16: Chapter 16 An Unexpected Team Up

The entrance to the Shadow Nest was hidden beneath a withered tree in the northeast corner of the Novice Village.

If it weren't for Shen Ruoxi leading the way, Chen Ergou would never have found this place in his entire life. That withered tree looked just like the fire poker from Old Wang's place next door—gray and dull—who would have thought there was a whole different world beneath its roots?

"Go down." Shen Ruoxi stood at the entrance of the hole, stepping aside to leave a gap.

Chen Ergou poked his head in to take a look, but it was pitch black, and he couldn't see a thing. He gulped and asked, "Is this... safe?"

Shen Ruoxi glanced at him. "If you're scared, you can go back to running your stall."

"Who's scared?" Chen Ergou puffed out his chest. "Let's go!"

With that, he gritted his teeth and slid down into the hole.

This slide was a doozy; he slid a good five or six meters, landing right on his backside, which made him wince in pain.

"Hiss—why does this game even have pain?"

Shen Ruoxi's voice came from above, as cold and clear as winter well water. "Because your pain sensitivity is set to eighty percent."

"...Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"You didn't ask."

Chen Ergou scrambled up and brushed the dirt off his backside. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could finally see his surroundings—it was a long, narrow underground passage, with eerie green fluorescent stones embedded in the walls on both sides, barely illuminating the road ahead.

Shen Ruoxi landed lightly beside him, without making a sound. She was a level 15 elite player with maxed-out Agility; this height was like stepping down a stair for her.

"Stay close to me," Shen Ruoxi said. "There are elite monsters in the passage; if you get touched once, you'll be sent back to the city."

Chen Ergou obediently followed behind, silently calculating in his heart: the main purpose of this trip was to find the star-shattering sword. The system quest stated it clearly—the star-shattering sword was in the depths of the Shadow Nest. As long as he got the sword, the quest would be complete.

As for fighting monsters...

He looked down at his attribute panel—Level 1, Attack 3, Defense 1.

With stats like these, never mind fighting elite monsters; even a wild chicken could peck him to death.

The two walked about two hundred meters along the passage when a rustling sound suddenly came from ahead.

Shen Ruoxi paused, raising her hand to signal Chen Ergou to stop.

"Shadow Spiders," she said in a low voice. "Level 15 elite monsters, three in total."

Chen Ergou poked his head out to look. Good grief, three black spiders larger than millstones were lying in the middle of the passage, their eight legs covered in barbs; it was terrifying just to look at.

Shen Ruoxi drew her longsword, her figure flashing as she charged forward.

Chen Ergou only saw a flash of white light weaving through the spider pack, sword energy flying everywhere. The three Shadow Spiders didn't even have a chance to react before more than half of their health bars were whittled away.

But elite monsters were, after all, elite monsters—high health and high defense. The three spiders simultaneously spat out venomous silk, binding Shen Ruoxi tightly.

"Tsk." Shen Ruoxi frowned, spinning to sever the venomous silk, and backhanded her sword onto the lead spider's forehead.

Chen Ergou hid in the corner, dumbfounded.

This woman was way too fierce in a fight, right?

Three minutes later, all three Shadow Spiders were lying on the ground.

Shen Ruoxi sheathed her sword and looked back at Chen Ergou. "Can't you stay further away? You almost got splashed by the venomous silk just now."

Chen Ergou smiled sheepishly. "I was looking for the sword, not here to fight monsters... besides, I'm a level 1 noob; if I went up there, I'd just be an extra meal for the monsters."

Shen Ruoxi ignored him and turned to continue walking forward.

Chen Ergou hurried to follow.

The deeper they went into the passage, the more monsters there were. Fortunately, with Shen Ruoxi paving the way, Chen Ergou only needed to follow behind and pick up the scraps. Occasionally, a stray Shadow Bat would fly over, and he would roll on the ground to dodge; the posture wasn't very pretty, but at least he didn't die.

Shen Ruoxi looked back at him, the corners of her mouth seemingly twitching slightly.

He didn't know if she had smiled.

Chen Ergou thought to himself: I must have seen it wrong; how could this Iceberg Empress smile?

After walking for another stretch, the passage suddenly opened up into a small stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber was a stone table, and on the table sat a glowing treasure chest.

Shen Ruoxi scanned the area vigilantly, and only after confirming there were no monsters did she walk toward the treasure chest.

With a "click," the treasure chest opened.

Inside was a pile of gold coins and materials, as well as a piece of blue-quality armor.

Shen Ruoxi put the items into her backpack, then suddenly pulled out a cookie.

Chen Ergou leaned in to look. "What's this?"

"A truth cookie," Shen Ruoxi said. "Bought it from your stall last time."

Chen Ergou was stunned. "You haven't used it yet?"

Shen Ruoxi was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Chen Ergou, I have a question for you."

"Huh? You're using a cookie to ask me?" Chen Ergou was startled. "What are you asking?"

Shen Ruoxi stared into his eyes, her tone suddenly becoming serious. "There's a mole in the guild who leaked our route to the hostile guild. That day you were running your stall in the Novice Village, did you see anyone suspicious?"

Chen Ergou slapped his thigh. "You should have said so earlier!"

"Speak."

"That day, there was indeed a sneaky guy who hung around my stall for a long time and asked me a bunch of weird questions. Like 'Where have the people from the Dawn Guild gone lately?' or 'Is their guild leader around?' I thought he was your fan at the time!"

Shen Ruoxi narrowed her eyes. "What did that person look like?"

"Wearing a black cloak, couldn't see his face. But he had a bit of a southern accent when he spoke, sounded like... from the Wu dialect region?"

Shen Ruoxi said coldly, "Understood."

Chen Ergou scratched his head. "You aren't suspecting me, are you? If I were a mole, would I be able to come here with you?"

Shen Ruoxi glanced at him. "If you really wanted to be a mole, coming here with me would be the best cover."

Chen Ergou: "..."

This woman's train of thought was just too unique.

The two continued deeper into the passage. After clearing two more waves of monsters, a huge stone door appeared ahead.

The stone door was covered in ancient runes, and in the center was a sword-shaped groove, faintly emitting light.

"The star-shattering sword is behind the door," Shen Ruoxi said.

Chen Ergou ran over excitedly and reached out to push the stone door.

It wouldn't budge.

He pushed harder.

Still wouldn't budge.

"Don't waste your effort," Shen Ruoxi said, walking up to examine the runes on the door carefully. "This door has a seal; it requires a specific power to open."

She read the text on the door:

"With the power of the Sword Saint, open the sealed door."

Chen Ergou was stunned. "Power of the Sword Saint? Where am I supposed to get the power of the Sword Saint?"

Shen Ruoxi turned to look at him, her gaze meaningful. "Didn't you say before that you had a 'Sword Saint Introductory' skill book?"

Chen Ergou slapped his forehead. "Right! I almost forgot!"

He quickly opened his backpack, and sure enough, that golden skill book was still lying there quietly.

"Sword Saint Introductory" — After learning, you can acquire the passive skill "Sword Saint Strike," dealing 200% of normal attack damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds.

"But..." Chen Ergou hesitated. "After learning this thing, will it be gone? I spent a lot of money to get this skill book."

Shen Ruoxi said indifferently, "Are you going to learn it or not? If you don't, this door won't open, you won't get the star-shattering sword, and you won't complete your quest."

Chen Ergou gritted his teeth. "Learn it!"

He clicked on the skill book, a golden light flashed, and the system prompt sounded:

[Congratulations to player "Ergous Stall" for learning the skill—Sword Saint Strike!]

Chen Ergou clenched his fists, feeling a surge of power in his body. Although he was still a level 1 noob, at this moment he felt he could punch to death... well, punching a wild chicken to death should be fine.

"What now?" He looked at the sword-shaped groove on the stone door. "Cast the move at the door?"

Shen Ruoxi nodded. "Try it."

Chen Ergou took a deep breath and suddenly struck a palm toward the stone door—

"Sword Saint Strike!"

A dazzling sword energy shot out from his palm, precisely hitting the sword-shaped groove on the stone door.

Rumble—

The entire passage was shaking, and the runes on the stone door lit up one by one, the light growing brighter and brighter.

And then—

The stone door slowly opened.

But what came from behind the door was not the light of treasure, but a deafening roar.

Chen Ergou's smile froze on his face.

Shen Ruoxi's expression also changed.

It wasn't a treasure room behind the door.

It was a huge BOSS room.

And in the very center of the room, a huge figure shrouded in black mist was slowly turning around.

System Prompt:

[Warning! You have entered the territory of the Shadow King!]

[Shadow King Morlock, Level 40 Elite BOSS!]

[Recommended party size: 10 or more!]

Chen Ergou looked at the big guy that was taller than a three-story building, and his legs went weak.

"Shen Ruoxi..." his voice trembled. "Are you sure this is a sword? This is clearly a death sentence!"

Shen Ruoxi gripped the longsword in her hand tightly, a hint of gravity flashing in her eyes.

"It seems we have to clear this hurdle first."