Li Si was speechless.
That turnaround from hostility to fandom was way too sudden.
She quickly sent the girl a polite rejection, then decisively closed the panel.
Young people’s thought processes were getting harder and harder to understand.
After confirming that Jian didn’t have any other hidden intentions, Li Si finally relaxed and turned her gaze toward the wilderness.
The eastern wilderness of Soronwell, like the wilderness maps in other directions, was an endless expanse of desert.
Originally, this area had been home to monster groups ranging from level 15 to 30, but now not a single trace of magic beasts could be seen.
Instead, a thick layer of miasma had taken their place.
Layer upon layer of miasma surrounded Soronwell from above.
If one stood far enough away, they could see an inverted vortex of miasma plunging from the sky straight into the ground.
The apex of that vortex was the dungeon entrance.
A middle-rank dungeon—completely different from the lower-rank dungeons that only appeared near beginner villages.
If the lower-rank dungeon was Minos’s easiest difficulty, then the middle-rank dungeon was normal difficulty.
The middle-rank dungeon had a total of thirty-six floors, each guarded by a lord.
Even if a lord was killed and the passage to the next floor opened, as long as the city lord at the deepest floor remained alive, these lords would endlessly revive.
Li Si did a final check on her party’s status.
Lili Ya wore a black level-10 priest robe, clutching the level-10 Soul Grace Staff she’d bought back in the beginner village.
She’d been serious since the very beginning, and now she gripped the staff even tighter, looking ready to depart at a moment’s notice.
Liewata, the level-20 fire mage, wore a clean and sharp crimson magic robe.
All of the supplies for this leveling session were strapped to her back.
She held a level-20 green-quality short magic wand in her left hand and steadied her dark red pointed magic hat with her right.
A happy smile hung on her face—she too looked battle-ready.
Yadana… uh… the madwoman… not worth looking at.
…Well, fine.
Not looking wasn’t an option either.
Li Si let out a sigh, her gaze landing on the desert before the entrance.
In the dim miasma, Yadana was squatting there with a bucket of popcorn, bare-assed, eating while she did her business.
Li Si was at a loss for words.
She really should stop looking at this lunatic, or else she’d end up just as crazy one day.
Like right now—Li Si actually found herself thinking it would’ve been more reasonable if Yadana were peeing instead…
“Cough… Alright, let’s move out.”
“This dungeon is different from all the previous leveling spots. On every single floor, there’s a chance of encountering level-25 or even lord-tier magic beasts. So you must remember—don’t stray too far from me.”
Lili Ya suddenly spoke up timidly, “Um… Yadana is still…”
Li Si shook her head, “Don’t worry about her.”
With that, she began to lead the party toward the entrance, but suddenly a hand shot out.
An adventurer dressed like a soldier blocked the path, his face stern as he said, “Ten gold per person to enter.”
Li Si’s expression remained flat.
Dungeons had never required an entry fee—unless someone was deliberately looking for trouble.
This man had been sizing up their group the whole time, as if trying to decide whether or not he could squeeze money out of them.
Li Si brushed past his hand.
The man froze for a moment, then snapped, “Hey! This is for your own good! Pay up, and our Wolf Pack Adventure Group will protect you. You can level in peace!”
As he spoke, the man displayed his panel level.
Name: [Hidden]
Level: 20
Class: Blade Warrior
Attributes: [Hidden]
Talent: [Hidden]
Skills: [Hidden]
At the same time, four other adventurers who had been crouching nearby stood up and displayed their panels one after another, finally showing off a shared adventure group.
Adventure Group: Wolf Pack
Regional Ranking: 29
After doing all that, they seemed dead certain the party would cough up the gold.
They tilted their chins up, waiting with arrogance.
Li Si completely ignored them.
The group was stunned for a moment, but they didn’t pursue.
The blade warrior from before sneered, “Revival isn’t possible out here, you know. A party like yours is prime material for a full wipe. Even if you’re crying and begging for help, no one’s coming to save you.”
Scenarios like this—they claimed they’d save people, but really, they were just trying to exploit novice adventurers.
The middle-rank dungeon had a high degree of randomness.
Every time certain special magic beasts revived, their locations would change.
Under normal circumstances, novice adventurers wouldn’t face much danger while leveling—unless they happened to stumble into a special magic beast’s territory.
When that happened, sending out a distress signal basically turned them into a beacon for higher-level adventurers.
If they got rescued, lucky them.
But some with ulterior motives would even use low-level adventurers as aggro anchors to pull monsters.
This kind of trick—Li Si had seen it countless times in her past life.
These people were still nowhere near the level of those scheming bastards who pulled world-class bosses straight into the main cities.
“Um… there are five of us in total… If we pay a little extra, can you protect us more thoroughly…”
“Ohhh, five beauties~ Of course, of course we can~ As long as you pay up, our Wolf Pack will definitely protect you! You see that silver-haired one over there who doesn’t believe us? In no time, those three will come running out crying. This dungeon ain’t like the wilderness—you can’t level up safely out there anymore.”
Behind them, the chatter grew louder, clearly meant to be overheard.
Li Si didn’t acknowledge them.
She took a single step through the entrance.
The dungeon entrance was shrouded in black miasma.
The moment she crossed through it, the scene before her completely transformed.
An endless expanse of lush green grassland stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Within visible range, numerous adventurer parties were pulling monsters and leveling up.
“Rada, hold the aggro!”
“Perfect! They’re all stunned!”
“Quick! Enzo, follow up with a horizontal slash!”
“Nice! All three grassland lizards wiped out!”
Lili Ya looked at the scene before her, a little surprised.
“This… is a dungeon…”
It was completely different from the City of Temptation.
It actually resembled a normal wilderness map, though compared to the wilderness, there were noticeably more monster-pulling parties and a greater density of monsters.
“Don’t underestimate this place.”
Liewata warned seriously, “I came here once before to look for someone. I almost died.”
Lili Ya’s expression instantly turned solemn, and she nodded earnestly.
Li Si glanced at her adventurer panel.
As she entered the first floor, the shared map published by the frontline raid group began to load.
According to the map information, the danger rating on the first floor was only ten.
The highest-level monster ever sighted here was level 20, making it relatively safe.
Li Si then focused her senses.
A wisp of gray energy appeared before her eyes.
Strict Father: You possess the sharpest instincts.
As a combat-type talent, the ability granted by Strict Father allowed her to clearly sense potential improvement points within her range.
She identified a direction that offered relatively better EXP farming.
Along the way, no battles broke out—there were too many parties leveling near the entrance.
Some were even crouched right in front of the nesting grounds of the level-15 grassland lizards, waiting for them to respawn.
Li Si stopped in her tracks.
Ahead was a pond, and beneath the water’s surface lurked several pairs of murky yellow eyes.
Another adventurer party was leveling nearby, but they seemed completely unaware of the eyes watching from the water.
Monster Information
Monster: Water Source Crocodile
Level: 15
HP: 500/500
MP: 10/10
Skills: Water Arrow
Li Si reached for her sword and stepped forward, ready to kick off a battle.
Suddenly, she tilted her head and looked at her message panel.
Friend Message
He Zi: You’re in Soronwell. I want to see you.
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