Chapter 109: Schorched Dune Labyrinth
If she creates a conflict with them, the news will quickly reach her father's ears. She put her chin over her hand, thinking about what she could do to confirm the treasure's existence.
"Miss, based on the report, LinHua has a new maid. Why not try to bribe her?
The other servants don't have any direct contact with LinHua, so it will be hard to get any new information."
"You are right. Check her background. If nothing is wrong, we will try to do it."
"Background check? Is it necessary to go that far?"
"It's better to be safe than sorry. The timing of her entry is quite suspicious. Who knows if someone else also has a similar idea to mine."
The maid bowed and then left to do her task.
Meanwhile, under the scorching sun, Alex was taking a break under the shade from a cliff with Emily, Olivia, and Quartz.
They are now in the three-star dungeon, The Scorched Dune Labyrinth. As the name suggests, the area is very hot, around 45°C (113°F).
The ground beneath them is made of sand with fossil remains scattered around.
The most unique feature of this dungeon is the terrain.
Even though it's like a desert, it's cramped between many canyons, turning it into a complicated maze of death. Some canyons also have entry points to caverns, making the area even more complicated.
This makes the dungeon very hard to clear since they need to hunt the boss in a limited time while navigating through the random labyrinth.
"At this rate, we will never clear this dungeon, Emily."
"That doesn't matter. We are here looking for monsters to catch, brother."
"Emily, it seems you forgot this is the first dungeon dive for our Suzaku guild," Quartz reminded in a stern tone.
Olivia chuckled, "Aren't you the one that prepared everything, Emily?"
Emily's cheeks turned red; she really forgot about it since she was so excited about entering this dungeon. She already imagined what she could do with the monsters she wanted to catch.
Alex laughed, "Seems you all forgot. That's just how Emily is. She's always so clumsy. I still remember her asking where her phone is while holding it in her hand."
Emily's cheeks turned into a pout, "Hmph, look who's talking, brother."
Her gaze then turned to Olivia, as her lips curled into a smirk, "Since you like tattling on others so much, I could also do that, you know! I still remember mom telling you not to wet the bed when you were in high school."
Her words left Alex stupefied.
Quartz let out a chuckle, "Really? You still wet the bed in high school?"
Olivia's eyes widened in surprise, but not because of what Emily said. "You understand what that means, right?
"Of course, that means even at that age, he still cannot control his bladder. What a kid."
Emily nodded in agreement, "Brother really knows no shame."
Alex didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at Quartz and Emily's remark, but he didn't feel shy about it since, other than Quartz, everyone already knew.
As for Olivia, she laughed at their remark but didn't try to correct their misunderstanding.
A thought then surfaced in her mind, and she asked Alex with a teasing tone, "Who were you dreaming at that time?"
Alex's cheeks turned red like a tomato; he quickly turned his gaze away and changed the topic, "Where is Zold anyway? Are you sure he will be alright?"
His expression was answer enough for Olivia. "Why are you changing the topic?
Well, I already got my answer," she replied with a snicker.
"Don't worry. Zold is the most suitable for the task, brother. Can't you see his location?"
Near the cliff where they were staying, Alex found an entry point toward an underground cavern. Based on the map from Vessa, there are many life forces inside.
Alex then suggested they check on it, but Zold volunteered to check the monster type first.
Since the area where the monster is quite deep if all of them enter, it will take a while to reach the area where the monster is.
Zold, with his ability, can enhance his movement. Even though he cannot turn into lightning, it still allows him to move even faster than Alex; only Emily can defeat him in speed.
However, Emily's ability costs too much energy; if it is not an emergency, they prefer not to use it.
Even though they have already spent days in the dungeon, they are still in the outskirts area since they reached dead ends multiple times.
Looking at the dot that's still moving quickly, Alex knows Zold is alright, but even after facing other dots, he just skips past them, moving deeper into the cave system.
"He is still not stopping. If he keeps going, he will leave my detection area soon."
"It's alright, Alex. Your ability is convenient, but you shouldn't depend on it too much.
In exploration, we do this all the time without any ability to communicate. The only thing we can do is believe in our comrades.
Let's wait until the promised time. If he still has not returned, we will come after him."
"Alright, if you guys say so."
"Since we will wait here, can you tell us more about this cultivation system?" Quartz asked.
Everyone, including Zold, has reached the foundation stage, the early phases of their cultivation, allowing them to use storage rings and some talismans from MingYue's world.
"Well, as I said, to put it simply, we use Qi to transform our bodies and make them stronger. For more detail, just read the book I gave you guys."
"I have read it, but that is just a fantasy novel. Don't tell me it's the same as what I read.
Do we need to sit inside a cave for thousands of years pondering the meaning of the universe? I will die from boredom if that is true.
What pondering, does the meaning of the universe change for each person?
Can't you just record the answer in the book or something? Just like a textbook when we were at school."