Not knowing how much time had passed, Ruminas slowly woke up after feeling something touching her. At first, she thought it was just the wind blowing by, but then she suddenly realized that there was no wind in the cave.
Ruminas immediately jumped up, not forgetting to pull the blanket to cover her body.
She thought it was an enemy or something, but what appeared before her was a strange creature with a small body, only about the size of her hand. It had a humanoid shape but behind it was a pair of sparkling wings.
"What is this…?"
The creature saw Ruminas awake and immediately backed away, its face even showing fear towards her.
"What, I'm not afraid of you and you're afraid of me?" Ruminas found it a bit hard to believe but it was true.
"What kind of creature are you?" Ruminas asked, but the creature only showed a few reactions and had no intention of answering her.
"Do you not understand or do you not want to answer?" Ruminas frowned.
Ruminas had many questions, but she knew that if she examined it, she would know what kind of species it was.
"Appraisal"
[NPC: Shy Elf]
[Description: A kind but shy fairy who specializes in helping people who are lost in a cave alone. She can still understand what you say but because of her shy personality, she will not respond. Just follow her and you will escape from the cave]
[Characteristics: High recovery ability and proficient in magic]
[Weakness: Cuteness]
[Special: It is said that if you can make her open her mouth to talk, she will willingly follow you, but if you treat her badly, the shy fairy can also turn into a ferocious beast]
"Another NPC? The information is quite interesting."
Ruminas stared at the small spirit before her. The shy fairy hovered in mid-air, her transparent wings fluttering slightly, creating a faint shimmer in the darkness of the cave.
"Um, hello, I'm Ruminas, nice to meet you"
She introduced herself and held out her hand, but the timid spirit only backed away in fear.
"Alright, I'm a good person," Ruminas said with a shrug.
"So I can escape from here just by following you?" Ruminas muttered, her eyes filled with interest. She had never heard of this type of spirit before, but if the information from the appraisal was correct, then this might be the quickest way out of this damp and cold area.
The little spirit kept its distance from Ruminas, its round, sparkling eyes looking at her warily.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to eat you." Ruminas sighed, pulling the blanket tighter around her body.
The little fairy was startled and quickly took a step back, seemingly still not completely trusting Ruminas.
Ruminas curled her lips slightly. "As long as I make you talk, you will follow me, right?"
The little elf trembled slightly but did not react, just looking at her worriedly.
"So… your weakness is 'cuteness'?" Ruminas frowned. "It sounds a bit strange, but it's worth a try."
She reached out her hand, slowly reaching it towards the spirit. The little spirit was immediately startled, retreating a little, but did not run away.
"It's good that you don't run," Ruminas smiled lightly, then suddenly exclaimed, "How cute."
The little elf blinked, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Oh? It worked?"
Ruminas narrowed her eyes. "Hey, it's really cute. Those little sparkling wings, the way you're trembling in fear, you look like a lost little animal."
The little elf curled her wings, her face flushed, then suddenly turned away as if she couldn't bear it any longer.
Ruminas couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong? Have you never been called cute before?"
This time, the little elf turned back, using her two tiny hands to cover her cheeks, her eyes filled with embarrassment. But she still didn't say anything.
Ruminas raised an eyebrow. "Then let's try this…"
She suddenly reached out and gently touched the little elf's head. A soft feeling was transmitted to her fingertips, like touching a small cotton ball.
The little spirit immediately jumped, its wings flapping wildly, its mouth making a very small sound.
Ruminas immediately focused his attention, but unfortunately it was still not enough to be called "speaking up".
"Speaking up here probably means just talking or communicating normally, right? Isn't that a bit difficult?..."
"Then let's keep trying." Ruminas smiled mischievously, more interested in the challenge ahead than ever.
She stood up and got her clothes, after a night's sleep they were dry but the problem was they were dirty and had tears.
Ruminas picked up the pants, looked at the torn part and sighed. "Really! I didn't bring any needle and thread, and I can't just go exploring like this."
The little spirit stepped forward, its face looking at Ruminas' clothes.
"Do you have any idea?" she asked.
The little spirit nodded and flew over to touch the clothes. It started to mumble something in its mouth and Ruminas' clothes started to glow slightly. When the light disappeared, she saw that her clothes had returned to their original state.
"Awesome, thanks a lot, baby," said Ruminas.
The little elf swayed his body slightly, seeming to quite like this new nickname.
"Do you like it? Then I'll call you that from now on?"
The little spirit did not reply but just shyly turned away to show that it had agreed.
"Where are we now? Are we still in the dungeon from before?" Ruminas asked.
The little spirit nodded.
"Oh, it seems you know? Do you know where the 'evil heart' is? I need to tell you to complete the quest."
After Ruminas asked, the little spirit reacted, but this time its reaction was somewhat timid and fearful.
"What's wrong? Is there a strong one guarding that thing?" she asked again.
The spirit nodded.
"Well, it doesn't seem easy, but it would be a waste to fall all the way down here and not get anything," she thought to herself.
"Please, show me the way there. I really need it." Ruminas clasped her hands in front of her in a pleading manner.
The little spirit quickly waved his hand and nodded, it seemed like he agreed.
"Okay, let's go! ...But wait for me to eat."
Ruminas quickly took out some dry food from her item space, chewed a few bites, and drank some water to ease her dry throat. Meanwhile, the small spirit hovered nearby, seemingly observing her with curious eyes.
"You want to try it too?" Ruminas held up a piece of cake, but the little spirit just shook her head and backed away.
"Not eating? Or do you not need to eat?" She asked curiously.
The little spirit thought for a moment and then nodded.
"So you can live without eating? That's delicious, I wish I could too" Ruminas sighed, put away the food and stretched to stand up.
"Okay, let's go"
The little spirit flapped its wings and flew up, circled once, and began to lead the way. Ruminas quickly followed, still keeping a wary eye on his surroundings.
The cave seemed larger than she had expected. The walls were damp and jagged, obscuring her view, forming a natural maze. The passages narrowed, the faint light from the glowing stones on the ceiling the only source of light to help her see.
The little spirit occasionally paused, turning her head to look at Ruminas as if to make sure she was still following.
"Don't worry, I won't get lost." Ruminas smiled lightly, continuing on.
After walking a distance, the little spirit suddenly stopped in mid-air, flapping its wings to signal.
"Are there traps?" she asked, her eyes scanning the surrounding terrain.
The little elf nodded, then suddenly flapped its wings and flew high into the sky.
Just then, a thin thread of light flashed through the air. Ruminas immediately retreated, a sharp blade suddenly shot across the exact spot where she had just been standing.
"Well, welcome to the trap zone." She smirked, but inside she had become more cautious.
Before her was a long corridor filled with hidden traps. Every step she took could trigger some mechanism. Spikes could shoot out from the walls, or the ground could collapse at any moment.
The little spirit signaled Ruminas to stop, then slowly flew forward, using its small hands to lightly touch the air, as if feeling something. A moment later, it turned back and pointed at a stone slab on the floor.
"Oh? Is this place dangerous?" Ruminas bent down to take a closer look, noticing that the stone slab was slightly raised compared to the others.
She picked up a small piece of rock at her feet and threw it in.
Click!
Immediately, a row of sharp arrows shot out from both sides of the cliff, piercing the ground in front of her.
"Thanks, little one. If it weren't for you, I would have been skewered," Ruminas smiled, carefully following the little spirit's trail.
The road after that was extremely smooth.
The two continued to move, dodging traps, hidden traps, and attack mechanisms. There were times when Ruminas had to use her quick reflexes to avoid spinning blades or falling rocks from the ceiling.
Finally, after passing through the trap area, the passage opened up a bit. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Ruminas felt a familiar killing intent.
Cup!
The sound of something breaking rang out. From both sides of the cliff, tall stone statues began to move. Their eyes emitted a crimson light, and the cracks on their bodies glowed like lava flowing inside.
"Rock monster? Okay, it's been a while since I've had any proper exercise."
Ruminas clenched his weapon, ready for the next battle.