On a peaceful morning, Qin Shaoqing just returned home from grocery shopping.
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
As of late, his disciple has been sent to clear the horde of Denizens of Abundance more often, which means all of their training sessions have halted.
Though Qin Shaoqing understood duty calls, he sometimes grumbled to himself, imagining her using that clumsy form in actual battle, wanting him to storm over himself to berate her with everything wrong in her form, but alas, he could only whine to the heavens, which turned a deaf ear.
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
And what's been bothering him was this damn system flooding his log with useless notifications!
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
"Useless system, can't I turn it off somewhere?" Tired of being blinded, he furiously fiddled around to see if there was a setting menu.
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
[Your disciple Sushang defeated a Denizen of Abundance +1 exp]
"System you! @#^@#T $^@#$##@% ^&#$% "
[Exp reached sufficient level, undergoing system update]
"!@$#$! h-huh?????"
[expected update time: 04:07:00]
"W-wait, d-does that mean!" Qin's face turned solemn for a moment.
"I- I"
"..."
"System is gone!! HAHA" His face lit up in ecstasy.
"I won't need to take those stupid quests anymore hahaha!"
"Take that, you dysfunctional stump of a system!"
Feeling delighted, he continued to berate it further before cooking himself a hearty meal to celebrate.
"Pstt, gulp gulp ahhh, nothing beats a cold sake."
---
Walking in bliss and slightly inebriated steps, imaginary flowers could be seen coming off of him.
Catching a smell of cooked meat, Qin decided to treat himself more.
"Hm~ hm~ hey boss, give me 5 skewers!"
"Hoo hoo, 5 skewers coming up!"
"Seemed like you're in a good mood, sir. Something great happened?"
"Hahaha, yes! My boss, who has always given me a hard time, found out his wife cheated; now his life is in shambles!"
"I see, then good for you, sir." He handed Qin 5 skewers. "1000 credits"
handing him 2000, Qin took the skewers, "Keep the change!"
"Hmm~ This meat would be great with alcohol!" Qin Shaoqing commented and went to find a restaurant to drink.
Eat, drink, eat, drink, even when full, he washed away those feelings with more alcohol until he became a mess.
"Sir, I will need to kick you out." The Foxian restaurant manager said calmly, glancing at the table full of empty bottles and a drunken Qin downing another bottle.
"Burp~ I, ugh- I- I, huuurp!" Before he could get a word out, a sea of nausea hit him as his body responded to the overloaded fluid intake with the quickest possible method.
Vomiting.
After being kicked out, Qin's world was still spinning as he drunkenly walked towards a random direction.
Several people passed by, worried by his condition, contemplating whether they should contact enforcement to help him, but before they could think further, his figure disappeared like a ghost.
---
"Mr. Yang, is this really the right dock?" March nervously looked around, surrounded by tall cargo containers.
"I... Don't think so, but it's too hasty to assume anything; let's proceed as normal." Welt adjusted his glasses while scanning the area before leading the way.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Stelle muttered under her breath and pulled out her fire lance as a precaution.
As they walked, the desolate cargo dock turned colder, and Stelle's hair stood in danger.
"Enemies! Get ready." Stelle, who always trusted her instinct, took a battle stance.
And as if a prophet, her words came true as enemies who hid themselves on top of crates jumped straight towards them.
Welt pulled his cane and tapped lightly at the ground, summoning several miniature black holes, disrupting several enemies' paths, while some who were unfortunate enough to get too close got their bodies crumpled and compressed.
Meanwhile, March shot several arrows towards them, some missed while others landed center mass and froze their torso.
"Haa!" Stelle thrusted forward shattering the frozen-bound target while summoning fire around her allies to protect them.
"Fire! Hear my command!" Holding the spear up high, fire erupted from its blade. "Incinerate them!" She thrust forward, and the fire roared, expanding to the whole area, eradicating the rest of the enemy.
As the fire died down, Welt adjusted his glasses and coughed, "Stelle, you went overboard." His statement reflected the aftermath of the battle.
Dusted enemies were the least of their worries, scorched ground, cargo boxes who was unfortunate enough recieve some damage to their logo and slightly melted metal parts, and that wasn't the worst part, she almost hit a man who was slumped against one of the cargo.
...
"Wait, a guy?" March exclaimed loudly as she looked towards her companion with the same surprised look.
"How did we not notice this guy?" March asked loudly before shooting back to reality, "A-Anyway, let's not think about let's go check on the guy!"
March rushed first, crouching down next to him.
The first thing she noticed was the sharp, pungent, and sour smell that felt hot on the nose of her.
"Ugh," March unconsciously recoiled from the smell.
The other, who had arrived, reacted to the assaulting smell.
"W-what's that smell!" March and Stelle pinched her nose while Welt took a closer look at the unconscious man.
The shirt he was wearing was full of grease and sticky liquid, most likely from food and sweetened alcohol.
From the strong breath of alcohol coming from him, Welt deduced he was just unconscious from overdrinking.
Looking at his state, he seemed mostly fine, as if most monsters here ignored the drunk as if it were air.
They themselves almost missed him as well; only after Stelle drastically changed the environment did they notice him.
"So what's with him, Mr. Yang? Is he alright?"
"He's fine, it's just an alcohol overdose that put him unconscious." He reassured himself before looking around.
They couldn't just leave him here, but if they encounter any more enemies, he will be a liability they need to protect.
"Hmm? How- burp~ how did I get hereee~" The man who had just woken up scanned his surroundings in a dazed look.
"Sniff, ohh, I smeeell somee great! Incence, what- burp~ what flavor iz tat?" He drunkenly looked around, confused about where the smell was coming from.
"Hello, can you hear me clearly?" Welt tried to sober him several times.
"Oh! Sir. Sstangerrr, M-mice to burp~ meaat youuu!" Qin tried several times to stand up, only to stagger down. "I ugh~ apol~ logize for being in this state."
"It's alright, can you show us where the nearest place of safety is?"
"Ohh~ Totattlyy izs tat way!" He pointed in the direction from which they came from.
"Ugh, he's too drunk, Mr. Welt. Let's just move forward and carry him along." March said.
"I'll carry him." Stelle volunteered, hoisting him on her back.
"Hooh, to biii carried by beutiful ladies, any man will blusshhh~"
"Shut up, will you?" Stelle said after recoiling from the smell of his breath.