Chapter 84: Lawful Neutral
"Hua Mi, has my reputation spread?" Hua Mi found it odd but calmly observed him.
The man wore a rather elegant, purple robe, and his attire suggested wealth.
Yet, his tone didn''t hint at a shopping visit.
Hua Mi nodded, the swarm within his sleeve ready to act.
The man''s gaze swept past Hua Mi''s head, discreetly scanning the wooden interior, finally resting on the shelves.
Hua Mi noticed his vivid blue human eyes momentarily shifting into amber vertical pupils, emitting an eerie gleam.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I''m David rk. I''vee for a matter of discussion, but before that, there''s something I must attend to..." The man paused briefly, cocking his head, ncing at the two adventurers onlookers. "Just to be safe, before dealing with business, I need to dispose of them. You wouldn''t mind, right?"
"...What?"
Hua Mi couldn''t grasp his logic for a moment.
The two adventurers instantly felt a chill down their spine, facing the predatory gaze, inundated with immense fear.
"Why? We have no quarrel..."
"If you don''t want us to hear your secret, we can leave... Actually, we were nning to leave anyway..."
Trembling voices.
Like lower-ranked prey encountering their archenemy, they instinctively knew they stood no chance against him.
The slightest hint of a thought to flee would trigger this predator into an attack.
"No, you can''t leave." rk''s voice turned icy, indifferent. "Since you''ve seen my face, I can''t let you live."
The adventurers cursed inwardly.
"If you don''t want others to see your face, then cover it up!"
"What did we do to deserve this? Who cares about your darn face?"
"So, Bee Speaker, do you mind if I kill them?" He continued, eyes fixed on his prey, his tone eerily calm.
"..." Hua Mi felt overwhelmed, encountering yet another lunatic.
Encountering unstable individuals every few days... Was there something attracting them to Hua Mi?
"No words mean consent."
rk turned towards them, taking a step closer.
"Don''te any closer!"
"Darn it, two lives against one might have a chance, let''s fight!"
The two tightened their grip on their weapons, assuming a defensive stance.
rk''s lips curled slightly, a mocking smile on his face, approaching them leisurely.
"Stop."
Hua Mi uttered amanding word.
That word carried authority.
rk immediately halted, turning to look at him, his vertical pupils emanating a daunting amber light. "If I heard correctly, you don''t want me to kill them?"
While the vertical pupils exuded an intimidating force, Hua Mi''s mental strength surpassed normal levels, easily resisting this level of intimidation.
"As you think."
In the midst of speaking, pale fireballs ignited on both sides of Hua Mi.
rk''s pupils slightly contracted for a moment, revealing a flicker of surprise before vanishing.
"May I ask why?"
"This is my territory."
"So, I sought your consent before acting. But I''m curious, why? They are merely insignificant civilians."
"Here, trade reigns, not ughter."
For a moment, rk seemed to smirk.
"So, if I killed them elsewhere, you wouldn''t care?"
"..."
Hua Mi didn''t answer that question.
rk''s eyes returned to a normal human appearance, a faint smile on his lips. He retrieved a notebook and a feather pen from somewhere, standing there, swiftly jotting down on the paper.
"..."
What was this guy up to?
Hua Mi didn''t let his guard down, keeping a close eye on him.
The two adventurers exchanged puzzled nces.
"Oh, sorry." After a while, rk diverted his gaze from the notebook, first greeting the two adventurers. "It was just a test. Apologies for involving you. Here, a token of gratitude. Consider it your reward, don''t refuse."
He tossed two coins urately into their hands.
The bearded man immediately bit one, his eyes shining.
It was real! This was quite a fortune for them, enough to cover several months'' expenses.
Even if they were initially irritated, receiving this windfall doused their anger.
"What an interesting test, right?"
"Yeah, we''re d to help."
rk smiled, turning to Hua Mi, "Let me reintroduce myself. I am David rk from Modo, a Star Evaluator. Here''s my ID."
"You might not have heard my name, but you''ve surely heard of our ''ck Forest Adventure Guide.''"
The ck Forest Adventure Guide? Hua Mi had it stored in the ring space.
It ssified the ck Forest as a two-star adventure area, detailing the monsters and adventure precautions.
Before Hua Mi could speak, the two adventurers jumped in:
"Are you from the Adventurer''s Guild?"
"Will there be an update to the Adventure Guide?"
rk squinted, smiling, "Firstly, thank you for your interest and support in the guild. Secondly, your guess is right. The guild sent me to reassess the ck Forest''s star rating because... there''s reportedly an exceptional alchemist here."
As he spoke, rk turned to Hua Mi, looking harmless, in stark contrast to his previous vertical pupils. "I heard your alchemical potions have left the elves of Emerald City utterly frustrated. They couldn''t replicate it, no matter what, free of side effects, zero toxin umtion..."
"Ha! It''s time someone put those pointy-eared folks in their ce!" the bearded man eximed.
"In their supposedly prided alchemy field, it''s a hit to their ego!" the skinny one concurred.
"If anyone dares to speak ill of wild alchemists again, I''ll be the first to knock their teeth out!" the bearded man clenched his fist.
"It seems Jason''s girl studying alchemy might not be a bad thing, it''ll bring fame to our ckstone Town."
"As long as she doesn''t go astray. Learning alchemy without guidance is prone to going astray."
"Not that extreme. The real concern isck of guidance leads to limited achievements. Perhaps she shoulde and study under this alchemical master."
...
rk was interrupted but didn''t get upset, patiently waiting for them to finish before continuing, "I noticed three different potions on the shelf. Are these all side-effect-free and toxin-free?"
"Yes."
Hua Mi responded briefly, then asked, "So, what was the point of your test just now?"
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