Chapter 31

Roddy seemed to seriously consider Sally's question, shrugged, and whispered in response, "I think... the disappearance of the Nolan Village scout captain and the return of the duke's daughter should have nothing to do with each other."

This was a disappointing but very realistic answer for Sally. The hope in her eyes dimmed instantly—she didn't even know what she had been hoping for, but now her heart was enveloped in coldness, and a sense of restlessness began to rise, even confusing herself.

When she looked up, she found that Roddy had already started moving forward. She took a deep breath, bit her lip, and followed him.

"Three waves of fixed monsters, one patrol team, then the first boss."

Muttering the strategy for the "Sterro's Stream" dungeon, Roddy led Sally into the dungeon area. As expected, Roddy saw the floating prompt in front of him:

"Do you want to enter the dungeon 'Sterro's Stream'?"

Yes.

Roddy looked at the familiar font and prompt, feeling a bit strange—though he quickly adapted. Sally, who didn't understand why he had stopped, raised her eyebrows in confusion. She was curious about the strange language Roddy used when talking to himself. Although her mood was a bit low from the previous conversation, it wasn't reflected on her face.

Roddy ignored her. After entering the dungeon, he immediately entered the "high-level professional player" state...

Everything in front of him was so familiar that he didn't even need moonlight to see. He could recall these familiar scenes and the positions of the monsters with his eyes closed. So, without a word, Roddy started walking briskly, counting his steps in his mind. He suddenly stopped at the twenty-third step.

The Silent Forest was mysterious and dangerous in Sally's eyes, but in Roddy's mind, it was just a map with countless detailed annotations. There were four dungeons in this forest, and "Sterro's Stream" was the first story dungeon for new human players, with a minimum level requirement of 3 and a maximum of 10. The other three dungeons had progressively higher level requirements, with the highest being in the center of the forest, the "Asaka Temple Ruins" high-level dungeon, which required a minimum level of 30—meaning all participants must have undergone a class change and have considerable combat experience.

"Climb up and wait for me here."

Roddy pointed to the "bug" tree that players had discovered through countless deaths and exploration, and said to Sally.

This was the position assigned to those weak classes with no attack or healing abilities in the early stages. Here, they wouldn't participate in battles or be dragged into them, making it the best choice for those who wanted to run quests and gain experience without fighting—after confirming that Sally was securely seated on the tree, Roddy began making simple traps with the vines. After finishing, he disappeared from Sally's sight with his horn bow.

The events that unfolded over the next few hours were absolutely unforgettable for Sally.

Rock Wall Spiders, Venomous Lizards, Flower-Tailed Leopards, Steel-Backed Apes.

These creatures, which were listed as dangerous in books, were each laid on the ground by Roddy's incomprehensible methods—Roddy seemed to be holding his breath to rush through the forest, sweeping away all the obstacles in his path like a whirlwind.

One person, two knives, a bow, and traps made from available resources—Roddy's movements in killing various monsters and beasts were as familiar as a stroll in his own backyard.

When he asked Sally to jump down from the seventh tree he had arranged for her to hide in, the duke's daughter's expression had already become somewhat stiff from constant stimulation.

Constant amazement, amazement, amazement, until it turned to numbness... During these few hours, Sally found that her concepts of "beasts" and "forest" had been completely transformed by Roddy.

It was a strange feeling. These were ferocious beasts, yet in front of Roddy, they became like straw in a field, sometimes even being casually harvested in a state of confusion and helplessness...

By the time dawn broke, the two had already traveled nearly ten kilometers in the dark forest, which was already over 80% completion of the entire dungeon.

"The road ahead is more dangerous during the day, so you didn't get any rest last night. Now... this place is safe, so get some sleep. We'll continue our journey tonight."

Roddy, who had gained a lot, was exhausted. However, because he was in a hurry, he didn't take too many spoils—just a soft leopard skin and some meat for cooking, discarding most of the rest. He tidied up the items, washed his face in the stream, and pointed to the "bed" made of the leopard skin, indicating for Sally to go to sleep.

Sally wanted to say something but saw the red-eyed man fall asleep on a pile of grass he had hastily gathered, almost instantly drifting into a deep sleep.

In the early morning, the forest was unusually quiet. The sound of the stream echoed in her ears, and the air was filled with various bird calls. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and a warm feeling gradually spread in Sally's heart.

She looked at the man who was already asleep nearby and realized that the awkwardness between them had completely disappeared.

The words in books were ultimately very different from reality. Even though she had read many classics, Sally understood that the bloodshed in danger, the roars of beasts, and the sharp glow of a scimitar... these were things that could not be simply described in words. When everything came to life, the scene before her became the most shocking experience of her