Inside the room, Firefly stood there without resisting at all as Pei Guang equipped her piece by piece.
Once she was fully geared up, she looked down at herself.
Over her normal clothes, she now wore a set of armor that looked downright terrifying. With those severed heads hanging from her waist… forget the enemy, even she had to swallow nervously just looking at them.
As for the helmet on her head… just looking at Pei Guang's getup, she could already imagine what she looked like now.
But somehow, thinking about her current appearance, Firefly felt a strange rush of excitement.
It was like doing something mischievous together: a mix of nervousness, thrill, and inexplicable anticipation.
Pei Guang, meanwhile, was deep in thought as he observed Firefly's new "look."
"Hm, something still feels off… what's missing?"
Right now, Firefly was wearing the most intimidating and stat-boosted gear Pei Guang could assemble. He wasn't bragging: unless something on the level of a Lord Ravager struck her with full power, she could definitely take at least one hit.
And one hit was all they needed.
With his teleportation skill, Pei Guang was confident that if they were ambushed, he could tank a blow and get them both out safely. Still, something about her setup felt incomplete.
What was it? A missing special effect? No, those were already in place. He'd even added the best "cute" emote overlay, giving Firefly's terrifying look an oddly ugly-cute quality.
But still… something was missing.
After studying her for a moment, Pei Guang's eyes lit up.
"Ah, of course! A weapon. Here, take this." He handed her a large club-like staff.
It was the novice's staff he had obtained earlier in a Dream Bubble, imbued with support magic, Rock-Swing Magic, and enough physical attack power to be useful.
Perfect for Firefly!
She recognized it instantly. When Pei Guang had been exploring the Dream Bubble, she'd seen him stash it away, though he'd never actually used it.
She hadn't even realized it was a staff and not a wand.
But when she held it, feeling its heavy weight in her hands, Firefly's expression froze.
"This… is for me?"
Pei Guang nodded. "Of course. It's got enchantments and some basic spells—just try it out yourself, it's fun. You don't have a good weapon anyway, so this'll do nicely. As for me? Don't worry, I've got plenty of weapons."
From the Village Sword to rare drops from different maps, Pei Guang had collected quite a stash of gear—enough to handle most situations.
As for those unusual situations? Well, that's what running away was for.
"Ah…"
Firefly looked down at the hefty staff in her hands, then at her own gruesome outfit, torn between laughter and disbelief. In just a few minutes, she'd gone from a normal girl to looking like some mid-level monster out of a game.
Pei Guang, however, looked genuinely satisfied. "Now that's more like it. It's not the prettiest, but trust me—this is the strongest setup I can give you right now."
He did have some stylish equipment, and if they were just idling around or showing off in town, he'd happily mix and match sets to create something dazzling enough to blind an NPC.
But for exploring and fighting, a true player knows: always wear the strongest gear for the job.
Firefly hesitated. "I trust you, but…"
Pei Guang grinned. "Doubting me? Don't worry. You'll get to test it right away. You take the first enemy we meet: I guarantee you'll crush it easily."
"It's not doubt… mmh. I believe you."
She gave up resisting.
To outsiders, her outfit might look ugly or ridiculous, but Firefly actually felt happy. Because beneath Pei Guang's casual tone, she could feel how seriously he was treating her.
She didn't need fancy words: his effort was enough to make her smile.
Hearing her answer, Pei Guang gave her a big thumbs-up. "Alright, now let's see what's behind that door. Time to check what kind of enemy's waiting for us~"
He wasn't as perceptive as Firefly, but anyone who's ever played horror games knows: "door traps" are everywhere. In this kind of setting, caution was survival.
Pei Guang carefully and silently cracked the door open, peeking through the narrow gap.
Outside was a mechanical creature, one of Penacony's malfunctioning automatons. A small black machine rode atop a floating die, drifting down the hallway on patrol. It looked small, but its aura screamed danger.
Because Pei Guang opened the door quietly, it didn't notice him.
Firefly, however, could sense more. She was about to warn him: not only was that patrol unit there, but deeper down the hall lurked a completely deranged mechanical hound.
Though both were "malfunctioning," they acted in tandem.
Attacking one would alert the other, and if they couldn't dispatch them quickly, even more twisted monsters would come swarming in from the corridors, creating a deadly ambush.
But before Firefly could open her mouth, Pei Guang whispered first: "See that? Classic door trap. If you're careless, you'll walk right into one. Though this one doesn't look too bad—I could probably just chop it down. Still, don't underestimate it. I bet there are more enemies nearby. Attack recklessly, and we'll have the whole hall on us."
His stream of nonsense analysis left Firefly speechless.
"…You sensed the others?" she whispered.
Pei Guang shook his head. "Nope. My only detection skill only works when I'm blind. But I can feel the developer's malice!"
As a veteran gamer, Pei Guang had an uncanny instinct for danger: he could always tell when enemies were about to appear. And if there weren't any? Well, that just meant the enemy designers had failed to put them there.
As for why he had such sharp instincts? He owed that to the enthusiastic citizens of Yharnam, the various Undead, the Tarnished, and of course, those ever-generous mimic chests.
They were the ones who'd taught him what true developer cruelty felt like.
Firefly didn't really understand what Pei Guang meant, but she was still amazed that he could pinpoint enemy locations without even using any perception ability.
"Wow… you're incredible," she whispered.
Pei Guang shrugged. "Eh, nothing special. I'll show you real skill later. Too bad there aren't any Mimic Chests here—otherwise, I'd let you witness my 100% success rate at spotting them. Anyway, that's for another time. You take care of this enemy, alright?"
"Me? What should I do?" Firefly gripped the beginner's staff nervously, not because she feared the fight, but because this was the first time she'd ever fought with something this bizarre.
She wasn't sure she could use it properly, and part of her doubted it could really be more efficient than her usual equipment.
Sensing her uncertainty, Pei Guang started to teach patiently: "It's simple. Sneak up, cast a buff on yourself and the staff, then attack. That's it."
"That's… it?"
"What, you expected something complicated?"
"I'll try then…"
"You got this. The enemy doesn't look tough. I believe in you. I'll scout ahead in case there are any hidden ones—if there are, I'll take care of them."
"Okay."