Chapter 18: The Price of Progress: A Secret Revealed

“Another wave of invaders approaches! Brothers and sisters, charge!”

While the monsters of the Fire Fox Tribe lacked true intelligence, they possessed more human-like characteristics than the previous speechless, gibbering creatures, as they could speak human languages.

Given they were a “Fire Fox Tribe,” this implied a civilized community where all monsters walked upright like humans, distinguishable only by their fox-like heads and beastly limbs.

Every monster here was a red-named monster (TL Note: Monsters that are aggressive and will attack players on sight.), which meant they would actively engage players, unlike yellow-named monsters (TL Note: Monsters that are neutral and will only attack if provoked by a player.) that only attacked when provoked.

Perhaps the game contained many intriguing mechanics, and this Fire Fox Tribe might have a storyline of its own, but regrettably, the players were already too high-leveled, and with the seven-day deadline to capture the Azure Dragon looming, these intricate details had become utterly meaningless.

“Ah! Charge! Experience points, here I come!”

Chen Lili, leading the charge, plunged into the monster horde, swinging her massive “Tiger Claw Gauntlets.”

Despite having only a weapon and no armor, Level 75 monsters, while formidable, could not inflict fatal damage upon a Level 100 player.

“Ahhh! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Why is their damage so high? I can’t hold them off much longer, come help me!”

Recalling her previous assertion, the damage from the Level 75 fire-attribute monsters was indeed considerable, and they were not alone.

Besides the vanguard of “Fire Fox Warriors,” several “Fire Fox Mages” followed close behind.

Rushing in without any defensive measures was tantamount to seeking death.

“Sister Chen, remember to use potions! I’m coming to help you!”

Xingxing thrust her “Antlered Spear” into the foremost Fire Fox Warrior, instantly depleting a third of its health.

Following suit, Chen Lili landed a punch, which, though not causing much direct damage, triggered a “Rend” (TL Note: A status effect that causes the target to take increased damage and bleed over time.) effect, causing the Fire Fox Warrior to take increased damage while continuously bleeding.

“Nectar Orb!”

Xue Hu, whose character was a petite loli (TL Note: A Japanese slang term referring to a young, often underage, girl character.), was not well-suited for close-quarters melee combat.

While character size typically didn’t matter in regular games, this was a first-person perspective controlled by a real person, making physical inconvenience a genuine issue.

Nevertheless, Xue Hu had collected numerous items and orbs along the way, allowing her to simply throw things from the backline.

Neither Chen Lili nor Xingxing expected her to rush to the front and fight.

As blue and white raindrops pattered down, Chen Lili was astonished to witness her health visibly regenerating.

Not only that, but the Fire Fox Warriors, struck by the raindrops, writhed in agony, as if being torn apart by a thousand blades.

With the assistance of this miraculous “Nectar Orb,” Chen Lili and Xingxing swiftly cleared the frontline Fire Fox Warriors, then collectively turned their attention to the spell-casting Fire Fox Mages in the back.

The Fire Fox Mages, though dealing high damage, had lower health and defense than the Fire Fox Warriors, and were quickly eliminated by the trio.

It was then that Xue Hu noticed a quick, yet unmistakable, flash of white light shimmer across Chen Lili’s body.

Xingxing, facing away from Chen Lili, remained oblivious, but Xue Hu, observing from the rear, saw it clearly.

‘Could this white light be…’

Xue Hu sensed that things were becoming more interesting; she immediately pulled up the party roster.

Indeed, it was so!

Chen Lili had leveled up!

“Sister Lili, I have a question.

Why are we still Level 100, but you’re already Level 101?”

Seizing the moment before the monsters respawned, Xue Hu penned her query on a wooden tablet.

“We’re in a party, fighting monsters together, right?

Could it be that as the captain, you receive more experience points?”

In a time-sensitive race for first place, the issue of leveling was particularly sensitive.

Xue Hu couldn’t ignore it, and neither could Xingxing.

Thus, when Xue Hu posed the question, Xingxing instantly ceased looting the corpses, turned to glance at the party roster, and then fixed her gaze on Chen Lili.

Though Xue Hu seemed merely to ask a casual question, and Xingxing said nothing at all, Chen Lili could already feel an incredibly tense atmosphere.

Chen Lili immediately offered a smile and said, “As for that… it’s naturally not because I’m the captain.

Everyone in a party receives the same experience points.

However, this is related to my side quest…”

Chen Lili paused briefly, then continued, “Well, you all should know about my side quest, right?

I mentioned it at the plaza before: I aim to be the first girl to reach Level 150.

Although none of you are willing to reveal your own quests, that’s alright; I won’t force you.

Not only that, I’ll tell you another secret, and I hope you can trust me.

Shall we stick together in this party until the game ends?”

“You mean you’re going to tell us another secret?

Why?

What’s in it for you?”

Xue Hu looked at Chen Lili with some surprise, writing each word carefully.

“To be honest, I am indeed curious why you’re leveling up faster than us, but even if you reveal all your secrets, we won’t share ours.”

“I know, I know, perhaps I’m what you’d call a Saintly Mother (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘shèngmǔ,’ often used ironically or critically to describe someone who is overly idealistic, self-sacrificing, or acts with a holier-than-thou attitude.), but I’m definitely not a fake Saintly Mother (TL Note: A derogatory Chinese slang term, ‘shèngmǔbiǎo,’ referring to someone who feigns compassion or virtue for selfish reasons, often engaging in moral grandstanding.), so I won’t morally blackmail you into doing anything,” Chen Lili said, shaking her head with a smile.

“My secret is simple: for every female character I party with, the experience I gain increases by 10%; for every male character I party with, it decreases by 50%.”

“So, you’re currently gaining 120% of the original experience?

That explains why you’re leveling faster than us,” Xue Hu wrote after a moment of thought.

“No wonder you fell out with Hank and them at the beginning; you simply didn’t want to party with them.

They would only drag down your leveling speed.

You’re not a ‘Saintly Mother’ at all; you’re truly calculating.”

“No, no, no, I’m only doing this to complete my side quest, please believe me!

I will absolutely accompany you both to Level 200 before we go capture the Azure Dragon!”

Chen Lili quickly waved her hands, saying, “I’m not an overly sentimental person, but I truly value friendship.

If we’re going to face life and death together for seven days, I would never abandon you and run off first!”

“But how can you prove what you’re saying?

How can you guarantee you won’t sneak away?”

Xingxing, showing no trace of her initial nervous shyness or stuttering, spoke sternly, “Once you complete the main quest, the rest of us are doomed to die.

What good is making promises to a group of dead people?”