The Road-Blind Adventurer and the Slow Chimera

“Although I was used to the game’s environment, it felt different now that it was a real scene.”

“Perhaps it was the addition of scents that made all the difference.”

Leaving the dungeon where Lori resided, Yue Wu, dressed like a church bishop, strolled along a narrow path across the vast grassland.

In his hand, he held what appeared to be an ancient, withered wooden staff.

Yet, at its tip, a transparent gem was embedded, a stone roughly the size of Yue Wu’s fist, perhaps even a touch smaller.

A white scarf adorned his neck, and his hooded cloak revealed a short, silver-white braid.

His entire being exuded a refreshing, divine aura, subtly intermingled with a hint of malevolence.

Only individuals of significant power, however, could discern the faint evil emanating from Yue Wu.

Cloaked in an air of mystery, Yue Wu wandered aimlessly across the prairie.

He had no idea what to do next, where to go, or even his current location.

Without a map, the current system was, in essence, merely a viewing interface, offering no practical services.

While Yue Wu wasn’t immediately concerned about starving, he knew it was an eventual certainty.

His Gate of Babylon contained precious little food, mostly filled with materials, consumables, equipment, and only a meager supply of provisions.

“I wonder if there are any local inhabitants on this prairie,” Yue Wu mused aloud. “That way, I could inquire about nearby towns.”

“Once I reach a town, the first thing I’ll do is visit the Adventurers’ Guild,” he decided. “Time to truly experience a real otherworldly adventure.”

Ironically, several villages did exist near Lori’s dungeon, but they were quite distant.

Yue Wu, however, was traveling with his back to them, heading in the opposite direction.

He was, admittedly, a bit of a road-blind individual, yet he still possessed a general understanding of the world’s layout.

After all, as a veteran player, he remembered the main areas on the game map quite reliably.

This world comprised six continents: Europa, America, Africa, the Frigid Continent, Oceania, and Asia.

Europa lay nestled between Africa and Asia.

A vast strait served as the dividing line between Europa and Africa, while Europa and Asia were closely connected, separated by an unending mountain range.

Asia and Africa were divided by a great sea.

Asia stood as the largest continent in terms of land area and also the most fertile, with numerous nations establishing their territories there.

“East, east!”

Yue Wu, with his inherent sense of direction, persistently walked in what he believed was east.

He naively thought that after a short while, he would spot a village and the continental divide.

In reality, this was far from the truth.

As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, it was only then that Yue Wu realized his grave error.

He had been walking in the wrong direction.

The sun had set before him, not behind him, clearly indicating that he had mistaken east for west.

“I… I am utterly foolish…”

Yue Wu sank to his knees in defeat, mortified by his own stupidity.

He had completely forgotten that the sun served as a perfect compass, yet he chose to rely on his ‘feelings’ instead.

He deserved this long, wasted journey.

“Never mind,” he sighed. “I’ll travel tomorrow. For now, I’ll prepare to spend the night.”

Yue Wu rose, brushing dust from his clothes.

His bishop’s attire instantly transformed into a simple, almost primal outfit, reminiscent of what elves living in a forest might wear.

The moment he changed, Yue Wu’s entire aura underwent a dramatic shift.

The divine and evil energies dissipated, replaced by a soft, tranquil presence.

It was as if the very surroundings would fall into a serene calm because of this aura, making one reluctant to disturb it.

Yue Wu casually set up a tent, ate a simple piece of bread, and promptly fell asleep.

The gem on his staff emitted a not-so-faint glow, serving as a makeshift nightlight.

He displayed not an ounce of self-preservation, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

After all, this was the wilderness. What if he encountered nocturnal beasts or monsters foraging for food?

Yue Wu, however, had given these concerns absolutely no thought. Was he brave, or simply reckless?

The night, however, remained remarkably calm, with only an occasional breeze sweeping across the prairie and Yue Wu’s tent.

Yet, it wasn’t entirely devoid of activity.

In the distant moonlight, a young girl, dressed in farmer’s clothes, ran frantically, glancing back repeatedly.

Her eyes were wide with terror, and sweat beaded on her forehead and cheeks, as if she were being pursued by something unseen.

A light ahead! Someone must be camping there!

As the girl turned and resumed her desperate sprint, she spotted a glimmering light in the distance.

Subconsciously, she believed someone was there, a thought that fueled her will to survive.

She ran with all her might, hoping the person ahead could offer her aid.

“I can’t sleep,” Yue Wu grumbled, tossing and turning inside his tent. “I want a soft pillow and a comfortable bed!”

Unable to find rest, Yue Wu sat up.

Having never slept in a tent before, he found it incredibly uncomfortable.

Since he wasn’t tired, he decided to travel through the night instead, hoping a village might not be far ahead.

The moment Yue Wu packed away his tent, he sensed something approaching him.

However, upon recognizing the figure as a disheveled, fleeing girl, he let out a sigh of disappointment.

“What’s this? I thought a monster was attacking,” he muttered. “Turns out it’s just a person.”

“Still, it works out. At least I can confirm there are villages nearby,” he mused. “I can stay there for a night and ask for directions to a town.”

Yue Wu, staff in hand, walked towards the direction the girl was fleeing from.

When he was not far from her, the girl suddenly cried out for help.

“Adventurer, please help me!” she pleaded.

Upon seeing the staff in Yue Wu’s hand, the girl assumed he was an adventurer camping for the night and desperately sought his assistance.

‘What’s happening? Is this some cliché hero-saves-the-damsel scenario?’ Yue Wu suddenly thought, recognizing a common trope from novels.

“Please save me! There’s a monster chasing me from behind!”

“Huh? A monster?”

The girl scurried behind Yue Wu, staring ahead with a terrified expression.

Yue Wu paused, perplexed. ‘A monster chasing a girl, yet it can’t even outrun her? Is this monster an idiot?’

However, while Yue Wu was pondering the monster’s intelligence, the creature the girl spoke of appeared not far ahead.

It bore the head of a lion, spewing flames, and the body of a goat.

Its front limbs were leonine claws, while its hind legs ended in goat hooves, and its tail was a venomous serpent.

This was the monster the girl had described.

“A Chimera? That’s a Chimera, isn’t it?”

“This is a two-headed Chimera. I remember them being quite fast. Why can’t it catch a normal girl?” he pondered. “Is it really an intelligence issue?”

Yue Wu eyed the Chimera with disdain.

Though he had encountered Chimeras in the game, they had been terrifying at first glance.

But after seeing and defeating so many, they no longer held the same dread.

As if sensing Yue Wu’s mockery, the Chimera roared and launched a massive fireball.

“Holy Light Shield.”

The words had barely left his lips when a cross-shaped light shield materialized before Yue Wu, directly intercepting the large fireball.

Though blocked, the fireball was destined to explode.

‘Boom!’

The fireball detonated the instant it struck the shield, sending thick smoke billowing upwards.

Yet, within the rising smoke, there was no sign of Yue Wu or the girl.

“Good thing I prepared flight magic,” Yue Wu remarked.

Suspended in the air, Yue Wu cradled the girl with one arm, gazing down at the swirling smoke below.

“Now it’s my turn to attack. Holy Light Judgment.”

Yue Wu raised his staff, pointing it at the Chimera on the ground.

A spear of pure light shot directly towards the beast.

However, the Chimera managed to dodge it.

“Did you think that was all? Holy Light Barrage!”

A rapid succession of Holy Light bolts relentlessly assailed the Chimera, sending it scrambling in a panic.

But this was a vast prairie, not a dense forest; there was nowhere to hide, nothing to withstand the barrage of Holy Light.

“It’s over. Chains of Heaven!”

Perhaps growing bored, Yue Wu finally deployed the Chains of Heaven.

Several golden chains erupted from beneath the Chimera, binding its body and limbs.

Immobilized by the Chains of Heaven, the Chimera lay limp on the ground, whimpering and begging Yue Wu for mercy.

“Being bound by the Chains of Heaven with added attributes isn’t pleasant, is it?”

Yue Wu descended from the sky with the girl, landing before the Chimera, a playful smirk on his face.

Only the Chimera’s low whimpers answered him.

“You stay put for now; I have some important matters to attend to.”

“Girl, do you live around here?”

Yue Wu first addressed the Chimera briefly, then turned to the girl to inquire.

“Yes, Adventurer,” the girl replied politely. “Just a short distance ahead, past a small stream, you’ll find our village.”

“If you don’t mind, Adventurer, you’re welcome to stay at my home for a few days.”

The girl answered Yue Wu with utmost politeness.

Although she feigned bravery in front of him, the truth was, her heart still pounded with fear every time she saw the Chimera, a terrifying beast for an ordinary girl.

“Alright, thank you. I’m not very used to spending the night in the wilderness,” Yue Wu readily accepted.

Yue Wu agreed without hesitation.

Without waiting for the girl to speak further, he turned and nudged the Chimera with his foot, presenting it with two choices.

“You have two options,” he declared. “First, take me somewhere. Second, I’ll destroy you right now. Choose wisely.”

Seeing an opportunity to live, the Chimera frantically nodded, indicating its willingness to take him wherever he wished.

“Excellent, good beast,” Yue Wu praised. “Now, take us to the village.”

Yue Wu retracted the Chains of Heaven, then mounted the Chimera’s back.

The Chimera instinctively flinched.

“Come on,” Yue Wu urged.

Yue Wu noticed the girl standing hesitantly, afraid to approach the Chimera, her expression wary and still showing lingering fear.

“It’s alright. With me here, it won’t dare do anything, right?”

To reassure the girl, Yue Wu lightly patted the Chimera’s lion head, speaking in a teasing, yet subtly threatening tone.

The Chimera clearly understood Yue Wu’s implication and immediately nodded furiously, signaling that it would not harm them.

It had fully realized that the ‘great deity’ riding on its back was truly terrifying, far more formidable than any monster it had ever encountered—a being of incomparable power.

Thus, unless it deliberately sought its own demise, it would not dare to pull any stunts.

“Let’s go. It’s getting late, and it wouldn’t be good if some bad people came out,” Yue Wu said. “So, we should hurry back.”

Under Yue Wu’s earnest persuasion, the girl tried to muster her courage and approach the Chimera.

However, just as she took her second step, Yue Wu swiftly pulled her onto the Chimera’s back.

It turned out that seeing the girl take so long to make a single step, Yue Wu had subtly prompted the Chimera to move closer to her.

He then directly lifted her and settled her in front of him on the beast’s back.

“This should be fine, right? There’s no danger from front or back, and if there is, I’m here!”

Yue Wu confidently patted his chest, reassuring the girl.

“Let’s go! Away we go, away we go!”

Treating the Chimera like a horse, Yue Wu playfully tapped its rump with his staff.

Instantly, they galloped across the prairie like a charging steed.

“Yee-haw! Faster, now! Haste enchantment! Speed Boost! Wind’s Blessing!”

Yue Wu thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of riding across the prairie, but he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the Chimera’s speed.

He promptly applied several speed-enhancing buffs to it, yet it still seemed insufficient.

“Sprint: Meteor!”

Under the influence of the final buff, the Chimera suddenly felt an immense power surge wildly into its body, compelling it to unleash that energy.

The buffed Chimera, empowered by several enhancements, reached a small stream not far from a village in mere seconds.

Finally, utterly exhausted, the Chimera collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

The combined buffs had completely drained all its energy.

“So this fellow is the slow-witted type,” Yue Wu realized. “No wonder it couldn’t catch her.”

Only then did Yue Wu learn the truth behind the Chimera’s inability to catch the girl: it was a slow-type, or ‘dull-witted,’ Chimera.

In games, creatures with this attribute were typically front-line vanguards, possessing high endurance but pitiful speed.

They required buffs to move at a normal pace, serving as tanks for players or ideal kiting targets when encountered as regular monsters.