“Hey, want to come along?”
A voice suddenly invited from afar.
Li Si blinked, looking at Lili Ya in confusion.
Lili Ya didn’t look at Li Si at all.
Clutching her staff, she trotted over step by step, seriously extending her hand.
Ao Li An Na silently watched Li Si.
Lili Ya suddenly turned her head and said, “Li Si, it’s fine, right?”
“Uh…”
Though she had no idea what Lili Ya was thinking, Lili Ya was the team leader, and as long as it wasn’t a decision that affected combat, she didn’t mind at all.
“Then… we’ll be intruding.”
Ao Li An Na quietly led her team over.
Li Si remained silent.
It wasn’t a formal party, but doing the same thing together after so long still made her feel a bit awkward.
After a few steps, Li Si slowly turned to look at Ailin, who had followed on her own.
Ailin rested a hand on her sword and smiled, “Following you feels safer. Don’t worry, I won’t steal kills. I’ll do whatever you say, just like the previous quests.”
Ao Li An Na suddenly twitched her long elven ear and asked, “You’ve done quests together?”
“Yes, Ao Li An Na.”
Ailin’s casual smile vanished instantly, replaced by a quite serious answer.
Seeing that the Holy Maiden still wanted to ask more, she decisively launched into that story from before.
Li Si silently shook her head and stopped worrying about it.
The dungeon didn’t forbid others from following, either.
Besides, aside from Ailin and her group, other adventurers had tagged along too.
But those adventurers were probably mostly there for Ao Li An Na and her team’s reputation.
As for why Ao Li An Na was willing to travel together, it was probably out of fear.
Li Si glanced at Lili Ya.
On the surface, Lili Ya looked innocent, but she seemed to have already noticed that Ao Li An Na and her team had grown weaker.
So, was this a kind of protective kindness?
Just as Li Si was about to think that, she noticed a subtle change in Lili Ya.
“Even though these are Level 10 magic beasts… this kill speed…”
After Lili Ya’s cooperation brought down the first beast in rapid succession, an astonished remark came from Ao Li An Na’s team.
Then, Li Si saw a flicker of excitement in Lili Ya’s eyes, and her small lips clearly curved upward.
At that moment, Li Si suddenly understood.
So, Lili Ya was trying to let her shine.
Did she still remember the drunken words from the founding party… trying to win back face for her?
The more Li Si looked, the more she was convinced.
From then on, Lili Ya was very different from before.
Even her spell success rate skyrocketed.
No, rather than skyrocketing, it was more like she never failed a single time.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Li Si never would have known that Lili Ya could achieve a one-hundred-percent casting success rate in a single battle.
“Wow… that Lili Ya… she’s become so skilled…”
“Huh? What did Li Si do to you? That useless priest actually became this capable.”
Mayfair, who had zero sense of boundaries, asked outright.
Lili Ya gave a shy smile, hugged her staff tightly, and kept charging forward.
Li Si finally understood completely.
This was what a teammate should be like.
Lili Ya really was winning back face for her.
At that moment, Li Si felt something strike her heart, and she couldn’t help but feel moved.
Then, with clear eyes, she looked toward the valley ahead.
In the valley, a Level 20 blue magic beast was drinking from a stream.
[Magic Beast Info]
[Beast]: Blue Crystal Beast
[Level]: 20
[HP]: 700/700
[MP]: 50/50
[Random Drop]: Blue Class-Change Crystal / Crystal Shard / Crystal Energy
……
Li Si decisively transformed into a streak of moonlight and charged into the valley.
Since Lili Ya was thinking of her like this, she had to vent her frustration properly too.
Her sword slashed at the crystal horn atop the Blue Crystal Beast’s head.
The next instant, another slash of moonlight cut out, a blessing landed on her at the same time, and a spark ignited right after.
In almost an instant, three sets of skills coordinated perfectly.
By the time Ao Li An Na raised her hand to help, Li Si had already completed the kill and returned to the front of the team.
Ao Li An Na silently watched Li Si, feeling the familiar aura radiating from her, and couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed.
If before, she had only guessed through Hertz’s actions that this person was the Li Si inside that armor, now she could confirm with her own senses—this person was Li Si.
The decisive Li Si.
The strongest adventurer they once had to look up to during the beginner period.
No, even now, Li Si still seemed as powerful as ever.
“Don’t zone out. The battle has just begun.”
The long-missed commanding voice drifted into her ears.
Ao Li An Na instinctively trembled, and in her brilliant pupils, she saw blue crystal beasts surging in from every direction in the valley.
Li Si’s words were straightforward, “You followed me because you wanted this, right? With this many magic beasts, that should be enough to push you into the top ten.”
Ao Li An Na’s shoulders trembled, she felt something shattering inside her heart.
‘So, that was what Li Si was thinking.’
“Huh? Li Si, what are you saying? We’re not here because of that—”
“Calm down, Mayfair. Do what you need to do.”
Li Si’s gaze turned sharp.
At this point, she didn’t want to fight over the past anymore.
The Life Vine team’s kill count was about to hit rock bottom.
They definitely needed these kills.
If she could help it, she didn’t want to see Life Vine fall apart before the salvation route even began.
“Draw aggro, Mayfair.”
A cold voice rang out like a ghost’s whisper.
Hertz, who had been hiding in the shadows, flashed in and out of sight.
Her obsidian daggers struck like dark thunder in the night, each precise slash finding the Blue Crystal Beast’s weak points.
“Hey… we’ll talk things through properly later…”
Veya gripped her staff, summoning seven elemental orbs of light to assist the attack.
Mayfair snorted and quickly raised her shield into position.
Ao Li An Na stared blankly at Li Si, who showed no sign of drawing her sword again.
She wanted to ask, “Aren’t you coming?”
But she quickly realized those words no longer applied to Li Si.
Li Si had no obligation now, and no reason, to cooperate with them.
She lowered her eyes with a hint of dejection, her long lashes blinking.
She took a deep breath, a vine-like staff condensing in her hand.
The next instant, the ground surged as countless vines burst forth, binding every magic beast in the valley.
“Hey… shouldn’t we help…”
Lewata spoke cautiously.
Lili Ya reminded her softly, “Li Si is watching.”
Lewata looked at Li Si in confusion, then suddenly understood.
Li Si was watching with an expressionless face—observing.
And those sapphire-blue eyes would occasionally flash with a hint of dissatisfaction.
It felt just like when Li Si watched them fight in the past, but back then Li Si would say a lot.
Now, she kept her mouth shut and only frowned.
Moments later, the battle ended, and the entire valley was left with nothing but blue crystals on the ground.
Ao Li An Na looked at the crystals scattered everywhere and said quietly, “These are useless to us.”
Before she finished speaking, Li Si was already taking the lead in picking them up.
There were twenty-eight blue-quality class-change crystals in total.
Back in the day, these were worth 10 gold coins each, but now they had risen to forty or fifty gold.
A whole sack like this could sell for several hundred gold.
Li Si hadn’t forgotten the Violet Team, who had been holding the line nearby.
Although they hadn’t done much, it was clear that Ailin was waiting for her signal.
Li Si decisively split it half and half.
Seeing this, Ao Li An Na silently looked away.
Back in the beginner period, they too had such a harmonious relationship with Li Si.
Unfortunately, they never knew what money meant.
It seemed like so many things were handled by Li Si alone.
“Hm?”
Ao Li An Na suddenly frowned, warily looking toward the valley entrance.
A party of adventurers was approaching.
“Oho, so you know the Life Vine team. How much did you pay them to work for you?”
“Tsk tsk tsk, all these blue class-change crystals. Quite a haul. Hand them over to us for safekeeping—we’re under Lady Freya’s orders to protect you.”
Ao Li An Na’s expression darkened.
The vine staff in her hand struck the ground hard.
“Heh, did you think we came empty-handed?”
A dark sword aura imbued with the power of the Goddess erupted from that man’s hand, instantly cowing the entire scene.