Chapter 288 - 53: A Gift from Duan Fei

"And here I thought this was a clever hint."

With his trap seen through, the rabbit reluctantly returned Cuihua. He then picked up a bowl, pointed at the characters on the bottom, and said, "There’s a hint under one of the bowls. It says, ’One of the bowls.’ Just drink from this one, and you can pass."

"Is it that simple?" Duan Fei asked suspiciously. "You’re not deliberately leading us down the wrong path, just to stab us in the back, are you? Or... doing something else to satisfy some depraved, beastly urge?"

"For a Slime, you have a very dangerous mind. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a creature like you," the rabbit said with a sigh.

"Just tell me, will you do it or not?"

"I won’t." The rabbit shook his head irritably. "It’s not what you think. I’m not one of the Demon King’s subordinates. I used to be an Adventurer, too, until I lost to him. You all need to be careful. Adventurers who lose to the Demon King are forcibly turned into his servants. That’s how he got me. After that, I had no choice but to work for him and guard this place."

"You’ve already been to the twentieth floor?" Duan Fei asked in surprise.

"No, but the Demon King sometimes appears on the upper floors, so you’ll have to be careful. Anyway, you’ll need to rest here for a day. I have to sew some clothes tailored to your sizes. The next section of the Dungeon requires you to wear specific attire."

"Your Profession is tailor?"

"Mhm."

When Duan Fei learned that the rabbit also had a Profession, and that it was tailor, he immediately leaned in and said excitedly, "Can I work with you? I want to learn some new skills."

The rabbit looked at Duan Fei dubiously. "I get the feeling you’re up to no good, little guy."

"I don’t have any of those."

"So you have no shame either?"

Be that as it may, the rabbit still let Duan Fei stay and work with him.

When the rabbit saw Duan Fei’s tongue flitting up and down, handling the needle and thread more expertly than he could with his own two hooves, he felt as if his decades-long tailoring career had been a complete waste.

"You’re a tailor, too? How long have you been doing this?" the rabbit asked.

"A pretty long time. Almost five minutes now."

Turning his head, the rabbit pointed at Duan Fei and said to Darts Guest, "Can I slaughter him? Don’t worry, I’ll do it as slowly as possible so he can savor every moment of the pain."

"Please, be my guest. Not only will I not stop you, I’ll even cheer you on."

"Me... too..."

"That’s enough out of you guys!" Duan Fei shouted indignantly.

’Having the tailoring Skill must be a hidden easter egg for this floor.’

The traits of the tailor Profession, which he’d copied from the rabbit, allowed Duan Fei to process leather rapidly and craft all sorts of items with special effects.

Moreover, the needle and thread the rabbit carried were no ordinary goods; they were all Purple-Quality items. Even the leather the rabbit gave Duan Fei was Purple Quality, allowing him to leverage his top-tier tailoring traits to sew gear for the three of them.

「Before they knew it, a day had passed.」

Duan Fei looked with satisfaction at his finished creations: five pairs of gloves.

"Dragon Skin Gloves x5: Uncontaminated, Purple, Extractable.

Description: Gloves personally crafted by Duan Someone. Can be worn even without hands, and automatically grants the user a pair of hands.

Upon equipping, gain Power +3, agility +1.

Equipping these gloves automatically grants Fire Immunity, All Damage -1, and comes with the active Skill [Dragon King Divine Power].

[Dragon King Divine Power]: Doubles the Strength Attribute for 5 seconds."

Not only did the item have excellent Attributes and come with its own Skill, but it was also incredibly stylish and exquisitely designed.

Best of all, he’d gotten all the materials for free!

Meanwhile, the rabbit silently stared at the Purple-Quality gloves Duan Fei had crafted, then glanced at the blue-quality items he himself had made, and felt like he was about to cry.

’And my tailoring skills are supposed to be Master Level!’

As the rabbit teared up, Duan Fei handed a pair of gloves to each of his teammates, finally ending the awkward predicament of them only being able to use their mouths instead of hands.

He then generously gifted a pair of gloves to the rabbit.

Staring at the gloves Duan Fei offered, the rabbit’s ears started spinning like propellers. Still, he eyed Duan Fei warily and asked, "What are you trying to butter me up for? I’m not going to get happy over this, you little jerk! You want some roasted mushrooms?"

"No, thank you. I just have a few questions. Why are you helping us players? Aren’t you one of the Demon King’s subordinates? Of course, you don’t have to answer if it’s difficult for you."

The rabbit thought for a moment before saying, "It’s not that big of a deal. The Demon King doesn’t demand our Loyalty. He just has us design a few challenges to give Adventurers a hard time. That guy... how should I put it... I think he’s a lonely person, too. Maybe because we’re both creatures who are afraid of loneliness."

"Oh, I see... Wait, you were a rabbit to begin with? You weren’t hit with a Curse that turned you into one?"

"Yeah, I’ve always been a rabbit. You have a problem with a rabbit becoming an Adventurer?"

"...Nope."

Cradling the Dragon Skin Gloves from Duan Fei, the rabbit immediately put them on and began examining them from every angle, unable to stop looking.

You could tell he really loved the gloves.

He took out three blue-quality hats and personally placed one on each of the three players’ heads. "The next floor is underwater," he said, "but these hats will let you breathe down there, so you can all go on ahead."

After a moment of thought, the rabbit suddenly stood up and, cradling the three players, walked toward the pool in the backyard.

As he walked toward the pool, he said, "After receiving a gift of this quality, I can’t just sit by and do nothing. Let’s go. I’ll personally take you through the third floor. The bosses there aren’t the talkative type, but I’ll make them talk."

Seeing the rabbit crack his knuckles, Duan Fei knew someone was about to have a very bad day.

The backyard pool was filled with murky water. As the rabbit stepped into it, Duan Fei felt the entire pool transform into a passage, carrying the three players down into a pitch-black tunnel.

After they entered the tunnel, the stone stele outside the Dungeon also changed.

This stele recorded the achievements of all Adventurers, and players’ records also appeared on it for anyone to view.

Most people weren’t interested in it, but some were.

For instance, the player ranked second in the world: Eight Desolates.