After wandering for half a day, Mu Yang completed a relatively simple side quest before evening. The quest objective was to find a pair of crystal shoes outside the Royal City, and he was given ample clues, so it was easily completed.
When he first received this quest, he thought it was a series of small side quests.
After all, the first part of side quests is usually not difficult, and there seem to be many fairy tales related to crystal shoes, but he didn't expect it to end as soon as it began.
Mu Yang was originally a little disappointed, but that disappointment immediately vanished when he saw the quest reward.
You have completed the side quest 'Crystal Shoes', gaining 'Crystal Vial (Green Rare)'.
Crystal Vial
Origin: Fairy Tale Kingdom
Quality: Green Rare
Category: Special Equipment
Capacity: 2 / 2
Equipment Requirement: None
Effect: The vial contains magical spring water, which can be consumed twice. Each consumption quickly restores 40 Mana.
Tip: The Crystal Vial accumulates 10% magical spring water every 12 hours. If immersed in pure water, it accumulates 20% magical spring water every 12 hours.
Rating: 30
Description: A certain muscle-brained idiot gave this item to someone else, mistaking it for an ordinary crystal vial.
Price: 10000 paradise coins
...
Equipment that can restore Mana, and it's not a one-time consumable!
If every quest could give such good things, let alone a single-part quest, Mu Yang would even be willing to receive rewards without doing any quests!
However, he knew that such good fortune was unlikely to happen again.
The person who gave him the Crystal Vial didn't recognize its value, thinking it was just an ordinary craft, which is why he gave it to Mu Yang as a quest reward.
Time quickly passed to evening. Mu Yang asked Ruo Li for her location and then met up with her.
Neither of them wore formal dresses or suits, as they weren't actually going to dance; they were just there to freeload food and drinks.
They would flaunt anything that could increase their attributes. As long as they could become stronger, a few dirty looks were irrelevant.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
After showing the invitation to the guards, the two entered the palace led by a maid.
Mu Yang could only use one word to describe his first sight of the ballroom: dreamlike.
Inside the spacious palace, dozens of brightly colored dream butterflies fluttered, and there were also several illusory dream whales floating in mid-air.
These illusory dream whales were massive in size, yet had a hazy, unreal quality. But this didn't mean they were projections or illusions; they were real creatures. They usually only appeared in dreams and were almost never seen in reality.
The palace was resplendent, with gems and pearls, rarely seen by ordinary people, serving only as embellishments here.
Mu Yang felt that even the pillars in the palace were cast from some kind of gem, but this type of gem was considered worthless by the Paradise, which made him feel a bit regretful.
In short, to describe it in one sentence, it was permeated with a decadent stench of money, a true capitalist's den.
"Luxurious."
"Indeed, wasteful."
Because they arrived relatively early, Mu Yang and Ruo Li first found chairs near the dessert table and sat down.
As the invitation holders gradually arrived, their targets quickly appeared.
Firefly Whisper Mousse (permanently increases 5 Mana after consumption)
Elf Tree Hollow Muffin (permanently increases 10 Health after consumption)
Unicorn Dawn Pie (permanently increases 10 Mana after consumption)
Crystal Fable Pudding (after consumption...)
The sheer quantity of desserts at this ball was richer than Mu Yang had imagined.
It was just a pity that the effect of each dessert only worked once; otherwise, he could have eaten until he was half-dead before leaving.
Although he was thick-skinned, Mu Yang still didn't go so far as to sit in front of the desserts with a chair and eat a buffet, mainly because he was afraid Ruo Li couldn't stand it.
One pudding in one bite, two muffins in two bites, one pie in three bites...
Mana permanently +5
Health permanently +10
Health...
Ruo Li didn't eat as wildly as Mu Yang, but her speed wasn't much slower than his, which was quite magical.
"I can't eat anymore."
After eating all the desserts that could increase his attributes, Mu Yang stopped eating, satisfied and lazy. He felt like he was going to get a carb coma.
The desserts were delicious, with all sorts of flavors, but eating too much still made him a bit sick of them. In the end, he gained a total of 50 Mana and 65 Health.
A small group of people gathered around him, initially drawn by his face. Not only were there women, but even more men! The West was truly wild.
But later, they were all shocked by his appetite, curious about how much Mu Yang could eat and why he didn't gain weight despite eating so much. So they gathered around to observe, and incidentally, helped hand him desserts.
"Then let's go."
"Okay."
Ignoring the strange invitations from the crowd, Mu Yang resolutely left the palace, which was nominally a ball but actually a buffet restaurant.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, he was about to find an inn for a good night's sleep.
In the Little Red Riding Hood story, he seemed to have only spent a few hours finding and resolving Puppet Life, but in reality, two days had passed in the outside world.
"Something's not right."
Ruo Li suddenly made the carriage stop, her usually calm tone showing a hint of abnormality.
"What's wrong?"
Mu Yang, who was dozing off, opened his eyes and quickly adjusted his state.
Ruo Li didn't answer immediately but took out a pair of red dancing shoes from her storage space.
Red Dancing Shoes
Origin: Fairy Tale Kingdom
Quality: Green
Category: Special Item
Effect 1: Dance (Passive): Because a demon (severely injured) who loves to dance resides within the red dancing shoes, wearing them will grant the temporary skill 'Dance Mastery Lv.21'.
Note: This ability fluctuates with the demon's state, and if worn for too long, they cannot be removed.
Effect 2: Demonic Sense (Passive): When demonic creatures appear nearby, the demon residing in the dancing shoes will sense them, manifested by the shoes becoming more vibrant.
Rating: 24 (Fluctuates with the demon's state)
Description: Would you like to dance together? I love the way you dance, so... please don't stop.
Price: 4000 paradise coins
...
"Red dancing shoes?"
"Yes, they have the effect of detecting demonic creatures."
The color of the dancing shoes was already a vibrant red, but now it appeared too unusual, as this red was as bright as fresh blood, and the entire shoe was even trembling.
"Speak, what did you sense?"
Ruo Li shook the red dancing shoes, telling the half-crippled demon not to play dead.
"I saw... many, many... weak demonic creatures."
The severely injured demon glanced at Ruo Li with apprehension and stammered.
"Be more specific, or else... you know my methods."
...
The demon shivered. It felt that compared to itself, which only liked to make people dance forever, the expressionless and ruthless Ruo Li was more like a demon.
As for appearance...
Don't you know that demons always look good to tempt weak and ignorant humans, while angels look fierce and terrifying to scare away demons?