Chapter 157 - This Is War [Ding. New quest available] [Ding. You have obtained the royal maid Ruth's gratitude. She wishes to meet you again.] [Reward: Unique Mage Class - Enchantress] [Ding. Do you wish to accept the quest? Y/N] Shen Yue stared at the quest a couple more times and accepted it as she walked out of the palace. "I have never heard about this class before. I did not see this name in the list of classes discovered also. So it should be pretty special? Hmm." She thought about waiting for Liam and making a decision but she didn't know if the quest would be available till then. What if the option suddenly disappeared? "I should not depend on him for everything. It will look too clingy. No. No." Shen Yue shook her head. She did not turn back and continued rushing out of the palace. For some reason, she had a weird feeling as if someone was watching her. She was used to things like this but this time it felt too real and creepy, so she decided to get the hell out of the palace. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 They had accepted plenty of quests within the city itself so she still had a lot to do. Moreover, there was a wall of difference between their levels and Liam's level. If they didn't improve fast, they would only be dragging him down. Shen Yue exited the royal palace compound and mingled in the crowd outside to make herself disappear. She then started walking towards the main bazaar district of the royal city where all the trade skill beginner trainers were located. Luckily, she hadn't taken much time to complete her quest so she hoped that she could join Mei Mei and catch up soon. She also had not received any experience points for the quest. So they would both probably be at the same level and could continue to grind and finish quests together. As she was thinking about that, she remembered about the reward that she had received, the new attribute. Shen Yue opened her status interface and eyed the newly popped out words. [Charm: 30] "What is the use of this charm attribute?" "Hmm… It shouldn't be completely useless…" Shen Yue clearly remembered just how excited Liam had been on seeing that necklace and the fact that it started a quest. But she was also not sure what would something like charm help her in this virtual world filled with monsters? It was not like she could charm the monsters coming at her to bite her and kill her into becoming her admirers?! "Ah. Wait, maybe I can?" Shen Yue imagined a group of ferocious wolves wagging their tails in front of her like tamed adorable puppies and she couldn't help but giggle. Just the thought of it was ridiculous! "Nah. It cannot be that overpowered…" She shook her head and continued walking. The streets were suddenly far too crowded for some reason and it felt very claustrophobic. What she did not realize was that it was not the streets that were too crowded… But the people who passed her by were all stopping and standing on the spot to turn around to at least take a look at her. Luckily there were too many people around and Shen Yue also moved quite fast so there weren't any consequences. Many of them did not even realize what had made them stop and stare. Shen Yue soon arrived at the bazaar sector of the city and even if it was the royal city, this place did not look any different when compared to the trade city. Compared to the luxurious stores and decorated shops in other areas, this place was a bit down to earth. "Oh, is this a place where people from other towns and cities sell their wares?" Shen Yue looked around curiously and then walked over to the red fort at the end of the street. There were royal guards located here too. She walked over to one of the guards to ask for directions and casually said. "Sir, where is the cooking hall?" "Ah… Ahh… Ummm…" Unexpectedly, the royal guard stood stunned silly, just simply staring at her. He couldn't bring out any words and seemed to be incapable of speaking. "Oh, this person cannot speak perhaps?" Shen Yue saw the man appeared too flustered and did not want to make him uncomfortable. "Don't worry. I will ask someone else." She flashed a small smile and started walking over to another guard standing a few feet away. But this harmless remark of hers made the guard visibly panic and he quickly called after her. "Ah, my lady. Please forgive me. Stop. Stop. Don't leave me." "Huh?" Shen Yue was startled. She halted her footsteps and turned to see the person standing right behind her. "Guards were allowed to leave their posts?" She was confused. "Ah. My lady, please forgive me. I was… I was slightly distracted. Ha ha. I can answer your question. Wait. No. I can accompany you personally to the cooking hall." The guard hurriedly blabbered. "Umm. That's very kind of you, sir. Thank you." Shen Yue smiled awkwardly and the two of them then started walking away, leaving everyone else around them completely perplexed. "Since when were the royal guards so helpful?" "Fuck. What are you talking about? The other day I thought one of them was going to kill me. And all I did was try to ask what material his armor was!" "Yes! I greeted this friendly looking guard but his smile disappeared as soon as he saw me! Why the hell is that woman getting special treatment?! This is so unfair." Seeing the group of players complain loudly another person standing nearby and drinking a cup of hot beverage walked over to them. "You guys… are you blind?" "Hey! Watch it!" "Heh! You didn't watch it! That's why you are running your mouth here pointlessly!" "What the hell are you saying?" "Did none of you see that woman properly?" "Huh? Why?" "That's why. That woman was…" A look of infatuation appeared on the player's face as he remembered that person and he stopped talking. "What about that woman? She is a NPC?" The player who was about to describe Shen Yue in detail suddenly stopped. "Oh. You are right! She should be an NPC! Only 2 D characters can be so beautiful. She was like a fairy." "Oh? She was really that good looking?" "Huh? I am inclined to not believe you but if what you are saying is true, then we should go look for her. Maybe she has some special quests?" The group of players all started following the royal guard and Shen Yue. It didn't take long for Shen Yue to feel the several pairs of eyes trailing behind her and she started feeling uncomfortable. Noticing this, the royal guard frowned. He didn't even bother waiting for Shen Yue to say something and directly turned around to unsheathe his sword. "What is happening here?" His voice loudly bellowed. All the players looked utterly shocked. Weren't they just simply walking around? How did they anger this NPC? And moreover, the man was not just angry, he was actually radiating killing intent and his eyes glared at them like a prowling tiger eyeing its prey. Just what the heck was happening here? Even Shen Yue became alarmed. She also did not know if the guard had suddenly gone crazy. Earlier as well he had acted abnormally. So she inched back slowly and stepped away, not wanting to involve herself with this situation any longer. They were also almost at the cooking hall and she could see a lot of people sitting beside pots and bonfires and struggling to make something without the modern appliances available in the kitchen. The entire place was filled with smoke and different smells permeated the air. Shen Yue coughed slightly and caught Mei Mei's silhouette in the back of the hall. "Oh, there she is." She turned to see that the guard was still busy, yelling at the group of players and ran away quietly. Whatever happened to them, it had nothing to do with her. "Hey Mei Mei." She called out and walked closer to the young girl. "Ah. Sis Yue, you are already back?" She did not turn around and was busily stirring a pot. "Wow. You are so busy. No wonder you didn't have any time to answer my call." Shen Yue chuckled and stood beside her. As she was now closer and observed everything in detail, she couldn't help but be shocked. This place did not look like a kitchen from any angle. Instead, it looked like a battlefield. Besides her station, there were several pots and pans, each with an appearance more terrifying than the other. They were broken, charred, had holes within them and some were even cracked in half, with a line running at the exact dead center. Shen Yue was baffled. "Just how on earth did you manage to do so much damage?"