Eye of the Vortex

Just as Xia Lin gripped his sword hilt and prepared to approach the cargo container, a voice came from behind him.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

It was a low yet ethereal female voice, seeming to come from somewhere far away and yet also to whisper directly into his ear.

Xia Lin spun around.

His hand instantly clamped down on the sword hilt, every muscle in his body tightening.

(When?)

(I hadn't sensed anyone approaching at all?!)

A woman wrapped from head to toe in a black robe stood less than three meters away from him.

Her entire body was concealed beneath the oversized robe. Combined with her hunched posture, she looked oppressive and heavy.

Through the shadow of her hood, Xia Lin could see her blunt black bangs and unnaturally pale skin, as though she had not seen sunlight for years.

Though she looked like a young woman in her twenties, there was not a trace of vitality about her.

Instead, she gave off a deathly air, like a moving corpse.

But what caught Xia Lin's attention most were her eyes.

Those eyes.

Through her hood, Xia Lin saw those strange pupils.

Two slowly rotating black vortices, deep and hollow, as if they could suck in a person's soul.

Xia Lin stared at those eyes, a chill rising along his back.

Even stranger, the instant the woman spoke, the ghost in his Space Bag suddenly stopped screaming.

That heart-rending wail seemed to have been cut off by an invisible hand, ending abruptly.

(There's something wrong with this woman!!)

He immediately activated [Item Appraisal].

Information surfaced in his mind:

[Target: ???]

[Class: ?? Lv.12]

[Race: ???]

Xia Lin's pupils shrank.

(A level 12 class user?!)

(And it can't even identify her race?!)

(What's going on?)

His mind raced as he