Chapter Fifteen: The Shadow Cavern (1)

Zhao Tianhe stood in the spacious kitchen, preparing the minced meat.

In the previous F-class apartment, the living room and kitchen were combined, so cooking utensils ended up scattered everywhere. Now, at last, there was a dedicated space for them. Still, considering he would add an oven in the future, some things would probably have to be placed in the living room.

“What’s this?” In the living room, Lainis watched Pixie playing on her phone, curiosity in her voice.

“Hmm… I think it’s called a mobile game,” Pixie replied. She had asked Zhao Tianhe before, but since he couldn’t explain it clearly, she settled for a simple answer. “It’s a game you play with your hands.”

“No, I meant, what kind of magical artifact is this?” Lainis pointed at the phone. “And the game…it looks incredible…”

Just then, the game was playing a Noble Phantasm animation—an ultimate move from a character. Within the animation, Artoria Alter raised her sword from the lake and unleashed a beam of light. To Zhao Tianhe, a modern man, the graphics were average, but to these otherworldly folk who had never seen anything like it, it was astonishing.

After all, they hadn’t even played Minesweeper.

“Want to try?” Pixie asked.

“Yes!” Lainis responded eagerly.

“Then I’ll teach you.” Pixie smiled faintly. She was starting to get bored playing alone, so having someone else compete for a turn actually felt refreshing.

In the north of Rog Town, inside the Grand Roast Meat Restaurant, Kentor spoke to a grey-haired man, “I’ll leave it to you, Uncle Zhao.”

“Alright, don’t worry. Checking once a week should suffice,” replied Uncle Zhao, nodding. “Don’t disgrace your father out there. Don’t come back unless you make it to A-class hero.”

“Haha, come on, A-class is too difficult.” Kentor chuckled as he turned to leave. “But I’ll do my best.”

Uncle Zhao, who appeared to be about fifty, was the elderly hero who had previously handed over duties to Zhao Tianhe.

Watching Kentor’s departing figure, Uncle Zhao sat comfortably in his chair, snacking and muttering to himself, “Once a week is too much; every half month is better. To break through the first layer of the seal, you’d need at least three mutated elites. With just the daily energy from one layer, it’ll take over two months to spawn one…”

The next day, Lainis, brimming with excitement, led Zhao Tianhe towards the southern part of town, to the E-class Shadow Cavern dungeon.

“Brother Zhao, your shumai is so delicious!” Lainis beamed. “The pan-fried buns are amazing, too. You’re really talented! If you opened a restaurant, you’d make a fortune! And this snack called crispy rice is wonderful…”

Initially reserved, Lainis had relaxed after playing with Pixie and tasting Zhao Tianhe’s culinary skills. Her guard melted away, and after two meals, she was speaking freely and openly.

“Thank you for the compliments…” Zhao Tianhe replied absentmindedly, his attention on the Shadow Cavern guidebook in his hand.

There was only one type of monster in the Shadow Cavern: cave dwellers. These humanoid creatures, about a meter tall, were nimble and agile. Their distinguishing feature was the absence of eyes—they relied entirely on smell and hearing to sense their surroundings.

As for their attack power, they wielded crude weapons such as wooden clubs and stone hammers—not very potent. However, they threw stones and weapons at their targets and often acted in groups, summoning their companions when attacked.

“Sigh… Looks like my wife will have to step in…” Zhao Tianhe sighed, since most of the guidebook’s strategy suggestions were impractical, and he couldn’t manage it alone.

For instance, suggestions like having a warrior with a strength score over ten charge in to scatter the enemy’s formation…

Kentor, blessed with high native strength talent, had a base strength of seven after hero transformation, which was about the same as Zhao Tianhe at level zero.

“We just cleared the mutated elites on the second and third floors yesterday, so today we only need to deal with the newly spawned regular monsters on the first three floors, right?” Zhao Tianhe asked Lainis, who was munching on crispy rice beside him.

Unlike the Slime Cavern, where the daily life energy growth rate was extremely low and mutated elites spawned every few months, the Shadow Cavern needed to be cleared daily, with new mutated elites appearing on each floor weekly.

“Yes, it’s simple. Normally, Brother Kentor took about an hour to clear it; the main issue is the journey,” Lainis nodded.

The Shadow Cavern had a detailed, updated map. It was a rugged cave with towering stone pillars, sprawling over a vast area.

“One hour, huh? Then I’ll finish the battle in an hour as well.” Zhao Tianhe gave a cold smile, confident in Artoria’s combat prowess.

Pixie lay in the giant basket on Zhao Tianhe’s back, snacking and running maps on her phone. The basket contained food kept at a constant temperature by magic. The Shadow Cavern’s exploration was lengthy, and without enough provisions, they wouldn’t be able to complete their daily tasks by noon.

Though Lainis was curious, Zhao Tianhe simply brushed it off, saying his innate abilities required it.

The Shadow Cavern was located atop a mountain. The magical flying tools at the town’s transit bureau were far too expensive—five silver coins per use—so climbing was their only option.

After two hours of trekking, they finally arrived at the entrance to the Shadow Cavern.

The cave was sealed by a pale blue barrier, and a spiraling stone staircase led down inside.

“Pixie, wait for us here,” Zhao Tianhe said, placing a mat and snacks under the shade of a large rock nearby.

“I should go with you! The path inside is long, and if you get hurt, you might not make it back!” Pixie suddenly protested.

“Um…” Lainis scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed. “I’m a healer…”

“I’m a wood elf!” Pixie waved a toothpick like a wand. “The power of the wood elves is beyond any mortal’s comprehension!”

“Or are you saying you’re abandoning this old lady? Oh, oh, the tides of time are drowning me~~” Pixie stuck out her tongue, tilted her head, and stretched out her arms and legs, floating in the air like someone feigning death…

“It’s too dangerous inside, and…” Zhao Tianhe explained as he placed the basket by the rock, “You have the vital duty of guarding our supplies!”

He would never let Pixie enter the dungeon. Her frail body was too vulnerable—she could be killed by a stray stone; it was far too risky.

In normal environments, however, wood elves had nothing to fear. Even the fiercest wild beasts would inexplicably become her minions, insects included. With her around, no outside creature could ever spoil their food.