Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

Several people turned to look.

A short, stout figure was jogging towards them, panting heavily, his belly bobbing up and down like a rolling ball.

That was a level 122 gnome player.

He wore a gaudy robe—purple with gold trim, embroidered with incomprehensible runes, the hem trailing on the ground and splattered with mud. His waist was adorned with various trinkets: bells, cloth bags, scrolls, small hammers, magnifying glasses… all jingling and clanging as he walked.

What's most striking is his face—round and chubby, brimming with smiles, his eyes narrowed to slits, and his mouth stretched almost to his ears.

It was the employer, Barlow.

Liu Nian sized up the dwarf.

Unlike the engineering dwarfs he had dealt with before, who were always covered in gears, wrenches, and grease, their work clothes riddled with pockets filled with various spare parts, this Barlow showed no trace of engineering. Instead, he was adorned with numerous shiny beads, like a nouveau riche wearing gold chains.

You can't tell their profession from their clothing.

But Liu Nian guessed that this dwarf must be quite good at making money.

Barlow, his belly protruding, walked closer, stood on tiptoe, and craned his neck to count the number of people.

"One, two, three, four, five." He nodded in satisfaction, clapped his hands, and said, "Hmm, not bad! All together! Let's go, let's go!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked away arrogantly, leading the way with his robes swaying behind him.

The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Nian didn't say anything and followed behind the group.

Barlow is indeed talkative.

Less than ten minutes after stepping out of the city gate, he had already asked about the situation of everyone in the group—and deliberately mentioned things that people didn't want to hear.

He moved closer to the orc warrior, tilting his head back to examine his greatsword.

"Bro, what's the quality of your weapon? Epic? Mythical?" He clicked his tongue twice. "No, no, judging by the luster, it's at most Fine. How are you doing? You're level 122 and still using a Fine weapon?"

The orc warrior ignored him.

Barlow persisted, "Why don't you join a guild? Joining a guild would at least get you some help in dungeons, and you wouldn't be in such a miserable state. Is it because you're too ugly and nobody wants you?"

A vein bulged on the orc warrior's forehead.

Barlow had turned toward the night elf—though he could only see a faint shadow.

"Hey, you night elf over there, which guild are you in? Why are you out here alone taking on jobs? Did your guild fire you? Do you have a wife? I heard night elves live really long, so you'll be single for several times longer than everyone else! Wait... in this godforsaken place, everyone's the same..."

The shadow flickered and then disappeared.

Barlow didn't care and moved closer to the dwarf hammer.

"Brother Hammer, that's an interesting name." He patted the dwarf's arm. "But your name is clearly Hammer, yet you wield a giant axe. Did your parents get the name wrong? Did they not think it through when they named you?"

The dwarf with the big hammer was honest, grinning sheepishly, "I don't know either, my dad named it that."

"Was your father a dwarf too?"

"right."

"What weapon does your father use?"

"Big Hammer".

"Then why don't you use a sledgehammer?"

"I find the big axe more convenient."

Barlow slapped his thigh: "Then you should be called Big Axe! No, no, you have to change your name when you get back, otherwise it's too misleading."

The dwarf with the big hammer scratched his head: "Can I change my name?"

"Sure, it only costs a little money. I have connections, I can get a 20% discount, would you like to consider it?"

The dwarf with the big hammer thought for a moment, then asked, "How much?"

Barlow immediately leaned over and began to give a long, detailed introduction to his name-changing business.

The human mage walked to the very edge, engrossed in his book. Barlow leaned over and glanced at the cover; his eyes immediately lit up.

"Hey! A banned book?!" He lowered his voice, winking. "Hey bro, can I borrow it? I'll just flip through a few pages, won't take up much of your time. Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious about how things look different here compared to ours..."

The human mage expressionlessly took out an earplug and put it in his ear.

Barlow then turned to Liu Nian.

"Bro, you're amazing, level 175!" He looked Liu Nian up and down. "How come someone at such a high level is taking on this quest? Are you in debt to loan sharks? Or did you offend some big shot and have to run away?"

Liu Nian glanced at him.

"no."

"Why is that?"

"I'm just bored."

Barlow paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Good riddance! Good riddance! I love idle people!"

He stood on tiptoe and patted Liu Nian's arm—he could only pat up to the elbow—and then continued walking forward.

The orc warriors had already put on helmets and pretended to be deaf.

The night elves have completely vanished, occasionally appearing briefly in the shadows by the roadside before disappearing again.

The dwarf hammer is still debating the matter of changing its name.

The human mage wore earplugs, ignoring everything around him.

Only Liu Nian followed behind the group with a blank expression, responding to whatever Barlow asked with perfunctory "uh-huh," "oh," or "okay."

The procession continued its leisurely, unsteady march.

For the first three hours after leaving the city, everything was calm and peaceful.

The road was flanked by open plains, and occasionally a few low-level monsters would wander by in the distance. Upon seeing their group, they would turn and run away.

Barlow was unusually quiet for a moment.

He walked in the middle of the group, occasionally taking out a notebook to write and draw, muttering to himself, seemingly calculating something.

The atmosphere only became tense upon entering the forest area.

The trees here are growing tall and dense, and sunlight is filtered through layers of leaves, creating dappled patterns on the ground. From time to time, rustling sounds can be heard from the bushes on both sides of the road.

"Monsters start appearing from here." The human mage closed his book and looked around warily. "However, this path is relatively safe; the monsters won't exceed level 140."

"As long as we're safe." The orc warrior gripped his weapon tightly. "Let's finish the mission quickly and get back."

Barlow walked in the middle of the group, unusually quiet.

Liu Nian noticed that his gaze occasionally swept across the surrounding woods, and his eyes did not show fear, but rather a hint of... anticipation?

The dwarf seemed to notice Balor's unusual behavior and couldn't help but ask, "Balor, I heard you've failed this mission three times already. Why are you still so persistent?"

Upon hearing this, Barlow's eyes immediately lit up.

"Failure? Is that what you call failure?" He raised his chin smugly. "That was luck!"

"luck?"

"Yes!" Balor pulled a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and showed it to the dwarf. "Look, this is what I got when I failed the first mission... This is the second... This is the third failure—"

The dwarf was stunned.

"So every time you fail a mission, you get an unexpected bonus?"

"That's right!" Barlow tucked the notebook back into his pocket, patted it, and said, "I'm just incredibly lucky. When those low-probability events happen, others are unlucky, but for me, they're a windfall!"

He became increasingly smug as he spoke: "These three times, I've brought better things each time! Maybe this time—"

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already quite clear.

Upon hearing this, Liu Nian wondered if this guy possessed some hidden attribute often found in old-school online game novels, such as "Luck +10".

Is this the real reason why this guy doesn't use a mount?