Chapter 111: The Journey of Two

After finishing my meal, I met Lu Xuehan at the plaza as agreed. Upon entering the game, I first checked the status of the equipment I had listed for sale. The results were excellent: twenty-four green-tier items had been sold, and all of the blue-tier items had been snatched up at high prices. It seems the demand for high-level gear among players right now is truly desperate and insatiable. After checking the transaction records, my total revenue was just over 160,000. After deducting the studio's 20% commission, I was left with 120,000, bringing my personal funds to a staggering 770,000. A new star of wealth in China was rising!

By the time I finished repairing my gear, Lu Xuehan had already arrived, accompanied by Xin Yu and Xu Lin.

"Why so reluctant to part with Xuehan?" I teased with a smile.

Xin Yu shook her head and said, "Not at all. We just came over to see how the equipment sales were going. Aren't you supposed to take Xuehan on her quest? You'd better hurry up."

Lu Xuehan smiled sweetly and said, "Lin Fan, let's go! Sister Lin and the others are going to help a level 30 player with a quest, so we won't disturb them."

I nodded and cautioned her, "Xuehan, is the durability of your gear fully restored? You’d better repair it; the monsters down there attack in dense swarms, and equipment durability drains extremely fast! Also, buy plenty of mana potions; consumables run out quickly down there."

"Mhm, I already repaired everything, and I have plenty of mana potions. Let's go!"

"Wait, let's get that quest permit first!"

As someone who had already been through it, I quickly helped Lu Xuehan obtain the permit to exit the East Gate. Now, everything was ready!

...

I led Lu Xuehan, bypassing the Silver Pine Forest directly. At present, the only way I knew to reach the Land of Ice and Wind beyond was through the Rhinoceros King’s Cave; I hadn't had the time to explore other passages. Lu Xuehan was quite patient, following me all the way from the Silver Pine Forest into the Rhinoceros King’s Cave. It wasn't until I pushed aside the cluster of pine grass that she revealed an incredibly adorable expression.

"Lin Fan... we have to crawl through there?"

I nodded and said, "It's the only path I know. Would you like me to go first?"

Lu Xuehan nodded bashfully and said, "Alright then..."

I immediately bent down and crawled through, then turned back to take her hand, carefully pulling her out. The soft, delicate sensation in my hand was a pleasure to experience.

Lu Xuehan struggled slightly, blushing as she said, "I can do it myself now..."

I froze, quickly letting go of her hand, and gave an awkward laugh as I led her forward.

The nearly hour-long trek was exceptionally grueling, but fortunately, Lu Xuehan was the gentle, water-like type of girl who possessed plenty of patience. If it had been Xin Yu, she would have turned the place upside down by now, and I would have been suffering from a splitting headache.

We finally reached the snowy mountain. I pointed upward and said, "The Land of Ice and Wind is inside this mountain range. There are many monsters on the lowest level. If we kill them all, it should at least get us both up two levels! And that’s a conservative estimate..."

Lu Xuehan looked at me in surprise, "Is it really that exaggerated? I spent an entire day grinding monsters and only leveled up a little over halfway."

"You'll see once we're inside. Come on, the entrance is halfway up the mountain. The path is slippery, so take my hand."

Lu Xuehan hesitated for a moment, and I added, "Come on, you aren't expecting me to offer you a tree branch to hold onto, are you?"

Lu Xuehan pursed her lips into a smile and reached out to take my arm. "I know, I know. Let's hurry. I can't believe we had to walk so far for a quest—it's ridiculous. I don't know how you even found this place."

I had only wanted her to hold my hand, but I hadn't expected her to link arms with me. It was so sweet...

Half an hour later, we finally entered the entrance to the Land of Ice and Wind. The monsters I had killed that morning had already respawned, so we had to fight our way through. Fortunately, with Lu Xuehan’s support and attacks, our progress was much faster than when I was alone.

In the blink of an eye, we reached the broken path on the ice trail. Although Lu Xuehan wasn't afraid of heights, asking a girl to jump off such a high cliff was still a bit much.

Seeing her indecision, I said, "I'll jump down first to draw the monsters. Use your 'Flame Rain' to burn the monsters below, then heal me. Once the monsters are cleared, you can jump down, and I'll catch you. Don't worry, it'll be perfectly safe!"

Lu Xuehan bit her lip, "Alright, I can do it!"

...

I nodded, stepped back a few paces, and jumped down with a grit of my teeth. From a distance, I could see the monsters gathering toward my landing spot—it felt just like being surrounded by zombies in *Resident Evil*.

Fortunately, these monsters weren't zombies, and I wasn't just prey waiting to be slaughtered. Above on the cliff, Lu Xuehan waved her priest's staff, and a massive, crimson-red rain of fire descended from the sky. It was the first time I had witnessed her 'Flame Rain,' and it was truly a spectacular sight. The fire rain formed a raging sea of flames on the ground, and its 10x10 attack range covered almost all the monsters. Because I was in a party with her, I took no damage. Watching the monsters fall one after another was an incredible feeling!

Monsters that would have taken me ten minutes to kill alone were burned to ashes in just two minutes under her 'Flame Rain.' This was the leveling speed of a Mage! Most Mage players lacked area-of-effect skills early on, but as more skill books for AOE spells became available in the later stages, we would definitely see more Mages climbing the leaderboards!

"Lin Fan, I'm coming down..."

Lu Xuehan poked her head out from above, smiling, showing no signs of nervousness.

I took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Step back a few paces and jump. Don't be afraid, I'll catch you."

Lu Xuehan nodded and quickly stepped back. A few seconds later, her figure appeared in the air. Her snow-white priest robe fluttered in the wind, and her beautiful curves were faintly visible beneath the thin fabric—it was extremely alluring!

I quickly adjusted my position; I didn't want Lu Xuehan to land head-first like I did.

"Whoosh!"

Lu Xuehan's petite body dove into my arms with the force of her momentum. We slid across the ice until we hit the wall, which finally brought us to a stop. It was painful—even more so than landing head-first...

"Hey, Xuehan, you can get up now..." I patted her as she lay on my chest. My lower back was throbbing as if it had been torn; I wasn't sure if I’d broken a bone.

Lu Xuehan immediately climbed up, blushing. I quickly drank a red potion, and like magic, the pain vanished as if it had never been there.

...

We continued to fight our way forward. With the experience she’d gained, Lu Xuehan would cast 'Flame Rain' whenever we encountered even a slightly larger group of monsters. Combined with my high attack power, we soon reached the area above the lowest level. Masses of monsters were waiting below, and in my eyes, this was nothing but a sea of experience points.