Of course, their playful banter was just friendly teasing—a sign of camaraderie. Neither Bai Xia nor Tianzheng let such trivialities genuinely affect their moods.

When another horde of goblins surged ahead, they quickly reset their focus and dove back into battle.

Venturing deeper, the endless monster waves granted them XP that would make any average player green with envy, plus decent gold and item drops. Not a single piece of equipment had appeared the whole time—probably because goblins were just that broke.

For Bai Xia, gains went beyond leveling up. She sharpened combat instincts, battlefield adaptability, and—most importantly—her growing synergy with Tianzheng. From solo fighting to forced coordination under goblin swarms, their teamwork sharpened fast in the heat of battle.

Naturally, as time wore on and those green-skinned little runts kept crawling from ahead, a queasy feeling began to set in.

“Is this damn map *only* filled with these things? Can’t we get a different monster for once!?” Bai Xia grumbled with mild frustration after slicing down the last goblin of who-knows-which wave.

The underground caverns proved far vaster and more complex than imagined. With multiple branching tunnels and no map, they had no choice but to test each path. Even as her level climbed steadily, Bai Xia still felt the urge to turn back. Grinding nothing but goblins for over an hour? Visual fatigue was inevitable.

Just as Bai Xia’s arms grew numb from endless swings, as if the game system heard her silent plea, a new monster finally emerged ahead. Still goblins—but drastically different.

“What… what the heck is *that*?”

Four or five regular goblins led the group, trailed by two clutching crude wooden bows. But Bai Xia’s eyes skipped them. They’d faced archers before—dangerous from range, fragile up close. Her gaze locked on the hulking figure behind the pack.

“A mutant goblin.”

“I *know* it’s a mutant goblin… but why is it *so huge*!?” Tianzheng’s reply didn’t satisfy her. She pointed at the brute towering two to three times taller than the others, utterly speechless. Beneath tattered rags, exaggerated muscles bulged. Crimson eyes, drool dripping—it looked like a monstrously twisted Hulk, infinitely more terrifying than any ordinary goblin.

“Did it swallow some weird potion?” Bai Xia rubbed her temples. Even reaching up, she’d barely touch its waist. How to fight this? After slicing tiny goblins for hours, this hulking brute left her momentarily frozen.

No time to ponder. With a deafening roar, the mutant charged.

Then—something nearly made Bai Xia burst out laughing.

It barreled forward like a moving mountain… then plowed straight through its own frontline. Zero spatial awareness.

The two archers? Crushed mid-draw under a colossal foot.

Frontline goblins scattered in confusion—tripping the mutant, which crashed down and pinned several beneath its bulk.

Bai Xia stared, speechless. Casualties before they’d even swung a blade.

“Do goblins perform skits now? Forget ‘mutant’—call it ‘Goblin Traitor.’”

“Maybe they’ve got comedy talent,” Tianzheng said, already dashing in. He seized the mutant’s dazed seconds to mercilessly clear the pinned goblins. Bai Xia blinked, then followed.

Defeating the mutant turned out surprisingly easy. It had already wrecked its own squad. Sure, it was bulkier with higher HP—but defense barely better than a regular goblin’s. Cramped space + zero brains = quick victory. The level-8 “boss” fell fast, even dropping their first equipment here: a basic white-grade axe of matching level. Bai Xia glanced at it and tossed it into her inventory.

“Let’s move. This path feels right,” Tianzheng said calmly after restoring status.

Bai Xia shot him a skeptical look. “Weren’t you saying that *last* time?”

The caverns were a labyrinth. Tianzheng had led them down multiple dead ends already. Thankfully, neither was directionally challenged—or they’d be hopelessly lost.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his face. He pressed forward stiffly. “This time, I’m absolutely sure.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

“…Then we’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Yeah, and I’ll just have to *stew* on that?” Bai Xia let out a soft hmph but followed anyway.

Deeper in, more goblin waves appeared—but never over ten at once. Otherwise, surviving unscathed each time would’ve been impossible. Yet with every step, regular goblins leveled up, and new variants emerged: shamans, berserkers.

Berserker goblins stood out. Muscular builds—smaller than the mutant, but undeniably the Schwarzeneggers of goblinkind. Stone-gray hides granted terrifying defense and speed. Cornered? They’d self-destruct.

Bai Xia could only watch, utterly dumbfounded.