Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"The core is... the enchanter should act as a middleman... between life and elements, magic, materials, and items, rather than resorting to forceful buying and selling. I see, I see. I've really learned something."

After instantly understanding his idea, Yu Man's intuition told him that it was correct.

This echoes the strong resistance I encountered when trying to directly mediate fifth-order materials.

"Looks like I can help you."

"I have to thank the guy who argued with you, and...thank you, Senior Cat." Yu Man knew very well how difficult it was for Senior Cat to talk to people online in the appearance of a cat for dozens of pages, and then to find all kinds of tricks to get the point across.

"Hmm." Senior Cat was very happy to be praised. "Xiao Man, you have a good attitude. You don't have the pride of a completer, but you can actually learn from these first-round players."

"...On my playthrough, I didn't really understand Enchanters. This is also my playthrough, so it's normal to check guides and ask others, right?"

"That's good."

Senior Cat said nothing more, only feeling proud of himself for helping. But they also knew that this was more for Senior Cat himself.

However, before Yu Man was about to return to the Old World to try again, Senior Cat suddenly asked, "Xiao Man, Xiao Man, could you take a screenshot of the gold coin inventory for me?"

"I can... What are you going to do—" Yu Man suddenly understood, "You have to continue fighting."

"Well, then just break away with this blow and let him suffer to death."

"Hey, how could you do this to a master enchanter? After all, he's my benefactor, right? Wait, I'll go to the shop to collect the rent, collect all the funds, and give him a large sum."

……

With Senior Cat's help, she adjusted her mindset and completed her journey to the old world.

She now has two things to do. The first is to finish reading the dragon's ballad, and the second is to upgrade to an enchanter.

But each one is quite difficult.

And there is——

"Why did you go offline for so long just now... If it wasn't a critical moment in the dungeon, I would have gone offline to find you to see if you were okay." It was a private message from Xiaolu.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm going to win the Triple Crown."

"That's understandable."

The little deer was able to get the Triple Crown, and he knew very well the uniqueness of that cat.

Unlike most cats, which often seem psychotic, eccentric, and sensitive, this one was incredibly intelligent and incredibly sensitive. Spending time with Triple Crown felt strangely safe, without the worry of being scratched or bitten. And most importantly... adorable.

However, Xiaolu now has something even happier: "Yeah, I finished the fourth-level dungeon and got a fifth-level ticket."

"...So awesome? So smooth?"

"After forging the soul weapon, I feel like everything is going smoothly. This dungeon is a pure fighting dungeon, with monsters all along the way, and three bosses taking turns to fight. It's really fun, brother."

With Xiaolu's expertise and equipment, soloing a dungeon of this level wouldn't be difficult, but judging by her calm demeanor, she must have speedrunned the entire way. She truly thrives in this world... Not bad, not bad.

"Now?"

"Of course, keep fighting, level five!"

Yu Man thought about his recent gains - one of the steps in upgrading the enchanter was collecting elements.

Obviously, Shimlabakken could only collect ice elements, which was not conducive to development. And with the frozen sea surrounding it, there was no way to go to other islands to collect environmental elements... So, there was only one way.

"Master Jiandui Lulu, can you bring a burden with you?"

"Hmm? Who in the guild? Someone with such a good relationship? And you, the guild leader, actually asked this personally?"

"Well...I...I want to row in the back."

"So he's the president."

103 Drama

Just like that, Xiaolu's joking wish to take his sister to the dungeon was realized in such a wonderful way.

Although this sister is not easy to take care of.

In Xiaolu's opinion, this is a test of himself by Yu Man.

She still remembered the first real dungeon Yu Man had taken her through, a strange fifth-tier dungeon. Inside, resided a writer who had penetrated the narrative layer and realized that he was merely part of someone else's entertainment.

She was useless on that trip, and now it was her turn to solo a dungeon of this level...

Fortunately, Yu Man will follow behind her, protect her, encourage her, and witness everything that happens to her after she becomes stronger...at least that's what Xiaolu thinks.

In this case, I have to show some attitude.

"Don't worry, brother. Let's watch my performance."

"As expected of the contemporary number one swordsman and the world's most famous online celebrity, the Jian Dui Lu Lu God, his words are full of energy."

The exaggerated joke made them both laugh innocently, and then - Xiaolu opened the admission ticket to the copy.

They walked side by side to a corner of the illegal area and entered the copy.

……

But things didn't go so smoothly.

"What's there to be nervous about...it's just a crappy horror dungeon, right?"

"I, I'm a little scared..."

The name of this copy is "Night and the Sleepless". There is no additional record, but after entering, I found that it is a bit mysterious.

First, the surrounding scene is dark and unknown, but not completely empty.

A faint shadow would occasionally appear in people's peripheral vision.

But if you follow those shadows with your eyes, you will be obscured by bottomless darkness and can't see anything.

Only when you gradually forget about this matter - those dark shadows will reappear and pass by, making your scalp tingle.

The air smelled of charcoal and decay.

"...The magic lamp...isn't working..." The deer began to get nervous. "This is weird. It seems like the darkness can't be dispelled at all...What should I do?"

Why are you asking me? I'm just here to get some specialization points and collect some environmental elements...

But even though he thought so in his heart, Yu Man still dispelled these thoughts.

Because - the girl in front of him who was about to be swallowed by the darkness was indeed afraid.

"At times like this, you don't need to get too caught up in the game. Think about real life, think about your worries, and you can distract yourself."

"……What's the meaning?"

"For example, when you wake up in real life, you can greet the morning light and delicious morning tea, and everything you are experiencing right now is just a minor challenge, a slight disturbance in your emotions, and it is completely insignificant. It is essentially the same as waking up in the middle of the night and hearing strange noises in the house, but not daring to look."

"...Then...what are those strange noises in the room?"

"Uh, some noises caused by thermal expansion and contraction, or maybe just the vibrations of the house?"

"Really..." Xiaolu moved closer to Yu Man, his eyes blurred and his face worried. "Could it be that...something special...is causing trouble? It's like..."

She pinched her pretty cheeks and pulled gently.

Is the little deer being cute? Or is she trying to pinch herself to dispel some of her fear?

But something is not right.

The deer's movements became more and more dramatic, and its eyes became strange.

Then—she tore open her face with force, revealing a corner of sticky black.

"Like me?"

The sticky black tore through all the daily feelings of "Little Deer" and turned into phantoms that rolled up and down and constantly surrounded Yu Man.

This resulted in Yu Man being seriously frightened.

She instinctively took out her magic book and summoned the strongest local snowfall, tearing apart all the darkness and the terrifying existence in it.

"Damn it, I won't scratch it anymore, I'll just speed through it. You son of a bitch, how dare you lie to me like this..."

But when Yu Man finished saying this, she discovered that what she had torn apart with her magic power was actually a curtain.

This curtain hangs down from a height—

Inside is a stage-like area, and outside is an auditorium made up of layers of stairs.

"Thank you for your performance."

And the only audience member sitting there applauding.

Thinking it was interesting, Yu Man looked down.

A hunchbacked, bearded old man sat in the best seat with an uninhibited attitude. His shabby yet once-noble attire revealed his appearance, and he stretched out his wrinkled hands, clapping continuously for Yu Man on the stage.

He said: "The great passerby easily tore the script apart and easily penetrated the drama - good, really good."

A level-clearer? To be able to say that… this guy must be someone quite important.

Yu Man waved her hand, and magic and the book combined to create a reality-altering ice element. It transformed into a luxurious chair, allowing her to sit on the stage. This was her way of making amends for the loss of face she had suffered. Regardless, she had indeed fallen for a minor trick.

"Let me guess, you are the one who tells lies."

"...Not really, but I can't say no either." The hunchbacked old man spoke quickly, his voice tinged with a false old age. "Regardless, I am indeed working for that boastful deity this time, so let's just assume it's true."

Yu Man snorted in disdain.

She has completely understood.

——This is a reply.

In the form of a copy, the game administrator who governs "lies," the Supreme Being who is one of the Three Secrets, replied to her in this way. As for the content of the reply? It's obvious that it's about Senior Cat.

"I've temporarily opened what you call a dungeon for you, but since you broke the script and the drama so quickly, as a token of respect and apology, I'll make up for some of your gaming experience."

This guy speaks in a roundabout way, and his style is different from those game copywriters, but it's all a headache.

But fortunately, what this guy did next was surprisingly easy to understand.

He waved his hand, and the ice chair where Yu Man was sitting, along with her, was instantly moved to the audience seats.

The black curtain that was torn apart by Yu Man has now been restored, slowly revealing the scenery inside.

Act 2: Swordsman

The play passed the intermission and entered the second act.

And the main character strolls onto the stage - it's the deer.

In a lonely wilderness, she walked confidently and proudly, completely unaware that she was a character in a play. Her wilderness was also darkened by the curtain, and similarly, black shadows of flowers and plants moved back and forth on the stage, adding to the atmosphere of the stage setting.

as well as--

There was a dark shadow holding a cartoon portrait of a Yu Man character, playing another role.

——The companion of the deer.

"Eel, how can we dispel this darkness?"

"...I, I'm a little scared." The black shadow playing Yu Man was holding her stand and trembling slightly, as if to express the character's panic.

The little deer was very surprised: "Are you trying to make your brother happy? Who are you to be afraid?"

The drama on stage proceeds naturally.

The two audience members in the audience each had their own insights.

"--How about this? Isn't this compensation good?" asked the hunchbacked old man.

"Very good, very good. Although I feel a little disgusted when I think about how you looked at me like this before...but I have to say, I feel a little happy when I look at others." Yu Man spoke the truth.

"It is customary to remain silent at a play—but it is also customary to talk about things while the play is playing."

"Then - how did 'lie' reply?" Yu Man understood what he meant.

The little deer on the stage has been acting with the black shadow who plays Yu Man.

The latter, however, dressed Yu Man up as a lovely, pitiful girl who was afraid of the wilderness, loneliness, and ghosts.

The deer gradually realized that something was wrong, but he was enjoying the play so much that he let the drama continue.