Shopping

"What?!" Zhang Ruofeng furrowed his brow too. The gap was simply enormous—enough to astonish anyone. His stats had jumped by several hundred points. Just looking at his strength, he was already on par with a fairly powerful Level 1 adventurer. Many people had reached their limits by the time they were Level D, or even earlier, yet Zhang Ruofeng's stats had practically skyrocketed. What was more, his strength and endurance were improving at an almost unnatural rate. Most adventurers' abilities increased evenly. Even if they were especially strong in one area, such as stamina or strength, their other abilities usually weren't far behind. Zhang Ruofeng, however, was in an extremely abnormal state.

"His improvement was really that huge?" Zhang Ruofeng murmured to himself. But when he saw Xin Mu and Fura looking at him, he stopped. He didn't know how to explain the questions in his mind, and he had no evidence to support his suspicions, so he didn't say anything more.

"Your agility is now E95, dexterity is E90, endurance has reached A784, and magic power is H10. Your other abilities haven't changed." Even Fura was surprised as she read the figures aloud. In the past two weeks, Zhang Ruofeng's endurance had unexpectedly risen to a very high level thanks to Perman's potion, Dragon Blood. But then, in just a few days, Zhang Ruofeng had climbed another rank, from B to A—a level that ninety-nine percent of adventurers never reached. Endurance didn't increase simply because someone got hurt or took a beating; physical and mental training was what truly developed this attribute. "Also, your EP has changed. It's now 4695/10000."

"Did it really go up that much?" Zhang Ruofeng replied. "Once I fill up my experience, I should be able to level up. But even after going through a life-or-death battle and exhausting my magic, I still don't have any spells?" Zhang Ruofeng was a little disappointed. Being able to learn magic would have made his trip to another world complete, but it seemed he didn't have the talent for it.

"All right, I'll head out first." Zhang Ruofeng rolled his neck and got up to leave. Xin Mu and Fura didn't try to stop him. Zhang Ruofeng's first rule was never to get too close to women, so Fura always relayed Xin Mu's condition to him verbally.

"Okay, Xin Mu's growth has come through too." Zhang Ruofeng brewed himself a cup of tea on the first floor, but before he could take a sip, the two women came downstairs hand in hand. "Xin Mu's current stats are strength E451, agility 678, dexterity 654, and endurance F59. Her skills haven't changed, and her EP is now 4011/10000. After looking at both your stats, I have to say that your skill, Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer, is incredibly powerful—the strongest skill I've ever seen."

In just half a month, the combined increase across four attributes had exceeded a thousand. Even the most talented adventurers, if they spent every day exploring the Dungeon without eating or drinking, probably couldn't improve their abilities that much. The two had faced danger after danger on their adventures, but their growth in strength was beyond anything this world could comprehend. Even Fura, a goddess, had never seen anyone like them.

"Whether it's a blessing or a curse, there's no escaping it." Zhang Ruofeng sighed softly. Now that he had this ability, he would have to keep exploring deeper. Not many people were curious about him and Xin Mu yet, so this was the perfect opportunity to grow stronger. But pushing quickly toward the deeper floors would inevitably draw more attention. He could only worry about that headache later. He couldn't make a sensible judgment about it now, so all he could do was keep improving his strength. With enough strength, he wouldn't have to be so timid anymore.

"Don't look so gloomy. We're going out to have fun today." Fura took Zhang Ruofeng's hand, then led her two adventurers out of the house, one in each hand.

"I didn't expect clothes to be so expensive." Zhang Ruofeng had sold two Star-shaped Fruits at a dessert shop for 4,300 Faris. He hadn't expected to spend 700 Faris just on his own clothes: two linen shirts, a pair of fine linen trousers, and a pair of leather boots. Then there was the set of pajamas that Xin Mu and the goddess Fura had strongly recommended he buy. Once again, Zhang Ruofeng felt the pressure of being short on money.

"Ruofeng, what do you think of this one?" The goddess pulled Xin Mu out of the fitting room. Since Xin Mu still needed to explore the Dungeon, Fura had picked out a white, form-fitting shirt for her. It showed off Xin Mu's figure far more than the loose clothes she usually wore, and Zhang Ruofeng immediately found it hard to resist. He hurriedly blurted out a couple of compliments, turned around, and fled with a shout of, "I'll go check out the armor shop first!"

"Pfft!" Xin Mu, who had been a little embarrassed, started laughing along with the goddess Fura. Zhang Ruofeng was usually so serious and earnest, which made his flustered expression all the more amusing. No wonder Fura was always trying to make him lose his composure. Teasing him really was fun—and so satisfying.

"This must be the place." Zhang Ruofeng figured Fura and Xin Mu would be shopping for quite a while. In that situation, he'd once been able to keep a straight face, but now he just couldn't. Seeing Xin Mu in an outfit that deliberately emphasized her chest, he had nearly gotten a nosebleed. To avoid dying of heartache, he could only flee in a panic. He and the two women had agreed on a meeting place, so Zhang Ruofeng headed to a weapons shop. Its lower floor was like a massive marketplace. The shop belonged to the Familia of Ekaladema, the God of Smelting and one of the gods worshipped by the dwarves. It was four stories tall, one of the larger shops on this street of weapons and armor, and it also sold equipment for low-level adventurers. The place was packed and bustling.

"Leather armor for Xin Mu and me, plus knee guards and bracers for Xin Mu." Zhang Ruofeng had already decided what they needed before coming. He and Xin Mu would probably be hindered in battle by wearing heavy gear rather than made stronger. His arms were already covered by guards attached to his gloves, so he didn't need much more protection. Xin Mu cared more about how her hands felt, so Zhang Ruofeng thought it would be best for her to first get used to bracers that could protect her and help block attacks in a pinch.

"This one's expensive too. This one's over my estimate as well." Zhang Ruofeng browsed as he walked. Most of the items were priced higher than he'd expected, and the adventurers who had made them were haggling with customers. Zhang Ruofeng wasn't good at bargaining, so he didn't stop at any stalls.

"This one looks good." Zhang Ruofeng spotted a pair of bracers made from wild-bull leather and his eyes lit up. He was just about to ask the price when he saw a familiar figure—someone who had swindled him twice.