Chapter 138: The Mysterious Girl

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: The Mysterious Girl

Ronan began his journey as he walked through the forest, hearing the chirping of birds and the roars of beasts. Unlike the small continent, this time Ronan could see multiple Sovereign Realm beasts moving through the forest.

Occasionally, he could even sense the aura of a King Realm beast somewhere in the distance.

However, none of them bothered him.

Most of the beasts seemed to understand the difference between him and themselves, and those that didn’t quickly changed their minds after sensing his aura.

Ronan continued walking toward the next city.

He still didn’t know exactly where he was going, but according to the information he had gathered in the previous town, there should be a large city somewhere beyond this forest and with thr map that barely showed any information except the large continent and small island all around Ronan knew he had to figure everything out himself.

If he could reach the next city, he should be able to find better information about the Abyss and, more importantly, the location of one of its portals.

Ronan had already accepted that he might have to travel through several cities before finding one.

He wasn’t particularly bothered by it.

After all, he had nothing else to do.

As Ronan walked deeper into the forest, he suddenly heard voices coming from ahead.

"Give it to us!"

"Hand it over and we’ll let you go."

Ronan slowed down.

He could hear several people.

There was also a young girl’s voice.

"Please... I don’t have anything."

Ronan continued walking.

He soon reached an area where the trees were less dense, allowing him to see what was happening.

Several men surrounded a young girl.

She looked extremely young, perhaps only twelve or thirteen years old.

Her clothes were dirty, and she appeared frightened.

One of the men grabbed her arm while another searched through her belongings.

Ronan glanced at them.

Then he continued walking.

He wasn’t a hero.

He had no reason to involve himself in someone else’s problem.

Unfortunately, the men didn’t see it that way.

One of them noticed Ronan walking past them and immediately shouted.

"Hey!"

Ronan stopped and looked back.

The man pointed at him.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Ronan stared at him.

"...Me?"

"Who else?"

Ronan looked around.

There was nobody else nearby.

"What do you want?"

The man sneered.

"You saw what we’re doing and still tried to leave?"

Ronan frowned.

"I don’t understand."

"You want to save the girl, don’t you?"

"No."

The man’s expression froze.

Ronan pointed toward the girl.

"I was just passing by."

The men exchanged confused looks.

The leader stepped forward.

He was a burly man with a scar across his face, and the aura surrounding his body was clearly that of a One-Star King Realm.

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

A King Realm?

He looked at the girl.

Then at the men.

Then back at the girl.

She was only a Transcendent Realm being.

Why were a group of people with a King Realm leader trying to rob a Transcendent Realm child?

That made no sense.

But before Ronan could think about it any further, the leader attacked.

His fist came directly toward Ronan’s face.

Ronan’s expression changed slightly.

He raised his arm and blocked the attack.

Boom!

The force sent dust flying through the forest.

Ronan remained standing.

The King Realm man was stunned.

"A Nine-Star Sovereign?"

Ronan looked at him.

"You attacked me."

The man didn’t answer.. Instead, he shouted.

"Kill him!"

The others immediately attacked.

Ronan sighed.

He had originally intended to leave them alone.

But since they had decided to attack him, there was no reason for him to show mercy.

"Fine..."

Ronan disappeared.

The first man’s head exploded beneath Ronan’s fist.

Another man tried to attack from behind, but Ronan turned around and grabbed his neck before slamming him into the ground.

The man’s body sank into the earth.

The leader roared and unleashed his full strength.

Ronan’s eyes lit up.

A King Realm being.

That was exactly what he needed.

The battle lasted only a short time.

Ronan’s abilities overwhelmed the group, and the One-Star King Realm leader was eventually killed by a combination of physical attacks and Annihilation Force.

[Ding!]

[The host has killed a King Realm being.]

Ronan looked at the notification.

His Limitless Potential trait suddenly increased.

[Limitless Potential Lv.2 → Lv.3.]

Ronan smiled.

"Not bad."

He looked around.

Most of the men were dead.

The girl had fainted at some point during the battle.

Ronan walked toward her and checked her condition.

She was still alive.

"Good."

He wasn’t interested in carrying her around, so he simply left her where she was.

Ronan looked around and noticed one of the men was still barely alive.

He walked toward him.

"Hey."

The man’s body trembled.

Ronan crouched beside him.

"Which direction is the next city?"

The man struggled to breathe before slowly raising his hand.

He pointed toward the left.

"Left..."

Ronan looked in that direction.

"Thanks."

He stood up and left without another word.

The dying man’s eyes followed him, a murderous hatred filled them.

He knew he was going to die.

There was no way he could survive his injuries.

But that didn’t matter.

If he couldn’t survive, then at least he could hope that someone would avenge him.

The man clenched his fists as Ronan disappeared between the trees.

"You’ll... regret..."

His voice became weaker as he lost consciousness.

Ronan never heard him as he simply followed the direction he had been given.

For a while, everything seemed normal.

The sounds of birds gradually became quieter.

The roars of beasts became distant.

Even the wind seemed to disappear.

Ronan slowed down.

Something felt wrong.

The forest had become darker.

The trees around him were strangely bent, their branches twisting in unnatural directions.

A thin fog slowly spread across the ground.

Ronan stopped.

His eyes narrowed.

"This wasn’t here before."

He looked around.

The fog became thicker.

The trees seemed to move.

For a moment, Ronan thought he saw something moving between them.

He immediately activated his perception.

Nothing.

He frowned.

Then the world suddenly changed.

The forest disappeared.

Ronan found himself standing in an unfamiliar place.

He looked around.

There were no trees.

No birds.

No sounds.

Nothing.

His expression became serious.

"What the..."

He tried to activate his abilities.

Nothing happened.

Ronan’s eyes widened.

He checked his traits.

Nothing.

His abilities had disappeared.

Even his system was silent.

For the first time in a very long time, Ronan felt something he rarely experienced.

Fear.

He couldn’t sense his strength.

He couldn’t feel his traits.

He couldn’t even hear the system.

"System?"

Ronan was met with nothing but silence as he called out once more.

"System!"

Still nothing, Ronan breathing sloqly became heavier.

What the hell was happening?

Ronan took a step forward.

The ground beneath his feet felt strange.

Then he heard a voice.

"Big brother..."

Ronan froze.

He turned around.

The young girl was standing behind him.

Her necklace was glowing with a faint golden light.

The moment the light spread, the surrounding fog began to disappear.

The illusion shattered.

Ronan’s eyes widened.

He found himself standing in the forest again.

But this time, he wasn’t standing in the middle of the road.

He was leaning against a large hollow tree.

His body was partially inside it.

Ronan immediately stepped away.

His expression became ugly.

"What happened?"

The girl looked at him.

"It was an illusion."

Ronan looked at the tree.

"If I had stayed?"

"You would have completely fallen into the illusion."

"And then?"

The girl hesitated.

"Your body would have slowly merged with the tree."

Ronan’s expression darkened.

"You would have died."

Ronan stared at the tree.

He suddenly understood why his system hadn’t responded.

He hadn’t actually been awake.

His mind had been trapped inside the illusion, and his consciousness had essentially been put to sleep.

If the girl’s necklace hadn’t broken the illusion, he would have eventually merged with the tree and died without even realizing what was happening.

Ronan looked at the girl.

"Who are you?"

The girl hesitated.

"My name is..."

She stopped.

Then she shook her head.

"I can’t tell you."

Ronan frowned.

"Why?"

"Because people have been trying to kill me because of this."

She touched the necklace around her neck.

Ronan looked at it carefully.

The artifact was old.

There were strange patterns engraved around it, and even his perception couldn’t determine exactly what it was made from.

"What is it?".., Ronan couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s an ancient artifact."

She looked down at it.

"It belonged to my family."

Ronan’s eyes narrowed.

"Your family?"

She nodded.

"My entire family was killed because of it."

Ronan remained silent.

She continued.

"They wanted this necklace. They thought it contained some kind of treasure, but nobody in my family knew exactly what it could do."

She was the last survivor, after her family was killed, she had wandered alone until she eventually found a small village.

The old men and women there had taken her in and they didn’t ask for anything in return.

They fed her, clothed her even gave her a place to sleep.

For several months, she had lived with them enjoying their care and kindness and the little girl had wanted to repay their kindness.

So she secretly left the village to find something she could give them as a gift.

Unfortunately, she had been discovered by the men Ronan had encountered earlier.

They had recognized the pattern on her necklace.

They knew its value.

And they wanted it.

Ronan listened quietly.

Then he looked at the necklace again.

"So they attacked you because of this?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes."

Ronan sighed.

He had originally only wanted to find the Abyss portal.

He had left Monster Camp specifically to deal with his vampire evolution quest.

Instead, he had somehow become involved with a mysterious girl carrying an ancient artifact that powerful people were willing to kill for.

Ronan rubbed his forehead.

"Why do I always end up involved in these things?"

The girl looked at him strangely.

Ronan ignored her.

He looked toward the forest.

The village.

That was where she had come from.

And suddenly, Ronan’s expression changed.

The girl had survived for months in a village filled with ordinary-looking old men and women.

Yet powerful people were willing to kill her for an artifact.

She had somehow escaped a deadly illusion forest.

And her necklace had been powerful enough to break the illusion and restore his consciousness.

Ronan narrowed his eyes.

Something didn’t add up.

He looked at the girl.

"You said the village took care of you?"

"Yes."

"And you want to go back?"

She nodded.

Ronan sighed.

He only wanted to find the Abyss portal.

But now...

He had a feeling that finding that village might be much more interesting.

Ronan turned around.

"Take me there."

The girl looked surprised.

"Why?"

Ronan glanced at her.

"I want to meet the people who saved you."

He paused.

"And besides..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I have a feeling they’re not as simple as you think."

The girl remained silent.

Then she nodded.

She began walking through the forest, with Ronan following behind her.