Chapter 128

Chapter 129: Black-haired Catgirl with Long Tresses is Amazing! (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)

At this very moment, the Loki Familia was on “expedition.”

Their current location was Level 50 of the Dungeon.

In the Labyrinth City of Orario, home to many Adventurers and Familial Groups/Factions, this place was considered the forefront of conquest.

It was now the second day of staying at the camp.

Izay and Anqi exited the camp, ready to conduct their daily reconnaissance duties.

Slowly raising their heads upward, they saw a dome-shaped ceiling partially blocked by rock walls.

From the unreachable dome extended countless column-like protrusions, with mysterious phosphorescent lights sporadically glowing on their surfaces.

At the edge of the vast stone platform where the camp was located, Izay focused his mind as he prepared magic, while Anqi waited nearby.

As magical power surged, an array appeared from beneath Izay’s feet. It contained numerous celestial symbols centered around an eight-pointed star, glowing with a brilliant blue magical light.

After several seconds, the magical pattern began to rotate inside and out like a spinning axis, gradually expanding and disappearing into the ground.

In an instant, it seemed as though streams of light spread across the entire stone platform, flowing downward along the edges and extending deep into the dark forest.

The stone platform where Izay stood was incredibly spacious.

Even if Izay were to perform magic from the center of the platform, he couldn’t cover the entire area within its range.

A perception radius of ten kilometers could only cover about two-thirds of the platform’s size, leaving the outermost circle undetected.

Therefore, in order to fully explore and ensure the safety of the camp,

Izay would come to the edge of the platform every time they checked for wandering monsters.

Of course, he wasn’t alone; either Anqi or Alisia, who was commanding the camp, would accompany him.

When they detected monsters approaching near the stone platform, they would notify the team members. Before the monsters got too close, they would take them out instantly.

There was no need to leave the platform. With such a large team of Magical Arts practitioners, they weren’t just there for show. Plenty of people could cast long-range spells, and two or three of them could handle cleaning up the monsters.

This was the importance of vision.

Otherwise, everyone would have to wait until the monsters reached the vicinity of the camp before reacting.

One side actively cleanses to ensure safety, while the other passively awaits the enemy.

These two situations are completely different.

The former allows for relative peace of mind, while the latter places everyone in a state of constant anxiety.

After all, one slip-up could cost lives.

For this reason, over the past two days, Izay had almost every two hours activated the ‘Zodiac Disk’ and walked around the perimeter of the platform to ensure safety.

But only during the day.

At night, Izay still slept when he needed to.

During the day, he handled vigilance, and at night, it was the other team members’ turn to keep watch.

He couldn’t possibly be responsible for twenty-four hours a day, right?

Even with doubled mental strength, he couldn’t endure such exhaustion.

“Nothing unusual?”

The black-haired cat-eared girl Anqi accompanied Izay around the platform and asked softly.

Izay nodded. “Yeah, there are no monsters appearing within five kilometers around the platform.”

“Is that so? You’ve worked hard, Izay.”

“Not at all… Who wouldn’t want their camp to be safe? Casting a few spells for exploration, I can manage.”

“Don’t be modest~ During my multiple stays on level fifty, this expedition has been the easiest thanks to you.”

Anqi patted his shoulder, smiling as she explained.

“Everyone else who stayed behind is grateful to you too. They said they’ll invite you for drinks when we return from this expedition.”

Drinks?

Izay smirked.

He remembered that last time, the group wanted to celebrate his promotion to Level 2 and also said they’d treat him to drinks.

However, once they arrived at the tavern, everyone got drunk, and in the end, he ended up paying the bill. Ridiculous.

“Forget it. Drinking with them is just asking for trouble. This kind of gratitude, I’d rather not have it.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Anqi didn’t know about this and was puzzled.

“Last time they said they’d buy me drinks…”

Izay recounted the story to Anqi, and after hearing it, the expression of the black-haired cat-eared girl became somewhat… strange.

Apparently, she was also speechless at those people’s actions.

So this is what you call us treating you, but you end up footing the bill?

That’s strong!

“But actually, if you want to thank me, Anqi, you just need to agree to one small request from me.”

Immediately, Izay’s tone changed, and he suddenly grinned widely.

“So tell me, anything I can do.”

“If you could say ‘meow~’ once, I’d be satisfied, and I could eat three bowls of rice tonight!”

Compared to other catgirls, Anqi personally disliked the way catgirls spoke, unintentionally adding ‘meow’ sounds to their speech.

This seemed to be a natural trait of the catfolk race.

Therefore, she consciously corrected her way of speaking, unlike Aniya and Kuroi, who constantly meowed and acted like cats.

Although Izay couldn’t deny that it was cute.

But when Anqi was drunk, her deliberate correction would accidentally revert.

Izay had seen Anqi meowing once before.

So cute!

Black-haired catgirl with long tresses, amazing!

Anqi, who thought Izay would have some grandiose request, was instantly dumbfounded upon hearing this.

Just… just that?

This requirement was nothing!

But surprisingly, she really couldn’t bring herself to do it!

To make Anqi meow while sober would be impossible!

“Change… change it! That’s absolutely impossible! I’d rather die than do it!”

Anqi’s cheeks turned slightly red, whether from anger or something else, as her cat ears trembled while refusing Izay’s request.

“Eh, don’t be sad~ I just want to hear it once. I promise I won’t tell anyone, alright?”

Seeing this, Izay sighed lightly, looking dejected.

“… No way! Absolutely not!”

“Don’t be so heartless, Anqi. I won’t tell anyone else.”

“…”

Faced with Izay’s persistence, Anqi lowered her head without responding, quickening her steps back to camp slightly.

Involving her own principles, no matter how Izay persuaded her, Anqi’s answer was simple.

No! Won’t do it!

From the perspective of others, the two returning to camp looked somewhat dramatic.

It felt like Anqi was being chased back to camp by Izay.

Or perhaps, Anqi was trying to avoid Izay?

Interesting~

A group of single dogs in the camp thought they might have found some good gossip material.

But the two parties involved were unaware of this for now.

…

…

…

Time passed to the evening of the third day.

“Everyone! The captain is back!!”

While everyone was preparing dinner, a member at the farthest edge of the camp suddenly shouted loudly.

“Ohhhhhh!!!”

“Where? Where!?”

“Captain’s back!?”

The busy figures of the camp members paused momentarily, then erupted.

The bustling atmosphere that hadn’t been present these past few days returned.

Everyone who was preparing dinner put down their work and gathered at the edge of the camp to welcome Finn.

Noticing the enthusiasm of the members, Finn smiled sheepishly and waved at everyone.

“Everyone, we’re back.”