The residents of the city didn’t give William and Matthew strange looks. They glanced at them upon arrival, out of curiosity, but that was all.

It was clear they were unconcerned about adventurers passing through. In fact, they welcomed them! More powerful adventurers meant greater safety for the city.

They searched for a tavern or similar establishment, as Matthew desperately needed rest. However, they found none.

The only available option was a restaurant with a few spare rooms on the second floor. It wasn’t a proper tavern.

Upon entering, they observed a handful of people eating—less than five in total. The restaurant wasn’t thriving.

Perhaps they had arrived at an off-peak time, or perhaps the place simply didn’t attract many customers. The town was quite small, and tourists were infrequent.

When the restaurant’s proprietor saw William and Matthew, he immediately recognized them as outsiders.

It might have been their unfamiliar faces—everyone knew each other in such a small town—or their attire, which seemed out of place.

Regardless, he smiled broadly, seeing an opportunity to earn some money.

“Hello, adventurers,” he greeted them. “What brings you here? Are you here for lunch? Or perhaps one of our rooms upstairs?”

The owner was shrewd. William and Matthew approached the counter, with William taking the lead.

He was direct.

“Look, we don’t have money to pay for food or a room,” William said. “But we need them, so what can we do?”

The local currency was different from that of the demon kingdom, making payment impossible.

Previously, when he’d gone to the tavern with the adventurer trio, they had covered his drinks. But now, they were both penniless.

The restaurant owner initially considered refusing them and showing them the door, but he sensed William’s powerful aura.

He decided to hold his tongue and seek an alternative solution. The guards were no match for William, who could easily take over the city if he wished.

“Well, that’s a problem,” the owner said, then chuckled. “But every problem has a solution, right? How about you two work for the restaurant? We’ve had a few nightly brawls, and your presence might help keep things under control.”

The proposal was better than William had expected. They needed to stay for a few days until Matthew recovered fully. William liked the idea of having a task to occupy his mind. It might be beneficial.

“Fine, we agree.”

“Excellent, excellent.”

The restaurant owner led them to the kitchen in the back, providing them with new clothes for work.

Matthew enjoyed cooking, so he took on kitchen duties.

“I don’t want to move around too much, like breaking up fights or anything, so you can handle that,” Matthew said.

The owner had mentioned that brawls were common at night, likely due to drinking. Matthew wanted to fully recover and avoid strenuous activity or getting hit.

William didn’t mind. His tasks were to clean tables and keep an eye out for fights.

Before their shift began, the owner treated them to a free meal. It was a good one.

They had fried fish, rice, vegetables, and juice. William devoured it quickly.

“So good,” he said.

Their shift started half an hour after lunch. The afternoon and early evening were uneventful. William cleaned a few tables, listened to conversations, chatted with the other staff, and that was it.

However, as night fell, men began arriving for drinks. They filled the tables and spoke loudly about various topics.

Their primary subject was sea adventures. Almost all of them were fishermen.

“So, you’re saying you found a strange island? What was there?”

“I don’t know,” one fisherman replied. “I’m not foolish enough to explore an unknown place alone, but something told me there was treasure waiting to be found!”

One of the things William enjoyed about his “new job” was the eavesdropping. He was already intrigued by the prospect of exploring the island.

That was, of course, assuming the fisherman was telling the truth, which was questionable. Fishermen, it seemed, were prone to embellishing their tales.

As the night wore on and the drinks flowed, the atmosphere became increasingly volatile.

However, whenever someone started to get rowdy, William intervened.

On one occasion, a man stood up and challenged another at a nearby table, accusing him of having an affair with his wife.

William stepped between them and said, “Fights are prohibited in this restaurant. If you persist, I’ll have to stop you.”

A drunk man, however, rarely recognized William’s true power. The fisherman yelled, “Shut the hell up, or I’ll beat you too!”

He clenched his fist and attempted to punch William. William easily caught the man’s hand and applied a fraction of his strength. The man screamed in pain.

Then, he released the hand. “Don’t try that again.”

William turned to face the other man, who had lost his earlier bravado after witnessing William’s power.

But as William turned, the man who had tried to punch him seized the opportunity. He grabbed a nearby wooden chair and struck William with it!

The chair shattered upon impact with William’s head, but he remained unharmed. His body was simply too resilient for a mere chair to damage.

He turned back and said, “Unfortunately, I’ll have to punch you now.”

William delivered a powerful punch to the man’s gut. The blow was strong enough to make the man vomit and collapse, unable to rise. And that was William restraining his strength. Had he unleashed his full power, a simple fisherman might have died.

No one else attempted anything after witnessing that display. There were no guards previously in the restaurant, and now that William was there, word quickly spread throughout the town.

The restaurant owner was delighted with what he saw.

“Even after you finish working, I think they’ll stop fighting in here. Maybe I should invest in hiring someone strong…”

William and Matthew finished their shift around 11 pm. It had been a tiring day, but the restaurant owner was kind enough to grant them three free days in the rented rooms upstairs.

They went upstairs to their rooms. There were a total of six rooms, but only one was occupied. The rest were empty.

In the upstairs hallway, Matthew had a smile on his face.

“I think he’s scared of you, so now one day of our work equals three days of rest with free food,” Matthew said.

He was referring to the restaurant owner. William agreed. They each went to their respective rooms to rest for the night.

The rooms were simple yet cozy. Matthew, who desperately needed rest, savored every moment.

The next day was another rest day. William felt completely recovered, unlike Matthew, who still needed time to heal his wounds.

Consequently, they decided to do something different. They both purchased some fishing equipment—the restaurant owner provided the funds—and went to the ocean to fish!

“Did you notice there’s no wall along the water?” William pointed out. “I think the monsters on this floor can’t traverse water or something.”

“That makes sense,” Matthew replied. “If there were monsters in the water, the fishermen would have been killed. They don’t seem strong enough to fight any kind of monster.”

“That’s exactly what I thought,” William said. “Also, I heard about an island. It might be where the portal to the next level is.”

During their time in the dungeon, William had discovered another crucial piece of information: there was more than one portal to the next level.

“It could be, but I doubt it,” Matthew replied. “The portal is usually swarming with monsters and guarded by a boss creature. If our guess about the water is correct, there’s no way the monsters reached the island.”

“So you think it’s something else? Do you think it would be a good idea to go there and check it out?” William asked.

If the island wasn’t the location of a portal, could it contain something interesting, or was it just an empty piece of land?

William suspected it held something of significance. The entire dungeon seemed to be designed by someone who understood game mechanics—the games he had played on Earth.

Would they create an island without a purpose? William didn’t think so.

However, they decided to postpone exploration until Matthew fully recovered from his injuries. He still had lingering wounds.

They found a peaceful spot to fish with their newly purchased equipment.

With two chairs set up near the water, William and Matthew sat and fished for a while. They even brought food and drinks, enhancing their fishing trip.

A few days passed.

Matthew fully recovered after several days of eating, sleeping, and relaxing with activities like fishing.

But now, they had to resume their journey. The break was enjoyable, but they couldn’t stay indefinitely.

During their downtime, they discussed the island exploration idea and decided to pursue it.

So, early in the morning, they boarded a fishing boat with other fishermen.

The fishermen knew both of them, so they knew how strong William was. That was one of the reasons they allowed them to go with them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep