“Blegh...”
Gu Xiaobei was hunched over at the back of the line, vomiting her guts out.
This was inside the Beast Emperor's Hill, located at the center of the Gloomy Forest dungeon.
Ten months had passed since they entered the Gloomy Forest.
Three days ago, after many stops and starts, they finally reached the outside of the hill.
The reason Gu Xiaobei was vomiting was entirely because the interior of the hill was filled with an indescribable stench.
But the strange thing was that only Gu Xiaobei seemed to smell it.
“I wonder if this has something to do with you being an elf. Why don't you just wait outside for now? We'll come get you when we're done,” Vivian, who was supporting Gu Xiaobei, joked while patting her back.
“Li Huai is an elf too, and he’s fine. Besides, acting alone in a situation like this is just a prelude to death. Are you trying to get me killed? You’re such a wicked woman.” Gu Xiaobei wiped her mouth with her arm and struggled to stand up.
Although Vivian was teasing her, Gu Xiaobei knew she was genuinely concerned.
However, staying outside alone was definitely out of the question.
Not to mention those movie and TV tropes where “something always happens when someone is left alone.”
Even with the monster spawn frequency already figured out, she couldn't stay in such a place by herself.
Over the past ten months, they had gained a much deeper understanding of this dungeon.
Just like living in a place for a long time allows you to learn its ways of survival.
The cycle of day and night here was twenty-four hours, just like on the Kalim continent.
While it might seem trivial, it was because of this that Lan Qingyou and the others could track the time passing in the outside world.
Secondly, they had to be wary of every stagnant puddle.
Strange, misshapen monsters would often leap out from these places, catching people off guard.
Honestly, if the ones trapped in the dungeon this time hadn't been vampires and witches—two races that were notoriously hard to kill—there might have been severe casualties within the first month.
Even so, they couldn't prevent some losses from occurring.
In ten months, the vampires had lost thirteen members, while the Witch race had lost eight.
Everyone was saddened, but it was unavoidable.
In battle, no matter how much one calculated, casualties were bound to happen.
However, Lan Qingyou and Vivian had placed the bodies of their kin into cards to take them out if the opportunity arose.
They couldn't leave their people's remains buried in this unknown space.
Thirdly, except for the interior of the hill, the monsters outside no longer provided any experience for the group, all of whom were now Level 50.
“Do you think the stench Gu Xiaobei smells is like that mosquito sound on Blue Star that only children can hear?” Li Huai, who rarely spoke, offered his opinion.
“That’s actually possible.” Vivian, who was propping up Gu Xiaobei, couldn't help but nod at the suggestion.
After all, she wouldn't miss any chance to mock Gu Xiaobei.
Naturally, Gu Xiaobei saw right through the mockery.
“Hey, are you calling me a child?”
“No, no, of course not. How could you be as cute as a child?”
“Vivian, you jerk! Just wait until I feel better, I'll show you.”
Vomiting from the stench had left Gu Xiaobei's physical condition weak, if not abysmal.
By her own estimation, she only had about a quarter of her peak stamina left.
She was in a state where she could barely manage to talk back even when mocked.
“Boss Lan, can't you make some kind of potion to make me feel better?” a lethargic Gu Xiaobei asked the floating Lan Qingyou.
Since the other was an alchemist, concocting a simple potion should be a small matter.
“I'd like to look into it, but the situation here doesn't allow for it,” Lan Qingyou shrugged.
She wasn't lying.
Not just her, but the other witches were more or less interested in Gu Xiaobei's symptoms.
Although they each carried their tools of the trade, like crucibles.
Aside from some wild vegetables and common herbs, the forest lacked any special materials that could treat this specific stench or nausea.
Ultimately, no one else could smell it except for Gu Xiaobei.
This fact alone gave Lan Qingyou a bit of a headache.
It was one of those ailments where you just couldn't find the cause.
“But it's not like there's no way.” After shrugging, Lan Qingyou added a sentence to the disappointed Gu Xiaobei.
“What way?”
“A permanent solution. If I just send you off, it should be quite easy, right?”
“...”
That would certainly be easy—for the rest of her life. Gu Xiaobei rolled her eyes at Lan Qingyou and chose to ignore her.
Although Lan Qingyou was joking, she wasn't a fool.
She had been walking with her Magic Eye active for a long time, yet she had seen nothing but cave walls and tunnels.
She had experienced this before.
Specifically, in the Treant cave.
When they first entered that cave, there were only walls, stalactites, and puddles, but nothing else.
What followed was the battle against the War Treant, obtaining the Star Dragon King Essence Blood, and making the Witch potions.
In a way, that cave had been a starting point for Lan Qingyou.
It was because of that essence blood and the Witch potions that everything else followed.
Looking back, it had been a happy time.
However, that was on the Kalim continent, and now she was in a dungeon.
She didn't know if that experience would apply here.
But as everyone knew...
If there are too few monsters in a place, there are only two possibilities.
Either there are no monsters at all, or the monsters here are so strong they don't need to live in groups.
Lan Qingyou leaned toward the latter.
“I think there's something very wrong with this cave.” After another ten minutes of walking along the tunnel, Lan Qingyou voiced her thoughts.
Her words immediately brought the slow-moving group to a halt.
It wasn't that they had pre-arranged a signal; it was simply because Lan Qingyou's words implied potential danger, so they needed to stop and deliberate.
Of course, there was another important reason they stopped.
Lan Qingyou was at the very front of the scout team.
When she stopped, the people behind were naturally blocked.
“Gu Xiaobei, tell me more about what happens right before you vomit.” Lan Qingyou decided it would be better to resolve the doubt in her heart before continuing.
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