Planning

The tall, long-legged archers, with their toned muscles and the glinting arrows visible even in the dim light, constantly emphasized how dangerous they were.

"Uh... hello, I actually don't mean any harm."

After Ethan spoke a few words, he awkwardly realized that no one on the other side was paying attention to him at all.

Language barrier!

This was the most frustrating situation when traveling between planes, so he could only raise his hands to show that he had no weapons and posed no threat.

A woman, even taller and sturdier than these already tall and strong archers, walked out from the crowd and asked something with a serious face.

Unfortunately, Ethan still couldn't understand.

"This feeling is so depressing."

At this moment, he undoubtedly missed the Ancient One. At least the Sorcerer Supreme could use the Mental Link for initial communication and even transmit some language information to him, allowing him to learn a new language in the shortest possible time – proficiency was impossible, only enough for basic daily conversation.

In fact, among the introductory books the Ancient One gave him were spells for mental communication with civilizations that had language barriers. Ethan had long had his eye on this spell, but unfortunately, his mental power cultivation was nowhere near the required level. Even though this spell didn't require magic power to activate, he couldn't cast it.

Just as Ethan was wondering what to do, the archers surrounding him tightly opened up a gap, and a woman walked towards him.

She was a very full-figured woman, slightly on the heavier side, but her broad frame prevented her from looking bloated.

She wore a long brown dress that trailed on the ground, a purple top, and a light purple hooded cape... or was it a cloak? It reached her upper arms at the sides, while the back part hung down to her calves.

The woman also wore a necklace that looked very unremarkable but emitted strange fluctuations, instantly capturing Ethan's attention.

"You are..."

Just as he was about to ask, he remembered that he couldn't communicate with these people at all due to the language barrier, so he could only wave his hand awkwardly to show his goodwill.

To his surprise, the familiar feeling appeared again. This woman was also a Sorcerer who could use Mental Link to communicate.

"Hello, young man. I am Akara, a Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. Although I don't know where you came from, and you used a Teleportation Portal that hasn't been used in a long time, I still welcome you to our camp."

"Uh... hello, Priestess Akara... My name is Ethan, I'm just passing through. As for the Teleportation Portal you mentioned... that might be a misunderstanding."

The name Akara was too familiar. Connecting it with the group of beautiful female archers around and the woman who was even sturdier than a man, he immediately realized which world he had come to this time – Diablo!

Or, to be precise, the world of Diablo 2. He was currently likely standing in the 'safe zone' of the first act of the game, in a camp built by the remaining Priestesses of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye and a group of Rogues. In the game, it was called the Rogue Encampment.

This game was incredibly popular back then. Even Ethan, who wasn't very interested in it at the time, played it countless times under the persuasion of his friends.

Perhaps after many years, most of the details were completely forgotten, but he still remembered the content of the game's opening stages and some characters.

Akara, a Priestess in the game who could restore players' status. He wondered if, in this more realistic Diablo world, she was incredibly powerful, or just an ordinary Priestess?

For now, it seemed more likely that she was a powerful Priestess.

Maintaining a cautious and simple exchange, Akara helped by saying a few words to the sturdy woman Kashya nearby. The archers surrounding him then gradually dispersed, leaving only Akara and Kashya.

"I'm truly sorry about what happened just now. The forces of darkness are growing stronger, and we have lost all our Teleportation Portal strongholds. So when we saw the Teleportation Portal activate, we thought it was an invasion from demons."

"No, it's alright."

Although he hadn't played Diablo to the extent of a hardcore player, he had a general understanding of the background. In an environment where there was a constant possibility of being killed by more and more dark creatures, being overly cautious was not excessive.

"Then, young man, where do you come from? And where are you planning to go? Why did you use a Teleportation Portal to come to our camp?"

With Akara's help, Kashya confirmed that there was no demonic aura on the young man before her, but she still maintained her usual caution and asked through Akara's translation.

"I came from a very distant place. There was just a slight accident when I used magic to teleport. As for coming to your camp, it should simply be a coincidence."

"Teleportation?" Kashya turned to look at Akara beside her. "So you are a Sorcerer?"

While translating, Akara frowned, because she didn't sense any fluctuations of magic energy on Ethan. However, the young man could skillfully use mental power to communicate with her, proving that he had at least received training in mental power manipulation.

"Uh... I haven't even started yet, I've just learned some basic knowledge."

Akara nodded. This situation matched her judgment. At the same time, she explained her conclusion to Kashya.

Upon hearing this, Kashya realized that the thin young man before her wasn't even a Sorcerer apprentice, just a rookie who had just come into contact with mysterious powers. However, this raised another question.

"If you've just started, then how did you cast a high-level magic like Teleportation?"

"A scroll!" During this time, Ethan had also been refining his 'lie' in his mind, and he happened to know of an item that fit the setting of this world. "I originally intended to use a Town Portal Scroll, but something seemed to go wrong when I used it."

Besides translating, Akara, who had been examining something, also nodded to Kashya: "All the connected Teleportation Portals are still closed and unusable. It should be that this young man happened to connect to our camp when he used the Town Portal Scroll, briefly activating the Teleportation Portal, which is why he came here."

Akara rubbed her temples. "There are still many unknown aspects of mysterious magic energy, and it's prone to problems. This is indeed possible."

Kashya got the answer she wanted. While letting go of her guard against Ethan, she also arranged a separate tent for him to rest in.

There was no surveillance, and they even provided some food and hot water. This was largely due to the fact that the enemies in this world were demonic creatures and creatures mutated by the invasion of dark forces. Ethan had no dark energy fluctuations on him and was a pure human, naturally on the same side. As long as a few questions were resolved, he wouldn't be treated as an enemy.

After chatting with Akara for a while longer, Ethan gradually learned that although this world was based on a game, there were huge differences compared to the game.

There was no storage space – a backpack was literally just a backpack and couldn't conveniently store things in some spatial dimension. If you wanted to carry more, you had to make your body stronger.

Potions did exist, but they weren't as magical as in the game, capable of making someone full of life even when critically injured. Red potions could accelerate wound healing, usually used both internally and externally. As for blue potions, he hadn't seen any yet.

There were also no distinct class choices – the several classes in the game were actually from different religious sects or factions here. If Ethan wanted to become a Paladin or a Sorcerer, he would have to join the corresponding faction, pass strict tests, and then undergo rigorous training before possibly becoming a qualified Paladin or Sorcerer.

This was clearly impossible! Although Ethan's stay in the Diablo world this time was longer than the last, it was still only one month.

One month to pass the test to gain entry qualifications, and also gain favor to receive sufficient inheritance and guidance... Ethan decided he might as well just go to bed. Even if he was truly the Son of the Plane, he couldn't do it. Just traveling from the Rogue Encampment to those places would take more than a month.

"Time is limited, so what can I gain in this world?"

Simply stocking up on food and water? Maybe he could get a small amount, but looking at the situation in the Rogue Encampment, where most people have to share a tent, taking large amounts of packaged food and water is unrealistic, unless he has something to trade or the currency of this world.

What's more, the power level in Diablo 2 is not low. If he just takes some food back without learning anything, it would be too much of a waste of the Space-Time Energy that gave him a whole month.

"I need to plan carefully. A month should at least give me some ability to protect myself... I don't expect to instantly kill Andariel, but I must be able to defend myself against ordinary people."

He hadn't forgotten that the world he would return to was also full of danger.

"So, learning combat skills is the top priority... Although physical fitness can't be improved in a short time, I can learn the basic knowledge first and then keep exercising after I go back."

"Besides skills, the only other thing that can quickly improve strength in a short time is external power..."

Although Diablo 2 has a general European medieval setting, it doesn't mean their weapons are weak... On the contrary, this is a world full of mysterious power. Even a broken stick casually thrown aside might hide great power.

"Maybe I can find a blacksmith to custom-make some weapons?"

Ethan's first thought was to make a gun, but the feasibility wasn't high. Not to mention whether the blacksmith's skill was up to par, he had no idea about the structure of a firearm, which was a major problem. Even if he managed to make the simplest usable musket, how would he solve the problem of propellant?

"So, cold weapons with magical power are the best choice... Now the question is, how should I obtain these?"