After acknowledging the reality, they started chasing their husbands to the crematorium

What should I do now?

Lyle stood somewhat bewildered on the street.

With no recreational activities in mind, he had never considered where to go if he didn’t go to the library.

Buying two steamed buns from a street vendor, Lyle contemplated while munching.
“How much longer until you reach the forty-fifth level?”

Lyle turned his head to find a redhead young woman.

She wore a gradient light blue dress and delicate, translucent silk.

She had a refined, attractive oval face. It was Beryl, the adventurer and leader of the Crystal Tear Adventuring Party, who was also vying for the position of the Mythos Adventuring Party.

She was the formidable opponent that Xiya had imagined.

Lyle often saw her in the market when he set up his stall to sell the items he gathered in the dungeon. Every time, she looked vigilant, so he hadn’t expected her to initiate a conversation today.

“I don’t know,” Lyle shook his head.

Beryl frowned, “You can’t even say that?”

“I truly don’t know,” Lyle sighed, “I’ve already left the Moonlit Blossom.”

Beryl was taken aback, “Really?”

Lyle nodded. On both personal and professional levels, Beryl’s heart churned.

As a competitor, she had thoroughly studied this team. No one knew how many people died in the dungeon every day.

The Moonlit Blossom’s progress in dungeon exploration is indeed lagging compared to the Crystal Tear.

However, the Moonlit Blossom has maintained a failure rate of zero so far.

This is an extremely impressive figure because it means that every time they enter the dungeon, they reap substantial rewards.

“You look like you’ve been kicked out, huh?” Beryl clicked her tongue.

Lyle sighed, “It’s not something to be proud of, so there’s no need to keep bringing it up.”

Beryl pondered for a moment, “Would you have time to join me for a drink?”

Lyle hesitated.

“Don’t worry, your Highness Xiya won’t be going out at this time,” Beryl smirked.

…

Beryl ordered a pitcher of beer and brought two large glasses.

Lyle hadn’t had a drink in a long time. The three young ladies at home never allowed him to drink, citing the presence of men in the house as unsafe and the unpleasant smell of alcohol…

Beryl took a big gulp and then leaned comfortably back in her chair.

“There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask. On the forty-third level, that crystal corridor with countless lava lizards, how did you manage to get through it so quickly?”

Lyle thought for a moment, “Lava lizards are obsessed with red berries. We threw them off the crystal corridor into the abyss while feeding them the berries. They all jumped down like dumplings.”

The two of them exchanged glances.

There was clear astonishment and disbelief on Beryl’s face, along with a mix of complex emotions.

Lyle felt quite awkward. “I thought of it in the library after three days of pondering. Xiya got really mad at me for this and said it delayed our progress.”

Beryl’s beautiful eyes widened slowly, giving her a somewhat adorable look.

“What library?”

“The library adventurer’s log, the sixth book on the thirteenth floor, fifteenth page.”

“Somebody actually saw the lava lizards leave the crystal corridor and go crazy devouring red berries in the eastern forest on the forty-third floor, even ignoring themselves…”

Beryl interrupted him, “Logs? Are there really people foolish enough to read those densely packed adventurer diaries and farewell notes?”

Lyle fell silent for a moment.

“I’ve almost finished reading all of them. Don’t you all look for strategies before running dungeons? Don’t you study monster ecology?”

Lyle was puzzled, “Isn’t this what scholars are supposed to do?”

Beryl’s lips twitched. “It’s precisely because even you think that way that Xiya doesn’t appreciate our scholar. Our scholar hides behind us, telling us the lava lizard’s weaknesses, which armor parts can be roasted with fire, and where to cut with a knife.”

“I don’t know many of those things,”

Lyle sighed, taking a sip of beer that felt chilling.

“They’re all in the academy’s textbooks, but I can’t access them.”

“But our tactic is to kill them one by one, well, as that top student at the academy would say, it’s safe and reliable.”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“After killing them for fifteen days straight, I feel sick just seeing a lizard now. I wish I could gouge my own eyes out.”

Lyle was taken aback.

Beryl drank quickly, getting a bit tipsy, her face flushed. “This is what the academy’s top students are like, Lyle.

Do you know I dream of having you?

You are truly the most imaginative scholar I’ve ever met.”

Lyle hesitated. In truth, he wasn’t quite sure how other scholars went about their work. Everyone kept their thoughts and methods to themselves. He hadn’t attended school either.

One can only figure it out on their own. Are they all just rushing in blindly? Am I the only one trying to make things work?

“Lyle, I actually wanted to invite you to join the Crystal Tear Adventuring Party,”

Beryl leaned on her elbow, her beautiful red pupils filled with desire.

“Me?”

Lyle was puzzled.

“Didn’t you recently recruit a scholar? Xiya mentioned that they were a top student.”

“What top student? That’s just a starving jackal,” Beryl looked annoyed.

“I have to split the dungeon earnings with him four ways each time, and he keeps harassing my female party members. Just because he’s studied for two years, does that make him arrogant?”

Lyle sighed as he clutched his glass.

“Education is essential; there are so many books I want to read but can’t access.”

Beryl said seriously, “I’ve studied the Moonlit Blossom. Honestly, I might understand you better than Xiya does. Your decisions and plans show remarkable imagination.”

“Thank you, but I’m tired,” Lyle shook his head. “I want to take a break.”

“Do you really like Xiya?”

Lyle chuckled, “Do you think so too?”

To be honest, Xiya was quite cute. Speaking of which… he wouldn’t mind seeing her regretful and desperate…

Lyle’s expression changed slightly as he realized that his thoughts had taken a wrong turn. He quickly patted his own cheeks.

“Everyone thinks that way,” he said.

Beryl had had a bit too much to drink, her gaze hazy.

“Actually, you look quite handsome, and you’re a nice person. Now that we’re not enemies anymore, I find myself quite fond of you. Really, those three young ladies have been spoiled by you.”

“Talking about this is pointless; I’ve already resigned,” Lyle shook his head. Adventure isn’t just about swords and magic. So Lyle naturally assumed all the darkness and heaviness behind this beauty. Of course, he never said these things. There’s no need for it now.

Beryl clinked her glass against his. “It’s not worth it.”

As a scholar, he was both a quartermaster and a servant. He sold materials and crystals in the market, ate steamed buns without having time for proper meals.

When he returned, he had to bring three beautiful cakes for the three young ladies and hand them large piles of gold coins to buy pretty clothes and equipment. He had done enough.

“If I had a scholar like that, I’d probably be laughing in my dreams, right?”

However, Lyle leaving the Moonlit Blossom is also something to celebrate.