Chapter 42: A Rise in Status and a Transaction

Fang Zhen saw someone burst in and tightened his grip on his long spear in an instant, ready for battle.

But when he got a clear look at the person who had burst into the tavern, he couldn’t help but chuckle, and his right hand, gripping the spear, relaxed slightly.

The person who had rushed into the tavern was the freckle-faced boy, Leon.

"Sir, sir!" Leon’s face was flushed red, and he looked incredibly excited. He spotted Fang Zhen the moment he entered the tavern and, shouting excitedly, rushed over to Fang Zhen’s table.

"Don’t be so jumpy. I mean, don’t get so worked up over every little thing," Fang Zhen said. "What is it? What happened?"

"It’s Fast-legged Ethan! Ethan just ran back from the Dark Forest! He was shouting as he ran, ’The goblins are dead! All the goblins are dead!’" Leon was still extremely excited, his voice a near-shout.

"What? The Goblin Tribe has been wiped out?"

Hearing this news, the entire tavern erupted. The patrons at every table turned to look, and a few people even stood up to stare at Fang Zhen’s table.

"Yes, absolutely!" Leon shouted. "It was this gentleman! He killed the entire Goblin Tribe all by himself!"

"It was you, wasn’t it, sir? You’re the one who did it, right?" Leon looked at Fang Zhen, his eyes shining brightly, just like a young boy meeting his idol.

"Heh, I told you. Those goblins were in my way, so I killed them," Fang Zhen replied calmly.

It was the truth. There was no need to hide it.

"You really did it!" Leon was ecstatic. His gaze, fixed on Fang Zhen, was filled with worship. "Sir, you’re really... you’re really so powerful!"

Fang Zhen nodded, his expression calm.

’Looks like I’ve gained a little fanboy.’

"You cleared out the Goblin Tribe all by yourself?" Max looked at Fang Zhen, his face a mask of shock and disbelief.

"I don’t think I need to repeat the facts," Fang Zhen said.

"Heavens, you are too great! And you’ve done me a huge favor, my lord!" Max started to get excited.

He stood up from his chair and said, "Redstone Town has been blockaded on two sides. I’ve been stuck here for a long time. If I couldn’t leave soon, I would have run out of money."

"Thank you so much, my esteemed lord."

As Max spoke, he gave Fang Zhen a deep, sincere bow.

Fang Zhen nodded slightly. It was an honor he deserved.

"Hahaha, I’d love to see Rex’s face right now! He and his cronies must be furious, right?" Leon suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hm? What does Rex have to do with this?" Fang Zhen’s sharp senses picked up on Leon’s words.

"You don’t know, sir? Oh, right, you just arrived in Redstone Town." Leon realized and said, "Rex is a Mercenary. He and a few other wandering mercenaries have been charging a lot of money to escort merchants and townsfolk out of town through the Dark Path."

"No one in town really likes Rex. He’s too cunning," Leon said.

Fang Zhen immediately understood.

’No wonder. I never provoked that Rex, yet he targeted me and bore me ill will.’

’So I’ve unintentionally cut off his source of income.’

Fang Zhen understood now.

It seemed Rex had been exploiting the plight of travelers trapped in Redstone Town to make a fortune. By wiping out the goblins on the Dark Path, Fang Zhen had cut off Rex’s revenue stream.

Viewed this way, it was understandable that Rex would hate Fang Zhen. It all made sense.

"Heh," Fang Zhen chuckled. He didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.

He wasn’t about to give up on clearing a dungeon just for the sake of some Mercenary’s business.

Besides, by eliminating the goblin bandits, Fang Zhen had benefited all the residents of Redstone Town. He hadn’t intentionally harmed Rex’s interests.

Morally speaking, Rex was making trouble for Fang Zhen out of selfish greed, while what Fang Zhen did was, on a larger scale, a righteous act. He had nothing to reflect on.

"My lord, you’ve done me a great service, even if you didn’t intend to," Max said, having calmed down now. "As a token of my gratitude, I’d like to offer you a piece of friendly advice."

"Go on," said Fang Zhen.

"Please be careful of Rex at all times. He is a vile and insidious man."

"My lord, I’ve seen what kind of person Rex is. He’s despicable. I’ve heard that when he finds clients willing to hire him and his Mercenary friends, he waits until they’re escorting them out of Redstone Town through the Dark Path. Then, halfway through, he suddenly jacks up the price and demands more payment. That’s why I never hired them to escort me away."

Hearing this, Fang Zhen frowned slightly.

For a Mercenary to be hired by a client only to extort them for more money mid-journey was highly unethical.

To make an analogy, it was like a doctor in Fang Zhen’s original world stopping halfway through surgery to demand double the surgical fee and an extra bonus.

In that kind of situation, what choice would the patient have but to agree?

"That’s extortion and robbery," Fang Zhen said.

This did fit Fang Zhen’s impression of Rex.

"That’s not all. I also heard..." Max lowered his voice. "If the client refuses, Rex and his cronies will resort to actual robbery, and even... murder!"

Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow.

’Rex dares to do something like that?’

That was far more vicious.

What was the difference between that and being a common bandit?

’I could tell he wasn’t a good person from the start, but I never imagined Rex was such a vile and despicable bastard,’ Fang Zhen thought.

"Doesn’t the Town Mayor know? Does no one keep him in check?" Fang Zhen looked up and asked Max.

"There’s no proof. I only know a little because I overheard one of Rex’s accomplices muttering in his sleep while drunk." Max glanced left and right before continuing in a cautious whisper, "You understand, I’m just an insignificant merchant."

Fang Zhen nodded.

Max’s warning was significant.

Fang Zhen had already offended Rex. There would likely be more trouble to come.

However, Fang Zhen wasn’t afraid of the Mercenary.

After clearing the Dark Path, Fang Zhen had already analyzed the situation on the settlement screen.

To get a high evaluation when clearing a dungeon, exploring and developing the dungeon’s content was one way to increase the score.

In game terms, this lead on Rex was probably a side quest. He didn’t know if it had been activated yet, but if he could wrap it up before clearing the dungeon, he might be able to farm some more merit points.

Of course, Fang Zhen wasn’t underestimating the matter.

Inside a dungeon, Fang Zhen wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he would never underestimate any enemy or potential threat.

Just then, the tavern’s owner, the proprietress, walked over and placed two mugs on Fang Zhen’s table.

"THUD!" The mugs were heavy, about the size of beer steins, and made of wood.

Inside the wooden mugs was a milky white liquid. It smelled sweet with a slightly sharp note.

"Two Ruskas," the proprietress said.

"I only ordered one," Fang Zhen said, looking up.

"The other one is on me. You wiped out the goblin bandits, which will make life easier for the people in town. Now I can get ingredients for my shop delivered along that road again," the proprietress said.

Fang Zhen nodded slightly upon hearing this.

He felt that most of the residents of Redstone Town were quite kind and simple-hearted.

’Have I managed to grind my reputation with Redstone Town? Has the attitude of the residents toward me changed to ’Friendly’?’ Fang Zhen chuckled inwardly at the thought.

Just then, the door to the Redstone family was pushed open again.

"My lord, you’re here!" The person who walked in was Ande, the Town Mayor of Redstone Town.

Seeing the Town Mayor, a few residents in the tavern immediately stood up and nodded their heads as a sign of respect.

Ande’s face was glowing, and he also looked quite excited. He saw Fang Zhen and immediately walked over to his table.

"You really did destroy the Goblin Nest! This is wonderful! I and everyone in Redstone Town will thank you! To your health!" Ande was in high spirits as he spoke to Fang Zhen.

Fang Zhen nodded slightly, not smiling, maintaining his persona of a calm and composed individual.

Fang Zhen had grown to like the people of Redstone Town a little, but he knew his priorities. A persona that was calm, realistic, and focused on practical benefits was more advantageous for his actions.

"Words of thanks always feel a bit light. I prefer it when people express their gratitude with something more tangible," Fang Zhen said, flipping a Silver Coin in his right hand to make his point. "Like this, for example."

Seeing this, Ande immediately calmed down quite a bit.

"You are right, of course. It’s just that Redstone Town is not in a good state right now... I will do my best to scrape some money together for you," Ande said.

Fang Zhen didn’t let the conversation continue down that path. He cut Ande off, saying, "I have proven my strength. So now, let’s talk about a deal, Mayor Ande."

"A deal? What deal?" Ande clearly hadn’t caught on.

"The deal is this: I will reclaim Redstone Town’s mines from the Dogman Tribe and wipe them all out," Fang Zhen said. "And in return, what can you offer me of value as my reward?"