The entrance to the Dungeon was in a secluded corner of Green Forest, a golden glowing portal that stood out with great game-like flair.

The three stepped inside. It was pitch black at first, with no light visible. After walking a few more steps, Lu Lin snapped her fingers, and several small fireballs appeared out of thin air, orbiting around the three to provide illumination.

With light, they could finally see the strange-looking plants and ores in the pitch-dark world, likely products unique to the Dungeon.

[Flame Magic]: A low-level fire-attribute magic. Its flame illumination is weak, but it conserves mana points.

'Mana points: unit of measurement, also called blue bar / blue gauge.'

“I said, let there be light, so there was fire,” Lu Lin muttered a rather chuuni line.

“Sister Lu Lin, your incantation is really novel.”

Knowing that Lu Lin was higher level, Xi had already changed her form of address from “little sister” to “sister.”

Ye Shenghua, having done his homework more thoroughly, pointed out the key:

“That’s not an incantation. Mages don’t need incantations; magicians do.”

“Then can Sister Lu Lin cast spells instantly?” Xi was somewhat incredulous. She had never encountered a mage before, nor did she like reading guides as much as Ye Shenghua.

“That’s right.” Ye Shenghua elaborated: “Magicians can only cast spells by chanting, using their own mana as a guide to borrow the power of the heavens and earth, or the power of deities. Mages, however, construct magic circuits in their bodies, converting the limited mana magicians use to communicate with the world into magic power, reforming spells into magic. Their physical structure is even similar to magical beasts. In other words, a mage is a humanoid magical beast, and magical beasts attract each other.”

As if confirming Ye Shenghua’s words, their discussion was interrupted by Lu Lin: “Shh.” Her gaze fixed ahead, and she said in a low voice: “Something’s coming.”

In her magic sense, not far away, there were several units with unusually fluctuating magic signatures, forming irregular shapes.

Hearing this, her two companions raised their weapons. At the same time, several protective items appeared, loading onto their bodies.

It seemed that equipment information could be hidden outside of combat.

Xi’s protective gear was very lightweight, simply adorned on her body like decorative pieces. But within, they brimmed with magic fluctuations—evidently not simple items.

Ye Shenghua’s protective gear, on the other hand, was heavy armor covering his entire body.

Xi glanced over and noticed Lu Lin was completely empty-handed. She asked, puzzled: “Mages don’t even need equipment?”

“I… I was short of money and sold it all…” Lu Lin blushed and said. She didn’t intend to reveal all her secrets, so she had to find a clumsy excuse to brush it off.

After all, her secrets included the fact that beneath her skin, she was a guy.

Though playing a female character in an MMO is normal, this was such a realistic full-dive game world—if a guy played as a girl, even if he was forced to accept this female character account, he’d still be considered a pervert, right?

“I see…” Xi pulled her system page down.

[You have received a trade invitation. Inviter: Kailin Xi. Do you accept?]

“What’s this?”

“Accept it, quick, don’t dawdle.”

With a thought, Lu Lin selected [Accept].

[Trade items: “Purplewood Staff 'fine'”, “Crystal Pendant 'common'”, “Crystal Chest Guard 'common'”, “Red Potion5”, “Blue Potion5”]

[Requested trade value: None. Trading player: Kailin Xi]

[Do you accept?]

Xi was actually giving Lu Lin items for free.

“I only have these mana-side equipment for now, and some potions. Take them and use them.”

Lu Lin paused for a moment, but didn’t dither. She could always repay her later. Right now, she simply replied: “Thank you.”

“No need to be so polite, we’re all sisters.”

‘I really am not a sister!’

Lu Lin equipped the three items, and her attributes improved by another step.

[Purplewood Staff]: Weapon, Spell Power +10, Mana Points +200

[Crystal Pendant]: Accessory 'Accessory Slot 2/5', Mana Points +300

[Crystal Chest Guard]: Accessory 'Accessory Slot 2/5', after being attacked, proportionally uses current MP or Magic Value to offset damage, up to 10% damage offset.

[Note: A mage can convert Mana Points into Magic Value at a rate proportional to the quality of their magic circuits, and Spell Power is converted into Magic Power at the same rate.]

[Current magic circuits: 50, conversion rate 150%]

The three stood on high alert. Ahead in their field of vision appeared seven Slimes of different colors, lined up in a row, bouncing along.

[Seven Slimes, red-name, level lv7]

'Red-name units are hostile units; players can actively attack.'

“Heh, a new species. My Adventurer’s Handbook rating just increased, and the Dungeon exploration level rose too,” Ye Shenghua’s face showed excitement. He said loudly: “Just focus on damage, I’ll tank the hits.”

Ye Shenghua charged forward while shouting.

However, Lu Lin and Xi were faster than him.

“Tch.” Seeing the advancing figures of two girls, a trace of disappointment flickered in Ye Shenghua’s eyes: ‘Xi is a swordsman, so her speed is understandable. But Lu Lin the mage is this fast too? This makes me look so useless… Could it be that I, as a knight, need to add some Agility too?’

Xi’s swordsmanship was agile and light, while Lu Lin’s magic radiance shone—it was her most powerful Holy Light Magic.

In just a few moves, “Seven Slimes lv7” turned into jelly chunks under the storm-like assault of the two high-level players, and finally dissolved into streams of light that merged into Lu Lin’s body.

“Magic Devour, a mage’s special physique.” Ye Shenghua was like a walking encyclopedia or Think Tank.

The magic power of the Seven Slimes merging into her body was a wondrous sensation for Lu Lin. If she had to describe it in terms of taste, it felt like eating mystery-flavored beans.

Through Magic Devour, she also had some unexpected gains.

[Devoured elite magical beast: Seven Slimes lv7. Magic Value restored by 20%]

[Detected player’s first time devouring this species. Max Magic Value increased by 300. Current Magic Value: 2300/2300]

[Detected player possesses prerequisite skill “All Low-Level Magic Mastery lv10 'max level'”. Conditions met to learn magical beast skill]

[All-Element Magic learned.]

[All-Element Magic lv1: High-level magic. Fuses the seven elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, light, and darkness—to obtain a colorful black.]

[Power: Spell Power x 150%]

[Effect: Omni-element advantage, deals 190% correction damage against targets weak against it.]

[Killed Seven Slimes. Loot obtained. Please choose a roll type: Greed, Need, Pass.]

After clearly seeing the results of her devouring gains, Lu Lin contentedly chose [Pass] on the roll interface.

However, this friendly act was quickly brought to Xi’s attention through a system prompt.

Xi became instantly furious and issued a harsh criticism: “Hey, Sister Lu Lin, what’s the meaning of this? Monster loot is distributed randomly, that’s the rule!”

Lu Lin didn’t understand why she was so agitated and was momentarily speechless: “Uh, I didn’t mean anything… it’s just…”

“Just what? Do you look down on this monster’s loot?” Xi pressed aggressively.

“Huh?” Lu Lin was baffled: “The beginner tutorial didn’t say you can’t pass?”

Xi didn’t know that Lu Lin was entering a Dungeon for the first time and assumed she was a “veteran,” leading to an unnecessary conflict between them.

Just as the two were at an impasse.

“Alright, now.” A reliable male voice mediated: “Xi isn’t an Easterner, is she?”

“What does that have to do with where someone’s from? Fair distribution—is there a problem? Does Lu Lin look down on us?”

Xi’s anger was instead further stoked by this remark.

But Ye Shenghua had already seen through the situation. He sighed and said: “We in the East value modesty and yielding.”

Seeing Xi about to erupt again, Ye Shenghua continued: “Although classmate Lu Lin wears a Western-style academy uniform and has sharply defined facial features from the character creation, you can see her Eastern temperament.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that you don’t understand the class traits of a ‘Mage,’ nor the Eastern personality. In fact, Lu Lin already reaped plentiful gains through the ‘Magic Devour’ skill, which is why she made the decision to pass on the loot. She’s not giving charity. She’s simply showing the same kind of friendliness you did when you gave her equipment and items. Classmate Lu Lin, am I right?”