The next morning, Leo ate some air-dried beast meat to replenish his stamina, then left the palace and headed toward the coast.
With his level raised to 23, the life energy required for leveling up had become extremely massive.
The large prey in the forest had dwindled to almost nothing after half a year of hunting, so his leveling speed inevitably slowed down.
That being the case, Leo no longer obsessed over leveling up quickly.
Today he planned to go to the coast for a stroll; on one hand, to hunt marine life and try it out—those large fish or crustaceans should provide decent life energy.
On the other hand, he wanted a change of pace, as eating land animals for half a year had gotten a bit tiresome.
He shouldered his homemade leather backpack, which contained a stone knife, a bone spear, a fire starter, and some dried rations.
The leather armor had become quite well-fitted after half a year of use, and the bone plates on the key parts could effectively defend against ordinary claws and teeth.
Just as Leo set off for the coast, on the other side of the secret realm.
Satotz, Kaspar, and Selena were cautiously making their way through the forest. After entering the secret realm, they had explored quite a few places.
"Mr. Satotz, look at this!"
Kaspar crouched beside a peculiar fern, carefully collecting samples and placing them into a special container.
"This plant is practically extinct in the outside world, I never expected a complete ecological community to exist here!"
The young scholar was as excited as a child, his eyes behind his glasses sparkling brightly.
His backpack was already packed with quite a few plant samples, soil samples, and insect specimens.
Selena followed behind him, chewing gum, her right hand resting constantly on the hilt of the short blade at her waist. She scanned her surroundings vigilantly, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Kaspar, you're too excited."
She muttered, "Be cautious. This secret realm is a bit strange—from the time we entered until now, we've walked for nearly two hours, and the creatures we've encountered can be counted on one hand. This isn't right."
Satotz, walking at the very front, nodded.
The heritage hunter wore an exquisite suit, his purple hair neatly combed, the lower half of his face featuring only two mustaches, his sharp eyes observing the surroundings.
"Selena is right." Satotz's voice was calm yet tinged with alertness.
"From an environmental perspective, there is plenty of sunshine, lush vegetation, and no shortage of water sources here, so a huge number of creatures ought to survive here. But along the way, we've only seen a few small birds and insects."
He stopped and crouched to inspect the ground.
"And... look at these marks."
Kaspar and Selena leaned in closer. There were faint claw prints on the ground, no longer very clear, but one could tell they belonged to some medium-sized beast.
Oddly enough, there was no fresh feces or fur around the claw prints, as if this beast hadn't been active in this area for a long time.
"It's like they were driven away, or..." Selena didn't finish, but her meaning was clear.
"Hunted." Satotz stood up.
"If the entire forest is in this condition, it means there is a powerful predator here, or... someone is systematically hunting."
The three exchanged glances.
If it was the former, they needed to handle it with care; if it was the latter, the situation was much more complicated—who would hunt long-term in a secret realm?
Aborigines? Or explorers who entered earlier than them?
"Keep moving forward, stay alert." Satotz made his decision.
Their direction of travel was precisely the location where the palace stood.
At that moment, Leo was on his way to the coast.
He walked along a frequently used hunting route, knowing the surrounding environment like the back of his hand.
When passing a hillside along the way, he casually destroyed a medium-sized ant nest.
Over the past half year, he had consciously preserved some ant nests, clearing out only a portion each time, and returning to "harvest" once the ant colony rebuilt itself.
This sustainable utilization method allowed him to steadily acquire a small amount of life energy.
[Life Energy +6.8] [Level: Level 23 (13.8%)]
The harvest was meager, but better than nothing.
Leo continued forward, checking a few traps he had set earlier, successfully catching two wild rabbits and a groundhog.
When processing these small preys, his movements were skillful, finishing the skinning and meat extraction in just a few minutes.
"That's about it." He wrapped the beast meat in leaves, put it into his backpack, and continued his march toward the coast.
After walking for about half an hour, Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
There was movement ahead.
Not the sound of beasts—it was talking, and there was more than one person.
Leo grew vigilant in an instant.
Someone actually here! Did they come from the outside world? I wonder how strong they are?
He quickly hid behind a dense clump of bushes, looking forward through the gaps in the branches and leaves.
At the same time, he quieted his breathing, converging his body's aura to the absolute minimum.
Half a year of a hunter's life had allowed him to master flawless stealth techniques.
The voices grew clearer.
"Careful, this thing has aggressive intentions!"
"I know! But it's already an endangered species, Selena, don't make a move!"
"Tch, what a pain."
Leo slowly moved forward, his actions as light as a cat's. Soon, he spotted the source of the sound—
In a forest clearing, three people were surrounding a cave badger.
Leo recognized this creature: resembling a badger, but larger, with well-developed front claws adept at digging holes, and a fierce temperament.
This cave badger was baring its teeth at the three of them, emitting threatening low growls, but it didn't launch an active attack, seeming to dread something.
He looked at the three people again.
Purple hair, an exquisite suit, a face without a mouth... Leo's pupils shrank slightly, his calm heart stirring a bit.
Satotz?
The examiner of the first phase of the Hunter Exam, the heritage hunter who screened examinees through a marathon?
Leo quickly recalled the plot of Hunter x Hunter.
Satotz, a Pro Hunter, specializing in ruins exploration, with a rigorous personality.
In the original work, he was one of the few hunters who never threw a punch, his strength unknown.
The other two—the bespectacled young man carried a large backpack, looking like a scholar; the red-haired woman had an athletic figure with a short blade at her waist, and she was currently withdrawing a half-drawn blade with a helpless look on her face.
"Selena, don't hurt it." Kaspar the bespectacled man said urgently.
"If I can't hurt it, what are we supposed to do?" Selena muttered as she sheathed her blade.
Satotz stepped forward: "Let me handle it, I can subdue it."
He raised his right hand, palm facing forward.
Leo was in Zetsu and couldn't perceive Nen—but the cave badger seemed to sense something, suddenly turning restless and backing away a few steps.
Just as Satotz was about to make a move, his motion paused abruptly.
Following that, the Pro Hunter whipped his head around, his gaze locking precisely onto the direction of the bushes where Leo was hiding!
"Someone's there!" Satotz's voice turned sharply cold.
Kaspar and Selena were startled in unison, swiftly turning toward the direction Satotz was staring at and instantly assuming battle stances.
Selena's blade drew another half-inch from its scabbard, while Kaspar pulled a short metal baton out of his backpack's side pocket.
"Get out here!" Selena shouted sternly, "Otherwise we're attacking!"
Behind the bushes, a shock ran through Leo's heart.
Discovered?
How could that be? With his current stealth capabilities, even beasts famous for their sense of smell found it hard to detect him. And the distance was at least twenty meters, with trees blocking the path in between...
It was En!
Leo understood instantly.
Satotz had been maintaining his En for vigilance; when Leo hid nearby to observe, he leaked a trace of his aura, which was perceived by his En.
Since he was discovered, continuing to hide was meaningless.
Leo took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and simultaneously raised both hands to show he carried no weapons.
He stepped out of the bushes and faced the three of them.
The cave badger, which had previously been threatened and intended to fight to the death, turned tail and fled the scene the moment it caught sight of Leo.
"Hello, I mean no harm." Leo tried to make his voice sound peaceful.
Under the sunlight, Leo's image was fully presented before the three of them.
He draped a crude cloak sewn from multiple animal skins, wore inner leather armor of the same material, and bone plates were embedded in key areas.
A stone knife and a few bone darts hung from his waist, and he carried a bulging leather backpack.
His skin had a wheatish tone due to long-term exposure to the sun, with faint traces of wind and frost on his face, yet his gaze was clear and sharp.
He looked young, with a lean and tough physique, and his movements exuded a vigilance and coordination uncommon to ordinary people.
Kaspar opened his eyes wide in surprise: "I never expected anyone in this secret realm to survive until now!"
Selena's blade remained unsheathed as she looked Leo up and down, her eyes filled with vigilance: "Who are you? How long have you been here?"
Satotz said nothing, but his gaze fell upon Leo like a physical substance, as if he wanted to see right through him.
Leo could feel those eyes evaluating every single detail of him: his stance, breathing, muscle state, weapon positions...
A hunter's scrutiny, heavy as a mountain.
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