Ma Jun quickly finished making another [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish].
With nervous anticipation, he opened the item inventory. In the next instant, the dragonfish vanished in a flash of light.
Inside the inventory, a purple-colored item—still giving off wisps of smoke and heat—lay quietly in one of the slots.
"Fantastic!"
Ma Jun clenched his fist and gave an excited pump.
It really could be stored in the inventory.
And any item that could be stored could be taken out of the dungeon.
This meant he was about to get rich.
Compared to these items, the gold rewarded for clearing the dungeon wasn't even worth mentioning.
"Daniela, keep going!"
"Yes, Master."
Daniela nodded enthusiastically.
She didn't even know exactly what she was excited about—she just felt happy seeing her master happy.
When Ma Jun finished another [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish] and tried to put it into the inventory, he suddenly froze.
Then, an even greater wave of joy surged up.
He discovered that [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish] could stack!
Right now, he was level 1.
His item inventory had ten fixed slots.
His equipment slots totaled six: headgear, clothing, gloves, weapon, shoes, and accessories.
After leveling up, more inventory slots and equipment slots could be unlocked.
The [Praise] he had obtained earlier could be equipped separately as an accessory and didn't take up an inventory slot.
Originally, he thought he could carry at most ten [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish] out of the dungeon.
Now it seemed—far more than that!
Ma Jun instantly became even more motivated.
He grilled fish nonstop, tossing each finished one into the inventory.
When the stack reached five fish, the slot was full.
It seemed the stacking limit for [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish], just like its usage limit, was five per stack.
That meant—
With ten inventory slots, he could carry up to fifty!
Fifty epic-grade items.
Just thinking about it was exhilarating.
Ma Jun wanted to keep catching fish and grilling them, but when he glanced at the sky, he saw the sun was already setting.
The warm glow of dusk spread across the land, leaving behind only a trace of residual warmth.
Before long, the cold night would descend.
Daniela was afraid of the cold. Her physique was special—even wrapped in a thick silk coat, it didn't help much.
She hugged herself tightly, breathing in short gasps, her small face pale.
Even with the campfire nearby and the lingering energy of the dragonfish, she was still very uncomfortable.
"Daniela, let's go back," Ma Jun said with a smile.
"Huh?" Daniela instinctively showed a hint of joy.
But she quickly reacted. "It's fine, I can still hold on."
"No need. We still have plenty of time."
Ma Jun thought to himself: the main quest required surviving seven days. If they stayed beyond fourteen days, there would be a special reward.
In other words, the minimum was fourteen days in this dungeon.
Only two days had passed—there were still twelve days left.
If only they could freely choose when to leave.
If the other players knew what Ma Jun was thinking right now, they'd probably die of rage.
They were counting every second, just trying to survive.
And Ma Jun?
He thought there was too much time.
Absolutely inhuman.
Daniela's eyes shimmered with emotion. "Master… why are you so good to me?"
Her face suddenly flushed red.
Embarrassed, she said, "Actually… if Master gave me a little 'comfort,' I'd warm up right away…"
"Like last night…"
"Give Daniela something warm to drink…"
"Cough, cough."
Ma Jun cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let's talk about that after we get back. It's too cold here."
"And we're still outdoors—easy to catch a chill."
"You're still a child. You can't always be thinking about those things."
"Alright…"
Daniela pouted slightly, looking disappointed.
Ma Jun sighed helplessly. How was this girl even more enthusiastic than him about those things?
Could it be time to test the power of the newly acquired [Praise]?
Turning on god mode?
But Daniela was only a bit over 1.9 meters tall—not exactly an eight-foot-tall lady.
Using cheats like that would be way too unfair.
"Let's go. Back to the castle first."
Carrying a full stack of five [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish] in one inventory slot, Ma Jun headed back along the original path, completely satisfied.
But as soon as they returned to the castle, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
When he left in the morning, the players in the courtyard, though exhausted, were still working.
Now—
Everyone looked lifeless, as if at a funeral.
Their faces practically had the word "DEAD" written all over them.
They looked like they were about to break down crying at any moment.
"Huh?"
Wrapped in his silk cloak, Ma Jun walked over to the only person he recognized—Jiang Han.
"What's going on? Just sweeping the yard—surely it's not that bad?"
Seeing Ma Jun, Jiang Han's eyes immediately filled with panic.
"Ma Jun, you have to leave—now!"
"Two female vampires came back to the castle today!"
"They look even more vicious than yesterday's!"
"As soon as they returned, they started shouting for blood!"
"The castle steward has already started selecting people to die tonight!"
"We can't resist at all—hurry and run while you haven't been noticed!"
Only then did Ma Jun understand.
So that was it.
No wonder every player looked so utterly desperate.
The scythe of death was hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
Whether they lived or died depended entirely on luck.
But… run?
Running wasn't exactly his style.
A faint, relaxed smile appeared on Ma Jun's face.
"You mean them?"
"Perfect timing."
"I was just looking for them."