Right when Zhen was walking to the Adventurer Guild to meet up with Sara and Kuro. He saw many people with excited expressions running in town.
'What the heck are these people running around excitedly? Did they take some drugs?'
Zhen looked at everyone in confusion and wondered what's wrong with them.
While Zhen was thinking if these people ate some drugs, he heard them speaking with excitement to their companion.
"Did you hear the news guys?"
"What news and why are you looking like some crazed fool who hasn't eaten for days?"
"Sigh, you ignorant fool. There is a new dungeon popping out in the inner core area of Forest of Trove. NEW DUNGEON! Do you know what that means?"
When Zhen heard that person shouting something about a new dungeon appearing in the inner core of Forest of Trove, he was shocked.
'Why would a new dungeon appear out of nowhere and at this time when the black mage is scheming against something. C-Could this dungeon have something precious inside that the black mage is after?'
When Zhen thought about what would happen if his conjecture is correct, Zhen cursed inwardly in hope that he did not jinx it.
'I have to hurry up to meet up with Sara and Kuro to see if they know about this new dungeon.'
Afraid of it being true, Zhen hurried his movement to meet up with Sara and Kuro instead of skipping happily from beating Aaron Flare.
6 minutes later~
*Huff* *Huff*
'I had never run this much from my entire life, I hope Sara and Kuro finish their mission already and are in the adventure guild. Otherwise, all my running is wasted.'
Thankfully, his effort was not wasted when Zhen saw Kuro and Sara coming out from the guild.
"Sara, Did you hear..."
"About the new dungeon appearing in the inner core area right?"
"Uhh, it seems like you heard about it. So what do you think we should" Zhen asked Sara since she has heard the news already.
If she wants to explore the dungeon then he wouldn't mind accompanying her.
But if she doesn't then Zhen would go and explore it as he wants to investigate and his curiosity on how a dungeon look makes him feel excited.
Zhen waited for an answer when Sara seemed to be pondering about what to do.
"I think we should check it out at least since I'm curious about this dungeon too. Besides we have you and Kuro who are completely abnormal in terms of magical power." Sara smiled as she said her thoughts.
"....."
Zhen couldn't help but have a weird expression when Sara mentioned his magic being abnormal.
'It's not like I want to be irregular, I was simply blessed with cheats when my luck is too good.'
Of course, Zhen wouldn't dare to say that aloud since Sara would label him crazy or narcissistic.
Since they decided to explore the dungeon tomorrow, Zhen offers for them to go to Lily's Mirage for some lunch as he has earned some pretty hard work money.
If Aaron Flare were to hear his remark on the money he earned, he would have fainted. Not only was he beaten to vomiting crap, but he was also forced to hand in 80% of his gold to Zhen.
However, Sara didn't know how Zhen earned the money so she gladly accepted his proposal. She wants to try out Lily's Mirage food too since it was too expensive to dine in.
Since her boyfriend is treating her and it is only right to spend her man's money, she has no guilty feeling. She would eat him poor for plucking her flower.
Zhen didn't know about Sara's intention and was honored to be the guide to Lily's Mirage. When he entered the restaurant, he was shocked as he was greeted by a different hostess.
'What happened to the previous hostess?'
Zhen was confused why she wasn't here as she gave him a unique feeling after he increased his cultivation.
Zhen gave a soft sigh in not trying to fry his brain from overthinking, he kindly said, "3 people" to the new hostess.
"I understand, please go to table #7 and there will be a waitress to take your order in a minute." The new hostess kindly replies since she knew the customer should be a regular to say how many people before she could even ask.
Zhen, Kuro, and Sara walked to their table before scanning through the menu. Zhen couldn't help but sigh at the menu whenever he saw the pricing here.
'Opening a restaurant earns way more than those fool out in the open, risking their lives to earn money which could only afford 1 or 2 dishes here.'
"Sara, what dishes do you want to eat? Feel free to order anything you want."
"Hmm, shall I order 10 dishes then since Kuro should be hungry enough to be capable of eating that many?"
*Cough* *Cough*
Zhen couldn't help but choke on the tea he was drinking. '10 dishes.... that's over my budget since I only have around 60 gold.'
Sara, seeing Zhen ashen and pale face couldn't help but giggle as she was simply teasing him.
'Hmph, let's see if you dare to tease me again. Women are always deadly when it comes to revenge so you should never offend a woman.'
Sara smiled while thinking about how her small punishment was able to make Zhen petrified like a statue.
"I'm just joking, I think ordering their famous top 4 dishes should be enough for us." Sara continues since she didn't want to tease him too badly.
However, her change of words has ruined someone's happy mood. Kuro became downcast when he heard about the 10 dishes order being a joke.
'My dear Sara, you can't play with my little heart like that. I have been bullied by Master and now Sara is joining hands with Master too. What crime did I commit in my previous life?'
Sadly for Kuro, they didn't bother with him nor asked for his opinion as Zhen continues to tease Sara back for joking with him.
"Hehe, Sara, since when did you become so cheeky to me," Zhen asked Sara while putting his hand around her waist and giving her a peck to the cheek.
"Who told you to always fool around and not be serious. This is simply a small little punishment."
"Fine, I'll stop fooling around you and be flirty with you then," Zhen replied and smooch Sara before she can reply.
When Zhen was about to move his hand to try and take advantage, a waitress approached the table and asked if they had decided on our dishes.
Zhen gladly replied on having their best 4 dishes before flirting with Sara again. It's a shame that they couldn't continue their lovely atmosphere as the customer started loud chattering.
"I heard this new dungeon is completely different from the usual dungeon. They have an advanced mechanism and multiple traps."
"Yea, I heard lots of people have died in traps when exploring."
"But we have to thank them as we now have an understanding of the dungeon."
"Mhmm, that's right, I have a map here that is just made which indicates the deadly traps and location of the mechanism and according to my intel, there is a load of spiritual treasures and spirit stones lying in a different room."
When Zhen heard those customers talking about the dungeon, his suspicion of this new dungeon only increased further.
There is never free lunch in this world and Zhen is pretty sure those spiritual treasures and spirit stones are simply the appetizer before the main course.
Otherwise, the black mage wouldn't be planning to destroy the town to obtain whatever they're going for.
'Seems like I really have no choice but to intercept the black mage's plan on whatever they're trying to get. Sigh, I can only hope I won't be in a deep shit scenario.'