Chapter Thirteen: A Windfall Bathed in Blood

Awakened by the ringing of his phone alarm, Zhao Tianhe began a new day. On the nearby cabinet, Pixie lay fast asleep in her little nest, undisturbed even though the phone was right next to her.

“Did she grind all night? What a good kid.” Zhao Tianhe nodded in satisfaction, turned off the alarm, and began preparing breakfast.

“Let’s keep it light this morning—some noodles with assorted toppings, and some zhajiang noodles.” He hefted two large pots of water onto the stove and started to prepare the side dishes and various sauces.

“Enough for twenty bowls should be about right. I’ll add two more for myself. Just in case, let’s steam a couple of plates of beef tongue.” He placed the marinated beef tongue he’d prepared yesterday onto the steamer. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll make shumai and porridge. Tonight, I’ll need to buy five pounds each of beef and lamb… and stock up on carrots, onions, and scallions…”

Before heading out on his quest, Zhao Tianhe carefully selected some fine noodles, placing them in a teacup with two small bowls of sauce, setting them beside Pixie’s nest.

But even as Zhao Tianhe finished his preparations and set off for the Slime Cavern, Pixie still hadn’t woken up.

“Forget it, I’ll grind solo today.” He cast a warming spell on the food by Pixie’s side, covered it with a large bowl, left a note, and slipped his phone into his pocket before leaving.

In the second-floor labyrinth, Zhao Tianhe continued his combat training under Artoria’s strict guidance.

“Well done today, though the dessert isn’t quite up to par.” Artoria frowned as she bit into a jam bun from the bakery, feeling it wasn’t quite the same as usual.

“I specially ordered it from the bakery lady… Still not good enough?” Zhao Tianhe finished off his monster and turned to ask.

“Not enough jam, the crust is too thick, and it’s just not sweet enough—feels stingy…” Artoria pursed her lips in critique.

“Alright, I’ll make it myself next time, but that means I’ll need to buy another oven.” Zhao Tianhe stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The current one isn’t even fully paid off yet…”

“That’s why you need to work even harder at hunting monsters!” Artoria finished her bread, clapped her hands, then raised her greatsword with a solemn expression. “For food and for glory!”

‘Has she gotten completely used to this? Especially in combat, her identity as the King of Knights is impossible to erase…’ Watching Artoria unconsciously strike a pose and deliver her catchphrase, Zhao Tianhe couldn’t help but smile.

At the deepest part of the second-floor maze, two figures stood amidst a group of mutated elite slimes, tinkering with something.

They looked human, but for some reason, the monsters surrounded them protectively. Among the many slimes was a giant rock slime, three meters tall—clearly a boss.

“Though the dungeon’s magic arrays haven’t been maintained for ages, they’re unusually stable. Something’s off,” one figure remarked. “Normally, with our ability, even a D-rank dungeon would be a cinch, but here I can’t even find a single flaw in the array!”

“It’s so seamless, it doesn’t even feel man-made… How can a dungeon like this exist?!” the other figure groaned, crouching on the ground in frustration.

“We can’t give up. Our superior has high hopes for us! Let’s approach it differently—since there’s no flaw in the dungeon, we’ll make one ourselves…” The taller figure produced a crimson orb and glanced at the giant rock slime. “We’ll use this to destroy the place, force it to rebuild, and then a flaw is sure to show up!”

“It’s a shame, but we have no choice,” the shorter one agreed. “We can’t reveal our identities—let’s use an illusion spell and get out of here. There’s only a useless Heroic Spirit here, no way he’ll see through it.”

“See through it? I’d be surprised if he could even get here. I know just how worthless that guy is. Sure, he’s awakened a talent system, but even the best talent needs time to grow.” The tall one’s tone was dripping with disdain. “What a disgrace—just looking at him makes me mad.”

“Stop your nonsense and get to work.” The shorter one took out several tools and began setting up a magic circle.

Meanwhile, in the labyrinth, Zhao Tianhe was knocked back by a shadowy figure.

“Phew… This is a bit much…” His hands felt numb and the webs between his thumbs ached. He’d blocked the blow, but the force had broken through his basic defenses, costing him three points of health.

“You can’t handle the strength types in these tight spaces, but you can’t keep dodging the agile ones,” Artoria said, leaning on her sword and watching him closely. “Your reflexes are fast enough to keep up. Its body is just like a regular slime’s—wait for an opening and you can take it out in one blow.”

“I just can’t catch it…” Zhao Tianhe said with a wry smile, lowering his sword.

Artoria frowned, thinking he was giving up, but she didn’t move, since he hadn’t said he was quitting.

‘It’s fast, but it only moves in straight lines…’ Zhao Tianhe watched the unidentified, rubber-ball-like creature ricochet around the cave walls, and took a deep breath. ‘Separate my senses… listen to the rhythm and distance of its bounces… It’s generally coming at me, but sometimes it bounces back instead? Is it losing control when it rebounds?’

“Here it comes!” Zhao Tianhe gripped his sword with both hands, stepped forward, and slashed upward at an angle!

Just as he predicted, the out-of-control elite slime slammed itself into the blade, and the powerful rebound force split it clean in two!

“Sixty experience points—ten more than a regular mutated elite!” Zhao Tianhe exclaimed, surprised as the slime corpse dissolved quietly without exploding. “The more pronounced the mutation, the stronger the elite—it really is tougher.”

He picked up a ring and was even more astonished. Among dungeon gear, accessories were the rarest; on the Adventurers’ Guild trading platform, accessories could even be exchanged for higher-tier dungeon items.

Three elite kills today—the first two only dropped junk, but this accessory was a real windfall!

“Well done. You’re finally learning how to use your senses. There are only ten minutes left today—we’ve gone deeper than yesterday, so let’s hurry back,” Artoria nodded approvingly.

“Yeah, I need to plan carefully. If I can trade this accessory for a good weapon, I should be able to handle a few elites on my own before summoning you.” Zhao Tianhe tossed the dungeon accessory in his hand, grinning.