Looking at the burly man in front of him, Cao Ye smiled.
Finally, they showed themselves.
However, when he noticed the animal ears on the man's head, a trace of rejection flashed in his eyes.
Beast-girl ears were a treasure of the world…
But male beastmen? He had absolutely no fondness for them.
As the saying goes—
Opposites attract, but the same repel.
Especially when it was a rough-looking guy with a face full of flesh.
"Friend, I think you might need some help."
"Oh? And how did you figure that out?"
A cold glint flashed in Cao Ye's eyes.
The bare hostility from the man was obvious.
And it wasn't just him.
There was another presence nearby.
Another malicious aura was moving about ten meters away—clearly trying to circle behind him.
But Cao Ye didn't show anything.
He wanted to see what these two guys planned to do.
"Hahaha~ I'm a friendly adventurer. Following the principle of helping each other, I'd like to provide you with some 'assistance.'"
"Of course… you'll just need to pay a small reward."
At this point, the beastman Walter revealed his true intentions.
In truth, he wasn't someone with deep schemes.
At best he was a third-rate adventurer from a third-rate Familia.
Already in his thirties, yet still only Level 1.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably never break through to Level 2.
His future was basically already decided.
And adventurers like him were actually very common in Orario.
Yes, Falna was powerful.
It could develop the potential of mortals and allow them to grow stronger through effort.
But not everyone possessed that talent.
That was what "potential" really meant.
Most adventurers spent their entire lives stuck at Level 1 or Level 2.
Reaching Level 3 was something only a minority could achieve.
"A small reward?"
"That's right. Just a little money. Judging by your appearance, you must come from a wealthy family. A small amount shouldn't matter, right?"
Walter said this, though in truth he didn't want to fight if possible.
His strength was mediocre.
He could bully newcomers at best.
If the other party had strong backing, he wouldn't dare provoke them.
He only wanted to extort some money.
Nothing more.
"Honestly, I don't lack valis. But I don't carry much cash with me."
"How about this card?"
"You can withdraw 900,000 valis from the Guild with it."
"900,000 valis?!"
Hearing that number made Walter nearly drool.
However, when he saw the Familia emblem on the crystal card—
A golden frame with the side profile of a Valkyrie-like goddess.
Every adventurer in Orario recognized that symbol.
Especially people like them.
Street thugs who survived by bullying weaker people.
They always knew exactly who they must never provoke.
And among all Familias in Orario, one of the two kings—
Freya Familia.
Holding such a crystal card meant that even if Cao Ye wasn't a member of Freya Familia, he had a very close connection to them.
They didn't know exactly what the card did.
But something that looked this luxurious definitely wasn't simple.
If they provoked Freya Familia—
Forget the two of them.
Even if the entire Soma Familia was thrown in together, it wouldn't be enough.
"Well, 'friend'… why does your expression look so ugly now?"
"You… you…"
Walter stared at Cao Ye, stammering.
"Ah, sorry about that. My bad, my bad. I shouldn't have let you see that."
Cao Ye looked at the emblem on the card and suddenly showed an exaggerated expression of regret, as if he had made a big mistake.
If someone unfamiliar saw this scene, they might think he had truly done something wrong.
Walter, however, was the typical bully who feared the strong.
Freya Familia was something he absolutely couldn't afford to provoke.
But as a beastman, his temper was violent and short.
Looking at Cao Ye's thin arms and legs, he began to think—
Even if he killed this young master, who would know?
After all, this was Orario.
People died here every day.
Kill him.
Take the card.
And gain 900,000 valis.
It was a deal that couldn't lose.
With that thought, the way Walter looked at Cao Ye began to change.
The greed in his eyes slowly turned into killing intent.
Since they had already provoked him—
The best way to remove the risk was to kill him here.
"You want to kill me?"
Seeing the change in Walter's gaze, Cao Ye smiled.
He had seen that look many times.
In the Dungeon, he had been ambushed by other adventurers several times.
Because he looked weak, they tried to rob him.
Even kill him.
But they never expected that although Cao Ye looked weak—
His body was abnormally resilient.
In the end, he always managed to counter-kill.
He still remembered the first time clearly.
An adventurer had stabbed straight through his abdomen.
Cao Ye pretended to be dead.
When the man approached to loot his body—
Cao Ye suddenly attacked and cut his throat.
The blood sprayed everywhere.
It covered Cao Ye's body.
His hair, his eyes, his nose—
Even his mouth was filled with blood.
That day he vomited until his stomach was empty.
It was his first time killing someone.
Both physically and mentally, the discomfort was overwhelming.
It took him several days to recover.
As the saying goes—
The first step is the hardest.
Once something happens once, it will happen again.
And again.
Little by little, Cao Ye changed.
He abandoned weakness and fear.
To survive, he learned to use any means necessary.
This city devoured people.
And in order not to be eaten—
Cao Ye had already prepared himself to devour others.
Seeing Cao Ye remain calm, Walter started feeling uneasy.
Could this be a trap?
Looking at Cao Ye's composure—
Was he actually a powerful adventurer?
It wasn't strange for Walter to think this.
In Orario, Freya Familia was synonymous with power.
Though rare, anyone walking outside under Freya's banner was never weak.
However—
Behind Cao Ye, Jared had already quietly moved into position.
Step by step, he approached.
Jared possessed a stealth magic that allowed him to hide his presence.
It was extremely useful for ambushes.
When Walter saw Jared already in position behind Cao Ye, he immediately relaxed.
Kid…
Soon you'll learn what true despair feels like.
Thinking of that, a cruel smile spread across Walter's face.