Chapter 54: Return to the Gaoge Camp

Survival Guide to Another World:

Rule One: Never, ever entrust your fate to someone else!
Rule Two: When it's time to run, run without hesitation!
If you fail to run, your life won't be spared!

As the ancients say: If you survive well, you'll be covered in dust; if you don't, you'll end up in a box of ashes; if you thrive... cough.

With a single step, Luo Yong and Selene found themselves atop a sheer cliff. Behind them stretched a quiet, dense forest, where shadows flickered but sensed nothing of their presence.

“Selene, we're going down now. Are you scared?” Luo Yong asked, stepping forward.

“Hmm? Selene’s not afraid,” the little girl murmured.

She was already feeling sleepy; after arriving at the inn, she thought she’d finally get some rest. Who could have guessed that Luo Yong would sling her onto his back and immediately open a portal of light?

Of course, somewhere in her heart, she’d been prepared for this—she knew Luo Yong was leaving the Reba Camp. So she didn’t dwell on it. After all, wherever Luo Yong went, she would follow.

But just as she finished speaking, she felt a rush of wind; Luo Yong’s footsteps grew lighter, like he was floating—sometimes high, sometimes low, as if about to take flight.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous noise erupted overhead, accompanied by a violent surge of energy.

“Ah!” Selene startled awake at the sound, opening her eyes—only to find, astonishingly, that they really were flying!

Except, they were plummeting downward, over the edge of the cliff.

The scenery around them kept rising as they themselves gently—

Wait, gently?

Selene felt puzzled by their rate of descent. She recalled falling from trees before, and it was always much faster—a swift drop to the ground. But now, after all this time, why had they... stopped?

Still confused, Selene watched as Luo Yong exhaled deeply and muttered, “Tenfold reverse gravity.”

This gravity spell, closely tied to the force of the earth, could, when amplified, crush a person if used normally. But reversed, although it resembled a floating spell in effect, was far more powerful.

Logically, tenfold gravity would flatten someone; tenfold reverse gravity should fling them skyward, shouldn’t it?

Yet, in reality, Luo Yong started with fivefold reverse gravity, then increased to tenfold, stopping their rapid fall and suspending them in midair.

Now, they weren’t far from the ground. Looking down, they could still see shifting shadows below.

Though Selene was just a child, her courage surpassed most. After the initial fright, she became captivated by the sensation of floating in the air—finding it rather fun.

But for Luo Yong, the drain on his magic was considerable.

“At this distance...” Luo Yong glanced toward the cliff, still uneasy. He opened a new portal in midair and stepped through.

“Where are we going?” Selene whispered in his ear.

“We’re on the road home,” Luo Yong answered calmly, gently patting her head. “If you’re sleepy, rest. Don’t worry; you’ll be safe.”

“Oh...” Selene replied, falling silent as she gazed around.

The commotion Luo Yong had caused earlier had left her quite alert—sleep was now out of the question.

On the other side of the portal lay a labyrinth Luo Yong had previously visited, marking it intentionally. It led to a road essential for reaching Reba Camp; inside, monsters ranged around level ten, with occasional ones up to level thirteen or fifteen.

Luo Yong carried Selene through the shadowy maze, surrounded by countless monsters, none of which sensed their presence.

Selene clung tightly to Luo Yong’s neck, her body trembling slightly as she took in her surroundings.

This was perhaps her first true taste of adventure, having never before seen so many high-level creatures.

She didn’t ask why Luo Yong hadn’t rested at the inn, nor did she cry—though scared, she said nothing, only tightening her embrace.

Until, suddenly, she spotted several enormous monsters dwelling in a vast building.

Luo Yong sensed the stiffness in the little girl behind him, realizing she was frightened but valiantly holding back her fear. He shook his head and opened another portal, then activated a tactical scroll.

It was a large fire-element scroll, unleashing a powerful explosion that would destroy the portal and erase all traces within a certain radius.

Luo Yong and Selene’s aura would vanish as well.

This was to prevent pursuit.

Luo Yong understood all too well the terrifying depths of human desire—some would stop at nothing to obtain what they wanted.

Whether that old bastard named Bill was such a person or not, Luo Yong would never risk his own life.

To fully shake off pursuit, Luo Yong had to go all in.

The tactical scrolls, once kept as trump cards, were now brought out in full force.

His aura changed, and he masked his presence.

In the dim maze, Selene didn’t notice the change in Luo Yong’s cloak.

“Where are we now?” she asked, unable to resist as they entered a deep mine, watching the black shadows drifting about. “What are these?”

“This is a mine; those are giant black ants,” Luo Yong explained.

He was now in the territory of Roger Camp.

This mine was the same layer he’d fallen into during a monster hunt with some rebellious youths. He’d marked it then, logging the coordinates with a special scroll—and now, it proved invaluable.

Sometimes he had little money, but other times, he seemed to have more than he knew what to do with, gathering up all sorts of useful and useless items without caring about the space they took.

If one word described him, it would be: broad-minded.

A sense of scope meant leaving camp and looking out at the world—a few teleport scrolls, what could they cost?

At this moment, the mine was mostly empty, inhabited only by mutated black ants.

Well, perhaps they weren’t mutated—perhaps this was just how they were in this world.

As they traversed the mine, aside from the ants, in certain areas there were traces of dried blood and broken weapons scattered about.

Clearly, the mercenary guild had paid a high price to explore this place.

Occasionally, residual magical energy could still be felt.

Once Luo Yong felt it was safe, he opened another portal, left a tactical scroll behind, and departed.

But instead of retracing his steps to the Gaoge Camp, he went in the opposite direction, to other locations.

Thus began a relentless cycle—opening portal after portal, teleporting again and again.

At first, he would walk a bit in each new place, then leave.

Later, he abandoned walking altogether, simply opening portals one after another.

Selene, clinging to his neck, watched as he emerged from one portal, immediately opened another, tossed in an activated tactical scroll, and stepped through—repeating the process endlessly.

They kept at it for a long while.

Not until most of the teleport scrolls had been used did Luo Yong finally turn to gaze back, as if sensing his handiwork across the distance.

At this rate, not even a deity could find him!

Hmph!

His level was still too low; for now, he could only prioritize survival. Once he returned to camp and leveled up, it wouldn’t matter whether it was that old Bill or anyone else—no matter who it was, he’d take them down if they dared to cross him!

A wild ambition began to stir in Luo Yong’s heart—

He would establish his own mercenary group and forge the strongest guild in the other world!

Even the prophets were prepared early on—though training them cost quite a bit.

But that brought peace of mind.

Gaoge Camp.

After what seemed like ages—though exactly how long, he couldn’t say—Luo Yong appeared here again.

His profession remained Magic Swordsman.

He still hadn’t learned swordsmanship, but his magic had shifted to gravity spells.

A magic he could use openly, unlike the necromancer’s arts. If the mage guild or mercenary guild discovered and confirmed those, they’d log it officially and perhaps restrict his movements...

Troublesome!

He went to the inn where he’d previously stayed, rented a room, paid a hefty sum, and let Selene rest properly.

He wandered around the camp, but saw no familiar faces—everyone had likely gone off on their own quests.

He also noticed the forge’s fire had gone out, and the blacksmith was nowhere to be seen.

Circling the forge several times, Luo Yong secretly wondered if he could do something—like have Dodo learn another skill, perhaps “Blacksmithing Expertise”...

After pondering a while, he felt it was a promising idea.

But for now, he wouldn’t have time for it.

Besides, he worried the blacksmith might return and smash his workshop.

Cough.

“Luo Yong?”

At that moment, a voice sounded nearby, and a figure strode quickly toward him.

“It’s you?” Luo Yong replied, surprised to see she had truly come here.

“I've been looking for you for so long!” Mila stood before him, gazing directly at him, her face touched with a smile.

“Did something happen?” Luo Yong asked, curious.

He’d been so busy on the road home, rushing and teleporting, that he hadn’t stopped at Roger Camp to ask for news.

“Sigh...” Mila sighed, a look of helplessness on her face. “The team has disbanded.”