Chapter 34: Two Questions

“Boss, should I pack up the rest for you?”

Since I promised to treat the boss to meat, I have to make sure there’s enough!

Yu Yan stopped after eating just a small piece, and it was certainly not because she was full or satisfied. Zhang Quan swallowed hard; with pork from a Howling Boar like this, he could devour seven pieces in one sitting! Sadly, Howling Boar meat was hard to come by, and he hadn’t managed to obtain it more than a few times.

Whenever he did get some, eating it brought nothing but deliciousness—no other benefit. Yet when Lu Hao and the others ate it, their bodies would be greatly strengthened.

For the sake of the team’s long-term growth, Zhang Quan could only restrain his appetite. Lu Hao and the others were considerate enough to eat the Howling Boar meat away from him, keeping their distance. That made things bearable for Zhang Quan—unlike this time.

To curry favor with the boss, Zhang Quan not only couldn’t eat the meat, but had to watch the boss savor it.

The rich aroma filled his nostrils, and the sizzling, oily meat sat before his eyes. He couldn’t help but drool. If even Zhang Quan struggled so much, the others around him were worse off.

Especially Wang Dazhu, Shang Youliang, and those who had never tasted Howling Boar meat.

Their eyes shone green with longing; they nearly wished to snatch the meat from Yu Yan’s hand.

Part of it was greed, but another part was a thirst for strength. Lu Hao, Hao Guangming, and Song Xiaoqing had all seen their physical abilities soar after eating Howling Boar meat. Not only that, they’d gained partial resistance to fire.

The small fireballs launched by Howling Boars would only scorch a patch of skin on them.

But for the others, two hits would cost them half their lives.

“No need,” Yu Yan waved her hand, though she was honestly a bit tempted.

However, considering the strength of Zhang Quan’s group, getting this much Howling Boar meat must have been no easy feat. Yu Yan didn’t want to take advantage of them. If she wanted Howling Boar meat, she’d rather hunt some herself in a dungeon. “Zhang Quan, right?”

“I ate your meat, but I won’t eat it for nothing.”

“You may ask me two questions. If I can answer them, I will do my best.”

A flicker of joy flashed across Zhang Quan’s face. “Thank you, boss!”

Ever since the arrival of the dungeon world, he’d had many questions—about the dungeons, about his abilities. Yet most people, including Lu Hao whom he had once thought impressive, knew even less than he did!

This troubled Zhang Quan deeply. After thinking for a moment, he asked the question that concerned him most: “Boss, why does eating Howling Boar meat make Lu Hao and the others stronger?”

“I eat Howling Boar meat, but I don’t feel anything at all?”

Was this a sign that his strength would forever plateau, while Lu Hao and the others would have limitless potential, eventually catching up and surpassing him? Whenever he thought of this, Zhang Quan was kept awake at night.

If he’d never been strong, it would have been one thing.

He was used to being crushed and looked down upon.

But lately, he was the strongest in the team, and their admiration—even bordering on fawning—greatly satisfied his vanity. Especially Song Xiaoqing, whom he once regarded as a goddess and who had never before spared him a glance.

After the dungeon world arrived, her attitude grew kinder by the day.

Just a few days ago, she actually agreed to accept him, to be with him!

It was something Zhang Quan had never dared to dream.

But all of this was built on his overwhelming strength compared to the rest of the team. Zhang Quan knew full well that Lu Hao’s flattery and Song Xiaoqing’s willingness to settle for him had nothing to do with his personal charm.

They simply coveted his powerful abilities.

To keep enjoying all this, he had to maintain his advantage!

Yu Yan looked at Zhang Quan with sympathy. “You want to grow stronger?”

Ordinary ability users without a spirit vein mark can’t absorb or refine spiritual energy of attributes other than their own. Zhang Quan’s teleportation was of the spatial type, and powerful spatial abilities were matched by the rarity of spatial materials.

In nearly a hundred dungeons, only one or two might feature spatial creatures.

And those spatial creatures had a common trait—they were notoriously fierce!

Yu Yan herself had died at the hands of a sneak attack by a Spatial Falcon in her previous life.

All this meant that obtaining spatial materials was at least ten times harder than getting ordinary materials. Zhang Quan had been extraordinarily lucky to gain teleportation; trying to further his strength would be much more difficult.

Poor Zhang Quan didn’t know this bitter truth yet; he nodded fervently, “I want to!”

Watching Lu Hao and the others grow tougher with each passing day, Zhang Quan felt a pressing sense of urgency, even though at present they posed no threat to him.

“Boss, I won’t always be stuck at this level, will I?”

Lu Hao and the others, ears pricked to listen: “…”

You call this ‘stuck at this level’? For heaven’s sake, what does that make us!

“Not necessarily.”

Yu Yan’s answer relieved Zhang Quan, though that relief came far too soon. “Your teleportation is a spatial ability, so you need to seek out spatial creatures and obtain materials from them.”

“By the way, it has to be something you can absorb and refine. Feathers or bones won’t work.”

These could be sent to a craftsman to be made into weapons or equipment.

But Yu Yan didn’t mention this; after all, she’d only eaten a piece of Zhang Quan’s meat—a low-grade spirit beast meat. It wasn’t enough to make her share everything she knew. “Of course, there’s another way to enhance your abilities.”

“That is, find a spirit item of grade eight or higher, develop a second ability, or obtain a spirit vein.”

“As for what counts as a grade eight spirit item… Let’s put it this way: the lotus leaf fragment you ate was grade seven.”

Zhang Quan: “…”

Whenever spatial creatures were mentioned, he thought of the “Lake of Light and Color” dungeon.

And whenever he thought of that dungeon, even though he was now far away in Su Xi County, he shivered uncontrollably! He never wanted to enter such a terrifying dungeon again.

As for grade eight spirit items, even refining a grade seven lotus leaf fragment had caused him untold suffering, again and again.

Grade eight spirit item? No thanks!

He’d rather go back to being the useless, incapable Zhang Quan he once was.

In the end, Zhang Quan placed his hopes on the “spirit vein” Yu Yan mentioned. “Boss, what is a spirit vein?”

“A spirit vein is a special type of material that gathers the essence of a dungeon creature’s entire body. The more common types are plant spirits from plant-type dungeon creatures, blood crystals from animal-type creatures, as well as insect crystals, ore spirits, and elemental spirits.”

“The latter ones are beyond most people’s reach.”

In truth, even plant spirits and blood crystals were not things ordinary people could covet.

Yu Yan herself had spent three years in her previous life without ever touching either.

Thinking of this, Yu Yan’s gaze grew complicated as she glanced at Zhang Quan.

Throughout history, there are always a few people blessed with outrageous luck. While ordinary folk (especially herself) struggle desperately and risk their lives for materials they may never obtain, others can gather them effortlessly, as easily as eating or drinking…