Chapter 1599 New Encounters

"Ye Qiu, you really are something else. You should probably read the manual. Luminous magic..."

Ye Qiu raised his right hand and repeated the spell in a firm voice. Upon finishing, white light spread from his hand. As the light engulfed Qiuya, her vision immediately brightened. The light around her didn't seem like a magic spell but rather one that granted objects night vision capabilities.

"Wow, that's really handy. Looks like we can't underestimate the Shadow Elves."

"Ah, that really stings."

"Hahaha, not really. But it's best to remember the magic you can use. Even if Shadow Elf magic seems useless, there might be situations where relying on it could save your life."

"Wow, that's even more painful!"

They joked as they walked along the winding cavern, the entrance's white light now completely out of sight.

"Is that right? Athena Ray... Ray..."

Ye Qiu glanced at the detailed instructions glowing with violet light and gruffly muttered a few spells.

"No, no, you can't perform magic with this stop-and-go mentality. We shouldn't remember spells mechanically by forceful memorization, but by understanding the meaning of each 'language ability,' we can associate them with their magical effects."

After Qiuya spoke, the shoulders of the swordsman in black fell with a sigh.

"I didn't expect playing a game to feel like memorizing English vocabulary..."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, but higher-level spells can have as many as twenty words."

"Wow... I'm better off being just a pure swordsman."

"Don't give up before you try! Hurry, start practicing from the beginning!"

The two had been in the cavern for two hours, and despite being attacked by over a dozen Half-Beastmen along the way, they easily overcame them. The map they purchased earlier in the bushes helped them navigate without getting lost and smoothly reach their destination. According to the map, a bridge spanning the underground lake would be rebuilt. Next, they'd reach the underground mining city of Lugulu.

Although Lugulu wasn't a massive underground fortress like Goblin Capital, it produced fairly good minerals. As such, many injured blacksmiths resided here, yet they hadn't encountered other players thus far.

Besides there not being many monsters in this cave, many people disliked this area because they couldn't fly here. Those who dominated in flight preferred the wind. Although the cavern was abundant in width and height, sunlight and moonlight, as sources of flight power, couldn't shine within it, causing their wings to remain unrecovered.

Wind Elf players wanting to sightsee or do business nearby typically traveled through the Wind Elf territory north of the Cat Elf territory and bypassed the mountain range, even if it took a lot of time.

Cats and Little Fairies have ears and tails similar to cats. They excel in the "Beast Tamer" skill of taming monsters or animals. They always send tamed animals as mounts to Wind Elves, maintaining good relations with them.

Moreover, there's a deep friendship between the two Lords, with rumors even suggesting that the two races might formally ally in the near future.

Knowing a few Cat Demon friends, Qiuya considered detouring slightly north to visit them during this period. However, Ye Qiu appeared anxious, leading her to choose passing over the mountain. Frankly, she felt uneasy venturing underground, but seemed safe enough to get through. They could safely break through the barrier.

However, again, why was Ye Qiu so eager to head to that city, or did he intend to go to the World Tree? His reason remained mysterious, his unusual demeanor preventing glimpses into his inner world. Yet, judging by his combat style, he seemed rather anxious.

He indeed mentioned searching for someone. In the game, it wasn't uncommon to look for people from the real world. Noticeboards in front of grocery stores often displayed "I'm looking for someone," yet revenge or romantic disputes were usually the reasons. It felt unlikely either would apply to Ye Qiu.

And again—if searching nearby, it's understandable—but he said he wanted to go to the World Tree. That place remained impregnable thus far; even reaching its roots and attempting to climb it was seemingly impossible...

Qiuya walked beside Ye Qiu's enchantment, temporarily immersed in infinite thoughts. Normally being stunned in neutral zones was suicidal, yet this journey always predicted monsters approaching with considerable accuracy, relieving worries about ambushes.

Several minutes later, when they finally approached the underground lake, it wasn't Dong's warning that snapped her back to reality but rather the sound effects resembling a ringing phone.

Qiuya immediately looked up and said to Ye Qiu:

"Ah, it seems I've received an email. Would you mind waiting for a moment?"

"Hmm."

Stopping in place, she touched the representative image in front of her with her finger, slightly below her chest. A window promptly opened, displaying a friend's information.

Qiuya logged in solely for her friend, reluctantly; it was only Leilei. Before reading the message, she knew who sent it. As she glanced down, she speculated it might be one of those trivial messages.

"As expected, Leilei! You guys need to be careful!"

Was the only sentence in the message.

"What's this supposed to mean?"

Qiuya couldn't help but complain. She didn't know what writing this meant, what should be noticed, or the true significance behind it. If it was a signature, should it be R? Or had someone prematurely clicked 'send' before completing the email?

"S... SA... Shi... Su... Hmm..."

"What's happening?"

As Qiuya was preparing to explain the contents to Ye Qiu, Ye Qiu's expression of surprise... Dong suddenly emerged from the chest pocket and exclaimed:

"Ye Qiu, something's coming here."

"Is it a monster?"

Ye Qiu placed his hand on the grip of the large sword behind him, but Winter shook his head and continued:

"No, it seems to be a team. Quite a lot... a total of 12 people."

"Twelve people...?"

Qiuya was astonished and speechless. That many people would be too numerous for a typical combat unit. Could it be a trade caravan departing from Luban, heading to the World Tree vicinity for Wind Elf's free trade?

Indeed, Wind Elves organized massive teams monthly between the territory and central government, attempting to recruit participants with maximum effort days before departure. But when checking the noticeboard this morning, no such information appeared.

Yet, even from an unknown group, if their members were Wind Elf, there'd be no danger. Although Qiuya didn't expect a diverse PK group here, she felt an unsettling sense. Facing Ye Qiu, she said:

"I have a bad feeling. We should avoid them."