Chapter 49

Lei was driven crazy by Sui Xiong's damned questions. He thought them over very seriously, but the more he pondered, the more troubled he became. He couldn't come up with an answer that satisfied him.

So that night, he couldn't sleep.

Of course, he had no idea that Sui Xiong's questions had been carefully crafted by a few troublemakers in Earth's online community, specifically designed to make readers experience "the malice of the world." Forget a mere bandit from another world—even scholars on Earth often furrowed their brows over questions like these, unable to come up with perfect answers.

The next day, when Sui Xiong again tried to discuss the world and life with him, Lei tore off two scraps of cloth and stuffed them into his ears, making his refusal to cooperate perfectly clear.

Sui Xiong could easily have snatched the scraps of cloth away, but if Lei didn't want to discuss such topics, why make a nuisance of himself? A forcibly picked melon wasn't sweet, and there was no fun in making people do things against their will.

But while some things didn't need to be forced, others did.

Rescuing people, for example.

That day, as dusk approached and they drew close to the edge of the Gray Stone Mountains, they heard the sounds of fighting and a cry for help while making camp.

Lei had planned to push on, even if it meant traveling through the night, so they could leave the Gray Stone Mountains before camping. But they had the bad luck to run into a sheer cliff. Sui Xiong cast a scouting spell and determined that going around it would take nearly a day. Building a makeshift bridge wouldn't necessarily be much faster, either. Since Sui Xiong couldn't be bothered to help build one, Lei had no choice but to take the long way around. Their journey grew considerably longer, and he was forced to spend another night in the mountains.

Lei wasn't afraid of camping outdoors. They were already near the edge of the Gray Stone Mountains, where, in theory, no magical beasts should appear. Even if one did, it would probably be a defeated remnant that had fled from the depths of the mountains. He'd killed plenty of powerful magical beasts while traveling through the mountains these past few days, so what were a few weaklings? They'd only be throwing their lives away and letting him take advantage of the situation.

He was just sick of the mountain environment. Never mind the venomous snakes and wild beasts; the endless varieties of poisonous insects alone were enough to drive him up the wall. Even with insect repellent to keep them from biting him, the buzzing, chirping, and croaking at night was enough to make him crazy!

On top of that, before bed every night, Sui Xiong would always seek him out to discuss his ideals and the meaning of life, making him even more fed up.

Sui Xiong had stopped asking those awkward questions that made Lei's balls ache. Now he earnestly discussed topics like "The most precious thing a person has is life, and each person has only one..." and "People's abilities may vary, but as long as they have this spirit..." and the like.

These topics weighed heavily on Lei, making him feel even worse than those damned questions had. Yet he couldn't avoid them, because doing so would make him feel that he was weak inside.

But discussing such things before bed obviously affected his sleep. Add in the insects that took turns making an endless racket, and he could barely sleep at all. His condition worsened by the day.

That was why he was eager to leave the mountains and enter the Gold Coin Federation as soon as possible. There would surely be people there, and perhaps this jellyfish deity with a taste for playing life's mentor would turn his attention to someone else, letting Lei get at least one peaceful night's sleep.

Even if the accursed jellyfish god kept pestering him with questions and discussing those overly profound topics, at least he wouldn't have to listen to all those noisy insects!

But not today.

Lei was in a foul mood, so when he heard fighting and cries for help from afar, he had absolutely no desire to get involved.

"Someone's in danger," Sui Xiong said.

"Yeah." He took out his blanket, intending to wrap himself up and get some good sleep while he was full and a little tired.

"Don't you want to go save them?" Sui Xiong asked.

"No." Lei answered, then started to lie down.

Sui Xiong swiftly hopped onto his head and pressed a tentacle against his temple.

The tentacle was ice-cold, and it felt unnaturally sharp. Lei couldn't help imagining that the next second it would drill a hole through his skull, spilling out the red and white contents of his head.

"What... What are you trying to do?" he cried in alarm.

"Help you straighten out your thinking," Sui Xiong said with a chuckle. "Your brain is full of filth and evil. I'll just draw a little of it out."

Lei was horrified and hurriedly protested, "You'll draw my brains out first!"

"Doesn't matter," Sui Xiong said. "If you want to gain something, you have to lose something. That principle of equivalent exchange is common sense everywhere. A little brain matter in exchange for kindness and peace—don't you think that's a good deal?"

"I don't think it's a good deal at all! I don't want any of that damned kindness and peace!" Lei protested loudly.

"Objections overruled! When it comes to the wicked, isn't it only natural that the strong get to decide?"

"...I get it. I'll go save them!"

Sui Xiong laughed heartily and withdrew his tentacle. "A wise choice. If you'd done that sooner, we could've saved ourselves the trouble."

Lei gave a bitter laugh, hung his spear on the hook on his back, slid his sword into its scabbard, checked his gear once more, then set off at a quick run toward the sounds of fighting and pleas for help.

He was strong, and after traveling for so long, he'd grown used to moving through the mountains. He leaped along so swiftly that he was like an agile ape bounding between rocks and trees. It took him only a short while to reach the source of the noise.

In a patch of woods, four adventurers were fighting a giant bear at least twice a man's height.

Calling it a fight was generous. It was more like the adventurers were defending themselves and taking a beating. The giant bear was immensely strong and had an excellent defense. Though its reactions were a little slow, it protected its vital areas well, leaving the adventurers no opening to exploit.

None of the four adventurers was very old. The two in full armor who were handling the front line were around twenty-four or twenty-five. The one darting around and using a bow to keep the bear occupied was a little over twenty, while the mage perched in a tree and supporting the others with spells wasn't even twenty yet. They were, without a doubt, a group of youngsters.

Youth often meant insufficient training and experience, which in turn meant insufficient strength. Young adventurers had the highest death rates because they lacked experience and often couldn't avoid danger—dangers that seasoned adventurers could usually steer clear of.

Take the giant bear they were fighting. If veterans like Rod or Ryan had run into it, they probably would've tossed it a piece of fresh meat. While it ate, they would've scattered a few more pieces in different directions and slowly backed away. They might even have brought sweets and put them high up on a tree trunk, then left while the bear struggled with the tree.

Most bears in this world were somewhat lazy and had a sweet tooth. When food was easy to come by, they generally didn't want to risk getting hurt by fighting fully armed adventurers. And if there were sweets right in front of them, then even if you were unarmed and ran off with your back turned, acting just like prey, they would probably be too lazy to bother with you.

But these young people clearly didn't know such tricks, or they hadn't come prepared. So they could only fight the giant bear with bodies that hadn't yet grown strong enough.

They had little chance of winning. The giant bear had nearly reached the peak of what a "wild beast" could become. One step further, and it would enter the ranks of "magical beasts." In terms of adventurers, it would take at least a well-equipped, well-supplied team of veterans to kill it without anyone suffering serious injuries—the sort of team Gerald and his companions had been when he went by the alias "Baldy" Nien.

As for these four youngsters, Sui Xiong figured that during the Skeleton Night in White Leaf Village, Gerald, wielding his battle axe and rampaging through the skeletons, could probably have taken all four of them on and killed one or two. The rest would have been injured as well.

It was obvious they had no chance of defeating the giant bear. The only reason no one had been injured yet was that their party had a balanced lineup and could withstand some pressure.

One of the two holding the front line was a warrior, and the other was a priest. Both wore heavy armor and carried shields. Their sturdy equipment had helped them tremendously, saving them from danger more than once. It also gave the priest enough breathing room to pray now and then, casting divine spells to restore his own or his companions' stamina.

The mage's spells had also played a significant role. He didn't have any high-level spells, only simple ones like shield, magic missile, grease, and blur, but the young mage had excellent timing, so every spell helped.

In other words, they were using up their party's spellcasting abilities to wear down the giant bear.

Well, its stamina, at least. The giant bear hadn't been injured at all so far.

If this continued, the outcome was obvious. Once their magic ran out, the four youngsters wouldn't be able to hold off the giant bear's fierce attacks. By then, perhaps the archer and one of the warrior or priest could escape, but at least one of those two would be left behind. The mage, who wasn't very nimble, would certainly be doomed as well.

Lei hid near the battlefield, silently watching them fight, but didn't hurry to intervene.

"Are you going to save them?" Sui Xiong sent the words into his mind through a spell.

Lei gave a slight shake of his head and replied through their temporary telepathic link, "Not yet. They can still hold on."

"But if you wait until they can't, they'll be seriously injured."

"It won't be that bad. I'll step in before then. The experience of fighting to the very end is precious for these youngsters. It'll help them grow."

Sui Xiong didn't urge him any further. When it came to adventuring, Lei was the expert. Since he said this would be better for the youngsters, Sui Xiong chose to trust him.

Besides... even if Lei really refused to save them, Sui Xiong could step in himself when it mattered.

A fight on this level was still well within his control!

Thank you to reader "Yun Guang Shi Liu Fei" for the generous red-envelope donation. Your support is what motivates me to keep updating! By the way, have you cast your recommendation votes?