Chapter 56: Chapter 52: Crossroads
"A Professional?!"
Evan’s shock was a bit delayed.
He stared at Lin Mo in astonishment, as if looking at some rare and exotic beast.
Although he had always been under his uncle’s protection, Evan had been scraping by as an Adventurer for nearly two years. He was no longer a rookie and had long since shed the newbie habit of being overly ambitious yet unskilled.
Even his uncle Bain, who jokingly called himself a Level 0.8 Professional, was already an unattainable goal in his eyes, let alone a true Professional.
And now, a young man he’d known for only a few days—someone even younger than him—had achieved the goal he could only dream of?
Evan felt a sense of disbelief.
He wasn’t jealous, per se, but he was definitely envious. This only deepened his desire for a Skill Scroll.
’If I can find a Warrior Skills Scroll in this Secret Realm, I can finally start on my own Profession path and maybe become a real Professional in the future!’
After collecting the spoils and continuing forward, Bain was still in the lead. Lin Mo followed close behind, holding a torch he had pulled from the wall outside.
The torchlight revealed a relatively spacious chamber ahead, about a thousand square meters in size.
The walls were the same bluish-gray, but compared to the passageway at the entrance, this place was much messier.
Clutter was scattered haphazardly on the floor. There was a large trash heap in one corner, along with some animal skeletons. In the center of the room was an extinguished fire pit that still radiated warmth. It was clear this was where those Goblins had lived.
A quick search turned up nothing of value, so they hurried past the stinking area and continued onward.
At the other end of the room was a dark gray door, identical to the one they had entered through.
Bain cautiously pushed the door open as before. What appeared before them was a narrow corridor, just like the one when they first entered the Secret Realm.
But...
"There are two paths?"
Evan was taken aback. "What should we do?"
Bain was also torn. After all, there was no discernible difference between the two paths before them, and no one knew what they would encounter down either one.
’What if we choose the wrong path? What will the consequences be?’
The ever-cautious Bain was unable to decide.
The group discussed it for a while but couldn’t come up with any useful insights.
"If we can’t decide, let’s just leave it to fate."
Cody said, pulling a Silver Coin from his pocket.
"Heads, we take the left path. Tails, we go right."
"Alright."
Everyone nodded almost simultaneously. Besides, there was no better way.
Cody tossed the Silver Coin. Under the torchlight, the gleaming coin fell to the ground, the tulip pattern on it shining brightly.
The tulip pattern was the back of the coin, which meant they would take the right path.
The team entered the right-hand passage, proceeding as cautiously as before.
This time, they encountered far fewer traps, but they saw plenty of insects, scorpions, and rats. They could occasionally see burrows dug by them under cracks in the corners of the walls... This Underground Dungeon seemed to have its own ecosystem.
Soon, they reached the end of the path—in front of another dark gray door.
Bain pushed the door open with practiced ease. With a CREAK, a sharp claw shot out from the darkness and scraped violently against his Shield.
A Cat Demon.
Lin Mo’s eyes lit up. He had expected to find Cat Demons in this Underground Dungeon, but actually encountering them was still a pleasant surprise.
After all, their Cat Demon quest wasn’t finished yet. It would be perfect if they could meet their quota here, saving them the trouble of searching all over the forest afterward.
Bain gripped his Shield tightly and shoved forward with all his might, sending the Cat Demon in front of him flying.
The Cat Demon let out a sharp shriek. It was unharmed and charged again.
Following behind it were six more of its kind.
Before, fighting seven Cat Demons at once would have been incredibly difficult for the team, and the probability of casualties would have been high.
But now that Lin Mo had advanced to a Professional, their Combat Power was on a completely different level.
Bain and Lin Mo exchanged a glance and nodded, then charged forward.
The Cat Demon he had just sent flying, along with two of its companions, attacked Bain. Facing the assault of three Cat Demons, Bain was fearless. He unleashed a "Shield Strike," once again knocking back the one in the lead.
Then, swinging his Sword with one hand and holding his Shield with the other, he exerted his strength and managed to block the other two charging Cat Demons.
The remaining four Cat Demons charged the other four members of the group.
Evan swung his sword with all his might, intercepting a charging Cat Demon and protecting Millian who was right behind him.
Cody had already sprung into action, taking the initiative to attack a Cat Demon. Just before they clashed, he suddenly flickered, dodging the Cat Demon’s attack and slipping past it.
At the same time, the shortsword in his reverse grip struck out, plunging precisely into the nape of the Cat Demon’s neck.
As for the last two Cat Demons...
Before they could even move, Lin Mo had already struck. His ghostly figure vanished from their sight in an instant. The next second, a sharp blade sliced through flesh and bone, effortlessly slaying both Cat Demons.
Lin Mo didn’t stop. He entered "Stealth" again, circled behind the two Cat Demons tangling with Bain, and finished them off with a "Cross Slash."
After officially becoming a Professional, Lin Mo’s Attributes gave him an overwhelming advantage against these Ordinary Demons. For him, it was an instant kill.
And as he killed those four Cat Demons, his Cross Slash Skill Level also reached 10 points.
"Skill [Cross Slash] Level 1 (10/10) has leveled up!"
"Current Skill [Cross Slash] Level 2 (0/20)."
Meanwhile, the Cat Demon that Bain had sent flying earlier was finished off by a freed-up Cody. As for Evan, with Millian’s help, he managed to take down a Cat Demon, though he looked a bit battered.
The terrain in the Secret Realm was quite narrow and wasn’t suited for the Cat Demons’ fighting style, making it difficult for them to utilize their greatest advantage—speed. On top of that, they were stupid enough to take the initiative and fight the group in the corridor.
’If they had gone into the room, it would have been really tricky in the pitch-black environment...’
After collecting the spoils, and including these seven Cat Demons, their quest progress was now 21/30. They only needed 9 more to complete it.
They took the torches hanging on the outer wall and cautiously entered the chamber.
It was roughly similar to the Goblin chamber from before, about the same size. However, there was one difference: in this chamber, they discovered human skeletons.
Although they were dismembered and scattered—a skull here, a leg bone there—they were clearly human. Moreover, judging from the state of the bones, their deaths were recent, within the last half-month or even less.
It seemed that other Adventurers had entered this Secret Realm before them and ended up as part of the unlucky majority.
"You guys, come look! There’s something over here!"
Evan’s excited voice suddenly rang out.
