The dirt path through the forest from Moravia to the Northern Dungeon had become much livelier.
Where before not a single soul had passed in half a day, now adventurers could be seen every so often on their way.
This brought Su Yao a great sense of comfort.
Based on the stakeout she had done at the Adventurers’ Guild these past two days, she roughly estimated that about two hundred people were heading into her dungeon to adventure.
The Dorodori Sisters could earn 40 DP a day just by staying in the dungeon, so if there were two hundred adventurers, her daily income would be at least 4000 DP.
That was much faster than relying on microtransactions, and the number wasn’t even close to its limit yet.
As the news spread that there were treasure chests in the Black Dragon Cave, the count would only increase!
Financial freedom was well within reach!
However, Su Yao’s joy was short-lived.
Suddenly, she was surrounded by a group of people who had sprung out from the bushes. Strange—aside from the tirelessly overworking Miss Poster Girl at the guild, she shouldn’t have offended anyone.
The leader was cloaked and hooded, clearly no decent person.
“Kid, a certain gentleman wishes to see you. Come quietly with us,” the man said in a slightly hoarse, duck-like voice.
Su Yao bristled immediately. You’re the kid! Your whole family are kids!
“I’m busy. If someone wants to see me, they can come themselves. Who invites others like this?”
The men surrounding her were stunned, not knowing where this strangely dressed blonde maid-loli got the nerve to speak like that.
Normally, she should be trembling in fear, begging for mercy, especially since she was just a little girl.
Su Yao realized she had spoken out of turn in anger but quickly adapted her persona.
“If there’s nothing else, step aside! Don’t block this noble… noble lady’s path!”
That was close. Almost sounded like “master” instead of “miss.”
The cloaked man said no more. He waved his hand, signaling his men to grab her immediately.
The state of law and order in the magical world was truly worrying.
“What do you want? I warn you, if you come any closer, I won’t be so polite!”
She feigned a panicked expression, a mix of three parts exaggeration and seven parts bravado.
The bandits sneered maliciously. Just a spoiled noble brat—they weren’t fooled by the bluff.
“This will be an easy job,” they all thought.
“Ah—”
But the next second, the man closest to the blonde girl suddenly grabbed his leg and screamed in pain.
In the past, Su Yao probably wouldn’t have stood a chance against these people, but those days were over.
After losing a bet to Sofia, she had asked her for tips on using the “Mana Perception” skill.
Originally, she only wanted to find weaknesses in that skill to improve the concealment of her labyrinth mechanisms, but she gained much more than she expected.
The silver-haired, red-eyed beauty didn’t understand the concept of “skills,” but still explained how she used her innate, highly sensitive five senses.
Under her guidance, Su Yao improved the labyrinth’s traps, adding many new traps and small magic sources that were easier to detect. These magic points could disrupt perceptive fighters like herself.
After practice, she could now carefully discern the mana differences on each person and perceive the surrounding environment.
Back in Moravia, she had already noticed someone was tailing her.
And that was how the scene just now played out.
Walking alone on the dirt road back, she pretended to be an ignorant and spoiled noble girl to lure these ill-intentioned scoundrels out—and then took them down.
At level 18, she was no longer the weak little girl she once was. Even at level 10 Swordsmanship, she was on par with the skilled Sofia.
More importantly, she had a backup plan.
After a successful sneak attack, the blonde girl charged forward. As the saying goes, two fists can’t beat four hands.
Being surrounded was dangerous, so she needed to reduce their numbers quickly.
With her tactic decided, Su Yao drew her short sword, slashing one assailant before quickly moving to the other two.
She stabbed hard into their knees—she swore she wasn’t targeting that spot deliberately.
Two agonized screams followed, as the injured bandits clutched their legs, writhing on the ground.
In just over ten seconds, three of the bandits were rendered immobile.
Seeing this, the others drew their weapons immediately. The brat’s earlier panic was fake—they had been played!
Su Yao’s initial advantage disappeared, leaving four bandits in front of her.
The hooded man had disappeared somewhere. Such a coward had no business being a bandit.
The next fight would be tougher. She deflected the weapons aimed at her using her skill, searching for openings to counterattack, while the four tried to overwhelm her with numbers.
Though both she and Sofia had level 10 Swordsmanship, Su Yao lacked the latter’s nimble footwork since she had never formally trained.
Also, for the sake of the ambush, her weapon wasn’t exactly comfortable to use.
The standoff dragged on.
“Clang.”
Sensing an attack, the blonde girl parried two long swords slashing at her and jumped back.
“Fireball Barrage!”
“Too late, Chlorel!”
Huh? Since when did Chlorel’s fire magic get so powerful?
No, this probably wasn’t her magic.
Well, whoever it was, it was a big help.
The sudden attack caught the bandits off guard. A string of fireballs exploded at their feet, and taking advantage of the smoke, Su Yao struck again.
With Mana Perception, the last two bandits couldn’t escape her grasp, their knees soon incapacitated.
Again, she clarified, she really hadn’t meant to target the knees.
The battle ended with eight bandits total—two injured by the fireballs, five writhing on the ground, and one who had fled.
No need to worry about the escapee. Chlorel, who was hiding nearby with magic tools, would catch him soon enough.
The blonde girl sheathed her short sword and began cleaning up the battlefield.
A kind adventurer stepped out from behind a nearby tree, casting magic to restrain the bandits.
Su Yao looked at her—a pink-haired girl trembling slightly, clad in gray robes and holding a wooden magic staff.
“Thank you for your help. If you need any reward, just ask.”
“Um… no, thank you. I still have to get going.”
She was still shaking as she spoke. Did this child come with social anxiety?
Come to think of it, Su Yao had never seen any magic users at the Moravia Adventurers’ Guild before, though she had encountered a few female adventurers.
Was something strange about this magical world’s setup? Magic users seemed few and far between.
“Well then, thanks again. Goodbye.”
Su Yao smiled and parted ways. It was best not to be too enthusiastic with someone who had social anxiety.
Judging from the direction she left, the girl was probably another adventurer headed for her dungeon. She could help her if she got lost later.
The blonde girl found a shady spot under a tree and sat down. After a moment, rustling came again from the bushes.
Victorious, Chlorel returned, dragging the cloaked man tied up with ropes.
“Speak up. Who exactly wants to see me?”