Chapter 44

"Crackle."

Under the scorching flames, the dark green thorns curled and twitched as if they had a soul, and pitch-black scorch marks with sparks spread rapidly across their surface.

Wood pulled his dagger out of the enemy's chest with force, his expression cold and weary.

Before him were several humanoid thorn monsters being gradually swallowed by the flames.

Seemingly possessing some kind of erosive ability against plants, even the grass in a large area nearby had turned a strange dark green.

"Rustle."

The branches of the towering oak tree behind him swayed, and the half-elf holding a longbow landed lightly.

The two of them had just experienced an intense encounter.

The enemies were five "Withered Vine Monsters" disguised as shrubs.

Honestly, the combat ability of these monsters wasn't strong, not even as good as the Rust Monsters they had encountered a few days ago.

But in the environment of the Mist Forest, filled everywhere with thorns and tall grass, they were exceptionally troublesome due to their ability to manipulate plants.

In the end, it was only after Wood used his remaining few Flame Bombs that they managed to end the battle with difficulty.

And this was just one of the most common types of monsters after leaving the "outskirts" of the Mist Forest.

"Young Master, we should leave."

With his chest heaving visibly, Wood said, panting.

Even for a "Rogue" who had already obtained a professional level, staying deep in the Mist Forest for a long time was not an easy task, especially when he had to divide his attention to protect the half-elf.

Haian was also very clear about this in his heart.

In such a dangerous area, searching for a missing companion like a headless fly without any clues would only drag both of them into danger.

It was time to give up.

A look of struggle flashed across his face; he nodded to Wood and said:

"Then let's retreat to the outskirts first, and then..."

Squeak—

Before he could finish speaking, a sound suddenly rang out not far away, and the birds and beasts in the forest were startled into flight.

And that place seemed to be exactly where Xia Nan's trail had last appeared.

The two exchanged a tacit glance, then moved their feet and ran toward the direction the sound came from.

As the crystal-clear dewdrop merged into his body, Xia Nan felt a cool and gentle stream of energy surge from his palm throughout his entire body.

His whole person felt as if he were floating among the clouds, light and airy, as if his toes were about to leave the ground.

His muscles, which had been near overload from high-intensity exercise, were restored under the nourishment of the stream, and silently became firmer and more resilient;

it was as if even his heart were beating more powerfully, and the hot blood pumped and circulated under the drive of the stream—that was a more vigorous life force.

The petrified residue on his fingertips turned into scattered grey dust and blew away with the wind, revealing the intact fingertips beneath;

the bones in his right forearm were corrected and restored under the influence of an invisible force within his body, the stinging pain in his ribs disappeared, and even the small wounds on his lower legs that had stopped bleeding and begun to scab seemed to have been erased by an eraser, leaving only smooth skin.

At the same time, a long string of translucent characters flashed before Xia Nan's eyes:

"Constitution +3"

"Specialty 【Indomitable Soul】 unlocked"

【Indomitable Soul】

Category: Specialty

Effect:

10% physical damage reduction

0.5% chance to be immune to physical damage received

Description:

Having absorbed the essence of otherworldly plants, your body has become tougher and has gained some blessings of the rules.

Note:

"Grandpa..."

Xia Nan stood in the forest, looking at his right arm, which had recovered as before, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Right now, he felt as if he had slept for twelve hours straight after staying up late working overtime in his previous life.

He felt incredibly relaxed all over; the fatigue and pain of the past were swept away, replaced by incredibly vigorous energy and abundant physical strength.

It could almost be said to be the peak state of his body since he transmigrated to this world.

"So, what exactly was that thing?"

He recalled the dewdrop that had just merged into his body and wondered in his heart.

Even though it was of the same otherworldly style, unlike other things, the dewdrop gave him an indescribable sense of reality.

It was as if it were the root cause that brought the countless buildings around into this world.

And as if to confirm his conjecture, after he absorbed the golden dewdrop, the cave he had been in disappeared like an illusion.

Before his eyes remained only the familiar trees and grass of the Mist Forest.

He subconsciously reached out to touch the wooden sword behind him, feeling the hard touch on his fingertips.

Xia Nan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although he was still confused, the outcome was satisfactory.

That dewdrop not only healed his injuries and provided an exaggerated 3 points of Constitution, but also gave him a defensive specialty called "Indomitable Soul," which looked quite powerful on the attribute panel.

He even managed to fish out a blue rare-quality piece of equipment from the cave.

The harvest was not insignificant.

Now the only thing he needed to consider was how to successfully escape from the depths of the Mist Forest and return to Hegu Town.

"I wonder how Haian is doing; with Wood there, there shouldn't be any problems."

Xia Nan pondered in his heart, scanning his surroundings, trying to distinguish the direction.

Suddenly, a "rustling" sound of swaying came from the dense shrubs beside him.

He instantly drew his Decapitation Longsword and became alert.

But immediately after, when he discovered that the newcomers were the half-elf and Wood, he relaxed again.

"How are you guys? Are you okay?"

Xia Nan looked at the two, who were covered in grass clippings and showed faint signs of battle, and asked while sheathing his sword.

"We're fine. For some reason, that Shihua Xiyi didn't chase us." Haian's silver-grey eyes stared at Xia Nan in front of him, his expression filled with concern and a hint of confusion. "But you..."

If one had to say, compared to the two of them, who looked disheveled after just finishing a battle, Xia Nan didn't look much better right now.

The leather armor on his back was torn, his pants had several gashes, he was covered in mud, even his hair was dusty, and several blood-stained bandages and splints were scattered on the ground beside him.

If someone said he was a seriously injured soldier who had just come off the battlefield, no one would doubt it.

Yet, the current Xia Nan showed no signs of weakness or injury.

His pair of black eyes were bright and piercing, clearly full of energy.

Therefore, with just one glance, the half-elf discovered the contrast.

After all, he had seen with his own eyes Xia Nan being hit directly in the heart by the Shihua Xiyi and only having the strength to escape by relying on a Healing Potion.

His speech couldn't help but sound a bit hesitant.

"Oh..."

Noticing the other's gaze, Xia Nan's expression also paused, already realizing what the half-elf had discovered.

The incident happened suddenly, and having just escaped from the cave, he hadn't had time to cover up the changes that had occurred to his body, nor had he thought of a reasonable explanation.

Although Wood beside Haian didn't speak, from the way his gaze swept over the wooden sword behind Xia Nan and the uninjured skin under his torn clothes, it was clear that he had also noticed some clues.

Pondering for a moment, he organized his language in his mind.

Xia Nan omitted some details, such as the "dewdrop" and the "giant snake," which might cause trouble for the others, and told the two before him his encounter, half-true and half-false.

Unexpectedly, after listening to his explanation, neither the half-elf nor Wood showed the surprised expression he had imagined.

They even displayed the professional integrity of adventurers and didn't ask too much about the wooden sword he had brought out on his back.

"You might have entered a 'Secret Realm'."

Wood rubbed his chin and said slowly.

"'Secret Realm'?" Xia Nan expressed confusion at this unfamiliar term.

"Yes." Wood nodded and explained.

"You should be a local of the Servia Kingdom, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you must have heard the story of the 'Double Feather Lute'."

"'Double Feather Lute'..." Xia Nan frowned, flipping through the memories left to him by his predecessor in his mind.

Then he finally recalled this story, which he had heard many times from the old man at the village entrance when he was a child.

"Is that the legendary bard who traveled all over the world and even went to other realms?"

"That's right." The Rogue nodded gently.

"But what does this have to do with the so-called 'Secret Realm'?"

"Relationship... what if I told you that those abyssal hells and astral heavens that the Double Feather Lute story visited are all real?"

Wood suddenly raised his head and stared at Xia Nan before him.

"The Material Plane we live in is just a space like a sandwich layer. Around it, there are a large number of realms of different sizes and volumes."

"Many spaces overlap and blend with each other, and the barriers between realms are not solid. With this as a premise, as long as certain specific conditions are met, space will undergo phenomena similar to folding and shrinking."

The Rogue's gaze swept over the mist drifting leisurely around them.

"For example, an area with extremely rich magic."

Digesting the information in the other's words, Xia Nan followed Wood's train of thought and said:

"You mean, the 'Secret Realm' I entered was created because of the high concentration of magic in the Mist Forest."

"Yes." Wood's gaze glanced at the wooden sword behind Xia Nan again.

"These naturally formed Secret Realms, due to their special nature, are usually inhabited by powerful monsters and may also hide some precious treasures."

"On this continent, the number of such spaces is not small. Therefore, even if they are not easy to discover and are basically born in the wild where monsters are dense, every year one can hear rumors of which lucky adventurer has accidentally discovered a Secret Realm."

"Even, some powerful spellcasters will open up their own Secret Realm spaces through their own ability to distort time and space."

"Small ones might be the size of a warehouse, and as for large ones..."

Speaking of this, Wood suddenly glanced up at the sky covered by the canopy and lowered his voice:

"You have to know that, to some extent, a 'God Kingdom' is also a type of Secret Realm."

Having said this, the few fell into silence simultaneously.

Xia Nan carefully compared the characteristics of the "Secret Realm space" in Wood's mouth with the cave he had just entered.

He couldn't help but frown.

"It feels... a bit different." He thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, Wood, who had just been popularizing the worldview to Xia Nan, now also revealed a tangled and confused expression.

"That's not right." Wood suddenly took two steps forward and came to where Xia Nan was standing.

He bent down to carefully check his footprints and stomped hard on the ground.

"If it really were a Secret Realm, why couldn't the two of us get in just now? And if it had already closed before we arrived, you absolutely wouldn't have been able to come out, right?"

"What's more, a Secret Realm is, after all, just a folded space. In the vast majority of cases, it does not have the ability to affect the surrounding terrain."

"The various buildings we saw along the way don't look like something a Secret Realm could bring."

Wood stood on the spot, getting more confused as he spoke.

Xia Nan felt as if he could see white smoke rising faintly from the other's head.

And just as the Rogue said, he himself had a vague realization that the cave that had disappeared might have similarities to the "Secret Realm" of this world in some aspects, but in essence, it was a completely different thing.

And at this moment, the half-elf, who had been silent since just now, suddenly asked:

"Xia Nan, I hope this won't offend you, as this should be a taboo among adventurers, but..."

His words revealed hesitation, but on his face, stained with grass clippings, there was a hint of hope.

"In the cave, were there any things with an elven style?"

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but be stunned.

Then he began to recall in detail and comprehensively everything he had seen from the moment he entered the cave until he was teleported out.

Then, he slowly shook his head and answered solemnly and seriously:

"No."

Not too disappointed, the half-elf had already prepared himself mentally.

He just clapped his hands toward the guard beside him:

"We really should go now, Wood."

"It's really not safe here."

Compared to the twists and turns and dangers of the journey here, the return journey of the three was exceptionally calm.

Not only did they not encounter any dangerous monsters, but even those annoying snakes and scorpions were much fewer and no longer densely concentrated in one area—

Xia Nan suspected that it was the influence caused by his absorption of the dewdrop, which led to the disappearance of the cave space.

Compared to the two full days of the journey here, which required frequent stops for rest, searching for targets, or dealing with battles,

on the return journey, they only spent one day to reach the outskirts of the Mist Forest.

Looking at the star-like firelight of Hegu Town on the horizon in the distance, and the few bungalows with lights on nearby.

The half-elf breathed a sigh of relief, stopped, turned, and said goodbye to Xia Nan beside him:

"Thanks to you this time, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to go that far."

"We won't go back to Hegu Town for now; Wood and I have a carriage stored at the post station. If there's a chance in the future, you are welcome to come to Niumu."

"About Lali and Doris..." Haian's expression paused suddenly, and his specific expression could not be seen under the shadow of the night, "After I return to Niumu, I will explain it to their parents personally."

Xia Nan was surprised by the sudden farewell, as he had thought the two would return to Hegu Town with him to rest for a few days before leaving.

But since the other party had already said so, he didn't try to persuade them to stay.

He just said tentatively:

"If you need anything, just write a letter; I might be able to help."

The two had saved him once when he faced the Shihua Xiyi, and on this trip, he could vaguely hear that something difficult seemed to have happened in the half-elf's family.

Within his ability, Xia Nan didn't mind lending a helping hand to the other party.

To this, Haian smiled and declined, while taking out a pitch-black card from his bosom.

"There are 70 gold coins stored in this crystal card, plus the previous 30 gold, which is your reward for this mission."

"Also, after I return to the city, I will start helping you find a suitable combat technique mentor, but it may take a little time to wait. I will write to you for specific details."

The night was filled with darkness, and the half-elf blinked his iconic silver-grey eyes, smiled and waved at Xia Nan, and the guard like a shadow beside him also nodded gently.

"May the stars light your path, and may the forest bless you."

"Goodbye, my friend."

(End of chapter)