Clearing monsters, picking up crystals, then moving to the next layer. This was the part-time job Lin Feng had assigned to Yuna and Emily. Earning a bit of money while also gaining experience at the same time.
"Cackle!"
A shrill, grating cry came from the depths of the dark maze.
Yuna tightened her grip on the sword hilt, squinting as she carefully observed what was ahead.
"Emily!"
As her voice fell, flame ignited arrows left the bowstring.
In a flash of light, Yuna could see the locations of all the goblins.
She charged forward swiftly, her greatsword swirling in a frenzy, the wails of the monsters echoing throughout the maze as green blood splattered everywhere. After a moment, all that was left was a pile of crystals on the ground.
Yuna let out a long sigh of relief, glancing back to sneak a peek at Lin Feng, but happened to meet his gaze directly.
She had been feeling a bit restless lately.
Ever since Lin Feng had cracked some strange jokes with her, all kinds of chaotic thoughts kept popping up in her head...
Gradually, Yuna would subconsciously try to catch sight of Lin Feng, wanting to see what he was up to.
"Peeping at me again?"
"Wha...what! I was looking at Yu Li!"
Lin Feng knew she was blowing smoke, but didn't want to expose her.
After all, she was just a girl coming of age. Occasionally having some random thoughts about boys close to her age was normal. Right now, they had work to do.
"Appraise."
Lin Feng sighed. Yuna had been grinding for several days but was still only at level 13. Her leveling speed was much slower than he had anticipated.
He glanced at Emily again.
Level 6...
Oh well, she generally only served an ornamental or supportive role. Having Yuna as the main damage dealer would do.
As for Yu Li...
"Yu Li, don't run off on your own. Stay by my side. Goblins will snatch away girls to do bad things to them." Lin Feng grabbed her and pulled her to his side.
"What bad things?" Yu Li tilted her head, staring at Lin Feng with pure innocence.
Come on, this little silver-haired loli was super cute!
But the question she asked was quite thorny.
"Cough, you'll understand when you grow up."
"Waaa... Using that line to trick me again."
Just as Lin Feng had pacified Yu Li, he felt an extremely fearful gaze upon him.
Yuna strode over to Lin Feng and lightly pounded his thigh with her fist. "Don't corrupt her!"
"Don't worry, I won't. She's still just a child and doesn't understand anything yet, right?"
Yuna pulled him aside and whispered, "Don't let Yu Li's cheekiness fool you. She's crafty beyond her years."
No way, right?
This cute little loli...
"Alright alright, let's not talk about this. Can you handle this maze?"
Yuna quickly glanced at Lin Feng then averted her gaze. "I'm fine. Their targets are mainly Emily. They rarely come after me."
Hmm.
Well, with her figure it was understandable.
Ample bosom and perky bottom, the ultimate male fantasy.
An almost fatal attraction for lascivious creatures like goblins.
Emily tugged at her clothes, trying to flatten her impressive assets. "I really detest these green-skinned monsters. Can we switch to a different maze?"
"We'll switch after clearing the final floor."
The group immediately headed to the last level.
They had already cleared this maze three times.
They knew exactly where the giant goblin boss would spawn.
Yuna charged into the darkness, slashed a few times, and handled it swiftly.
A few minutes later, she came to Lin Feng holding a square object. "Master, this monster dropped something."
?
Lin Feng took it and looked closely. It was a book.
A brown cover with some black runes. Flipping open the yellowed pages, it looked quite old.
"Appraise."
[Beginner's Magic Book]
[Dropped by Giant Goblin. Contains many beginner-level spells and instructions. Suitable for magic novices to study.]
[Value: 30 silver coins]
Not bad luck, the boss dropped a rare item.
This guy probably killed some low-level mage and kept it as a trophy.
Lin Feng blew the dust off the cover. "Yu Li, can you read?"
"I know some simple words."
Poor child, she could barely read.
Without nine years of compulsory education, the literacy levels of commoners here were worrying, not to mention beastmen living in the great forest.
Only nobles could receive decent schooling.
Lin Feng handed her the book. "Then this book is yours now. You'll probably like it. Ask me if you don't understand any words."
Yu Li nodded and accepted the book, thanking him in a sweet, soft voice. "Thank you, big brother."
She flipped through a few pages then put it in her shoulder bag.
Well-mannered little lolis were so lovable.
"What kind of book is this?" Yuna asked Lin Feng, puzzled.
"A beginner's magic book. It contains some simple, easy-to-learn techniques. Very suitable for her to study now."
Yuna swallowed. "Is it expensive? About how much?"
"Thirty silver coins."
She gasped.
Although she was mentally prepared, Yuna still didn't expect such a small book to cost so much.
"That's quite cheap actually. There's no printing here, so books are hand-copied and expensive. The pricing is reasonable."
Yuna listened in a daze.
This was considered cheap...
"Compared to mage equipment, it's negligible." Seeing Yuna's confused look, Lin Feng continued. "Like rings, bracelets, necklaces, etc. The cheapest are seventy to eighty silver coins. Nicer ones cost even more."
"Then all those green-skinned monsters we've killed these past few days, about how much are they worth?" Yuna grabbed a handful of crystals from her pocket.
"Haven't counted carefully, but definitely less than five silver coins total, minus the book."
Yuna's ears drooped. She shoved all of the crystals into Lin Feng's bag, muttering, "Making money is so hard."
Lin Feng raised his brows and lightly pinched Yuna's cheeks.
"Kill more monsters. It'll get easier when you get stronger. Earn money for me." He glanced at Emily. "Same for you. Hurry up and get strong. I won't let you go until you've earned enough."
"..."
Emily regretted deeply.
If she had known, she never would have made that bet.
She had only wanted to build up her little brother's courage. Who knew she would lose herself and have to be a private maid, doing chores and enduring lecherous stares daily.
If her sentence wasn't short, and she couldn't occasionally save her beastmen brethren, she might have been driven to thoughts of death.
Emily muttered softly, "Master is so powerful, yet still pretends to nurture us. What a strange quirk."
"Shh!"
Yuna looked at them curiously.
She suddenly recalled something.
"Speaking of which, how did you capture Emily back then?" Yuna scratched her cheek, thinking hard. "Wasn't Emily in the tree at the time? But when I came back, she was already tied up."
At the time, she had been too upset about not finding Yu Li and overlooked this. But now it seemed odd.
Lin Feng smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret."