Skill Exploration

After a while, Alyosha came back with Avril. Avril still looked dejected, but she was much calmer than when she'd suddenly burst into tears earlier.

Lin Lei studied Avril. It seemed Alyosha had already talked things through with her. Going to Flower Territory really was the best choice for Lin Lei.

Early the next morning, Aguda and Alyosha began packing up their belongings. The clattering of bottles and jars rang out from inside the house.

When Lin Lei got up to check, he was stunned. There were five cubic meters' worth of things. They weren't particularly heavy altogether, but there was no way Lin Lei could carry them. He wasn't some three-headed, six-armed monster, and the stuff was piled so high he could barely find room to stand.

"Father, Mother, you really don't need to bring so much. You can buy all of it in town. I still have seventy or eighty gold coins on me—that's enough to buy hundreds of sets of this stuff.

"Especially this wheat. We really don't need to take it with us. If you think it'd be a waste to throw it away, we can give it to the neighbors."

Seeing that Aguda and Alyosha were determined not to throw any of it away, Lin Lei could only suggest giving it to the neighbors instead. This time, Aguda and Alyosha reluctantly agreed and stopped trying to take all those pots and pans.

Aguda gave away the farm tools he used, like his hoe and sickle. Apart from the wheat his family had harvested this year that they planned to keep for themselves, he distributed the rest to the villagers. Lin Lei's family left everyone so surprised that they hurriedly asked why.

When they heard that Lin Lei's family was moving to town, their eyes filled with envy. They could go to town too, but they didn't have the money or skills to make a living there. All they could do was farm in this village, where danger lurked at every turn.

Lin Lei's family quickly finished giving away the things they wouldn't need. Under the watchful eyes of the villagers they'd woken, they set off along the main road to town.

Though it was called a main road, it had been repaired by the villages along the way. Only the routes between towns and cities had official workers to maintain them.

Under Lin Lei's protection, Aguda and the others soon reached Pear Garden in Wheat Town. The beautiful scenery made Avril forget her worries. After being gloomy the whole way there, she now bounced between the pear trees like a happy little deer.

Aguda and Alyosha hadn't expected the house Lin Lei had bought to be so large and beautiful. They stared at everything in Pear Garden, dumbfounded.

As Lin Lei slowly showed them around, they gradually learned where the various rooms and halls were. They also saw the large plot of land left open behind the house. Lin Lei had specifically had it cleared so they could grow vegetables, sparing them the worry of giving up farming for good.

"I'm leaving..."

After showing them around the whole house, Lin Lei quietly spoke to Aguda.

"Go on. Just come back when you have time."

Aguda waved dismissively and turned away, but a tearful streak appeared on his deeply wrinkled face.

Mothers worried when their children traveled far from home. Fathers felt the same, though they tended to keep their feelings to themselves.

Lin Lei didn't say anything more. He turned and strode out, resolute. He knew he had to fight to become stronger. Only by becoming powerful could he protect his family from the Beast Race, the Lich King's Undead Scourge, and the Burning Legion summoned by Aknemon when they appeared in the future.

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

Lin Lei repeated the words to himself as he left Pear Garden. He didn't set out right away. Instead, he went to the residence of Shengdelu, the town mayor.

When Shengdelu heard that Lin Lei wanted to ask him to look after his family, he readily agreed. He was eager to build a good relationship with Lin Lei, so he immediately had Lude send a squad of soldiers to guard Pear Garden.

Lin Lei was very pleased and thanked him repeatedly. They exchanged compliments, and host and guest got along warmly.

After saying goodbye, Lin Lei went to the Mercenary Guild. With his worries taken care of, he planned to join a caravan heading to Flower Territory.

Caravans liked having mercenaries travel with them. The pay varied depending on their strength, but was generally decent. Given Lin Lei's level, he could earn one gold coin for a full escort. For a temporary assignment, he'd only get half that.

Lin Lei didn't care much about the pay. His main reason for coming was to catch a ride.

The distance between Flower Territory and Wheat Town was much greater than the distance between Wheat Town and Lin Lei's village. There were plenty of vicious bandits along the way, too. If he was unlucky, Lin Lei might not make it to Flower Territory alive, even with his abilities.

Lin Lei had arrived at the Mercenary Guild at an inconvenient time. There were no medium-sized caravans left, only a few small ones with twenty-odd people each. From the looks of it, they planned to travel together.

Lin Lei didn't fuss over which caravan to join. He picked one at random, a caravan called the Black Goat. A middle-aged man with a scarred face registered him. When he heard Lin Lei was a fifth-tier Bronze Warrior, he was delighted.

When assigning sleeping arrangements, they gave Lin Lei a carriage to himself. The man didn't doubt Lin Lei's abilities just because he was young. In the mercenary trade, no one dared lie about their strength to a client. It was an unwritten rule.

By afternoon, the caravan had finished preparing. They unloaded the goods meant for sale, loaded the new cargo, and recruited enough mercenaries before setting off for their next stop, Flower Territory.

Just as Lin Lei had expected, the small caravans were traveling together. Several smaller caravans had joined to form a large one, making it easier to deter anything along the way with bad intentions.

Lin Lei sat alone in the swaying carriage and began familiarizing himself with the abilities he'd gained from Yang Jian. The past few days had been so hectic that he hadn't had time to properly practice with his new powers.

Yang Jian had four skills in the game. But in the real world, aside from opening his Heaven's Eye to unleash the Good and Evil Ray and the spiritual erosion that came with it, Lin Lei hadn't figured out the other two at all.

Now he finally had time to think them through.

"In the game, the first skill is Reversal of Heaven and Earth. You send out Howling Celestial Dog to mark an enemy, then instantly fly to the enemy and deal damage. It's a lot like the Flying Thunder God Technique—one uses a kunai, the other a dog. Do I need to form a bond with a dog?"

As soon as Lin Lei had the thought, he decided to test it. He pulled Red Fire, who was lying beside him, closer and placed both hands on its head, slowly releasing his spiritual power.

"What is Master doing now? This poor dog..."

"Who? Who's speaking?"

The sudden voice startled Lin Lei, and he tumbled out of his seat.

"Wait, there's nobody here. I was using my spiritual power to communicate with Red Fire just now. Could it have been him?"

Thinking this, he gradually turned a suspicious gaze toward Red Fire.

"Red Fire, was that you speaking?"

Lin Lei tentatively spoke to Red Fire, but it didn't react. Instead, he saw it roll its eyes at him.

"That doesn't make sense. I used my spiritual power just now. I'm not using it now, so how could I hear him?"

Lin Lei cursed himself. How could someone as brilliant as him make such a basic mistake? As he spoke, he placed his hand on Red Fire's head again. This time, Red Fire's voice once more appeared in his mind.

"Is that you, Red Fire?"

"That's right, Master."

A simple-minded voice sounded in Lin Lei's mind. When Red Fire realized Lin Lei could hear him too, he excitedly sprang up from where he'd been lying.

Lin Lei found it hard to believe that a dog could speak inside his mind, but he'd already accepted plenty of unbelievable things. This was just an appetizer—nothing to it.

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

Lin Lei felt like he was going crazy, asking a dog about the skills he'd gained.

"Of course I know how. I got the information from the King Character Card System."

Red Fire unexpectedly solved the problem that had been troubling Lin Lei. He told Lin Lei that the first thing he had to do was form a Spirit Chain with him. Then Lin Lei would be able to sense the places Red Fire marked.

When Red Fire used his spiritual power to attack an enemy, Lin Lei would be able to sense the mark through their shared consciousness. By channeling his own power, he could instantly appear in front of the enemy and deliver a fatal blow.

With Red Fire's help, Lin Lei—who was no fool to begin with—quickly learned how to use Reversal of Heaven and Earth. Now all he lacked was some real combat practice.

Lin Lei was just about to ask Red Fire how to use the second skill, Falsehood Destruction, when the sound of wolves howling came from outside.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Alarms blared through the caravan. Lin Lei had no more time to discuss the second skill. He grabbed Red Fire and leaped out of the carriage.

"What's going on?"

Seeing the caravan in chaos, Lin Lei grabbed a panicked man from the road and asked.

"You... Moonlight Magic Wolves attacked the camp."

The man was about to lash out, but when he saw Lin Lei—the one who had just come out of a carriage by himself—he calmly explained what had happened.

"Moonlight Magic Wolves?"

Lin Lei narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself.

"Moonlight Magic Wolves are at least third-tier Bronze once they're adults, and their Wolf King is at least first-tier Silver. Any third-tier Bronze mercenary can take one of those beasts on by himself, but they usually travel in packs—anywhere from eighty or a hundred to tens of thousands.

"Judging by the attack today, there must be two or three hundred of them. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare attack such a large caravan. The question is whether there's a Wolf King. Without one, we can hold them off. If there is, I might have to fight like hell just to escape today."

"Awwooo..."

As Lin Lei was still thinking, a much louder howl rang out from the depths of the forest. Judging by its force, it had to be a Silver-ranked magic wolf.

Lin Lei wanted to slap himself hard. He'd jinxed it—he'd worried about it, and now it had happened.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Lin Lei couldn't just stand by. He rushed forward. The caravan was unlikely to survive, but he still wanted to do his part.