Chapter 49

Ryan was driven to distraction by the hellish questions Sui Xiong kept posing. He pondered them with the utmost seriousness, only to grow increasingly distressed, unable to arrive at an answer that satisfied him.

Consequently, he suffered from insomnia that night.

Naturally, he had no way of knowing that the questions Sui Xiong raised were meticulously crafted by some bored individuals on Earth's internet, specifically designed to make readers experience the "malice of the world." Never mind a mere bandit from another world; even scholars on Earth would often find themselves frowning in frustration, unable to come up with a perfect answer when faced with such inquiries.

The next day, when Sui Xiong intended to discuss topics about the world and life with him again, Ryan simply tore two rags and stuffed them into his ears to demonstrate his determination not to cooperate.

Sui Xiong could, of course, have easily snatched those rags away, but since the man was unwilling to discuss such topics, why should he make himself a nuisance? A twisted melon is never sweet; using force to compel someone to do something was entirely meaningless.

However, while some things could be left to choice, others could not.

For instance, saving lives.

That day, as dusk approached, they were clearly very close to the edge of the Gray Stone Mountains. While setting up camp, they heard the sounds of fighting and cries for help.

According to Ryan's plan, he had intended to push himself to keep moving; even if it meant traveling through the night, he wanted to leave the Gray Stone Mountains before camping. Unfortunately, they encountered a cliff. Sui Xiong cast a reconnaissance spell, confirming that bypassing the cliff would take nearly a day, and constructing a temporary bridge wouldn't necessarily be any faster. With Sui Xiong unwilling to lift a finger to help build a bridge, Ryan had no choice but to take a detour, which significantly increased the distance and forced him to camp in the mountains once again.

Ryan didn't fear camping out. They had already reached the fringes of the Gray Stone Mountains, where, theoretically, no Magic Beasts should appear. Even if there were any, they would likely be stragglers who had fled after being defeated deep in the mountains. He had killed quite a few powerful Magic Beasts while traveling through the deep mountains these past few days, let alone these weaklings! They would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter, allowing him to pick up an easy win.

It was just that he was thoroughly sick of the environment in these mountains. Setting aside the venomous snakes and fierce beasts, the endless swarms of poisonous insects alone were enough to drive him to distraction. Even with his insect-repellent medicine, he didn't have to worry about being bitten, but the constant buzzing, chirping, and chattering sounds at night were maddening!

To make matters worse, every night before sleep, Sui Xiong would always insist on talking to him about ideals and life, which only added to his irritation.

Sui Xiong had stopped asking those mind-numbing, awkward questions, instead speaking quite earnestly about topics like, "The most precious thing a person has is life; one only has one life..." or "A person's abilities may vary, but as long as one possesses this spirit..."

These topics made him feel incredibly heavy, even more uncomfortable than those maddening questions. Yet, he couldn't avoid them, as doing so would make him feel weak-hearted.

However, discussing these topics before bed clearly affected the quality of his sleep. Combined with the relentless, incessant insects taking turns to perform their "concerts," he barely slept well any night, and his mental state deteriorated day by day.

Therefore, he was eagerly looking forward to leaving the deep mountains and entering the territory of the Gold Coin Federation. Once there, there would surely be signs of civilization, and perhaps this jellyfish deity with a penchant for being a life coach would shift his focus to someone else, allowing him to at least get a good night's sleep.

Even if this detestable jellyfish continued to pester him with questions and deep discussions, at least there wouldn't be any noisy insects!

But today, that was not an option.

Ryan was in a foul mood, so when he heard the sounds of fighting and calls for help in the distance, he had absolutely no desire to intervene.

"Someone is in danger," Sui Xiong said.

"Yeah," he replied, taking out his blanket, intending to wrap himself up and get some sleep while he was tired from being well-fed.

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

"No," Ryan answered, preparing to lie down.

Sui Xiong darted onto his head, pressing a tentacle against his temple.

The tentacle was ice-cold and felt unnervingly sharp, making Ryan unable to help but suspect that in the next second, his skull would be pierced, and his brains would spill out.

"What... what are you trying to do!" he asked, startled and shouting.

"Helping you correct your thinking," Sui Xiong said cheerfully. "Your mind is filled with too much filth and evil; I'm helping you extract some of it."

Ryan was horrified and hurriedly retorted, "My brains would be extracted before that happens!"

"It doesn't matter," Sui Xiong said. "To gain something, one must lose something. This principle of equivalent exchange is a universal truth. Isn't it a good deal to trade a bit of brain matter for kindness and peace?"

"I don't think it's a good deal at all! I don't want any damn kindness or peace!" Ryan protested loudly.

"Objection overruled! Isn't it only natural that for the wicked, the powerful have the final say?"

"...I understand, I'll go save those people!"

Sui Xiong laughed heartily and retracted his tentacle. "A wise choice. If you had done this sooner, it would have saved everyone the trouble."

Ryan gave a bitter smile, hung his long spear on the hook on his back, sheathed his long sword at his waist, checked his equipment one last time, and then set off, running quickly toward the source of the fighting and cries for help.

His strength was formidable, and after this period of trekking, he had become very accustomed to traveling through the mountains. He leaped and bounded with agility, moving like an ape jumping between rocks and trees. It took him only a short while to reach the location where the sounds were coming from.

In a clearing in the woods, four adventurers were locked in a fierce battle with a giant bear at least two people tall.

To call it a "fierce battle" was actually an overstatement; it was more of a one-sided defense and beating. The giant bear possessed immense strength and excellent defense. Although its reactions were slightly slow, it protected its vital points well, leaving the adventurers with no openings to exploit.

The four adventurers were all quite young. The two in full armor handling the front line were likely twenty-four or twenty-five, the one darting around trying to pin it down with a bow was barely over twenty, and the one perched in a tree providing support with spells wasn't even twenty yet—they were truly a group of youths.

Youth often meant a lack of sufficient training and growth, which translated to insufficient strength. Young adventurers had the highest mortality rate because they lacked experience and often couldn't avoid danger—dangers that seasoned adventurers could usually evade.

For instance, if veterans like Rod or Ryan had encountered this giant bear, they would likely have tossed a piece of fresh meat to it, thrown some more scattered around while it was eating, and then slowly retreated. They might even have prepared some sweets, placed them high up in a tree, and left while the bear was busy struggling with the trunk.

Most bears in this world were somewhat lazy and had a sweet tooth. When simple, easily accessible food was available, they generally wouldn't risk injury to fight heavily armed adventurers. If sweets were right in front of them, even if you had no weapons and turned to run, acting like "I am prey," they would mostly be too lazy to bother with you.

But these youths clearly didn't know these tricks, or they lacked the corresponding preparation. Thus, they could only use their bodies, which hadn't yet grown strong enough, to fight the giant bear.

The odds of winning such a battle were slim. The giant bear had grown to the pinnacle of a "ferocious beast" and was on the verge of stepping into the realm of "Magic Beasts." In terms of adventurer standards, it would take a well-equipped, well-supplied team of veteran adventurers—roughly the level of Gerald, who once went by the alias "Baldy" Nien, and his companions—to have any certainty of killing it without anyone sustaining serious injury.

As for these four youths, in Sui Xiong's estimation, during the Skeleton Night at White Leaf Village, Gerald, who had been invincible among the skeletons with his battle axe, could probably take all four of them on and still finish off one or two, leaving the rest wounded.

Clearly, they had no chance of defeating the giant bear. The only reason no one had died yet was that their team composition was reasonable and they had a certain level of resilience.

The two in the front were a warrior and a cleric, both clad in heavy armor and carrying shields. This sturdy gear had saved them many times, rescuing them from crises more than once. Furthermore, with the help of the heavy armor, the cleric could occasionally find time to pray and cast divine spells to restore stamina for his companions or himself.

Beyond that, the mage's spells also played a significant role. Although there were no high-level spells—only simple ones like Shield, Magic Missile, Grease, and Blur—the young mage timed his casting well, making himself useful every time.

In other words, they were constantly exhausting the team's spellcasting capacity to wear down the giant bear's stamina.

Yes, just stamina. Because so far, the giant bear hadn't been injured at all.

If this continued, the outcome was obvious—once their mana was exhausted, these four youths would have no way to withstand the giant bear's onslaught. Perhaps the archer could escape, and one of the warrior or cleric might get away, but at least one of the two would have to stay behind, and the less agile mage would certainly be doomed.

Lei lurked near the battlefield, watching their fight in silence, yet he was in no hurry to intervene.

"Are you not going to save them?" Sui Xiong transmitted his words directly into Lei's mind via magic.

Lei shook his head slightly, replying through the temporary telepathic link: "It is not yet time; they can still hold on."

"By the time they can no longer hold on, they will have suffered heavy injuries."

"It won't be that severe. I will step in before that happens—for these youngsters, the experience of a bitter struggle until the very last moment is precious; it can effectively help them grow."

Sui Xiong did not urge him further. When it came to adventuring, Lei was the expert. Since he claimed it was better for the youngsters, Sui Xiong chose to trust him.

Besides... even if he truly refused to step in, Sui Xiong could always intervene personally when the critical moment arrived.

In a battle of this mere level, wasn't everything still well within his control?

Thanks to reader "Yun Guang Shi Liu Fei" for the generous tip. Everyone's support is the motivation for my updates! By the way, have you cast your recommendation votes yet?