Inside the Cave

“Found it.”

It took less than five minutes for them to locate the goblin nest.

The cave entrance was as tall as a two-story building, with massive rocks flanking both sides.

Inside was pitch black.

A cold wind howled from within, and before even stepping in, a chilling draft hit their faces.

Water dripped from stalactites onto the ground, the echoing drip… drip… filling the cave with an eerie atmosphere.

But Ye Yousheng felt only one thing—

An overwhelming urge to throw up.

That was because he had just experienced what it felt like to fly.

And that was exactly why they had found the goblin nest so quickly.

Lulu had gone all out.

First, she used life detection to scan a ten-kilometer radius like a carpet search.

Then she used magic perception to narrow it down.

And just like that—

She found the target.

“Even though the amulet I gave Anqi should keep those pests from harming her… we shouldn’t take chances.”

Because of that single sentence—

After confirming the location, she grabbed Ye Yousheng and flew straight there using flight magic.

Ten kilometers—

Half a minute.

Nearly the speed of sound.

Ye Yousheng felt like his entire body had been hollowed out.

If Lulu hadn’t wrapped them in magic the whole time, he would’ve passed out midair.

“Hey, what are you doing?! Stop dragging your feet and move!”

“…Y-yeah, got it!”

Forcing down the nausea, Ye Yousheng stood up and followed her into the cave.

At that moment, the strict, authoritative aura radiating from Lulu made him suddenly realize—

Her 300+ years weren’t just for show.

As they entered, Lulu casually tapped her staff into the air.

A ball of fire ignited instantly, lighting up the surroundings.

No chant.

No delay.

Ye Yousheng didn’t yet understand how advanced that was.

Nor did he have any real grasp of Lulu’s level.

As they ventured deeper, they didn’t encounter a single goblin.

Instead—

They kept running into branching paths.

Every time, before Ye Yousheng could even react, Lulu had already chosen a route and walked ahead.

“There it is—the kind of cheap trick those idiots love to use.”

“One wrong turn, and you walk straight into their traps.”

“Remember this—when you hit a fork, always pick the path with better airflow.”

“Of course, sensing wind elements is the safest method… but since you don’t have magic, just memorize more knowledge.”

“There are adventurers’ journals in the basement library at home. You should read them later.”

The way Lulu spoke now—

Experienced.

Calm.

Completely at odds with her childlike appearance.

She was like a seasoned adventurer passing down knowledge.

After committing it all to memory, Ye Yousheng couldn’t help but ask,

“Lulu… were you an adventurer before?”

She fell silent for a moment.

“…Yeah.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Back then, I was just as much of a rookie as you.”

“No… actually worse.”

“I couldn’t even use magic.”

“I trained like an idiot every day, trying to become a thief…”

As she spoke, a faint smile appeared on her face.

Ye Yousheng realized—

Those must’ve been precious memories.

Three hundred years…

And yet she still looked like a little girl.

She had lived through an incredibly long time.

“Save the stories for later. We’re almost there.”

After passing through a narrow passage—

They finally reached a wide, open chamber.

Lulu expanded the flame, illuminating the entire cavern.

And what they saw—

Dozens of goblins.

Unlike the nearly naked ones Ye Yousheng had fought before—

These were fully equipped.

Some were even larger than humans, standing over two meters tall.

And on a raised platform—

A goblin draped in ornaments and a cloak sat atop a throne made of bones, holding a totem staff.

Ye Yousheng immediately activated [Observe].

Name: Goblin Shaman (BOSS)
Lv: 41 (Third Tier)
HP: 630/630
MP: 4600/4650

Name: Giant Goblin
Lv: 33 (Second Tier)
HP: 780/780
MP: 30/30

Name: Goblin Elite
Lv: 26 (Second Tier)
HP: 300/300
MP: 40/40

Forget the boss—

Even the so-called “fodder” Lulu mentioned were far stronger than anything he had fought before.

Not a single one was below his level.

This was an elite unit.

“Gra… you… came… graaah…”

“Oh? It can talk?”

“I thought goblins were too dumb to learn language.”

Behind her glasses, Lulu’s deep blue eyes gleamed with mockery.

She no longer looked like the calm, strict Lulu from before.

Now—

She was sharp.

Dominant.

“Gra… you hurt… our kind… graaah… must… pay…”

“Pay?”

“That’s funny.”

“Looking at the bones under your ass, you’ve killed plenty of people too, haven’t you?”

“If you can kill humans, why can’t we kill you?”

“If anyone should pay, it’s you.”

The goblin, unable to win the argument, flew into a rage.

“GRAAAAHHH!”

At its command—

A swarm of goblins surged forward like a tidal wave.

The pressure hit instantly.

But Lulu only said one word.

“Disappear.”

A massive gust swept through the entire chamber.

Every goblin rushing forward was blown away—

Some slammed into the walls and passed out.

Ye Yousheng was very glad he stood behind her.

Otherwise—

He’d be part of that pile.

“Those small fries are yours.”

“I’ll deal with the shaman.”

With that, Lulu walked toward the platform—

Casually strolling through the enemy ranks as if she were taking a walk.

Inspired by her overwhelming presence, Ye Yousheng drew his dagger.

He locked his gaze onto the goblins struggling to stand again.

He had already decided—

Not a single one would reach the platform.

Meanwhile, Lulu stepped onto the platform.

She quickly located Anqi in a small cave behind it.

The amulet she gave her was still active.

“So you couldn’t break the magic I placed on the amulet.”

“Looks like you’re not that impressive after all.”

“Grrrrr…!”

“Judging by your behavior, you must’ve escaped from a dungeon, huh?”

That single sentence—

Completely enraged the goblin shaman.

The memory of the dungeon—

A life of constant fear—

Was something it never wanted to recall.

And now this brat dared to bring it up.

It raised its totem staff and chanted.

A massive fireball formed and shot toward Lulu.

“No one ever told you?”

“The surface is even more dangerous than the dungeon.”

She didn’t dodge.

Didn’t cast a spell.

She simply tapped her staff—

And the fireball scattered into nothing.

Standing still, she casually blocked every spell the shaman threw.

It wasn’t defense—

It was domination.

Even if ten shamans attacked at once—

It wouldn’t matter.

Suddenly—

A mud hand shot up from the ground.

Lulu dodged—

But her staff was snatched away.

The goblin shaman began cackling and dancing in triumph.

But Lulu was laughing too.

At its stupidity.

“Not bad. You even know to disarm your enemy.”

“You must’ve lived quite a long time.”

“But—”

A massive surge of magic exploded from her body.

So dense—

It was visible to the naked eye.

Her entire body glowed with a pale blue light, like she was cloaked in it.

“I’ve lived longer than you.”

She had long surpassed the typical lifespan of her race.

And what that time gave her wasn’t just knowledge—

But mastery.

“You think I need a staff to use magic?”

“That’s something apprentices rely on.”

“And standing before you—”

“Is a true Archmage.”

She gathered all the fire elements in the space into a single point.

The goblin shaman trembled in terror.

Regret.

Despair.

Too late.

“Flame Spring Eruption!”

Like a volcanic explosion—

Flames burst from beneath its feet.

In an instant—

It was reduced to charred ash.

The remaining flames spread across the chamber—

Erasing every goblin.

This—

Was the true power of Lulu Inbas.

Fifth Tier Archmage.

Top graduate of the 99th class of Gray Magic Academy.

“What the hell was that…”

“It’s a Seventh-Tier fire spell, Flame Spring Eruption.”

“Grandma can use all elements from Tier One to Ten~”

“Your grandma is terrifying…”

“Well… she’s usually very kind.”

“But if you make her angry… she becomes like a demon…”

“…Yeah, I can see that.”

Ye Yousheng, who had already rescued Anqi, whispered with her.

Lulu approached with a “kind” smile.

“What are you two talking about so happily?”

“Care to share?”

Both of them immediately shook their heads violently.

“Nope.”

Lulu rolled her eyes.

“You worked pretty fast.”

“That many goblins, and you cleared them so quickly—and even rescued Anqi.”

“Yeah, thanks to the dagger.”

“It made moving and killing really easy.”

“Though… most of them were turned to ash by your spell anyway.”

With Wind Step, Ye Yousheng moved like a ghost.

None of the goblins could keep up.

Combined with his reflexes—

They were nothing but targets.

After picking up her staff, Lulu said,

“Alright, let’s go home. I’m tired.”

“…Didn’t you burn the house down?”

“I have another place in the village.”

“My potion shop.”

“I just didn’t live there because it was too noisy.”

“…Guess I will now.”

“Yeah… probably for the best.”

At that moment, Ye Yousheng noticed something on the ground—

The shaman’s totem staff.

A boss weapon.

Probably valuable.

Even Lulu’s flames hadn’t destroyed it.

So he picked it up and checked it.

[Totem Staff]

[Description: A staff-like object made from various bones, engraved with strange patterns]

[Enchant: ① Random Teleport 1/1: Teleports the user randomly within a 5 km radius]

Lulu: “Ah.”

Anqi: “Ah!”

Ye Yousheng: “Ah?”

Three reactions.

Three meanings.

The goblin had tried to escape using this spell—

But died before it could activate.

Now—

When Ye Yousheng picked it up—

The spell completed.

And targeted him.

A flash of light.

He vanished.

Anqi tugged Lulu’s sleeve.

“Grandma… big brother just disappeared…”

Lulu froze.

Then her face twitched.

“…After finding you, now I have to go find that idiot too?”

“Why is everyone so troublesome?!”

She complained nonstop—

But still opened her grimoire and activated life detection.

Hobbits had a common trait—

They said one thing—

And did another.

Lulu was no exception.