63-70

Chapter 63: Together With Him

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

After everything was over, the banquet once again resumed its festivities. Because of Rhode's bold actions, those nobles who were previously doubtful of him gradually changed their attitudes. Since the relationship between the Munn Kingdom and the Country of Light was irreconcilable, and Rhode mocked the envoy to the extent of driving him away, the nobles slowly regarded Rhode as one of their own. After all, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Having an acquaintance with Sereck and Marlene also reinforced Rhode's reputation. One of them was a famous swordmaster in Deep Stone City, and the other was the only heir of the Senia family as well as a genius mage. With them acknowledging Rhode, it implied that he had the qualifications to stand toe-to-toe with them.

From now on, the people who would make things difficult for him would decrease since no one was stupid enough to create trouble with the behemoths.

Thus, from time to time, nobles would offer a toast to Rhode and made small talk with him. He could also sense many furtive glances from the rich ladies who were hoping to spend a night with him. This act of self-indulgence wasn't uncommon within the nobility as lots of rich ladies loved to meet handsome men and enjoy a good time with them. It was similar to a man who likes to boast about a one-night stand with a beauty.

Unfortunately, before these ladies could approach Rhode for a chat, Marlene's cold eyes shot down their resolve even before it began.

"Shameless."

Another girl in a beautiful dress blushed before turning away. Marlene snorted and lifted up a wine glass, sipping a mouthful of it. As a noble, Marlene knew what they were scheming.

"I say... Miss Marlene, are you asking me for a drink? Or to be my bodyguard?"

As Rhode was right beside Marlene, he could obviously see what she was doing. Frankly, he wasn't a stranger to these things. Before the transmigration, Rhode had a few girlfriends, but nothing memorable came out from his relationships. Rhode dumped some of them after realizing their true nature, and some felt pressure because Rhode was more beautiful than them and chose to leave.

Therefore Rhode was quite open-minded about these things. If the other was willing, he did not mind to enjoy the pleasure. Alas, at this moment, even though two beautiful women were sitting beside him... as they say, the fox preys farthest from home. Rhode did not have the faintest intention towards them. The benefit of a one-night stand was that there wasno-strings-attached after that.

"What? Are you interested in those kinds of women?"

Marlene said as she raised her chin and pointed to the side. The group of wealthy ladies immediately jumped in fright after noticing Marlene glaring at them. Then they quickly dispersed and disappeared.

"At least you should give me a choice to choose."

"...Really shallow."

Marlene stared at Rhode coldly, but he didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Marlene... it's not good to be like that. After all, this is Mr. Rhode's personal life..."

Sensing the atmosphere turning awkward, Lize, who sat opposite Rhode quickly tried to mediate the matter.

"What? Are you saying that I must let this man do as he pleases? Lize, you cannot be too tolerating, otherwise, after you're married, you'll be taken advantage of by the man!"

"Ge, get married?!"

Lize was shocked. She secretly glanced at Rhode beside her. Then, her face turned beet red because she choked on the wine that she was unknowingly drinking.

"Cough cough... isn't it a little too early to be speaking about these things? I..."

"What are you talking about? Last year, I was urged by my father about marriage. Hmph. Luckily there were no eligible men at that moment, otherwise..." Marlene then realized something and said, "ah, but I think you don't care about these matters right now."

Then she looked at Lize in envy and nodded.

"It seems like living here isn't too bad. At least everything can be decided on your own... unlike me."

Marlene felt that she had said too much, so she shook her head and became quiet.

The atmosphere turned heavy, but just a moment later, Rhode broke the silence and said, "Ah right, Marlene, I have something to tell you."

"What's up? If it's about those shallow women from just now, I'm not going to hear it."

"It's about our mission."

Marlene immediately turned around and looked at Rhode.

"What is it?"

Unlike the other ladies, Rhode wasn't frightened when Marlene stared at him. Her eyes were sometimes very oppressive, full of confidence and pride. But it didn't affect him in the least.

"I think it's better for me to go alone."

"Why?"

Marlene frowned slightly. Although her time with Rhode wasn't long, she knew that he would rarely change his mind. If she remembered it correctly, it was her first time hearing him take back his own words.

"I think you've heard from Lize about our first meeting."

Marlene nodded and tilted her head slightly. Although Rhode instructed Lize not to mention about the incident in the floating ship to anyone, Marlene was Lize's close friend and a member of the mercenary group, so, she managed to hear about the matter.

"As I've said, the incident before is related to the Country of Light. Moreover, Sereck had just informed me that their spies were looking for my information. I feel that when I leave for this mission, they would definitely look for trouble with me."

"So you don't intend to let me get involved in this matter."

"Your identity isn't suitable for this mission. This matter is also quite dangerous. For the sake of reputation, they are willing to do anything to accomplish their goal. Ms. Marlene, when they attacked the merchant ship, you weren't there. Therefore this matter is unrelated to you and is unlikely that they will involve you."

"What about Lize?"

Marlene furrowed her brows and asked.

"Well, since she'll be in Deep Stone City, there's nothing much to worry about. The Country of Light wouldn't be stupid enough to move in the open. Furthermore, I've prepared security within the stronghold. As long she doesn't totally disregard safety, it should be fine."

Rhode wasn't concerned about safety as he had full control over the stronghold's security system. If someone tried to invade the stronghold, he would immediately receive system prompts, and the intruder would encounter a certain degree of resistance from the stronghold itself.

"As for Lize..."

Rhode looked at the other girl who sat beside him.

"After I leave, you will live in the mercenary association for the moment. I will request for Sereck to look after the both of you."

"Yes, Mr. Rhode.

Lize was a little sad as she had to leave her home. She wanted to go with him, but the number of spells she knew was too little. Moreover, the bulk of her spells were the holy element which meant that it was only useful against undead. Going on the mission with Rhode would burden him instead of helping.

"Then, as for Ms. Marlene..."

After getting Lize's answer, Rhode turned around. But his words have yet finished, Marlene already made her answer.

"I refuse."

"Eh?"

"Although this matter is not related to me, as a part of Senia family, escaping the problem is not my style and..." Marlene suddenly narrowed her eyes, saying "This is the Munn Kingdom, our country. If those Light scums want to scheme something here, they need to ask for our permission. Mr. Rhode, I hope that I can help you. Just like how you helped me, now it's my turn to return the favor. You are strong, but the enemy isn't only one person. I am a middle circle mage, so I can well-versed in fighting a large number of people. At least, I hope you will consider my proposal."

After hearing her out, Rhode closed his eyes to think.

Marlene did make some sense. If his enemies wanted to attack him when he entered Twilight Forest, most likely they would have to employ an ambush. While he could solve it by himself, Marlene could wipe them clean with much less effort.

If Rhode didn't know to what extent how dangerous this mission was, he would have never considered bringing Marlene along. But now, he was actually very clear of the situation, so if there was an extra pair of hands to help, then... why not?

"Sure, I agree to your request."

In the end, Rhode nodded.

"But I believe you know my condition."

"I understand that I must obey your command. After all, I don't want to lose my life just because of my boring pride."

"Then..."

Rhode stretched out his hand.

"Welcome aboard once more."

"I hope we will work well together."

Marlene shook Rhode's hand firmly with a confident smile.

But the two didn't notice that Lize was staring at them with a complicated expression. Her delicate hands clutched onto the hem of her skirt tightly as she bit her lower lip.

I want to be strong...

Chapter 64: Entering The Mountain

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

The brilliant rays of the sun permeated through the gaps between the canopy.

Rhode stopped in his tracks; he stared at the hilly dirt path in front of him for a moment, then he turned back and looked at the girl who was gasping for air behind him.

"Ms. Marlene, can you move a bit faster?"

"W-wait a minute... let me... catch my breath..."

Marlene's present state was a mess. With mud, twigs, and leaves sticking onto her robe as well as with a face full of sweat, she'd lost all of her previously elegant features. If someone saw her pitiful state right now, they'd have thought that she'd just came back from a war. But in fact, she was only climbing a hill.

"I... never thought... that it was... going to be this tiring..."

She took heavy breaths with each step as she slowly staggered up the hilly road. The enthusiasm that she displayed before had completely vanished. When Rhode saw her like this, he started to regret his decision to bring her along. After all, he wasn't here to fool around. Physical strength wasn't a mage's forte; clearly he'd forgotten about this point.

During the previous mission, Marlene didn't fall into such a miserable state because she used her magic to float up against the steep mountainous slopes. However, as the elevation here was much gentler, she refused to use her magic and insisted to walk. And that was how she ended up exhausted.

At the beginning of the climb, she was energetic since it was her first time exploring the wild without anyone guarding her. This newfound freedom in adventuring made her even more enthusiastic than Rhode.

Alas, enthusiasm wasn't something that could be eaten and converted into energy.

Therefore, her enthusiasm gradually waned and turned into anguish.

Rough roads, thorny shrubs, thickets of grass... observing nature from afar was nice and all, but walking through it was another story altogether. And to make matters worse, even wanting to take a rest was a chore. According to Rhode, she must carefully scan the surroundings just in case a poisonous snake lurked nearby.

Thank the Holy Soul. At least I am given enough time to write my epitaph.

Marlene was already extremely tired and dizzy. She even felt that this was worse than studying a ton of magic law books in the Magic Tower.

"I really don't know how Lize adapted to this lifestyle."

In the end, Marlene chose not to sit on the ground. Instead, she leaned against a tree trunk to catch her breath.

"She must have suffered... back then she was such a crybaby."

"Nothing is impossible."

Rhode gave a casual remark as he compared a nearby mountain with the one in his 'game memory.' Then, he rested his hand on the scabbard of a magnificent looking sword on his waist, the Blood Tears. This sword was given as a gift of appreciation from Claytor. It was apparent that the Keller family was very grateful towards Rhode when they presented him with this magic grade weapon.

Compared to Star Mark, the appearance of Blood Tears resembled those swords from the Middle Ages. It had a dark, crimson hue along with a rare spell that coincided with its name. Whenever the sword contacts with blood, it would gradually become sharper and more durable. Weapons that could grow in strength were rare and highly sought after.

Rhode accepted the gift unreservedly. While Star Mark was still his favorite, it occupied one summoning slot, which he felt was quite a waste. The Summoning Swordman's Magic Circle that Rhode possessed was the 'Ten Strongest Spirit Deck.' Within the Magic Circle, he can decide what Core Card he wanted to use for each deck. For example, in an army, if the player was the commander and the summoned spirits were the soldiers, then the 'Core Card' would be the platoon leader. Once the Core is set, the summoned spirits can be materialized as an entity without consuming soul power. If their power runs out, then they will temporarily return to the Magic Circle to 'charge up' before materializing once more.

For the Summoning Swordsman class, deciding what Core Card to use was crucial and should be done with care, as once the Core was set, it couldn't be changed unless the player chooses to delete it. That was the reason why Rhode hadn't decided on Star Mark's Core yet, since its current level was fairly low. If he found a better card in the future, then everything would be too late.

Rhode had made an error once before, so he wouldn't be stupid enough to repeat it one more time.

Marlene continued. "But, she somehow appears... strange."

"Really?"

Rhode was surprised for a moment.

Lize was strange? How come he did not feel so?

"Hmm... how do I put it..."

Marlene frowned for a moment as she pondered on how to describe it to Rhode, but in the end, she didn't know how to phrase it.

"I can't really say, but I feel that she's different from before. Moreover... nevermind."

Marlene recalled the time when she was about to leave with Rhode on this mission. Lize held her hand tightly and hesitated as if she wanted to say something, but after a while, she didn't say anything and left. As a woman, she could feel that Lize was jealous and worried at the same time. But Marlene did not know the reason why.

Was it because she wanted to tag along, so she got mad? But the Lize she knew wasn't that kind of person...

Marlene suddenly straightened up.

A magical wave surged in the air, sending a direct signal to her body which caused her to react immediately.

Rhode also noticed Marlene's body twitching slightly.

"What happened?"

"Someone is coming."

Marlene turned her head and gazed at the mountain below which was hidden behind a thick foliage.

"My sigil detected people marching towards our direction. One... two... three. Three people. But there's a chance that there might be more..."

"Let's get ready to move forward."

Rhode loosened the grip on his sword.

"Do it as planned."

"Got it."

Marlene acknowledged his order and raised her wand towards a tree beside her. Soon, a bright, mysterious sigil appeared and penetrated into the trunk.

"Let's continue."

"Why don't we just ambush them and kill those group of nasty people?"

Marlene simply threw out the question on her mind. In her opinion, those guys weren't tough. If Rhode and herself combined strength, they could easily dispatch them. So why should they be afraid of being caught being these people? It was something that she didn't understand.

"Simple. Because this place is not too far from the Deep Stone City."

Rhode answered her question without hesitation.

"If we engage them now, those guys will immediately send some signal for reinforcements. By then, we will lose our advantage. However, now they are unaware that we have intel of their locations. Letting these guys continue to follow us is a better option for now because we can lead them deeper without alarming them. Even if they realize that something is wrong, it'll take too long for their reinforcements to aid them. So, rather than finishing them off here, we can keep track of their movements without worrying about an ambush."

"I see..."

Marlene nodded and no longer said anything regarding the plan. She could guess what Rhode planned for them. But still, she was rather annoyed with the sweat trickling down her face.

"But if you're just looking for magic herbs, do we need to walk this far in?"

They had been trekking the mountain since morning and Marlene was already dead tired. She didn't understand why they had to enter so deep into the forest when there were other spots closer to the edges.

"Indeed we don't. If we are looking for magic herbs, we won't need to go this deep in. But, coincidentally, I've found some treasure maps which points to the Twilight Forest. If we can find it, it'll be a boon to our group."

Rhode's expression was indifferent as usual. It didn't appear as though he was lying, and since Marlene trusted his judgment, she stopped being skeptical about everything he did.

"Treasure?"

Marlene's eyes sparkled for a moment. She couldn't imagine what kind of treasures would be buried here. Those fantasy adventure stories that she had been reading made her slightly less skeptical about these things. After all, instead of going to some underground cemetery, a treasure hunt sounded much closer to her 'adventure fantasy.'

"Then which direction shall we head next?"

"North."

Rhode pointed to the front.

Chapter 65: Rock of Lament

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"There's nothing strange about their movements so far." A black-cloaked man spoke as he carefully observed the tracks on the ground.

"Everything is going as planned," another black-cloaked man replied, feeling somewhat wary, "but, why do I feel that everything is going too well?"

The men were fully wrapped in a black cloth, and other than their eyes, everything else was concealed. Even their voices were suppressed. And whether they were male or female? No one could tell.

"According to our intel, this young man has an extremely cautious personality. Why isn't he alert now?"

"That's not surprising, I mean, after all, there's a beautiful woman beside him..." One of the black-cloaked men joked in a low voice.

The other three men chuckled. But they soon contained their laughter and began whispering again.

"We should do as instructed. Let's wait for them until they've within the depths of the forest, then we attack. Remember! We must do this cleanly."

"What about that woman?"

"Capture her alive whenever possible. Whether we knock her out, drug her or whatever, as long we retrieve her alive. However, if we fail, we must silence her. A mage is a tough opponent to handle. All of you must be careful."

The men nodded in acknowledgment. Of course, they knew how difficult it was to handle a mage. If they were determined to escape, almost no one could stop them.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, one of the men detected a slight movement nearby. He swiftly made a hand gesture to the rest and slowly unsheathed a dagger by his waist. Step by step, he trod lightly towards a cluster of bushes. The others behind him immediately crouched followed him with weapons drawn. Then, in a flash, the black-cloaked man nearest to the bush suddenly thrust his dagger forward.

Swoosh! The bush shook, and a frightened squirrel shot out, crashing into a nearby tree before frantically climbing up the trunk. For a moment, it turned back and stared nervously at these humans before disappearing into the canopy.

When the men realized that it was a false alarm, they merely glanced at each other, not speaking a word. Then, they jumped into the bushes, disappearing from sight.

Meanwhile, Marlene was in a gully, stamping her foot in anger.

"Argh!" Marlene gnarled as she held her clenched fists in the air. "These guys are simply too rude! Just they wait..."

Rhode did not like to be tailed by someone. But since he allowed himself to be followed, naturally he needed to find a way to track them back. This is the so-called 'cycle'.

Thus, after reaching the Rock of Lament, Rhode did not attempt to look for treasure just yet; instead, he requested Marlene to devise a method to counter the black-cloaked men's reconnaissance. His primary goal was to figure out their intentions in detail. Secondly, he wanted Marlene to realize that things weren't as simple as it seemed.

At first, Marlene didn't put these people in her eyes. She was a pure blooded noble from an influential family. As such, for most of her life, she was only exposed to the 'brighter' side, and regarding the other side of the spectrum, she wasn't very knowledgeable. In her opinion, these black-cloaked men were no more than sneaky thieves. So, when Rhode suddenly asked her to check the bushes, she complained incessantly.

But after checking carefully, she found several shadows hiding in the bushes. Marlene's face immediately paled, but her pride prevented her from saying anything. While she was proud, she wasn't stupid.

As a mage, she knew that being attacked from behind was one of her weaknesses. In a full-fledged battle, she would've cast a shield over herself beforehand so that she wouldn't have to worry about stray arrows or backstabbing. Mages' weren't able to protect themselves 24/7 — that would be ridiculously overpowered.

If she was caught unprepared when walking past the bushes, the result would be disastrous. Thus, as soon she saw these black-cloaked men, she stopped disregarding them and took them seriously.

Rhode carefully watched her and nodded satisfyingly. Since the beginning, he had already noted the strength of their foes. Based on level alone, they were much higher than him because as they were at the advanced level. Fortunately, their surveillance route and secret techniques were precisely the same as what Rhode had remembered it to be, giving him more confidence to finish these guys off.

On the surface, both Marlene and Rhode appeared somewhat passive. However, in the shadows, a great deal of movement was taking place. No matter how weak or powerful those men were, Rhode needed to find them first before they could attack. Therefore, as the one choosing the location of the ambush, Rhode had the advantage.

And during the process of finding the men, Rhode discovered an something interesting.

"An adorable familiar, you have," Rhode said, with a faint curve on his lips, uncertain whether he was praising Marlene or being sarcastic. And in the meantime, a squirrel scuttled onto her shoulders.

"Frankly, I thought a mage's familiar would be more unique."

"Unique?" Marlene raised her brows and glared at Rhode.

"You think that my familiar is as weird-looking as your summoned spirits? This little one is my baby! If it weren't for us traveling so far out, I definitely wouldn't have brought it here."

The poor and innocent summoned spirits were suddenly being thrown into the fire...

Rhode sighed and shook his head. He stared at the squirrel sitting on Marlene's shoulder. It was using its small teeth to nibble on a nut.

From a female's point of view, cute is justice. Rhode clearly comprehended this 'fact' since he had led a guild before. Many female players in his guild didn't choose their pet based on their skills, talent, income or combat power. Rather, they close the ones who were beautiful, lovely, and charming. It appears as though no matter which world he resided in, women always had this side in them...

"Let's go."

In the gully, overgrown bushes and shrubs spread onto the rocky walls. Whenever a gust of wind blew through, loose soil and dead leaves would fly all over the place.

"Can we really find a treasure here, Mr. Rhode?" Marlene complained, with one hand raised to her front, blocking the leaves from striking her face.

"How can this deserted place house a treasure?"

"'Deserted' is precisely the reason why a treasure can be found here, Ms. Marlene."

Rhode walked into the shadows and observed his surroundings thoroughly.

"Do you know why this place is called the Rock of Lament?"

Marlene shook her head. She wasn't a native Deep Stone City citizen, how could she possibly know about this?

"Long ago, there was a bandit camp built nearby. At that time, Deep Stone City hasn't existed yet, and all the mines were monopolized by large merchant conglomerates. Not only did these merchants exploit the miners, but they also did not pay them wages or give them adequate provisions. In the end, the bandits killed the merchants and returned the money to the needy."

Marlene's mouth twitched ever so slightly. As much as she hated ruthless nobles, she knew that it was the job for nobles to handle these situations. No matter what was the reason, for ordinary citizens to take up arms and fight for their own justice wasn't something that would make her feel happy.

With Rhode's acute perception, he obviously noticed Marlene's reaction, but he chose not to say anything. When he came to this world and interacted with the people, he found out that their culture and beliefs were vastly different from his. For example, just like now, if he told this story to the people of his world, most likely they would applaud and praise the people for their courage to fight against the strong. But it was different in this world.

While Marlene wasn't against this matter, she also did not think that it was something worthy of praise. Since she was a noble, her opinion differed from the common people. She had been raised to maintain a strong sense of noblesse oblige as well as to uphold their dignity. So, when hearing such a story, Marlene couldn't accept it completely.

For the citizens of a lower caste, they did not mind if the protagonist of the story was a thief or a bandit, as long as someone could solve their difficulties, they were a hero in their eyes.

Rhode did not intend to correct Marlene's ideology, and neither did he have the interest to change her point of view.

He began to recall the original description of the quest and continued, "in time, the bandits became famous among the people, which made the wealthy merchants jealous. Eventually, they retaliated and rallied the soldiers to surround the bandit camp. Although the bandits were outnumbered, their spirits did not waver. They fought against the soldiers courageously and perished with dignity. Later that night, after the soldiers left, the people mourned for the death of their heroes and erected a tombstone. Thus, because of that, this place is called the Rock of Lament."

"What a wonderful story... what happened to those guys after that?"

"I do not know."

Rhode simply shook his head, the quest description only introduced the situation, and did not mention anything like, "if you want to know what happened afterwards, read the next chapter."

"It was a wonderful story."

Marlene nodded her head, but she sounded a bit complicated.

"But, Mr. Rhode, according to what you've said, those guys, after all, are just bandits. They are a group of criminals, how could they leave any treasures?

"Well, Marlene, let me ask you a question. Why is the Senia family so strong? Is it only because of fame?"

"Of course not," Marlene replied snappily.

She did not like how Rhode stated it so bluntly.

"We, the Senia family, are not the kind that only possesses a glorified past. Hmph, if only you knew, Lize is the real—"

Marlene suddenly covered her mouth. Then, she felt slightly guilty while looking at Rhode. After discovering that there was no change in Rhode's expression, she felt relieved. At the same time, she secretly shook her head,

Lize... it's better if you openly reveal your situation to Mr. Rhode. Otherwise, not only you will have to be careful, even I have to pay attention all the time. This feeling is quite troublesome.

"These bandits are the same," Rhode said indifferently, as though he didn't hear what she said.

She didn't know whether did he actually hear it, or just pretending not to.

He continued, "don't you find it odd that they had the ability to contend against the merchants in the first place? After all, most people wouldn't dare to risk their lives to become bandits. Since they could obtain that amount of strength, they must have a someone backing them. If we can follow up on this point and investigate further, maybe we can find an unexpected harvest."

Rhode began to insert some half-truths into his narrative. Back in the game, many hidden quests derived from rumors, legends or even stories. Players were a sensitive bunch about this part because it was a virtual reality game. Therefore, the logic shouldn't be too far off from the ones in the real world. Any sentence contained within the game could be a trigger for a hidden quest.

In the game, the Rock of Lament questline activated when a player heard a bard singing a song in a tavern. The player's purpose of visiting the tavern was to seek an adventure, so they waited for the bard to sing to activate the quest.

Of course, Marlene was unable to relate to it — which was exactly why she was presently staring at Rhode with her eyes wide open. She was shocked at Rhode's ability to perceive information from a story. Marlene felt that the more time she spent with this man, the more she thought that he was becoming increasingly unfathomable. Could it be that nothing in this world was difficult to him?

Who is he actually?

Marlene's curiosity grew once more.

"It's here."

At this moment, Rhode stopped in front of a cave. He carefully examined the mouth of the dark cave and went inside. Marlene hesitated for a while, but she still picked up her skirt and followed behind.

The duo lit up their torches, illuminating the dim tunnel. The only sounds they could hear were the echoes of their footsteps. Occasionally, a drop of water would fall to the ground, producing a crisp, tapping sound. Just from a brief scan, there was nothing peculiar about this underground cave.

Not long after entering, Marlene, who was in the rear, suddenly screamed as she jumped forward.

"Aah!"

"What happened?"

Rhode swiftly turned around and looked at her.

"I-I felt like someone touched me from behind," Marlene said while she trembled slightly, clearly embarrassed by her sudden outcry.

"Touched you?"

Before he turned back to the front, Rhode thought of several possible reasons. But never would he had believed that it would be the most unrealistic one. He lifted his torch and waved it behind Marlene.

"There's no one."

"O-or maybe I am mistaken?"

Marlene also turned around, her face was flushed, and she did not know what else to say.

Rhode did not mind her. Soon, both of them continued walking. But after three steps, Marlene's voice sounded again.

"Aahh!"

"Eh?"

Rhode turned around again, failing to discover anyone behind her. But this time, he realized that Marlene's face was incredibly pale. Her whole body began to tremble vigorously as though she'd seen a ghost.

"N-no, this isn't right... there's something...! I don't know what it is, but I know it touched my back... Rhode, h-help me! What... what is it tha—"

Before Marlene could finish, Rhode discovered fur-like mandibles stretching towards her neck.

"Don't move!"

Whoosh! He swiftly waved his sword past her collar, quickly pinning the perpetrator to the wall. At that moment, both of them finally saw its actual appearance.

It was a palm-sized spider!

Although the spider's sternum was cleanly pierced through, it still desperately tried to twist its body to escape. Brown-colored blood spurted out from the wound, and it sprayed out a white thread from between its chelicerae as though it was in severe pain.

The sight of it was truly disgusting.

While Rhode had encountered much more revolting beings than this, his rare indifferent expression changed slightly. He flicked his sword slightly, and the spider was immediately torn into pieces.

"Sigh..."

After getting rid of the spider, he finally felt relieved.

"Ms. Marlene, are you hurt? How do you fee—"

Rhode was interrupted when a soft, fragrant body flew into his arms.

"..." Rhode was speechless.

"Sobs..."

Marlene clung to Rhode tightly as she buried her head in his arms. Although he couldn't see her expression, he could hear her sobbing faintly.

Was this missy actually crying?

Rhode knit his brows together in confusion. Then he stretched out his left hand and patted her shoulder.

Surprisingly, the young maiden did not react. Her arms remained hooked around Rhode's body. He had to admit; those two soft buns were really tempting.

"Ms. Marlene? Everything is alright now."

"Sobs...sobs... I-is that thing really dead? O-on my back, there's no more terrible monster? Mr. Rhode, please help me check, did that terrible monster leave something on my back?"

Rhode scrutinized Marlene's back with the torch. All he could see was a clean and tidy robe without any markings.

"There's nothing, Ms. Marlene."

Once she heard his reassuring words, Marlene finally felt relieved. Then, she raised her head and quickly wiped her eyes. She suddenly remembered something, so she gave him an embarrassed smile and said, "I-I have something to do, I will come back very soon, okay?"

"... Of course, no problem, be careful."

Her meekness was somewhat refreshing from the usual. Rhode didn't know what was going through her mind right now, so he could only watch as she swiftly ran over to a corner, acting suspiciously. Soon, the torch in the corner moved once again, and when she came back, she was totally refreshed.

However, not only did her expression return to normal, the usual luxurious robe that she always wore... also changed?

"Ms. Marlene?"

"Eh? It's alright. I'm sorry for acting so unprofessionally, Mr. Rhode. I panicked and slipped up... I'm okay now, let's get going."

"That goes without saying, but I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Are you actually...afraid of spiders?"

"Oh... ha ha ha ha ha..." Marlene forced a laugh when she heard Rhode's question.

"What are you saying, Mr. Rhode. You are so funny, do you know that? How can this lady be afraid of those black, rough, fur-like, eight-legged creeps? It's impossible. I was just a little shocked and slipped up, that's all. Those kinds of useless insects only know how to scare people with its tiny jaws. I'm totally not afraid at all!"

Sounds like she really is afraid...

Chapter 66: Behind The Rumors

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

After the entire fiasco, the duo continued forward. But Marlene clearly didn't let her guard down. Not only did she cast a shield over herself, but she also stuck close to Rhode as much as possible, using her right hand to pinch his the hem of his clothes. Her pupils darted left and right continuously, seeking out any sudden movements. With this level of surveillance, perhaps not even the cloaked men could avoid her.

"Mr. Rhode, is it really here?" Marlene asked after she inhaled deeply, breathing in the cold, chilly air which sent a shiver down her spine.

As they went deeper into the cave, the ground became increasingly colder. Rhode was also fairly curious since he had never completed this quest before. At that time, he was completely focused on unearthing the potential of the Summoning Swordsman, so he was hesitant to activate this quest.

The reason why he knew so much about the Rock of Lament was because he read about another player's adventure on the forum. That player posted screenshots of his experiences as well as the loot he obtained at the end of the quest. His intention was mainly to show off, and many people ended up taking the bait. Before him, no one thought that listening to the bard would grant them a hidden quest, so after this incident, it spawned a revelation among many players to use similar tactics to seek out other hidden quests.

The situation right now was the same as what he has remembered in the forum post. But at that time, the player wrote, "After I walked through the cave for a while..."

...It ended there.

So... how long is 'a while'?

Only god knows.

In any case, it shouldn't be too long. Otherwise, that player wouldn't write it as 'a while.'

Damn it! It was a mistake not to research more about this questline.

Just as he said those words, a few moments later, the two of them finally noticed a change in scenery.

A bright light shone into their eyes as they left the narrow cave.

They found themselves in a wide, underground cave. Stalactites formed on the ceiling, and an occasional drop of water would fall off the tip. The wet solid cave wall also reflected the sun rays which permeated into the cave through several holes from the top. There were even some plants in the corners that tried to stretch its tendrils towards the light.

"It's beautiful..."

Rhode had seen plenty of underground caverns, so he wasn't surprised. As for Marlene, it was her first time witnessing such a sight. It wasn't as scary and dark as she imagined, it could be even described as charming and beautiful.

Marlene was completely immersed in this magnificent display of the power of nature. Meanwhile, Rhode shifted his gaze on a huge rock.

This rock matched exactly to what Rhode had seen in the forum post.

A huge inverted stalactite was carved into a smooth rock and many names were etched on it. It was the names of the bandits who had been killed. After their deaths, they were buried here, under the tombstone raised by the common people.

"They lurked in the nights and perished in the darkness, but they have brought us light."

Rhode muttered the inscription above the tombstone, then he bowed his head and glanced behind the rock.

A long time had passed, and the graves lost its original appearance. If it weren't because of those small mounds that were neatly arranged in a row, almost no one would think that this was a gravesite.

"What should I do next, Mr. Rhode? You wouldn't ask me to become a graverobber, right?" Marlene asked Rhode worriedly. No matter what, digging up graves wasn't a noble thing to do.

"Let's split up and check the area."

Naturally, Rhode already found the location of the treasure since he could recall the contents of the screenshots by the player quite vividly. But he wasn't silly enough to directly saunter to the treasure location and dig it up because that would indubitably trip Marlene's suspicion. He didn't want to create additional headaches for himself, so he decided to play it out naturally.

Marlene was relieved when she heard that Rhode wasn't going to order her to dig up the graves. She nodded her head and took the left side of the cave while Rhode searched the right. Up to this point,

everything was the same as the forum post, even so, Rhode couldn't help but wonder that if there would be any kind of divergence from the game.

But when he saw a dust-covered chest made out of bronze in the corner, Rhode finally felt relieved.

He walked towards the chest and lowered his body, studying the object before him.

Due to the power of time, the chest's surface had begun to weather. Rhode gently reached out and swept the dust off the lid. Then he skillfully patted several seemingly random spots with his right hand to confirm that it wasn't boobytrapped. After that, he held the lid and opened it.

Creak... Dust flew everywhere when he lifted up the lid as its aged hinges made a sad wail. After blowing the dust off the objects, his heart immediately jumped with joy.

Inside the chest were the weapons left behind by the bandits. Most of them had rusted beyond belief and already failed the test of time. However, there were a few which glittered amongst the others, as though they were brand new. This was a characteristic of magic equipment.

[Broken Fang (Dagger), Magic Equipment (Excellent), when attacking the target, it can trigger a chance of paralysis for 3 seconds]

[Forest Walker (Longbow), Magic Equipment (Excellent), by consuming Soul Power, it can activate the Hawkeye effect for 1 hour. ]

[Rock Hearts (Shield), Magic Equipment (Rare), when attacked, there's a chance of triggering Steel Body and absorb 4000 damage, resistance to magic attacks increased by 10%]

[Wild Wolf Oath (Sword), Magic Equipment (Excellent), when attacking the target, it can trigger chance of Bleeding, damage increased by 30%]

In the chest, Rhode found four types of magic equipment. He even found a spatial bag which made him incredibly happy. Spatial bags were very expensive and rare to find. In the game, all players automatically had one, but now he realized that it was a luxury to have one.

After the incident in the floating ship, he asked Matt about this issue. At first, he intended to order one from Matt, but Matt told him that the spatial bags belonged mostly to mages. Since space magic were high-level spells, perhaps most ordinary people wouldn't be able to get it in their entire lifetime.

Even as a traveling merchant, Matt had no way to acquire a spatial bag. Maybe only four to five people in Deep Stone City had one. Rhode just knew that Sereck and Marlene both had one each. Alas, the missy took things too easily. She thought that their journey here wouldn't be long and didn't bring it. Marlene's robe had a similar function, but it could not carry as much as a spatial bag.

Rhode had been craving for it ever since he arrived to this world. Back in the game, players would throw away their low-leveled 10-grid spatial bag because nobody wanted to buy it. But now, not even a 4-grid spatial bag for newbies could be found. It was such a tragedy...

Although he suspected that the loot here would be quite decent, it actually went past his expectations! To put it simply, he had planned to hunt for similar equipment, but that was only in the next dungeon. However, now he could get them all without fighting any enemy! Perhaps this was the reason why hidden quests were so attractive. Unlike ordinary quests, hidden quests tested the player's wisdom and observation.

Rhode immediately stored all the loot he found in the spatial bag without any reservations. After cleaning out the entire chest, he spotted a piece of cloth hidden at the bottom. A trace of excitement flashed in his eyes and quickly grabbed it.

On the surface, this piece of cloth appeared rather unappealing. Its dull grey colors made it seem like it was dirty. But at this moment, Rhode knew that this was the reason why the forum post went viral on the internet.

[Shadow Messenger (Cloak), Magic Equipment (Mysterious), wearing it can conceal your presence by 70%, Stealth passive effect]

This cloak was the first Mysterious-tier equipment he discovered in this world. This piece of equipment was a must-have for spies, thieves, assassins or rangers. In the game's auction house, the price of it reached 25 gold coins, and it had not been reduced ever since. Besides Ancient-tier types of magic equipment, there would be nothing better for these subterfuge classes.

Furthermore, there were only ten of these cloaks in the entire Dragon Soul Continent. It once belonged to an assassin faction with a long history. Only one player managed to acquire this cloak without passing the test set by the assassins. The rest of them had to kill monsters and go through rigorous questlines to obtain it, but still, they did not succeed in the end.

And right now, this legendary artifact finally fell into his grasp.

It was a pity that he wasn't from the thief class, this factor alone made the value of the cloak significantly diminish, but it was still better than nothing.

While Rhode was busy looting, Marlene, who was at the other side of the cave, stared at a strange part of the wall curiously.

"What's this?" She murmured to herself.

The wall that she was looking at was wrapped in vines, concealing whatever that was within completely. However, Marlene felt that there was something strange in it, so, she carefully raised her wand and cast a spell to untangle the vines.

When the vines parted, the first thing she saw was a face.

"Ah!"

Marlene subconsciously screamed and waved her wand back and forth. After a while, she realized that it was only a sculpture.

The sculpture portrayed a dignified man in full plate armor holding a sword in his hand. Although it was quite worn, the sculpture itself was fully intact, and it emitted a faint characteristic of courage.

"This... isn't this a statue from the Fassicarl Era?"

Marlene's curiosity was piqued. She walked forward and examined the sculpture. Then she reached out and touched its face.

And at that moment, Rhode's voice sounded out, "What happened, Marlene? What did you find?"

"Eh?"

Marlene was surprised for a moment when she heard Rhode calling her. The moment she turned around, a sound suddenly came out from the sculpture. Both of them were startled because they realized that the sculpture's face was actually shrinking back and its eyes were shining! Then, the sculpture spun around, slicing the vines with its sword.

"What the... Marlene! Be careful! Come here!"

Rhode was equally shocked because he didn't remember any of this in the forum post. And this was obviously a natural cave, how can there be a sculpture here?

However, he had no time to put his thoughts together and he quickly pulled Marlene behind him before unsheathing his sword.

Holy Soul above... it should not be those damned alchemy creatures again, right?

However, contrary to Rhode's expectation, the sculpture did not intend to attack. It put back its sword and went silent.

A moment later, a low sound echoed in the cave.

Rumble... The stone wall next to the sculpture suddenly began to shake. Then it shifted diagonally, revealing a three-meter high passage.

"..."

Rhode and Marlene glanced at each other, speechless.

How did things turn out like this?

Chapter 67: Another Cave

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

"..."

"...."

The passage to their front was in pitch darkness. Not even a speck of light could be seen from within.

Both Rhode and Marlene stared speechlessly at the entrance of the 'new cave.'

"So, Marlene, what did you do?" Rhode took the initiative to break the silence.

"I-I did not do anything," Marlene said with a slight panic in her voice.

Her expression genuinely revealed that she didn't know what happened.

Frankly, it was shocking to Rhode as well.

He was pretty confident that there weren't any posts about a hidden cave behind a sculpture. If there was something like this back in the game, it would've gone viral already. However, there remained another possibility — the player actually found the entrance, but since there was nothing, he didn't bother to spread the word.

But no matter how much he looked at the entrance, he couldn't think of a reason why someone would craft such a deliberate mechanism just for fun.

Even if it killed him, he would still trust his intuition. A secret passage and a trap appearing hand-in-hand? There is only one way to find out the answer.

Go in and explore.

But still, he couldn't help but feel slightly hesitant. If it were back in the game, he would immediately dive in without delay. But now, his situation was different; he no longer had a 'respawn' if he died. Moreover, he had no intel of this unknown passage. What if there were many traps or monsters inside? That would certainly spell trouble for him.

Nevertheless, it wasn't an impossible task for Rhode.

"Marlene," Rhode said softly, with a trace of resolution in his voice. "Stand guard at the entrance. I'll go in and scout. If I do not appear within twenty minutes or if you hear an explosion, you need to leave this place immediately. Understood?"

In the end, Rhode made a decision. He unsheathed his sword and swung it casually, causing a red card to materialize out of thin air.

Roar! A dark hound appeared beside him.

"How can I do that!" Marlene shook her head and disagreed.

Then she furrowed her brows and said, "Do you want me to escape by myself? If I do something like that, how can I explain to Lize afterwards? Moreover, my Senia family is no coward..."

Rhode waved his hand to interrupt Marlene, "It's not the matter of courage, Ms. Marlene. We don't know what lies within that cave. What if something happens and both of us got trapped inside? If one of us stays outside, then if something happens, there is still hope."

"That's true... but..." Marlene had mixed feelings over this matter and was frowning, but suddenly, she clenched her teeth and shouted. "I have an idea!"

"An idea?" Rhode turned to Marlene and looked at her in surprise.

"I-I have my family's heirloom. It is a type of magic equipment."

When Rhode suddenly stared at her, Marlene blushed slightly and stammered.

"No matter what kind of danger I face, as long as I'm willing, I can teleport out from any space at any moment to the Senia estate. Moreover, this can be used by a maximum of two people at the same time. As long you hold my hand, we can leave together at any moment, so you don't have to worry."

At first, Marlene's voice was like a squeak, but it gradually shifted back to her usual tone. Rhode was fairly surprised with what she said and stood speechless for a while.

He knew that mages had a vast array of life-saving skills and equipment, and since Marlene was the only heir to the Senia family, no matter what, he believed that she must possess some kind of trump card. But never would he have thought that she would reveal plainly it to him in this manner. One must realize that this kind of equipment or skill must be kept as an absolute secret. Until the last breath, it was something that must not be told to anyone. But now... she...

"T-That's why I insist to go with you, Mr. Rhode."

Marlene didn't know why she suddenly lost her courage again when Rhode stared at her, but apparently, she still insisted on coming along.

"Although it might be dangerous, as a mage, I have many ways to protect myself. If the situation gets out of hand, I can immediately leave this place. Isn't that reassuring enough?"

After listening to Marlene's reasoning, Rhode pondered to himself in silence. Frankly, he didn't wish for her to follow him. His current character wasn't the same as before. Back then, if the gods barred his way, he would kill the gods, and if the Buddhas hindered his path, he would slaughter the Buddhas! But right now, he was a puny level 10. Even defeating a few advanced thieves would require him to plan thoroughly. Was it safe if he went inside alone?

Rhode didn't know.

So, in the end, he agreed.

"Ok." Rhode nodded, "but I do hope you can protect yourself."

Since Marlene had a way to escape, he decided to trust her. At least the probability of surviving would be higher.

"Of course!"

–

There was no light source inside the cave.

Initially, Rhode was extremely cautious because based on his experiences, secret passages usually hosted many kinds of deadly traps. For example, a pressure plate trap. If he accidentally stepped on the wrong slate, it might set off a series of irreversible outcomes.

Unexpectedly, the secret passage was on level ground. And with the help of the torch, he noticed beautiful carvings on both sides of the wall.

"These are murals from Fascarl era, Mr. Rhode." Marlene was concentrating on examining a beautiful sculpture on the wall at the moment.

She could not help but feel amazed at how intricate the designs were. Most mages were well educated. Naturally, they had read about these historical stories before. However, Rhode clearly didn't care about that. He was currently expending all his energy on detecting traps... but it looks like there was no indication of any at all.

"Be careful and hold my hand tightly." Rhode grabbed her hand as they made their way deeper. And not far in front of him was the Flame Killer which was responsible for being the 'trap trigger.' After all, a dead summoned spirit can be summoned again. Moreover, this pitiful canine had already died more than twice, so what if it died once more? It should just get used to it.

The poor Flame Killer had a different opinion though. Unfortunately, it did not have the rights to disagree.

The black hound jumped in the air from time to time according to Rhode's command. There was a ring of fire circling around its body, creating a much-needed illumination for the dark passage.

After walking for a distance, Rhode began to sense something odd. He couldn't tell what exactly it was, but it kept nagging him at the back of his head.

Why would a secret passage appear here? What can we find here?

Currently, Rhode was in the 'player mode' thought process and wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Marlene was also no longer observing the surrounding murals. On the contrary, her head was lowered as she stared at her hand which was held by Rhode. She didn't know whether it was because of the heat, but she knew that her face was burning.

Suddenly, the Flame Killer stopped moving. Then it circled the ground two times and ran forward.

"What happened?"

Rhode's heart tightened. He didn't stop the black hound. Instead, he took a step forward and stood in front of Marlene with his sword raised. Then, he scanned each and every detail around him.

But after a while, nothing happened.

Rhode frowned. Up until now, he was constantly on the alert, and it was straining his senses. If there were monsters or traps in this passage, he wouldn't feel weary as it was something familiar to him. But he found nothing so far... and that was too strange. Of course, since he had already made it this far, he didn't intend to retreat.

–

Finally, the duo made their way out of the narrow passage and found themselves at a stone stairway leading deeper underground. The Flame Killer wasn't too far away from them. When it noticed that its master had arrived, it arched its body and roared at the perpetual darkness below.

"Ms. Marlene, do you have any spells that be used as light?"

Rhode held the torch nearer to the stairway, but he still could not see what was down there. For safety reasons, he decided to use another approach. However, after a while, Marlene still did not respond. Her head was still lowered, staring blankly at her hand.

"Ms. Marlene?"

"Eh?"

Rhode called out to her once more and she finally recovered from her stupor.

"O-oh oh... Light magic right? I have it, please wait." Marlene said with a flush on her face.

She immediately loosened her hand from Rhode's grip in a hurry and closed her eyes. After a chant, a bright luminous sphere floated on her palm. The light emitted from the sphere ate away the darkness and illuminated the entire area.

And the scene that appeared before them left the duo in disbelief.

Chapter 68: The Lost Palace

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

It was a ruin.

At first glance, the whole underground cave appeared cube-shaped. A gorgeous palace rested in the center. A moat filled with water surrounded the palace as though it was guarding it. The only way out of here was the stairway that the duo found previously.

"What in the world is this place...?"

Marlene stared speechlessly at the scene. Rhode fared slightly better because he had experienced much more than her. Compared to how Marlene reacted, Rhode stood still and silently recalled his knowledge about the origin of this ruin.

Although the two were considered the brightest amongst the youths, they were not omniscient beings after all. Rhode's knowledge was from the game, and Marlene's forte was magic. None of them were well-versed in archaeology. If there was a scholar with them, then perhaps he could figure out their location.

"Did you find any clues?"

Rhode calmed down. He waved his hand and signaled the black hound to scout ahead while they followed a distance behind. Nevertheless, Rhode didn't drop his guard even the slightest bit as he constantly swept his eyes over his surroundings.

The whole palace emitted a luxurious atmosphere. The pillars were intricately carved, and it appeared completely intact as though it was just built. A magic sphere was floating in the air. Under its brilliance, the shadows slowly melted away.

There were no corpse, no furniture, and no weapons.

Empty.

That was the first impression Rhode had when he toured the place.

In fact, the 'ruins' can't even be considered as ruins as they were largely intact without any blemishes. Strangely though, the place housed no everyday objects other than staircases, pillars, and sculptures.

Back in the game, Rhode had seen almost a thousand types of ruins. Although each of them was unique in their own way, at least they had weapons, armors or broken furniture lying around. All of them had traces of living activity of one kind of another. But this place is different. Everything was... seemingly dead. It was as if the entire area was devoid of life. Even the surrounding moat water didn't make a sound when it flowed.

"This place sure is strange."

Rhode put down his sword and walked to a nearby pillar. His eyes scrutinized the complex text and patterns carved into the stone. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any clue about their situation. Just a little behind Rhode, Marlene was doing the same thing as well, but she actually found a clue faster than Rhode.

"I think it was built during the Fascarl Kingdom's era, Mr. Rhode."

The Fascarl Kingdom was a mysterious kingdom at the beginning of the Creation Era. Despite being one of the strongest kingdoms at that time, it suddenly disappeared one day. Even in the historical records had only a few manuscripts about this kingdom.

The strange thing was how a country as powerful as they suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke. And no matter how hard the people searched, the Fascarl Kingdom's relics and ruins were nowhere to be found. Not even the Country of Light and Darkness had found the remains of the Fascarl Kingdom.

Regardless any country's wealth of knowledge, no one had the records of the Fascarl Kingdom even though the name of 'Fascarl' derived from a dragon spell in the Ancient Era.

A country that was this mysterious should contain valuable equipment.

"But there appears to be nothing in this place..."

With the help of the magic light, Rhode could see the end of the palace.

No treasure chest. No swords. No nothing. Only a lonely stone altar stood erect which made Rhode somehow feel sorry for it.

Just beside the altar were two knight sculptures. They wore a full plate armor with swords lifted towards the sky. It looked as though they were welcoming visitors as well as displaying their strength.

"Since there's nothing here, we should leave."

Rhode was the type who wouldn't leave empty-handed, but this place was just too strange, and it made Rhode feel uneasy. If he died in the game, he still could resurrect. But he couldn't do that now, so he felt that if there was nothing worth spending time on, then retreating would be the best option.

Marlene was slightly discontented with Rhode's unfounded wariness, but she still followed his order and kept silent. When she stood up and planned to leave, at this moment, her squirrel familiar appeared from the darkness and ran towards her, squeaking frantically. Marlene's expression immediately changed.

"Mr. Rhode, they are here!"

F*ck it!

Rhode cursed inwardly but still maintained his calm exterior. He had predicted that those black-cloaked men would follow them into the cave. Frankly, it was the best place to bury them once he killed them since no one would know. Alas, their timing was unfavorable. If everything went according to plan, there wouldn't be a problem, but now they had accidentally uncovered an unknown ruin which was a hidden factor that Rhode didn't anticipate!

Rhode turned his head and confirmed that there were no other exits. He guessed that those men were as clueless about this place. After all, only an omniscient being would know about the area that he hadn't explored yet.

"Ms. Marlene."

Rhode drafted a plan in his mind. He grabbed Marlene's hand, pulled her towards him and whispered in her ear, "I have a plan that requires your cooperation..."

–

A group of shadows appeared from the darkness, stopping for a moment before a cave entrance.

They glanced at each other silently and made a signal with their fingers.

The target is close.

Get into position.

Then, the black-cloaked men dashed into the cave.

Unlike Marlene who had spent her time gawking at the beautiful underground scenery, the men had no time for that. When they exited the narrow tunnels and discovered the large underground cavern, they pushed their bodies onto the walls and shuffled forward while hiding in the shadows.

After searching for a while, they did not find anyone.

It didn't look like there were other entrances. Did they fly away?

That was absolutely impossible.

Soon, they found the hidden passage behind the sculpture. It wasn't surprising at all since they were all professionals, and they weren't as hesitant as Rhode as danger was in their job scope.

But they still remained vigilant. They left two men behind to guard the entrance while the other three went inside the hidden passage to locate their target.

Those guys are a bit tricky...

Rhode, who was also lurking in the shadows, felt a headache when he observed the black-cloaked men's movement. He wasn't worried about being discovered by the enemy as he wasn't new to this. In the game, he was often chased by assassins and thieves. If he could not do something like this, he would've died a hundred thousand times already. For insurance, he also activated the Shadow Messenger. This magic equipment definitely deserved its reputation. After using it, his body blended into the surroundings. Even if one carefully examined his location, it would still be difficult to find him.

Rhode was confident in his abilities. Not only he had the Shadow Messenger, he also wore the Dark Soul ring.

In PVP, both equipment and skills were equally important.

In a fraction of a second, Rhode disappeared into the darkness without a trace.

The three black-cloaked men walked past Rhode without detecting his presence. They also didn't know that Rhode had already unsheathed his sword while emitting a killing intent.

Hmph! I'll let you know who is the one being hunted here!

Although he had the advantage, Rhode didn't choose to act rashly. Based on the triangular formation they moved in, he knew that any one of them could easily support each other if something were to happen. If one of them suffered an attack, the other two would react and counterattack. Unless Rhode could kill the three at the same time, attacking now wasn't the best approach.

Furthermore, his current-self didn't have the strength to contend against all three of them together.

Thus, Rhode remained patient as he knew what the men were thinking as well as what were they going to do.

Quietly lurking behind them, he waited for an opportunity to strike.

A while later, the three black-cloaked men finally passed through the passage and discovered the stone stairwell.

However, unlike Marlene, they didn't have a spell to light up the darkness below. As such, when they saw a faint light flickering in the distance, it immediately caught their attention.

Ever so carefully, the men slowly crept down the stairway. And soon enough, they saw Marlene who was holding a torch and standing beside a pillar.

A good opportunity!

Chapter 69: Who's The Hunter

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

An idea flashed in the minds of the three black-cloaked men.

Who wouldn't relish this godsent opportunity? A solo girl surrounded by darkness and currently preoccupied with something else... Even if she were a mage, she wouldn't be able to escape once they made a move.

However...

The three men scanned their surroundings with a slight frown on their faces, clearly a little worried about an ambush. They weren't here for on a stroll and had to be vigilant. But after contemplating for a moment, they concluded there shouldn't be much risk if they acted now.

Nevertheless, they were still rather puzzled. Why was this woman unguarded? Where was their 'primary assassination target?'

If he had died, the female mage wouldn't be so calm. Did he leave her here alone and venture deeper inside?

The three men glanced at each other and made hand gestures to communicate with one another. In the end, they couldn't think of anything else more possible than what they had already discussed. Based on their intel, this young man was quite skilled, so it wasn't surprising if he was confident about his strength and left the female mage here as he explored the ruins. While they couldn't see far in the darkness, they could at least make out a faint outline of a torch burning in the distance.

The leader of the black-cloaked men went silent. A moment later, he raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes gazing with resolution. He slowly lifted his right arm and swung it downwards in an arc.

Begin operation!

The other men dashed into the darkness stealthily once they received their orders.

Their well-honed killing intent began to surface.

–

Marlene stared at the intricately carved patterns on the pillar in front of her. She wasn't studying those patterns; rather, her head kept ringing with the words Rhode had delivered to her before leaving.

Those people will undoubtedly try to attack you. I will need you to act naturally and pretend that you don't know anything. Do not worry; I have a way of stopping them. Rest assured Marlene, I will not allow you to get hurt.

Rhode appeared to be 100% reliable when he reassured her, but to be totally cool about being the bait was completely rubbish. Therefore she could not resist secretly glancing at her surroundings once in a while.

Meanwhile, under the flickering light, a shadow shifted from time to time. If Marlene observed carefully, she would realize that someone was lurking nearby.

The pressure on her wasn't light at all. It was especially so when she heard the methods from Rhode about how they were going to deal with her. Her heart froze. Death was enough to cause fear in people. If was far better off being dead than to imagine what they were going to do with her after being captured.

Frankly, Marlene had considered summoning her magic sphere to brighten the area so she could see where the enemy was hiding. But in the end, she swallowed her fear and chose to believe in Rhode.

What an unreasonable man!

When she thought of herself putting total trust in a man, Marlene suddenly felt like she was becoming stupid. Why did she have to believe him? Why must her life dance in the palm of his hand? Was it because he convinced her? Or was it because of other reasons...

Even when facing her father, Marlene was never THAT obedient. So why did she listen to his every word? Somehow, before this man, every word he spoke was something that she was unable to oppose.

Is it because of the duel before? That shouldn't be it.

Although he is the first man to injure me, I'm not a weak woman who would become obedient once scared, right?

Marlene shook her head repeatedly, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get him out of her mind.

Then she berated herself inwardly. "Don't think about him anymore!"

Thus, in order to take her mind off him, she began to focus on deciphering the meaning of the ancient symbols on the pillar.

A woman mind is really complicated...

"....chosen knight...to protect the world..."

Her white and slender fingers traced the mysterious carvings, carefully examining the ancient symbols before her as she murmured to herself.

"....the source of power...came from...soul contract...under the void..."

Her voice became softer as her expression became increasingly focused.

Marlene completely neglected the danger around her.

–

A chance!

The black-cloaked men snorted coldly. As professionals, they did not make any rash moves. They knew that their opponent was a mage — and a genius one at that. Therefore, if they weren't 100% confident about capturing her, attacking her and losing their stealth advantage was a silly move.

Initially, they discovered that she was quite cautious, so they refrained from making a move. But they could've never suspected that her cautiousness was because she was anticipating their arrival. Instead, they thought that it wasn't strange for a young girl such as her to be entirely calm in a dark cavern — and furthermore, she was all alone. Now that she gradually immersed herself in deciphering the weird symbols on the pillars, they finally had the opportunity to close the distance.

One of the black-cloaked men stretched out his hand and pulled out a cloth. Then, he lowered his body and crawled towards her slowly.

Unfortunately, it didn't go as well he planned.

A sharp, scarlet blade pierced through his throat noiselessly. The man's eyes widened in horror as he almost lost consciousness. He gripped his neck and attempted to shout for his comrades, but he found that he could only open his mouth and wriggle his tongue wordlessly. At this moment, a cold metallic blade opened a gap in his body.

After that, darkness shrouded his entire world.

The body that had lost its vitality slumped to the floor, but before it touched the ground, Rhode grabbed it and gently laid it down. Then, Rhode gave a quick glance at his surroundings and quickly retreated.

Shadows swallowed his silhouette.

–

It's been a while, why hasn't he made a move yet?

The man who was hiding behind the pillar frowned to himself. He stared at Marlene's defenseless back and felt a bit annoyed. Based on their plan, one was responsible for the attack while the others were supposed to back him up if something went awry. But now, judging at how much time had passed, shouldn't he had made his move?

Or did something happened to him?

Perhaps it was intuition or instinct. The man turned around to inspect his surroundings.

But the only thing he saw was a red flash.

"———"

Bright, red blood sprayed from his neck, and he collapsed immediately. Once again, Rhode quickly shot forward to support the body and slowly laid the corpse on the floor. If anyone observed Rhode's swift actions right now, no one would have imagined that he was a swordsman.

Number two is down.

Once he confirmed that he obtained EXP, he prepared to retreat once again.

But suddenly, a swishing sound came from behind.

Rhode instinctively rolled to the side. He felt a cold sensation on his left shoulder when a black shadow shot past him.

As expected of a professional.

Rhode clenched his teeth to endure the searing pain on his left shoulder. He wanted to quickly get rid of the three of them so he could move on to the other two guarding the entrance. If everything went smoothly, they could've easily gone home after this. Unfortunately, the opponent did not give him that opportunity.

When the first attack failed, the black shadow didn't attack Rhode again; instead, he turned around and directly rushed towards Marlene.

Rhode quickly stood up and crushed a green card in his palm, summoning the Spirit Bird who immediately shot towards the last black-cloaked man.

All of these events happened in a flash. Even when Rhode got injured by the enemy's attack, Marlene did not discover anything wrong. But once the black-cloaked man gave up hiding, it was too late. Marlene turned around hastily and saw a dagger thrusting towards her. The gap between her assailant and herself was less than half a meter!

Marlene's protective garments activated their defensive spells, but she didn't expect that the man could easily penetrate it as though he was cutting a cake.

However, the very next moment, the only thing Marlene could hear was an explosion.

Boom!! A wind blast produced by the Spirit Bird hit squarely on the man's back. It was like an invisible fist punching the enemy, launching his body towards the ground.

Rhode sighed.

When he saw the man rushing towards Marlene, he already knew that his smooth sailing plan had come to an end. Obviously, this man was aware that his strength was able to pierce through Marlene's protective spells. He made the right choice to launch an attack instead of relying on her protective spells.

And it seemed like his decision was indeed correct.

But now wasn't the time to feel relieved.

Marlene dashed to Rhode's side, and at the same time, the black-cloaked man slowly stood up. Although it appeared as though the Spirit Bird's attack created a large impact, the damage wasn't fatal at all. Moreover, the man was an advanced level assailant. Killing him wasn't that easy.

Rhode's left hand shielded Marlene while his right lifted the sword.

At the same time, the black-cloaked man also whipped out a knife and a dagger, emitting a thick killing intent from his eyes.

Chapter 70: Dilemma

Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios

Both of them went silent.

Rhode stood in front of Marlene, raising his sword and groaning inwardly. He was afraid of facing advanced level enemies. The fact that they were of an advanced level meant that their level was beyond the average human's standard and that they had officially entered a superhuman state. Although spies were not known for their strength, it did not prevent them from being powerful. Not to mention, a spy's speed was extremely fast: most people wouldn't be able to react to it. Moreover... it was a human this time. It would have been better if the enemy was only an alchemical creature who had a little bit of wisdom.

But now, there was no use regretting it.

"Marlene, always pay attention. Don't give him any chance to attack, understand?"

"I will try."

Upon hearing Rhode's command, Marlene, who was always brimming with confidence, also became cautious. She had never seen such speed—plus the enemy could even get rid of her magic protective shield. This made Marlene sense danger. She took a step back and calmed down before raising her wand.

At that moment, the spy also made a move.

So fast!

In a blink of an eye, Rhode could see the dagger had already arrived in front of him. He was surprised and turned his sword around to block the dagger in front of him.

But then, he felt a huge force surge from the sword which sent him flying a few meters back, causing him to heavily fall to the ground. Even though the attack had dealt a very heavy blow, he still clenched his teeth and stood up. He brandished the sword in his hand and once again blocked the spy's dagger.

Boom!!

Rhode's body lost its balance and genuflected on the ground while the magic equipment in his hand issued a hoarse sound like a longbow.

Is he a barbarian or a spy!?

One of Rhode's hands was holding the sword's hilt while the other hand was holding the sword's body. He groaned inwardly.

This guy is really difficult to handle. His speed and strength are far beyond mine. If not for my experience, I would already be a goner.

"Eh?"

Looking at Rhode's miserable state, the spy was puzzled.

He was not underestimating Rhode. From the moment his two subordinates were killed in silence, he had seen that the young man was brave and had fighting experience. Rhode actually could feel his presence and dodged his surprise attack. This meant that the young man was not easy to deal with. That was why he was at a loss when his first attack failed and decided to leave the outcome to fate.

He never imagined that this young man's performance was completely beyond his imagination once he attacked again.

He actually was incapable of blocking his attack?

Looking at the young man who was resisting his attack, the spy was puzzled. Naturally, he knew a person who was not even able to block his attack definitely was not an advanced level. But how did a swordsman who had yet to enter the advanced level kill his two subordinates in silence? It was just too strange.

Generally, a person's combat experience and strength were bound to each other. When a person has a lot of combat experience, his or her strength would also be powerful. But although this person had a lot of combat experience, his strength was very weak. Why was that? The black-cloaked spy of course did not know that Rhode had gotten his combat experience from a totally different world. As a spy, being cautious was his nature. Since something was out of the ordinary and his enemy was acting so decisive and resolute, the scene before him might be fake. That's why he needed to be careful to not get caught in the trap, or it would be troublesome.

Thinking of this, the black-cloaked spy could not help but use less of his strength.

Aware of it, Rhode quickly reacted. Although he did not know why would the spy do something like that, he couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip away! Opportunity only knocks once.

He stretched out his left hand and directed it towards the sword.

A bright, red flame suddenly appeared from Rhode's hand and rushed towards the spy. Followed by the sound of a roar, the black hound once again appeared out of the flame, opening his mouth and rushing forward.

"What the hell is that thing!!"

Looking at the flame before him burning relentlessly, the spy was stunned. He quickly retreated to escape the flame attack. But the Flame Killer did not wait until the spy recovered from his surprise, appearing out of thin air and opening his mouth. His sharp, white fangs had also made the spy secretly stunned. But as an advanced spy, he still wasn't at the point of being afraid of this thing. Facing the black hound, the spy only coldly snorted. He waved his hand and two bright lights flashed through and slashed the Flame Killer body.

The spy moved his hand, intending to dodge the black hound corpse. His choice was correct, but he had only taken the Flame Killer's characteristics into account...

Boom!!!

A violent explosion ignited from the ground. Bright red flames emitted smoke and spread around; even the palace began to shake in its entirety. The spy miserably retreated, no longer as calm as before and his eyes even showed a little panic.

As expected! This young man is indeed strange!

He threw away the dagger that had already melted in his left hand and clenched his teeth. He had never seen such a strange summoning spirit spell. It could be directly launched without any chanting and preparation. Moreover, the summoned spirit could produce such a result?

Is this the power of some kind of magic equipment, or his own ability?

While the spy was busy speculating, a sharp light pierced the smoke and fly towards him.

It was a pure white sword!

"Damn!"

The black-cloaked spy had been through countless battles. He knew the situation he was facing had turned adverse as his opponent attacked him mercilessly. Moreover, Rhode's strange way of fighting also made things even more difficult. He brandished the dagger in his hand and threw it to block the incoming sword, then quickly backed down. Right now, the spy had given up on the offensive and temporarily focused on defending and retreating. There was still time; after all, it was impossible for them to stay here for long!

But at this moment, an unexpected occurrence happened once again.

When his dagger was thrown to block the sword, the sword suddenly transformed into a green, translucent bird. It floated in the air, then circled and rushed towards him.

What the f*ck is that thing!!

Even if he had gone through countless battles, he was completely stunned because the scene that presented itself before him was beyond normal. A summoning spirit that was able to explode, then a bird that was able to turn into sword? Or a sword that was able to turn into bird? Holy soul bless me, can it get even weirder?

Although he was getting very depressed, he did not show it. This was because he could clearly see that not far from the bird, Rhode's figure had passed through the smoke and rushed towards him with a sword.

"Hmph!!"

At this point, the spy no longer hesitated. His left hand drew a dagger from his waist and threw it at the Spirit Bird while his right hand clutched another dagger in front of his chest. After the confrontation from before, he had learned a lesson. If the bird he summoned was also able to explode like the hound from before, then would he not be very unlucky?

As expected.

Rhode was joyful when he saw the spy's reaction. When the spy retreated, Rhode was a little bit puzzled about him not taking the opportunity to kill him. Rhode thought that he liked to play with his prey. But now he finally understood: the truth was that the opponent was afraid of him!

Or to be exact, the opponent was afraid of how he fought.

With this in mind, Rhode immediately made a decision. After all, opportunity only knocks once. Since the opponent did not understand how he fought, he definitely had his considerations. In this world, there was no Summoning Swordsman, so they naturally did not have the experience of fighting one. It resulted in his constant hesitation. But it was definitely a good opportunity for Rhode: if the enemy had him figured out, then Rhode's death was only the matter of time.

Rhode was also not stupid; since the spy was very wary of him, he would not attack him directly. Rhode stopped and threw the red sword in his hand forward.

A light pierced through the darkness and flew forward.

What is he doing!?

Looking at Rhode's sword, the spy immediately threw the dagger in his hand.

Sword condensation, separate attack! He's clearly an advanced swordsman! I was deceived!! Look at his act, I almost fell into his trap!

With this in mind, the black-cloaked spy broke out in sweat.

Does this young man have a hobby of playing with his prey?

His speculation was the exact same as Rhode had thought of him a minute before.

Such a beautiful misunderstanding.

Facing the sword condensation, the black-cloaked spy went as far as blocking it with his bare hands. He jumped back to escape the attack, but the sound he heard after that had made his blood run cold.

Swoosh!!!

Because at this moment, Marlene had finally locked onto her target. She raised her wand and pointed it to the front!

Invisible wind blades appeared out of thin air and flew towards the target.

"Hum!!!"

A deep grunt sounded.

Although the black-cloaked spy's skill was not bad, his speed was limited as a human. He tried his best to dodge Rhode's surprise attack. Facing Marlene's wind blade, he no longer had the power to resist; the only thing he could do was roll on the ground and desperately try to dodge it. Even so, he was still hit by some blades.

When he stood up, his body was already covered in wounds. Even the black veil on his face had fallen off to the ground.

"Eh?"

After clearly looking at the spy face, Marlene was dumbfounded.

Because what hidden behind the black veil was actually a girl's face.

Currently, her pure white face wore a livid expression. Her blue eyes were burning in anger, unwilling to accept that her true appearance had been exposed. The spy no longer thought of retreating. She shouted and, holding a dagger, rushed towards Marlene!

"Marlene, attack!"

Although she had heard Rhode's command, and her magic had also gathered in the center of her wand, she was unable to raise her wand when she saw the girl in front of her. It was as if her short wand weighed a thousand kilograms that she could not lift.

That was a girl almost the same age as her! Do I really have to kill her?

This thought flashed through her mind and made her lose her concentration. In these few moments, Marlene had lost the best opportunity.

"Die!!"

Like a leopard, the black-cloaked spy had appeared in front of Marlene, shouting loudly while lifting her dagger.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the scene before him, Rhode clenched his teeth. He did not run towards them, and instead took a step back.

Next, the darkness engulfed his shadow.

"Ah..."

The girl's angry roar and the cold wind the dagger brought jolted Marlene to her senses. Although she tried to focus her attention, she saw that the grim reaper's scythe was already before her.

Waiting to take her life.

"———!!!"

At this moment, Marlene's blood ran cold. She closed her eyes while tightly holding the wand in her hand. Her mind was completely blank.

Am I going to die?

That was Marlene's only thought at the moment.

The dagger had fallen to the ground and pierced through the shield, followed by flesh and blood.

"Rip!"

But Marlene could not feel any pain.

Am I dead already?

She opened her eyes in surprise. The first thing that appeared before her was a big hand and a sharp, cold dagger that had penetrated the hand.

There was only one owner of the hand.

"Mr. Rhode!"

"Hmph!!"

Rhode's one hand was blocking the spy's attack. He coldly snorted and waved his other hand that was holding a sword.

The girl's expression was unwilling and angry and her eyes bloodshot. Then, a crescent moon-shaped light flashed by her and her head fell heavily to the ground. The body that had lost its balance also fell to the ground. Bright red blood was spraying out from the neck, and the corpse did not stop twitching. The body looked like a dead fish, struggling to live with no more hope.

"Sigh..."

Only when he saw the enemy fall was Rhode finally relieved. He kneeled to the ground while clenching his teeth. Then he pulled the dagger out from his hand forcefully. After that he turned around and angrily stared at Marlene.

"I told you to attack, why didn't you move!"

"..."

Marlene staggered.

She had never seen Rhode angry. In the past, Rhode's expression was mostly calm, and at most he just frowned his brow and snorted. But this time, he was clearly very mad; his beautiful face looked somewhat ferocious, and his two eyes reflected coldness as they pierced towards her.

"Say it!"

"I-I'm sorry..."

Marlene felt that she was really useless, and facing Rhode's anger, she was speechless. If she followed Rhode's order at that time, then she would not have faced any danger. But she lost her focus and was unable to make any response. No matter what, it was her fault, and this had made her feel a deep frustration, a feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time.

"I... It's all my fault..."

Marlene lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rhode. I shouldn't have dozed off..."

"It's not like I don't know what you were thinking. But you have to know, at this kind of time, if you hesitate you might lose your life!"

As for Marlene's apology, Rhode did not verbally accept it, but neither did he verbally reject it.

"Fortunately, I am prepared, but what if it was Lize? What if the enemy's target was Lize? The moment you hesitated was enough for you to hold her dead body to cry for a lifetime!"

"..."

Marlene shrunk her body and could not say anything.

"...Since you know that you're wrong, I will be meting out punishment. You will accept it, right?"

"Of course, Mr. Rhode. What do you want me to do!?"

Upon seeing Rhode give her an opportunity to mend her faults, Marlene hurriedly looked up and asked. But the next thing Rhode did was give her a sword.

"Use this sword and behead those two corpses, then burn them."

"Eh?"

"If you are not used to killing people, then you can first kill dead people as practice."

To Marlene, it was indeed a very difficult to do. She hesitantly looking at the sword that Rhode given to her. She trembled while reaching out for it. In the end, she clenched her teeth and took it over.

"I hope that you can remember. If you don't kill them, then the head that is now on on the ground would be yours or your friend's... I hope that you remember this point."

Seeing Marlene take the sword and walk towards the two corpses, Rhode finally sighed. He leaned to the pillar and sat down while clenching his teeth. I have to say that it really hurts. The dagger was piercing through his palm. The intense pain was really hard to endure, and moreover the dagger was coated with highly poisonous toxins...

Fortunately, my vitality is high.

Rhode raised his left hand and saw a shocking dark-green color in the middle of his palm. He took a deep breath. He had seen the system information indicate that he had completely resisted the toxins. If not, he would not be so stupid as to waste his time to teach Marlene how to kill. Instead, he would have cleared the toxins.

But neither Rhode or Marlene noticed that the blood dripping on Rhode's left hand had fallen into the slate. But it did not dry like ordinary blood. On the contrary, the blood seemed to have a life of its own. It flowed to the sides of the palace lake and quietly spread forward.

Shrouded in the darkness, a place where no one could see, an invisible force had attracted the blood. It flowed upstream, ascended the stairs, pillars, and finally in the altar, it condensed and converged...

"M-Mr. Rhode, I'm done."

At this time, Marlene had also completed Rhode's command. Her face was pale, it could be seen that it was a hard blow to her. But Rhode did not say anything. He looked at the three corpses not far before him and stood up, then nodded towards Marlene.

"Well done. Make a preparation to leave this ghostly place; there are still two people outside, and we must finish them. Remember, do not do the same mistake..."

"Ah!!!"

Rhode did not finish his sentence. The scream from afar had interrupted him.

What happened?

Rhode vigilantly looked towards the source of the voice: it should be from the secret passage. Were two other spies killed? What was happening?

"Be careful, let's go!"

He no longer cared about bandaging his wound; Rhode immediately pulled Marlene and planned to leave. They had not gone far when suddenly a golden light flashed.

A mysterious and strange character appeared out of thin air, forming an indestructible wall that sealed all the passages. At the same time, Rhode saw that the two statues on both sides of the pillar were emitting magic light!

What the f*ck is happening...

As if they were replying Rhode's thoughts, the statues turned towards Rhode and raised their swords!

After that, a deep voice sounded in the air.

"Descendents of the Guardian Knight, have you finally come to accept the test?"

Test?

Rhode and Marlene glanced at each other.

What test?

"I-I read some information from the pillars just now, Mr. Rhode," Marlene stammered.

"It seems like this place was used for a knight to pass a test. They came here to train, then when they were acknowledged, they would be given a title of guardian... I don't know what are they guarding, but it seems precious..."

"No matter what are they guarding, it has nothing to do with us."

The pain in Rhode's left hand was excruciating. Lize was not here, so it could not be taken care of. Although Rhode had bandaged himself, but it was barely better than not treating the wound. It seemed that this was a hidden quest, but with Rhode's current condition, he was not interested in challenging it. He was injured and had wasted quite a lot of power battling with the spies from before. Not to mention, he had used the Dark Soul ring. In this kind of situation, no matter what test, he would have to refuse it.

"I'm sorry, we went the wrong way," Rhode said while patting Marlene's shoulder. "Let's go."

But no voice replied Rhode's answer. It only paused, then continued to say.

"As long as you are able to defeat the divinity, then you will take over their power and responsibility before inheriting the title of guardian."

...Isn't this a real world? Can't it be humanized? Must it be done like computer game graphics?

Even though he was criticizing, but Rhode also knew that this voice was probably left by damn predecessors and it was useless to talk with it.

"Marlene, activate your magic equipment. Let's go," he said, holding Marlene's hand.

"Sure, Mr. Rhode."

After she listened to Rhode's words, she nodded her head and closed her eyes. She stretched out her right hand and placed it in front of her chest. Soon, a white light appeared and wrapped them inside... But then, it suddenly dissipated and returned to nothingness.

"The space is sealed! Mr. Rhode, this space is being sealed!"

Marlene became nervous, uneasily lifting her wand and vigilantly looking at the surroundings, not knowing what to do. At the same time, the voice rang once again.

"Accept the trial, Descendents of the Guardian."

Following the voice, the two statues pressed forward. Each statue held a sword in one hand, with the other reaching out.

Wait, wait, this gesture is...

Rhode's expression changed.

As if it was replying Rhode's thoughts, a mysterious magic circle suddenly appeared from the hand of the statues. The two then began slowly rotating in the air.

Next, the statues growled and held up a card!

"Whoa!!"

The dust whirled around in the air, and two statues resembling cheetahs appeared from the ground, surrounding Rhode and Marlene. With widened eyes, they stared at Rhode intently.