Chapter 9: Initiation (3)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

At the same time, a man’s shout suddenly sounded from the forest ahead.

“%*%*#%!”

—— As expected, he did not understand a single word.

Zhou Jing gripped the dried branch tightly and peeked out from behind the tree. He saw five figures coming out from behind a tree. All of them were holding bows and arrows, aiming at the tree he was hiding in.

These people were of all sorts of sizes; tall, short, fat, and thin, but dressed in almost the same. They wore shawls and hoods on their heads, and they wore thick cloth clothes with simple leather armor on the outside. There was a quiver on their backs, and they held longbows in their hands. Their leather belts were tied at their waists, and they carried hunting knives and daggers. On their feet were long boots, and they looked like either rangers or hunters.

This style and weaponry… am I Middle Ages era? Or is this another world in a similar stage of development?

Zhou Jing’s heart stirred. From the clothing style of these people, he thought of a certain period of history recorded in the history books of the mother planet era. Still, his expression did not change at all despite his realization.

At the same time, the interface flashed, and a new message popped up.

[Unknown Language Discovered. Are you willing to consume 50 Astral Realm Points to activate the Auxiliary Tool [Rapid Language Analysis (Temporary)]?]

[Rapid Language Analysis (Temporary): After consuming, when someone uses this language to communicate with you, you will understand the meaning of the other party’s words. What you want to express will automatically be translated into this language when you speak to them. (Note: But it does not mean that you have mastered this language.)]

[Remark: It is only applicable to one language. If you encounter a new unknown language, you will need to activate the Auxiliary Tool again. 50 Astral Points will be consumed each time.]

[Remark: Temporary assistance provided cannot be mastered as skills and cannot be passed on. After switching to a new Astral Apostle, the language needs to be re-learned.]

“Without the skill version to analyze languages, I can only spend points to activate the temporary communication function. If I continuously utilize this, it would be a waste… There’s no need for that. I’ll use the previous achievement reward first.”

Zhou Jing understood. Without hesitation, he opened the achievement warehouse in his mind and used the special achievement reward he had received before.

[Discovered an unknown language. Utilizing Auxiliary Tool [Rapid Language Analysis (Skill Edition)]!]

[You have received the Skill [Terra Empire Language·Northern Dialect]!]

[Current Mastery Level: Lv2 – (Proficient)]

[The name of this skill can be chosen. Do you want to change it?]

“No need.” Zhou Jing rejected the prompt.

When the five hunters saw that Zhou Jing didn’t answer, the tall and sturdy hunter who seemed to be the leader opened his mouth to ask again. This time, Zhou Jing understood every single word.

“Who are you?!”

Zhou Jing did not feel any language knowledge surfacing in his mind. Instead, he braced himself and opened his mouth, only to discover that he instinctively spoke a language he had never learned before, fluently and naturally.

“I’m just someone who has lost my way.”

“Lost?”

The burly hunter frowned and shouted, “Come out from behind the tree!”

Zhou Jing opened his arms, indicating that he was unarmed. He walked out from behind the tree and stood one meter away.

The burly hunter sized up Zhou Jing from head to toe. Seeing that he was dressed like a tramp, he couldn’t help but reveal a puzzled expression. “Why are you here? What are you doing?”

“I got lost in the forest and finally saw the footprints, so I followed them… Who are you people?”

Zhou Jing carefully probed. When he was trekking, he had already guessed a few possibilities of encountering something and had thought about how others would interrogate him.

He had no understanding of this world, so he definitely wouldn’t be able to fabricate any origins. It would be easy for him to give himself away if he spoke nonsense, so he simply said that he was lost and tried to seek help.

Hearing this, a tall and thin hunter next to him said with a cautious tone, “If your eyes are fine, you should be able to tell that we are hunters.”

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes. Without waiting for the other party to continue interrogating him, he quickly took over the conversation and softened his tone.

“I’m just confirming… Kind hunters, I’m lost in this forest. I hope to find someone to take me away. Can you be kind and bring me along?”

“We’re not interested. You’d better leave now!” The tall and thin hunter said bluntly.

Zhou Jing gritted his teeth but did not retreat. Instead, he took another step forward.

“Look at me… I’m wearing such thin clothes. I don’t have anything to eat or drink. I have no other choice but to seek your help. Everyone has times when they are in trouble. It’s not easy for us to meet in the wilderness and support each other. Kindness will be rewarded.”

On the way there, he made up his mind that if the other party did not attack him without a word and showed that they could negotiate, he would follow them relentlessly.

There was nothing he could do about it. It wasn’t easy for him to catch a group of people he could communicate with. He couldn’t let them slip away just like that.

In his main world, Zhou Jing would not do such a thing. He was a little anti-social and an introvert. Rarely would he take the initiative to get to know strangers.

However, in his current situation, it seemed that he could not continue being thin-skinned. He had to make a change. He decided to grit his teeth and overcome the discomfort in his heart and throw away all semblance of shame.

Speaking of which, he had come to another world with a different appearance. No one recognized him. So naturally, it was as though he no longer had any physical or mental limits and burdens to speak of.

Upon hearing this, the leader of the burly hunters hesitated for a moment before putting down his bow and arrows.

Upon seeing this, the tall and thin hunter from before couldn’t help but remind his companions, “Hey, this person is too suspicious. Who would run into the Black-Clothed Forest wearing only a shirt? It’s risky to let him follow us. Chase him away!”

The burly hunter shook his head and said, “I think he might really be in trouble. It will take two to three days to walk out of the forest from here. If we chase him away, he’s as good as dead. We can’t just leave him in the lurch, right?”

Another hunter, a lanky man, snapped at the burly hunter in an anxious tone, “Put away your overflowing kindness. Don’t forget that we don’t have that much time to waste here.”

The burly hunter turned to look at the lanky hunter and was about to reply when his expression suddenly changed.

“It’s here!”

Suddenly, a dense rustling sound came from the grass not far away. It was as if a group of creatures was moving through the grass and rapidly approaching.

Shuashuashua —

More than ten black and gray colored beasts suddenly sprang out from the grass. They were all quadrupled and closely resembled the wolves and dogs in his world. They were as tall as a human’s knee, and their fur was sparse. Their bodies rippled with muscles, and they had sharp and disorderly fangs, making them look strange. Sticky saliva constantly dripped out from their open mouths, adding to their ferocity.

“Retreat, lure them into a trap!”

A few hunters whistled and immediately fled in another direction, trying to attract the beasts.

The burly hunter wanted to follow him, but when he saw Zhou Jing’s figure, he gritted his teeth and made a turn in his escape route, heading straight for Zhou Jing and grabbing his arm.

“Run with me!”

The burly hunter grabbed Zhou Jing’s arm and pulled him along.

He did not forget to bring this lost fellow along. If he left this fellow who had suddenly popped out here, then his plan to attract the wild beasts to the trap would fail, and he would also cause the death of this stranger.

Although bringing along a burden would slow him down, and he would end up at the back of the team, it was hard for him to not help.

However, after running a few steps, the burly hunter realized that something was wrong.

Zhou Jing, who was originally being dragged by him, actually jumped in front of him in two or three steps, running faster than him!

Not only that, this fellow even grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front of the team under the dumbfounded gazes of the other hunters.

A rider pulls away in the dust, letting others eat the exhaust.

The scenery in his line of sight rapidly receded. The burly hunter was a little dumbfounded.

What just happened?

Wasn’t I the one who pulled him away? Why is he running faster than me now?

Zhou Jing was running as fast as he could. His 9 points of Physical Fitness were fully displayed, and he was as fast as lightning.

He even had the capacity to turn his head to take a look, urging the hunter.

“Don’t just stand there. Which direction is your trap in? Lead the way!”

The tall and sturdy hunter subconsciously pointed in a certain direction. He felt a strong force on his arm as he was directly dragged by Zhou Jing.

He hurriedly stumbled after him, almost falling to the ground, his face full of astonishment.

This person is too strong. Is he a mutant warrior like the captain?!