Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 102: Answer My Question

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Answer My Question

"This is far enough."

Yang Yu stopped in front of the shadow, raised his head, and took in the attributes of the shadow entirely.

Not only did the shadow possess an impressive Level of 109, but all its stats, except for Speed, hovered around 4000, making it a deserving boss of the underground city. It could kill Yang Yu and his teammates with a mere slap.

Engaging in battle with this creature would be a despair beyond words.

However...

"Alright, human. Now, answer my questions." The shadow’s sonorous voice echoed in the vast space, "First is the initial question. In this vast world, there exists a magical animal..."

Upon hearing this start, Yang Yu suddenly recalled a well-known story, and just as he was thinking it couldn’t possibly be that question, the shadow’s voice continued, "This magical animal has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. What exactly is this animal?"

...

Ah, so it’s really that question!

Yang Yu was speechless.

To think that such a widely known riddle was being used as a test; he felt underestimated.

"Humph—can’t answer, can you? You have only five minutes to respond. If you do not provide me with an answer after five minutes, I will punish you."

"Human."

"What?"

Yang Yu said indifferently, "I mean, the answer to the riddle you just asked is ’human’."

The shadow narrowed its blue eyes, "Are you certain it’s that answer?"

"Positive. For a detailed explanation, morning, noon, and evening represent the three stages of life: morning signifies birth, when a human is just a baby, crawling on all fours; noon represents adulthood, when normally an adult walks on two legs; and evening signifies old age, when a person becomes old, walking becomes difficult, and they rely on a cane as their third leg."

Yang Yu chuckled,

"The hint about a hidden passage had a question regarding humans, and just a moment ago, you emphasized that I was a human. Someone who doesn’t know the answer, after being pointed in that direction by you, would naturally exclude ’human’ from their thoughts, right?"

"Hahahahaha!"

The shadow burst into wild laughter,

"Brilliant. Such a watertight explanation.

But, there’s something you got wrong. Even without emphasizing particularly and without tampering with the clue of the hidden passage, most people faced with this question would not consider ’human’ as their answer.

From the beginning, I mentioned ’a magical animal.’ Hearing this, most people have already discounted the option of humans.

I admit, once noticed, it’s a simple question.

So, don’t get too smug. Now for the second question. You can gloat after you’ve answered it."

"Fine, but before that, since I’ve answered the first question, shouldn’t I and my teammates get a little reward?"

"Heh, it has been hundreds of years since I’ve met a human willing to bargain with me. Let’s hear what you want. If it’s treasures of the underground city, you cannot take them with you unless you answer all my questions."

"What I want isn’t the treasures of the underground city."

Yang Yu glanced back at Bai Jin and Iyas, and in a voice loud enough for both of them to hear, he said,

"The curses on me and my companions, can you lift them?

You know what I mean, right?

The things we obtained from defeating the Ghost were not any kind of beneficial magic but curses you placed upon us. The moment we harbor hostility towards you, those curses will activate, turning us into dust.

We are well aware of our limitations and can’t possibly defeat you. So, you needn’t worry that we will attack you after our curses are lifted."

"The reward I want is just this," Yang Yu said.

"How interesting, how very interesting," replied Scarjade with a touch of admiration. "It’s truly fitting for someone who could solve my riddles to also notice that. I see no harm in lifting the curse from your bodies."

The shadow shifted its paws, and dots of blue light started to peel away from Yang Yu and his companions, re-forming into strange Ghosts and slowly illuminating the entire pitch-black "cave" and revealing the true form of the shadow.

It was a giant cat.

Yes, just a cat—with orange-striped fur, white paws, and, except for blue eyes and being overly large, no other peculiar features.

Bai Jin and Iyas were thunderstruck the moment they saw it.

Was this the monster they just thought was terrifying? It was actually... incredibly cute.

"Alright, the curse on you has been lifted. Eh? What’s wrong..." Scarjade’s booming voice echoed throughout the cave when it suddenly realized something was amiss. The reverential gaze of the two girls softening, following the sparkling blue Ghosts, Scarjade looked down to see its own white paws exposed...

Scarjade quickly retreated several steps, concealing itself again in the darkness, returning to the mysterious shadow.

"Ahem—You didn’t see anything just now, did you!"

Yang Yu nodded, "Aside from a huge orange cat, we saw nothing."

WDNMD, doesn’t that mean they saw everything crystal clear!

"Haha—that was just an illusion in the cave, no matter. Let us move on to the next question."

Scarjade tried to brush it off, however, Yang Yu didn’t seem ready to let the topic go,

"My companions seem to really like the look of that cat. If I manage to answer all your questions, could you summon that illusion again for them to take a look?"

I’m done for, what on earth is with this man—he could make such a request without even blushing.

Is it because they saw I’m actually a cat that they are trying to push their luck?

Scarjade was troubled.

Truth be told, because it appeared as a cat, it feared it wouldn’t be taken seriously or maintain authority. That’s why it configured this layer as it did, so no one could clearly see its true form.

By ensuring that no one could see it clearly, treating it thoroughly as a monster of the underground city, it was able to completely intimidate adventurers who ventured into this area.

Now that its cover was blown, Scarjade didn’t know where to put its "old face."

"Will you do it or not, just meow if you will!"

Meow at your wilderness!

Damn it, this man had completely settled on the idea that I’m a harmless little cat.

Is he not afraid I’ll eat him in one bite?

Wait, wait—had this man realized from the beginning that I was just a big cat—

Scarjade frowned in realization, noticing something was amiss.

If he had known right from the start that I was just an oversized cat, everything seemed to make sense—the way he approached without flinching and...

Hang on, could it be he purposely got close and made that request in order to reveal that I was a cat...

If he hadn’t come so close, my lifting of his Status with the Ghost light wouldn’t have exposed me as a cat...

Scarjade took in a sharp breath.

Although this man radiated an aura of weakness, Scarjade could smell the scent of a natural enemy emanating from him.