Adventurers' Gathering

Starlight turned to Po Kong in surprise, seeing a brilliant light shimmering in Po Kong’s emerald-green eyes.

There wasn't a hint of hesitation or fear on his face; instead, it was as if Starlight’s words had ignited a fighting spirit deep within him.

“Um... thank you, Po Kong,” Starlight said softly.

“Haha, don't be so polite between friends! But you should have already picked out our current mission, right? Regardless, we have to do what’s right in front of us first!” Po Kong laughed heartily.

“Of course. This is the commission I plan to take. What do you think?” Starlight asked.

Seeing that he had recovered some of his spirit, Po Kong felt slightly relieved and began to discuss the details of the commission with him.

...

In the days that followed, the two of them traversed the area around the Violet City-State, completing one mission after another at an astonishing speed—missions that even many adventurer groups with dozens of members could not finish.

Whether it was exploring dangerous regions or subjugating high-tier magical beasts, everything seemed exceptionally simple under their cooperation. For the first time, Starlight felt the true joy of adventuring.

During this time, the duo's reputation quickly spread within the adventurer circles of the Violet City-State.

Because of their efficient handling of affairs and their previous glorious achievement of completing a Rank 7 mission, more and more people became intensely interested in these two young adventurers.

Now, they not only frequently received assigned commissions, but many high-rank adventurer groups also extended olive branches, hoping they would join their ranks.

However, Starlight had a clear goal in mind. In the near future, he would embark on a journey to the Central Spiritual Arts Academy.

Therefore, he could only decline commissions that took too long, one by one, and naturally could not accept anyone else’s recruitment.

One evening, the two successfully completed another commission with a reward of over a hundred gold coins, returning to the guild hall before the sun set.

Just as they were about to leave, they ran head-on into Laxi and his group, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.

When Laxi saw the two, a happy smile spread across his face. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed them, saying that to thank Starlight for the previous meal, he insisted on inviting them to join a dinner gathering tonight no matter what.

Under Laxi’s warm invitation, the exhausted Starlight and Po Kong naturally did not refuse. After handling the business at hand, they left the hall together.

Tonight’s destination was a restaurant Starlight had never visited before, called the Night Dragon.

Laxi’s team seemed to have just completed a very well-paid commission, so they had booked a dinner party here in advance.

Although the restaurant wasn't large, it was very famous in adventurer circles. Because the owner was a retired Rank 6 adventurer, many younger colleagues liked to come here to share information and exchange experiences.

This time, Laxi and his group generously booked the entire second floor of the restaurant. Starlight and Po Kong found a seat near the edge, from which they could clearly see the scene downstairs.

Before long, a lavish spread of food and wine was brought out by the owner and the waiters. Under Laxi’s lead, the atmosphere at the table gradually grew lively.

Starlight wasn't very interested in the spicy, strong spirits of the shop, and since he wasn't very familiar with the people Laxi had brought, he only ordered a glass of juice and slowly sampled the different delicacies on the side.

Po Kong, however, clearly enjoyed such occasions. His cheerful personality allowed him to quickly hit it off with the people around him, naturally becoming the center of attention like a bright star.

Starlight looked at the boisterous crowd with a smile, feeling a bit envious in his heart. He was still somewhat reserved, mainly because he didn't know how to start a conversation and couldn't seem to find much common ground.

However, at a time like this, he didn't need to do anything special. After several rounds of drinks, the topic among the crowd suddenly turned to the two of them.

Due to their profession, most adventurers had rough and unrestrained personalities. The topics at the table inevitably revolved around the same few things, but the most discussed were those related to the opposite sex.

Among the vast number of adventurers, women were far fewer than men. Even when present, most took on auxiliary roles, such as physicians or pharmacists.

This wasn't to say that women were necessarily weaker than men. Over the past few days, Starlight had learned that there were many highly skilled female adventurers whose strength was not inferior to those burly, rough men.

However, among low and mid-rank adventurer groups, the ratio became somewhat exaggerated. For instance, Laxi’s small team had about ten regular members, but only one was female.

Without knowing who started it, the direction of the conversation suddenly turned into gossip about Starlight and Po Kong.

After all, young talents like them, who possessed both strength and good looks, were rare among adventurers.

“Hey, hey, Brother Po Kong! Do you two have someone you like? Everyone’s quite curious!” someone asked.

“Me? I haven't thought about that question yet~ Why are you all suddenly asking about this like my mom! I'm only seventeen, okay? Not to mention Starlight, who’s even a bit younger than me,” Po Kong replied.

“Seventeen isn't young anymore! You should know that many people have already started families before seventeen! Even if you start dating now, it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary!” the person immediately retorted.

“That’s just other people. I don't really feel much about it; maybe I just haven't met the right person yet?”

“Right, right, what do you think of Nicola from the guild reception? That girl specifically asked us about you two before!” another person chimed in.

“Nicola... is she the older sister who wears glasses? She seems to be older than me, right? That might not be very good,” Po Kong asked with some surprise.

“Hahaha! There’s a saying that an older woman is worth her weight in gold! What’s wrong with finding an older sister? Look at Brother Laxi, his wife is a few years older than him, and isn't he living quite comfortably now?” one of them laughed loudly.

“Stop making fun of me. Speaking of which, Starlight, what kind of girls do you like? Why don't you share it with us?” Laxi shook his head and turned to tease him.

“Eh? How did it get to me... Don't look at me with those eyes! I'll say it... If I have to say, maybe someone like a princess from a fairy tale?” Starlight’s face turned slightly red as he answered in a small voice.

“That’s really... a completely unoriginal answer... What’s so good about princesses? You should know those young ladies have terrible tempers! In my opinion, they wouldn't suit you at all,” Po Kong said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

“Uh... I can only say I have too little experience. Po Kong, tell us your thoughts? Give me something to use as a reference,” Starlight turned the question back to Po Kong.

“Sure! Setting aside looks, my ideal partner has to be the kind of woman who can stand on her own. I have no interest in weak girls who can't even lift a finger. Of course, it would be best if she could beat me in a fight,” Po Kong said decisively after thinking for a moment.

“Uh... I have to say... Brother Po Kong, are you looking for an opponent or a partner? A girl who can beat you? There probably aren't many in the entire Violet City-State,” someone asked in surprise.

“They may be few, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Who knows, maybe I'll run into one eventually?” Po Kong laughed.

“True, true. Anyway, you're both still very young. Come, come! Let's keep drinking! Cheers!”

Listening to the clinking of glasses and the laughter at the table, Starlight also smiled and leaned against the nearby railing, his gaze casually drifting toward the first-floor hall.

This casual glance unexpectedly revealed a few "old acquaintances."

In a corner of the tavern sat the scar-faced man and his group, the ones who had tried to take advantage of him when he first arrived in Violet City.

At this moment, the few of them were huddled together with gloomy expressions, whispering about something. However, Starlight had no intention of going over to look for trouble.

He could already see from the badges hanging on their chests that most of them were only Rank 3 or Rank 4 adventurers, far from being any threat to him. Moreover, since Laxi was hosting today, it wouldn't be right to make things difficult for others.

Just as he was about to stop paying attention to this group, the tavern door creaked open. Two figures wearing cloaks walked in from outside and headed straight for the scar-faced man’s group.

It was still summer, and even at night, it wasn't particularly cool, yet those two figures were wrapped tightly in their cloaks, appearing quite mysterious.

These two strange fellows immediately piqued Starlight’s interest. Perhaps because he had seen those mysterious black-robed figures during the battle with the bandits, he silently turned around and began to observe them carefully.