Chapter 26-Could She Really Be A Genius?

"Li Yao, do you want some?"

Seeing what Qin Yue took out from her storage ring, Li Yao's eyelid twitched.

"Is this really what you brought to a dungeon run?"

"Yeah." Qin Yue pulled out two bags of potato chips and handed one to Li Yao. "Wu Shu and the others used to carry me through dungeons anyway, so I never had much to do."

Li Yao was at a loss for words.

Narrowing his eyes, he looked ahead.

The first goblin settlement had already been cleared by his three summoned beasts.

As expected, the Goblin Warlord appeared at the settlement's edge.

Seeing the massive creature in the distance, Qin Yue put down her snacks, her expression turning serious.

"Will this be troublesome?" she asked, a bit worried.

Now that they were tackling the dungeon as a duo, the difficulty had increased by 25%. She feared she would drag Li Yao down.

"Not really."

Li Yao shook his head lightly.

He was only paying attention to the Goblin Warlord to gauge his summons' current strength.

After all, his Shackles ability was still on cooldown.

When it came time to face the Goblin King, he would need to rely on his summons.

Soon, the battle began.

The Goblin Warlord was powerful, even surpassing the final boss of the Master difficulty level.

However, Li Yao had underestimated just how strong his three summons had become.

His equipment had undergone a major upgrade.

In turn, his summons' stats had skyrocketed.

Not to mention that the Void Mantis had reached an absurd 1,600 Strength.

With the Void Predator tanking at the front, an invisibility skill in play, and the Azure Bird providing debuffs and slow effects…

It only took a brief exchange.

The Goblin Warlord's health dropped to a sliver.

Crunch!

Seizing the opportunity, the Void Predator bit down hard.

[You have slain a Boss-tier creature: Goblin Warlord. EXP +12%]

[Void Predator has completed an evolution devour. Max HP +8,250]

Two golden flashes illuminated the battlefield.

"I leveled up!"

Qin Yue let out an excited yelp.

By now, she was completely numb to how ridiculously powerful Li Yao's summons were.

Even taking down such a strong boss no longer felt surprising.

Meanwhile, Li Yao had finally reached Level 16.

After Level 10, every level-up became exponentially harder.

Even though he had entered the dungeon already at Level 15 (90%), it had taken until now to push past the threshold.

Dungeon experience was distributed based on contribution.

Although Qin Yue hadn't done much, she still received a base amount of EXP.

For her, an 8th-level player, that was enough to push her straight to Level 9.

Excitedly, she ran over to the boss's corpse, scooped up the loot, and presented it to Li Yao like a treasure.

"Young Master Li, please do the honors!"

Li Yao ignored her theatrics.

He opened the treasure chest.

Qin Yue immediately leaned in, eyes sparkling.

"So this is a Nightmare-difficulty loot chest…!"

"Whoa! Golden-tier loot!"

"A Legendary Helmet!"

"Quick, check if you can equip it!"

Her eyes were practically twinkling.

It was her first time seeing a golden-tier item drop from a chest.

Li Yao glanced at it and shook his head.

"Knight-class gear."

He stashed the helmet in his storage ring.

"Don't worry," he said. "Once we clear the dungeon, I'll let the Qin family handle all the extra loot we don't need."

"Young Master Li, if you're putting it that way… I know exactly how to handle this!"

Qin Yue grinned, her eyes curving into crescents.

Then, with a dramatic flair, she took her Silver-tier Robe and started wiping the Void Mantis's razor-sharp claws.

"Mantis Bro, you worked hard! Let me clean you up!"

She didn't seem to care at all that the robe was now covered in sticky goblin blood.

"Big Bug Bro, here, try some chips!"

Before long, the Azure Bird swooped down, carrying a pile of colorful loot in its talons.

Li Yao stored the equipment in his ring one by one.

Then, they continued their sweep through the remaining goblin settlements.

An hour later—

Li Yao reached Level 16 (21%).

Qin Yue jumped to Level 11.

The difference in experience requirements was night and day.

Li Yao had gained more than twice the experience she did, yet she had still leveled up faster.

Now, they stood before the pyramid—the dungeon's final battleground.

"Next up is the final boss," Li Yao said. "Stay back when the fight starts."

The Goblin King was intelligent.

If it realized the summons weren't easily defeated, it might target the players instead.

Li Yao wasn't worried for himself.

But Qin Yue?

If she got hit even once… she'd probably go meet her ancestors.

Seeing the serious look on his face, Qin Yue nodded quickly.

"Maybe I should just stay here?"

After all, her goal was simply EXP and the final clear rewards.

If she stayed far enough away, she might miss out on some experience—

But that was a small price to pay for staying alive.

That previous big goblin boss was already terrifying.

She couldn't even imagine how strong the final boss would be.

"You still want your contribution score to be even lower?"

Li Yao smirked at her cowardice.

"It's a summoner-type magic boss. It won't move too fast. Just run if you have to."

"Got it!" Qin Yue responded with a firm nod.

Soon—

A horde of Goblin Elites appeared before them.

Just like before, the Goblin King sat upon its throne—but this time, its gaze was locked onto them.

The first time Li Yao had come here, that cold, twisted stare had sent shivers down his spine.

Now, Qin Yue's legs were trembling so much she nearly collapsed.

Sometimes, a true powerhouse didn't need to lift a finger.

Their mere presence could suffocate weaker beings.

If Qin Yue had come here alone—

She wouldn't even need to be attacked.

She would be paralyzed by the Goblin King's aura, left helpless as the goblin elites tore her apart.

But Qin Yue was optimistic.

Watching Li Yao's summons tear through the goblin horde like unstoppable war machines, her fear vanished.

"Li Yao, is that boss stuck in some kind of mechanic?"

A thought suddenly struck her.

"If it can't move, why don't we just go beat it up now?"

"Hm?"

Li Yao raised an eyebrow.

"That… actually makes some sense."

But they needed to test it first.

The Azure Bird's Glacial Storm was steadily expanding.

If left unchecked, it would soon reach the Goblin King.

Its slow effect might give them enough time to retreat if things went south.

The icy winds swirled forward.

Qin Yue pulled her cloak tighter, eyes fixed ahead.

A single snowflake landed on the Goblin King's body.

[-251]

Its eyes turned blood-red.

Two magic circles appeared beneath its feet.

"…We're screwed!"

Qin Yue gasped, suddenly feeling like a child caught misbehaving.

Li Yao, however, simply stared at the magic circles in surprise.

Could she really be a genius?