MMORPG: Crowd Control

When Lei Zhen saw the description of the shiny box in his inventory, he was taken aback. After all, the amount of unluckiness he had encountered was rough.

Never did he expect he would finally become lucky for once and gain such an item.

'Given the mystery box seems to be the reward of me somehow triggering the so-called main scenario… I should probably open it somewhere safe.' Lei Zhen thought.

He would be a foolish man to open it in the public and draw unnecessary attention to himself.

Even though the town area restricted player killing, that doesn't mean he wouldn't be ambushed once he left the town. Hence, he would take the item out later and try to navigate the Town of Wales.

Sometime later, Lei Zhen arrived at an inn called Newbie Vibe. His mouth twitched for a second as he wondered who named their inn like that.

'Must have been someone trying to be cool…' Lei Zhen thought. The reason why he wanted to go to an inn was that it was where most information would be available for the players.

This was heavily emphasized by Shan Lin that he should go to an inn whenever he entered a new town or city.

By the time he entered the inn, it was crowded with a bunch of people that were just chugging their beers or eating their food in a group.

Their attires and equipment showed that they had been grinding for a while. Compared to him, it was clear that Lei Zhen was a bit inferior in gears and level.

"Haha, did you know the 12 zodiac guild had placed a ban on their own members from searching for the mysterious player? I bet they are all just making a show and are secretly conducting a search."

"Hehe, recently, I got the latest news regarding the Aries Guild that their vice leader, Cecille, had punished three of their members. The three members were so frustrated that they quitted the guild and joined another zodiac guild."

"Damn, Magnolia is really in chaos right now with that mysterious player roaming around. Hell, he might actually be right here, eavesdropping on us."

As Lei Zhen walked toward the aisle, he heard the gossiping and news being spread among them. Of course, Lei Zhen was a bit stunned when one of them suddenly mentioned the mysterious player was among them.

Luckily, he managed to keep a calm look and didn't expose anything. He continued to walk toward a counter where a bartender was attending to some guests.

"Hello, mister, I'm wondering if you can recognize this," Lei Zhen leaned forward and whispered while showing him the Ferold's Ring secretly.

At first, the bartender thought Lei Zhen was just another customer, but when his eyes laid upon the Ferold's Ring, his expression made a drastic change.

Surprised, he held a curious look at Lei Zhen closely.

Once he confirmed something, the bartender smiled brightly at him, shocking the other customers.

"Holy crap… did the bartender just smile at the newcomer?"

"What the heck? Wasn't the bartender always cold and aloof?"

"What's the background of this newcomer?!"

The attitude of the bartender caused Lei Zhen to become the spotlight in the inn.

With the crowd going crazy, Lei Zhen regretted his action deeply. He had tried to conceal the Ferold's Ring and gain some information discreetly.

Yet he didn't expect just a bright smile coming from the bartender could cause such havoc.

'Do I really need to look for a geomancer and check on my luck? How could I be so unfortunate?' He cried inwardly.

Meanwhile, the bartender realized the crowd was going crazy and subtly understood Lei Zhen's discomfort with such spotlights. Without hesitation, he quickly left the counter and guided Lei Zhen to another location.

"Apologies, I have overreacted a bit and caused you discomfort. I'm Albert Freedman, but in the Town of Wales, I'm merely a bartender waiting for the destined one." The bartender, Albert Freedman, gave a slight bow and apologized for his action once they were in a discreet room.

Lei Zhen raised his hand to stop him from being so polite. They had just met and he didn't dare to receive a bow from someone.

He wasn't someone with a superiority complex, so it was kind of awkward for him when someone started bowing to him.

"It's alright… you didn't do it on purpose, Albert." Lei Zhen replied and proceeded to introduce himself.

"Ahh, so your name is Lei Zhen." Albert said politely and asked, "Have Robert Knightman been well? Ever since he was tasked by the goddess, none of us have seen his shadows."

Albert's eyes were full of admiration and reverence. It didn't take a genius to know that he was a fan of Robert Knightman.

Thus, Lei Zhen calmly narrated his whole encounter with Robert Knightman and how he got the Ferold's Ring.

"Anyway, so that's the gist of it and how I ended up in the Town of Wales."

"I see, Robert is the extreme type that would do whatever it takes to complete his duty. As expected of my idol." Albert had tears of joy seeping out of his eyes.

Sometime later, Albert decided to enquire what assistance Lei Zhen needed. Though he made sure to warn him that some details are confidential and that he was not allowed to reveal them.

Lei Zhen pondered for a moment before asking his question, "What is the destined person?"

"A destined person is someone who will carry the will of the goddess. As for further information, that is your job to find out in your adventure."

"Understandable… then what is Magnolia? Why is this world called Magnolia and what is our purpose for hunting down monsters?"

"That- I'm afraid I can not answer that question, Lei Zhen."

"Then what about the so-called inheritance?"

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Strictly confidential."

At this point, Lei Zhen was a bit annoyed, considering how most of his questions were either answered in a roundabout manner or it was confidential and could not be answered.

Seeing how it was pointless to try to gather more intel from Albert, Lei Zhen stopped asking to save his breath.

Albert Freedman was a bit embarrassed as well to be so secretive. "Um, although I can not answer those questions of yours, I can give you some beneficial rewards that other adventurers are not granted."