Departure

Looking at the young girl before him, Rhode sighed.

"Lize, you are the one who needs to worry the most right now. You haven't had a proper rest since last night, have you?"

Hearing the words "last night," Lize's body flinched violently, as if she had been reminded of that event once again. Even so, the girl stubbornly bit her lip and shook her head.

"No... I..."

"SLAP!"

Lize's words were cut short; at that very moment, Rhode had raised his hand and struck her across the face with a heavy blow.

What is he doing?!

Clutching her reddened cheek, Lize's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Rhode. The young man simply watched her quietly before speaking.

"I can understand what you are thinking right now."

Upon hearing this calm, almost emotionless statement, a surge of anger erupted from the depths of Lize's heart. She lowered her hand and clenched her fists, seemingly wanting to refute such an irresponsible remark, but Rhode's next sentence robbed her of the strength to do so.

"Just because you are different, you feel guilty for having survived. For a half-angel, such a thought is hardly correct."

"!!"

Hearing this, Lize was struck with shock. She instinctively crossed her arms to protect herself and retreated two or three steps until she hit the tree behind her. Even then, Lize paid it no mind. She stared fixedly at the man before her, opening her mouth, but no words came out. How could he possibly know? No, that was impossible. She hadn't told him, and even within the mercenary group, only a handful of people knew about this.

"How did you..."

"Your eyes."

Rhode extended a finger.

"Your eyes reflect a golden radiance under the light; this is the mark of an angel, a Light Protector. But unlike pure-blooded angels, the light in your eyes is not dazzling, which is the part masked by your human bloodline—am I wrong?"

The girl did not speak.

Although he received no answer, Rhode confirmed that his deduction was correct. The girl standing before him was indeed a half-angel. In fact, he had been observing Lize for some time. As a top-tier player, Rhode had long been accustomed to judging an opponent's attributes through their equipment and characteristics during his long gaming career. This not only allowed him to formulate the most suitable tactics in the shortest time during boss fights but also gave him the upper hand in PvP battles. This was a skill every veteran player was bound to master.

In truth, ever since he and Lize were rescued, Rhode had begun to observe the girl consciously, and he soon realized her true identity. Although she was only a half-breed, the angel's powerful healing and damage resistance had not vanished, which was the main reason Lize had survived after being thrown from the Airship.

Lize herself must have been well aware of this, which was why she was so despondent.

"That is why I said I can understand your thoughts."

Rhode shrugged his shoulders.

"You know very well why you survived, but it wasn't luck—it was the result of the differences between you and the others. And you cannot accept that... If you could, you would even wish to be an ordinary human, facing death just like your companions, rather than surviving in such a 'cunning' way."

"..."

Lize lowered her head, her hands gripping her skirt tightly.

"But that is not something you can decide."

Looking at Lize's slightly trembling shoulders, Rhode's tone softened significantly.

"You cannot choose your birth, nor can you stop all of this. These are things beyond your control; never regret what you cannot do."

"Then..."

Lize finally spoke.

"...what should I do?"

"This is your path; you must choose it yourself."

Hearing this, Lize was silent for a moment before she looked up.

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Rhode."

"Don't mention it."

"...However, that slap of yours really hurt..."

Although the process was somewhat "violent," Lize eventually emerged from the shadow of losing her companions and her self-reproach. When the next day's sun rose, the golden-haired girl's face was entirely devoid of its previous sorrow, replaced by her usual gentle smile. This left Mace, who had woken up completely unaware of what had happened, quite surprised. He looked curiously from one to the other, eventually casting a meaningful smile toward Rhode—as for what that meant, no one knew.

However, before the fat merchant could satisfy his curiosity, a single sentence from Rhode immediately cast him into the abyss.

"I think it is time to set off."

Set off?

This word made the fat merchant, who had just woken up and finished breakfast while burping in satisfaction, shudder. He suddenly remembered that he was not in his comfortable, warm room, but in the middle of an endless, dangerous forest... Right, they weren't out for a picnic. That damned Wind Serpent, and that damned captain... Forget it, it was meaningless to dwell on that now. The most important thing was—how were they going to get out of this godforsaken forest?

Thinking of this, Mace hurriedly raised his head to look at Rhode. Since this young man said he had a way, he must have a very thorough plan. After all, they were deep in the mountains; if they weren't careful, getting lost was a real possibility, not to mention the many wild beasts lurking about. How would they avoid being hunted? These were essential survival skills! He had to pay close attention and not miss a single word; if he died here due to his own negligence, it would be a terrible loss.

Holding this thought, Mace slapped his face hard to drive away the last traces of sleepiness. He watched solemnly as Rhode stood up from the ground, casually brushed the dust off his legs, stretched his wrists, and finally said:

"Let's go."

"...W-wait, Mr. Rhode!"

The fat merchant jumped up as if he were sitting on a chair with nails pointing upward.

"Where are we going?"

"Northeast. There is a small town there; once we reach it, the rest of the journey will be much easier."

"Is there anything I need to be careful about?"

"Nothing in particular."

It was no surprise that Rhode would say this. After all, as the beginner hub of the Dragon Soul Continent, the Paffield region had long since been dug inside out by players. Especially influenced by web novels, many players in the early stages of the game intentionally ventured deep into uninhabited, dangerous, or inaccessible areas, attempting to obtain legendary artifacts powerful enough to dominate the game. Then, they could wield these divine weapons, roam invincible, establish powerful factions, and eventually unify the continent... Of course, reality was always cruel. Although players had found some very rare equipment with decent stats through their relentless, wave-after-wave efforts, unfortunately, not a single piece could meet the players' standard of "with an artifact in hand, the world is mine."

After all, that standard was simply too high.

Although this place was filled with danger for Mace, where every step could potentially cost him his life, for Rhode, this area was as familiar as his own backyard. In the game, as a guild leader, Rhode had frequently brought newcomers from his guild here to level up. Therefore, he knew exactly where the monsters were plentiful or scarce, which equipment was suitable for which class, and where the attributes were best for efficient training. These details were second nature to Rhode; even if he were dropped anywhere, he could walk out with his eyes closed. Thus, there was naturally nothing special for him to warn about here. As for Mace? Rhode had performed merchant protection quests in the game at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand; how could he possibly take it to heart?

Hearing Rhode's reply, Mace's chubby face immediately wilted like a frostbitten eggplant. He certainly didn't understand Rhode's thoughts, but this was being far too careless, wasn't it? Thinking of this, the fat merchant began to reflect on whether he had made the wrong choice. Come to think of it, this young man had suffered serious injuries in the deep mountains. If he weren't injured, such a relaxed attitude might be understandable. But he was currently injured; wouldn't being this relaxed and careless... be looking for death?

Although deep down he was already feeling a vague sense of regret, as the saying goes, it is hard to get off the back of a tiger. For Mace, there was no other path to take. So, in desperation, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow the two of them as they walked toward the depths of the forest.

Under the bright sunshine, the Silver Moon Forest appeared very quiet. Sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light spots on the ground. Crisp birdsong rang out from time to time, and one could even see the shadows of wild rabbits in the grass. The scene before them was so peaceful that the previously nervous fat merchant gradually relaxed, no longer as suspicious and restless as before.

Rhode walked at the very front. Although walking through a forest without paths was not easy, watching his figure weave back and forth through the woods with extraordinary agility, neither vines nor those barbed plant stems could hinder his movements. Just looking at his back, it was hard to imagine that he had been seriously injured earlier.

Lize, who followed closely behind, was not slow either. It was clear that she was accustomed to this kind of outdoor activity and life. Despite wearing robes that were not convenient for travel, Lize still followed steadily by Rhode's side, occasionally calling out to remind the merchant behind her to watch his step.

And the deeper they went, the more surprised Lize became in her heart.

Although on the surface, the direction Rhode took seemed quite random—he did not choose to move in a straight line, but instead turned left or right from time to time, occasionally taking a wide detour—looking at it from the surface alone, one would only think he was leading the way aimlessly. Yet, few noticed that under Rhode's guidance, the forest, which was originally full of obstacles, revealed a flat path to them, as if it had been hidden within the forest all along, waiting for people to discover its existence.

Lize had once heard her guild leader mention that this was a very high-end technique. After all, it was too difficult for ordinary people to find their way in a forest; only those elves who lived in harmony with nature and rangers who had operated in the deep mountains for years could master such a skill. She had once witnessed it with her own eyes. At that time, the team she was in had lost their way in the forest, and the elf sent to assist them did not follow the existing paths in the woods but chose a completely opposite direction. Lize had been very worried then, but in the end, they left the forest quite smoothly. It was at that time that Lize learned of this technique from her guild leader, but...

Looking at Rhode's back, Lize tilted her head in confusion. According to her guild leader, that technique could only be mastered by experienced elves and rangers. Ordinary elves, while having the ability to communicate with nature, could not achieve this step. But looking at Rhode, he was so relaxed and at ease; he had never even stopped to communicate with the surrounding plants, which meant he shouldn't be an elf. But... looking at him, he didn't seem like a ranger either? Although Lize hadn't dealt with many rangers, she knew that a ranger's main weapon was a bow, but looking at Rhode, from the moment she met him until now, he had never used a bow...

Who exactly was he?

At this moment, deep in Lize's heart, she became increasingly confused.

Rhode stopped in his tracks.

Through the bushes, he could clearly see the clear lake water not far away; that was the center of the Silver Moon Forest, the Moonlight Lake. In the game, this could be considered one of the field camps for players to rest midway.

"This is wonderful!"

Looking at the clear lake water before him, Mace subconsciously licked his already cracked lips. Although they hadn't been walking for very long since they set off, for a merchant who had always lived in luxury, it felt as difficult as if it had been several days. Seeing such a good place to rest, the fat merchant immediately strode forward, intending to go to the lakeside to have a good rest. However, just as his body moved, Rhode's hand pressed down on his shoulder.

The fat merchant looked at the young man in front of him in confusion, but Rhode said nothing. He simply extended a finger, made a gesture for silence, and then pointed ahead. The fat merchant looked in the direction of Rhode's finger in confusion, and then, his face suddenly turned deathly pale.

Because there, in the shadows by the lake, a giant white wolf was lying quietly, closing its eyes to rest.