Clangg!

Chang Long's hand went numb from the direct clash with the panther. Luckily, she did not lose her grip on the Sovereign Sword, or the panther would have certainly launched a second attack.

Realizing each other's strength, neither party dared to make the first move. They stood in a tense standoff until Davy-chan could not stand it any longer. He materialized behind the panther and shouted loudly, startling it into jumping.

Hiss!

The panther, upon realizing who had startled it, immediately tried to save face by swiping its claws at Davy-chan. But it was shocked when its claws only hit thin air.

Seizing the moment, Chang Long swiftly attacked the panther. She did not want the fight to drag on, as more beasts might join in, and she needed to find the blind man fast, to get answers about whether he was the magical map reader or not.

Shunk!

The Sovereign Sword struck a tree trunk. The panther was quick, it sensed her attack and dodged swiftly, causing the blade to narrowly miss someone's head, hiding in the bushes below. Frustrated by her inability to deal with the panther, Chang Long sheathed her sword, ignoring it.

"What are you doing? Do you want to die!"

Davy-chan shouted in astonishment, mirroring the reactions of Kitsune, Hisa-chan, the panther, and the hidden observer.

"Spread wings!"

Chang Long did not answer but commanded her wings to spread. Her gray wings unfurled rapidly, leaving everyone, including the panther, confused. The panther had never encountered an opponent who suddenly lost the will to fight.

"So you're quick, huh...? Tornado Wing!"

Chang Long activated a skill from the Eye of the Wind. Her wings spread wide and flapped forcefully, creating a gust of wind. This did not scare the panther; it confidently approached Chang Long slowly.

Meowrrr!

The panther roared loudly as it was suddenly lifted off the ground by the wind. Before it could react, the wind spun faster, turning into a small tornado, whisking it away into the darkness of the forest night.

"You screamed like a cat. That's what you get for being fast. Who told you to be quicker than me?"

Chang Long grumbled as she watched the panther disappear. Kitsune, Davy-chan, and Hisa-chan were left speechless.

'Hmm, uh… that was, well, sigh!'

Davy-chan was at a loss for words over Chang Long's actions.

Clap, clap, clap.

The sound of clapping drew Chang Long, Kitsune, and her spirits' attention. No one could sense the presence of the clapper, not even Kitsune's excellent nose. They all looked toward the sound, ready for anything.

"Impressive. You incapacitated my nemesis without even breaking a sweat,"

the clapper praised.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

Chang Long demanded. The man chuckled softly, and a soft yellow light flickered in the air near his form.

"You!"

Chang Long exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the blind man she had been following.

"Hahaha, you seem to have business with me,"

the blind man laughed as if he could see her expression.

"Uh-huh, I want to know if you're the magical map reader or not?"

Despite her suspicions about the blind man, Chang Long decided to get straight to the point to avoid any further misunderstandings.

"Oh! What makes you think that?"

The blind man asked in return.

"You're blind,"

Chang Long replied, causing the blind man to be slightly taken aback before he asked,

"Just because I'm blind, you assume I'm a magical map reader?"

"Something like that. So, are you or aren't you?"

Chang Long pressed on, seeing that the blind man was trying to sidetrack her.

"You're sharp. Yes, I am the one you're looking for. But let's continue this at my cabin. It's not far from here. I sensed that black panther blocking my way earlier, so I used a concealment spell to hide from it,"

the blind man shrugged with a mischievous smile.

"Uh-huh, let's go. I'm starving,"

Chang Long agreed. The blind man, who was indeed the magical map reader, chuckled softly and led Chang Long to his cabin. Despite being blind, he did not stumble or trip over anything along the way. Meanwhile, Chang Long had to light a torch she got from Kimhant to see the path.

After introducing himself as Leevalas during their journey, the magical map reader led Chang Long to a clearing. He mumbled something quietly, and soon a wooden cabin appeared before their eyes.

"Come in. I have to use a concealment spell, or else both beasts and people would tear down my home,"

Leevalas gestured for Chang Long to enter the small cabin. As she stepped into the clearing before the cabin, the image of the cabin vanished from the forest, leaving no trace.

"This makes it hard for people looking for you, doesn't it?"

Chang Long observed.

"I suppose it does,"

Leevalas agreed.

"So, if I wanted to bring my friends to meet you, would that be alright?"

Chang Long asked.

"Of course. Now, let's eat. You said you're hungry, didn't you? I don't have much left, and the food has been sitting for two days. I'm not sure if it's still edible,"

Leevalas said, opening a food storage cabinet hesitantly.

"Eww!"

Chang Long exclaimed as a rancid smell wafted out.

"Everything's spoiled. Looks like we'll have to go hungry tonight. Hahaha,"

Leevalas made a face, laughing sadly at the thought of missing a meal as the food he kept had gone bad.

"Throw it out, and come eat with me!"

Chang Long commanded firmly. Although confused, Leevalas obeyed, driven by his own hunger.

When Leevalas took the spoiled food outside the cabin, Chang Long pulled out the Cone of Abundance. She filled ten plates with food, distributing five to Davy-chan and Hisa-chan, one to Kitsune with three large steaks, and kept four for herself and Leevalas. When he came back and saw the feast, he burst into tears of joy, as it had been a long time since he had a proper meal.

A handsome young man journeyed through the dark, perilous forest, filled with dangers. He refused to stop even though time had passed significantly; he would not rest until he found her. Luckily, he had a loyal companion who could lead him to her, though the path was fraught with thorns.

"Lycan, are you sure you're leading us to the right way!"

The young man asked uncertainly. Lycan did not respond and continued leading the way until they reached the area where Chang Long had fought the black panther earlier.

"Signs of a fight. Looks like we're on the right path. Keep going, Lycan,"

Siegfried said happily, urging his pet to continue. However, Lycan shook his head, refusing his master's command.

The large werewolf then looked around before suddenly running off into the darkness, leaving Siegfried shocked. He thought it had rejected being his pet due to its low loyalty, currently at only 5%.

"Phew! The status said it's still my pet... but where did it run off to?"

Siegfried exhaled in relief, realizing Lycan was still his pet, but he could not understand where it had gone. All he could do was wait anxiously for its return.

"Lycan, the pet of player Siegfried, has killed a level 35 Mushroom-antlered Deer Beast, receiving 5,250 experience points,"

the system announced, startling Siegfried. The quiet surroundings made the notification more jarring, but he realized Lycan had gone hunting due to hunger. Feeling hungry himself, he dug out a canned meal and ate it quickly atop a tree, waiting for Lycan to return.

After quickly finishing his canned meal, Lycan emerged from the bushes, looking clean and ready to lead again. Siegfried instructed it to follow the faint scent of Chang Long in the air to continue their search.

Lycan led Siegfried to a clearing, but nothing was there. Lycan did not move further, confusing Siegfried.

"Is this it?"

He asked to be sure. Lycan nodded. Siegfried then carefully explored the clearing but found nothing.

Awooooo!

Suddenly, Lycan raised its head and howled hauntingly, echoing through the forest and sending chills down Siegfried's spine. Luckily, it was his pet, or he would have been truly terrified.

"Sigh! Stop it, Lycan. You're tired, aren't you? Let's rest here,"

Siegfried sighed, resigned. He sat down, disheartened by the fruitless search after hours of tracking Chang Long. He could not call her because her name was marked with a question mark, similar to when they were in the Land of the Dead.

Lycan sat beside Siegfried, seemingly wanting to convey something but unable to speak human language. It sensed that he might soon understand what it was trying to say.

The eerie howling from outside the cabin startled Leevalas, the magical map reader awake. Chang Long and Kitsune, lying on blankets on the floor, also got up to see what was happening. Leevalas peeked out the window as if he could see and turned to speak to Chang Long.

"A traveler with a giant werewolf!"

"A werewolf?"

Chang Long repeated. She looked out the window and could not help but smile.

"What is it? Why are you smiling? Do you know him?"

Leevalas asked.

"Uh-huh, he's a friend of mine. By the way, are you really blind, Lee? How can you see Siegfried?"

Chang Long asked as Leevalas opened the cabin door to let Siegfried in.

"I wasn't born blind nor blinded by an accident. I went blind from mastering a spell. I can see with my mind's eye because of that spell, and I have 360-degree vision,"

Leevalas explained proudly.

Creakkk!

The cabin door opened, and the small cabin appeared in the forest before the young man's eyes. The blind man and Chang Long walked out, followed by Kitsune in its flame fox form.

"Chang Long!"

Siegfried called out softly, relieved to see her.

"How did you get here, Sieg?"

Chang Long asked with a smile.

"I had Lycan track your scent,"

he replied.

"Come on in, stop chatting and get inside!"

Leevalas interrupted. Chang Long and Siegfried smiled shyly and followed Leevalas back into the cabin. They lay on the floor, talking on warm blankets since there was only one bedroom in the cabin. The two seemed to have endless things to talk about and did not fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.

"Wake up, Chang Long. You're here to take on a quest from me, right?"

Leevalas called out. Chang Long and Siegfried groggily sat up, blinking at him.

"Are you going to give me a quest, without asking which quest we want?"

Chang Long questioned.

"No need, I only have one quest for you!"

Leevalas replied.

"A quest to read maps?"

Siegfried guessed.

"No, it's a quest to find magic and read ancient runes,"

Leevalas clarified, handing them both paper scrolls and pencils.

"What's this?"

Chang Long asked, puzzled.

"You need to find the ancient temples hidden in the forests around Ark in all four directions. Three temples will have runes in the center that you must copy onto the paper as accurately as possible. The fourth temple will have a magic crystal shard you must obtain from its guardian and consume. Only after completing these tasks can you return them to me. Will you accept?"

Leevalas explained the quest in detail.

"What if we come in a group? Can we help each other with the quest?"

Siegfried asked.

"No, this quest must be completed individually. You can help each other locate the temples, but once you step inside, you'll be separated immediately,"

Leevalas answered.

"And what about our friends who aren't here? How can they take on the quest?"

Chang Long asked, remembering that Duncan also wanted to take on a quest from the map reader.

"Tell them to wait for me at Mary's Restaurant. I need to stock up on food,"

Leevalas replied, yawning.

"Are you just going to stock it just to let it spoil again?"

Chang Long asked with a frown.

"Mind your own business! Now go. Do you think finding 4 ancient temples is an easy task to waste time here?"

Leevalas changed the subject, not wanting anyone to know he bought so much food from Mary's because he was trying to court Mary, the restaurant owner.

"We'll go, but let's eat first,"

Chang Long said, setting out plates of food with Siegfried's help. Kitsune and Lycan quickly joined them, sitting around the table without needing an invitation.

"Not staying to eat with us first?"

Siegfried asked when he saw Leevalas preparing to leave the cabin.

"No, I need to get to Mary's before she opens the restaurant,"

Leevalas replied and promptly walked out, not wanting to answer any more questions.

"Did he just say before the restaurant opens?"

Chang Long asked, looking at Kitsune and Lycan. They both nodded, confirming they heard the same thing.

"Strange. Most people worry about missing the restaurant before it closes, but he's worried about being there before it opens,"

Chang Long frowned.

"Maybe he just misspoke,"

Siegfried guessed, lifting a plate to receive food that Chang Long was conjuring from the Cone of Abundance.

"Maybe,"

Chang Long replied, dragging out the word skeptically. She continued to fill plates with food from the Cone of Abundance, then distributed them to Kitsune, Lycan, Davy-chan, Hisa-chan, and Siegfried. They all ate quickly, so they could go and inform their friends about the magical map reader.

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