Chapter 11: The Thing Called Luck

Lu Kuan was slightly surprised—the female warrior was none other than the tall beauty he’d seen in the Alchemy Hall that morning. It was his first time seeing her true face today, and she truly took his breath away. Their eyes met for only a fleeting moment before they brushed past each other. The female warrior also recognized Lu Kuan, and even as she rushed forward, she managed to call out a warning: “Be… careful!”

At her words, Lu Kuan turned his head and flashed the warrior a wide grin. But just ahead of him, the ogre’s hulking, powerful form was already looming from the thicket, its massive head mottled with black spots, swinging a gigantic wooden club down at the clueless young ranger with a vicious roar!

The other two girls turned their heads in unison, as if already foreseeing Lu Kuan’s imminent demise. Their eyes showed not just pity but a hint of disdain: Men, they’re all the same—still have time to admire a beauty at a time like this?

But then, in the next instant, everything changed.

Under the three girls’ gaze, Lu Kuan’s body twisted into an uncanny arc, narrowly dodging the ogre’s club. Before their eyes could even follow his movement, a sudden spray of blood burst into the edge of their vision.

As Lu Kuan rolled and landed on the far side, the three girls realized there was now an arrow sunk deep into the ogre’s neck—while, somehow, Lu Kuan now held a hunting bow in his hand.

Yes, “somehow”—that was exactly how the three girls felt.

At this moment, Lu Kuan had focused all his attention on the ogre before him. The newly acquired blue-grade hunting bow was indeed formidable. With an ordinary white or even green weapon, breaking through an ogre’s defenses would have been uncertain. But now, as long as Lu Kuan struck a vital spot, he could almost always deal piercing damage.

“-35!”

“-40!”

Explosive numbers of damage continued to flash above the ogre’s head, while Lu Kuan darted left and right, narrowly avoiding the ogre’s club each time. The gusts from its swings sent his adrenaline surging, and he couldn’t help exclaiming inwardly—this was exhilarating!

It had been so long since he’d experienced such an electrifying battle.

“Roar!”

“Thud! Thud!”

The three girls had unconsciously stopped in their tracks, able only to glimpse the swirling curtain of fallen leaves. The ogre’s massive body twisted and thrashed violently in the clearing, its furious bellows making their hearts race.

Lu Kuan, meanwhile, was like a ghost, flickering in and out of the shadowed woods, impossible to pin down. The three girls stared on, dumbstruck by the scene before them.

In less than half a minute, the roars faded, and calm returned to the clearing. When the leaves scattered by the ogre’s rampage finally settled, what remained before the girls was the ogre’s corpse.

Lu Kuan walked over and pried open the ogre’s gaping jaws at once.

“You have obtained four Corrupted Ogre Teeth.”

Looking down at the four blackened, rust-like teeth in his hand, Lu Kuan smiled in satisfaction. The reward for taking down a monster above his level was indeed generous—normally, it was rare to get even one tooth from three ogres.

“My apologies, ladies—hope you don’t mind me stealing your prey~” Lu Kuan said as he gathered the rest of the loot, glancing back with a cheerful smile.

The three were still in shock. The female warrior was the first to recover; with a quick motion, a white veil covered her lovely face.

“Not at all… Th-thank you,” she replied, her clear voice gentle as she shook her head.

Lu Kuan was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected this great beauty to be a stutterer. No wonder she’d said little before.

Out of respect for her privacy, Lu Kuan showed no reaction, and quickly rifled through the ogre’s corpse. Ordinary monsters rarely carried much of value—just coins and some gray junk. When he stood up, the female warrior’s two companions had finally come to their senses.

“I always thought those legendary experts were just myths. But today, I’m convinced,” said the short-haired mage, staring at Lu Kuan like a treasure she was about to drool over.

“Exactly, exactly~” the round-faced, petite priestess nodded vigorously, her adoration obvious.

“You flatter me. It was a pleasure meeting you all—until next time~” Lu Kuan responded politely, waved, and turned to leave.

“Wait, hold on.”

The mage suddenly called out. As Lu Kuan turned back in surprise, the mage quickly whispered to her companions, then looked up. “Expert, we’re on a high-difficulty chain quest here. Are you interested?”

Lu Kuan raised a brow. “Oh? What level?”

“B+,” the mage replied directly.

Now Lu Kuan was truly interested. Quests above B rank were rare opportunities; these girls were clearly novices—how had they gotten so lucky?

People’s fortunes really do vary, he mused, half-amused, half-exasperated.

Seeing Lu Kuan’s curiosity, the mage immediately added, “But I have a condition. During the quest, I’m the only party leader, and you can’t share any quest info with others—otherwise, forget it.”

Lu Kuan grinned. “That’s just Player Code Clause A~”

Hearing this, the female warrior finally relaxed.

The so-called Player Code was a set of unwritten rules among virtual gamers. Clause A, simply put, meant that during a party quest, members must absolutely obey the leader, or lose their qualification to participate.

In “Echoes of the Gods,” party leaders could share quests. Players who received the shared quest could join the process and claim the remaining rewards.

Thus, a class of “quest sellers” had emerged—professional players who sniffed out high-level quests and sold them to wealthy, adventure-seeking patrons.

No wonder they were so cautious; teaming up with strangers always carried risks.

The mage quickly added Lu Kuan to the party. Only then did he see their names: the female warrior was Azure Robe and Black Cap; the cute priestess was White Cocoa; and the mage who’d spoken with him was Ah Kui.

Lu Kuan checked the quest description—sure enough, a B+ quest. The girls briefly explained their situation: they'd been stuck at this step for two days, stumped. If they didn’t complete it within three, the quest would vanish from their list.

So when Ah Kui witnessed Lu Kuan’s extraordinary skills, she’d boldly invited him to join. With a B+ quest at stake, they had no other choice.

“Let’s add each other as friends. I’m currently doing a class quest. We’ll start tomorrow afternoon—I’ll get in touch,” Lu Kuan said after a moment’s thought.

Ah Kui hesitated, her elegant brows furrowing. “Tomorrow afternoon? Will we have enough time?”