Li Si scratched her head tactically. She had more than enough on her plate without finding time for social calls.
As for that so-called surprise, a lunatic’s surprise was definitely not a surprise.
Still, judging by the messages, it seemed like Orianna and the others were having some kind of trouble. Everyone’s mood sounded off.
Hertz too. She sent a message saying she wanted to meet up, then went completely silent.
Li Si thought it over and was about to send a message to ask what was going on when the Grassland Leopard let out a roar. Four more Grassland Leopards instantly sprang out from the surrounding area.
Li Si decisively set aside her wandering attention and carefully observed each leopard’s movements. She offered Yadana avoidance advice while pointing out weak spots for Liliya to attack, and occasionally had to intervene to block a lethal bite aimed at Liliya’s vitals.
After quite some effort, in a process that was half training and half actual combat, they finally took down five Level 16 Grassland Leopards.
Seeing that it was almost dark, Li Si left the corpses behind without a second thought and called for the two to run another wave.
This Dungeon’s Magic Beasts were perfectly suited for low-level adventurers to grind. After clearing another wave of monsters, Liliya’s level reached 12, and Li Si also discovered something interesting.
“What is this?”
Yadana leaned in next to Li Si, staring curiously at a lump of golden material Li Si was examining.
The thing was piled neatly on the ground, square-shaped like some kind of sand sculpture, but carrying a strange, fragrant smell.
“Sniff sniff~”
Yadana took a deep whiff and couldn’t help but praise, “So fragrant~ What on earth is this?”
Without waiting, she reached out and pinched a clump of it, apparently planning to tuck it into her cloth pouch to make a sachet.
Li Si laughed. “That’s Golden Goblin crap.”
“Huh… what? EWWWWW!!!!!!”
Yadana frantically rubbed her hands against the green grass. “Ew, it’s all sticky! So disgusting!”
Li Si looked around and announced, “We’re camping here for the night. That thing is extremely timid. Anywhere it dares to crap is generally very safe.”
“Eh, aren’t we going to go find it?”
Liliya heard they were camping and immediately started organizing her backpack, but she still couldn’t help asking. After all, the Golden Goblin was a legend even in the Beginner Village.
Legend had it that every gold coin dropped by adventurers would be picked up by the Golden Goblin, so this type of goblin’s nest was piled high with gold coins, enough to make even the magic dragon covet it.
Under normal circumstances, upon finding its trail, one should go after it as soon as possible to avoid being beaten to the punch. But things were different now. Li Si’s judgment must have its reasons.
Liliya didn’t dig deeper. She reached into her backpack to feel for the tarp but accidentally touched something soft and fleshy.
“Eh… the butchered meat shouldn’t be in the daily pack…”
Liliya frowned in confusion. The texture wasn’t slimy either, so it wasn’t raw meat. She felt around a bit more and found a clump of silky threads. Pulling it out, it was a strand of purple silk. She gave it a decisive tug and yanked out a pale little face.
“Ugh—”
The little face stuck out its tongue, its half-open eyelids revealing only slivers of white.
Liliya tilted her head. “Yadana, you’ve been in the backpack this whole time?”
“Ah—so ghosts don’t exist in this era anymore, huh.”
Yadana wiped her face, her features instantly snapping back into place, and let out a sleepy yawn. Liliya carefully lifted her out of the backpack.
Liliya rubbed Yadana’s head apologetically. “Sorry, did I hurt you?”
“Yadana, memorize that smell. Tomorrow, we’re going to find it.”
A silver boot suddenly kicked toward Yadana’s rear, sending her tumbling precisely onto that pile of gold.
Liliya’s hand froze mid-air as she rubbed Yadana’s head. She turned to look at Li Si, who was expressionlessly preparing to grill the meat, then looked at Yadana climbing up from the gold pile. Finally, imitating Li Si’s example, she scratched her head and continued setting up the tent.
Yadana rolled around in the gold more than a dozen times, covering herself in the fragrance. Then she bounced up with a leap and came running with wild enthusiasm. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Yadana remembers its smell! Yadana wants a reward!!!”
Li Si was in the middle of skewering meat. She turned her head just as a real-life little golden figure lunged at her for a bear hug. She whipped around, grabbed the nearby grill rack, and swung her arm in a full pitch, sending Yadana flying with a home run.
“Um… Li… Li Si… isn’t that a bit too much for Yadana…”
Liliya spoke up cautiously.
Li Si glanced at the grill rack and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it really is a bit much. The grill rack got crap all over it.”
She promptly called Yadana back, summoned a water current to wash the grill rack clean, and had her go wash the hands of Yadana, who was still scrubbing furiously.
Then… Li Si watched Yadana pull down her pants and pee right onto Yadana’s hands.
But then again, if you wanted to say she didn’t wash them, she technically did. And it really wasn’t urine. According to Yadana’s after-action report, she firmly believed it was ice-cold water.
Li Si figured Yadana was right. However, skewering the meat was definitely something Yadana would never be allowed to do again.
The night inside the Dungeon was anything but peaceful.
After eating the grilled meat, Li Si volunteered to keep watch the entire night.
In just those few short hours, she witnessed several waves of bizarre things.
Honestly, back when she played games, looking at pixelated graphics gave her no feeling at all. But now, being there in person, those weird creatures were somehow rather frightening.
One of them, a sound that swept past their territory in the early morning hours, made Li Si’s skin crawl all over.
The sound came from a strange Shadow Figure. The figure had no discernible form at all—just a human-shaped mass of shadow.
If not for the lack of warning from the Strict Father, Li Si would have woken Liliya and Yadana on the spot and retreated.
Luckily, it was just a false alarm.
Watching the sunlight rise anew at the edge of the horizon, Li Si extinguished the campfire and called for the two to get ready to move out.
Yadana was chewing on a piece of breakfast meat when a delighted light suddenly lit up in front of her eyes.
[Yadana Affection +5%]
Li Si handed over the Disguise Suit in her hands.
“The legendary Goblin Suit!!!”
Yadana’s eyes sparkled. The legend of the Goblin King had long since spread beyond the Border Town. She had heard plenty of people talk about it back in the Hot Spring Village, never imagining that one day she would get to wear it too.
“Eh… why is one ear missing?”
Yadana stared oddly at the headpiece with half an ear missing.
“Mine can trade with you. Li Si wore that one.”
Liliya instinctively held out the Disguise Suit in her hands.
[Yadana Affection +15%]
“No no no! No need!”
Yadana excitedly took a deep sniff of the scent on the suit, then said contentedly, “Ah~ the scent of Lady Li Si~”
Li Si was completely dumbfounded. This direct? I’m right here, you know? Do you want to look at how creepy that action of yours is?
[Dangerous Relationship Warning: Yadana]
Li Si silently resolved that from now on, she would handle all night watches in the wild herself, and she absolutely had to sleep with Liliya between her and Yadana. At least until she had successfully raised Yadana’s recognition count past her affection.
“So then, Yadana, lead the way.”
“At your command! Your servant Yadana sets out immediately!”
In an instant, Yadana dropped to all fours, sniffing as she advanced.
Just a few minutes in, she smelled a foot. She looked up and saw an all-female adventuring party.
The group had five members, all dressed in fancy clothes with clear, bright eyes. They looked less like adventurers and more like tourists. They even carried flower-patterned parasols. Seeing someone approaching from the opposite direction, they froze for a moment, then screamed and turned to run.
“G-G-Goblin! That’s a huge goblin!”
“No no no! That’s no ordinary goblin! That’s definitely a Goblin King! Three Goblin Kings!”
“Quick, notify that Wolf Pack Adventure Group! What was the contact person’s name?! Duke! Duke! Tell him now! We ran into the Goblin King!!!”
…
Well, this joke could probably get another two or three uses.
Li Si kept her face expressionless and signaled Yadana to keep leading the way.