Chapter 24: Subtle Nobleman, Test of Temperament
“You, you’ve already switched your profession? To a hidden class?”
“I guess so.”
“Fuck, that’s impressive? What level is your Hidden Class?”
“Level?”
“Yeah, don’t you know about it?”
“Mm.”
“Why has this ignorant person already managed a switch to a Hidden Class, but someone like me who is so talented has yet to make a switch? This world is unfair!” Subtle Nobleman had an anguished and furious look on his face.
Blue Maple and Blue Snow were “…”
“Someone like me should belong to the strongest Class, but I’m not even at the level of a girl. There’s no logic in this!”
“This…”
“Why, why do you have to bury a talent like me?!”
“I think……”
“Is this Heaven’s jealousy of me? Oh, no!”
“Enough, stop talking!” Blue Snow couldn’t stand Subtle Nobleman’s condescending words anymore. She drew her sword in a bid to threaten him.
Clang!
“Ugh, we can talk it over. I’m only venting my frustration. Calm down, calm down. Come on, sheathe your sword. You’ll scare people off. You are a girl. You should learn to be more virtuous.” Subtle Nobleman’s expression immediately changed. He acted like an obedient kid.
“Little Gangster, do you feel annoyed with him too? Let’s whack him!” Blue Snow was immediately triggered when she heard the word ‘virtuous’.
“I’ll kill him with one stomp,” Blue Maple said.
“Ugh, I guess so.” Blue Snow seemed to speak as if she was being benevolent, but she was in fact mocking Subtle Nobleman. Blue Maple was simply speaking the truth, and had no other intentions.
In fact, Blue Maple was not very offensively inclined. The reason he became offensively more potent was because of the changes he experienced after his switch. After all, the old man mentioned that it was the strongest attacking class. He wouldn’t have been convinced if it wasn’t the strongest.
“Both of you are… bullies! You guys are… in cahoots? Singing the same tune? Doesn’t seem right though. Telepathic? Ugh, that seems even more awkward.” Subtle Nobleman was starting to think and comment after his hateful expression appeared.
“What, what singing in tune? What telepathy? Stop there. I’m going to kill you!” Blue Snow’s face was completely red as she shouted at Subtle Nobleman. She charged towards him with her sword in her hand.
“Help me. Miss Xiao is about to kill someone!” Subtle Nobleman cowardly ran away and shouted. It was really an injustice to his handsome face.
“Shut up. Stay where you are! I’m going to kill you!” Blue Snow was getting more and more angry.
“Wa! Wa!...”
Blue Maple remained where he was and muttered to himself, “It’s dark...”
---
He followed the two of them. Blue Snow and Subtle Nobleman had not switched Classes yet, therefore their mobility hadn’t been restored yet. Blue Maple would be able to catch up with them very soon. If not for the fact that it was already dark, Blue Maple might have left both of them behind by proceeding in a different direction.
It’s dark. We shouldn’t keep talking. Intentionally provoking Blue Snow before escaping towards town? Interesting person, Blue Maple thought to himself.
There seemed to be a smirk on his face as he pursued the two of them.
---
Blue Maple managed to catch up to both of them and reached town before the sky had turned completely dark.
Subtle Nobleman was panting as he said, “Hey, hey, Miss Xiao, I was only blabbering a bit. You’ve already chased me for more than half an hour. I’m out of breath.”
Blue Snow was also panting as she answered, “Just a bit? You’ve been going on and on for a long time.”
“Eh? I’ve been talking about that handsome guy of yours. I saw that you were agitated, but I thought you were only agitated because you were excited!” Subtle Nobleman continued to blabber.
“Who’s excited? I only want to hack you to death!” Blue Snow was already exhausted, which was why she was only speaking without acting.
“Stop bickering. I’ll leave now since we’re here.” Blue Maple was a little annoyed as he said. Both of them had been bickering ever since Blue Maple started to pursue them. This left him a little regretful that he did so. He immediately wanted to leave these two.
“Little Gangster, are you going to go?” Blue Snow asked as she saw that Blue Maple was about to leave.
“We’re already here. Are you still going to follow me?” Blue Maple asked.
After this, she appeared a little condescending as she said, “Who, who wants to follow you? I can’t wait for you to leave! Hmph!” Blue Snow’s face turned slightly red.
“Miss Xiao, you’ll lose a handsome guy if you speak to him like that. Why do you have to lie, right?” Subtle Nobleman interrupted.
“Who’s lying? I dare you to say again!” Blue Snow drew her sword once again!
“Ugh, calm down, calm down! This handsome guy is really not going to follow us. What’s he called again? Lan Feng, right, you and us…uh, Blue Maple! Blue Maple!!! Fuck! You are that guy who killed a Class 5 Demon Boss single-handedly not long after the game started!?” Subtle Nobleman had been speaking normally, but he sounded astonished now.
Blue Snow appeared a little scornful as she said, “Your reaction is really quick.”
Subtle Nobleman was a little embarrassed as he replied, “Eh, I was astonished by his attributes. After that, I was chased down by you. That was why I didn’t notice it.”
“Clearly, you were talking gibberish for half a day after seeing the Little Gangster’s attributes. That was why you never noticed,” Blue Snow was unkind as she heaped more scorn on him.
Subtle Nobleman quickly recovered from his embarrassment and said in a serious manner, “Ugh… if that’s the case, it means he’s only slightly inferior to me.”
“Cheh! Given your attributes, he’s only a little inferior to you? More like you are just little compared to him.” Blue Snow was about to roll her eyes.
Subtle Nobleman was proud as he mentioned, “Hey, do you know what? When I descend directly into town, I immediately killed a monster above Rank 10.”
“Descended into town? How is that possible? Not the Newbie Village?” Blue Snow was shocked and covered her mouth as she exclaimed.
“Hehe, that’s why I say he’s only slightly inferior to me.” Subtle Nobleman was even more pleased as he spoke to Blue Snow.
Blue Snow suddenly pondered for a moment. “Uhhhh, if you are so strong, why are you only Level 7?” Blue Snow asked with a wicked smile.
“Uh, about that. It’s just that I don’t want to be too showy and draw too much attention when my level is too high. You should be able to tell my name. I want to be subtle.” Subtle Nobleman turned serious once again.
“Cheh, who will believe you? Little Gangster, right? Where’s Little Gangster?!” Blue Snow realized that Blue Maple had disappeared when she turned her head around. The entire dark street only had Blue Snow and Subtle Nobleman.
“Ugh, he must have left when we were speaking…” Subtle Nobleman was uncertain as he said. The sky was already dark. If he left secretly, it actually sounded a little scary.
“Hmph! That rascal. Am I so annoying? Why did he leave without making a sound? I’m pissed!” Blue Snow stomped her feet in anger. Although Blue Maple said that he was leaving, the way that he left was a little… it felt as if he was trying to avoid her!
“Miss Xiao, what should we do now?” Subtle Nobleman asked carefully. He was afraid that Blue Snow was going to vent her anger on him. After all, he was just bickering with her earlier. He also guessed that Blue Maple had quietly left because they were being too noisy.
“Hmph, what should we do? What else do you want to do? I’m going to find a place to stay. Don’t follow me! I’m pissed! Hmph!” Blue Snow shouted in frustration before turning around and leaving.
Eh, I thought I could still find a place to stay with a beautiful lady. Even if it’s just a hotel, it’s good.” Subtle Nobleman sounded a little regretful as he spoke. “Ugh, but if that person knows I went to find a place to stay with Xiao Xue…, Subtle Nobleman shuddered as he thought of this.
Fortunately I didn’t go with her, Subtle Nobleman also disappeared into the dark after he finished speaking.
Not long after, Blue Maple was standing in the middle of another street. It was like he was waiting for something. “Come out!” he said suddenly.
After a brief moment the old man’s voice suddenly sounded, “Rascal, how did you know I was here?” A ball of blue flame suddenly appeared in front of Blue Maple. The old man was standing in the flame.
“No Hotel Rose,” Blue Maple answered.
“Oh? You guessed that I am here because of that?” the old man probed.
“The lights weren’t on.” Blue Maple sounded as indifferent as ever. Indeed, the streets weren’t lit from the start until the end.
“And then?” the old man continued asking.
“Blue fire, Newbie Sword, green crystal.” Blue Maple mentioned three items in one breath.
The old man was excited as he laughed, “Haha, good! You didn’t let me down. I’ll consider this a pass!
“I haven’t passed the blue flame to you because your switch hasn’t been fully completed. I didn’t expect you not to ask at all. Perhaps it’s also because you don’t care that much either.” The old man was actually right.
“I intentionally changed the attributes of the Newbie Sword. Of course I had the intention of punishing that little doll, but I’m not so childish that I’d punish her in that way and push her to your side. Initially, I was wondering whether you’d stop her from falling. I didn’t expect you to just grab the sword and just avoid cutting her with it. At least this shows you are not bad by nature. At least you wouldn’t take advantage of her intentionally.
“As for the green crystal, it has the effect that I mentioned. You can use it even when you want to switch Classes, I’ll arrange some other stuff to monitor and assess you. But you used it to Summon me out to change attributes. Even though you aren’t too bothered about Classes, you used it for that little doll. This shows that you still care about others’ feelings. You are still willing to sacrifice something that you have.
“Because you used the green crystal, I mentioned Hotel Rose. Although I can’t read what you’re thinking, I can still observe certain emotions, like anger, nervousness, and skepticism. When I mentioned Hotel Rose, I discovered that you knew that it doesn’t exist. You were doubtful whether your memory was failing you, and whether you had accidentally forgotten such a hotel exists. This showed that you pay attention to things around you. A person like you can survive and adapt well.”
Blue Maple had a habit of familiarizing himself with every place he went. He had taken a close look at the detailed electronic map in town!
“As for why I turned the lights off, it was because I wanted to give you a chance to shake the little doll off. Another reason was because I wanted to hint to you that your judgment was right. Come and see me! This is because you believed that I would only do this because I was bored.”
The old man waited for Blue Maple’s reply after he finished speaking, as he laughed cheekily to himself.
There was a pause before Blue Maple replied, “Interesting, old man. I’m going to sleep.” After he finished speaking, Blue Maple brushed past the old man and walked towards a hotel not too far in front. Originally, the hotel couldn’t be seen without any lights. However, there was an electronic map, and the hotel was marked on the map, with the name of the hotel.
Blue Maple knew that the non-ability test the old man was going to use on him was one regarding his temperament. It wasn’t going to be a question-based test. Rather, it was going to be based on how he dealt with things when he was unaware of being watched. This was the intelligence of the game. There was no rigidity!
However, did Blue Maple not realize it, or did he at some point?
“I will pass my Blue Fire to you during your second class advancement.” The old man’s voice rose behind Blue Maple. After that, Blue Maple sensed the old man leave after he finished speaking.
I hope that Blue Fire will be interesting…, Blue Maple thought as he walked towards the hotel.
“Eh? The lights are on. I thought they wouldn’t be.”
“Oh, the lights are finally on. I don’t have to stumble along in the dark anymore. That’s great.”
Different words were heard on a different street……