Skill Exploration

After a while, Alyosha returned with Avril. Although Avril still looked dejected, she was much more stable than when she had suddenly burst into tears earlier.

Linley studied Avril; it seemed Alyosha had already provided her with the necessary psychological comfort. Linley going to Flower Territory was indeed the best choice.

Early the next morning, Aguda and Alyosha began packing their belongings. The sound of pots and jars clattering echoed incessantly from the house.

When Linley got up and saw the scene, he was dumbfounded. There were five cubic meters of items piled up. While the total weight wasn't excessive, Linley couldn't carry it all, nor was it possible for him to do so—he wasn't a creature with three heads and six arms, and the items were cluttering the floor so much there was nowhere to step.

"Father, Mother, you really don't need to bring so much. Everything can be bought in the town. I have seventy or eighty gold coins on me, enough to buy hundreds of sets of these things."

"Especially this wheat; we truly don't need to take it. If you feel it's a waste, let's just distribute it to the neighbors."

Seeing that Aguda and Alyosha were dead set against throwing anything away, Linley suggested giving the items to the neighbors. This time, Aguda and the others reluctantly agreed, deciding not to bring the pots and pans along.

Aguda gave away his farming tools, such as hoes and sickles, and aside from keeping a portion for their own use, he distributed the rest of the wheat harvested this year to the villagers. The behavior of Linley's family left the others feeling flattered, and they hurriedly asked for the reason.

When they heard that Linley's family was moving to the town, their eyes filled with envy. They could go to the town too, but they lacked the money and skills to survive there, leaving them no choice but to farm in this crisis-ridden village.

Linley's family quickly finished giving away the items they didn't need, and under the gaze of the villagers they had awakened, they stepped onto the main road leading to the town.

Although this was called a main road, it was maintained by the various villages along the way; only the routes between towns and cities were maintained by official personnel.

Under Linley's protection, Aguda and the others soon arrived at the Pear Garden in Wheat Town. The scenery of the Pear Garden made Avril, who had been sullen along the way, forget her troubles, and she began bouncing between the pear trees like a happy little deer.

Aguda and Alyosha had not expected the house Linley bought to be so large and beautiful, and they stared at everything in the Pear Garden in a daze.

As Linley slowly explained things along the way, they gradually learned the layout of the rooms and halls. They also saw the large vacant lot reserved in the back, which Linley had specifically cleared for them to grow vegetables, so they wouldn't have to worry about losing the farming life they were accustomed to.

"I'm leaving..."

After introducing the entire house, Linley spoke softly to Aguda.

"Go on, just come back when you have time."

Aguda waved his hand dismissively and turned his back, though a wet streak appeared on his wrinkled face.

A mother worries when her child travels a thousand miles, and a father is no different; it is just that their emotions are more restrained.

Linley didn't say anything more. He turned resolutely and walked toward the door. He knew he had to strive to become stronger; only by becoming a powerhouse could he protect them from the Beast Race, the Scourge of the Lich King, and the Burning Legion brought by Aknemon in the future.

"I don't want to be a savior; I just want to protect my family."

Linley repeated this to himself over and over. Leaving the Pear Garden, he didn't rush to hit the road; instead, he went to the residence of the town mayor, Shengdelu.

Upon hearing that Linley intended to entrust him with the care of his family, Shengdelu, who was eager to build a good relationship with Linley, agreed immediately and ordered Lude to send a squad of soldiers to stand guard at the Pear Garden.

Linley was very satisfied and couldn't stop thanking him. Amidst the mutual flattery, the host and guest were in high spirits.

After bidding farewell, Linley went to the Mercenary Guild. With no more worries, he prepared to join a merchant caravan heading to Flower Territory.

These merchant caravans welcomed mercenaries who joined them; depending on their strength, they would receive a decent commission. At Linley's level, long-term escort duty could earn him one gold coin per trip, while temporary work would only pay half that amount.

Linley didn't care much about the commission; his main purpose was to catch a ride.

The distance between Flower Territory and Wheat Town was far greater than that between Wheat Town and Linley's village. There were plenty of vicious bandits along the way, and if his luck was bad, Linley wasn't certain he could reach Flower Territory alive on his own strength.

When Linley arrived at the Mercenary Guild, he was a bit unlucky; there were no medium-sized caravans left, only a few small ones with about twenty people each. It looked like they would group together for the journey.

Linley didn't pay much attention to which caravan he joined and randomly chose one called Black Goat. The man who registered him was a middle-aged man with a scarred face, who was very pleased to hear that Linley was a Bronze-rank Tier 5 warrior.

When arranging accommodations, he cleared out a carriage specifically for Linley. He didn't doubt Linley's true strength because of his youth; on the path of a mercenary, no one dared to lie to their employer—this was an unwritten rule among mercenaries.

By the afternoon, the caravan had made all the necessary preparations, unloading the goods that needed to be sold and loading those that needed to be transported. After recruiting enough mercenaries, they began their journey to the next stop: Flower Territory.

Just as Linley had expected, these small caravans were traveling together. Several small caravans formed a large one, which could better deter any ill-intentioned entities on the road.

Linley sat alone in the swaying carriage and began to familiarize himself with the abilities he had gained from Yang Jian. These past few days had been too rushed, and he hadn't had a chance to properly practice the power he had acquired.

In the game, Yang Jian had a total of four skills, but after coming to reality, aside from the final one—opening the Heavenly Eye to release the Good and Evil Ray and using divine sense to invade and mobilize mental power—Linley had no clue about the other two.

Now, he finally had the time to think it over properly.

"The first skill in the game is Reversal of Heaven and Earth, which marks the enemy with the Howling Celestial Dog and then instantly flies to the enemy's side to deal damage. This is very similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique. One uses a kunai, the other a dog. Could it be that I need to establish a connection with the dog?"

Thinking of this, Linley immediately decided to test it. He pulled Red Fire, who was lying beside him, over and stroked its head with both hands, slowly releasing his mental power.

What is Master doing now? This is so annoying.

"Who? Who is speaking?"

Linley was startled by the sudden voice and rolled to the side from his seated position.

"That's not right, there's no one here. I was just using my mental power to communicate with Red Fire. Could it be...?"

Thinking this, Linley gradually cast a suspicious gaze toward the creature.

"Red Fire, are you the one talking?"

Linley spoke to Red Fire tentatively, but he saw no reaction from it; instead, it rolled its eyes at him.

"That's not right. I was using my mental power just now, but I'm not using it now, so how could I hear it?"

Linley cursed himself silently. As a top-tier genius, he couldn't believe he had made such a low-level mistake. Saying this, Linley placed his hand on Red Fire's head again. This time, Red Fire's voice appeared in his mind once more.

"Is it you, Red Fire?"

"Yes, it is me, Master."

A simple-minded voice echoed in Linley's mind, and seeing that Linley could hear him, Red Fire, who had been lying on the ground, grew excited.

Although Linley found it incredible that a dog could speak inside his head, he had already accepted many incredible things; this was merely an appetizer, a trivial matter.

"Alright, Red Fire, I need your help. Do you know how I can use my first skill, Destroying Falsehood?"

Linley felt he had gone mad, actually asking a dog about his own skills.

"Of course I know how to use it. I have information provided by something called the King Character Card System."

Red Fire unexpectedly solved the problem plaguing Linley, telling him that he first needed to establish a Spirit Chain with him so that he could perceive the locations he marked.

When he used his mental abilities to attack an enemy, Linley could sense that mark through the shared connection and use the power he had gained to instantly appear before the enemy, delivering a fatal blow.

With Red Fire's help, Linley, who was no fool, quickly learned how to use Reversal of Heaven and Earth; now, all that was lacking was practical combat experience.

Just as Linley was about to ask Red Fire how to use his second skill, Falsehood Destruction, bursts of wolf howls drifted in from outside.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The caravan's alarm blared loudly. Linley had no time to discuss the second skill, so he stood up and left the carriage with Red Fire.

"What's the situation?"

Linley looked at the chaotic caravan and grabbed a hurried person from the road to ask.

"You... it's the Moonlight Magic Wolf attacking the camp."

The person who was grabbed was about to get angry, but upon seeing it was Linley, who had just emerged from the private carriage, he honestly told him the situation.

"Moonlight Magic Wolf?"

Linley narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.

"An adult Moonlight Magic Wolf is at least at the third stage of the Bronze rank, and the Wolf King is at least at the first stage of the Silver rank. Although these creatures can be defeated by any third-stage Bronze rank mercenary individually, they usually move in packs—anywhere from a hundred to tens of thousands.

Judging by the scale of today's attack, there are at least two or three hundred magic wolves; otherwise, they wouldn't dare attack such a large caravan. Now, I just don't know if there is a Wolf King. If there isn't, we can still defend, but if there is a Wolf King, I might have to shed a layer of skin just to escape today."

"Awoo..."

While Linley was still thinking, an even louder howl erupted from the depths of the dense forest. Judging by the momentum, it was undoubtedly a Silver rank magic wolf.

Linley wanted to slap himself across the face; he was truly a jinx, as whatever he feared most always came to pass.

Watching the situation gradually deteriorate, Linley could not just stand by and do nothing. He took a step forward and charged in. Although it was unlikely the caravan would survive, he still wanted to fulfill his duty.