Vengeance

“Since Travelers are destined to participate in the Heaven-Mending War anyway, why did you try to stop me before?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Like I said before, if you join, you’ll just die!”

“So the farther you run, the longer you’ll live.”

Lulu continued,

“You saw my strength, right?”

“I’m Fifth Tier, which is already considered upper-level on the Mysterious Continent.”

“Right now, I could burn this entire forest to the ground with magic.”

“Uh… yeah, that’s… pretty insane…”

Ye Yousheng knew how vast this forest was.

To destroy it completely with magic—

That was far beyond anything he could imagine.

“But for you Travelers, that’s nothing!”

“You people always gain immense power in a very short time!”

“Out of a thousand, at least a hundred will surpass the human limit of the Fifth Tier and reach the Sixth Tier—the realm everyone dreams of!”

“Sixth Tier… what’s different about it?”

Based on his earlier reasoning, Sixth Tier meant being above Level 100.

In many games, Level 100 was the cap.

So surpassing that—

Maybe it meant entering an entirely new realm.

Hearing his clueless question, Lulu looked at him like her intelligence had just been insulted.

“Different?”

“It’s not just different—it’s worlds apart!”

“If Fifth Tier is something ordinary people can reach with enough effort—”

“Then Sixth Tier is a realm only the chosen can attain!”

“Anyone who reaches it is basically favored by the heavens!”

“And their combat power is at least ten times higher than Fifth Tier!”

“Why such a huge gap?”

Lulu instinctively reached up to adjust her hat—

Only to remember it was gone.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Because there’s a crucial difference between them.”

“A crucial…”

“Alright, enough of that, let’s go.”

“Anqi’s probably getting worried.”

“Wait, that ‘crucial difference’—”

Ye Yousheng tried to press further, but Lulu ignored him completely.

Clearly, she didn’t want him to know more.

Realizing that, he dropped the subject.

Instead, he took out his phone and started fiddling with it.

Normally, the battery only lasted about a day.

He hadn’t expected it to actually turn on—

He was just trying his luck.

But when he pressed the power button—

The screen lit up.

There was no signal.

But the battery was at 100%.

And that wasn’t even the strangest part.

The strangest part was—

The phone was constantly showing that it was charging.

“Did my phone… gain auto-charging in this world?”

That made no sense.

Completely absurd.

He couldn’t figure it out no matter how much he thought about it.

So he began checking the phone carefully.

Then—

He noticed something new on the home screen.

An unfamiliar app.

Its name was garbled, like a bugged string of code.

Its icon was completely blank.

“What is this…?”

Just as he was about to tap it—

Lulu’s voice rang out from ahead.

“What are you doing back there?! Hurry up! It’s about to get dark!”

“Yeah! Coming!”

Ye Yousheng quickly locked the phone, stuffed it back into his pocket, and ran after her.

At that moment—

A faint voice echoed in his ears.

“Yousheng…”

“Hm?”

He instinctively turned back.

There was no one there.

Scratching his head, he turned and continued running.

He didn’t notice—

The phone in his pocket lit up again.

That strange app flickered silently.

…

“So… what exactly is going on here?”

Lulu tilted her head and smiled at the sight before her.

Her lips were smiling—

But her eyes were not.

Ye Yousheng could even see a dark aura beginning to seep out from her body.

The moment they returned and opened the door—

They found the house in complete disarray.

And Anqi was gone.

“I was only gone for a little while… so why does the house look like this?”

“Anqi? Where did Anqi go?”

Suppressing her anger, Lulu began searching frantically.

“…”

From the traces alone, it was obvious—

Anqi had been abducted.

But by whom?

The villagers wouldn’t do something like this.

Bandits?

Impossible—the villagers would never allow them into the village so easily.

After thinking for a moment, Lulu found a clue first.

She sensed the lingering traces of magic in the air and asked,

“Ye Yousheng, how many goblins did you kill earlier?”

“Six. Why?”

“No… there should’ve been seven.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I used life detection earlier, I sensed eight lifeforms.”

“Excluding you, that leaves seven.”

Her tone was certain.

Her detection couldn’t be wrong.

“So… one of them abducted Anqi?”

“No.”

“The one you missed was likely a goblin scout.”

“It memorized your scent, went back, and brought its leader here.”

“It was probably a goblin shaman.”

“There are traces of magic in the air.”

“Otherwise, they couldn’t have taken Anqi so quickly.”

“But why target Anqi?”

“I was the one who killed them.”

“Goblins are vicious, cunning creatures.”

“And very vengeful.”

“Since you killed their kind, they’ll retaliate in kind.”

“And at the same time, lure both you and me into their nest—”

“So they can wipe us out completely.”

“…I see.”

“…”

Silence fell between them.

Ye Yousheng began observing the surroundings, searching for any clues.

Trying to track the goblins’ direction.

As for Lulu—

“Those green-skinned pests actually dared to do this?!”

“Just because I built my house in a remote area, they got away with it?!”

“I’ll burn them into ash—scatter them into the air!!!”

She snapped.

Not metaphorically—

Literally.

Flames suddenly erupted around her, engulfing the surroundings.

Even the house caught fire.

The temperature surged violently.

Ye Yousheng had no choice but to retreat step by step until he was forced outside.

“Hey! The house is on fire!”

He shouted, but the flames only grew stronger—

Swallowing the entire structure in an instant.

And then—

Something even more bizarre happened.

Just as the house was about to collapse—

Rain began to fall from the sky.

The raincloud covered only the house.

After extinguishing the flames—

It dispersed on its own.

Boom!

Though the fire was out, the house couldn’t withstand the damage and collapsed into blackened ruins.

Amidst the charred wreckage—

Lulu stood completely unharmed.

In her left hand was a staff topped with an orange gem.

In her right, a dark green grimoire.

A cloak now draped over her shoulders.

If she had her hat, it would’ve been a complete mage’s outfit.

A gust of wind blew away the smoke.

Lulu floated down in front of Ye Yousheng, who was staring in shock.

“Let’s go.”

“We’re bringing Anqi back.”

“…At your service.”

This had started because of him.

He had no intention of avoiding responsibility.

But he hadn’t expected Lulu to take him along.

He thought she would say something like—

“No magic, no fighting, stay out of this.”

And leave him behind.

But instead—

She chose to bring him.

Did that mean she acknowledged his strength?

Lulu unfastened a dagger from her waist and tossed it to him.

“Take this.”

“I’ve enchanted it with three wind-type spells.”

“It’ll boost your speed, let you slash out wind blades, and create binding wind ropes.”

“But since you have no magic, you can’t recharge it.”

“So it has limited uses.”

“I don’t remember how many—check it yourself with your skill.”

“If you want to use the magic, just speak the incantation—the spell’s name.”

Ye Yousheng caught the dagger and used Observe.

The equipment stats appeared.

[Whisperwind Dagger]

[Description: A sharp dagger. More of a keepsake than a weapon.]

[Enchantments: ① Wind Step 9/9 ② Wind Slash 6/6 ③ Wind Bind 4/4]

“With a proper weapon, you should be stronger now, right?”

“I can’t use large-scale destructive magic here.”

“So clearing out the small fry is your job.”

“Yeah, got it. Leave it to me.”

Ye Yousheng drew the dagger and gave it a test swing.

The familiar feel made his eyes light up.

If Lulu had given him a sword, bow, or axe—

He might’ve struggled.

But a dagger?

That was different.

<New skill acquired through specific action: [Dagger Mastery]>

[Dagger Mastery (Passive) Lv5]

[Effect: Increases attack power by 50% when using daggers]

Aside from firearms—

This was the weapon he was most proficient with.

With this dagger in hand—

He was ready to face even stronger monsters.