Undercurrents Rising

Charles looked at Milia and the others cheering for him. Feeling their kindness, he lowered his head in embarrassment.

In all his years of growing up, this was the first time he had been treated so warmly by anyone other than his master.

If one were to ask why Milia's party was treating Charles with such enthusiasm, it was because he had done several major things today, shattering their perceptions time and time again.

It all started yesterday, when Milia had hurriedly brought Charles back to the party's headquarters in a rush.

At first, when the others saw that Milia had brought Charles back without even looking into his background, they assumed he had been coerced by their hot-headed idiot of a leader.

And when they heard that Charles had been kicked out of his previous party, they figured he probably wasn't very strong.

As an A-rank adventuring party, the magical beasts they faced were at least Tier Five.

For Charles's own safety, they had advised him to leave. Sylph, the icy Mage, had been particularly merciless with her words.

Her remarks could practically be considered insulting.

But thanks to Milia's persistence and Charles's pleading, they decided to give him a chance.

They would let Charles join them on a quest today.

And then, they were completely won over.

Charles had simultaneously cast buffs on everyone: strength, speed, defense, mana regeneration rate, recovery speed, and more.

Milia and the Shield Guardian, Gareth, felt their strength surging far beyond its usual limits, and their stamina was vastly increased.

Bernard, the handsome archer, felt his movement speed quicken, and his shots became faster and much more precise.

Sylph, the icy beauty, felt her spells grow incredibly powerful as a torrent of mana filled her body.

She could no longer maintain her usual frozen expression on her beautiful face, and her composure completely cracked.

After completing the quest, the three who had initially opposed him were utterly awed by his abilities.

Charles's buffs had practically doubled their combat strength.

Even Milia hadn't expected Charles's magic to be this powerful. After all, she had literally just picked him up as a random bystander off the street to fill a quest requirement.

Then, they noticed that Charles seemed to suffer from an unusual lack of self-confidence, and his perception of his own abilities was completely warped compared to normal people.

Charles expressed confusion at their reaction.

In his mind, weren't these spells just the absolute basics?

But looking at the expressions on their faces, a quiet joy welled up inside him. It seemed he had actually been of help to them.

He wouldn't have to be abandoned.

Taking advantage of the moment, he asked Milia why they had been in such a hurry to recruit a Healer, and he learned why their previous Healer had left the party.

Their former Healer, Kiki, had a younger brother suffering from a rare illness. During a previous quest, she had been so distracted worrying about him that she had nearly lost her life to a magical beast.

As a result, she had requested to leave the party, and Milia had been very understanding of her decision.

However, they had a quest on hand that required a five-person party, and the client strictly insisted on having a Healer.

That was why Milia had been frantically searching for a Healer in the Adventurer's Guild lobby.

Charles then offered to visit Kiki's house to see if he could cure her brother. Having trained under his master since childhood, he knew many powerful healing techniques.

He successfully cured Kiki's brother. Seeing such an outstanding Healer taking her place, Kiki peacefully entrusted the party to him.

With that, every single member of Milia's party—including their former teammate, Kiki—had fully accepted Charles.

And so, they had found a restaurant that evening to celebrate!

Charles set down his cup, picked up a fork from the table, and speared a piece of slightly charred grilled meat before popping it into his mouth.

The next second, his eyes widened. His taste buds received a massive shock, and his hand automatically began stuffing the remaining meat into his mouth.

His speed grew faster and faster, plates stacking high as his hand moved so quickly it left afterimages in the air.

The others at the table stared with open mouths, watching Charles gorge himself in sheer astonishment.

Only the middle-aged man behind the counter, who served as both the owner and the chef, stood with his arms crossed. He squinted his eyes and nodded in deep approval.

Milia looked at Charles and asked, “Just how many days has it been since you last ate?”

Charles swallowed the meat in his mouth with a hard gulp. Holding his fork, he looked at everyone blankly and said, “Because this is really delicious!”

As soon as those words left his mouth, the owner behind the counter smiled in validation. He quietly gave Charles a thumbs-up, his teeth flashing a bright, dazzling gleam under the tavern lights.

However, the members of Milia's party found it hard to believe, and they looked at Charles with a touch of pity.

Bernard said, “The food at this restaurant can only be considered average for Toka City.”

The owner's face darkened. He shot a sinister glare at Bernard, his mustache practically curling with rage.

To think someone would so carelessly trample upon a middle-aged man's dreams!

Bernard suddenly felt a chill. He quickly looked around, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he continued speaking to Charles with a puzzled expression:

“The flavor here is pretty mediocre. There are plenty of other restaurants in the city that taste much better. We'll go eat at those next time.”

“I really can't imagine what you used to eat, Charles, to be so satisfied by just this level of food.”

“When I was training with my master, I drank dew when I was thirsty and ate wild fruit when I was hungry,” Charles explained, stuffing more meat into his mouth. “On the rare occasions we had meat, it was just casually roasted without any seasoning.”

“And after I joined Reid's party, because of the way the rewards were split, I could only afford to gnaw on dry bread every day.”

Charles kept stuffing meat into his mouth as he spoke.

The other four cast pitiful looks at him, while silently making up their minds.

They would definitely treat Charles well from now on.

Elsewhere, a passionate, physical battle was taking place in a bedroom.

A few minutes later, a high-pitched, passionate female cry echoed from the room, and then silence returned.

Reid held Shanna in his arms, his eyes filled with the satisfaction of having vented his stress. Then, as if remembering something, a hint of frustration appeared on his face.

Why was he feeling stressed?

On one hand, he had been frightened by Xia De's polite yet chilling words.

Thinking back on it, he felt that Xia De had just been putting on an act.

After all, he hadn't felt any actual pressure from Xia De. He figured the coldness he felt was probably just because he hadn't been pacing himself lately.

On the other hand, when he had caught up to Kathleen earlier, it had taken him a long time to comfort her.

Unfortunately, a lingering awkwardness remained, and she had stubbornly refused to join them tonight no matter what.

Shanna traced small circles on Reid's chest with her index finger as she lay in his embrace.

“Is our quest tomorrow really going to be fine without a Healer?”

Reid gave her a light squeeze and said confidently:

“Don't worry. Under my brilliant leadership, when have we ever been injured? Besides, tomorrow's target is just like that bear from before—it's only at Tier Four, Rank Three.”

“And a crack-rock bear is considered a strong species among magical beasts. Since we defeated it without taking any damage, tomorrow's Gloom Spider will be a breeze.”

Hearing Reid's words, Shanna scoffed inwardly with disdain, but her eyes shone brightly as she looked up at him:

“Then, once we finish this quest, that new staff you promised me...”

Reid squeezed her a bit harder, earning a playful roll of the eyes from Shanna as he said:

“Don't worry, I'll definitely buy it for you.”

Shanna let out a soft gasp as Reid rolled over once again.

“As long as you don't disappoint me tonight.”

But while most of the people in Toka City were enjoying their peaceful days, not far from the city, a figure in a black cloak approached a demonic bear that exuded a violent aura.

On the head beneath the hood, an ominous-looking mark seemed to drift with wisps of black smoke.