Beng Zeng had finally completed his quest, but the timer in his quest bar was still running. Did he need to talk to the Paladin Trainer before the timer expired?

"Mu, I got the Paladin Soul, but the timer in my quest bar is still ticking. Will my quest be canceled if I don't talk to the Paladin Trainer before it runs out?"

"It might be, Beng. How much time is left on your quest?"

"I've got 00:09:48 left, Mu. It took us 40-45 minutes to get here. How are we going to get back in 9 minutes?"

"Don't worry, buddy. We'll make it back in 5 minutes. Just follow me and don't focus on anything else. Follow my lead, and before that, remove the weight from your inventory to gain some speed."

"Okay, Mu, I'm doing it now."

…

"Alright, I've removed the weights, Mu. What now?"

"Now we sprint through these Green Wolves and make it to the city. Any mistake could be fatal. We're without armor, so we need to be extremely fast and agile to avoid the Green Wolves' attacks. Be quick and nimble, and follow exactly where I step to reach the city."

"I got it, Mu. Let's run to the city then."

Mu Lan and Beng Zeng had devised a plan to reach the Paladin Trainer in the city within 9 minutes. They cleared their minds of all distractions and focused solely on reaching the city as fast as possible.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Beng, start running when I count to 4."

"Alright, Mu, I'm ready."

1...

2...

3...

...

4!

Mu Lan counted to 4, and they darted through the Green Wolves, sprinting towards the city. They moved so quickly through the wolves that it felt like they were cars weaving through a race track, speeding towards the finish line.

As they passed each Green Wolf, its claws sliced through the air, missing them completely. In less than a minute, they had exited the Green Forest and were quickly making their way through other monster areas.

It took them 5 minutes to reach the city, creating a shortcut through the monster zones. Beng Zeng couldn't believe they had made it, but his eyes didn't deceive him this time. They had successfully reached the city in 5 minutes.

"Mu, we... you... how?"

Beng Zeng stammered with excitement. Reaching the city in 5 minutes felt like a miracle. Now they needed to find the Paladin Trainer.

"Let's go see the trainer, Beng. We still have 4 minutes left, so let's not relax yet."

"You're right. Let's go and complete my quest."

…

After about 2 minutes, they reached the Paladin Trainer. The quest timer had 2 minutes left.

"Young Paladin, I knew you would complete this quest successfully. Let me give you your reward without further ado."

Ding!

[Rune Shield]

Level: 0

Defense: 50

Movement Speed: -5%

The Rune Shield binds upon equipping.

The shield will grow stronger as the Paladin levels up.

"Mu, did you see this? My shield is awesome! Thanks, Mu. I knew you wouldn't forget about me. You couldn't stand to have all the cool stuff for yourself, could you? Tell the truth."

"Exactly, Beng. It pained me to see a great Paladin like you without a shield. Now that you have a shield, our defense will be incredible. Plus, we can level up quickly. What do you say? Later on, we should get you some solid armor so you don't die while attacking monsters."

"Mu, are you planning to use me as monster bait?"

"Of course, Beng. Paladins are meant to be monster bait."

"How could you, Mu? Was this all for that?"

"Just kidding, man. I'm increasing your defense so we can level up quickly. I'm boosting your defense so you don't die easily when mobs attack us. I'm enhancing your defense so you can be invincible. No one should be able to break through your defense."

"Mu, you're going to make me cry. Just tell me this from the start so I don't get upset."

"Anyway, Beng. Now that you have the Rune Shield, equip it so we can see how it looks."

"Alright, Mu."

Without wasting any time, Beng Zeng equipped his shield. The slight glow from the shield gave Beng Zeng an extra boost of confidence.

"Wow, Beng, you're glowing."

"Yeah, Mu. The shield looks legendary, and it won't fall off. Thanks, Mu, for helping me get such an amazing item."

"Beng, we had a great time playing, but I think we forgot something. What time is it? How's our training going, and are we late for school? We're playing, but we shouldn't neglect our responsibilities. We agreed to get our act together, didn't we?"

"You're right, Mu. Let's go do our training and then head to school."