Chapter 357: Personal Choice

After they entered the Aricus Underground Ruins, those from Netherspirit’s Claw no longer showed up to disturb and stall Qin Ruo’s party. Firstly, they had received news that Buttcold was defeated fair and square; secondly, they were deterred by Slayer’s Heart and the Bauhinia League’s long-developed prestige.

Buttcold and Altos were both high-rank officers in the Netherspirit’s Claw Hunter Troop. If even they failed, what chance did the others have? The League members no longer doubted the authenticity in all those forum threads, and they recognized that Qin Ruo was as powerful as the rumors said.

As for the other four Clans, there was nothing they could do. Unlike the Netherspirit’s Claw Hunter Troop, they could not do as they pleased since they still had to show some degree of respect to Bauhinia Clan. Frankly speaking, those players who loitered around the area were all too familiar with Slayer’s Heart’s capability to mess with him.

They reached the second level of Aricus Underground Ruins without much hindrance.

A new member was visible in their Party. It was an Ice Python.

Violetmoon Devilite finally unveiled her Pet when they arrived at the second level of the Ruins. The Pet was bound to her on the second day after the Pet System was opened to all players, so it had hatched for three full days. Under Violetmoon Devilite’s intensive training, the Phyton had reached Level 35.

Since it was originally a normal Tier 4 monster, its strength at Tier 3 was prominently weaker than a Gorefiend Spider’s. Even with Violetmoon Devilite’s assistance, the Ice Python could barely compete with a Gorefiend Spider in a one versus one fight.

Then again, the actual reason Violetmoon Devilite summoned the Ice Python was to allow the Pet to gain some battle experience while it served as their “convoy”. Although the Party’s strength had developed exponentially since their last time there, girls being girls, would always prefer to have some extra protection when they faced those eerie spiders.

***

Boom!

A Gorefiend Spider crossing their path crashed to the floor after struggling for one whole minute. A greenish-purple bruise could be seen on its unusually large body as the spider fell to its death. Then green liquid squirted out from its ugly face.

Poochie has leveled up.

Qin Ruo look at Poochie when the system notification arrived. The biggest culprit was now skipping excitedly around the Gorefiend Spider’s corpse and chirping triumphantly. That was, until Xiaoxiao could no longer bear it and ordered the reluctant little creature to back away from the unpleasant corpse.

Poochie seemed to understand that Xiaoxiao, unlike its previous fans, Snowleaf and Violet Orchid, was a more special person to Qin Ruo. Thus, it did not dare to disobey her, and immediately left its trophy. The little creature then quickly dashed back towards her.

Before it could reach her, Xiaoxiao condensed a giant water ball in advance and directed it towards the incoming Poochie. This was to disinfect the unhygienic little creature, which had just hopped around a dead body.

Poof! The pitiful Pet was soaked by the ball of water and turned into a wet Shadowfox. All its fur was cleansed by the water spell.

“Chirp chirp.” The little creature quivered mid-air, and that scared the ladies underneath, who were busy collecting loot. They grumbled while they searched for cover, “You naughty Pet! Not again!”

“Ya!”

They were unable to hide in time and were splashed by a few water droplets that were shaken off Poochie’s body.

The little creature did not look back and leaped onto Xiaoxiao’s shoulder after that. It knew it had once again stirred trouble so it squeezed into Xiaoxiao’s hand in cowardice and dared not look at the angry ladies.

Xiaoxiao, who indirectly caused the havoc, stuck her tongue out and tapped Poochie’s head lightly.

The ladies could not bear to punish the cute Poochie, but they were also unwilling to direct their anger towards the gentle Xiaoxiao. As a result, Qin Ruo had to become the scapegoat for both of them.

“Qin Ruo, mind your little creature!”

“That’s right, be responsible!”

Qin Ruo could only laugh bitterly inside. ‘This is what a man has to bear sometimes.’

He shook his head and happened to catch the eye of the Ice Phyton, which was swirling around Violetmoon Devilite. When they were all shocked by Poochie’s little mischief, the Ice Python reacted first and immediately formed a giant ice cone with its huge figure to shield its master from the splashed droplets.

Qin Ruo felt a little guilty inside.

To be honest, he never thought that Violetmoon Devilite would be joining his party one day when he was asked to pick a Pet for her. So he did not think much about it back then and only randomly selected a decent Pet.

Consequently, the Ice Python that belonged to Violetmoon Devilite was now the weakest and most ordinary Pet in the party…

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He was especially bothered by Violetmoon Devilite’s insistence to keep it on their way there. Despite everyone’s attempts to persuade her to ditch the Ice Python once they got her a better option, she kept rejecting the idea, and it somehow made Qin Ruo upset. That was because he knew Violetmoon Devilite was being considerate of his feelings since he was the one who helped her pick the Python, which only further added to his guilt.

The fact that a common Pet Monster was vastly different from an Elite Boss Pet could not be changed. The power gap between the two was evident even at such an early stage.

The Ice Python had a low ceiling of development. All of its stats would only maximize at 3.5 points. Under Violetmoon Devilite’s watch, it could barely manage a Tier 4 normal monster. But if it was a normal Boss-Tier Pet, it should have no problem overcoming a Tier 4 Mid-Tier monster at Level 35. Needless to say, it was the same for Megaboss-level Pets or unique breeds like Poochie.

Fundamentally, Radiant Priests were already the weaker Class among all other player occupations. To be bound with an even weaker Pet meant that Devilite’s future in the game may not look very bright. Worst case scenario, she may not be able to make it to Tier 5…

That was Qin Ruo’s main concern at the moment. He understood that if Devilite did not give up on the Ice Python right then, it would only get more difficult later on after she had developed a strong bond with the Pet. Perhaps she would really remain a mediocre player for the rest of her H&G life.

After the “danger” was cleared, the Ice Python slid away from Devilite, and the other ladies immediately gave up on Qin Ruo. They surrounded the Radiant Priest instead and began to speak out of admiration, “I should have chosen the Ice Python if I had known this. It can cover me up whenever there are dangers.”

“That’s right. Poochie will never know such decency!”

Looking at the ladies who circled around Violetmoon Devilite, advice that almost spilled out of his mouth was forcefully swallowed back by Qin Ruo. It did not seem like the right time to discuss the matter. Besides, it was insensitive to persist on the same issue, as Pets were somehow linked to their master sentimentally.

***

The party continued to march on.

Xiaoxiao approached the visibly-concerned Qin Ruo and whispered, “Are you all right? Still worrying about Devilite?” Her soft tone slightly soothed Qin Ruo’s troubled mind. He knew Xiaoxiao would not mind him venting his frustrations. So he met Xiaoxiao’s beautiful eyes and nodded without much thought. “Ya.”

“Stop worrying for nothing. Devilite matches up well with the Ice Python. It’s an Agility-Type monster that has balanced traits overall. You picked well.”

“Don’t try to console me. Even if it was the right choice then, doesn’t mean that it’ll be a correct one in the future.” Qin Ruo sighed out of guilt.

“Try not to overthink it. Devilite’s talked about this with me before. I know that you were just trying to do what you had to do when she asked you to help her select a Pet Egg from the Pet Store. To be honest, you did fairly well. Ice Pythons are highly adaptable to any kind of complicated environment and battle situation, so it suits Devilite’s style. It’s a good choice. As for her future, it’s all up to her own personal choices. I know your wish is to persuade her to bind with a Boss Pet. But think of it this way, she’s going to be part of our team in the future. If you insist on giving her such a hefty gift, it will only add up to her pressure and burden, which may subsequently affect her judgment. So I feel that you should leave this matter in her own hands.”

Xiaoxiao looked at Qin Ruo and explained to him patiently. Qin Ruo’s depression was slightly relieved by her comforting voice, and at last, he was able to let go of most of his guilt.

Qin Ruo could finally sigh in relief. He laughed and said, “Thanks, I feel much better now.”

Xiaoxiao pouted and rolled her eyes. “Remember, never think about other girls in front of your girl,” she said flirtatiously.

The occasional romantic actions shown by Xiaoxiao made Qin Ruo feel a little lightheaded…

***

The Secret Dungeon of Aricus Underground Ruins.

Everyone had become more cautious thanks to their past experience. Qin Ruo, Slayer’s Heart, and Burning Rose entered the chamber first, followed by the others after the vanguards confirmed that the large, dark dungeon was safe.

It was actually the third time Qin Ruo had entered the place.

The first time was when he was a Tier 3 player. They were only able to withstand a single wave and retreated immediately afterward.

The second time, they bumped into a group of troublemakers and were forced to face monster attacks of higher difficulty. He was Tier 4 then, and they were defeated after the second wave.

Up to that point, it seemed that no individual or Party had managed to discover all the treasures in Aricus Underground Ruins. In other words, not a single player had ever seen the cave creatures’ treasure.

They opted to retreat from the dungeon the last time because they encountered the Earth Enchanted Spider (which was the strongest of Tier 4 in that region) as soon as the second wave came. Worried that perhaps an even more powerful monster was in the line, they left before the third wave ensued.

This time, the same personnel but with a definitely way more powerful alliance gathered in a circle at the entrance of the dungeon.

Surrounded by soft green light, the Party Leader, Slayer’s Heart looked at his nine comrades with abundant fighting spirit. He encouraged them, “This time, we’re not going to turn back halfway…”

He turned his gaze slowly and stopped on Qin Ruo’s face. The latter smiled in return and replied, “Great! Let’s work together and lure the cunning spider out. Let’s split the treasure that the disgusting monster’s hiding from us, once and for all!”

“Good!” Brother Da had long been enthused by all the great stories he heard about the Graveyard of the Gods. He could no longer hold his excitement when Qin Ruo mentioned the magic word—treasure. He howled eagerly inside the quiet chamber, “What are we waiting for? Go go go!”