Chapter 108: The Chubby Guy Who "Forgets Loyalty for Beauty"

“That guy looks so lecherous.”
“Old Lu, don’t invite him to join.”

One voice was full of disdain, the other blunt, yet both conveyed the same sentiment. Lu Kuan grinned; since his teammates didn’t like him, he decided to let it go.

“Sorry, we don’t team up with outsiders,” Lu Kuan said with a smile toward the berserker.

Seeing Lu Kuan’s polite demeanor, the human berserker instinctively concluded that the team leader lacked authority.

“Isn’t gaming all about making friends? We’re just playing and getting to know each other,” the berserker said casually, glancing sideways at the quiet figure in the azure robe. Then, grinning, he added, “Besides, your team doesn’t have much firepower. Without me, how do you expect to kill monsters...”

The berserker rambled on without noticing the strange looks from A-Kui and the others beside him.

In fact, many players shared the berserker’s thoughts. With so many players hunting monsters in the swamp, if it weren’t for the game’s female protection mechanism, male players trying to strike up conversations would have been lined up for ages.

Lu Kuan smiled faintly, no nonsense, directly taking down his hunting bow and drawing an arrow—a feathered arrow that steadily pierced the open mouth of a fishman over thirty meters away.

“-190!”

The critical hit damage number flashed boldly before the fishman’s body emitted a white light and collapsed, instantly killed.

“-210!” “-205!”

Lu Kuan fired two more arrows in quick succession. This time, the two fishmen were slightly closer but were still killed instantly without contest.

The berserker watched all this and instinctively swallowed, then glanced back at the three beautiful girls, looked at Lu Kuan again, and silently walked away.

Only after the berserker had left did A-Kui burst out laughing, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely straighten up, needing to grab the shoulder of the one in azure just to steady herself.

Lu Kuan was speechless. “Is that really necessary...”

“Hahaha~ I’m dying laughing! You should’ve seen his face just now—talking about explosive damage and the magic of a mixed-gender team, so confident,” A-Kui finally caught her breath and said, “And in the end, you scared him off! Haha~ Dai Guang, look at Lu Kuan~”

Dai Guang puckered his lips, clearly displeased. “Hmph, if I weren’t a priest, I’d have chased him away long ago...”

Lu Kuan paid little mind at first, but when A-Kui called out Dai Guang’s and his own name, he raised an eyebrow at Dai Guang—this guy really loses all filter around pretty girls.

Dai Guang realized it too, scratching his head and giving Lu Kuan an embarrassed smile.

“What’s with that expression? Nothing shameful about it, we’re all from the East Sea,” A-Kui said, annoyed at Lu Kuan's look. “We all know you ranked in the top ten of your grade; those who don’t might think you bombed the college entrance exam. You’re way too low-key.”

Lu Kuan smiled wryly, offering no rebuttal.

It was nothing shameful, but also nothing worth bragging about, so he forgot to warn Dai Guang, inadvertently revealing both their secrets.

Seeing Lu Kuan just smile and not respond, A-Kui snorted in frustration.

Dai Guang chuckled quietly and spoke up, “By the way, Old Lu, what’s with your red name?”

“Ran into some short-sighted idiots trying to steal my quest,” Lu Kuan explained briefly. “Let’s get started. This should be the last wave of fishmen.”

No one objected, and they arranged their formation to start slaughtering the fishmen.

During the fight, Lu Kuan noticed the girls’ gazes toward him growing somewhat strange, especially the one in azure. But the feeling was faint, and he assumed it was just the novelty of knowing each other’s true identities, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

With several shared quests and seemingly endless fishmen, less than an hour later, Lu Kuan’s red name gradually turned white, then translucent, and finally vanished entirely.

Along the way, they had an unexpected gain: after killing a fishman shaman, Lu Kuan found a scroll of parchment on the corpse, written in a language unique to the fishman tribe. All five team members simultaneously received a quest trigger notification.

“System message: The text on the parchment is indecipherable, a language unique to the fishman race. Perhaps the residents of Qingshui Village on the Banyan Grassland would recognize it?”

“Haha, this can trigger a quest?” Dai Guang exclaimed happily.

“You’ve got sharp eyes! How did you even spot that? Does a high agility stat improve in-game vision?” A-Kui’s focus was always so unique.

Lu Kuan smiled. “We’re lucky. This should count as a serendipitous quest—one not every player can get. Anyway, we’ve killed most of the fishmen. Let’s head back to Qingshui Village.”

Everyone agreed without hesitation and quickly returned to the village.

As Lu Kuan predicted, the parchment triggered a C+ grade series quest. Dai Guang and the others were thrilled because, based on previous experience, this quest should award at least 100 reputation points.

Once enough reputation was accumulated, they could purchase special items—not only blue-tier equipment but also many cost-effective items and medicines—so farming reputation was definitely worthwhile.

“You all go do the quest. I need to head back to Lava Fortress,” Lu Kuan said directly.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” the one in azure asked curiously.

From their earlier conversation, the others had a rough idea of the origins of the Qingshui Village quest. If Lu Kuan wasn’t staying to farm reputation in the village and was preparing for the final quest step, where else would he be going?

Lu Kuan smiled at the one in azure. “No, I have more important matters. When you reach the last step, just let me know.”

“All right~”

Everyone was used to this kind of thing, so they didn’t object.

After seeing Lu Kuan off, A-Kui resumed her nagging, turning to Dai Guang. “That guy is always so mysterious. Is he always like this?”

Dai Guang laughed heartily. “He’s definitely sharper than me, but who knows what he’s thinking? Still, I thought you two had known Lu Kuan for a long time.”

“No way, we met him in-game just a few days ago,” Bai Keke chimed in curiously.

Dai Guang was genuinely surprised. He glanced at the cool, composed one in azure and finally asked the question he had held back for so long: “You didn’t know Lu Kuan before? Then why did he help you chase away Liu Xueliang?”

At this, the three girls were taken aback, especially the one in azure, who instinctively frowned. “What does that have to do with Liu Xueliang?”

Seeing their expressions, Dai Guang immediately realized he had let something slip. He tried to change the subject but found himself surrounded by the three beauties.

“Today, if you don’t explain everything clearly, you’re not leaving,” A-Kui said, brandishing her staff and speaking through gritted teeth.