The Otherworldly Adventures of a Super Naive Girl

“Damn! There is something wrong with this path!” This came from a woman, middle-aged, most likely a magician.

“My qi’s also disappeared.
What’s going on? Is this part of the test for the second floor?” Even though no one could see her face, it was clear from her voice she was a young female sword user.

What a strange place.
“Xiao Wu, where are you?” Ming Xi called out.
His qi was also gone.
It was discomfiting to be an ordinary person without any power; however he was more worried about the naïve girl he was with.

“I’m here,” came a soft reply.
Her voice was calm and smooth, without a hint of worry or fear.

A pair of soft, smooth hands unerring reached out and held his.
The palms were so small and different from his own.

Just to be sure.
“Xiao Wu?” he asked.
He squeezed the hand in his grip testing the strength.

“Mm.” A returning squeeze came with the reply.
That squeeze… he was sure it was her.

“Xiao Wu, this is Brother Pei Qing!” He pinpointed Xiao Wu’s location after hearing her voice.
He was close by, so it was easy for him to find her once he had the vocal clue.

“Xiao Wu!” The voice belonged to Drew.

The four firmly held hands to keep from getting separated.

Others in the cave also did the same thing with those they knew.
Those who didn’t know anyone could only rely on themselves, trailing their hands on the wall so as not to get turned around.

It was too dark in the cave to see anything.
The sound of dripping water added to the eerie atmosphere and made the place more scary.

“Hey everyone.
Let’s consider it fate that we took this path together.
Since we’re together why not talk? It’s better than the silence.”

A young female voice replied enthusiastically.
“Yeah that’s true.
Let’s talk.
The quiet is too creepy.”

“What’s this level supposed to test anyway? There’s nothing but darkness.
I don’t understand what we’re supposed to do.” Another male voice replied.

The enthusiastic girl jumped in again.
“It might be testing our resilience.
In any case as long as we follow the wall we should reach the end sooner or later.”

“What?! Woman, this is a god’s tomb with a god’s legacy.
It’s not going to be that easy.” The speaker was a middle-aged man for sure.

What he said made sense.
Just darkness wouldn’t scare them, so there had to be more.

Even if no one had qi with which to sense their surroundings, they could tell there was nothing dangerous in the corridor they were in.
Thus far, the only bad thing was the corridor’s effect on their qi.

It may have been a bigger issue for budding adventurers, but aside from slight disconcertment, it wasn’t a problem for veterans.
The road ahead would get easier.

Feng Wu pulled on Ming Xi’s[notes] hand.
The small group stayed silent.
After all, in the pitch darkness the biggest threat wasn ’t the location but something else.

Ming Xi was gentle and kind to all the females at school, however it was always a cool warmth.
His identity was special and girls often targeted him, throwing themselves at him, because of it.
As a result he couldn’t bear to be touched by anyone of the opposite gender, and so avoided them as best he could.
Only a few close friends knew about his dislike of physical closeness to the female gender.

As a result, this was his first time holding a girl’s hand.
He gripped Feng Wu’s hand tightly.
The redness that swelled on his cheeks were well hidden by the dark.

Ming Xi smiled sardonically to himself.
Luis would have been so surprised if he knew.
The softness in his grip was strange, but he didn’t dislike it.
He couldn’t stop his smile.
He looked in the direction of the girl that kept persistently proposing to him.
He wasn’t annoyed by it – not at all.

Feng Wu felt happy.
Ink[notes] told her the first step to becoming a couple was to hug and hold hands.
The first step -holding hands- was accomplished.
So were they a couple now? Feng Wu was a little excited.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream.
A heavy object thudded against something immediately after.

“What happened? Did someone get attacked?!”

“Fuck! I knew it was too good to be true.
This place couldn’t be that peaceful.
No way it would only test our lack of qi in the dark!”

“Who made the first move?”

“Wait! What – what happened?”

Fear became a palpable thing that surrounded them as more voices crowded in the dark.
The line between life and death was a scary place to traverse.
Right now they were in the dark, without access to their qi.

The panic only made the situation worse.
Everyone went on alert.
What was attacking them?

“Ah!” Another scream.
It sounded even more harsh and jarring in the dark.

As though stimulated by the scream, many people rushed forward.
Even without sight and qi, sword masters had strong bodies that were still well-honed machines.
Even the physically weaker magicians did their best to run forward.

Feng Wu and her group also ran.
They ran before the last scream died away.

There were two reasons for the current situation.
One: something unknown was attacking them.
Two: someone within the group of twenty was making a move.