Chapter 26: The Wind Whisperer

A group of people formed a circle, sitting together under the open sky, sharing food. The giant wolf summoned by the Wild Hunter lay a short distance away, keeping watch, while Luo Yong's two skeletal soldiers wandered nearby. The forest was eerily quiet; apart from them, it seemed as though nothing else existed. Yet, the place brimmed with vitality—it should not have been a dead world.

Luo Yong looked at his companions, feeling a strange sense within him, as if he were on a camping trip and these people were simply a group of eccentric newcomers playing at role-playing games. He himself played the part of a much-admired necromancer, cast in a friendly cameo. For a moment, it felt like a dream.

“There’s something odd about this forest, a force that can corrode the heart,” said Elia, her expression heavy even as she ate.

“What sort of oddness? How do we deal with it?” Wendy asked.

“I feel a bit dazed too, almost as if I’m dreaming,” said the Storm Sorcerer.

“I don’t feel anything,” replied the Barbarian Priestess, eating as she checked her senses; everything seemed normal.

“Mara has professional resistance, immune to holy light, and as for me, because of my profession, I’m sensitive to such things,” Elia explained.

“So, what’s the solution?” asked the Wild Hunter.

“I don’t know.” Elia shook her head.

There was nothing to be done; none had entered a secret realm before, so they had no idea what to expect. No matter how much one prepared, it was impossible to be ready for every eventuality. For now, they could only improvise.

“Everyone, eat quickly. Once we’re done, let’s explore and shorten the time spent here—lest we be influenced by this abnormal environment,” Wendy said after a quick deliberation. “If you notice anything strange, don’t keep it to yourself. Speak up so we all know.”

“Alright,” they all agreed.

After eating, the group continued exploring the forest for a while. Suddenly, the sky grew darker. The secret realm had never been particularly bright—always somewhat gloomy—yet coming from the Bloodmoon Continent, where there was neither day nor night, they were used to dim surroundings and adapted well enough. Still, as the environment grew darker, their unease increased.

“This secret realm isn’t quite what I imagined…” Elia murmured.

“Ha!” Luo Yong suddenly chuckled, connecting the dots. Was this greedy woman expecting the secret realm to be piled high with treasure, just waiting for her to collect?

“What are you laughing at?” Elia noticed his reaction—she could tell he was thinking about something related to her. Annoyed, she raised her hand… only to realize that the glove she wore was one she’d traded from Luo Yong, using just a magic scroll—an unpopular necromancy scroll, at that.

Of course, what surprised her most was that Luo Yong had actually become a necromancer! In a sense, she had inadvertently caused this herself. But how had he really learned necromancy? She couldn’t figure it out.

Cough.

Thinking of this, she sheepishly lowered her hand as if nothing had happened, quietly moving away from Luo Yong and settling beside Wendy.

“We can’t move forward anymore—we can’t see a thing,” Wendy suddenly stopped everyone. The longsword in her hand ignited with fire, casting its unique glow in the darkness. The Fireblade lit up their surroundings, but paradoxically, it became harder to see anything.

“Wendy, be careful. If you set the place ablaze, we might not make it out alive,” the Storm Sorcerer said worriedly.

Cough…

Wendy seemed about to reply, but was cut off by the remark.

“Alright, perhaps… let’s retreat to somewhere safer and reconsider. Stumbling around in the dark won’t help,” she said.

“Agreed,” Elia immediately chimed in. In fact, whatever Wendy said, she would almost always be the first to support, openly playing the role of the echo.

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Luo Yong.

Once, Luo Yong’s life had been orderly—active by day, resting at night. But since arriving in this world, there was no distinction between day and night; his biological clock was a mess. Still, since Wendy suggested it, he nodded and said, “Let’s go back to the valley. It’s a good spot—easy to defend, easy to retreat from. None of us have traversed this secret realm before; who knows what we might face. Better to be cautious.”

Though the urge to level up was strong among them, rushing ahead was not necessarily wise. Besides, nothing had happened yet—not a single monster encountered, not a legendary item found. Even if they wanted to move quickly, there was nothing to hurry.

Everyone agreed and quickly returned to the valley along the path. There, they built a campfire, resting and chatting around the flames. The talk was idle gossip, nothing substantial, leaving Luo Yong speechless; truly, some things never change, no matter the world.

“I still want to know what’s up with Luo Yong—how can he summon two skeletal soldiers at once? Is he already level ten?” the Barbarian Priestess asked, puzzled.

“They say he got a rune stone that boosts his level, but he hasn’t actually leveled up. And…” The Storm Sorcerer leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice, “He’s stuck at his current level—Luo Yong’s true level is only five…”

“So that’s how it is.” The Barbarian Priestess wore an inscrutable expression, difficult to read. Had there not been people between her and Luo Yong, she might have lunged at him to search for rune stones—the sort of person who’d pounce at the slightest provocation.

Cough.

But she missed her chance.

“Mara, what’s the story with that Ivan fellow? Where did he take you, what did you do, you didn’t… do that, did you?” Elia looked at her with a strange expression, as if trying to read something from her face.

“Uh… what nonsense are you talking about?!” Mara became flustered, instinctively glancing at Luo Yong for reasons unknown. Even after shaking her head to calm herself, she replied angrily, “How could I possibly do that with someone like him… We barbarians have rules—we can’t just engage in that sort of thing with anyone…”

“Ah, so that means Frost can rest easy; he was worried sick,” the Wild Hunter said.

“What’s he got to worry about? Calls himself a protector, but he doesn’t have the strength and acts tough. If I hadn’t persuaded him, he’d have been beaten to death long ago!” Mara grumbled.

“Huh, that’s not what we heard!” The Storm Sorcerer perked up, “What really happened? Tell us!”

“At the time, those two minotaurs…” Mara began, but Luo Yong interrupted, “I don’t get it—why would minotaurs become thieves? Aren’t they afraid their families will beat them to death if they find out?”

“Uh…” Mara blinked, a strange expression crossing her face—she seemed both amused and exasperated.

“Those two just chose the thief profession, but…” she continued.

“They don’t seem the type. Bandits, maybe, but thieves? Anyone robbed by them must be a fool!” the Storm Sorcerer said.

“They follow a different code. One says: ‘If you kill all your enemies, no one will know you were there.’ The other says: ‘Take out everyone and steal their stuff—it counts as thievery.’”

“The secret realm Ivan holds came from a level-nine hero they dealt with. That person couldn’t be saved,” Mara said, sighing at the fragility of life. To die at the hands of two thieves—what a wretched fate… Even if those thieves were minotaurs.

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let them go—should’ve handed them over to the Hero Association for punishment!” Wendy declared.

“Sigh! Before that, we should find a way to increase our strength in this secret realm. Next time we meet those two minotaurs, things won’t end so easily,” the Wild Hunter said, shaking his head, his tone full of concern.

“We… probably can’t go to the Hero Association for now…” The Storm Sorcerer suddenly realized, “Ivan likely went to report first, and we have a necromancer among us…”

“What’s wrong with being a necromancer?” Luo Yong asked curiously. Was professional prejudice in this world really so strong?

He didn’t mind—he wasn’t truly a necromancer, just masquerading as one. Besides, he had a wind spell scroll now, which corresponded to the profession called Wind Speaker. Secretly, Luo Yong planned to learn the wind spell once everyone went off to seek their own fortunes, giving himself another trump card.

“Ahem, my profession is Magic Swordsman—I just use necromancy spells, that’s all.”