“Stealing the enemy’s intelligence!” Ou Tao seemed to catch something crucial. If his guess was right, her negative intelligence was actually a good thing!
He fetched a bamboo rabbit. During his outings, he’d hunted, slain monsters, and leveled up to ten—bringing back live bamboo rabbits to sell. “Little bamboo rabbit, you look depressed. Here, I’ve got an advanced treatment for you!”
He handed the rabbit to Yami. “Use the Intelligence-Draining Headbutt on her!”
Yami picked up the tiny rabbit, nodded dumbly, and lifted her head. Magic gathered on her forehead. A vast, ancient green light shimmered above her, carrying a tranquil, faint fragrance. *Thud*—she slammed her head right into the rabbit’s.
The blow dealt no damage. The rabbit flew backward and landed on the ground.
It was an elite bamboo rabbit with Intelligence 3. To raise Yami’s -40 Intelligence to 1, she needed exactly 41 points. Just as expected: Yami’s Intelligence became 1. The rabbit’s dropped to -38.
A slight curve touched Ou Tao’s lips. So it was true—negative Intelligence wasn’t treated as zero. It drained the enemy deeper, even flipping their stats negative.
Now at Intelligence 1, Yami had roughly half the smarts of an eight-year-old girl. But with raw strength to spare, rough chores were no problem.
She was already chopping firewood, resetting the pot, and even lifting Ke Er up when she noticed the girl couldn’t reach—thoughtfully helping her add ingredients.
“Wow~ Sister Yami got smarter! So amazing!” Ke Er beamed up at her.
Ou Tao nodded. This was powerful. If Yami targeted a backline mage with hundreds of Intelligence? Hard to say what she’d become. But stripping the enemy’s main DPS of a third plus forty points of output? That was strategic gold.
Meanwhile, the rabbit—now at -38 Intelligence—dashed around like a fool. Its goofy grin mirrored Yami’s silly smile. It even lunged at other rabbits.
Another insight clicked for Ou Tao: creatures driven to negative Intelligence entered a dazed, chaotic state—attacking allies, misfiring skills.
But why was this rabbit so frenzied at -38, while Yami at -40 stayed gentle and dumbly cheerful?
Ah—he realized. Yami had *lived* in negative Intelligence. She’d learned to stay calm, avoid hurting teammates… like munching wood and hay.
A quote flashed in his mind: *“Never argue with a fool—they drag you to their level and beat you with experience.”* He’d always laughed it off. Now? Damn. That was next-level tactical wisdom.
All in all, Yami was adorably dumb—but an enlightened donkey. Terrifying strength. Paired with the Forest Elf Sacred Tree’s sprout? Perfect for initiating fights, controlling enemies, wrecking formations. SSR-tier, no question.
Watching her amiably cook beside Ke Er, Ou Tao felt a flicker of illusion—this little donkey was kinda cute. Her legs were especially lovely. (He deliberately avoided her ears. Legs alone? Very pleasing.)
Tomorrow, they’d leave. He needed a windproof tent, down-filled sleeping bag, warm blanket.
He headed out shopping. *Her Intelligence’s positive now… she won’t cause trouble, right?*
“Sister Yami, bring more firewood! I added the last ingredients!” Ke Er turned—unaware the -38-Intelligence rabbit, in sheer stupidity, had leaped straight into the pot and boiled itself.
With the theft target gone, Yami’s Intelligence reverted to -40. And—oops—the firewood was out.
Yami scratched her head. “W-wood… gone! What to do?”
Her eyes landed on the house’s main pillar. “Wow! B-big log!”
When Ou Tao returned, the house had collapsed. Bricks, tiles, debris everywhere. Yami stood firm—one hand hoisting the pillar, the other cradling Ke Er—face glowing with pride. “Swordmaster! Swordmaster! The house suddenly fell! But I was quick-eyed and fast-handed—I saved the young mistress! Did I do good? Praise me, please praise me!”
“F-father… our house is gone!” Ke Er wailed.
Ou Tao’s jaw dropped wide enough for a ping-pong ball. His roar shook the village. “You dumb donkey! You *pulled out the main pillar*! That’s why it collapsed! Are you trying to kill me?!”
