Pike was dragged like a stray dog into a gloomy, underground cellar. The torchlight flickered erratically, and the air was thick with a stench that made his throat tighten—a mix of ancient mildew, low-grade incense, and spoiled herbal medicine. One whiff was enough to make anyone retch. Though Pike had been untied, his legs were as soft as overcooked noodles, trembling uncontrollably as he stood. He looked up, terrified, at the strange man standing before him, known only as "Master."
"Master... Great Master! Please, spare my life! I'm just an ordinary guy, I'm cleaner than a scrubbed plate! I've never killed so much as a chicken in my life! Please don't kill me!" Pike wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face like a frightened toddler.
The man wore an extravagant black robe, his face deathly pale without a single drop of blood—looking like a white-skinned gourd grown in the dark, someone who spent their life hiding in the shadows of a gutter. He turned slowly, his voice low and laced with the manipulative tone of a cult leader. "Pike, my child. Do not think so lowly of yourself. Do you really believe you are just an ordinary man? No. You are the Hero chosen by the Gods. I am here today to bring you into a partnership, a deal that will bring you both fame and fortune."
Pike wiped his nose, his brain struggling to keep up. "A deal? What kind of deal? Can you... can you just not kill me?"
"Not only will I spare you, but I will also put you at the forefront as the savior of this world," the Master's voice dripped with cold persuasion. "You will be the one on stage, defeating terrifying monsters and letting the masses worship you. And I? I will be your helper, handling all the... 'dirty work' behind the scenes."
The Master finished speaking and produced a glowing green vial, holding it under Pike's nose. The liquid was a sickly green, looking like anything but a proper medicine.
"Drink this, and your stamina and strength will double instantly. In exchange, you will simply help me retrieve a few 'trinkets'—the Elven Spirit Rainment from the deep forest, the Ocean Pearl of the Mermans... mere trifles on your road to fame."
Pike stared at the vial and shook his head like a possessed rattle. "What is that? I'm not drinking that. It looks lethal."
"You won't?" The Master's face darkened, and the two black-robed men nearby stepped forward, the steel of their blades gleaming in the low light.
"I'll eat it! I'll eat it!" Pike shivered, fresh tears falling. "Master, I'm really not a Hero, please just let me go..."
He pleaded with his mouth while cursing the Master's ancestors to the eighteenth generation in his head. But facing the steel, Pike could only surrender. He shut his eyes, tilted his back, and downed the liquid in one gulp. Instantly, a searing heat rushed to his head. His heart began to hammer as if it were about to explode. He swung his fist, and in that moment, he truly felt invincible—as if he could take down an entire group of those mercenaries who used to bully and rob him.
"Excellent. Show me your divine might!" The Master waved his hand, and the iron gate at the end of the cellar clattered open.
A black-furred magic wolf with blood-red eyes charged out with a ferocious roar. Pike shrieked in terror, instinctively shutting his eyes and swinging a wild, uncoordinated punch with every ounce of strength he had.
THUD!
A dull impact followed. The fierce-looking wolf flew sideways like a sack of garbage, slamming into the wall and dying instantly.
Pike stared at his fist in disbelief. "Am I... am I really that powerful?"
What he didn't know was that the wolf had been force-fed a bucket of mysterious drugs a week ago and had been beaten to the brink of death right before its entrance. Even if a frail ordinary person had kicked it, the wolf would have "expired" right on schedule.
"Behold! The power of the Hero!" the Master shouted fanatically from behind, his eyes filled with cold mockery. "Now, Hero Pike, take your trophy and return to town. Remember our agreement—don't let a word slip! Hahaha!"
Meanwhile, at the Adventurers' Guild.
Xiao Yu stared with his typical dead-fish eyes at the G-rank quest board. His stomach was growling, his mind filled with thoughts of hot meat broth and black bread. The woman behind the counter, who was otherwise quite decent-looking, was rolling her eyes at him with pure disdain. A few mercenaries, reeking of ale, watched Xiao Yu with amusement, as if looking at a beggar.
"Seriously? Can't you take a real job for once?" Mia sat nearby, mocking him. "Staring at these trash-tier quests all day... are you an adventurer or a scavenger?"
Xiao Yu didn't respond. His focus was solely on the copper coins that could be traded for food. Just then, the Guild erupted into chaos. People were shouting everywhere:
"Did you hear? Pike, the Mayor's son, is the legendary Hero!" "Yeah! Someone just saw him coming back with a magic wolf on his back. That thing was at least as tall as two men! Those fangs... just looking at them makes your legs go weak. He looked so majestic!" "No way! That Pike kid is usually just a lazy bum. He's the Hero? Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover!" "Oh no! I robbed him of his money once. If he remembers that, is my head still safe on my shoulders?"
Xiao Yu listened, his brow furrowing deep enough to hold water. Wasn't Pike... the loser who was drunk as a dog and got kidnapped right next to him last night? How did he become a giant-slaying Hero in the blink of an eye?
"Pfft... Hahaha!"
Mia, who had been squatting nearby, finally lost it. She clutched her stomach, laughing until tears came to her eyes. "Xiao Yu, did you hear that? Your 'Hero' title has been swapped! That guy Pike is the Savior now, while the real deal is over here getting the cold shoulder. Oh, this is killing me! Do these people have mush for brains?"
"Shut up, Mia," Xiao Yu sighed, pulling his eyes away from the board. "What he does to save the world is none of my business. He saves the world; I have to save my stomach first."
"So what are we doing today? Going to shine Hero Pike's boots?" Mia mocked while wiping her eyes.
"In your dreams." Xiao Yu pointed at a stained slip of paper in the corner of the board. "Look at this: 'Catching rats in the tavern warehouse, half a copper per rat.' I think this is a good one. It's dirty, but at least we won't go hungry today."
Xiao Yu tightened his brick-hard iron robe. Outside, it began to rain again, the cold needles of water pricking at the back of his neck. He led the reluctant, starving Mia toward the reeking back alleys of the tavern.