A black pig was chasing a boy, running in circles.
The pig had thick skin and tough flesh; the one who cried out in pain from a punch was Luo Yi himself.
“Luo Yi, against enemies, sometimes you have to use the environment!”
Xue La covered her face and reminded him quietly.
‘No good…’
Luo Yi was the future Brave, but his combat skills needed improvement. He had learned some military formation techniques, but hand-to-hand combat was clearly his blind spot…
Xue La gritted her teeth, hoping she could help in some way.
“I know!”
Luo Yi shouted, craning his neck.
As he ran, he didn’t forget to pick up stones and counterattack.
‘Hmm, a bit smarter than before.’
‘Stones are better than fists.’
But his throws were not accurate enough—throwing stones also required the help of stats and skills. Xue La couldn’t help but recall her own Assassin stat panel, which had a “Throwing Knife” setting…
But Luo Yi had chosen the path of a Warrior. Throwing stones for a counterattack was still a bit difficult.
Therefore, these stones only slightly angered the black pig, which let out strange “oink oink” sounds and continued charging at Luo Yi.
And Luo Yi had already reached a tall pine tree, with no way to retreat.
“Oink!”
Du Wa Er Fu’s black pig, Pi Gu Si, let out a cheerful sound, as if victory was near.
It made its final charge, its sharp tusks aimed at Luo Yi’s rear.
“Still not turning to run? This kid…”
Du Wa Er Fu finished looking at the Heavy Sword and turned his attention to this unique man-pig battle.
Kargon squinted: “Lady Xue La wasn’t wrong—if you use the environment well…”
Bang!
At the most critical moment, Luo Yi jumped and dodged the charge.
His opponent, the black pig, crashed straight into the pine tree.
Dizzy and disoriented.
“That’s right, this is it.”
Xue La saw through it at a glance.
In gaming terms, it was that the enemy’s charge mechanism backfires when facing an obstacle.
Then, it was Luo Yi’s turn to act.
The boy straddled the black pig’s back, sitting firmly.
He held onto the piglet’s tail, refusing to be thrown off.
“Ooooink…”
The black pig’s legs were unsteady; its short little legs had never been meant to support a child’s weight.
Among the pack animals tamed by the Dwarf clan, only the proud goats could serve as mounts.
And pigs were just replacements for hunting dogs.
Their bodies were so delicate!
Therefore, this round was won by Luo Yi.
“Ooooink…”
As soon as the contest ended, the little black pig Pi Gu Si scurried behind Du Wa Er Fu, its body trembling nonstop.
It had lost, and lost badly.
“Then, according to our agreement, we should borrow the little black pig to find the herb.”
“Ahaha, no rush, no rush.”
Du Wa Er Fu said, “You see, my little pig is tired too—let me, this adventurer, take care of finding the herb. If my pig eats some delicious herb or wild fruit, it might be willing to help.”
Ah?
“Collecting herbs is a task every rookie adventurer does!”
the Dwarf uncle laughed heartily, “And besides, you’ve avenged my former companions!”
He solemnly returned the Heavy Sword to Luo Yi.
“Take good care of it. The previous owner of this sword was my brother Gals… He was…”
‘Is that so?’
Xue La blinked.
The remains of those adventurers in the Manticore Cave—were they not independent, forgotten existences?
It seemed this was indeed a little clever design by the game developer.
“So, it’s settled! I’ll help you collect the herb—in return, please take me to that Manticore Cave…”
Xue La nodded: “Uncle Du Wa Er Fu—I can take you there right now, no need to wait.”
Hmm?
Kargon couldn’t believe it.
According to what he had heard from his fellow Knights, it seemed that Lady Xue La was discovered by Kai Luo Si’s rescue team after she had fainted.
How could a fainted girl remember the location of the Manticore Cave?
“When I was caught by the Manticore, I remembered every blade of grass and every tree… I remembered the familiar surroundings shrinking…”
Xue La said.
She was lying.
Because as a transmigrator and a top pro gamer from her previous life, how could she not know the location of the Manticore Cave?
But she had to do this, because suddenly she felt that an unnamed NPC like Du Wa Er Fu could actually bring out a story.
It was truly incredible.
Although she had only transmigrated to this continent of Patagonia for a few short weeks, she seemed to have already changed her past impressions.
Those remains of adventurers were not simply “resource points for new players,” but people who had once lived?
Just like the merchant Laolunsi—Xue La hadn’t known before that one of the fastest ways to get Emius’s Recipe was from him…
Therefore, with a bit of friendliness and luck, Xue La also wanted to know what kind of story this Dwarf, Du Wa Er Fu, could bring to the future Brave Luo Yi and herself.
Yes, story.
Xue La actually regretted her past behavior of frantically pressing Ctrl to skip cutscenes when playing games.
She is she missed something?
It wasn’t too late to pick it up now.
Within the territory of House Linde, at the edges of shrubs and grass, between the high mountains and streams.
Luo Yi and Xue La picked quite a few things.
“Look, this yellow plant root is what I tried to dig up in the cave back then.”
Luo Yi extended his hand, “Do you still want to eat it now? I swear it’s still…”
Xue La laughed and waved her hand, signaling him to feed it to the pig.
Pi Gu Si was still afraid of Luo Yi, the “victor”!
“Grunt…” Pi Gu Si hesitantly sniffed Luo Yi’s hand, then tentatively stuck out its pink tongue, devouring Luo Yi’s hard-earned harvest in a flash.
‘Well, at least it tastes good.’
‘If I don’t get along with this “Black Truffle collection expert,” how can I get what we need?’
Xue La also stepped forward, watching the pig raised by Du Wa Er Fu wag its tail happily like a hunting dog.
“Seeing the Lady so happy, I’m satisfied.”
Kargon sighed in relief, looking at Du Wa Er Fu, “You, an adventurer from a foreign land, are easy to deal with.”
The Dwarf gave him a sidelong glance: “I’m an upright person! I’m still young; I won’t stick to old ways like the elders of the clan. I’m only fifty-five… by our own standards, I’ve just come of age.”
“What about your beard?”
“Only older Dwarves have thick beards. Can’t you see I have short stubble!”
Du Wa Er Fu stroked his chin, boasting.
“Sorry, when I was in the Imperial Guard in the Royal Capital, I often dealt with adventurers—some were notorious…”
“Humans are just complicated,” Du Wa Er Fu said. “Some are cunning, some are honest. The key is to use your eyes and other means to carefully distinguish, not to be fooled by appearances…”
The basket was filled, with herbs and black truffles.
Perhaps this was also part of Xue La’s plan, because the more rampant the Manticore was, the fewer people would be around, making it easier to collect rarer materials?
Their final path was to reach the Manticore Cave and retrieve the remains of the adventurers…
Then bury them.
Dusk fell. Du Wa Er Fu sang the Dwarf’s Mourning Song, carrying the bones of his former companions, walking at the very end of the line.
“Nothing to see, just a pile of bones that can’t even be recognized.”
Du Wa Er Fu sighed, packing the bones into a bundle, “My old companions… I’m glad to see their weapons can still be used to help the children escape danger.”
“That’s enough,” the Dwarf concluded. “I should thank you.”
‘Maybe there’s no lucky encounter like Laolunsi’s? She’s always so utilitarian, thinking about what good things she’ll get.’
Xue La summed up.
But in the end, there was only a thank you and help from the Dwarf adventurer.
Because she provided the location of the Manticore Cave, Du Wa Er Fu was willing to bring his pig to help dig up black truffles.
Because Du Wa Er Fu recovered the bones of his adventurer companions, he would say thank you.
‘Perhaps my gamer mentality needs correction?’