Chapter 2: The Human Encampment

“Stop right there! No advancing!”

“Who are you?!”

“Where did you come from?”

Luo Yong’s body swayed; for a moment, he was tempted to let himself collapse, lie on the ground, and wait for someone from the camp to carry him inside. But the next second, he realized he couldn’t entrust his fate to others.

So he forced himself to stay upright, didn’t fall, and simply sat down where he was, waving to the people inside the camp.

“He sat down? What does that mean?”

“Should we go check it out?”

“At this time… better be cautious…”

Voices from inside the camp tumbled together in a jumble, none clear enough to make out.

The commander scrutinized Luo Yong for a while, then gestured for two of his subordinates to go and investigate.

“Remember, these are extraordinary times. If you notice anything suspicious, don’t hesitate—just—”

The commander drew a finger across his throat.

The two guards nodded, left the camp, and approached Luo Yong. One of them asked, “Who are you? Where are you from?”

“My name is Luo Yong. I came from another camp.”

“What are you doing here?”

“The camp… is gone… I walked for a long time before finding this place!”

“What? Another camp destroyed?!”

Both guards were startled, exchanging glances as they hurriedly asked, “Which camp was wiped out?”

Luo Yong pointed behind him. “The one the spider monsters passed through…”

Swish!

One guard unsheathed his sword, barking, “Nonsense! That camp evacuated everyone before the insect tide arrived!”

The other guard waved him off, saying, “How did you survive?”

“I had my own ways to stay alive…” Luo Yong lay down in pain, panting. “Sir, do you have anything to eat? I’m starving!”

“Wait here.” The two guards exchanged looks. One stayed to watch Luo Yong, the other returned to the camp.

The guard who remained was older, a rugged uncle with a scruffy beard and a weary face. He smiled at Luo Yong. “It’s extraordinary times. I can’t let you into the camp, and the commander wouldn’t allow it either. You’ll have to stay outside for now.”

Soon, the other guard returned, carrying a piece of hard bread and a jug of water.

“Eat.”

Luo Yong took the bread, devoured it quickly, then drank the water in one gulp, exhaling deeply as he lay back to catch his breath.

“What does the commander say?” the bearded guard asked.

“You need to complete at least two tasks before you can enter the camp,” replied the other.

“Understood, I’ll handle it,” said the bearded guard. “First, we need to check your identity.”

“Uh… my name is Luo Yong, male, eighteen, living at—”

“Cough, cough!” The bearded guard coughed, called up his information panel, and said, “Show me your information panel, like this.”

“Oh… I see…”

“Stand up and be serious!” the other guard said coldly, hand resting on his sword.

Luo Yong patted the dust off and stood, when suddenly something fell from his person with a soft thud.

Swish!

The cold-faced guard drew his sword again!

“No need to be nervous.” The bearded guard picked up the item that had fallen from Luo Yong.

It was a book, its cover embroidered with elaborate patterns, a few hard-to-decipher characters in the middle.

“Is this your book?” The bearded guard handed it back to Luo Yong.

Luo Yong reached for it, and his information panel suddenly listed a new item.

Item: Book of Seals!

“This, this, this book is mine,” Luo Yong stammered.

It had just fallen from his own body—whose else could it be? Yet he hadn’t felt it before. As he wondered, the book in his hand shrank to a palm-sized, thin volume, making it easy to carry.

“That’s a spellbook?” the cold-faced guard asked.

The bearded guard looked at Luo Yong with an odd expression.

“It’s… it’s a common notebook for apprentice mages… My teacher prepared it for me.” Staring at the cold sword, Luo Yong forced himself to answer.

Meanwhile, the strange writing on the Book of Seals’ cover quietly shifted to display new characters.

After a few seconds of silence, the bearded guard flipped open an account book to the latest page and said, “Alright. State your name and profession, display your information panel, I need to register and verify.”

“My name is Luo Yong. I am… a swordsman…”

“Tell the truth! Any hesitation or concealment could cost you your life!” The cold-faced guard’s sword point hovered just a hair’s breadth from Luo Yong.

Luo Yong: At that moment, the sword’s tip was only 0.01 millimeters from me. Two breaths later, these guards would believe everything I said, utterly convinced, because I planned to use my Disguiser skill to tell a lie…

“Alright, I’ll tell the truth! My name is Luo Yong. My class is Mage Swordsman, level three.”

As he spoke, Luo Yong summoned his information panel.

Name: Luo Yong

Class: Mage Swordsman

Level: 3

Not a single extra word.

“Only level three?” The cold-faced guard finally sheathed his sword, muttering, “So weak—how did you survive the beast tide?”

Luo Yong: I’ve been thoroughly looked down on…

“Your level is indeed a bit low,” the bearded guard said, stowing his account book and pulling out a parchment scroll, which he spread in front of Luo Yong. “I won’t assign you a specific task. Here are some missions. Choose two suitable ones according to your ability and complete them quickly!”

Luo Yong scanned the tasks and picked two relatively simple ones.

Task 1: Eliminate wandering skeleton monsters near the camp.

Requirement: Bring back the second segment of the ring finger bone from their right hand.

Quantity: 10

Task 2: Hunt and bring back burrowing field rats near the camp.

Quantity: 10

“You chose these two tasks?” The bearded guard was surprised. “Some tasks look easy and low-level but are actually difficult; others seem troublesome but, with patience, are simple.”

The cold-faced guard snorted but said nothing.

Luo Yong double-checked the tasks, nodded, and said, “Yes, I’ll do these two.”

The bearded guard was about to speak when the cold-faced guard tossed two items over. “Here’s your reward for the tasks, paid in advance!”

Luo Yong received them—a leather glove for the left hand and a leather coin pouch.

“Once you take the reward, the tasks can’t be changed!”

Luo Yong: …

“Why only one glove?”

“Left hand for picking things up, right hand for wielding weapons. Never let your guard down!” the cold-faced guard said coolly.

“Wear the glove. Some task items may be corrosive—never touch them bare-handed. Remember!” the bearded guard warned.

“Skeleton monsters sometimes drop coins, and if you’re lucky, gems. Heh, good luck!” The cold-faced guard said, turning away.

The bearded guard nodded to Luo Yong and returned to the camp with his companion.

“Killing monsters for loot? I know this routine well!” Luo Yong muttered, unimpressed, and began to wander around the camp.

After a while, he found nothing and simply sat down to wait.

The blood moon in the sky cast its eerie glow, the wilderness silent, not a whisper of wind.

Crunch, crunch!

Luo Yong’s body shook as the earth beneath him stirred, and a skeleton monster crawled out right under his nose.

Soon, several more skeleton monsters emerged nearby, wandering aimlessly.

They ignored Luo Yong, though he was mere inches away.

Luo Yong observed, slipped behind one skeleton monster, and tripped it with his wooden stick.

Smack!

The skeleton monster tumbled, let out a hiss, and tried to get up.

Luo Yong grabbed a stone and smashed it down with all his might.

Smack!

Clatter…

Rattle…

The skeleton monster fell apart, scattered in pieces.

The other skeleton monsters were drawn by the noise, found nothing, and resumed their mindless wandering.

Luo Yong sifted through the pile of bones and found a shiny yellow gem the size of a fingernail.

“The drop rate is this high?”

Luo Yong, cautious, used his gloved left hand to pick up the gem and put it in the coin pouch, then found the required finger bone and collected it.

The rest was easy—repeating the same method, he dispatched four more skeleton monsters, obtaining a black gem and a green gem.

Later, on the other side of the camp, Luo Yong dealt with five more skeleton monsters, and after much poking with his stick, found only a red gem.

“Almost forgot to pick up the finger bones—too busy grabbing gems!”

One task completed. The other required venturing a bit further from the camp.

That task was even easier than fighting skeleton monsters; Luo Yong finished it without much effort, though he regretted not finding any gems or coins.

The blood moon hung in the sky, seemingly eternal, making it impossible to sense the passage of time.

The pale moonlight carried a strange magic, enticing one to lose themselves without realizing.

Luo Yong withdrew his gaze and headed toward the camp. As he neared the gate, a guard called out from afar.

“Who goes there?”

“Luo Yong, level three Mage Swordsman. Task completed, requesting entry.” Luo Yong raised his gloved left hand and slowly approached under the guards’ scrutiny.

One guard checked the records, eyed Luo Yong skeptically, and asked, “You’re the one from another camp?”

“Yes,” Luo Yong replied.

“You took the skeleton monster and field rat tasks?”

“Yes.”

“Confirmed completed?”

“Confirmed.” Luo Yong opened a bundle containing ten field rats.

He’d scavenged this bundle from his original camp, made from a rain tarp.

Then he pulled the skeleton finger bones from his coin pouch.

“Well, well, you really did it? And so quickly,” a guard remarked.

“Can I go in now?”

“Alright, you may enter.” A guard took the task items, glanced at the skeleton monsters reappearing outside the camp, and said, “I heard these things sometimes drop coins, and if you’re lucky, gems. Wonder if that’s true.”

Another guard joked, “Did you get any gems from your tasks?”

Luo Yong nodded. “I did.”

“What?!”

“Really?” one guard laughed. “A single gem is worth a hundred coins. The camp is full of all kinds—be careful.”

“Understood, thank you!”

“Ha, you really are a lucky fellow!”