"Ruofeng, left!" Xin Mu shouted, her voice raised with worry. At the same time, she flung the dagger in her right hand. One of Xin Mu's hobbies had once left even her close friends dumbfounded: throwing knives. She'd stumbled across it online when, usually indifferent to most things, she'd decided to try something thrilling. Knife throwing and butterfly-knife tricks had become her secret hobbies, much to the surprise of her only two close friends.
Xin Mu's skill lived up to her fascination with the somewhat dangerous pastime. The dagger she'd just picked up flew straight into a large dog-shaped monster charging at them on two legs, about half a person's height. The light-brown dog yelped and fell to the ground, turning into a pile of fine black sand within seconds. The danger on the right was gone, but three monsters remained in the passage Zhang Ruofeng was blocking on the left.
The reason the two of them had been caught off guard was that they'd let their guard down too much. On the first floor, they'd only encountered one or two Weak Mushrooms every ten minutes. They'd been more cautious on the second floor, but hadn't expected monsters to emerge from the pitch-black walls on both sides of a three-way junction at once. The second floor was mostly populated by Barking Dogs and Goblins. From this floor on, rare monsters would also begin appearing from time to time. But the second-floor Dungeon covered several hundred square meters and was laid out as a maze; unless they went looking for them, it was hard to run into other adventurers. The Barking Dog that had appeared on the right was no problem, but the three monsters in the left passage were trickier. The Goblins didn't charge in. Instead, they picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at Zhang Ruofeng's head.
"They can coordinate, too?" Zhang Ruofeng bared his teeth, ducked a flying stone, and saw that Xin Mu had already dealt with the threat from the right and was retrieving her dagger. Reassured, he took a large step back as the first Barking Dog pounced, then drove his dagger straight into its head. Blood splashed across his face, and the dog instantly dissolved into fine black sand. His dagger fell to the ground, but he ignored it, meeting the next Barking Dog's leap with his left fist. A dull thud rang out. Zhang Ruofeng stepped back to absorb the force, while the dog crashed into a pointed protrusion in the wall and instantly turned to sand.
There was barely time to react before a fist-sized stone came flying at Zhang Ruofeng. He had no choice but to raise his armguard. Sparks flashed in the dim Dungeon. Ignoring the numbness in his arm, he charged forward, ducked another stone, and reached the Goblin in two strides. The Goblin had just let out a threatening shriek when Zhang Ruofeng grabbed its head. The Goblin was only about seventy centimeters tall. Zhang Ruofeng shoved it down hard, and it smashed face-first into the stone floor. Red blood began to seep from its green skin.
"Ruofeng, move!" Xin Mu called from behind. Zhang Ruofeng didn't hesitate; he jumped back as a throwing knife whistled through the spot he'd just vacated and sank into the chest of the Goblin, which had just pushed itself up onto its knees. The Goblin was killed instantly.
"Nice!" Zhang Ruofeng was astonished by her skill. He'd never imagined that Xin Mu, such a quiet and reserved girl, had a talent like that. He gave her a thumbs-up in admiration. A hint of embarrassment finally appeared on Xin Mu's otherwise unchanged face at having revealed a hobby that didn't seem fitting for a girl. Zhang Ruofeng stared blankly for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and turned away to collect their spoils.
"What a weirdo." Xin Mu had seen Zhang Ruofeng stare at her in a daze, only to run off and pick up the Magic Stones the next instant. She couldn't help but chide him.
"Oh, nice. There's a Barking Dog Tooth, too." Zhang Ruofeng ran over holding a curved fang about as thick as his thumb. He compared it with the image of the drop on the map. "A great start to the second floor." He handed his dagger to Xin Mu. "You'll make better use of this. It feels awkward in my hands. I'm more used to fighting barehanded."
"Mm." Xin Mu didn't argue. She fastened the other dagger, sheath and all, to her right hip.
"We look ridiculous, dressed in casual clothes and carrying cold weapons." Zhang Ruofeng suddenly laughed. Looking at herself and Zhang Ruofeng, Xin Mu smiled faintly, too.
"Okay, all packed. Let's keep going." Zhang Ruofeng casually wiped the blood on his face on his T-shirt, ready to set off again.
"You seem very used to blood," Xin Mu remarked coolly, watching how unconcerned Zhang Ruofeng looked.
"Uh..." Zhang Ruofeng stopped in his tracks. "It's not human blood, so it doesn't bother me as much?" He tried his usual feigned cluelessness to brush the question off. Xin Mu could tell he didn't want to answer directly, so she didn't press him and went back to studying the map.
They kept moving, stopping now and then. They encountered a few lone monsters along the way. Some were beaten to death by Zhang Ruofeng; others were struck by one of Xin Mu's thrown daggers before Zhang Ruofeng finished them off. They reached the entrance to the third floor with little trouble. Neither of them continued downward. Instead, they took out the waterskins they'd bought with the money the goddess had given them. Zhang Ruofeng sat directly on the ground, while Xin Mu sat on his foot, since she couldn't afford to catch a chill. From where they rested, they could see only the entrance to the first floor and one passage on the second. Zhang Ruofeng had chosen the spot because they could rest there without being surrounded if danger arose.
"We've been fighting as we walked the whole way. I thought I'd be exhausted by now, but surprisingly, I'm not that tired," Zhang Ruofeng said slowly as he rested.
"Familia must be..." Xin Mu sat in front of him, her soft body pressed against the top of his shoe. Zhang Ruofeng was fairly used to it. During a cosplay event, Xin Mu had once worn a character's very high heels despite never having worn them before, and she'd twisted her ankle in the crowded convention hall. Zhang Ruofeng had carried her back to school. Since they were already accustomed to physical contact, he'd naturally gotten used to it.
As Xin Mu felt Zhang Ruofeng calmly watching the Dungeon from behind her, she realized she was genuinely tired. She knew he liked playing basketball, but she hadn't expected him to keep going for about two hours without a break, especially when he'd done most of the fighting. She was already exhausted, while Zhang Ruofeng barely seemed to be breathing hard. His stamina was unbelievable for someone who sometimes spent ten hours straight playing games like a shut-in.
"Yeah, it really is amazing." Zhang Ruofeng rolled his wrist. "I'm stronger than I used to be, and my reflexes have improved, too." He'd kept walking at the front not just to protect Xin Mu, but also to quickly get a sense of his current condition. For someone like him, who'd started out with combat ability, understanding how his growth had changed him would help him make better use of his strength.
"Oooooh..." A howl that sounded neither wolf nor dog echoed from the passage in front of them. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu had been resting for about ten minutes. They exchanged a look and quickly got to their feet.
"Great Barking Dog," Xin Mu said, consulting the guidebook.
"A rare elite monster on the second floor?" Zhang Ruofeng's fighting spirit stirred. "Aren't rare monsters uncommon on the lower floors? Maybe we're lucky today." As he considered whether to head toward the Great Barking Dog, another wretched scream rang out. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu didn't hesitate. They turned down the passage toward the sound and soon saw an adventurer wearing full leather armor and a strange half-mask rush past them. He was gone in an instant.
"Sorry!!!!" The adventurer's voice echoed through the passage. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu were still staring in shock when the howl sounded again behind them. Zhang Ruofeng realized the adventurer had led the monster straight to them. The Great Barking Dog had already charged into their passage, leaving them no chance to dodge.
"Damn!" Zhang Ruofeng's calm nature helped him settle down quickly. He muttered a complaint and sprinted toward the Great Barking Dog.
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