As Jiang Yuan's thoughts wandered, a wooden stick suddenly struck his leg.
He looked down.
Several green, pointy-eared creatures about half his height stood beside him, clutching wooden sticks and making strange noises.
"×&%￥#@...(Damn humans)"
"%!$# ...(Die!)"
Even without using Appraisal, Jiang Yuan recognized the monsters.
[Abyssal Beast]: Goblin.
[Rank]: Common.
[Level]: LV4.
[Skill]: Conceal Presence.
[Evaluation]: These low-level, vicious Abyssal creatures have tough skin and weak attacks. They live in dark underground lairs and like to conceal their presence to ambush sleeping or incapacitated enemies.
"You hid nearby, figured we'd both be badly wounded, then came out to ambush us? What a despicable creature."
Jiang Yuan sneered.
"%!$# ...(Die!)"
Several goblins, armed with wooden clubs and daggers, shrieked as they charged him.
"Free experience delivered right to my door? I'd be a fool to turn it down."
With a thought, a black-red spark appeared before Jiang Yuan. The temperature around him shot up, and the ice melted rapidly.
Before the goblins could react, their bodies suddenly burst into flames like torches. In less than two seconds, they had burned to ashes.
[Beep, you killed a LV3 Goblin. Experience +30]
[Beep, you killed a LV4 Goblin. Experience +40]
[Beep, you killed a LV5 Goblin. Experience +50]
[Beep, your level has increased. Current level: LV6. All attributes +10. You have gained +10 free attribute points to allocate.]
Night fell in the Abyss, and a blood-red moon appeared in the sky.
A campfire stood out starkly against the dark landscape. Under normal circumstances, it would surely attract all kinds of ferocious beasts.
That was why ordinary hunters didn't dare light campfires at night. Even when some guilds used fires for light, they assigned guards or brought items imbued with the pressure of high-tier ferocious beasts to prevent sudden attacks.
There was another way, too.
They could eliminate every ferocious beast in the vicinity. Then they wouldn't need to worry about being attacked while eating or sleeping.
That was exactly what Jiang Yuan had done. The ground around the campfire was strewn with the corpses of all kinds of ferocious beasts.
Jiang Yuan had just finished his nineteenth grilled steak from a first-tier Iron-Skin Pig when Lin Qingyan abruptly opened her eyes and sat up.
"You're awake?"
Jiang Yuan, his mouth greasy, reached for his twentieth steak.
When she turned and saw him, the memory of her defeat came rushing back.
Lin Qingyan clenched her teeth and fists. A chill spread from her body.
"Still want to fight?"
Jiang Yuan ate his steak without looking up. "I'd take a break if I were you. If you keep pushing yourself, you could damage the source of your talent."
"...Hmph. Don't lump me in with ordinary people."
As she spoke, Lin Qingyan activated her first talent. A Healing Aura appeared behind her, bathing her in a warm glow.
She was soon back to her peak condition.
But even after recovering, she didn't choose to fight again.
Another fight would only end in another defeat.
She checked her clothes, then looked at Jiang Yuan as though he were a criminal. "You didn't do anything weird to me while I was unconscious, did you?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'd never do something like that."
"I'll know as soon as I look." Lin Qingyan pulled up her panel and opened the camera tab. "I turned on the camera before we fought. After I passed out, it only kept me in frame."
Jiang Yuan nearly choked.
"That's quite the move you pulled..."
"You seem pretty nervous."
"M-me? No, haha..."
When Lin Qingyan saw the footage of herself falling into Jiang Yuan's arms after she passed out, a faint blush crept across her delicate face.
Jiang Yuan seized the chance to say, "You did that yourself. It wasn't me..."
"Shut up!" she snapped, mortified.
Then she saw what happened next.
Lin Qingyan's beautiful face darkened as she looked at Jiang Yuan with a cold smile. "Did you enjoy touching my face?"
"Uh... It felt pretty nice."
Jiang Yuan awkwardly turned his head away.
"You dare say that!"
Lin Qingyan was furious.
"Next time, next time I'll kill you!!"
She kept watching.
The footage showed Jiang Yuan carrying her on his back to hunt ferocious beasts. Every time he moved or jumped, Lin Qingyan would briefly lift off his back, then slam against him again—especially around her chest.
The longer she watched, the more uncomfortable her chest felt. Her face grew hotter and redder.
Couldn't that bastard have put her down?
Wasn't he worried about squashing her... there?
"I had no choice. If I left you behind, I was afraid a ferocious beast would eat you..." Jiang Yuan explained.
"Don't talk to me! Shameless! Despicable! You have no decency!!"
Lin Qingyan sat down cross-legged with an annoyed huff, picked up a steak, and began wolfing it down without a care for her school beauty image.
Every time she remembered the footage of herself sprawled on his back, she felt that uncomfortable pressure against her chest. No wonder she'd woken up feeling so sore.
This defeat had truly humiliated her!!
That bastard.
She really shouldn't have teamed up with him!
Once they finished eating, she'd go her own way and get as far from him as possible!!
But before that...
Lin Qingyan couldn't help asking Jiang Yuan the question that had been bothering her for ages.
"What class are you, exactly?"
Jiang Yuan looked up from his feast and answered quite naturally, "An Assassin."
Lin Qingyan nearly choked. Her chest heaved beneath her hooded jacket, making Jiang Yuan's gaze drift over.
"You expect me to believe that? What kind of Assassin is like you?"
Under the school beauty's questioning gaze, Jiang Yuan only glanced at her sidelong and said coolly,
"The loser has no right to ask questions."
Lin Qingyan was speechless with rage. She gritted her teeth, her chest heaving.
She turned away, determined.
If I say one more word to him, I'm not Empress Qingyan—I'm a dog!
The two of them went their separate ways, parting on bad terms.
Jiang Yuan was glad to hunt alone. He no longer had to worry about someone stealing his experience.
Time flew by as he searched for monsters, killed them, and leveled up.
Before long, it was the third day since he entered the Abyss.
Before you continue