After work, start to speedrun the other world

"Hey, brother, did you also escape from Lionheart Castle?" a familiar and natural tone came through, followed by a bottle of wine placed on the table.

Xi Mu turned his head to look, the comer was a burly woman, wearing a steel helmet, draped in a tattered cloak, with a large sword hanging at her waist.

Her demeanor was weathered like that of a wandering knight.

An unfamiliar NPC, and although it might sound a bit rude, Xi Mu truly did not recognize the woman.

Each time someone escaped from Lionheart Castle, there was a certain randomness, and the escape locations were not fixed.

"From the sound of your voice, you've just escaped here too?" Letixia smiled, sizing up the other's condition.

"You seem to be feeling unwell?"

"Was it that obvious?" the burly woman scratched her head, took off her helmet, and placed it on the table, sitting down on a chair uninvited.

"After escaping, I found that I seemed to be ill," she touched her chin, pondering, "but it might also be a curse."

"Maybe you ran too hurriedly," Letixia comforted her, not mentioning her own and Ahtal's health condition.

At this, the burly woman laughed, leaned closer to Letixia, and whispered, "Can you tell me why you two aren't cursed?"

The atmosphere tensed up.

Xi Mu stopped eating, his gaze icy as he watched the burly woman. He still had to go and fight against giants and had no time to waste on NPCs.

"Don't look at me with such cold eyes," as if feeling a bit embarrassed, the burly woman showed a hearty smile, explaining to the two of them.

"My name is Belis, an adventurer from White Pine Country."

"Sorry, this might not be the best place to talk," Letixia shook her head, explaining to the burly Belis.

"Let's talk somewhere else in a bit."

"I'll treat you to this meal," Belis smiled, very generous in offering to pay, given that in such a small town, there wasn't much of value to dine on.

She then voluntarily shared some information.

"Those who escape from Lionheart Castle are all beset by something resembling a curse, the disease, with the weaker ones already feverish to the point of delirium."

"Even great mages are helpless against the curse; once it takes hold, the body continues to weaken incessantly."

"If we don't find a solution, it will surely be fatal."

The disaster that suddenly erupted in Lionheart Castle affected the whole city, causing a large number of residents to die, but still many managed to escape.

However, escaping did not equate to being saved; more and more people began to feel unwell, vomiting blood, fainting, and exhibiting high fevers.

The curse still clung to those who fled.

"It really is a tragedy," Letixia said softly, her emerald eyes reflecting deep thought. She and Ahtal were not affected by the curse, and their health remained normal, unless they naturally had resistance to curses.

Otherwise, there must be some reason that helped them avoid the effects of the curse, and this was what Belis wanted to find out.

Seeing this, Belis smiled, looking at Letixia's surprised expression, guessing she might not be aware either.

Thinking this, she looked toward Ahtal, who was quietly eating, feeling that this man might know something.

But given his cold demeanor, he was not as approachable as Letixia, and it might even provoke hostility in him.

This was a bit tricky.

A while later.

After eating and drinking their fill.

The three left the restaurant and headed to a guesthouse to rest, only to find, to their surprise... there were no spare rooms.

"How about... you come to my room?" Belis thumbed toward an even more dilapidated guesthouse next door.

"Don't worry, adventurers don't fuss much about gender differences."

"No need," Xi Mu shook his head and turned to leave the guesthouse, with Letixia and Belis following, arriving in front of an ordinary house.

Then, a pretty widow came out; her ponytailed long hair draped over her shoulder, eyeing the trio outside with a wary look.

She then heard the man offer a sky-high price of three hundred Gold Coins for a night and was willing to pay on the spot.

There was a pause.

"Please, come in!" the widow beamed, welcoming the trio inside; she had initially wanted to refuse them.

But the amount they offered was simply too much.

The game's currency value, in different regions and countries, had completely different purchasing power; in the affluent city of Lionheart Castle, a slightly luxurious dinner could cost thousands, even tens of thousands of Gold Coins.

In the countryside, especially small towns, a few hundred Gold Coins could make people beam with joy, even to the point of offering a place to sleep in their homes.

...

...

"You're quite rich, aren't you?" Belis twitched the corner of her mouth, watching the widow enthusiastically place three cups of hot tea and a few plates of fruit on the table.

The treatment was even better than in the guesthouse.

"You guys talk, call me if you need anything," the widow said with a smile to the crowd, then gently closed the door.

The living room quieted down.

"We just happen to have items that fend off curses," Xi Mu spoke slowly, explaining to Belis, "we don't have the ability to remove curses."

He took out a raven helmet and placed it on the table.

"We are also perplexed by the curse; perhaps you should seek help from a priest," Belis looked at the raven headgear, disappointed, "Although I expected this, it's still very disappointing."