In the Corrupted Cave, Su Li stood by the pool, thinking about how to explore it.
"Since the quest says to explore beneath the Corrupted Cave, the entrance must be somewhere nearby."
"Could there be a hidden mechanism?"
As a seasoned RPG player, Su Li's first instinct was to look for an inconspicuous lever or a brick that looked a different color.
But ten minutes later, all he had to show for it were sticky hands. He hadn't found a thing.
"That can't be right..." Unwilling to give up, Su Li jumped straight into the pool and felt around by hand, but still found nothing.
"This doesn't make sense. Is the system trying to trick me?" Su Li fell into thought.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Could it be that?"
He remembered that in Old Man Ring, there were often places that looked like dead ends, but rolling against a wall or across the floor would reveal a hidden path.
"Let's try it." Su Li started rolling against the rock wall.
"Rumble..." But nothing happened.
Unconvinced, Su Li rolled across the ground once.
"Rumble..." Still nothing.
"Damn it! Forward Roll is a scam!" Su Li angrily got to his feet and flipped the air off.
Just then, a familiar surge of magic stirred deep within his soul.
"My companion... Please come to me..."
"Huh? Rosalia?" Su Li paused.
"Why's that girl calling me again? Is she in danger?" He calmed himself and sensed through their contract.
"Doesn't sound like she's in any danger..." Su Li scratched his skull.
He was busy solving a puzzle right now. He really didn't want to run back and forth.
"Wait! Why not try this?" A daring idea took shape in Su Li's mind.
"You're up, Pipi Axe!" Su Li focused his will, directing the incoming summoning magic to connect with Pipi Axe.
"Whoosh—"
Pipi Axe had been idly passing the time and hadn't even realized what was happening before his entire skeleton vanished.
"Holy crap! It actually worked?!"
Staring at the now-empty cave entrance, Su Li's jawbone dropped in amazement.
Meanwhile, in Twilight Town.
"Whirr—!"
With a ripple in space, a towering figure appeared in the center of the magic circle.
"Su Liya!" Rosalia cried out in delight, about to rush over.
But when she saw the Skeleton Berserker before her, who had not a shred of "girlish charm," she froze mid-step.
"Uh...?" Rosalia blinked, then carefully sensed the figure again.
It really did have Su Liya's magic, but the appearance was clearly wrong!
"Su Liya must be busy, so she sent one of her subordinates?" The girl quickly found an explanation. "Even her subordinates are this strong. Su Liya really is the best!"
On the other side, Karonna was completely dumbfounded.
"Th-this... What...?" Karonna's eyes widened as she stared at Pipi Axe.
"That's a Skeleton Berserker! And from the looks of it, at least a level 10 Elite Undead?!"
This was madness! The whole world had gone mad!
"Could this girl really be a natural-born necromancer?" Karonna's gaze instantly grew heated.
She walked up to Rosalia, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Child, tell Grandma, what's your name?"
Rosalia reflexively straightened up. "I-I'm Rosalia!"
"Good, good. Rosalia. What a lovely name."
The more Karonna looked at the purple-haired girl, the more she liked her. "Now tell Grandma, why do you want to learn necromancy? Is it for power? Authority? Or do you simply want to destroy everything?"
Rosalia's gaze was unwavering. "No! I only want to bring my friend back to life!"
"Bring your friend back to life...?" Karonna fell silent for a moment.
She had once gone through something similar. In her attempt to resurrect her beloved, she had broken with her family and her teacher, resolutely setting out on the path of necromancy, never to return.
Unfortunately, the path had been too difficult—so difficult that in the end, she had given up. She had retreated to this remote town, where she became a cranky, eccentric old woman.
And now another young girl had embarked on the same path. What's more, her talent was a hundred times greater than Karonna's had been. Maybe she could really succeed where Karonna had failed.
"Good! Well done, Rosalia!" Karonna slapped her thigh, flames rekindling in her eyes.
"Since you're so determined, from today onward, you'll train under me! I'll teach you everything I've learned in my life, without holding anything back!"
"But I'll warn you now," the old woman said with an eerie smile. "My training will be far harder than you can imagine. Don't come crying for your mommy."
Rosalia's eyes lit up. "I'll work as hard as I can, Grandma Karonna!"
"Still calling me Grandma?" Karonna's expression turned stern.
Rosalia froze, then understood. "Yes, Master!"
"Ha ha ha! What a good girl!" Karonna laughed heartily and reached out to pat her new disciple on the head.
"Thump."
Rosalia, who had been so resolute just moments ago, rolled her eyes and collapsed to the ground. Pipi Axe was also whisked away with a "whoosh."
"Oh dear!" Karonna slapped her forehead.
"I got so excited that I forgot she's still a beginner. Maintaining such a powerful undead summon must have drained her magic..."
The Corrupted Cave.
"Whoosh—" Pipi Axe reappeared at the cave entrance.
Su Li raised an eyebrow at Pipi Axe, who had returned less than two minutes after leaving.
"Why are you back so soon? Did Rosalia run out of mana?"
"Never mind. As long as she's okay."
After confirming through Pipi Axe that there was no danger on the other side, Su Li refocused on the problem in front of him.
He looked at the still Corruption Pool and kept thinking.
"What am I supposed to do...?"
Just then, the system popped up. [The helpless little skeleton could think until its head split and still never figure it out, because it doesn't have a brain. Player detected in a predicament. Choose one of the following:]
[Option One: Mine, Girl!]
[Description: They say mining is a refined hobby. Pick up your pickaxe—or use your hands if you don't have one—and dig through the rock between the Corruption Pool and the underground ruins. Difficulty: S]
[Reward: Strength +2.50, Constitution +2.50, Experience +250, chance to obtain the "Golden Miner" title.]
[Option Two: Forward Roll!]
[Description: They say the Corrupted Dragon gets as excited as if it were home when it returns to the Corruption Pool. So why not let it roll around in there? Put Tina Sanks's tonnage to use and have her make a leap of faith onto the fragile floor. Difficulty: E]
[Reward: Strength +2, Faith +2, Experience +250.]
Su Li looked at the two options, the corners of his eyes twitching.
"Why does every line of this system's quest sound like it's mocking me?"
"So my rolling around on the ground like an idiot just now was because I wasn't heavy enough? I was too clever for my own good."
Now that he had a quick and easy method, why would he waste time mining?
"Come out, Tina Sanks!" Su Li waved his bony hand.
"You're up, Pipi Dragon! Use Up and Down Jump Roll!!"
Pipi Dragon backed up two steps and adjusted her stance.
"Roar!!!" With a furious roar, the enormous beast leapt into the air and slammed down onto the Corruption Pool.
Su Li instinctively backed up two steps. "Holy crap! Is this thing trying to blow up a cesspit?!"
"BOOM!!!" A deafening crash shook the entire cave.
The dark red pool water sprayed upward like a fountain, splattering the cave walls.
Then came the grating sound of rock cracking.
"Crack... BOOM!!"
The pool floor, which had seemed solid enough, collapsed, revealing a huge hole.
[Quest complete: Forward Roll! Reward received: Strength +2 (45→47), Faith +2 (6→8), Experience +250 (2210/6400)]
Su Li nodded in satisfaction. "That was a bit noisy, but it worked like a charm."
He glanced at his status panel. "Faith's at 8 now? Does that mean I can use Flame Prayer?..."
It was a godsend for the exploration ahead. After all, underground meant darkness and unknown creatures, and fire was often what they feared most.
Su Li went to the edge of the hole and peered down.
It was pitch-black below. He could faintly hear running water and some kind of strange wind.
"Pipi Axe, Pipi Finger, you two stay up here and keep watch." They would only get in the way on an expedition this deep.
"Pipi Dragon, let's go!" Su Li swung onto Pipi Dragon's back.
"Roar!" Pipi Dragon leapt into the pitch-black hole with Su Li on her back.
They fell for a few seconds before landing with a heavy thud.
"Thump!" Pipi Dragon landed steadily on a stretch of damp ground.
When Su Li got a good look at the place, he was at a loss for words.
"Holy crap..."
It was an enormous underground space. Ahead lay a vast red lake that gave off a pungent stench.
A faint red Poison Mist hung over the lake, and every so often, a huge bubble burst with a dull pop.
In the distance, the crumbling remains of ancient buildings were barely visible.
"Isn't this the Corrupted Lake from Old Man Ring?!"
Su Li felt a jolt of recognition. He had died an uncountable number of times in this godforsaken place back then. It had been a nightmare.
But now...
"Heh. Sorry, but I'm a Revered Corrupted Knight now."
"That's right, I cheated! What are you gonna do about it?"
With a wave, he had Pipi Dragon carry him brazenly into the Corrupted Lake.
They had barely taken two steps.
"Rumble..." The ground beneath them suddenly began to shake violently.
"What's going on?"
Before Su Li could react, there came a sudden "SPLASH—!!!"
Amid a waterfall-like roar, a huge black shadow slowly rose from the lakebed.
At the sight of the colossal creature, a bone in Su Li's throat clicked.
"Six hundred and sixty-six! You developers aren't even trying to hide it anymore, are you?!"
Before you continue