Wayne watched his establishment fill up once again, every seat booked out. Today's earnings had reached 76 gold, especially after he successfully hustled someone into buying that "Movie Package," bringing his current surplus back up to 100 gold.
Thinking about the two sets of equipment sitting in the cellar that he couldn't even use yet gave him a headache.
As a grand Internet Cafe owner, it was truly infuriating that he didn't even have a place where he could play himself.
Furthermore, the next task from the vending machine was to expand the shop's area to a space large enough to hold thirty sets of equipment. He began searching his mind for any suitable locations nearby.
First was the Lion's Pride Inn, but he immediately crossed that option off. While the inn wasn't exactly a gold mine, Farley and Emma were by no means willing to sell. Even if Wayne offered an astronomical price, setting aside whether the profit-loss ratio was reasonable, the residents of Goldshire and the passing merchants and adventurers would complain endlessly.
That inn was the landmark of Goldshire; he'd better not scheme against it.
The second place he thought of was the blacksmith shop, but the same logic applied. Although its income had been meager in the past—and it was currently relying on the Internet Cafe for "blood transfusions"—the blacksmith shop was still an indispensable place for people traveling north and south.
Moreover, it was ultimately his Uncle Argus's property. Even if he wanted to renovate it, he would need his uncle's consent.
Aside from these two closest large buildings, the rest were mostly residential houses. Not only were they small, but they belonged to fellow townsfolk. In this world, there was no such thing as "municipal relocation" or "commercial demolition." Most people were unwilling to leave the ancestral lands where they had lived for generations, especially in these perilous times—Goldshire, just south of Stormwind City, was a relatively safe place.
The open space used by the Darkmoon Faire was decent, but unfortunately, the troupe had already signed a long-term lease. Besides, there were no buildings on it, and constructing a house would take too much time.
Further south were the Stonefield and Maclure farms, only a few hours' journey from Goldshire, but they were a bit too far after all.
Mirror Lake Orchard to the west was in an excellent location, nestled against the mountains and near the water, but unfortunately, it had been occupied by the Defias Brotherhood...
Wayne thought it over and decided that the only place he could consider was a dilapidated apple orchard not far to the north.
Before finalizing the location, however, he had already decided to clear out his own room. He would just sleep on the floor at night like Tess. That way, he wouldn't have to stand around like a fool with Tess during the day acting as a receptionist.
No time like the present; he decided to set off immediately.
Considering his experience with that fat corpse-gatherer Pauly last time he went out, he brought the Phoenix Feather Wand this time. At least it could be tucked into a pocket. Hogger's axe was simply too large; carrying it on his back made it feel less like he was going to talk business and more like he was going to chop someone down...
Heading north through the bustling town center, he reached his destination in less than twenty minutes: near the Brackwell residence.
North of their house was a farm. Besides their family, a young girl named Clara lived on the northern side of the farm.
Both families grew fruit trees on the farm, and their livelihood had been quite good. Being close to Mirror Lake to the west, both the environment and the soil fertility were excellent.
However, since the orchards west of Mirror Lake had been repeatedly raided and eventually occupied by Defias thieves a few years ago, and Stormwind City was unwilling to send extra personnel to guard such a farm, many merchants no longer dared to come here. The farmers had fled to other farms, and the area gradually became desolate.
From a distance, Wayne saw someone lingering outside the house. Their expression was unusual, and a longsword was tucked into their belt. A vague sense of foreboding rose in his heart, and his right hand reached into his pocket to grip his wand.
The person saw Wayne approaching and seemed momentarily surprised, but immediately adopted a relaxed expression: "Who are you looking for?"
Wayne: "I'm looking for the Brackwells. And you are?"
The man squeezed out a smile: "Oh, I'm the town postman. I've come to deliver a letter to their family."
Wayne: "Postman? How come I've never seen you?"
The man laughed: "Look at what you're saying. I'm from Sentinel Hill in Westfall. I've never seen you either."
"I've been knocking on the door for a while and no one opened, but this letter is quite important and must be delivered today. Are you familiar with the couple?"
"Sentinel Hill?" Wayne muttered to himself, waving a hand at the man. Although wilderness postmen in this world were in a high-risk profession and did indeed carry weapons, Wayne became increasingly wary of his every move.
The man: "How about this, I'll give the letter to you. I have to go to the next place. It's getting late, and if I delay any longer, I won't be able to get back tonight."
Wayne gave a grunt of assent, but he didn't know what kind of game the other was playing.
"Come here, I'll give it to you."
The man gestured for Wayne to come over while rummaging through his bag.
Wayne pretended to walk up casually. But when the two were just three paces apart, the man suddenly drew a longsword—still stained with fresh red blood—from his waist and swung it down at Wayne!
Wayne's in-game level had already reached 22. Although he hadn't learned a single skill from any of the classes in World of Warcraft, his attributes—whether strength, agility, or mana—were completely on par with the level 22 standard of those classes.
In fact, thanks to his naturally strong body, he even had a slight edge in terms of stamina.
Already alert, he dodged the strike by leaning back sharply.
Immediately, Wayne pulled out his wand and shouted at the man: "Expelliarmus!"
Snap!
A bolt of white light flew from the Phoenix Feather Wand, instantly hitting the man's hand. The longsword flew out of his grasp, and his body swayed as if he had been shoved, nearly falling over.
The man was clearly terrified by Wayne's magic. His face was filled with such astonishment that he looked ready to ask, "What kind of sorcery is this?"
He still wanted to pick up the sword, but Wayne's second spell was already rushing toward him.
"Magic Arrow!"
A white magical bolt flew swiftly toward the man, hitting the arm he had reached out for the sword, instantly carving a gash. Blood flowed freely!
"Whoa...!"
Wayne himself couldn't believe it. The Heroes of Might and Magic III spell he had tried to cast in a moment of crisis had actually succeeded!
The man was completely terrified now. He scrambled up, abandoned his sword, and ran for his life toward the lake.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Wayne waved his wand to cast another spell, but this time nothing happened. No light emanated from the wand as it had the previous two times.
"Freeze!"
Still no effect...
"Damn... what's going on?" Although the man was running faster and faster out of fear of being hit, Wayne was still somewhat annoyed.
Once he calmed down slightly, he felt extremely thirsty.
"Dammit, I'm out of mana!"
He finally realized that his mana had been depleted...
Just then, the wooden door of the house was slowly pushed open with a creak. "Wayne... help me..." someone called out with difficulty.
Wayne turned around, and a bloody scene appeared before his eyes!
Wayne rushed forward, hoping to save him, but Brackwell gestured for him to listen:
"Defias... please... this letter... only... you... please..."
Seemingly using his last bit of strength, Brackwell collapsed on the ground, his life extinguished. His right hand remained raised, tightly clutching a letter.
Wayne's head felt like it was going to explode.
What a mess. He had come here on a whim to talk about buying land, only to stumble into a murder case.
He quickly took the letter, laid Mr. Brackwell's body out properly, closed the door again, and then ran back to town as fast as his legs could carry him, shouting for the townsfolk to help call the guards.
Wayne was already a household name in Goldshire. Now that he had become a nobleman and was covered in blood, the neighbors didn't just run to find Dughan; several strong men grabbed hoes and pitchforks and ran back to the scene with him.
The guards arrived shortly after and inspected the scene. The longsword on the ground matched the wounds on the couple and was confirmed as the murder weapon.
A moment later, Dughan arrived in a hurry on horseback, immediately asking if Wayne was alright.
During his recount, Wayne didn't mention the magic, only saying that his appearance had scared the killer away.
As soon as Dughan saw the longsword, he knew it belonged to the Defias Brotherhood.
The style of this sword was only produced in the blacksmith shop in Moonbrook, and the underground mines there had long been occupied by the Defias Brotherhood. This sword had become the standard weapon for Defias troops.
Hearing this, and recalling Mr. Brackwell's dying words, Wayne was certain that the letter given to him had something to do with this bandit organization. He didn't mention the letter to Dughan but followed the guards back to town, while the crime scene was cordoned off and taken over by the guards.
Seeing Wayne return with bloodstains on his clothes, Tess was startled: "Boss, what happened to you?"
Wayne put a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet, then pulled her into his room, closed the door, and began taking off his clothes.
Tess: "You perverted boss, what do you think you're doing..."
Wayne: "Changing clothes. Can't you see they're covered in blood?"
Tess: "Are you hurt?"
Wayne: "I'm not, but I got into a fight. I used magic to drive the guy away."
As he changed, he gave a rough summary of what had happened.
Tess was slightly startled, then shook her head, deliberately playing dumb: "How is that possible? He's from Stormwind; he has nothing to do with Gilneas."
Wayne lightly tapped her forehead: "Still trying to play me? Now that you've said that, I'm sure of it. He's one of your people."