Red Armlet

"How cold," Xin Mu said indifferently.

"Well, the more experienced a receptionist is, the colder they tend to be toward adventurers," Zhang Ruofeng recalled the plot he had read previously. "You wouldn't want to see friends die every day either, so receptionists gradually choose not to get too close to adventurers. But for this person to be so blunt and decisive, maybe she just lost a friend recently." Zhang Ruofeng sighed, tucked his issued dagger into the simple leather sheath provided, and stood up with Xin Mu to look around a bit more.

--Heluo's Perspective--

Two more rookie adventurers? Heluo pondered to himself. His act of turning away had been too obvious; the two of them must have already sensed his rejection. As he thought this, Heluo gripped the collar of his shirt. Everyone dies in the end, just like his younger brother—the one hailed as the most promising rookie of last year, the latest member of the Flower Goddess's familia, his only relative he was most proud of, a boy of only sixteen. In the end, nothing remained but the tragic news; there wasn't even anything left to place in a grave.

He had lost count of how many times he had cried, yet what remained in his heart was not closure, but hatred for the Flower Goddess Flora. He hated her for letting his brother join her familia, hated the rumors that her rookies were destined to fail their promotions, and hated himself for not even being able to find his brother's body, left only to weep alone every day.

"Otherworlders?" Heluo muttered softly. "So what? Joining that goddess's lineup, they definitely won't last long."

"Ah, the fact that everything costs money is a real miscalculation, and the weather is so hot." Zhang Ruofeng complained as he looked at the various shops and stalls along the street. He and Xin Mu had come out to familiarize themselves with the new environment, only to find they didn't even have any money. The currency of this world consisted of metal coins, seemingly called Faris. Depending on the gold content and size, they ranged from one to ten thousand. Although he hadn't asked anyone, Zhang Ruofeng had observed the prices during transactions and the way the currency changed hands, so he was fairly certain he hadn't guessed wrong.

"I really want to go to a bar and have a beer," Zhang Ruofeng complained as he passed a shop with a beer sign hanging outside.

"Drinking during the day is forbidden," Xin Mu said flatly.

"Alright, alright, but I really am thirsty right now." Zhang Ruofeng shrugged helplessly. "They don't accept paper money, my phone won't turn on, let alone the issue of Alipay. Besides, it feels like someone is always staring at us." Zhang Ruofeng turned around, but he didn't spot anyone. Xin Mu, however, neither sensed it nor cared.

"Maybe our clothes make people curious? Or has the fact that we're from another world already been exposed?" Zhang Ruofeng knew that feeling well. For a split second, someone had definitely held hostility toward him. Being bullied in the past had trained his ability to read expressions and distinguish whether someone was hostile toward him. Thinking of this, Zhang Ruofeng gave a wry smile, not knowing if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Then there's only one option left: the Dungeon. It'd be nice to earn some money for a drink, and my stomach really can't take any more of the goddess's lunch if we go back now." Zhang Ruofeng shuddered at the thought of breakfast, deciding it was better to find a way to earn some money and buy ingredients to cook for himself.

"It's better to go back," Xin Mu said. Zhang Ruofeng knew she said that because she was worried Flora would be concerned.

"According to the settings, each monster on the first floor only gives one or two experience points. Since they don't drop gold coins, the magic stones are, in a sense, like 'Mana.' It's best to just sell them for gold. I wonder if they have any practical use in alchemy..."

Seeing Zhang Ruofeng lost in thought again, Xin Mu simply took his hand and walked silently toward the location of the flower shop in her memory.

"You're back." Flora looked at the two with daggers strapped to their waists and knew the paperwork was finished. She invited them to eat lunch; this time it was fried donuts bought from outside. The taste was very traditional and quite ordinary, but remembering the goddess's dark cuisine, Zhang Ruofeng thought the fried donuts were wonderful.

"The Dungeon, are you sure you want to go?" The goddess's face showed a flicker of pain upon hearing their thoughts, but she immediately smiled. "That's true. Since you are adventurers and carry the wish to return home, of course you would hope to go to the Dungeon."

"Besides, this flower shop can hardly cover the expenses for three people," Zhang Ruofeng said calmly. Aside from the pale white flowers at the entrance, the rate at which the other flowers were decreasing seemed very slow.

"You observe... very carefully," the goddess said, drooping her shoulders. "Every day, it's only enough for three people's meals. We can't use our divine power, so we're just like ordinary people. We don't get special treatment just because we're gods; the children of this world have already adapted to living alongside gods." The goddess said this with a sad expression, though since she wasn't trying to trick anyone, it was obviously feigned.

"But even though my stats are all at 0, I feel my physical strength has increased significantly compared to before," Zhang Ruofeng said, sensing his physical state.

"Yes, yes, you are definitely much stronger than before, but don't be too reckless. Our financial situation makes it hard to buy recovery potions. After all, your predecessors were only Lv1, so our familia is actually quite poor." The goddess smiled in self-deprecation. "By the way, although we have no money, there is a weapon you can use. It was once the weapon of the violent woman Cortanast."

The goddess ran upstairs and returned with a gauntlet made of pale red metal, appearing before the two. The light reflecting off it in the sun made Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu realize how much the goddess cherished this weapon.

"A single-handed weapon that combines offense and defense. Pretty cool, right?" The goddess stroked the weapon. "This was a good item that violent woman saved up for a long time to buy before her promotion to Lv2, but she still fell in the Dungeon."

"Is it really okay?" Zhang Ruofeng asked.

"Of course. Having someone use it again is probably what that girl would want. Leaving it to gather dust by my side is a waste of its value. Which of you intends to use it?"

"Refused." Xin Mu looked at the pure metal gauntlet, which weighed at least ten kilograms, and immediately passed. Zhang Ruofeng took it instead. The inside was hollowed out and lined with a highly elastic soft material, while the outside was a solid, heavy piece of metal. The hand design was exquisite; after putting it on, every finger could move, and the metal-forged fingertips were sharp. The interior had cotton-like padding to protect him from hurting himself when punching, and the size was just right, making Zhang Ruofeng instantly fall in love with the weapon.

"Good, then you must use it well." Seeing the gauntlet find a new owner, the goddess patted it and went back to tidying the flowers.

"Well, we've rested enough, let's head out," Zhang Ruofeng said.

"Mm." Xin Mu picked up the waist pouch the goddess had given them for loot and followed behind Zhang Ruofeng.

"The level-up system in this world seems quite vague," Zhang Ruofeng said silently.

"Mm, leveling up requires adventure," Xin Mu said, based on her own memories.

"I've been in many fights, but I've never actually killed any living creature," Zhang Ruofeng felt a lingering worry in his heart. Killing and wounding, while sometimes just a difference in action, brought a truly different kind of psychological pressure.

"It'll be okay." Xin Mu silently stood on her tiptoes to pat Zhang Ruofeng on the head and smiled.

"Haha, you're right." Looking at Xin Mu comforting him, Zhang Ruofeng mocked himself for overthinking things, to the point where his teammate Xin Mu was worrying about him. That wouldn't do; he quickly pulled himself together.

"Then let us see it for ourselves, the legendary Dungeon."