After seeing him handle that disgusting spider creature, Berry Fairy knew how effective Lixin's tea-based attacks were. However, she also saw his damage output. Considering how long it took him to kill that insect she knew his level should be low.

So she couldn't help but wonder how they would turn the tables on those creatures. Did he have some special tea-related skill or something?

Lixin noticed her apprehension and decided to quell it by showing her what he meant. After all, seeing is believing.

Shifting the corpse he held in his arms he concentrated on the Dextrim skill Panax before sticking out his hand and whispering, "Steep!"

A shiny, green cup materialized in his hand, adorned with red flowers wrapping around its base. He was surprised to see that instead of tags appearing above their heads, there was a holographic image of a ginseng plant.

"Serve!" he commanded, knowing it wasn't the time to get distracted by the differences between the two different tea styles.

The teacup lifted into the air and then shattered explosively, splitting into two streams of green liquid. These streams spiraled up their bodies like tendrils before vanishing into their foreheads. A small, glowing ginseng-shaped mark was the only thing that remained afterward.

Berry Fairy's eyes widened, and she turned to Lixin in amazement. "What did you do?"

"I gave you a buff," he explained simply. "It raises your stats by 5 for 30 minutes."

"That's incredible!"

Lixin smiled and raised his arm again, focusing on another Dextrim skill called Ocimum. This time the teacup was a vibrant shade of blue with violet petals twisting along its surface. When it shattered into misty droplets, they left behind a delicate basil leaf shape etched onto their necks.

"And what about that one?" Berry Fairy, still in awe of the previous buff, inquired.

"It increases our defense by 5%," Lixin said.

"You not only have strange tea combat skills, but also amazing supportive ones. You have to tell me what kind of Persona you have once we get out of these tunnels."

"Sure thing, but we need to get out of here first," Lixin responded.

Peeking around the rock, Berry Fairy smiled, "Don't worry, we'll get out of here. The auras around the monsters are no longer yellow to me. They are now green."

Lixin was surprised to hear that. He decided to check the creatures himself and saw that their previously red auras had turned yellow for him. Who knew five extra stats could make such a huge difference?

He had thought that his Dextrim skills would only give them a fighting chance but he was happy to see that it gave them more than that. "Their aura color lowered for me too."

"That's great, it looks like we can handle this quest after all!" Berry Fairy declared, the confidence in her voice making Lixin smile.

~

"Do you get it?" Lixin asked after explaining their strategy.

"Yup," Berry Fairy responded excitedly. "I'll rush them, drawing their attention to me. Once they fixated on me you will come out and bind them using that vine skill you used on the spider snail."

Lixin smiled and nodded. "Good. Now let's do this."

"Leave it to me. Those Glabers won't know what hit them once I'm through with them," Berry Fairy smiled, her eyes gleaming with determination as a wave of energy flowed through her hands and two giant metal spiked knuckles appeared over her paws.

Although he was slightly taken aback by her weapon, he also thought they suited her boisterous personality. Once he saw that she was ready he gave her a nod and faster than he could blink she was off.

Even though he had a bit of trepidation since he didn't know what these Glabers were capable of, he knew that, with his teas to back her up, they could do this.

~

Berry Fairy stepped forward and charged toward the monsters with her knuckles blazing, each step emanating an intense aura of power and focus. Once she was close enough to them she slammed one of her knuckles on the ground and shouted, "Mind Surge!"

A shockwave blasted outwards from her palms like a sonic boom, causing the monsters to be thrown back. Although it was supposed to stun them, that didn't happen, which surprised Berry Fairy.

"These naked rats are stronger than I thought," she muttered as they scurried towards her with their long metal claws extended. "But so am I."

As they lunged towards her skin, Berry Fairy activated Rapid Tempo. Suddenly she felt time slow down around her; in a matter of seconds, she was already behind them, punching one of the monsters and sending it stumbling backward.

Berry Fairy unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks as it wobbled. While she was taking care of that one, Lixin took care of the other.

~

After observing the battle for a couple of moments, Lixin was the one in awe of her skills. She was definitely telling the truth when she said she was stronger than she looked.

He may, however, still be of assistance to her. And, given her lack of awareness of the Glaber approaching behind her, she needed it. Before the creature could attack her, Lixin used his Rósastóll skill.

He watched as the bleeding heart flower vine encircled it, binding it in place. After Berry Fairy caused it to stumble back, he also did the same for the other one.

"Good job, Fishy!" the Panda girl exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up.

Lixin rolled his eyes upward. 'Not her too.'

The panda girl smiled at their hapless grunting figures before shouting, "Punching Frenzy." In moments the first Glaber was dead, its body reduced to nothing more than bruised flesh under Berry Fairy's onslaught. After barely blinking, she moved on to the second monster and repeated her actions.

[Cora:] [You have gained 60 EXP!]

[Cora:] [You have gained 60 EXP!]

"Geez, they have more health than I expected," Berry Fairy said as she took a vial of blue liquid from her inventory. As she guzzled it down her face scrunched up at the taste. "Gah! So disgusting!"

Lixin smirked, understanding the feeling, before asking, "Was that why you kept using your skills on them?"

"Yeah," Berry nodded, pulling out another vial this time filled with orange liquid. "But it's no matter, I can still kill them fast enough."

Seeing that, he realized he couldn't let her do all the fighting anymore. If her fullness becomes too low in the middle of battle it would be a big problem.

He still had another skill he had never used. He figured it was time to see if it was as useful as his other one.

"Let's gather our loot and carry on," he suggested after Berry Fairy finished drinking the last of her potions.

The panda girl smiled and bounced over to the dead monster on the right and said, "I'm taking this one. I have a good feeling about it. You can have the other one."

Lixin agreed to it without any objection since she'd done the majority of the work. It seemed only fair to let her pick first.

Going over to the Galber corpse, he placed his hand on it and called out, "Collect!"

[Cora:] [You have gained 80 Bronze coins!]

[Cora:] [You have gained 2x Stamina Potions]

[Cora:] [You have gained 1x Metal Plate!]

[Cora:] [You have gained an F-Ranked Crystal Core!]

Lixin grinned when he saw he had gotten a crystal core from the monster. It was a necessary item to collect in Watashinojinsei-dan Online since they are used for upgrading equipment. Hopefully, he will get more while he is down here.

While he was happy with the items he received, Berry Fairy bemoaned hers. Once again she only got gold and potions. 'My brother did tell me it's difficult to get good items from monsters in beginner towns.'

 

~

Author Says: 

 

MomoCatt: Nice Fight.

 

Lixin: I didn’t participate much.

 

MomoCatt: I wasn’t complimenting you.

 

Lixin: … 

 

MomoCatt: Give Berry Fairy these Blueberry Muffins for all her hard work.