“Oh my, we’re really sorry, we didn’t mean anything by it.”
The short-haired woman who looked like the captain smiled as she walked over, speaking with an apologetic tone: “We just saw someone we recognized and weren’t sure if it was her, so we stared for a bit. But look, you took our Magic Beast too, so I’d say we’re even.”
“Took?”
Li Si raised an eyebrow. When this elite monster had charged over, its health bar was still half full. An ordinary warrior would have been scrambling to deal with that.
“Then this corpse’s materials belong to you guys too.”
The other woman looked completely indifferent. After speaking, she didn’t even glance at the Elite Grassland Lizard’s body, instead walking over to a figure who was still crying.
“Oh my, it really is you, that Fire Mage who only knows Spark.”
The woman rested her hand on her hip and laughed: “Forgot about me? I’m Mora, remember when you wanted to see the hero大人? I’m the one who helped you~”
“Mo…ra?”
Liewata was crying while skinning the Water Source Crocodile, and at those words, her mind went completely blank.
“Can’t remember? Back then I knocked you out. Honestly, if I wasn’t worried the hero大人 would mind, I would have just killed you right then and there.”
“Liewata, fall back.”
Li Si walked over slowly with her hand on her sword, extending a hand toward Liewata.
Liewata froze for a moment, looked at the unprocessed Magic Beast corpse, then at Li Si. She reached out in confusion, took the hand, and stood up to leave.
“Oh my, remembered now? Scared and running away? If you’re coming to beg the hero大人 again, feel free to come find me anytime.”
Mora let out a mocking laugh, then suddenly heard the silver-haired girl toss out a light remark.
“Don’t die.”
“What?”
Mora asked in confusion. She watched the strange trio leave without even processing the Magic Beast they’d killed.
A team member suddenly spoke up in warning, “Captain… this water seems a bit off.”
“Hm?”
Mora turned to look at the water surface, her brow gradually furrowing. Without any warning, a ripple appeared on the water’s surface. That ripple then shook violently, and a surge of Miasma burst out from the water.
Mora’s heart tightened. She tried to step back, but it was already too late. A massive fish head burst out of the water in an instant, flipping over the entire ground.
[City of Wrath Floor 1 – Public Channel]
[Yao Zhu: Notice to everyone, the floor 1 boss, Level 20 ‘Water Beast,’ has appeared at Green Grass Pond.]
[Yao Zhu (2): Notice, the floor 1 boss ‘Water Beast’ has appeared at Green Grass Pond.]
[Black Rose (3): Someone come quick! Help! Our captain got sent flying! Captain, are you okay! If you can see this, reply!]
[Black Rose (2): Is Mora still alive!!!]
[Black Rose: Shut up! I’m pinned under the fish’s belly, lure it away already!!]
…
Li Si looked back behind her. As they moved away, a wisp of black Miasma slowly faded from her perception.
Behind them, the pond had disappeared, replaced by a massive Magic Beast’s body.
That beast looked like a grass carp with four limbs. It let out a bubble, then quickly sank back underground, leaving a huge crater in its place. Groundwater seeped out rapidly, filling the pit back into a pond.
Li Si was speechless. No wonder so few people trained at that pond—turns out it was the most frequently reported spawn point for the floor 1 boss.
This time, she decisively became more cautious. Combined with the sighting reports, she moved to a relatively safer training spot.
On the way there, Lili Ya was still shaken. If Li Si hadn’t warned them, they would definitely have been sent flying by that fish head.
At her current level, if she got hit by a monster like that, her health bar would probably hit zero in an instant.
Lili Ya steadied her nerves, then couldn’t help but look at Liewata, who had stopped crying.
Ever since the retreat began, Liewata had entered some kind of thinking state, her brows furrowed, biting her lip, lost in thought.
Lili Ya hesitated for a moment, wanting to check on her, when she suddenly saw tears well up in Liewata’s eyes again. Then Liewata abruptly sent a request to both her and Li Si.
“Please let me join your party!!!”
“Huh?”
Lili Ya tilted her head, hugging her staff with a bewildered look.
Li Si rested her hand on her sword, understanding Liewata’s intention quite well.
Actually, she had been waiting—waiting for Liewata to show enough resolve.
Compared to a puppet invited in, she wanted a soul companion who genuinely desired to grow stronger. When she first met Liewata, that was the impression she’d gotten.
But for some reason, after just two short days together, Liewata seemed to have become a different person.
Honestly, even up until they left, Li Si had hoped Liewata would proactively ask to join. She could see Liewata’s desire, but she wanted to see her conviction even more.
Too bad she didn’t speak up back then. Well, making up for it now isn’t too late.
Liewata cried bitterly, regretting that she’d said this too late. She looked at Li Si and said seriously, “I want to grow stronger too!”
These past few days, she could see Lili Ya constantly carrying out the tasks Li Si gave her. If the rumors were true, if Li Si could change even a useless priest from the Beginner Village, then why couldn’t she do the same?
At this moment, Liewata desperately wanted to grow stronger—not to stand beside the strong, but to become truly strong herself.
“I know.”
Li Si nodded. White light bloomed from Liewata’s body—that was the far-sightedness of the Strict Father.
Even if Liewata hadn’t asked on her own, Li Si would have guided her down the path she envisioned.
[Adventurer Information Panel]
****[Name]: Liewata
****[Race]: Bear Tribe
****[Level]: 20 (1.5%)
****[Class]: Fire Mage
****[Strength]: 8
****[Magic]: 12 (Equipment +3)
****[Agility]: 8 (Equipment +2)
****[Perception]: 18 (Equipment +3)
****[Talent]: Instant Feedback
****[Skills]: Elemental Perception / Spark
…
****[Instant Feedback]: All speeds +50% during combat.
When she saw this panel, Li Si already had a concept in mind.
Perhaps because Liewata had grown up in Hot Spring Village eating hot spring fruits for a long time, her base Strength was very high.
Normal adventurers had base Strength ranging from 0 to 5, but Liewata had 8.
With such high Strength, if she allocated her future level-up points into Strength, her melee damage would be exceptional.
Yes, the future Li Si envisioned for Liewata was a melee mage.
But there was still a long road ahead to reach that point. For now, what needed to be done was to get her used to it early.
“Pull… pull aggro?”
Liewata’s mouth hung open. She’d never heard of a mage pulling monsters.
Li Si held her sword, looking at the Grassland Leopard ahead, and said softly, “Just like when you lured out the Minotaur General back then. Use your speed and reflexes to control distance and draw aggro.”
As she spoke, Li Si stepped forward, triggering the Grassland Leopard’s territorial instincts. The beast glanced at Li Si first, then quickly turned its head to lock onto the backline.
“When it comes to gaining a Magic Beast’s aggro, mages have an advantage over warriors and shield guards.”
Just as Li Si finished speaking, a crimson figure shot out from beside her.
Liewata understood. The moment she heard “lure the Minotaur General,” she already got it.
She just never imagined that the things everyone in the village told her not to do, the things that common sense said no mage should do—Li Si would actually let her do them.
But thinking about it more, this was the Dictator Li Si she loved—someone who never let others define her.
Liewata’s gaze sharpened. At that moment, she felt like she was back on the battlefield at Hot Spring Village, her body nimble, her reactions quick. With every dodge, she lured the beast exactly where she wanted it.
“Lili Ya, watch for the weak points and coordinate with her.”
“On it!”
Lili Ya charged out clutching her staff. Saying it was coordination was a stretch—it was more like just bonking directly, since the staff really only had one type of damage.
Li Si held her sword, keeping watch. In the corner of her eye, the message tab on her Adventurer Panel kept blinking with notifications.
She hadn’t replied to He Zi earlier, so it kept flashing. She thought He Zi had been spamming messages, but when she opened it, she was a bit surprised—they were from Ao Li An Na and the others.
[Ao Li An Na: Li Si… we… ugh…]
[Mei Fei Er: Hey, you there?]
[Wei Ya: Li Si… I really want to cry…]
Li Si was full of question marks. Then she looked further down and saw an even more explosive message.
[Luo Qi: Li Si, you should go check on Mei Fei Er and the others sometime soon. There’ll be a surprise~ hehehe~]
Wait, since when did that lunatic start meddling in other people’s business?