Unexpected Incident

"Zhang Ruofeng, to your left!" Xin Mu's voice was strained with anxiety. Her right hand flicked out, sending a dagger flying through the air. It was a hidden hobby of hers that had once left her closest friends stunned—throwing knives and butterfly knives. She had picked it up after deciding to try something thrilling to break her usual indifference toward most things, a secret passion that had surprised even her two best friends.

Xin Mu's performance lived up to her obsession with this dangerous pastime. The dagger she had just drawn flew straight and true, striking a monster shaped like a large dog, about half a human's height, as it charged toward them. The creature, covered in pale brown fur, let out a mournful yelp before collapsing to the ground, dissolving into a pile of fine black sand within seconds. The danger on the right was neutralized, but three monsters remained in the left corridor that Zhang Ruofeng was blocking.

The reason they had fallen into such a passive position was, in truth, due to being too relaxed. On the first floor, they would only encounter one or two Weak Mushroom every ten minutes. Even though they had been on guard upon reaching the second floor, they hadn't expected monsters to spawn simultaneously from the dark walls on both sides of a three-way junction. The second floor was primarily inhabited by Barking Dog and Goblin, though various rare monsters would appear from time to time. However, the second floor of the Dungeon spanned several hundred square meters and was laid out like a maze; unless one went out of their way to search, it was difficult to run into other adventurers. The Barking Dog that spawned on the right was manageable, but the three monsters in the left corridor were different: the Goblin didn't charge, but instead picked up stones from the ground and hurled them toward Zhang Ruofeng's head.

"They can coordinate?" Zhang Ruofeng bared his teeth, ducking to avoid the incoming stones. Seeing that Xin Mu had already swiftly dealt with the threat on the right and was moving to retrieve her dagger, he felt at ease. The moment the first Barking Dog lunged, he took a large step back and drove his dagger directly into its skull. A spray of blood splattered onto his face as the creature instantly dissolved into black sand. He didn't bother retrieving his fallen blade; instead, he met the next lunging Barking Dog with a punch from his left hand. After a dull thud, Zhang Ruofeng took another step back to dissipate the force, while the Barking Dog slammed into a jagged protrusion on the wall and disintegrated into sand.

With almost no time to react, a stone the size of a fist flew toward him. Zhang Ruofeng had no choice but to raise his bracer, and sparks bloomed in the dim Dungeon. Ignoring the numbness spreading through his arm, he lunged forward, ducking slightly to dodge another stone, and reached the Goblin in two strides. Before the creature could let out a threatening screech, Zhang Ruofeng pressed his hand down on its head—the Goblin was only about 70 centimeters tall. With a forceful shove, he slammed the Goblin face-first into the hard ground, and red blood began to flow from its green skin.

"Zhang Ruofeng, move!" Xin Mu's voice came from behind. He didn't hesitate, jumping backward. At the same time, a throwing knife whistled through the space he had just vacated, piercing the chest of the Goblin that had just knelt to rise, killing it instantly.

"Nice!" Zhang Ruofeng was genuinely astonished by such skill. He had never imagined that a quiet, indifferent girl like Xin Mu possessed such a lethal talent, and he gave her a thumbs-up in admiration. Xin Mu, having exposed a hobby that didn't quite fit her persona, showed a hint of shyness on her usually unchanging face, leaving Zhang Ruofeng momentarily dazed. He quickly snapped out of it and turned his head to collect the spoils.

"What a weirdo." Seeing Zhang Ruofeng staring at her in a daze before immediately running off to pick up the Magic Stone, Xin Mu couldn't help but chide him.

"Oh, nice, there's even a 'Barking Dog Tooth'." Zhang Ruofeng ran over holding a curved tooth about the thickness of a thumb, comparing it to the drop-item icon on his map. "A good start for the second floor." He handed his dagger to Xin Mu. "You're better with this than I am. I'm not used to it; I prefer going bare-handed."

"Mm." Xin Mu didn't argue, tying the other dagger and its sheath to her right hip.

"It's so strange, us wearing casual clothes while wielding cold steel." Zhang Ruofeng suddenly laughed, and Xin Mu, looking at their outfits, offered a faint smile as well.

"Alright, all packed up. Let's keep moving." Zhang Ruofeng wiped the bloodstains off his face with his hand, smeared them onto his T-shirt, and prepared to set off again.

"You seem very used to blood." Xin Mu watched his nonchalant attitude and asked calmly.

"Uh," Zhang Ruofeng stopped in his tracks for a second. "It's not human blood, so it's not that stressful, right?" He tried to play dumb to brush it off. Xin Mu saw that he didn't want to answer directly, so she didn't press him and went back to checking the map.

The two walked and stopped intermittently. Along the way, they encountered a few lone monsters, which were either beaten to death by Zhang Ruofeng or struck by Xin Mu's throwing knives before being finished off by him. They reached the entrance between the second and third floors with ease. Instead of heading down, they took out the water bags they had bought with money from the Goddess. Zhang Ruofeng sat directly on the ground, and because Xin Mu couldn't afford to catch a cold, she sat on his feet. Their position allowed them to monitor both the entrance to the floor and the corridor leading to the second floor, ensuring they could rest without being flanked—which was why Zhang Ruofeng had chosen this spot.

"I thought fighting our way through would be exhausting, but surprisingly, I'm not that tired," Zhang Ruofeng said while resting.

"It must be the Familia." Xin Mu sat in front of him, her soft frame pressing against his shoes. Zhang Ruofeng was used to it; back when they did cosplay, Xin Mu had once worn very high heels for a character and twisted her ankle in the crowded venue. He had carried her back to school, so he had naturally grown accustomed to physical contact.

As Xin Mu felt Zhang Ruofeng calmly observing the Dungeon behind her, she felt genuinely tired. She knew he loved playing basketball, but she hadn't expected that after two hours of non-stop fighting—mostly done by him—she would be worn out while he didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. It was hard to believe he was the same shut-in who could sometimes play games for twenty hours straight.

"Mm, it really is quite miraculous." Zhang Ruofeng flexed his wrists. "My strength is a bit higher than before, and my reaction speed has improved too." He insisted on taking the lead not just to protect Xin Mu, but to quickly gauge his current state. For someone like him who had combat capability from the start, confirming the changes brought by his growth was the only way to further unleash his potential.

"Oooooh~~~~" A sound, neither wolf nor dog, echoed through the corridor they were facing about ten minutes into their rest. Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu exchanged a look and quickly stood up.

"Great Barking Dog." Xin Mu said, looking at the guidebook.

"A very rare elite monster on the second floor?" Zhang Ruofeng's fighting spirit ignited. "Aren't rare monsters on lower floors supposed to be extremely scarce? Is our luck that good today?" Just as he was considering whether to head toward the Great Barking Dog, a miserable scream rang out. Without hesitation, Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu turned a few corners toward the sound, only to see an adventurer in full leather armor and a strange half-mask rushing past them, disappearing in an instant.

"Sorry!!!!" The adventurer's voice echoed through the corridor. While Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu were still stunned, the howling sound came again. This time, Zhang Ruofeng realized they had been used to shed aggro—the Great Barking Dog had charged into their corridor, and there was no way to hide.

"Damn it!" Zhang Ruofeng's calm nature allowed him to regain his composure quickly. He muttered a complaint and sprinted toward the Great Barking Dog.