"Hmph, of course. Although I'm not as good as you, I've been rigorously practicing all year. Getting stronger is only natural."
Xin Mang smugly unfurled her four fluffy white tails.
Over the past year, not only had the number of her tails increased, but they had also grown longer, fluffier, and smoother, each like a soft pillow.
A vague sense of worry emanated from Bai Jin sitting next to Xin Mang, but he couldn't help staring at Xin Mang's four fluffy tails, hesitatingly wanting to touch them but trying hard to refrain from causing trouble for others.
"Is it simply because of becoming stronger that you went from two tails to four tails?"
Through the panel, Yang Yu could see that although Xin Mang's level hadn't increased much, her attributes had skyrocketed over the past year.
On a personal level, she fully possessed the strength of an S-Class adventurer.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to deny your efforts at all.
I just remembered the old man guarding the gate, the Blood Lion, seemed to have said that you are from the Multi-tailed Fox clan.
I also remember him saying that your tribe's bloodline is so diluted that even three tails are rare."
"You can't just casually call that person the old man guarding the gate; his name is Grandpa Tong He." Xin Mang said with slight displeasure, retracting the four tails behind her.
Yang Yu apologized, "Sorry, it's Grandpa Tong He, I've remembered. I'm a bit curious about the ecology of the Multi-tailed Fox clan. If it's inconvenient, we can drop the subject."
"For the sake of you being the negotiator, I'll forgive you this time," Xin Mang said. "Since you asked, let me tell you about our clan.
Actually, it's no secret.
In our clan... it's almost impossible to distinguish which are Fox Beastmen and which are the Multi-tailed Fox clan."
"Do most of them have only one tail?"
Xin Mang nodded, "Only when a Fox Beastman grows more tails or when one clearly knows their ancestors belonged to the Multi-tailed Fox clan can they confirm their identity as a Multi-tailed Fox.
As you said, the offspring of a Multi-tailed Fox are born with a single tail. Some, over time, gradually split into a second, a third tail...
While some, their entire lives, have only one tail.
When I was young, my mother always told me that even if I grew up with only one tail and didn't have many tails like hers, I shouldn't feel inferior.
This is the current state of our Multi-tailed Fox clan.
Honestly, I think it doesn't matter which are the Multi-tailed Foxes and which are truly Fox Beastmen.
As long as we can stand up to protect this country in times of crisis, we are brothers and sisters."
Yang Yu adjusted his mask, "That's quite a straightforward thought."
Xin Mang laughed, "Straightforward? Sometimes being straightforward isn't bad. People often make straightforward things unnecessarily complicated."
Yang Yu nodded, "That's not wrong."
"I've answered so much, can I ask you something now? There's something I've been quite curious about."
The silhouette of a city appeared on the horizon, and Yang Yu casually replied, "What is it?"
Xin Mang raised her hand, covering her mouth, and leaned closer to Yang Yu with a mysterious air: "I heard from Sister Glan that you conquered that Super Large Underground Maze. Did you get something like a key?"
Yang Yu, exceedingly calm, asked in confusion, "Key? What key?"
Xin Mang leaned back against the carriage seat in disappointment and sighed, "How unfortunate, it seems you didn't get it..."
Feigning sudden interest, Yang Yu pursued, "The key you mentioned, what exactly is it?"
Xin Mang didn't hide, "It's something from the adventurer's circle. In recent years, the number of Super Large Mazes has been on the rise.
These Super Large Mazes are highly challenging, and upon conquering them, you often receive generous rewards.
S-Class adventure groups flock to them, though occasionally there are accidents...
But, people in S-Class adventure groups are those capable of becoming S-Class adventurers.
As long as they have enough time, they can figure out the rules of the maze, discover the monster's weaknesses, and complete the strategy.
That's how the Super Large Underground Mazes have been conquered.
In those mazes, S-Class adventure groups often pick up strange pages of books.
Upon defeating the Maze Guardian on the final floor, they often receive a strange key along with the Legendary Equipment.
"I see. Have they figured out what the keys are for...?" Yang Yu asked tentatively. Get full chapters from NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Xin Mang shook her head, "The information I have is from Sister Glan. As the leader of the [Wild Warrior], she was recently interviewed by a reporter from [Adventurer's Peak], who mentioned the situation of other S-Class adventure groups.
It's rumored that if you gather a certain number of keys, you might find the Ancient Treasure left behind by Hero Lux.
At least three S-Class adventure groups have begun searching for keys, trying to decipher the dropped pages from the maze.
It's said that they're even willing to exchange Legendary Level items for keys.
This year's issue of [Adventurer's Peak] has already been released, but it'll take some time to get it overseas.
If certain S-Class adventure groups want keys, or some wish to publicly trade the keys they've obtained...
They should advertise on it."
Yang Yu was silent for quite a while.
It seemed the Underground Maze wouldn't wait for him to clear them one by one. The quicker one gets them, the better.
To avoid S-Class adventurers wreaking havoc, there's an unwritten rule among S-Class adventure groups.
With rules, a unique system of interests is created.
To gather the specified number of keys, one doesn't necessarily have to conquer each and every Underground Maze.
Yang Yu didn't know exactly how many keys others had, but he was sure that as time passed, others would have more keys.
If they collected them before he did, who knows what would happen.
Fortunately, conquering a Super Large Maze wasn't an easy task.
S-Class adventure groups might all covet the keys but wouldn't let go easily.
Yang Yu said, "Some might openly seek them, but others might hide them."
"There's a possibility. We'll have to wait for the latest issue of [Adventurer's Peak] to make a conclusion. Do you want one? If so, I can bring you a copy."
Xin Mang remained as helpful as ever and knew better than Yang Yu how to get that magazine in Wansheng Country; bringing an extra copy was just a simple task for her.
Yang Yu knew this, but...
"This time, it's unnecessary. I'm only momentarily interested in adventurer matters."
Yang Yu declined Xin Mang.