I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

He didn't ask any more questions and continued wiping the violin.

Lu Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

After a while, he spoke.

"I have done some research on ancient music theory."

The middle-aged man's hand slowed down for a moment as he wiped the violin.

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

There was no surprise, only a scrutinizing look, an assessment of how much the person in front of them actually knew.

Then he picked up the wine glass on the table and took a sip.

When he put down the cup, his tone became much more casual.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Someone taught me some things."

"Then you're in luck." The middle-aged man plucked a string, and the open string hummed. "Fewer and fewer people know these three words now; almost no one in the younger generation is learning them."

He leaned the violin against the chair leg and leaned back.

"The ancient music theory actually has its own unique aspects. I don't know if your teacher ever mentioned it to you."

"I mentioned it briefly."

"Then you should know why fewer and fewer people are walking this road."

The middle-aged man spoke as he touched the zither.

"It doesn't make money. Instrument maintenance, sheet music collection, and running around are all expenses. Secondly, it's useless. You can't kill or block blows. On the battlefield, you can't even kill a monster. The Night Watch won't use you, the army won't recruit you, and mercenary groups definitely won't want you."

He spoke very calmly.

Fewer and fewer people are taking this path.

He pointed to himself and his companions behind him.

"Only a group of us actually find this thing somewhat interesting."

"Is it really useless?"

Lu Yuan asked a question.

The middle-aged man picked up his wine glass and swirled it.

"It can't be said to be completely useless."

He thought about it.

"It's just that there are very few occasions where it can be used. I don't usually encounter such situations."

Lu Yuan waited for him to continue.

But the middle-aged man shook his head.

"To go into more detail, I can't really explain it myself. My master told me some things, but he only heard it from his master. This kind of thing has been lost for too long, and many things have changed after being passed down for several generations."

He took a sip of his drink.

"But the fact that you can hear the sounds in the music shows that you have a good foundation. Go back and keep practicing. Music theory is different from other things; you can't rush it."

Lu Yuan did not press the matter further.

I've asked everything I needed to ask, and I can't get any more information by pressing further.

He picked up the remaining beer in front of him from the table, finished it, then took a gold shield from his pocket and placed it in front of the bard.

"This round is on me."

The middle-aged man glanced at the golden shield.

He smiled and accepted it, tucking his fingers into his breast pocket without hesitation. This kind of person is probably used to being treated to drinks.

"Speaking of which, what's your name?" The middle-aged man started tuning his instrument again.

"Lu Yuan".

"My name is Haimon." He plucked a string. "If you hear someone playing 'The Boatman of Copperhorn Bay' anywhere, it's probably me."

Lu Yuan nodded and returned to his table with the empty cup.

Hank's face was flushed from drinking, and he was arguing with Frank about something, something about which shop's jerky was better.

Beren opened his eyes at some point and chatted quietly with Kel. Kel's fingers slowly traced the outline of the inscription on the stone slab.

Lu Yuan sat down and poured himself the last half glass.

Time passed by unnoticed.

All the gas lamps in the tavern were lit.

The flame flickered on the copper lampshade, the light shifting from yellowish to orange, casting patches of shadow on the wall.

The streetlights outside the window gradually came on, their orange glow filtering through the half-closed door and falling onto the ground in front of the doorway.

There weren't many people left in the tavern.

The bard's companions put away the small drum and returned the two tubular instruments to their cloth bags.

Only Haimon remained lazily leaning back in his chair, his violin resting on his knees, his fingers occasionally plucking the strings, seemingly playing some fragmented melody from his remnants of memory.

Hank's alcohol tolerance had reached its limit, and he was letting himself get drunk. Frank and another watchman helped him by supporting his arms and making him sit up a little straighter.

Buren and Kel were still talking in hushed tones.

Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair, thinking that this evening was indeed quite nice.

Then footsteps could be heard outside.

It was a group of people moving quickly.

[Environmental Sensing: A weak source of pollution has been detected.]

Lu Yuan put down his cup.

Almost at the same time, Haimon, who was diagonally opposite, also raised his head.

His fingers pressed down on the last note on the harp, and the sound stopped abruptly.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.

Lu Yuan glanced at him again.

He sensed it too.

Haimon didn't say anything, he just smiled.

Lu Yuan didn't have time to think much and turned to look at Hank.

He didn't speak, but simply gave him a look.

Hank, who had been lying there drunk, paused for a moment when he received that look.

He put down the wine glass.

He grabbed the coat draped over the back of the chair and put it on with such speed that you couldn't tell how much he had drunk.

"We've got a job."

Frank and the other two watchmen stood up almost simultaneously.

Beren tapped the ground with his cane. Kale looked up abruptly, not quite understanding what was happening, and seeing everyone getting up, he quickly stuffed the stone slab into his pocket and stood up as well.

Lu Yuan took a gold coin out of his pocket and tossed it to the bartender behind the counter.

"Keep the extra."

The boss caught it without changing his expression, indicating that this wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a situation.

"Take care, guest."

The group pushed open the tavern door and went outside.

Haimon also stood up, slung his violin over his shoulder, and followed behind at a leisurely pace.

His companions exchanged glances, made no attempt to stop them, and followed him out carrying the cloth bags containing the musical instruments.

The night wind blew in.

It was much colder outside than inside the pub. The streetlights cast an orange glow, illuminating a section of the cobblestone pavement before fading into darkness further away.

Footsteps are approaching.

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze following the light of the street lamps.

At the end of the streetlights, several figures were approaching.

The figure emerged from the darkness into the light, gradually becoming clearer.

There were three people in total.

The two running at the front were carrying something, one on the left and one on the right, as if they were carrying something.

The third one followed half a step behind, glancing back every now and then.

They ran fast, but their steps were methodical. When turning, the three of them adjusted their direction almost simultaneously, showing excellent teamwork.

There were more people behind them.

Four.

Wearing dark trench coats, their steps were more synchronized, and there was no shouting or chasing, but a murderous intent emanated from them.

Lu Yuan's gaze first fell on the three people in front of him.

When the person running in front turned to the side, the side of their neck was exposed.

Something was wriggling under the skin, dark green veins, like the roots of some kind of plant, extending along the side of the neck all the way to behind the ear.

The second person also had it on the back of their hand.

Moreover, it was even more obvious that the dark green veins spread out from between the fingers, and shimmered with a moist sheen under the light.

One of them was injured.

Something cut my right shoulder, but the wound isn't bleeding.

The oozing liquid was a dark green, viscous liquid that flowed down his arm, splashed onto the stone slab, and emitted a wisp of white smoke.

Before Lu Yuan could even begin to process what was happening, the gray and white text had already jumped out.

It's not about those three people.

It's that thing they're holding up.

A humanoid shape.

She was placed between two people, her limbs hanging naturally. When viewed from the side, her surface had a fine texture, like tree bark or wood grain.

At the edge of my field of vision, gray and white text appeared.

[Detection Target: Unknown plant creation (incomplete)]

[A biomimetic body constructed from some ancient plant fiber... perhaps you've seen something similar.]

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

He had indeed seen it.

Baron von Linde, Crown Lane, in that study.

The gray-green branches that spewed from the baron's chest, smashing through the ceiling bricks, and roots that pierced through the stone slabs from the soles of his boots and into the ground.

The dark green veins running under the skin of these people are the same thing.

The exact same scent.

And this time, Bronze City still did not respond.

These people ran through the streets, covering at least two blocks, seemingly undetected by the Bronze City's suppression array.

Just like with von Linde.

Lu Yuan's gaze shifted from the three people in front to the four people behind.

Dark trench coats, uniformly tailored.

A small metal brooch, about the size of a thumb, with a gear pattern, was pinned to his collar. It was tiny, but Lu Yuan recognized it.

On the Blackrock Street incident, the little ascendant's metal skeleton was connected to a dense array of gears.

The patterns on those gears are exactly the same as the patterns on this pin in front of me.

Ascension Assembly.

But these four people are different from the minor ascendants.

They were agile, made accurate judgments, and cooperated effectively during the pursuit, clearly demonstrating that they had retained their full will and ability to act.

One of the men's right arms was noticeably different from the other three.

It was a size thicker than a normal arm, the sleeve was very tight, and there was a metallic sheen at the joints.

The gray and white text quietly emerged.

[Target for detection: Ascension Society members (mechanical modifiers)]

[These are humans who have abandoned their physical bodies and embraced mechanical modifications, yet retained their full will and judgment.]

Lu Yuan didn't have time to think further.

Because the situation changed drastically within seconds.

When the two groups reached Lu Yuan's section of the road, they were already very close.

Those who were close enough to see the expressions on the faces of the people in the "tree" were all too close. The injured one in front of them had a distorted expression, as if he was enduring something surging up from inside his body.

They were close enough to see clearly what the Ascension Society was doing.

The two men in front each held a short blade, narrow-backed and thick-ridged, with intricate gear inscriptions engraved on the blade.

The inscriptions spun slightly under the streetlights, emitting a very faint hum.

The robotic arm behind it moves differently from the others.

He did not speed up to chase after him.

The copper tube connector on the right arm was unscrewed, and the metal sheets unfolded layer by layer, revealing a short, thick tubular structure.

The edge of the tube is engraved with a ring of gold inscriptions, densely packed.

Lu Yuan recognized him at a glance.

On the Blackrock Street incident, the little ascendant had a crossbow firing mechanism hidden in his sleeve.

But the one in front of us was much larger, and the diameter and shape of the nozzle clearly indicated it wasn't for shooting crossbows.

It is a device that can spray alchemical flames.

He also glanced at both sides of the street.