Ding-a-ling...
He pushed open the inn's door, and the old bell clanged to life.
It was still the afternoon, and there were only a few scattered patrons on the ground floor.
Most of them were aged drunkards, shabbily dressed.
They glanced up at Chen Lun and then paid him no more attention, returning to their poor-quality drinks.
A few patrons, reeking of alcohol, noticed Floey cradled in Chen Lun's arms and flashed understanding smiles.
The innkeeper was a plump middle-aged woman, who was napping behind the counter with her head wrapped in a scarf.
There was also a big orange and white cat on the counter, lazily staring at Chen Lun.
The plump woman raised her head when she heard the noise.
"What do you need?"
She glanced at Floey passed out in Chen Lun's arms and scoffed disdainfully.
"Mostly vacant rooms upstairs, 30 Copper Kros a night."
Chen Lun didn't waste words with her, pretending to take money out of his pocket, he secretly drew several Silver Ducats from the panel.
Several silver coins appeared in his palm, then he placed them on the counter.
"Pick a quiet one for me, I'll stay for two days... and prepare some food and water, the rest is a tip."
The world's monetary system was unified.
Copper Kros, Silver Ducats, and Gold Pounds exchanged at a hundred to one progression.
By standard living costs, 10 to 20 Silver Ducats could easily meet the needs of a three-person civilian family for a month.
The panel was very user-friendly in this regard, allowing free deposit and withdrawal of currency.
It functioned as a sort of alternative money purse between the panel and reality.
The plump woman raised her eyebrows, surprised by Chen Lun's generosity.
She scooped the silver coins which clinked as they dropped into a drawer below the counter.
Then she turned to find the keys on the wall.
Meow...
The big orange and white cat approached Chen Lun and rubbed his fingers with its head.
Chen Lun smiled and played with it for a moment.
The plump woman took down an old set of keys and handed one to Chen Lun, somewhat astonished by her cat's reaction.
"It seems to like you, strange..."
She then pointed upstairs.
"The third room from the end of the corridor."
"Thank you."
Although a young man bringing a wounded nun from the Red Apple Church to an inn seemed suspicious, stranger magical things weren't unheard of.
Moreover, Emerald Town was just a remote little town in the Eastern part of the Empire, where the local sheriff was virtually nonexistent.
As long as there was money to be made, the innkeeper didn't care much.
"Hey, kid, you're much bolder than I was at your age!"
Just as Chen Lun was about to head upstairs, he suddenly heard a drunkard shout.
"A nun from the Church, ah... Ah ha, she's a woman who serves the Gods; who doesn't want to play God once in their life...?"
Chen Lun turned and glanced at him. The old drunkard grinned, showing his uneven yellow teeth.
"What are you trying to say, sir?"
"10 Copper Kros, let this old Ham take a turn at being a god, how about that?"
He guzzled down his drink, emptying the wooden cup in one go.
After belching, he staggered over to Chen Lun.
He leaned in and whispered:
"Don't worry, it's our secret. I won't report you to the Red Apple Church..."
"Damn it! Ham, I'm warning you, stop causing trouble in my inn!"
The plump woman furiously chided, hands on her hips.
Ham just shrugged his shoulders innocently, ignoring the innkeeper.
He chuckled softly, reaching out to touch Floey's face, but his hand stopped midway.
Meow—ow!
The plump woman's cat suddenly bristled, yowled, and pounced on the drunkard's head, wildly scratching his face as if mad.
"Oh! You damn cat! Get off!"
The drunkard was knocked to the ground, struggling desperately.
The other patrons nearby didn't help. Instead, they stepped back, laughing heartily.
Chen Lun kicked the drunkard gently in the chaos, it was so soft that the latter didn't even notice.
Then he nonchalantly picked up Floey and turned to go upstairs.
If he was seeking his own death, he couldn't blame Chen Lun for that.
...
Chen Lun gently placed Floey on the bed and poured himself a glass of water.
"Panel."
He pulled out a chair and sat down, taking a sip of water.
Name: Chen Lun
Race: Human (Eastern Continent)
Template: NPC (Countdown to version 1.0 public test: 401 days 05 hours 25 minutes 47 seconds)
Level: 16
Experience: 7000/240
Life: 140/230
Physical Strength: 90/150
Sanity: 4/6 (Slowly recovering)
Main Occupation: [Sequence Nine Beast Tamer LV10 (MAX)] (Destiny Faction)
Sub Occupation: [Fisherman LV6]
Attributes: Strength 24 (+2), Agility 15, Endurance 8 (+2), Intelligence 8, Faith 3
Special Attributes: Charm 7 (+2), Willpower 5, Insight 3, Luck 3
Remaining Points: 7 Skill Points, 3 Attribute Points
Remaining Assets: 10 Gold Pounds 37 Silver Ducats 800 Copper Kros, [Low Sequence Flesh Faction Mysterious Substance] *3
Skills: Quick Reflexes LV1 (Passive), Seafaring Balance LV1 (Passive), Beast Speech LV1, Animal Mimicry MAX, Friend of Animals MAX (Passive)
Combat Power: 21
[Evaluation: Transcendents are ashamed of you, but at least you have learned how to climb in the Mystic Realm.]
Chen Lun allocated the surplus experience points and maxed out his Fisherman sub occupation, bringing his total level to 20.
His attributes rose as a result, and he gained 2 skill points and 2 attribute points.
The Fisherman sub occupation is a common lifestyle career, so its growth attributes are not strong.
It's mediocre: every two levels provided Chen Lun with 1 point of Agility and 1 point of Endurance, better than nothing.
Next, he maxed out the skill [Beast Speech LV1]; the skill's limit was level 3, which only cost Chen Lun 2 skill points.
The maxed [Beast Speech] was no longer limited to ordinary animals, giving Chen Lun the ability to communicate with some supernatural animals or conceptual animals.
As for the two passive skills of [Fisherman], Chen Lun did not plan to waste skill points on them because there were many more uses for skill points in the future.
Therefore, he had a surplus of 7 skill points and 5 attribute points.
He wasn't going to use these saved points now, but would keep them in reserve to deal with various unexpected situations.
Chen Lun nodded in satisfaction; he had improved in all the areas he could.
If he wanted to level up further, he would either have to add a sub occupation or consider advancing his main occupation.
"Advancing the sequence now is premature, and I also lack the corresponding Supernatural Knowledge as a prerequisite..."
Chen Lun sighed.
In his past life, he followed the Mystic Path of the Moon Faction; now, he was with the Destiny Faction.
Because the Destiny Faction was a hidden path, Chen Lun was very unfamiliar with it.
There weren't many posts related to this path, and few players who took it.
Chen Lun's impression of this path was that it was barely noticeable.
Because the Destiny Faction had no significant presence in the game version at the time, neither among players nor NPCs.
Perhaps it would be prominent in later versions, but that was irrelevant to Chen Lun; he couldn't see it.
"From now on, I can only grope my way forward..."
Chen Lun didn't consider this path weak.
Compared to other paths at the low sequence stage, his evaluation of his main occupation, [Sequence Nine Beast Tamer], was very high.
It had strong adaptability and versatility, and the upper and lower limits depended on the individual.
Take the skill [Animal Mimicry] for instance; although it could only retain up to 10 animal characteristics, the effects of freely mixing and matching combinations were quite nice.
Chen Lun got up and walked to the window, contemplating his next plan.
"Ying..."
At that moment, Floey made a slight noise on the bed, slowly waking up.
"Where is this?"