Chapter 26: An Unexpected Trio

When I reentered the game, the entire world was still shrouded in boundless darkness.

White Valentine and Black Tea were already online. After agreeing to meet them at the eastern city gate, I quickly checked the contents of my backpack. Inside, aside from the Silver Beast Magic Dagger, the Silver Beast Ring, and the Silver Beast Boots that had dropped from the Enchanted Silver Kodo Beast, there were also two pairs of Kodo Beast Bracers, a short dagger, and three small healing potions.

As for coins, I had accumulated six gold and ninety-one silver. Heh, among the newcomers, I could call myself a small-time tycoon.

…

“Xiaolin! Over here!!” As I reached the east gate, I immediately spotted White Valentine and Black Tea waving to me from outside the city. Standing on either side behind them were two hulking, muscular men, so imposing that I felt a pang of inferiority.

I was momentarily stunned.

As I approached, I realized they were both beastman players—no wonder they were so robust; they weren’t human!

On the left stood a lion-man, just over two meters tall, his impressive stature complemented by a thick mane of golden hair and striking leonine markings on his handsome face. He radiated the unique dominance and wildness of his race. With a bronze greatsword nearly one and a half meters long slung over his shoulder, he exuded such a powerful presence that even White Valentine seemed overshadowed—let alone me, with my little bronze short sword that seemed more like a bean sprout.

On the right, the bear-man’s presence was even more intimidating. Despite his ursine features, his eyes were sharp and full of spirit. Clad in a gleaming, broad suit of silver armor tailored for beastmen, his burly frame resembled a massive silver fortress. Gripping two enormous silver hammers with ease, he looked every bit the unstoppable force.

But these two were clearly high-level players. Why were they teaming up with White Valentine and Black Tea? Neither White Valentine nor Black Tea had mentioned changing plans.

…

“All right, everyone’s here. Let’s go!” As I drew near, before I could ask White Valentine for an introduction, the lion-man glanced at me impatiently and, with a cold tone, spat out those words before turning away.

Had I offended him somehow? Perplexed, I watched his retreating back and glanced at White Valentine and Black Tea.

At that moment, both White Valentine and Black Tea looked a bit put out by the lion-man’s attitude, frowning as if about to say something. Then the “Big Bear” on the right politely extended a paw-sized hand to me.

“Sorry about that. That’s just Poet Saint’s temperament—he gets impatient if he has to wait even a little. Don’t take it to heart… By the way, White told me your name. I’m Big Bear.”

It turned out they had been waiting here for over twenty minutes. No wonder the lion-man gave me the cold shoulder—my punctuality had cost him his precious time. Relieved, I silently made a note of their names and shook his hand. “I’m Scavenger Qilin, but you can call me Xiaolin.”

White Valentine and Black Tea’s expressions softened considerably, and they beckoned, “There are just a few hours left until sunrise. Let’s talk as we walk.”

…

On the way to the Kodo Beast Valley, I learned from White Valentine and Black Tea that they had logged on half an hour earlier. When I didn’t show up, they ended up chatting about me in the Mercenary Guild. The tale of reaching level six in five hours with damage bonuses piqued the interest of several guild members, resulting in three new additions to our group.

These three were none other than Big Bear, Poet Saint, and the fox girl—Little Love.

Only then did I notice there was another person in our party.

The fox girl, Little Love, with her petite, delicate frame, always walked ahead of the imposing Big Bear and Poet Saint. Shielded by the two giants, it was hard to notice the foxfolk girl hidden in their shadow.

Especially since I’d been talking to them the whole time…

Their reminder finally made me notice the faintly swaying, fluffy white fox tail peeking through the gap between Poet Saint and Big Bear.

Good grief! Was it really necessary to hide so thoroughly? She’s just a newcomer, were they afraid I’d steal her away? (Just a wild guess.)

At that moment, Black Tea continued, “If it weren’t for the guild leader’s request, I wouldn’t have bothered with them. Fortunately, Little Love is just like you—she’s only level seven, and Big Bear and Poet Saint are protecting her while she levels up… nothing to do with us.”

Big Bear, level 21 Berserker; Poet Saint, level 17 Bronze Lion Swordsman.

…

“If it has nothing to do with us, why are we waiting here? Couldn’t they have gone ahead?” I glanced at Poet Saint, confused.

White Valentine smiled faintly. “They were grinding in the Stone Toad area earlier… They only came after I told them about your fighting style. But since you weren’t online, honestly, I didn’t know how to describe your attack moves to them.” As he spoke, a wry smile appeared on his face, though I couldn’t tell if it was self-deprecating or frustrated. It turned out that, although he knew about the damage bonus and how to use it, the two times he’d triggered it were only with Black Tea’s help.

Once was with a standard attack from a stationary position…

And the other was a lucky, rage-fueled strike, also while standing still.

White Valentine had repeatedly warned the three that my moves were extremely fast, and that this technique wasn’t something you could master instantly. But the three of them scoffed and insisted on waiting.

Hearing this, I understood even more. Poet Saint’s impatience toward me probably also stemmed from White Valentine’s words.

Still… White Valentine wasn’t wrong.

My precision was honed through relentless practice at school—two years of grueling training led to my current skills. Unless they’d undergone similar training, it would be tough to pick up in a short time.

Unless, of course, they were prodigies…

…

When we reached the edge of Kodo Beast Valley, the vast leveling ground was deserted except for a solitary campfire burning in the distance.

We stopped at the spot where we had previously camped.

White Valentine had already told them everything they needed to know, so he didn’t waste any words. He simply drew his sword and melted into the darkness.

Half a minute later, he lured a herd of plump Kodo Beasts back (the young ones were no longer worth much experience).

At that moment, Big Bear and the others all turned their eyes toward me, their gazes lingering on me.

I nodded slightly at Big Bear, then quickly looked away, ignoring Poet Saint’s disdain and Little Love’s curiosity as I stepped forward to meet the challenge…