The sight that greeted him was infuriating. The shop was open, but only the elderly shopkeeper was present, engaged in a heated argument with a man who was unceremoniously dragging a cow behind him.

Alexander’s instinct was to confront this fool immediately—not the cow owner, but the shopkeeper himself.

It soon became clear that the shop assistant was still absent, which was why the shopkeeper stubbornly refused to handle the matter. Without hesitation, Alexander stepped in to defuse the escalating tension before the cow owner moved on to another shop.

“I’ll take care of it,” Alexander interjected, his voice firm, attempting to diffuse the situation before it spiraled further.

The shopkeeper paused, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Can you manage it?” the shopkeeper questioned, clearly doubtful.

At that moment, Alexander felt an urge to face palm. How had this man managed to stay in business for so long?

“Well, I’m not exactly equipped, but I’ll call Harry and see how far he is. If he’s close enough, I’ll handle the initial cutting, and when he arrives, he can manage the rest.”

Fortunately, Alexander’s call revealed that Harry was nearby. Alexander efficiently took care of the immediate tasks, and by the time Harry arrived, he was ready to take over the situation seamlessly.

Alexander watched with mounting frustration as Harry bustled around. The paltry 247 experience points awarded was barely a drop in the bucket, falling far short of what was needed for a level-up. The cow’s pitiful state hadn’t exactly been a surprise, but it did little to ease his discontent.

At least the day had started on a good note,According to some business superstition, that was a promising omen. Too bad that superstition seemed to be as reliable as a broken clock. By noon, Alexander was tempted to strangle the inventor of that nonsense. He and the shopkeeper had spent hours in a pointless debate over who had swatted more flies, not to mention neither of them actually hit one.

He stared at the experience bar—1342/1500—as the shop assistant wrapped up the last piece of meat for a customer. Then came the excruciating wait. Boredom gnawed at him, making him focus on the second hand of the clock as it ticked away in a maddeningly slow rhythm. Even the flies had abandoned their torment, clearly bored by the lack of action.

Five more hours had slipped away, leaving him with nothing to show for it. Maybe it had been a terrible idea from the start. No, no it was not. It’s just his damn luck whenever something goes according to plan. Just, just at the last second, the last fucking second, some divine intervention happens to fuck things up. Always, always.

Alexander’s frustration reached a boiling point. He stood up, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, veins bulging with the effort. But then he deflated, slumping back into the chair with a sigh of defeat. What could he do?

He almost gave in to the urge to head home, but no. He would stick it out. The day might be a disaster, but he was determined to see it through. He settled back into his seat, a decision he would come to regret deeply as the evening dragged on.

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By now, he felt like banging his head against the nearest wall. Just as he was about to give in to that impulse, a girl's voice floated in from outside the shop, brightening his mood like a ray of sunshine in a thunderstorm.

“Hey, is this shop open?” she called out, and Alexander’s spirits lifted instantly. Before he could react, the assistant darted across the room like a hyperactive squirrel, eagerly greeting the newcomer.

The reason for the assistant’s enthusiasm became glaringly obvious when Alexander laid eyes on the customer. She was a striking young woman, probably around seventeen, with a natural beauty that was hard to ignore. And with her age came the natural arrogence and all that. She was murmuring something about how she does not come to this kind of establishment and how it was an emergency. Simply how beneath this place was for her, and all that.

Harry, the assistant, was practically drooling as he listened to her. Meanwhile, Alexander let out a sigh of relief. Even if he didn’t level up, at least his waiting wasn’t in vain. He glanced up and was immediately struck by a surprising sight.

His eyes widened in shock as he felt an unexpected moisture in his eyes. “Men don’t cry, men don’t cry. Dammit,” Alexander muttered, wiping his eyes frantically and checking to make sure no one was watching.

There were almost 4 cows. Alexander was elated, God had listened to him, he had been paid for his hard work or, in this case, his patience. Though he preferred hard work over patience any day all day.

It seems the shopkeeper, who was arguing with someone, also came back and took charge of the conversation. Though Alexander had never seen him doing anything other than counting money, the man was quite proficient and professional when it comes to business. It seems this was not for no reason this guy was the shopkeeper.

Of course, the haughty princess type never partook in this kind of conversation. She was in her car, though it did not have tires. Alexander recognized it as one of the top-notch models of bentley’ luxury line of SUVs. And true to her haughty nature, she was pouting most likely mad about some inconsequential, a rich kid problem, while heavy music rang. Though there was no way to tell as the car was quite frankly put in silence mode.

The talking was done by an older gentleman, who looked like a proper man in a suit, hair all white, most likely her bodyguard. But why he was an old man, Alexander had no idea.

Upon closely listening, Alexander’s eyes lit even more. It seems for the birthday, the girl’s family arranged a food charity for the local homeless and for the people who were in need. And also some dwellers, and the shopkeeper asked him to get a cow more if they could it would be better that way, and it seems they agreed.

To Alexander, it was exp falling from the sky. He quickly made his way to the assistant who began to arrange the cows for slaughter. It was true God does reward those who have patience. Alexander was completely unaware that the girl was looking at him with interest in her eyes, even though really briefly.

Inside the assistant was first at work, and his effectiveness and enthusiasm were double than normal. Alexander also got ready and started helping by sharpening the tools and all that.

{You have killed a domestic cow, 302 exp}

{You have killed a domestic cow, 309 exp}

{You have killed a domestic cow, 312 exp}

{You have killed a domestic cow, 275 exp}

30 minutes later, Alexander’s work was done as he looked at his status screen in shock. Yes, the cows looked healthy and good, but he did not expect all 3 amidst the 4 to give him exp over 300 and surprise he was more than willing to take. And the last one being quite low, it did not even register in his mind.

Name: Alexander

Race: Human

Level: 10

Exp: 1040/1750

Strength: 27

*Perception: ___

*Dexterity: ___

*Agility: ___

*Constitution: 4

*Intelligence: ___

*Vitality: ___

[Free points: 3]

Alexander was completely awestruck after seeing his exp bar. Not only did he get his long-awaited exp but also another filled up half of what he needed for the next. To say he was over the moon would be an understatement of the century.

Not to mention there was also a chance of another cow coming, which would give him more exp. It seems this venture of his was proving more profitable than even his outing outside the wall. But he knew this kind of order was not a daily occurrence.

It was not all good news, it was later learned that the other cow was canceled. Though Alexander felt bad, but honestly, after getting this big of windfall was there any place to complain. He was more than happy.

Even though there was no obligation, Alexander worked with the assistant and the shopkeeper till the end to finish the work and help them.

It was almost 8:00 pm when the work was done, but at this time there was another surprise waiting for Alexander. It seems that the haughty princess bought a Yekthor, for her own friend’s party. A Yekthor was a variant of Yak, that fell into the category of a wild beast. Just thinking about the exp was enough for Alexander to start drooling. It would at least give him 500 exp or so, or even better if it’s one of the adult big ones, it might even give him more than 1000 exp, he just may get another level. This day was shaping up to be a very great day after all.

But just as he thought it, it all came crashing down. The shopkeeper turned the haughty princess down. It seems to handle this kind of creature, special equipment was needed, and frankly, they did not have them.

Alexander deflated like a licked balloon. “What the fuck!” Alexander wanted to curse but did not. He reminded himself not to be too greedy, but it was a fucking shame nonetheless.

Though the processing of the meat was almost complete, there were still some things left like, weighing the meat, processing the intestines, and all that. So Alexander decided to go home after taking his leave from the shopkeeper. But just as he left the shop, his eyes widened in disbelief.