His Own Actions

The day after Iz and the others left, a torrential rainstorm began.

Lu Cang lay in bed all day.

It was the first time since coming to this world that he'd felt so utterly listless.

No reading, no practicing magic... just lying there.

No one saw him.

And no one knew what he'd been thinking about all day.

Early the next morning, the rain stopped and the skies cleared.

Lu Cang bought a copy of World Shock from a street vendor who sold news.

<Shocking News: Tier 7 Dungeon—Tomb God Stele Valley—The subjugation party officially begins its operation>

<Tomb God Stele Valley, discovered last November, had its Seal lifted today, and the subjugation began!>

So Tomb God Stele Valley was that famous.

They really had gone to subjugate a Tier 7 Dungeon.

After lying in bed all day yesterday, Lu Cang had come to a decision.

Iz and the others had gone to subjugate a dungeon. He couldn't just sit around doing nothing, either.

In this world of supernatural powers, strength was the greatest guarantee of safety. Exploring the world was something he couldn't avoid forever.

The next day, he went to the Adventurer's Guild.

"Hey! Little Lu Cang!"

"Long time no see around here, Little Lu Cang!"

"Little Lu Cang, want to have a drink?"

The adventurers were still as warm as ever when they greeted him.

Lu Cang felt the emptiness inside him ease a little. It was a sign that he'd become at least somewhat integrated into this world.

He awkwardly smiled and declined their invitations to drink.

"Xili."

He seemed to have grown a little taller over the past few days. Now, he could just barely reach the counter when he stood on tiptoe.

"I'd like to post a request."

Xili looked at little Lu Cang below the counter.

"You want to post a request?"

Before long, Lu Cang's request was posted on the bulletin board.

[Protection Request—Seeking members from different parties: a healer, a defender, and a gatherer, to protect an expedition into a Tier 2 Dungeon. Reward: 20 silver per dungeon]

[Additional requirement: the defender must have mastered the combat skill—Shared Damage]

The request got a much better response than he'd expected.

Lu Cang sat in the Adventurer's Guild, reading while he waited. It wasn't long before several adventurers came over.

"You're Little Lu Cang, right?"

"I'm Jidi, a Level 2 healer."

"I saw the request you posted."

Lu Cang looked at the girl beside him, who seemed to be about eighteen. She had black hair tied in a rather daring mature-woman style, a few freckles on her face, and average looks.

Lu Cang closed his book and asked, "What kinds of injuries can you heal?"

The child in front of her had a composure that didn't fit his age.

Jidi couldn't help but pause in surprise.

But she soon answered, "I can temporarily reduce the effects of severe injuries, numb pain for a short time, and lessen how much injuries affect you in battle. Mild or moderate injuries take a day to heal completely, but I can treat severe injuries in an emergency, bringing them to a state where they're no longer life-threatening."

So her main strength was reducing the effects of injuries during battle.

But the most dangerous moments were usually during a fight. Making sure they survived the battle was what mattered most.

They could take their time treating any injuries afterward.

Lu Cang nodded. "All right, you're hired."

Not everyone was Kumiloni. Lu Cang already had a decent understanding of what to expect from a Level 2 healer.

They soon found a defender, too: a chubby man in plate armor who looked... very sturdy. Just as Lu Cang had requested, he knew Shared Damage, a skill that would let him take some of the damage whenever Lu Cang was injured.

The last to arrive was a warrior who also worked as a gatherer.

A Level 2 warrior and a Level 2 gatherer.

But he only wanted to be paid for one of those roles, which was a pleasant surprise.

Since he wasn't asking for extra pay, Lu Cang didn't mind that he had an additional Level 2 warrior class.

Lu Cang went to the counter.

"Xili, I'd like to find a request for a Tier 2 Dungeon."

"Hmm..."

"It's the Harvest Moon, so everyone's eager to take on requests."

"There aren't many Tier 2 Dungeon requests left."

As she spoke, Xili slid two requests over to him.

One was for [Guishe Forest].

The other was for [Yizhu Cave].

After looking over the details of both requests...

Lu Cang chose [Guishe Forest].

"This one, Guishe Forest... Sorry for the trouble."

Xili took Lu Cang's request and stamped it.

As she handed the request back to Lu Cang, she couldn't help adding with concern, "Little Lu Cang, don't worry too much about Iz and the others. They're strong. They'll come back."

Lu Cang looked up at Xili, who gave him a warm smile.

Lu Cang smiled back. "Thanks."

He took the request.

Then he waved to the teammates he'd just recruited.

"I got the request. Let's go."

Inside the Dragon Rhino carriage.

This Dragon Rhino was one Chicheng had brought back a couple of days earlier as a mount for him.

He'd even specially outfitted it with a carriage.

The day he received his mount, he'd been absolutely thrilled.

Who wouldn't want a cool mount of their own?

It had also made Lu Cang think a little better of Chicheng. He no longer thought of him as nothing but a bastard who poured drinks at victory celebrations.

They'd decided on their departure date long ago, but hadn't told him until just before they left.

Were they afraid he'd make a fuss?

Well... a normal kid probably would have.

Unfortunately, his soul belonged to an old man.

After hearing such a reasonable explanation from them, how could he insist on getting his way? That was one of the inconveniences of being an adult—you couldn't demand things the way a child could.

"Um..."

Just as Lu Cang was musing to himself, the warrior-gatherer in the carriage raised his hand.

Come to think of it, gatherers seemed to usually be warriors as well.

Lu Cang asked in his childish voice, "Hmm? What is it?"

"I wanted to ask..."

"You're strong enough to clear a dungeon by yourself, aren't you? Why did you choose to recruit teammates?"

You?

Lu Cang looked at the man, who seemed about twenty years older than him, addressing him so respectfully.

It felt a little strange.

Though his soul was about the same age as the man's.

But he was a kid now.

Lu Cang paused, then answered with a smile. "Uncle, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Lu Cang. I just don't want anything to go wrong. But why do you ask?"

Iz had told him that being alone in a dungeon and having teammates were two entirely different things.

It was easy to dodge an attack you could see, but hard to guard against one you couldn't.

Lu Cang was still quite accommodating with his temporary teammates. There was nothing wrong with being treated like a kid...

After all, a kid could grow into an adult, but an adult couldn't turn into a kid.

Hearing Lu Cang's answer, the man looked a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. "Haha, I just think that if I were as strong as you, Lu Cang, I'd choose to clear a dungeon alone."

"Then I'd get to keep all the dungeon's spoils for myself."

"At most, I'd bring along one extra gatherer."

Lu Cang sized up the warrior in front of him.

He was unshaven, with a shifty gaze.

His equipment also looked old and shabby.

"Is that so? But I don't like taking risks. I'd rather have a few people around to protect me."

It seemed he was quite famous after all.

People in Rhein Town already considered him one of the adventurers "with a lot of strength."

No one had seen him fight, yet this man had assumed he could clear a dungeon by himself.

Maybe it was because Chicheng had hyped him up at that victory banquet.

"Then why did you all decide to join my party?"

"It's the Harvest Moon, and 20 silver per trip is clearly less than the usual take." Lu Cang asked with a child's curiosity.

He looked completely harmless.

Come to think of it, he rarely spoke to anyone besides Iz.

He might as well take this chance to talk more with the locals. It would help him understand the world better.

After all, what you learned from books was always shallow.

"Because... it's safe," said the healer, who was holding a wooden staff.

"Safe?"

"Because you're strong. I think I'll be safe if I stick with you."

Oh... so that was why.

Indeed, compared to risking their lives exploring a dungeon, following someone strong and earning a fixed 20 silver was a decent option.

The chubby man beside her spoke up, too. "I-I think the same as her."

The older man nearby nodded in agreement.

Oh~

He'd said that if he were strong, he'd clear dungeons alone, but he'd chosen to follow someone strong and take a fixed wage himself?

What he said and what he actually did were completely different...

Was that typical of adventurers?

Lu Cang filed it away.

The dungeon wasn't far away.

The Dragon Rhino was indeed fast. After all, it was a mount chosen by Izpalut and the others. Nothing much went wrong on the journey.

They took the broad, well-traveled road. The wilderness near Rhein Town had been thoroughly cleared out, and most of the monsters' nests had been eliminated.

In less than half an hour, they'd arrived at their destination.

An ancient forest, dark and overgrown.