NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
Chapter 9: The One Who Walks in the Night
You should know that the panel in [Fantasy World] doesn’t have age as a statistic. I mean, studying the concept of time in a virtual world? What a waste of time.
And it’s only been about two years since Miss Vilyric hatched Xiao Guang from the dragon egg. What’s with this 300-plus years nonsense? Is this thing malfunctioning?
It doesn’t even show anything, just gives an “age unknown”… Hey, what does that mean?
After grumbling a bit about this nonsensical setting, Vilyric carefully checked the skill tree and her inventory again but didn’t find anything special.
The only regret was the large amount of money, materials, and spare equipment in the game warehouse that couldn’t be brought along. Although the most important part was always carried by Vilyric, many mid to high-level items were lost because of this…
Closing her personal panel and item bar, Vilyric sighed, noticing her pet dragon daughter still sprawled on the table, staring at her with big eyes.
Speaking of which, there’s only one bed in this room; how are she and Xiao Guang supposed to…?
Though there was the option to send the little dragon daughter back to pet space, ever since discovering that she had become a conscious being, Vilyric found it hard to treat Xiao Guang as just a mere battle pet. Though this child hadn’t said anything, her eyes clearly showed she didn’t want to return to that lonely, monotonous space.
At least for tonight…
To be honest, neither the giant dragon Xiao Guang nor Vilyric—as a member of the divine race—actually needs sleep, but for Vilyric, who not long ago was a bona fide human, suddenly staying awake at night was quite an adjustment.
Since it’s not exactly polite to ask for another room after receiving such a favor from Lester, she thought, why not just… hmm?
Getting up and striding to the window, Vilyric gazed down into the dim night, where she noticed a shadow sneaking around.
The being was surrounded by a faint black mist, using the night as cover. Normally, it would be hard for the average person to notice its movements, but the somewhat familiar energy fluctuations caught Vilyric’s attention.
The reason was simple; the way this person concealed their presence was too similar to that Nightshade Tiger she had seen before. But this was inside the town, and the sudden appearance of something like that made the energy that was meant to lower its existence feel as pronounced as a spotlight in the night to Vilyric’s senses.
“Roar? Finally, something interesting. It seems things in this little town aren’t as simple as they appear…”
A smile crept onto her lips, bubbling with interest. This discovery felt like when she randomly defeated an inconspicuous little monster, only to suddenly receive an invitation for a special quest, filled with the allure of the unknown.
“Master, should we follow it?”
Xiao Guang’s figure quietly appeared beside her. As a dragon with keen senses, she had also noticed that little ant in the distance but had simply chosen to ignore it until now.
“Go, of course we’re going! This is a great opportunity to understand this world better, but remember to be careful; although it might just be a possibility, these hidden [side quests] can sometimes be way harder than main quests.”
“Yes.”
Casting floating magic with a flick of her hand, Vilyric leapt through the window, followed closely by the golden-haired girl who spread her dragon wings, and the two swiftly disappeared into the night.
Carl Perkins was a regular hunter in the Dark Jungle Town. His family had hunted for generations, going all the way back to his grandparents and beyond.
Growing up on the edge of the forest, Carl knew the ins and outs of the Dark Jungle—at least the outskirts.
But ever since that incident happened, his life underwent a monumental change. It was then that Carl slipped into the forest under the cover of night, an act that would have been tantamount to seeking death before.
A layer of black mist-like energy swirled around Carl’s somewhat slender figure. Though it wasn’t his first time, seeing the predators of the night that usually hid from sight ignore him still made his heart race.
This bizarre occurrence was something even the occasional adventurers visiting the town couldn’t manage. Choosing to follow that gentleman truly was the right call!
Thinking back on his life getting better since receiving power from that gentleman, and how the townspeople respected him more with every hunt due to the increased game, Carl felt optimistic about the future.
However, that magical beast he had left in the forest… it really was taken out by an adventurer from West Sea City. This made Carl a bit uneasy; even though the gentleman had said, “It doesn’t matter if it dies,” that creature still needed some strength to guard it…
That’s why, upon hearing the news, he hurried under the cover of night to a certain area in the forest.
Using his special capability to avoid magical beasts, he safely made his way to a certain spot in the forest. Looking around, Carl found a nondescript rock on the ground and reached inside to press a groove that fit perfectly with the stone’s surface.
Crack, crack, crack, crack…
The ground trembled slightly, and a downward passage opened automatically not far away, looking dark and foreboding like a beast ready to devour.
Carl gulped. If he had the choice, he wouldn’t want to enter such a terrifying place, but the gentleman’s orders were clear—failure to comply would lead to a grim fate.
Lighting a fire that emitted a faint glow, Carl mustered his courage and went inside. Not long after, the passage closed once more, revealing no signs of change from the outside.
A hazy figure slipped in just as the passage closed behind Carl, but…
After that, two faint ghostly lights flickered at the entrance, unnoticed by anyone…
With the torch in hand, Carl lit the fire basins along the way, which made the scene in the passage much clearer, but the light felt cold rather than warm, akin to ghostly blue fire.
There were many traps along the road. According to the gentleman, even a sky-level powerhouse could get hurt if they didn’t know the mechanisms, so Carl naturally didn’t dare to test it out. He obediently avoided them and successfully arrived at a door.
Upon opening it, he found a rather spacious underground chamber, in the center of which stood an altar. Upon it rested a round gemstone of black-gray that emitted a ghostly light, while in the corners lay several diamond-shaped crystals arranged in order, one of which was already empty.
Carl took a distant look at the gemstone floating on the altar. He didn’t know why the gentleman wanted it there or what its purpose was. The gentleman had only told him that it must be protected at all costs while those “Sealing Crystals” were left as safeguards.
Inside was a magical beast.