After handing a sum of gold coins to Li Xiuman, Tero began to introduce the members of his team to him.
“Tier 1 Heavy Warrior, Tielman. You can call him Rhino.”
He pointed at the burly Heavy Warrior at the front of the line.
“Tier 1 Elementalist, Lari Dorunk, nicknamed Jellyfish.”
The black-haired woman in the middle of the group nodded.
“Tier 1 Light Priest, Trina Schumann, nicknamed Tulip.”
The blonde woman next to the black-haired woman smiled.
“Tier 1 Swordsman, Su, nicknamed Monkey.”
Monkey glanced at Li Xiuman and then withdrew his gaze.
Tero, of course, needed no introduction; he was clearly dressed as a Swordsman.
“What about her?”
Li Xiuman pointed at Rorona, who had been keeping her head lowered.
“Her? It should be 'it'.”
“Who knows what it's called. It's just a vampire.”
“Oh right, take this. It won't dare get near you. Of course, using it to stab it and listen to it scream is also a decent way to pass the time.”
Tero handed Li Xiuman a silver dagger.
The moment the silver dagger was brought out, Rorona's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
“No need.”
Li Xiuman glanced at Rorona and handed the silver dagger back.
“Alright, but be careful not to let it suck your blood.”
Li Xiuman had no blood for her to suck anyway.
Rorona's trembling stopped.
And so, he temporarily joined this zoo.
He didn't notice anything unusual; this adventurer party was no different from any ordinary group.
Except for the fact that they barely encountered any molten crocodiles along the way.
However, both Li Xiuman and Tero were feigning ignorance, acting as if they hadn't noticed anything abnormal about the molten crocodiles at all.
What was their goal?
Would they pose a threat to him?
As he followed the adventurer party deeper inside, he pondered these questions.
Just like that, night arrived.
Although it was a dungeon, the surroundings still grew a bit dimmer during the night.
“Let's find a place to rest first, then continue heading down tomorrow.”
The captain, Tero, spoke up, and the other team members didn't raise any objections. Following their map, they found a suitable campsite and headed toward it.
“Skeleton, sorry to trouble you and Jellyfish.”
Having reached the campsite, Tero looked at him and the Elementalist of the team and said with a smile.
Li Xiuman nodded, and raised his wand along with Jellyfish.
“O spirits of the earth, heed my summon.”
“Tier 1 Magic, Earth Fortress.”
Two yellow magic circles expanded, and the ground began to tremble.
Following that, the rocks seemed to turn into soft clay, rising from the ground and forming two sturdy earth fortresses.
Afterward, Jellyfish raised her wand again, shaping a rock basin and condensing a pool of fresh water.
It seemed that no matter the team composition, an Elementalist was an indispensable member in a dungeon raid.
Li Xiuman lamented inwardly.
An Elementalist was a mobile water source, fire source, and tent.
What an incredibly outstanding utility tool.
At night, Li Xiuman leaned against the stone wall, cradling his wand as he closed his eyes to rest his mind.
After all, he wasn't so carefree that he could actually fall asleep in this kind of situation.
He even had a mind to slip away once everyone else had fallen asleep.
But Tero had obviously anticipated this, having that Heavy Warrior named Rhino keep a constant eye on him.
“Skeleton, how did you kill a noble back then and get off scot-free?”
During the long night, Rhino struck up a conversation with Li Xiuman.
Because my backing is solid.
“Because the noble lord is wise and strictly just, and loathes evil. He simply couldn't bear to let his subjects suffer an injustice.”
“I am very grateful to Count Wit for returning justice and clearing my name.”
Li Xiuman bragged without blinking an eye. Since boasting didn't cost a thing, he could lie however he wanted.
“Indeed. The noble lord loves his people like his own children and possesses noble virtues. It's just a shame that there are too many despicable scoundrels in this world who slander him in the dark.”
Damn, I've met my match in bullshitting.
“Indeed, my thoughts exactly.”
“The noble lord has always treated us with absolute sincerity, so we should naturally return the sentiment.”
A subtle clash of wits.
“Ultimately, history has proven that only when highborn nobles lead us commoners can humanity become truly great!”
But wait, this guy isn't actually serious, is he?
Looking at Rhino's fanatical expression, Li Xiuman was a bit bewildered.
I was just playing around, but he actually took it seriously?
“Aaaah!”
A shrill scream rang out.
Li Xiuman frowned, standing up and heading outside.
Meanwhile, Rhino still wore a fanatical expression, looking thoroughly brainwashed.
Outside the earth fortress, the vampire was screaming in agony.
The Swordsman named Monkey was carving up the vampire's face with a silver sword.
The vampire's mouth had already been slit all the way up to her cheek.
Fresh blood continuously seeped from the wound, looking exceptionally gruesome.
“Weren't you mute? You sure are screaming quite energetically right now!”
Monkey stared at the struggling Rorona, stepping on her neck while continuing to slash with his dagger.
Li Xiuman walked over.
“Something you need?”
Monkey raised his head, casting a contemptuous glance at Li Xiuman.
“You're being so noisy I can't sleep.”
“Oh? Really?”
Monkey grabbed Rorona by her hair and drove the dagger directly into her ear.
Blood gushed out.
An even more agonizing scream rent the air.
“Then I am truly sorry.”
“Is that so?”
Li Xiuman gripped his wand and slammed it across Monkey's face.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and along with the sound of cracking bone, several bloody teeth flew out.
“Then I am sorry too.”
“You bastard! You actually hit me!”
Snapping out of it, Monkey was instantly enraged, drawing his sword and slashing at Li Xiuman.
Unhurriedly, Li Xiuman parried the incoming blade with his wand, then mercilessly kicked Monkey right in the crotch.
But just as the kick was about to connect, Monkey was grabbed by the neck and pulled backward, narrowly dodging the blow.
“Skeleton, what is the meaning of this?”
Tero looked at Li Xiuman, his brows furrowing in displeasure.
“I told you, he's being too noisy. I can't sleep.”
“Captain! Kill that bastard! Seriously, why are we even keeping him alive?!”
“If he escapes, what we're doing here will—”
“Slap!”
Tero spun around and delivered a stinging slap to the other side of Monkey's face.
Monkey was slapped awake by the blow, instantly cooling his head and realizing what he had almost blurted out.
“S-Sorry.”
He hurriedly apologized to Tero.
“Skeleton, if you are a smart man, you should understand.”
Tero stared at Li Xiuman, not even bothering to spare Monkey a glance.
“I just found it too noisy. I like quiet. Don't you?”
Li Xiuman waved his hand, signaling that he hadn't heard a thing.
“...Yes, I also like quiet.”
Tero's stern expression instantly shifted into a warm, friendly smile.
The fine art of face-changing.
“That's wonderful, then.”
Li Xiuman turned around, his gaze sweeping over the vampire.
By now, the vampire had curled up as far away into the corner as possible, though the iron chain around her neck meant she couldn't retreat very far.
She curled up, hugging her legs in the corner. Now that she was away from the silver dagger, the wounds on her face were beginning to heal bit by bit.
The moment their eyes met, she hastily lowered her head and averted her gaze.
Rate on N.U.
