Chapter 61: Setting Up Camp

From the very beginning, one could sense what it truly meant to be "professional"—it was also a chance to teach the three newly recruited novice members the basic procedures for entering and leaving the secret realm.

Then, Luo Yong pulled the little girl up onto the back of the colorful spider and beckoned for the others to follow.

A group of beautiful teammates, amid a chorus of complaints and disdainful sighs, still climbed up honestly. The bolder ones, like Elia, simply took a seat atop the creature. Those with cleanliness obsessions, like the barbarian priestess, spent a long time searching for a relatively clean spot, finally settling for a place that was barely acceptable, stubbornly refusing to sit.

“Find a place to sit or stand, and be careful not to fall off,” Luo Yong instructed Sally to greet the others and become familiar with them. This would keep her from clinging to him all the time. There were many times he needed to venture out alone—bringing her along would be inconvenient. With these beautiful teammates present, especially Wendy, he was confident they would take good care of Sally. This gave Luo Yong peace of mind.

Once everyone was ready, Luo Yong guided the giant spider forward with steady control.

Within this Spider Island secret realm, everywhere one looked—caves, hidden forests, hillsides, streams—it was all somewhat different from what one might have imagined. Every element was present, as one would expect. The only thing conspicuously absent was the spiders themselves.

“I thought we’d be greeted warmly the moment we arrived!” Elia muttered to herself. For her, spiders were not particularly bothersome—many things other girls couldn’t tolerate, such as highly poisonous creatures, were treasures to her. It was often difficult to find such things.

Ah, perhaps this was what made her different from others. Perhaps it was also the reason she chose the unpopular profession of a curse witch.

“Welcomed? Welcomed so you can come in and hunt monsters?” the barbarian priestess retorted with irritation. She often encountered spider monsters herself. But considering this was the Spider Island secret realm, filled entirely with spider monsters—big spiders, little spiders, medium-sized flower spiders—the thought alone was unsettling.

“Luo Yong, is this secret realm randomly generated, or did you deliberately wish for a spider realm?” the barbarian priestess suddenly asked.

“Of course... it’s random. Who would ever wish for such a realm?” Luo Yong chuckled, his expression turning somewhat odd. “Besides, before making a wish, no one knew if such a realm even existed!”

“...”

While the others found Luo Yong’s explanation reasonable, the barbarian priestess was still dissatisfied. “I feel like you’re not telling the truth! Hmph!”

“All right, let’s get back to business.”

Standing atop the giant spider, Luo Yong gazed into the distance and said, “Although I’ve told you before, since there are new team members, I need to emphasize it again.”

“My profession is ‘Magic Swordmaster’—I haven’t yet had the chance to learn sword techniques, and as for magic...”

“I use necromancy!” The beautiful teammates chimed in together, not waiting for Luo Yong to finish.

“Eh?!”

“What?”

“Wow!”

The three new teammates each expressed their astonishment. Mira was only mildly surprised, her expression still composed—after all, she had served as a captain herself, and her teammates all had eccentric professions.

Lilian, however, gaped in disbelief, as if she’d boarded a pirate ship. If she weren’t in the secret realm and the key for entry and exit weren’t in someone else’s hands, she might have turned and fled.

As for Sally... for some reason, her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Luo Yong noted all their reactions but paid them no mind. He waved his hand to quiet them and continued, “That’s just one part. During my absence, I’ve also studied other schools of magic.”

“For example, wind magic.”

“Huh?” Now it was the storm sorceress’s turn to be surprised.

“What kind of spells specifically?”

“Single-target attack spells.”

As he spoke, Luo Yong released a blade of wind, shooting it off into the distance.

“So it’s real...” The barbarian priestess stared blankly at the wind blade. “Our little brother has grown up—looks like he doesn’t need his elder sister’s protection anymore...”

“...”

Luo Yong was speechless once more, unsure how to continue.

“In any case, that’s how it is.”

“Necromancy... I want to see it!” Sally tugged at Luo Yong’s sleeve, excitement in her voice.

“Sally...”

This child was clearly not normal; her interests were so different from everyone else’s.

“I just want to see it!” Sally pleaded, poking her fingers together pitifully.

“There’s really nothing I can do with you.” Luo Yong sighed softly, glanced at Lilian—the water-earth dual-element mage who looked ready to flee at any moment—and waved his hand casually.

A skeletal warrior emerged from the ground with a clatter, marching alongside the giant spider like a guardian.

“By the way, what did you exchange for with your wish scrolls?” After advancing a bit further, Luo Yong suddenly asked.

“Uh...” Elia’s body swayed as if unprepared, somewhat embarrassed. But at the moment of truth, she couldn’t afford to hesitate.

She fumbled through her storage equipment for quite some time, pulling out various items and arranging them around her like a street vendor. Luo Yong glanced over—good heavens! They were all poisonous insects and herbs, along with bottles and jars of indeterminate contents. Ever since they acquired storage equipment, these beautiful teammates had accumulated some possessions; they no longer lived as destitutely as before.

“Storage equipment is a team benefit; you’ll receive yours soon,” Luo Yong remarked casually, and the three new teammates remained silent.

“Found it—here it is!”

At last, after a sweaty struggle, Elia produced the item she’d been searching for, clearly treating it with the utmost importance.

She held out a delicate ring to Luo Yong. Its color was pale, as if carved from white bone.

“This is...”

“A necromancer’s exclusive item: the Ring of Fear!” Elia blurted out, then blushed and spoke with less confidence, “It’s just that... the glove is still with me, and I haven’t found anything of equal value yet, so... so...”

“All right, the trade is complete... but you really don’t have to do this.” Luo Yong smiled, took the ring, thought for a moment, and put it away without wearing it.

“Ah! What a pity! What a pity!” The storm sorceress sighed deeply.

“It really is unfortunate...” The wild hunter shook her head as well.

“What’s wrong? You all seem a bit disappointed,” Luo Yong asked.

“It’s nothing. That glove—looks like it’s never going to be ours,” the barbarian priestess replied.

“Luck can’t be envied,” Wendy said calmly, her tone gentle as she explained the situation.

As it turned out, the wish scroll had been picked up by Elia while gathering herbs by a river. She was never lucky enough to get equipment drops from monsters, but picking something up on the roadside left everyone speechless.

“That’s possible?” Luo Yong laughed, then added, “Maybe it’s a turn of fortune. Everyone’s luck will get better. A wish scroll is only the beginning—don’t dwell on it.”

“Let’s hope so!”

...

A while later, the giant spider stopped in a relatively flat and open area, with no immediate danger nearby. The ground was hard, making it unlikely for spiders to be lurking beneath.

“All right, I plan to set up camp here. This will be our coordinates—every time we enter this secret realm, the portal will open at this spot,” Luo Yong said to himself. The others didn’t respond, unsure what to say. If there were no further instructions, they were eager to leave and train in another secret realm.

“Doesn’t anyone want to stay and explore with me?” Luo Yong asked, looking at the beautiful teammates.

“Me! Me, me, me!” Sally was the first to raise her hand.

She didn’t care where they went as long as Luo Yong didn’t abandon her.

“All right, you’re in. Anyone else?”

“...”

“Captain, you shouldn’t ask that question—it’s awkward,” the storm sorceress whispered, sidling up to Luo Yong and pinching Sally’s cheek, earning a pout from her.

“Fine, suit yourselves.” Luo Yong shrugged, not forcing the issue. In front of everyone, he summoned the alchemy sprite.

“Dodo greets her master!”

The sweet-faced alchemy sprite appeared, warmly called out to Luo Yong, and gave him a big hug. Then, with a cheer, she circled the giant spider a few times, stretching like a human, as if she’d been cooped up for too long.

“What... is this now?” The group of beautiful teammates gathered around, staring at Dodo.

All eyes turned to Luo Yong.

“An alchemy sprite acquired during another adventure,” Luo Yong replied calmly.

“Alchemy sprite?” Elia’s eyes lit up instantly—her profession belonged to the same category. As a curse witch, she often dealt with alchemy.

“Is it useful?” The barbarian priestess was somewhat displeased by yet another “beauty” appearing beside Luo Yong—even if she was only a sprite. Of course, this sprite was not the same as the elven race.

“Dodo, build a workshop here for us. We’ll be staying for a while,” Luo Yong instructed.