorrow, everyone should try it, especially you, Wild and Natural. You two are druids, but if you can get on good terms with Mr. Cailan Ernst, I'm sure it will be very helpful."

After saying this, Half-Life turned and took a small bag of silver coins from his pocket—because Maso had already noticed that Half-Life was trading with him, "Use this money for now. The guild isn't without shamans, and I know shamans have a hard time, so these thirty silver coins are a welcome gift. I'll talk to the guild leader tomorrow about your salary and the reward for this quest."

"Thank you." The more silver and gold coins, the better, Maso smiled and took the money bag, "If there's no problem, I'll go to the Adventurer's Guild to see if there are any other small quests. It's too dangerous outside the city at night."

"Sure, go ahead. Also, it's almost morning in real life, don't forget to log off and get some sleep. We'll have a new player dungeon event soon, so you should level up a bit." The older sister, Mingmei, said, slipping a key into Maso's hand. The younger sister, Ming'en, whispered in Maso's ear, "Our room is on the second floor, just booked, this is the key, come up quickly."

Then the two priest girls ran up the stairs first.

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