I stared blankly at what was before me.
Soft, slightly curled feathers peek out from between the body feathers. It has a small, light red body, three beautiful crest feathers, and golden-red tips on its wings that seem to be bathed in sunlight. It also has a pair of small, blinking eyes that are not much bigger than mung beans, and an affectionate attitude of wrapping its wings around my fingers and rubbing them back and forth.
This is a being I will not mistake.
Feifei, who is now believed to be a phoenix chick, is confirmed to be the real Feifei.
This fact certainly struck me as an indescribable absurdity.
It's supposed to be a fictional world, right? The way to enter it just happened to be through the [Simulated Magic Ring] that was always attached to my arm and disguised as a sleeve band. What's going on with this little guy I just got to know in reality suddenly appearing?
It couldn't be that the important figure who created this device foresaw the little guy's appearance when he was working with his mentor, so he put him into the fictional world in advance, could it?
But that assumption is also unreasonable.
Although I've only had limited experience with medieval artifacts, I'm still familiar with some of the established gameplay mechanics, which typically involve a repetitive cycle of accepting quests and receiving rewards. While the current design is somewhat distorted, the general details are still traceable, and there's no sudden, unexpected insertion of new rewards from the sidelines.
Or perhaps our actions to rescue the sprites just now achieved some kind of accomplishment, which automatically unlocked the reward?
With mixed feelings, I gently stroked the little guy's soft fur, watching it bounce around on my fingertips. I took a deep breath, looked up, and gazed around.
The deeper you go, the more you realize that there are many unsolved mysteries in the design of the world before you, but you have been so busy moving forward that you have subconsciously ignored them.
"Once we've successfully conquered this dungeon, we can have a proper chat with Sheng after we leave."
I made up my mind, and while smiling and shaking my head to dispel Sheng's doubts, I also tried to introduce the little guy to the other party.
Sheng's eyes lit up instantly.
"This! Could it be the legendary phoenix?!"
He was very perceptive; almost instantly, he lowered his excited voice and even resisted the subconscious urge to look around that might attract attention: "Can I...can I touch it?"
I looked at the little guy, asking for his opinion.
The little creature, which looked like Feifei, tilted its head just as I remembered it. It turned its head to observe us for a while, then suddenly flapped its wings and landed lightly on the finger that I felt so deeply.
Even considering the sharpness of its claws, it simply stood firmly without gripping any deeper.
Thanks to him, Sheng's gratitude deepened even further.
"Oh, what an adorable little guy. Did you fly here by yourself, or were you playing nearby? Do you have a name? Would you like to play with us? Ah, you're so cute, maybe I should call you..."
I quickly interrupted Sheng's attempt to name the child: "It's just a little guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, there's no need to be so concerned, is there?" Although that's what I said, seeing a little guy with a familiar appearance being given a different name by someone else felt a bit strange.
Even if I'm not sure yet, this is still the case.
"Oh, I see, I see~ Since it was Big Brother who discovered it, then the power to name it should be left to Big Brother~"
Sheng returned the little guy with a smile.
The light red fluffy ball flew back to my shoulder once again, obediently landing to the side to preen its feathers.
Oh, and they also gave me a short down feather as a gift.
Although I didn't know what it meant, I accepted it with gratitude. The little guy seemed especially happy, jumping and shouting on my shoulder, attracting all my attention and rubbing his cheek against mine several times.
It's a little itchy, but it doesn't feel too bad.
"We've rested enough."
Thrall, who came to report on the situation, reluctantly looked away from my shoulder, pretending to be nonchalant: "I'm a little sorry, but everyone wants to get back to the settlement as soon as possible. This is also to prevent our people from coming to look for us and causing a conflict with you."
I nodded slightly: "Although it will be tiring for a while, it will be easier for us to move around with your guidance and guarantees. Is there anything else we need to be aware of before we go back?"
Thrall pondered for a moment, then turned to look at one of his fellow elves, who appeared to be slightly older and whose arm was wrapped in gauze, among those sitting cross-legged together.
That was probably the leader of their group. I remember he had been covering the escape of the rebels from human traffickers, and had sustained minor injuries during their capture, but thankfully nothing serious. However, it seems that because Thrall had a better relationship with them, they chose him to negotiate instead of him coming in person.
The elf that came into view paused for a moment after surveying the faces of the other elves chatting happily around it, and then responded with a nod.
Sal, turning back around, continued the previous topic: "Most of the people in our group are here. The others either weren't discovered and captured, or they escaped back to report."
"Because we wasted some time searching for food, if we want to alleviate the anxiety of the tribespeople waiting for our help as soon as possible, I recommend taking the shortest route directly through... although it may be somewhat dangerous."
"You mean the shortcut through the swamp, right?" Sheng Anjing, who had been observing the conversation, interjected.
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