Bab 5: Professional Tutor
Editor: Larbre Studio
Xiao Jing's small black eyes were fixated on the doors of the room, her gaze burning intently. She held her breath as her hands fidgeted and grasped tightly onto her last hope, the chopper.
KACHA!
"Hehehe! It's opened~!" A sinister and devilish voice chirped outside as the door creaked open.
The moment the blond hooligan stepped through the door frame, a cold malicious glimmer came slicing in from the corner of his eye.
SHINK!
The bright sound of a metallic crash sounded as orange-red sparks shot from the floor. The blond hooligan was caught entirely off guard. As he stared blankly as the cut on his shoes, a blood-curdling shiver ran through his spine. Immediately, his heart raced as cold sweat collected on his skin. Disbelief was written all over his face. His eyes matched with the barely meter tall assailant in front of him. The young child had picked up her hands again. As though her previous slice had cut all thoughts of escape from his mind, the blond hooligan stood with his mouth gaped, frozen, and rooted to the ground.
"What happened?" The back-haired hooligan immediately knew that something was off from the loud metallic crash. When he turned around, his eyes met with the attacking loli, sending horror flooding through his mind.
"RUN!" The more mature black-haired hooligan immediately screamed with caution.
Just as the little girl of malice chopped down again, the black-haired hooligan grabbed the blond hooligan by his collar and yanked him out of the door. Without delay, they zoomed out with their tails between their legs.
"FUCK! Didn't you say that there isn't anybody in the house?" The fear and fatigue had sent them wheezing heavily.
"How was I supposed to know? I never see them coming out in these few days…" Inside, the fear and the killing intent had shaken the blond hooligan down to his core.
"Brother Cai, that little girl… She was really going to kill me…" As his gaze traced the cut on his shoes, he could still feel the remnants of fear. If this cut had landed leftwards a little more, he would have lost half his toes.
"Nonsense! The girl is barely out of infancy. How is not cutting you good luck? If she had hit you, then just suck it up," Brother Cai snorted.
"No, no, I really sensed it. She had the same strong hostility and anger that could only be sensed in those crazy bastards that don't care if they die." As he spoke, the close shave with death resurfaced in his mind, the bone-chilling shiver ran through every cell on his body. While it may be that she does not know what is heavy and light retaliation, but that murderous eyes were too sinister.
"In any case, we were lucky. For now, let's avoid this area and that house. I think that guy you spoke of isn't normal," Brother Cai said after some thought.
Hearing those words, the blond hooligan also sensed the abnormality of the man in that room.
...
"What do we do? The lock is spoiled…"
Within the room, the two lolis were not basking in the elation of chasing away the two thieves. Instead, they were swaying the broken door to and fro. Their despair and worried stricken faces curled up as they watched helplessly the broken door.
"Xiao Jing, will Brother Ye abandon us?"
"No, he won't. Brother Ye is nice."
They hugged their little heads and sat down on the floor, staring at the unlatched door.
"What if Brother Ye really abandons us?"
"No worries! I am around! I will stay with you!" Xiao Jing clenched her fist in resolve. Her lips attempted to smile, but her eyes could not hide the churning worries.
As they wallow in perpetual worries and anxiety, seconds become minutes, and the clock ticked to 5 P.M. Ye Chen had returned to the rental apartment.
"Is something wrong? What happened?" As he opened the door, Ye Chen could tell that the lock had spoiled. Then, his eye gazed upon the crestfallen little lolis.
With lowered heads, the two girls mumbled the entire incident, as their eyes darted around.
"You stupid girls. You are so small, but your mind is running wild. This isn't even your fault!" Gently, Ye Chen smiled at the two girls and patted their heads.
"So, Brother won't throw us away?" Instantly, the warm pats drew a bright smile across the girls' faces.
"Of course not."
"WAH! I LOVE YOU, BROTHER YE!" The confirmation lifted the burdensome worries of the little girls, releasing a peal of joyous screams.
"But, never ever point a knife at anyone, alright?" Ye Chen never forgot to lecture the girls.
...
The door lock was not entirely spoiled, just clogged up. With some tinkering, Ye Chen fixed it.
After dinner, the two girls retreated into bed early. The entire day of baseless fears had drained all the energy out of them. As Ye Chen tucked the two girls into bed, their loving and blessed smiles warmed his heart. He sat down by the bedside and drifted away in thought.
The dangerous incident of today had got him thinking once again.
The rental apartment in F City was located in an area similar to the slums. There were no safety measures or security. Theft and house break-ins were a daily occurrence. He had not over-thought it as he had lived alone in the past and never really left this house. But now, things were different. The two girls had to be alone within the house while he was at work. As he thought, leaving them alone was really too reckless and dangerous.
After these three months at the construction site, money isn't really a big issue anymore. My body had recovered much better than expected too. I also completed my in-game mission without a hitch. If I put in some effort, earning a living through the game should not be a big issue. Decisively, Ye Chen planned to cut short his stint at the construction site.
Should Xiao Lan and Xiao Jing not enter his life, he had planned to spend his entire life on the game. But now, with the two girls, he had to make changes to that plan.
In the past three years, he practically did not make any revenue from the game. His spendings and earnings were approximately the same. With their entry into his life, he dropped into a financial crisis. More importantly, he also found that his formerly sturdy body had weakened by a large margin in the three years of extensive gaming. He had become extremely feeble.
Coupled with the dire need for money, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and went for the interview at the construction site. While the work was grueling, the pay was much more than typical jobs. Additionally, the work was a gym session for Ye Chen, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.
Having made the decision to quit his job, Ye Chen put on the gaming helmet and sunk back into the game. If he was to be unemployed, the money must come from the game. Otherwise, they would be on the fast track to starvation. For that to happen, he must quickly hit Level 30, so that he could power up his adventurer by leaps and bounds.
...
The darkness of night was prime time for gamers. As Ye Chen stood along the streets of Titan Megacity, waves after waves of people were walking by.
His first stop was a storage area. He took out some gold and the Level 10 Iron Tier Botanist Equipment he had prepared beforehand. Having equipped himself, he flagged down a horse carriage and headed straight to the Botanist Guild.
As the name suggested, Titan Megacity was a large city. The various professions had set up their headquarters across the different regions in town. As a new player, getting lost was common. However, with just 10 gold, the horse carriage could bring the adventurer to any location faster.
The carriage stopped in front of a marble infrastructure. Getting off, Ye Chen walked into this palace-like, greyish-white building. By the massive entrance, a thorned vine symbol was carved exquisitely. This marked the headquarters of the Botanist, the Botanist Guild.
While the profession of a Botanist was coined by many as a "self-torturing profession" and "newbie killer," the Botanist Guild within Tian Megacity was not devoid of people. When Ye Chen entered, there were still many adventurers present. After all, the Botanist was a new and exciting profession, highly attractive to the new players. What's more, it was recognized as a truly "late-blooming" profession.
However, Ye Chen was crystal clear. A majority of the people would drop out of the profession before they hit the blooming stage. The very reason for the poor reputation of a "newbie killer" profession was the high fall out rate of the adventurers. While it was a fun profession, it was also a torturous process to strengthen the character.
"Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Trousse, to be your Professional Tutor?"
"Yes!"
"Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Bran, to be your Professional Tutor?"
"Yes!"
...
Within the spacious hall in the Botanist Guild, several NPCs with various skills stood. Within them, a majority were tutors for the new players. Each of these tutors was repeating the same questions and sentences.
"Now, go fight monsters and raise your level with the new skills!"
Ye Chen followed the backs of the new adventurers. In front of him, someone had just agreed to Trausse's terms and learned some new skills. With happiness flushed all over his face, he skipped past Ye Chen and out of the Botanist Guild.
Right after, Ye Chen walked in front of Trousse.
Trousse was an old man, approximately 60 years of age, clad in a deep green Botanist cloak of exceptional silky quality. His high-quality garments signified his extraordinary status. A Botanist was classified under Mages, with the linen armor as the leading equipment. For the male NPCs, their status could be seen from the color and quality of the cloaks.
"Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Trousse, to be your Professional Tutor?" Trausse looked Ye Chen in the eye, sternly repeating the same question.
"I wish to be a Botanist. However, I do not want you as my Professional Tutor!" Ye Chen made a daring and different decision!
-- Hadiah diterima