Chapter 42: The Rebellious Youth Brigade

“These... these were all drunk by you alone?” Mira asked in astonishment.

“The taste is average. Would you like some?” Luo Yong raised his hand, and another bottle of recovery potion appeared in his palm.

“How did you get all these?”

“I bought them. I’m afraid of dying, so I exchange all my quest rewards for these every time…” Luo Yong replied with a perfectly straight face.

“Incredible.” If not for the pile of empty potion bottles before her eyes, Mira would never have believed it.

“There’s still one mine tunnel left uncleaned. Do you want to go?”

“Of course I do... What? There’s still one tunnel?” Mira sprang up, ran over to check, and indeed, only one tunnel entrance remained, guarded by Redfire Ants.

“One tunnel is saturated with lightning elements—could that be Old Fei? And two are filled with wind elements…” Mira glanced at Luo Yong, puzzled. She hadn’t seen him make a move along the way, yet he cleared monsters so quickly?

A man as swift as the wind?

A man as fast as the wind…

“Who’s Old Fei?”

“That dwarf, the element manipulator. I didn’t expect him to be so quick this time!”

“No, no, no!” Luo Yong pointed to the four tunnels he had already cleared and said, “I won. The right to open the treasure chest goes to me.”

“What?!” Mira was stunned for a moment, then understood his meaning.

This wind mage was even faster than she imagined!

While others cleared one tunnel, he had cleared four!

But there was one thing she couldn’t figure out: “How could a wind mage use lightning magic? Unless…”

“Unless I have tactical scrolls with one-time magic sealed inside.” As he spoke, several magical scrolls appeared in Luo Yong’s hand, flashing briefly before vanishing into thin air.

Mira blinked and suddenly felt her gravity spell scroll in her hand wasn’t so special after all…

At the same time, she realized this was actually an opportunity.

With everyone else absent, why not take advantage?

Thus, moments later, as footsteps echoed and the others emerged from their respective tunnels…

A satisfied expression appeared on Mira’s face. She and Luo Yong had completed a covert transaction, unnoticed by anyone. Mira’s storage space now contained more recovery potions and a few tactical scrolls.

Luo Yong had gained a gravity spell scroll.

This was a unique, standalone spell—unaffiliated with any system, unrestricted by class. Anyone could learn it.

However, whether it was truly one of a kind remained unknown.

“Certain special items are unique, extremely rare. Some people never see them in their lifetime, much less acquire one.” Even now, Mira was whispering in Luo Yong’s ear, extolling the gravity spell’s value, as if she had suffered a great loss in the trade and Luo Yong had made off with the bargain.

“Understood.”

Luo Yong gestured indifferently, acting the part of a fool with too much money to spare.

“You two are so fast!”

The elven berserker, now refreshed, approached slowly. The others followed, emerging from their tunnels one after another.

“Hey, you looted a scroll?” The Titan archer, sharp-eyed, immediately spotted the gravity spell scroll in Luo Yong’s hand.

“That scroll is a treasure—the magic shop pays handsomely for it!”

“What kind of scroll is it?”

“Just a regular teleportation scroll.” Luo Yong quickly stowed the scroll, then pointed to the remaining tunnel. “Do you want to rest, or shall we continue now?”

“With an expert in the party this time, let’s go together!” Mira stood up and led the way toward the last tunnel.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The group found her words odd.

Expert?

Who’s the expert?

Weren’t they all at level eight?

If you meant height… well, the dwarf could fly high with magic, but the Titan archer, standing tall, was even higher.

But none were as towering as the legendary Titans of myth, who could reach dozens or even hundreds of yards.

Though puzzled, they followed along, only to discover that the four tunnels supposedly untouched had actually been cleared—just one remained.

“Impressive, truly impressive. Who cleared them so fast?”

Their eyes swept over each other, finally settling on Luo Yong.

“Wind Whisperer, was this your doing?” The girl with the cannon slung over her shoulder asked in surprise.

The half-mechanical man sensed a familiar aura and went to inspect the pile of bottles.

“Recovery potions—pure ones, made by the magic shop…”

“So that’s it. Some people really spend big for chest priority!” The bearfolk shaman commented dryly.

“You need to have something to spend first.” The dwarf said emotionlessly, his gaze at Luo Yong filled with thought.

But while they discussed, Luo Yong was already following behind Mira, advancing swiftly down the last tunnel.

With recovery potions at hand, Mira felt more confident, summoning thorns in various ways, striving to consume as little mana as possible while taking out as many Redfire Ants.

Of course, this tested her control as a mage all the more.

But halfway through, Mira seemed to remember something. She glanced back at her teammates trailing behind. Having lost chest priority, they were dispirited, doing the bare minimum, grouping up to slack off.

Mira was both exasperated and amused.

“Well then, since you’ve earned priority, let’s all witness your monster-clearing speed.”

She stopped and looked at Luo Yong.

“Certainly.”

Luo Yong glanced at those around him, responded calmly, then drew his longsword.

“A faint azure glow, shimmering on the blade!”

He uttered a low command, grasped his sword, and strode ahead. Amid the astonished eyes of his teammates, he moved freely through the swarm of Redfire Ants, dispatching them one by one with clean, efficient strokes, soon reaching the tunnel’s end.

“Where’s the treasure chest?” Luo Yong looked around. This tunnel was much like the others he’d cleared—apart from the randomly distributed glowing crystals on the stone walls, the overall atmosphere was dim.

Everyone was used to fighting monsters in such conditions.

“The chest isn’t here.”

Mira beckoned Luo Yong to head back together.

“What’s going on?” Luo Yong asked, puzzled. “Wasn’t it about opening the chest? Where are we going now?”

“To open the chest, of course.” Mira nodded, pointing to their original direction. “After clearing twelve tunnels, activate the teleportation array at the entrance. We’ll enter another vast mine pit with only one path; at its end lies a treasure chest.”

“Of course, to open it, you must eliminate every monster along the way—including hordes of Redfire Ants and mutated giant venomous scorpions.”

“So, there’ll be a major boss guarding the chest?” Luo Yong asked.

“Yes, a level twelve giant venomous scorpion. Before you joined, our party had another member, but he was too careless, rushing ahead for glory. He got stung by the scorpion’s tail and is still unconscious. We don’t know if he’ll make it…”

“Level twelve again…”

Luo Yong realized it was similar to what he’d encountered with Wendy and her group before.

Only, the monsters differed by region.

“You’ve been here before—what have you found in the chest?”

“We’ve come five times. Only once did we find a wish scroll, but the wish failed. The other times, it was just useless gear, sold for coins and split among us.” Mira explained.

“Luo Yong…”

At this moment, the slackers in the lead exchanged glances. The half-mechanical man approached and asked, “You weren’t attacked by Redfire Ants just now, so you must have gear that hides your aura. Could you tell us where you got it? We all want one…”

“A friend gave it to me.” Luo Yong glanced at the elven berserker at the front, replying with a calm face, “A friend with golden hair and pointed ears.”

“Elves…”

The elven berserker gazed deeply at Luo Yong, as if trying to see through him, then turned away, saying nothing more.

The rest tacitly kept silent as well, dropping the subject.

Seeing this, Luo Yong pondered and understood. This unique elven berserker likely had a past he’d rather forget.

Perhaps a rebellious youth, quarrelling with his family, insisted on being a "berserker," ran away from home, refusing to return unless he made something of himself.

Or maybe, if he failed, he’d have to go back and inherit vast riches…

In fact, except for Mira, whose profession was fairly normal, the others probably had similar stories!

A party of rebellious youths from another world!

Soon, everyone returned to the junction of the twelve tunnels, where a large magical teleportation array awaited.

Each took out a magic crystal and placed it on a stone platform beside the array.

There were eight slots.

But after seven placed their crystals, one slot remained.

The array was glowing, but wouldn’t activate.

“If you’re willing to give up priority, I can help you place one.” The silent girl destroyer held a crystal in her hands, eyeing Luo Yong.

She seemed certain he didn’t carry such crystals.

“I don’t mind…” Luo Yong shrugged, leaned against the stone wall under their gaze, and suddenly produced another recovery potion, drinking it as casually as water.