Reliable Big Brother Sun

"Want to touch it?"

Si Telan carefully touched the summoning mark, and a golden phantom suddenly flashed up on it, startling her into hopping back.

The moment she stopped touching the summoning mark, the golden phantom vanished instantly.

"So I can actually see what the Helper looks like."

She touched the mark again, scrutinizing the person's face.

The build looked male—why "looked"? Because the figure wore full-body armor, hiding the face and making gender unclear.

The armor didn't seem particularly valuable, a common style. In the right hand was a lance, in the left a large shield that radiated security.

Above his head, a name appeared: Ma Lei Da.

"Never heard of him," Si Telan said, choosing to summon. "Isn't he an adventurer?"

After a brief wait, a flash of golden light effects swept by, and Ma Lei Da, bathed in gold, made a grand entrance!

"Hey!"

He greeted her with a big, open gesture, seeming like a warm and cheerful person. Surely someone like that wouldn't stoop to something as low as backstabbing others.

Of course, this Ma Lei Da was also Gong Qiying in disguise.

The look was inspired by a hostile NPC from Dark Souls II, the people's good friend, Ma Lei Da.

After all, Gong Qiying's current appearance was that of a Living Dead, so he couldn't exactly show his real face.

"Hello, I'm Si Telan."

Si Telan circled around, sizing up Gong Qiying, clicking her tongue in amazement. So summoned Helpers turned into golden spirits—how cool did that look?

"Are you an adventurer too? Why did you draw a summoning mark here?"

Having finally encountered something novel, she wanted to get all the answers.

Gong Qiying hadn't talked to anyone in a long time, so he was visibly excited.

"No, no, I'm not an adventurer. I'm just traveling, training myself."

"As for the summoning mark, you need an item called a Crooked Finger. Draw the mark on the ground with it, and then people who've used a Crooked Finger Summoning Potion can see it."

Si Telan immediately leaned in and pressed: "Where can I get a Crooked Finger, please?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her rudeness and quickly added, "I can pay you for the information."

Gong Qiying shook his head and said warmly, "No payment needed. We're all people grinding in the dungeon—helping each other out is basic common sense."

She'd really run into a good person this time.

Si Telan hadn't heard the phrase "helping each other out" from a stranger in ages. These days, adventurers were terrified someone else would snatch dungeon benefits before them. Not getting scammed on meeting was a win, and if someone casually offered a tip, they were practically a saint.

Her opinion of Gong Qiying shot up.

Gong Qiying pointed toward the distant Fortress and said, "Go out the back gate of the Fortress, enter the Village there, fight through a ton of enemies, and at a cliff edge in the Village, you can pick up a Crooked Finger. Not far from the Crooked Finger, you can enter the next area—looks like a huge Tree Hollow."

"Huh," Si Telan's eyes went wide. "So you've already cleared that disgusting Village?"

Gong Qiying gave a noncommittal nod, which in Si Telan's eyes was the mark of a true strong player's composure.

In that moment, the image of "Ma Lei Da" rose in her mind.

Si Telan's gaze burned like she'd found treasure. "Can I ask you to guide me through the Village? I'll prepare a reward too—name your price!"

She expected Gong Qiying to take the offer, but he just shook his head. "I really don't need a reward. If you want to repay me, just talk with me. I haven't spoken to anyone in a long time, and I'm a bit out of touch with the outside—cough, with some news."

"Leave it to me. I read the news every day."

Soon after, the golden Gong Qiying and Si Telan walked side by side through the Swamp, but if you looked closely, you'd notice Si Telan was following him the whole time.

In the Swamp, Gong Qiying displayed unmatched expertise. He often found small paths to avoid monsters, and even hidden shortcuts straight to the bonfires—routes Si Telan and her companions had completely missed.

Even more impressive, Gong Qiying seemed to know the monsters' detection ranges, slipping past them at the very edge of their awareness, strolling right in front of them like they weren't there. Si Telan couldn't help but admire him.

"You must have spent a long time exploring here, huh?"

"Just a bit of thorough searching."

That was the style of a true expert!

Si Telan respected anyone stronger than her, and not just in combat—when it came to dungeon exploration, Gong Qiying's skill far surpassed hers.

She knew she'd never have found those cleverly hidden shortcuts; they were buried way too deep.

And through this time together, Gong Qiying gradually filled in his information gaps.

Earlier, he only knew there was a Bede City nearby where adventurers lived. Now, from Si Telan, he learned the main members of the Bede Family and their traits: Ka Rong was a big dumb brute, Vierde was a sissy, and Sally was outright a pretty cross-dresser.

Those evaluations were pretty subjective.

Then he learned more about the world's power tiers: Low, Middle, High, King, Saint, Legend. A simple ranking system. A person could learn as many professions as they wanted in a lifetime—no upper limit, as long as they had talent and time. Basically no restrictions.

Even weapons, items, magic, and so on could be bluntly slotted into the same power tiers. This world's setting was way too easy to grasp.

Though Si Telan was puzzled why Gong Qiying asked such obvious questions, it was just a puzzle. His reliability left no room for her to suspect he might be a monster.

Come on—how could a low-intelligence monster ever learn human language?

Besides this basic knowledge, Gong Qiying also picked up some currently useless trivia, like gossip about the Adventurers' Guild Master.

The top combat power in human society seemed to be a mage named Ke Wei De, the royal magic advisor, whose strength had long reached the legendary rank. But he hadn't appeared in public for decades, and some rumors claimed he was dead.

The Elf Race lived in a place called the Elven Forest, ruled by a Queen who also possessed legendary strength. Most of the Elf Race loved peace, so they secluded themselves in that beautiful forest.

Dwarves all preferred living in mountains, with great talent for forging and brewing—matching the outside world's stereotypes. They gathered under the Dwarf King, forming a force not to be underestimated.

The massive amount of information he'd gained today left Gong Qiying so satisfied he felt like burping.

Before long, they arrived at the Fortress gate.

"You actually opened the door that fast?" Si Telan's gaze shifted from respect to admiration. He was the first person she'd ever seen speedrun the Poisonous Swamp!

"Ready your weapons. The fight's about to start."

Begging for alms, begging for alms—this down-and-out author begs for some monthly tickets and recommendation tickets.