While the Asura Kingdom was in an uproar over a certain incident, Paul had been focusing entirely on accepting various adventurer requests. His only goal was to raise his adventurer rank as quickly as possible and reach A-rank.
After a period of effort, Paul was getting closer and closer to B-rank.
Once he successfully ranked up, it would mean he needed to start considering forming his own adventurer party.
After all, adventuring alone in the wilderness was far too dangerous. Not only did he have to face various powerful monsters, he also had to stay vigilant at all times. Even getting a good night's sleep had become a luxury.
With teammates, they could take turns keeping watch, allowing everyone to get proper rest. This way, they could also respond more calmly when facing danger.
Therefore, whenever Paul accepted a request now, he paid special attention to timing and made sure to return to town before nightfall.
Because once it got dark, monster activity would become more frequent and their numbers would increase. This was undoubtedly a huge threat to him.
That day, Paul finished a request as usual and hurried back to town.
Just as he reached the city gate, he heard someone calling his name from a distance.
"Hey, Paul, what took you so long?" The voice belonged to a man who looked a lot like a monkey. He was standing not far away, waving at Paul.
Seeing this, Paul shook his head helplessly and quickly walked over. He said to the man with a bitter smile, "Don't mention it, Geese. I was really unlucky today. I almost got ambushed by monsters, so I got delayed for a while."
Today he had originally accepted a very ordinary monster subjugation request. In the end, he almost got ambushed by other monsters. Fortunately, he reacted in time and immediately used Water God Style swordsmanship to defend himself.
The afterimages of his sword quickly blocked all the attacks from the monsters behind him. Then Paul exerted his strength and counter-killed that monster.
However, the monsters he had originally planned to deal with seized the opportunity and all rushed up to gang up on him. Fortunately, his swordsmanship was excellent, and he killed them one by one.
"Aiya, even the mighty Paul has such a miserable day? This is really rare!" Geese's lips curled up slightly into a smile. He then patted Paul's shoulder and led him toward the tavern together.
As the saying goes, "A good drink solves a thousand worries." Paul, who had encountered such a frustrating situation today, could use alcohol for a thorough release.
After entering the tavern, Paul unhesitatingly took out several copper coins from his pocket and boldly shouted, "Boss, give me and my friend a full cup of wine each!"
Geese Nukadia. This name was not unfamiliar to Paul.
They had met during a request not long ago. Some interesting experiences at the time and the tacit understanding between them had quickly made them friends.
Moreover, Geese was also a C-rank adventurer.
Paul was secretly calculating in his heart. Once he reached B-rank, he would definitely form an adventurer party with Geese.
After all, cooperating with Geese, who had a good brain and good luck, would not only improve the overall strength of the party but also give him more security during adventures.
Geese naturally agreed readily to Paul's proposal.
First, he could rely on Paul's strong strength to avoid suffering losses during adventures.
Second, "he" was quite interested in certain information about Paul. Getting close to Paul would help him obtain that information.
Of course, Geese had no malicious intent and would not do anything like killing Paul to steal his belongings.
When the tavern owner brought over the wine cups, Paul grabbed his cup and started pouring the wine into his mouth.
The strong alcohol rushed into Paul's mouth all at once, instantly emptying his mind.
Right now, he was only immersed in the wine in his hand. Although his throat hurt a little, it felt very refreshing.
Seeing this, Geese did not show any weakness either. Like Paul, he picked up his cup and started drinking heavily.
Their unusual behavior quickly attracted the attention of the people around them.
"I say, Elinalise, I kindly brought you out to be an adventurer, but how could you ruin my reputation like this!" The dwarf Talhand complained with a helpless face.
Elinalise said with an innocent expression, "I… I really had no other choice. If I didn't do that, I would definitely die because of that terrible curse."
"At worst, I'll pay for all your drinks from now on!" As she spoke, Elinalise somehow took out a shiny crystal. That was a magic crystal commonly used in magic circles.
She had plenty of these magic crystals. Each one could be sold for a good price. These precious magic crystals were all byproducts she produced to resist the curse.
However, this method of resisting the curse was somewhat indecent. Still, Elinalise seemed to have an extraordinary ability in this regard. Even when facing multiple opponents, she was not inferior and could even successfully subdue others.
Talhand sighed, as if he still wanted to say something. But at that moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Paul and Geese drinking heavily.
"What? Those two guys are actually drinking like that?!" Talhand was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped. He stared with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
It must be known that most of the alcohol in the Dragon King Kingdom was strong liquor. Even if ordinary people sipped it slowly, their throats would hurt from the spiciness.
But now, these two people were drinking wildly as if drinking water. This was truly astonishing.
Talhand's exclamation naturally also attracted Elinalise's attention. She also curiously turned her head and looked toward Paul and Geese.
When she saw their bold drinking style, a trace of shock also flashed through her beautiful eyes.
"Wow, they're really amazing!" Elinalise couldn't help but exclaim. Her gaze was tightly fixed on the two people in front of her, especially on Paul, whose face still looked somewhat youthful. An indescribable strange feeling welled up in her heart.
Elinalise turned to look at Talhand, a hint of excitement in her eyes. "Talhand, I think we should go over and say hello to those two and get to know them," she said seriously.
Talhand looked at Elinalise somewhat helplessly, but still nodded to show his agreement.
Seeing this, Elinalise immediately picked up her wine cup, a smile on her lips, and walked toward Paul and Geese under Talhand's slightly helpless gaze.
Talhand watched Elinalise's gradually receding back and let out a helpless sigh. Then he also slowly picked up his own wine cup and followed behind her.
In truth, he had also developed some curiosity about these two people who could drink strong liquor so boldly.