A low rumble marked the transition.Having eaten their fill and drunk their fill, the clan meeting shifted into its next phase.Aya Tone found himself utterly bored, listening to the elders deliver their annual summary of the Fire Clan’s year.It was akin to those tedious meetings of old, where his boss would passionately expound on matters that held no relevance to him.He couldn’t grasp the specifics, yet the sheer gravitas of it all felt undeniably profound.Sharing his sentiment was Li Jia’s younger brother, Li Huaiming.Having eaten her fill, little Aya Jiu had already drifted off to a peaceful nap, nestled comfortably in Xuan Yuanhuai’s embrace.With that, Aya Tone found himself utterly superfluous.
“Brother, why don’t we slip out and have some fun?” Li Huaiming whispered, stealthily approaching Aya Tone from behind.
“Can we do that?”
Stretching his neck for a quick glance, Aya Tone observed that every single person’s attention remained fixed on the stage, suggesting their escape would likely go unnoticed.
“Don’t worry,” Li Huaiming assured him. “I sneak out every single year.”
‘Aha, a seasoned delinquent, then.’
In that case, it’s settled.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Aya Tone’s lips were tightly pursed, a valiant effort to stifle the laughter threatening to erupt.
‘Skipping out like this—he quite enjoyed the thrill.’
And so it was.
While everyone remained transfixed, listening to the summary, two ‘mice’ stealthily scurried away from the hall.
The entire spectacle, however, did not escape Li Jia’s keen eye.
****
“Ah, this is the very breath of freedom!”
Unburdened by the stifling atmosphere of the clan meeting, Li Huaiming truly let himself loose.
Aya Tone quickly caught up to him. “Care for some fishing, buddy?”
The fish in that stream, whatever they fed on, possessed an almost supernatural agility.
Earlier, his attempts had yielded not a single catch, a truly humiliating failure in front of his daughter.
‘This time, he absolutely must!’
‘He had to wipe away that past shame!’
“Brother, how is it that your hobbies are exactly like my dad’s?” Li Huaiming mused, turning to cast a sidelong glance at Aya Tone.
“Nonsense!” Aya Tone retorted. “Fishing is a pursuit for cultivating both mind and body, suitable for all ages, alright?”
“Mmm, my dad says the exact same thing.”
Aya Tone was left speechless.
‘These university students nowadays are truly irritating, every last one of them.’
“So, what do you want to do then?”
“Hmph hmph,” Li Huaiming chuckled, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. “Why, go play in the mountains, of course!”
“The mountains are quite dangerous, you know.”
Finch God Village was encircled by mountains, many areas of which remained untouched and in a relatively pristine state.
Not only might one stumble upon deadly creatures like the Five Poisons if they ventured carelessly, but…
…should they become lost, their fate would be entirely out of their hands.
“Don’t worry,” Li Huaiming declared, proudly patting his chest. “Even though I haven’t graduated yet, I’m already at quasi-B-level strength, you know!”
To achieve quasi-B-level during one’s junior year was, indeed, the mark of a true prodigy.
His arrogance was therefore entirely understandable.
“Alright, let’s go then.” Aya Tone sighed, a faint pang of disappointment for his missed fishing opportunity.
Given Li Huaiming’s temperament, Aya Tone knew that even if he refused, the boy would undoubtedly sneak into the mountains alone.
He was clearly a university student who hadn’t truly experienced danger.
Aya Tone couldn’t simply leave him to his own devices; a sense of unease settled in his heart.
After all, Li Huaiming was Li Jia’s younger brother.
****
Half an hour later.
“Old Li, slow down! Your brother can’t keep up!” His face contorted, Aya Tone clutched his aching back, glaring at Li Huaiming, who was scampering up and down like a monkey.
‘Damn it, did he eat some kind of hormone? Why is he running so fast?’
Having just leaped onto a massive boulder, Li Huaiming paused, and upon hearing Aya Tone’s exasperated cry, turned to look down at him.
“Brother, your stamina is terrible!” Li Huaiming called down. “At our school, you wouldn’t even qualify as bait.”
‘Bait?’
Aya Tone’s face instantly darkened.
“You damn brat, have you ever seen bait as handsome as your brother? Now hurry up and give me a hand!”
‘If using his magic didn’t trigger an automatic transformation, he would have blasted that brat into next week.’
‘He’d bet anything that the brat’s ability was some form of body enhancement.’
‘Not that he’d ever admit it!’
“Copy that!”
Despite his playful jests, Li Huaiming was swift and decisive when action was required.
Having trekked together for so long, their bond had deepened to something even closer than blood brothers.
Such was the camaraderie between men!
“Brother, can’t you use your ability? Is your awakening some kind of item-based power?”
“Something like that,” Aya Tone replied vaguely, still gasping for air.
He was beginning to regret coming out with Li Huaiming; the boy’s familiarity with the path suggested this was far from his first time here.
Perhaps he should have worried less about Li Huaiming and more about himself.
“We’re almost there! I told you, this place is where I—” Li Huaiming’s words were abruptly cut short.
Suddenly!
A ball of demonic flame shot out from the distant bushes.
“Boom!”
…
Li Huaiming stared, wide-eyed and shaken, at the small crater blasted into the ground nearby.
If Aya Tone hadn’t pulled him back just now, such an attack would have left him severely wounded, if not dead.
Regaining his composure, he roared at the bushes, “Who’s there!”
Launching an ability attack without provocation was a crime!
The bushes shook violently, as if something was about to burst forth.
“Roar!”
“What!” His fury instantly turned to terror as he finally glimpsed the perpetrator.
Standing before the two of them was a three-meter-tall stone monster.
Several purple cracks permeated the monster’s chest, and upon closer inspection, it became clear that the purple was, in fact, flowing demonic flame.
Li Huaiming’s tightly clenched hands trembled incessantly; this monster’s attack power wasn’t particularly strong.
At most, it was D-level in intensity.
With a bit of caution, he could easily dispatch it.
But that wasn’t the problem.
The appearance of a monster here indicated that a dungeon had gone berserk.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t encounter a monster found only in dungeons, out here in the mountains.
If monsters were emerging from a dungeon, there wouldn’t be just one.
He, a mere quasi-B-level novice, lacked the strength to challenge an entire dungeon.
Li Huaiming forcefully suppressed his fear, warily eyeing the menacing stone monster in the distance.
He then subtly positioned himself in front of Aya Tone. “Brother, you go first. Go back and tell the villagers to come and rescue me quickly.”
Clearly, he intended to stay behind and buy Aya Tone time to return.
“Alright, be careful.”
Aya Tone didn’t hesitate, turning and fleeing without a moment’s pause.
His decisive action utterly stunned Li Huaiming.
Watching Aya Tone’s figure gradually vanish into the bushes, he couldn’t help but mutter, “Truly worthy of someone who’s ‘mixed in society’; his escape speed is incredible.”
That speed! Where was the fatigue he had complained about just moments ago?
Yet, this was for the best.
Now that he had no baggage, then…!
Li Huaiming’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the strangely motionless stone monster.
But oddly, the stone monster, after its initial missed attack, made no further moves.
Even as Aya Tone left right before its eyes, it remained in a dazed state.
‘Perfect, if it won’t move!’
Li Huaiming pushed off with his right foot, launching himself forward like an arrow.
As he approached the stone monster,
“Grrrk-grrrk—”
The friction of stone against stone produced a grating sound that slowly spread through the air.
‘Not good!’ Li Huaiming remembered his instructor’s words from class: some monsters in dungeons possessed the ability to exchange information over long distances.
The stone monster’s unusual inaction must mean it was calling for reinforcements!
His speed erupted to another level.