Chapter 27: The Transmigrator

The man standing at the door of Li Rui’s room wore a meticulously tailored, sharp-lined black and white butler’s uniform—not the common leather armor or coarse linen seen on adventurers in the tavern, but a high-quality, pristine black tailcoat over a crisp, snow-white starched shirt, with a black bowtie fastened perfectly at his collar.

It was immediately obvious that this person did not belong in this sort of environment.

"Pardon me, are you Mr. Li Rui?"

The man’s voice was low and steady, carrying a sense of impeccable politeness.

Li Rui looked at him, feeling somewhat bewildered. "I am Li Rui. And you are?"

"I am Guildmaster Nova’s butler," the man said, bowing slightly with a fluidity and elegance that stood in stark contrast to the tavern, which was thick with the smells of food and sweat. "The Guildmaster wishes to invite you to her home for a brief conversation. Would you be available now?"

Guildmaster Nova?

Li Rui raised an eyebrow, immediately recalling her tall, curvaceous figure and the formidable intensity in her icy blue eyes.

It was already night; for her to invite him to her home at this hour... what could she possibly want?

Although he knew that someone inviting a virtual stranger over must have something specific to discuss, Li Rui, who had just finished a hot bath that had relaxed both his muscles and his mind, could not help but let his imagination run wild.

"I am available, but... what does the Guildmaster want to talk to me about?"

The butler gave a slight shake of his head. "The Guildmaster did not specify, only expressing a desire to chat with a 'newcomer of infinite potential' such as yourself."

"A newcomer of infinite potential"?

A thought stirred in Li Rui’s mind. Could there be a breakthrough regarding the investment he was seeking?

"Very well, then please lead the way..."

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly remembered something and quickly gestured to his linen tunic, purchased from the bathhouse. "Should I go buy some clothes first?"

Since arriving in Golden Wheat Town, he hadn't had a chance to purchase a proper set of daily attire. Of all his clothes, only this tunic from the bathhouse was remotely clean.

The butler said nothing, but from the slight twitch of his facial muscles, Li Rui seemed to read three words: *What do you think?*

"Um, cough, well, Mr. Butler, this is my first time in Golden Wheat Town. Do you know where one might buy suitable clothing?"

***

Although Li Rui possessed the "Jay’s Common Language Memory" and knew of several tailor shops in Golden Wheat Town, Jay had been a pauper who had never once stepped inside one; the best clothes he had ever worn in his life were the ones bought at the bathhouse.

Yes, exactly the set Li Rui was wearing right now.

"Please follow me, Mr. Li Rui."

Half an hour later, Li Rui looked like a completely new man.

He was now wearing an olive-green light vest as his outermost layer, the lapels and back intricately embroidered with dark brown silk thread in patterns of birds and fish he did not recognize.

Beneath the vest, the cuffs of his white long-sleeved shirt were visible, trimmed with a delicate row of short lace to accentuate a sense of tidiness and elegance.

On his feet, he wore a new pair of deep brown leather boots that reached mid-calf. The smooth surface of the leather gleamed with a supple luster under the magic lamp in the tailor shop, and the thick, resilient soles made his stride feel steady and powerful.

Though this outfit didn't quite align with the aesthetic of a 21st-century transmigrator like Li Rui, it fit the tastes of people in this world perfectly. Moreover, it was genuinely comfortable, and after dressing, he felt significantly more refreshed.

If this were a game world, Li Rui suspected a "Charisma +1" icon would have already popped up over his head.

"Hmm, excellent. Mr. Li Rui, you look much more dashing than my first impression of you."

Watching Li Rui in his new clothes, the butler was clearly very satisfied; his attitude even softened slightly from purely professional to something warmer.

It had to be said that a man standing at one meter eighty with a well-proportioned physique was a natural clothes hanger.

After the purchase, the butler led him toward Guildmaster Nova’s residence.

As previously noted, all of Golden Wheat Town was divided into four districts by two intersecting streets. The Adventurers' Guild was in the northwest corner of the Northeast District, while Guildmaster Nova’s home was to the east of the guild.

Although Golden Wheat Town was a border town beyond the reach of any mage tower, it had never been threatened by external enemies before the "Territorial Mutation" caused the White City to appear, as it was only adjacent to a low-level monster forest. Consequently, beyond the city walls, there was no military atmosphere; rather, it held the nascent air of a commercial town.

The two northern districts were home to adventurers and lumberjacks. Compared to the two southern districts, everything here looked much better. As they walked, Li Rui’s path was paved with wooden planks and crushed stone, keeping his new boots free of even a speck of mud.

When they stopped, they had arrived at the northeast corner of the Northeast District.

This was clearly the gathering place for the town’s elite, as the street lighting suddenly shifted from fire pits in the center of the road to magic lamps on either side.

The streets here were wider, and instead of houses flush against the road, there were thick, heavy perimeter walls, with a seamless, heavy iron gate every thirty to fifty meters.

The butler stopped with Li Rui in front of one such iron gate and took out a key to open a smaller door set within it.

Upon stepping through, what caught Li Rui’s eyes was a patch of grass, or rather... a training ground?

Archery targets, straw dummies, iron blocks with handles, and a firm dirt path around the edge of the lawn, worn down by years of constant pacing...

If there wasn't anyone other than Guildmaster Nova training here year-round, these were likely the traces left by her own hand.

Looking at the training ground under the moonlight, Li Rui, who had been somewhat apprehensive on the way, worrying that his poor eloquence might ruin things, suddenly felt his heart calm down.

*So, Guildmaster Nova isn't a spellcaster...*

With this sudden shift in perspective, Li Rui followed the butler across the training ground and reached the two-story brick building behind it.

Golden Wheat Town was not large; the best living conditions here consisted of a lawn enclosed by walls and a two-story house covering two or three hundred square meters.

Guildmaster Nova lived on the second floor. After ushering Li Rui to the drawing room, the butler turned and left.

Guildmaster Nova seemed to have been waiting for some time. When Li Rui saw her, she was sitting at a pure white circular table with red lace trim, quietly leafing through a thick, heavy tome.

"Mr. Li Rui, you’ve arrived. Please, take a seat."

After inviting him to sit, Guildmaster Nova began by making small talk about his new clothes before the conversation drifted, almost imperceptibly, toward the heavy book she had been reading.

"Mr. Li Rui, this book suggests that new transmigrators who arrive from outside the Endi world are easily seen through by veteran transmigrators who have been here longer. What is your opinion on this view?"

Li Rui was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the beautiful, mature woman before him. Upon seeing the profound meaning in her eyes, he was stunned again.

"Actually," Guildmaster Nova said, using a delicate, jade-white finger to touch her cherry-pink, glistening lips, "I am also a transmigrator."