"Commoners?" Filly chuckled. "Here in my restaurant, there's no such thing as commoners. Did you come here to eat or to flaunt your status? If it's the latter, then get out. Food is what matters more in this restaurant."

Hearing this made the diners look at her in a different light. Most of them came here to eat because of the new menus, while some were frequent diners since the opening of the restaurant and had stayed loyal ever since.

Ned, on the other hand, smiled. Yeah, this is my goddess.

"Wow, so your restaurant has fallen this low?" Charlotte looked around with disgust in her eyes. "To think Skyline Savory has also damaged your brain. This restaurant is no better than a commoner's restaurant. If it weren't for Skyline being full, I wouldn't even be here."

"Get out," Filly stated strongly.

Charlotte stared at her from head to toe before she scoffed. "You call yourself a noble? You are a stain to that title."

"Don't make me repeat myself again," Filly said, her eyes looking at Charlotte coldly.

Gail, on the other hand, took a step forward and released her killing intent. The temperature seemed to drop significantly, and people felt like there was a knife around their necks. This sensation was especially intense for Charlotte as she directly received the bloodlust.

The maid beside Charlotte became worried. "Let's go, Miss. This is dangerous."

Charlotte was sweating, and her eyes were shaking with fear. In the end, she turned around 'angrily' and started walking towards the door. "I won't let this slide!"

As the sound of the door closing echoed in the restaurant, the diners went back to eating while their eyes glanced at Filly with admiration.@@novelbin@@

"That was quite a scene," Temor said from the side. He was happily cooking when he heard the commotion, so he naturally went out to watch.

Filly sighed. She had expected this, just not so early. Then, as she glanced around, she noticed that there were more customers than yesterday.

This is good, the restaurant is already showing signs of recovery, Filly thought. Just using oil alone can already attract them. She also noticed the frequent customers and couldn't help but feel thankful for them.

"Now that we're here, why don't we go into the kitchen?" Temor asked his boss, and Filly nodded. "I have something to show you."

…

Two and a half days later.

Ah, finally! I'm at the 4th-Step! Apollo thought in excitement. He brought up his Status Screen to see the changes.

"Name: Apollo Leone.

Race: Human.

Alm Points: 17

Spirit Cultivation: None.

Physique Cultivation: 4th-Step Foundation Building.

Attributes: None."

All this time, what he was doing was cultivating, eating, then back to cultivating. And the food that he ate was bread from Big Chub. Although it wasn't that great, it was better than being hungry. He also earned an additional 15 Alm points.

Buying that Wish Me Luck item at that time was worth it, Apollo thought. When his Alm points reached 5, he didn't buy the Health Potion even though his back was aching and itchy. Instead, he bought the Wish Me Luck item, increasing his Luck by 9%.

Then he waited for something to happen and, as expected, something did. A man was thrown out from the Skyline Savory branch across the street. The man flew up and landed beside him, his money falling out of his pocket. And, of course, as a good citizen, Apollo helped the guy by putting the coins in his own pocket.

Apparently, that guy was bothering another patron, which led to a fight and caused the man to be kicked out by the restaurant's guard.

Apollo counted the Alm points that he got, earning him 20 Alm points. However, at that time, he felt greedy. He bought another Wish Me Luck item, and the random luck that he got was only at 1%, causing him to almost vomit blood. As expected, nothing happened. He had just wasted 5 Alm points. The beggar didn't try to buy another one hastily, afraid that he would lose 'hard-earned' points again.

Back to the present, the sun was already on its way to meet the horizon.

After the initial excitement, Apollo went back inside his Beggar Spot to feel his strength. He couldn't go out anymore to that forest with some monster planning to hunt him down. It would be akin to suicide. He raised his fist and punched the air, causing it to explode and raise small winds around him.

His clothes and hair made a flapping sound for a few seconds before they went back to normal.

"Woah!" Apollo exclaimed in amazement. He looked at his fist and clenched it. This strength… I feel like I could bulldoze through anything!

This made him really want to test out his strength. But he couldn't go to that forest anymore.

"Training ground?" Apollo muttered. He could go there, but the only things worthwhile were the scarecrow and the weapons rack. There's no need for him to use that scarecrow, as the only function it has is to measure one's strength. The weapons rack, however… He could use the sword to practice his Simple Sword Technique.

"Well, if I'm going to participate in that Advancement Examination, I might as well practice my techniques," Apollo finally decided to go back to the training ground. "I don't want to embarrass myself."

With this thought in mind, he stood up and walked towards the direction of Big Chub's stall. That guy closed before the sun went down. It didn't take him long before he reached the stall, and Big Chub was already preparing to pack up his things.

"Hey," Apollo greeted with a smile. "Are you going to close now?"

"What's up, kid, yeah I'm about to go home." Big Chub also smiled. "Are you going to buy something? I still have some."

"Sure, give me two," Apollo said while taking out his coin.

"Don't bother to pay, kid, it's on me," Big Chub said, handing him three breads instead of two.

"Are you sure? I have money, you know," Apollo asked, though his hands had already grabbed the bread.

"I'm going to throw it away anyway," Big Chub shrugged. "They wouldn't last the night, and there's no more beggar here besides you. Come to think of it, how come you didn't get caught by the city guards?"

"I think I'm lucky," Apollo said, biting the bread in half. "Or they are just busy?"

"Busy?" Big Chub raised an eyebrow before he thought of something. "You're probably right. Some big shots are coming to this city. They are even ordering us not to sell for the time being, not until the event is finished."

"Eh? That's bad," Apollo said with his mouth full.

"I know, right? That event will last for at least a week!" Big Chub sighed, then pointed at a stall a few meters away. "Also, look at that. The city is setting up its own stall for the sake of their visitors. So they want to be the only ones to earn money?"

Apollo glanced in the direction he was pointing and saw a bunch of people building a stall that was definitely bigger and more spacious than Big Chub's and the other vendors' stalls.