RNP Page 149
Page 149
[A vicious dog? You couldn't help but glance at the watchdog, which looked remarkably like a Shiba Inu and was grinning foolishly, but you weren't convinced at all. However, you observed it from a distance for a while, not immediately approaching.]
"Hey, isn't that a Gold-Eating Hound? Is this a dwarven ruin?" At this moment, Gan Gan finally found the name of this kind of dog in her memory. She scratched her head and continued, "Should I go see if I can communicate with it? Maybe it can understand my dwarven language?"
You stroked your chin, looking at the vast cave and the thin stream flowing through the rock crevices, glanced at the deep tunnel in the distance, and said to Gan Gan.
[A. Be careful, it might be starving, don't let it turn into dog food; B. Let's look around first, it seems like there's a hidden gem here; C. Let me do it, I'll suckle; D. You look quite fresh today, the pink is so delicate... How old are you now?]
“A…no, no, no, let’s go with C!” Latis scratched his head speechlessly, feeling his thoughts abruptly interrupted by the simulator’s abstraction.
As you and Gan Gan nibbled and suckled, you walked toward the gold-devouring dog. Seeing you approach, it seemed very happy, opened its mouth wide, and enthusiastically rushed toward you.
Your heart skipped a beat, and you clenched your fist.
Two minutes later, you looked at the gold-devouring dog clinging to a piece of ore, wiped your sweat, and thankfully Gan Gan explained quickly enough, otherwise you almost wanted to punch its head in the head.
You shook your head, watching the dog start defecating shortly after finishing its meal of ore. You suddenly realized that this strange creature could sustain itself by eating stones; judging by that, you wondered how long it had been tied up here.
You sighed and gave the heavy bronze door a hard pull... but it wouldn't budge.
You frowned. Had you pushed it? Then you pushed harder, but it still wouldn't budge.
"Strange," you muttered, feeling around the unlocked bronze door before finding a row of dwarf figures at the bottom.
[GanGan glanced at it and told you that this line of text means "Cannot be opened from this side."]
Chapter 157 How can someone who doesn't dare drink the foot bath water claim to like her?
"Aaaaaah! Hidetaka Miyazaki!" you screamed in impotent rage, viciously pounding on the bronze door for several seconds. Aside from a few bronze fragments shattering under the miner's power, the door remained completely unmoved.
Meanwhile, Gan Gan had already started chatting with the dog. You listened to her babbling things like, "The food here is awful," "Are you also an out-of-town dog like me?" and "Oh, so you're a local." You couldn't help but sigh.
The Gold-Eating Dog has joined your team.
[The Gold-Eating Dog has left your party because it found the chain around its neck couldn't be opened.]
[Where is the way: You watch as the dwarf Gan Gan very politely picks up the gold-devouring dog's remains with a bag, and decide not to waste any more time lingering here. You look around the entire cave and make your decision.]
[A. Use the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains to defeat the Bronze Gate with his mining skills; B. Continue deeper into the cave; C. Ask the dog for directions; D. Return to the previous mine tunnel to continue mining.]
"What the hell?" Radist frowned immediately. "Do A and C really have any actual plot significance? Can they really lead to a new storyline?"
Just as he was about to choose to delve deeper, the simulator's description of the integration strategy suddenly came to mind.
"With the help of the Goddess's Water, every choice has its own risks and benefits?"
Latis stroked his chin and decided to give it a try.
"Choose A!"
You take a deep breath and make a decision that completely defies common sense. As someone with superhuman strength, you are equally extraordinary, even against the Bronze Gate! You bring your fist to your waist, sensing the miner's ability activated within your soul, and suddenly throw a punch, shouting ferociously, "I'll take on ten!"
With Jennifer's instantaneous divine enhancement, you punched out the mineral portion of the bronze door, one punch after another. Although the scene, somewhat like squeezing out blackheads, was mentally polluting, you finally confirmed that this decision was entirely feasible!
After half an hour of endless "Ora Ora!" chants, the bronze gate, riddled with holes, collapsed to the ground with a weak thud.
After the gate collapsed, you were surprised to find that the dog's chain had also broken free from the damaged wall. It barked happily twice and ran to your side.
The Gold-Eating Dog has rejoined your team.
You stretched your aching wrists for a while, then led the two women and the dog towards the dark doorway.
[Current spacetime balance: 65. You have entered a new area: "Dwarven Outpost". You have gained Miner Strength +2, Brewer Strength +1, Thief Strength +3, and Follower Strength -1.]
"Entering a new area, or rather a new node, allows for further upgrades? That's really roguelike... But what's with the -1? Are all you dwarves atheists?"
Latis stroked his chin and pondered:
"Speaking of which, what exactly is spacetime flow? It was mentioned in the previous simulation. Could it be the simulator's energy reserves... or something like operating rules? I'll write it down for now."
He continued looking at the simulated text.
The long-sealed dwarven ruins are unveiled before you. In the nearby basement, a door is lifted, and a shattered wine cellar emits a musty, fermenting stench. A forging table and some strange tools appear before you. You cover your mouth and nose, brushing away the dust around you.
Jennifer's orb of light emitted a hazy glow amidst the swirling dust. You squinted, feeling the scene was dim, disorienting, and almost unreal.
[Hesitant: You walked around, the stone and wood inlaid floor structure masking your footsteps with its own creaking sounds. You discovered that the place was roughly divided into three areas: first, the main hall containing forging tables and tools; second, the basement containing cellars of wine and books; and third, the attic, which you guessed was the bedroom. After thinking for a moment, you decided...]
[A. Check if there are any Forging Stones 8 in the Forging Station; B. Go for a swim in the Wine Cellar; C. Unleash your full potential and go to sleep in the bedroom! D. Don't do any RNG, just ask the Keeper for a dice roll.]
"Ugh, I'm getting a sixth sense. I feel like a major failure is waiting for me..." Latis scratched his head and couldn't help but complain.
"I can't stand having the option of a troublemaker kicking down the door placed in front of me! I'll choose D!"
[You heard the laughter of the Dice Goddess in the darkness and thought you were favored by fate. So you swaggered up a pillar, intending to take advantage of Jennifer's light to survey the whole house.]
However, the moment you reached the top, a cracking sound reached your ears. You looked up, silently staring at the cracks in the ceiling. Amidst the collapsing pillars, you heard the mocking voice of the Dice Goddess, "You worthless fish, you worthless fish!"
[In the chain reaction caused by the collapse of the pillar, you see the basement, which served as a wine cellar, also collapse. You quickly activate your flight spell and, amidst the silent magic underground, escape the ruins with Jennifer, who is enveloped in divine power.]
Watching the gold-devouring dog panting as it ran to you carrying Gan Gan in its mouth, you patted its head encouragingly and looked back at the ruins you had just seen.
Although you knew you might have lost something valuable, you cautiously returned to the edge of the ruins. Glancing at the buried main hall, your eyes suddenly lit up – you spotted a path just outside the collapsed wall of the top-floor bedroom!
[You, carrying the dwarf in one hand and the dog in the other, jumped onto the remaining half of the bedroom with Jennifer. Glancing at the mess in the bedroom after the bed had fallen, you suddenly noticed a scroll placed under a plate of rotten, moldy food.]
You picked up the scroll and glanced at it. It read: "Damn it, I got scammed! Aaaaah! Fuck the goddess of magic, fuck her to death! Damn it, so good!"
"What the hell..." you couldn't help but mutter, scratching your head as you looked at the scroll—whether it was a letter or a message—before finally putting it away.
Although many things may ultimately be completely useless, you, who are used to being a junk collector in the game, have diligently implemented the "never leave empty-handed" principle.
"It must be the thief's strength that affected someone's habits..." you said, still unwilling to give up. After confirming that there were no more noteworthy clues, you led your team into the path behind the wall.
This is a very strange path. Rather than a road carved out of the rock, it looks more like a pre-existing path. The low, continuous stone pillars on both sides make the path look odd, but when you turn your gaze to Gan Gan, you realize that these low stone pillars are actually just right for her.
[So this is the dwarf city wall? You suddenly realize, noticing the remnants of firewood in the occasional fire pit along the way, that this might be a "Great Wall" connecting the dwellings of some dwarf settlement.]
[You continue walking forward, and after about ten minutes, a large stone gate with a water-filled recess appears before you, blocking your path.]
Gan Gan readily translated the dwarven script on the door, explaining that it meant "to pass through by pouring freshly made wine into the wine vat."
[On-site brewing? You think of your brewer's skill level and a confident smile appears on your face. Then you look around and, sure enough, find a complete set of equipment.]
[There's water, distillation equipment, and a brewing vat solidified with an acceleration spell, but where are the ingredients? You scratch your head, looking at the withered, unidentified raspberry bushes and brewing yeast on the ground, and fall silent.]
[Hesitant: Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Even you can't conjure fresh ingredients out of thin air. Even if you could pull some fruit from a dimensional rift, without flavoring bacteria, you could only make juice. You hesitated for a moment, then decided...]
[A. Why are you always blocked by doors? Can't you live without doors in this life? You should immediately pray to the "Key to the Door" and ask the Outer God to open a door for you! B. Punch the door again with a series of normal punches; C. Touch the entire door like a pervert and then confidently shout "Killer Queen"; D. Domineeringly remove Jennifer's leg armor and wash her feet.]
"...Let's get something reliable!!"
Latis clutched his head and cried out in anguish:
"I don't want to choose from these options anymore! I want to choose them all!"
He took a deep breath, glanced at the options again, frowned, and said weakly:
"Choose B... wait, let's choose D instead. I want to see what kind of trouble you can cause me."
Faced with your sudden domineering behavior, Jennifer glanced in alarm at Gan Gan and the dog, who were still watching with great interest. She protested softly for a few moments before you pinned her against a stone pillar and roughly ripped off her boots.
[You gently sniffed the unexpectedly dry, warm, stiff riding boots, then eagerly touched her soft calves, your wicked hand sliding down her trembling, tense leg muscles to her pale soles.]
Overwhelmed by the shame of being watched, Jennifer extinguished the orb of light above her head. But then, she realized with even greater despair that she was the only one still emitting light, completely unable to conceal herself!
You chuckled, stuffing the tree fruit you were carrying into a bucket filled with water, then dipped her delicate feet into it as well. With each press, the juice from the fruit was squeezed out by Jennifer's smooth little feet, leaving a faint reddish tinge in the clear water.
"Ugh!" She instinctively lifted her foot, looking at the instep that was already stained with a little fruit juice, and exclaimed angrily, "What... what kind of strange idea is this! Can't you play with it tonight, when we get back tonight?!"
"I'm doing this seriously!" you said solemnly, grabbing her foot and stomping on the fruit for a while longer. Then you washed the juice off her feet, lifted the bucket, and after a series of extraction and filtration processes, poured the water into the brewing barrel.
[You sensed the solidification spell on the brewing barrel begin to activate, and after waiting for half an hour, you chuckled and opened the barrel.]
Ah, the wine, stained a translucent, fruity red by the maiden's jade-like feet, with a few drops of fruit pulp settling to the bottom, seems to still exude the vibrant, sunny aura of the maiden after being shaken! You scoop up a spoonful of wine, gently touching it, and find that the maiden's bright warmth still lingers! You sigh, unable to help but exclaim, "This wine should only exist in heaven; how often can one find such delight on earth?"
[You reluctantly poured the fruit wine into the wine pool above the gate, and under the light shone by Jennifer's relit orb, you skillfully used your thief abilities to slip a bottle of fruit wine into the dimensional rift.]
The fruit wine in the wine tank slowly seeps into the built-in wine container inside the gate. You listen to the dripping sound as you wait for the gate to open.
[After waiting for an unknown amount of time, just as you were about to confess because you hadn't had enough liquor to go without stealing a bottle, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the door. After slowly moving inward for a meter, two openings appeared on either side of the door, large enough for a person to pass through.]
You exhaled, peeked to both sides to make sure they all led to the same hall, and then led your team inside.
After a series of mechanical sounds, the hall slowly lit up. You looked at the embedded minerals around you, sensed the stored power of light within, and nodded curiously.
[As the world's most renowned blacksmiths, the dwarves' ingenuity in architecture is truly astonishing. You stroke your chin, thinking that you might one day hire a dwarf to build some mechanisms or something for your mage tower.]
[You quickly surveyed the hall and concluded that it was likely a rest stop or inn. A wide dining table stood in the center, with several low stools casually placed to the side. Opposite you was a large door that appeared to lead to another path, while on either side, one side had a workbench for repairing equipment, and the other side held some spare saddles and other vehicles.]
[Seize the day: Just as you were about to explore the inn as usual, you suddenly heard the sound of running water behind you. Turning around, you saw what looked like a water dispenser behind the door, from which clear red fruit wine was being poured into several two-liter glasses. At the same time, several plates of old, hard bread and biscuits slowly rose onto the central table. Looking at this remarkably humane scene, you decided...]
[A. Take a small sip of the Jade Foot Wine; B. Drink the entire cup of Jade Foot Wine; C. Finish the entire Jade Foot Wine; D. Eat the food on the table.]
"What the hell is this 'live for the moment' nonsense?! Do I look like someone with low moral standards?!"
Latis rolled around in bed a few times, muttering curses as he spoke:
"Bread that's been sitting for decades is definitely inedible! Compared to that, even the wine the little knight soaked her feet in seems much cleaner! No, rather, she's covered in ultraviolet rays, so bacteria and fungi are absolutely nonexistent, right?!"
After very quickly convincing himself, he raised his middle finger to the ceiling and said viciously:
"Damn it! If you're going to drink, drink the big cup! How can you say you like someone if you don't dare drink the foot bath water your loved one has? I'll gulp it down! If you push me too far, I'm even capable of sucking on her feet!"
Latis vented his anger, then sat up abruptly. After taking a few deep breaths, he glanced around furtively, sighed in relief, and muttered under his breath:
"Thank goodness no one heard. Damn it, if someone made such a twisted story into a history book, would I, La, still be alive? Wouldn't I be socially dead?"
He exhaled a breath of stale air, lay back on the bed, and smiled leisurely:
"Thinking back to those netizens who openly exposed their fantasies in my past life, I just want to roar! Now I can expose myself however I want, it's so incredibly satisfying!"
Chapter 158 I am the dog of the Goddess of Magic
[Under the horrified gazes of the two women and the dog, you inhaled nearly ten pounds of Jade Foot Wine in a whirlwind. One can only say you truly deserve to be called a warrior with super digestive abilities! While drinking, you even stomped your feet, loudly praising the wine's absolutely exquisite taste...]
[However, the next second, your glass clattered to the floor, your face flushed, and you staggered onto the table. Amidst your teammates' frantic attempts to help you, you stubbornly uttered, "Hiss, I'm not drunk," before peacefully closing your eyes and drifting into a deep, baby-like sleep.]
[Current spacetime balance: 80. You have entered a new area: "Dwarven Royal Court".]
In a daze, you see a small throne standing before you. Through your blurry vision, a fluffy white-haired loli stands up and says in a majestic yet magnetic husky voice, "Oh? So, there's a day when royal wine was brewed? Who are you?"
Hearing that deep voice, you rubbed your eyes in disbelief, blinking hard at your drunken eyes. Then, the double image of the white-haired loli in front of you slowly cleared, transforming into an old dwarf with a white beard.
You remained silent for a moment, closed your eyes and let the alcohol take effect, then opened them again. The old dwarf in front of you had transformed back into a white-haired loli.