The grey sky occasionally flashed with lightning. A black strange bird circled above, having appeared earlier. Ye Chui noticed it and urged everyone to stay alert, sensing something odd about the bird. Fortunately, it only followed them from a distance, showing no intent to dive and attack.
The group continued along the river through the wilderness. Windsor’s face held a hint of hope. The small campfire and fish bones they’d found earlier could well have been left by Godo and Linda. Following the river might lead them to their friends.
After some time, a splashing sound came from ahead, as if something was thrashing in the water.
Tall, reed-like plants grew along the riverbank ahead. Through gaps in the foliage, glints of water reflected back. The river, previously only a few metres wide, converged into a sizable lake.
“What’s that noise?” Debbie asked curiously, parting the reeds to peer through. But Ye Chui quickly noticed her body tremble slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Cass asked immediately.
Debbie turned hurriedly, seeing Ye Chui and Green about to look as well. She spread her arms to block them. “Don’t look! There’s a girl bathing on the other side!”
“What?” Debbie’s words shocked everyone. Windsor and Reisa pushed forward, parting the reeds to see, their bodies also trembling slightly.
“It really is a girl!” Reisa said, surprised.
“Linda?” Ye Chui briefly imagined the plump maid bathing in the lake but quickly shook the image from his mind.
“No, it’s a strange girl,” Windsor said, her tone tinged with disappointment. “Could she be one of the other missing adventurers?”
“Of the ten missing from the teleport, besides Linda, there’s a female swordsman, but she’s in her forties,” Cass said, shaking his head. To avoid suspicion, he sat with his back to the reeds, though his restless eyes betrayed his urge to sneak a glance. His girlfriend’s presence held him back. His words also confirmed the bathing girl wasn’t one of the missing ten; no one in their forties could be called a girl.
“How is she strange?” Ye Chui asked, adopting a serious expression as he prepared to peek through the reeds. “If she’s not a teleported adventurer, it proves there are indeed natives here. She must be one. Could she be a remnant of the Gods’ Era? I need to confirm with my own eyes…”
“Little brother, no matter what you say, you can’t watch a girl bathe,” Reisa said, sharply catching Ye Chui’s intent and pushing his face away. She continued, “She doesn’t seem like someone from the civilised world. More like a savage or barbarian.”
“Wow, a female savage!” Green’s eyes lit up with curiosity as he tried to squeeze toward the reeds. “I’ve studied barbarian tribes a bit. Maybe I can figure out her origins… Ouch!”
Debbie’s small fist slammed into Green’s stomach. The girl gave a cold chuckle, as if declaring, “This girl’s body is under my protection!”
“Wait, what’s that!?” Windsor suddenly whispered in alarm. “There’s something in the water behind her, getting closer…”
“By the curse of the Demon God, it’s some kind of monster!” Reisa cried softly. “It’s surfacing. It’s a giant fish, and it’s about to eat her!”
Debbie added urgently, “The monster fish swallowed her whole!”
At this, Ye Chui, Green, and Cass could no longer hold back. They pushed aside the reeds to look at the lake, just in time to see the body of an ugly, massive fish sinking beneath the surface.
The fish was three to four metres long, covered in black scales, with a mouth full of jagged, sharp teeth and bulging eyes. A row of centipede-like legs lined its underbelly. It looked like a creature straight out of a Junji Ito manga, something too evil to exist in the outside world.
Cass immediately drew his greatsword, ready to attack.
Beside Debbie, a golden summoning gate began to open.
But then, the monster fish started thrashing violently, its body flailing and leaping out of the water. A hoarse, piercing scream, almost painful to the ears, erupted from its mouth: “Hiss—hiss—” It sounded like a cry of agony.
Ye Chui and the others were stunned.
Then, to their astonishment, the fish’s abdomen was torn open. A figure climbed out. The fish, suffering such a grievous wound, went still. The figure stood in the shallow water by the lake’s edge, quickly washing off the blood and gore.
The “female savage” described by Debbie, Reisa, and Windsor appeared before Ye Chui’s eyes. She was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, with dark skin and short, messy hair plastered wetly to her forehead. The short hair, paired with her wild yet striking face, gave her an exotic charm.
Though Debbie and the others had said she was bathing, she wasn’t entirely unclothed. She wore simple garments, barely covering her waist and chest, exuding a wild aura. Yet, it didn’t feel shameful—more like seeing a bikini-clad woman on a beach, natural and unremarkable.
Her eyes swept over Ye Chui’s group, showing curiosity mixed with caution. Then, grabbing one of the fish’s spindly legs, she dragged the creature, which must have weighed over a thousand pounds, step by step to the shore. Swordsmen had strong physiques, their magic transforming into sword energy that enhanced their strength. Cass, for example, was far stronger than an ordinary person, but even he couldn’t drag something so heavy with such ease.
As Ye Chui’s group marvelled at her strength, the girl spoke.
And they could understand her.
Her voice was odd, carrying a thick foreign accent, but it was unmistakably the common language of the Castro Continent.
She said warily, “This fish is mine. Don’t try to take it!”
“What the—! What the—!” Ye Chui blurted out.
The first exclamation was for his shock at understanding her words. The second was for what she said—this fish was something she had caught!
She had caught it!
She had deliberately used herself as bait in the lake, letting the monster fish swallow her, only to tear it apart from the inside. What an advanced fishing technique!
Suddenly, the fish, which had seemed dead and still, began thrashing again, struggling to return to the water. The girl leapt up, landing on its body. Her small fist smashed into the fish’s head.
Bang!
The fish’s body shuddered violently. Blood spurted from its scales, and its bulging eyes turned red. Its frantic movements ceased entirely. The girl crouched on the fish, her eyes warily fixed on Ye Chui’s group, like a cat guarding its food.
Everyone in Ye Chui’s group froze, exchanging stunned glances. But Ye Chui quickly reacted, gesturing to Green to retrieve the unicorn wolf meat they’d collected. A pile of meat was soon laid out nearby. Ye Chui approached the strong girl slowly, saying, “We mean no harm. Could we trade some of our wolf meat for some of your fish?”
The girl glanced at the wolf meat, her expression thoughtful. She nodded and said in her strange accent, “I’ll trade you equal amounts of meat.” She gestured at the fish beneath her. “Everything above this part is yours!”
Cass stepped forward, understanding Ye Chui’s intent to build rapport through the trade. He raised his greatsword. “I’ll cut it…”
Before he could finish, the girl leapt off the fish and pulled a massive stone sword from the reed-like plants. It was made of hard, black, diamond-shaped stone, roughly shaped like a sword, larger and heavier than her own body. Yet she lifted it effortlessly.
“Hey!” she called out lightly, leaping into the air. The giant sword swung down, slicing the fish cleanly in two. She hoisted the stone sword onto her shoulder and pointed at the head portion. “That’s yours. Eat it soon, or it’ll spoil quickly.”
“Y-yeah?” Ye Chui said, still shaken. Trying to build further rapport, he added, “Could you help us cook it? We can give you more meat.”
The girl thought for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to Ye Chui’s proposal.
Cass, still holding his greatsword aloft, stood awkwardly. “…”
He felt quite embarrassed.
Half an hour later, a campfire burned by the lake. Chunks of fish and wolf meat were roasting over it. The strong girl focused on cooking, her wariness noticeably reduced by Ye Chui’s meat trade, though she still studied the group curiously, intrigued by their origins.
As she handed Ye Chui a piece of fish, she finally voiced her question. “Where are you from? I’ve never seen outsiders here.”
“Are you alone here?” Ye Chui seized the chance to ask.
The girl shook her head. “There are many people in the Holy Light Forest. The elders say our clan has lived here for generations, the only residents…” Her eyes fixed on Ye Chui. “Are you from outside? The elders say there’s a wider world beyond, where our ancestors came from.”
Ye Chui exchanged glances with Debbie and the others. She knew of the outside world and said her ancestors came from there. Were they adventurers from the Castro Continent, trapped here and forming a clan?
Their shared language was the best proof.
Ye Chui cautiously asked, “Could you tell me where this Holy Light Forest is?”
He worried she might refuse, as the Holy Light Forest was clearly her clan’s stronghold. Outsiders wouldn’t typically be told its location so easily.
But Ye Chui had overthought it. “Follow the Cool Water River, and you’ll reach the Holy Light Forest. Its source is there,” the girl said, roasting a piece of fish for herself and eating heartily. She continued, “The elders will be happy to welcome outsiders.”
In this world, perhaps only the Holy Light Forest had humans. The deceit and malice of the human world didn’t exist here. The girl had little need for caution and easily trusted Ye Chui’s group.
Cass glanced at the river, dubbed the Cool Water River, stretching endlessly into the distance. The Holy Light Forest seemed far away. He asked, “What are you doing here? Hunting?”
“No, I’m on a trial!”
The girl looked up, her face beaming with pride. “I’m the chosen warrior of my generation in the Holy Light Forest. By clan rules, I must travel alone to the Holy Mountain to pay respects to our ancestors’ remains. If I succeed, I’ll become the leader of the Holy Light Forest.”
Speaking of this, her face glowed with pride and a smile. She glanced downstream, where the faint outline of mountains was visible, likely her Holy Mountain.
“Ancestors’ remains?” Debbie asked curiously.
The girl’s expression turned reverent. “When our clan first came to this world, evil demons ravaged the land. To secure lasting peace for the Holy Light Forest, our ancestor went alone to the Holy Mountain, imprisoning the demons in a cave beneath it. Even in death, he became a heroic spirit, guarding there with his holy sword, resisting the demons’ invasions for countless years.”
High above, the strange bird Ye Chui had noticed earlier continued circling. Its grey eyes, glinting with cunning, watched the group below—eyes that seemed almost human.
