"Wow! That woman knocked Big Brother to his knees. She must be trying to force him into slavery!"
Ya Yi and Ya Er, the two underlings, saw that things were going badly and immediately began shouting in alarm.
"What do we do? Should we go save Big Brother?"
"I think Big Brother will forgive us."
"That's right, Big Brother, please forgive us!"
"You two..."
Morgan, sprawled on the ground, shakily raised a hand. Glowering at his two fleeing underlings, he weakly said, "Come back."
Even after coughing up blood all over the ground, he could not understand how Si Telan, who looked so slight, possessed such immense strength.
In truth, her strength was not all that great, but it was more than enough to send Morgan flying.
A shadow suddenly fell over Morgan. It was Si Telan. She looked down at him from above with utter disdain.
Morgan shuddered and said with a forced smile, "Spear... cough, cough... Lady Elf, spare me."
Without saying a word, Si Telan retrieved her spear and thrust it at Morgan!
"Ah! Help!"
For the first time, the bystanders saw a man scream so loudly for a reason other than getting bonked.
Morgan squeezed his eyes shut in terror, yet he did not feel the slightest bit of pain.
Am I dead? So dying doesn't hurt at all?
No, I'm not dead!
He opened his eyes. The world before him was still the same world, not some hellish afterlife. He was completely unharmed, except...
"My hair is gone?"
His scalp just felt chilly.
Si Telan spun the spear in her hand and said,
"First, this is a civilized society. The buying and selling of slaves is not encouraged. Second—"
Greatshield slammed down beside Morgan's head, making the ground quake. "Don't let me see you outside the city, you bastard. I won't hold back next time."
Morgan finally breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "Thank you for sparing me, Heroine."
Si Telan glanced at the guards eyeing her from the roadside and silently put away her weapon.
If the law enforcers had not been watching nearby, she would at least have punched a hole through that guy. But with guards present, she could not do that. Bede City's law enforcement was notorious for not distinguishing right from wrong; they arrested everyone first and sorted things out later. After all, far too many people came here every day, and disturbances arose one after another. Law enforcement had to be efficient.
If she had hit him any harder just now, she would probably have been arrested and charged with mutual assault.
In a city so full of vitality and flourishing life, veteran adventurers like her knew to exercise restraint.
"You ruined my good mood for the day." Si Telan spitefully stomped on his face, then turned and left without looking back.
"Cough, cough... I think a bone broke."
Morgan could not even crawl. He lay helplessly where he was and muttered to himself, "Where did she get so much strength?"
Si Telan stopped walking but did not turn around. She said flatly, "Because I trained in a dungeon."
A dungeon? Training?
The speaker had said it casually, but the listeners took it to heart. Training in a dungeon could make someone stronger? That clearly seemed unlikely. Killing monsters in a dungeon did not grant double experience or anything, so—
That Elf must have encountered some kind of opportunity in the dungeon!
Who knew why the bystanders thought that? Their train of thought was probably just bizarre.
Morgan froze for a moment, then sighed and said,
"But I'm a member of the Anti-Dungeon Association."
"Then go die, bastard."
Si Telan could not be bothered with him anymore and quickened her pace as she left.
"Interesting. Si Telan's strength has increased that much. Could it really be because of the dungeon?"
A figure on the rooftop, who had witnessed the entire event, lowered the monocular telescope in her hand.
"I'll go in and take a look myself."
She brushed back her hair, revealing pointed ears. She too was an Elf.
Two strange things had recently happened in the Bede Family.
First, the eldest young master, Ka Rong, had suddenly left Bede City with a group of people. He only left behind a letter saying he had found a business opportunity and was going out to make a fortune.
Second, Second Young Master Vierde had suddenly fallen in love with dungeons. The first thing he did every day upon opening his eyes was head to a dungeon, and he did not bring a single attendant. No matter who asked, no one could figure out what exactly he wanted to do there.
Of the two events, the stranger one was undoubtedly Vierde's.
Ka Rong's situation was still understandable. Everyone knew that Count Philip, who headed the Bede Family, was getting old. Over the past two years, he had been selecting a new heir from among his descendants. The most likely candidates were eldest young master Ka Rong and Third Young Master Sally. In terms of ability, Young Master Sally was the strongest, so it was possible that Young Master Ka Rong had done this to fight for some accomplishments.
But Second Young Master Vierde? Who would ever consider making that playboy, who spent all day eating, drinking, and having fun, the heir? He might lose the entire family fortune one day!
Everyone in the city knew Vierde was useless. He ate, drank, gambled, and indulged in every vice. He had once achieved the astonishing feat of gambling away even his underwear at a casino, humiliating Count Philip so badly that he had nearly wanted to beat his useless son to death.
Even though he possessed some knowledge of mineral appraisal, it could not salvage his atrocious reputation.
For a person like that, everyone had believed that this was all his life would amount to. Without the protection of a great family, he would not even be able to survive.
And yet, Vierde had actually started striving lately!
Though he was merely dying over and over in Zane Dungeon, exploring a dungeon was still considered a respectable pursuit in people's eyes.
When Count Philip learned of this, he was greatly shocked. He then offered Vierde his support—a whole chest of Teleportation Crystals.
Thus, Vierde explored even more recklessly.
However, there were rumors that the second young master still had not managed to leave the Swamp.
"What are Big Brother and Second Brother up to?"
Sally paced around the room, unable to figure out what the two of them were trying to do.
Hero Elsa was curled up on the sofa, eating snacks while flipping through a light novel. She looked exactly like a homebody, having been thoroughly raised into one by Sally.
Perhaps annoyed by the sound of his pacing, she glanced up at Sally, said nothing, and lowered her head again.
Every day, they remained in the room, analyzing reports about Zane Dungeon that they had obtained from adventurers. Several reports had recently drawn particular attention.
Unknown adventurer:
I clearly remember there being a rock near the Swamp the last time I went there. If you stood on the rock and jumped a few times, all the nearby monsters would freeze up. But when I went back this time, it didn't work! Instead, a monster crawled out from under the rock and bit me to death. This dungeon is seriously weird. Why does it change every day?
"It changes every day."
Sally murmured the words written above, then turned to Elsa and said,
"Do you think this might match our hypothesis?"
"What?" Elsa was immersed in her novel and had not even heard what Sally said.
Sally said helplessly, "You know, that."
"If a dungeon changes frequently, it means there must be something within it—"
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