Players' NPC Big Daddy

At the Dionysus Tavern, Audrey elegantly cut her breakfast with a knife and fork, taking small bites and chewing slowly with unparalleled grace.

Sitting across from her, Blaze felt extremely awkward. Not long ago, he had caused this woman considerable embarrassment, using her to gain the upper hand in a verbal spar with Herbie.

Then, he learned about the misfortune that had befallen her. Logically speaking, this elegant lady should be aggressively shoving her butter knife through the slit of his helmet right now to vent her grievances.

”Mr. Blaze.”

”Present!” Blaze subconsciously sat up straight. His sudden jerk knocked against the table, causing the cutlery to rattle. A goblet tipped over, sending juice spilling across the tabletop straight toward Audrey.

With her arms crossed, Audrey calmly leaned back. Her four-legged stool tilted backward, and just as she was about to lose her balance and fall, she lifted her right foot, hooking the tip of her toe under a crossbar beneath the table to elegantly maintain her balance.

CLAP CLAP CLAP—

Blaze applauded Audrey’s brilliant reaction.

”Do you know the conditions for acquiring the [Singer] Profession?” Audrey casually continued her thought, still maintaining her balance.

”Singing so well that you can sing someone to death, or buffing people’s abilities like a drug?” Blaze quickly moved the table away so Audrey wouldn’t have to maintain such a difficult posture.

Audrey shot Blaze a frosty glare, looking like a haughty Female Knight scorning a Beastman who only knew how to swing a large axe. Blaze felt a bit wronged. The difficulty of obtaining the [Singer] Profession was incredibly high—so high that the only thing he knew about it was that it was incredibly hard to get.

”Condition one: pass the ten trials of pitch, range, volume, timbre, tone quality, resonance, breath control, vocalization, articulation, and musicality. Condition two: sing for at least six hours every day until the Profession is unlocked.

”Even the chosen ones, the Blessed, might not endure condition two. Even I wanted to give up countless times... Perhaps this is a trial bestowed by God. Only those who truly love it can receive the reward known as [Singer] and step onto the stage.”

Audrey’s lips curled into a bitter smile, but the frostiness was directed inward. ”I thought I was ready to dedicate everything to my passion, but I didn’t expect to lack even the courage to face death. I’ve even developed a psychological shadow, terrified of showing off my moving singing voice.”

”I-Is that so?” For some reason, Blaze felt that this elegant lady was actually blowing her own trumpet. But it had to be his imagination. How narcissistic would she have to be to praise herself in this kind of situation?

”You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. You can just wait for the theater to open next time.”

”There won’t be a next time. The mastermind behind the scenes won’t just target this session of the Epidaurus Theater; they will monopolize every future session,” Audrey said as she stood up, preparing to leave. It seemed she had only wanted to find someone to vent her self-deprecation to, and having finished, she didn’t want to expose her wretchedness to anyone else. ”I have no way of becoming a true Singer anymore.”

”Then what do you plan to do in the future?” Blaze asked subconsciously. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Audrey turned back in surprise, displaying the most exaggerated facial Transformation he had ever seen on her.

The expression roughly conveyed, ”Have I fallen so low that a Wild Beast is worrying about my future?”

”I mean, I’m going to escort you to a safer place, aren’t I? I was asking what you plan to do during that escort.”

”Did you want to do something during that time? I see.” Audrey lifted her beautiful chin. With misty eyes and her moving voice, she sighed softly over her pathetic fate.

For a moment, Blaze thought this beautiful and aloof lady had become a Singer to change her fate. He even heard in her voice the powerlessness of being used as a tool for a political marriage.

”If I can’t be an outstanding Singer, I’ll just have to go home and inherit my title as a Lady.”

”A title? A title!”

Blaze’s commoner instincts acted up. He subconsciously bowed and raised his right hand, stopping just short of dropping to one knee.

”Mhm, it seems that, at the very least, you weren’t exiled from your hometown for lacking manners.” Audrey nodded in satisfaction and lightly tapped her right hand against Blaze’s palm, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Audrey turned gracefully like a dancer and walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Until Herbie arranged the itinerary, she would only appear during meal times.

”My Lady, please allow me to speak out of turn.”

”Speak.”

”Does it have to be the Epidaurus Theater?”

”Can you find a stage grander than the Epidaurus Theater?” Audrey paused. She seemed to instinctively want to mock him, but held back—perhaps because she knew she had no chance to stand on stage again, or perhaps because she knew she lacked the courage to sing.

Instead, she revealed a mischievous smile. ”Of course, if you find one, even if it’s singing to goblins in a muddy field, I will go. And afterward, in my capacity as a Lady, I will grant you the [Knight] Profession.”

”I’ll do my best,” Blaze replied helplessly. Audrey was most likely just teasing him anyway.

[Knight] was one of the highly rare Professions. To obtain it, one needed to collect two pieces of equipment—the [Noble Red Robe] and the [Death Black Boots]—and undergo a grand dubbing ceremony conducted by a Lord.

It combined Power, Intelligence, and Faith, transforming into a Profession with no blind spots once a mount was acquired.

At the same time, who performed the dubbing would also affect some of the [Knight]’s evolutions and Skill unlocks. Currently, the one who could bestow the highest potential upon the [Knight] Profession was the Eternal Queen of the Eternal Kingdom Camelot.

”Yo—I’m back!” Herbie boisterously pushed open the door. Her face was flushed red as if in a state of Intoxication, but Blaze didn’t smell any alcohol. She was probably just overly excited.

He didn’t even have to guess; she had definitely scored a massive haul from the Foreigners.

”Oh my, the Foreigners are just too passionate! They’re even willing to pay out of pocket to crusade against the Goblin Tribe.”

”What level are those Foreigners?” Blaze asked casually.

”In their words... around Level 50.”

”...That’s normal. High Level Foreigners wouldn’t be willing to take a commission to exterminate goblins unless they wanted to collect all the Monster materials or had a special quest,” Blaze noted. He had heard Flying Brick mention that the top tier of players were actually busy conquering new Maps. The ones who stayed in or came to this area wouldn’t be of a very high level. ”They probably won’t run into any accidents. Should we take this opportunity—while the Foreigners are all out crusading against the Goblin Tribe—to leave the Balkan City?”

”Don’t rush. I haven’t even paid you your reward yet, have I?” Herbie pointed at Blaze’s right hand. ”I’m an honest Merchant. Getting you into the city is done; next up is helping you swap for a better weapon.”