Chapter 111: Too Late!

“Is there really no other way?” Pang Ding looked up at the sky, sighing helplessly.

“Well...” Luo Yong munched thoughtfully on his meal, weighing his options before saying, “How about you come with me to find Adela, the Crimson Spider Queen? Once we find her, we figure out a way to take her down—”

“Forget it! Let’s pretend I never asked,” Pang Ding interrupted, waving his hand with a blank expression. “I feel like picking up scrolls is still the more reliable option.”

“Have you thought of any other methods yourself?” Luo Yong asked.

“Of course I have!” Pang Ding gestured vaguely with his hand and replied calmly, “I once considered going to the Magic Academy to learn how to craft various scrolls and find the necromancy spell formulas... Back then, I thought: since there are no necromancers and no one is willing to study such magic, I’d become that person myself and learn it!”

“But unfortunately, I never got the chance. All I came across were some random, useless spells.”

“I even sneaked into a Magic Academy’s library and searched through every book, but found nothing useful—not a single trace of necromancy magic!”

“You really went to great lengths,” Luo Yong sighed.

“For her... Belinda. As long as I can bring her back to life, have her return to this world, I’m willing to give everything, even my life!” Pang Ding said flatly, his tone calm yet filled with deep passion.

His plain words carried the weight of profound love.

It reminded Luo Yong of the girl he had once madly loved back on Blue Star...

But in the end, everything vanished like smoke.

A few small movies, a tiny cake, a simple eighteenth birthday—then he found himself in this other world.

“Do you have someone you love?” Pang Ding suddenly asked, lying there staring at the sky. “That kind of love where you love her deeply, she loves you back, and you both vow to spend your lives together...”

“Well... I guess you could say I do,” Luo Yong replied uncertainly. His time with the elven noblewoman was short, and there was still a long road ahead.

“Is she one of those beautiful teammates of yours? I saw a few that looked pretty good...” Pang Ding said.

“No.”

Luo Yong glanced at him coldly, emotionlessly adding, “Don’t try to fish for information or use it to threaten or force me into anything. I won’t give you the chance.”

“Oh? You’re pretty wary, huh,” Pang Ding said with a casual tone.

“Necessarily so!” Luo Yong answered seriously. “Besides, even if I told you, even if you found her, you wouldn’t stand a chance against her. Going would only be asking for trouble!”

“Tch!” Pang Ding rolled his eyes. “You really think I’d believe that? A heroine so strong that even I can’t beat her—why would she pick you as her lover?”

“Believe it or not, I don’t need to prove anything.” Luo Yong didn’t want to delve into this topic any further.

After resting a while, Luo Yong stood and walked off alone toward the distance.

There awaited rows of Grim Reaper dragonflies, ready to take flight.

“Hey! Even if my level’s a bit low, you don’t have to grind so hard! I haven’t rested enough yet!” Pang Ding complained.

He never imagined that one day, he’d be so exhausted from just picking up scrolls.

“You rest, I’ll grind. No interference,” Luo Yong’s voice came faintly from afar as he soared into the sky on a Grim Reaper dragonfly.

Unexpectedly, the Bear Island secret realm lasted half a month under Luo Yong’s relentless grinding before quietly drawing to a close.

All that remained inside was a single copper ore deposit.

The beasts of the Bear Clan were completely wiped out.

Not a single cub was left behind.

Ahem.

In all fairness, it wasn’t entirely Luo Yong’s fault—it was that damned Pang Ding being too extreme.

Picking up scrolls until his eyes turned red, recklessly attacking hordes of monsters just to vent his anger.

Fortunately, Luo Yong had prepared well, keeping watch over him. Before Pang Ding went completely berserk, all the Grim Reaper dragonflies took off safely without loss.

“Damn heavens, are you messing with me?! The entire realm scattered scrolls everywhere, but I didn’t get a single necromancy scroll, not even a job change scroll! Ah!” Pang Ding howled fiercely, almost terrifying in his rage.

Luo Yong was certain his combat power ranked among the top at level 20.

A compact, spherical body wielding peak strength.

With a heart full of obsession, disregarding worldly laws...

Sometimes obsession can make a person; other times, it can ruin them.

Fate, luck, and destiny intertwined...

Luo Yong sighed, clenching his fist silently.

Others’ affairs were theirs alone; they didn’t concern him.

In any case, he intended to hold his own fate firmly in his hands.

“You’re level 15?!” Pang Ding looked up at Luo Yong in the sky after venting some frustration.

“Yeah, I’ve hit a plateau,” Luo Yong replied flatly, sighing.

Having collected a full set of Grim Reaper dragonfly cards, he unlocked only ten levels.

By the tenth day of grinding, Luo Yong had reached level 15. The use of special potions hadn’t fully caught up yet, needing more time.

The following days were spent accompanying Pang Ding in monster hunting.

Meanwhile, Luo Yong kept an eye on other cards. Though the Bear Island realm’s monsters were all defeated, he hadn’t collected all the cards.

It seemed there were too many bear-shaped monsters; one Bear Island realm didn’t have the full variety, so the collection was far from complete.

“Stuck at leveling again?! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!” Pang Ding, eyes bloodshot, asked.

“I’m helpless too!” Luo Yong shrugged. He was just a few levels away from finally marrying the elven noblewoman and reaching life’s peak.

To be exact, just missing one mysterious spider card.

“Fatso, if Adela were still alive, would you dare come with me to hunt her?” Luo Yong asked casually.

“You’re crazy. What don’t I dare? Whether it’s Adela or whatever else... Wait, what did you say?!” Pang Ding froze, then snapped back, cursing, “Are you out of your mind?! Joking around at a time like this? Believe it or not, I’ll cut you down with one sword, then take out your teammates one by one, and even your girlfriend, so you can all reunite underground!”

“Reunite underground?” Luo Yong was puzzled.

“Of course! Want to try? I might just grant you that mercy,” Pang Ding squinted.

“Then why don’t you reunite with Belinda?” Luo Yong asked.

“You—” The fat man hesitated, eyes darting, then said, “Belinda... she went to heaven! I’m just a nobody; if I die, I go to hell. I can’t reunite with her there. So I have to bring her back to life first, then we can be together!”

“Sounds like a weak excuse,” Luo Yong sneered.

“Not fair? Come down and fight me then!” Pang Ding shouted.

“Go down now? I’m not stupid!” Luo Yong casually tossed a scroll toward where Pang Ding had stood, and a huge fireball exploded there with a deafening boom.

The blast left a large crater.

Pang Ding had already dodged away.

“Cut the crap, Luo Yong! Either level up quickly enough to use resurrection magic, or get me necromancy and job change scrolls!” Pang Ding yelled.

“Job change scrolls...” Luo Yong narrowed his eyes, staring at Pang Ding for a long moment, leaving him dumbfounded and confused.

“You didn’t miss anything, did you? With so many scrolls scattered everywhere, there’s no way there’s not even one job change scroll!”

Luo Yong pointed to the mountain of scrolls strewn about—varied types, though not all kinds collected.

The sheer quantity could equip several large mage battalions, enough for multiple major battles.

Luo Yong began doubting Pang Ding’s diligence. Maybe he hadn’t searched carefully, dazzled by the scrolls and gems, missing or misreading something.

“You’re full of it! The biggest, stinkiest lie ever!” Pang Ding cursed, pointing at Luo Yong. “You bastard, come down here and see if I don’t stab you to death!”

“...” Luo Yong took the opportunity to fly even higher.

He wasn’t sure how far Pang Ding’s sword could reach.

Besides, while Pang Ding cursed, another barrage of tactical scrolls detonated.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of dazzling flames swept over the crater, blasting it again.

After a moment, Pang Ding lay in the crater, scorched and gasping, “Is there no other way...? I just want to resurrect Belinda...”

“If no scrolls, then solve the leveling problem,” Luo Yong said.

“How?” Pang Ding asked.

“Adela...” Luo Yong barely finished before taking off swiftly.

“Damn your Adela! Take this, ha-sa-gei!” Pang Ding swung his sword while lying down.

...

Leaving the Bear Island secret realm, Pang Ding only said, “I’ll come back for you,” before departing alone to find other solutions.

He waved off all the loot inside, uninterested.

Luo Yong respected that somewhat.

Then he went to find the elven elder, handing over the secret realm key and entrusting the gems, scrolls, and everything else for safekeeping.

When he next saw the elven noblewoman Yan Bao’er, her eyes were red as if she’d been crying.

“Bao’er, what’s wrong?” Luo Yong asked, taking her hand with concern.

“It’s too late, Luo Yong... we can’t wait any longer...” Bao’er said, tears flowing again, her expression mournful and sorrowful.

“What? That matter can’t be completed? We missed the best time?” Luo Yong hurriedly asked. “I’m level 15 now, with rune gems added, I should be able to try!”